paulraphael

I'm considering raising some boneless chickens, and wondering if it can be done hydroponically.

This brings to mind that chapter (or section?) in Fast Food Nation entitled "Mr McDonald's Breasts" or something. Apparently, the chickens that they use to make McDonald's all-white meat nuggets have been bred to have the largest breasts possible. I think that's true with most modern breeds of chicken. Traditional chickens have tiny breast muscles It's a pretty amazing example of breeding, considering that birds use their breast muscles for flight, and we've created these Swartzenegger-esq uber-breasts in a bird that can't even fly! I have to admit, as uncool as it might be in the foodie universe, I like breast meat. IF it's from a good tasting chicken and has been well prepared. I find that most people overcook it by 10 degrees or more, leading to its reputation as dry and boring. When it's well done, it has qualities like a beef tenderloin--not as much flavor as some cuts, but a nice one, and a succulent texture. All of which makes it an excellent foil for sauces and other accompaniments. I agree it's interesting that it ended up with its current reputation (and pricing).

Thanks for the replies everyone. I'll take a look at those other forums. I hae a gatco system (looks a lot like the lansky) .. it works, but I think I'd like something with a bigger surface to work with.

been a while since i've stopped by, but they most likely have a bunch of glassware. i believe it's also where i bought my wok several years ago ... they had beautiful hand-pounded ones for under $20. i thought i was getting a small one, but it only looked small next to the wading pool-sized ones next to it ... there's a beer store in the new whole foods? that's going to be worth a special trip.

one of my favorites is chef restaurant supply on the corner of houston. they're one of the more consumer-friendly shops. they're the only one that would split up a case of $2 cafe wine glasses (the ones you don't mind replacing, but never have to, because when you're friends knock them off the table they don't break.)

All the time ... restaurant supply stores are great. If you're lucky enough to be close to a big city, you'll probably find different levels of store, ranging from ones that serve mostly cheap takeout joints to ones that serve high end restaurants. Few of the stores I've seen have truly high end saucepans and things like that, but they're a gold mine for other things. I've gotten good deals on big stockpots, woks, tongs, cafe wine glasses (some places only sell this kind of thing by the case, but others will sell fewer), used appliances (like bar blenders), etc.. They're also a good resource for cheap nonstick pans and professional baking sheets. A lot of this workhorse stuff can cost close to twice as much at kitchen boutiques. I also like to window shop. There's something cool about stock pots that are too heavy to lift even when they're empty, and hobart mixers with bowls the size of a hot tub.

I just realized that I read about the mousepad trick here in the EG sharpening tutorial. Steve Bottorff's site only seems to mention sandpaper on wood or glass, so sorry for any confusion. As far as you know, do the people who use sandpaper use as a substitute for waterstones, or in addition to them? I'd be curious to know what the pros and cons are. Also if the pros and cons of the kind of convex edge you'd get from stropping on a mousepad.

Does anyone have opinions about the information on this site? http://users.ameritech.net/knives/ I'm especially curious about -the use of angle guides on stones -the woodworker's trick of using sandpaper mounted to glass, wood, or a mousepad Thoughts?

i've been in the mood to make some kind of pizza, and thought it would be fun to make some for appetizers for a dinner party this weekend. i'm thinking something small and simple, with a neapolitan style crust. the main course is going to be a moroccan tagine with lamb and apricots. any thoughts on some interesting seasonal toppings?

Just so I'm not confusing anyone, I mean foil in the sense of something that emphasizes something else by contrasting with it. Not something thin and aluminum

i like the idea of the three sorbets (will they each have a different fruit flavor?) not sure about the creme anglaise ... consider that that's essentially unfrozen ice cream! sorbet and a cream sauce strikes me as a little strange. the sorbets might work better with some kind of foil ... something not at all sorbet-like and not basil flavored. you'll have already made a strong enough statement with the basil.

i'm a fan of cliff builder bars (20 g protein, tasty, and not a lot of horrible chemistry ... $1.29 at whole foods). one thing to consider is protein source. whey is probably the highest quality protein source, in terms of amino acid profile. it's particularly good in terms of glutamine content, which may be helpful for recovery after exercise. on the other hand, there's some research that shows soy to be a better source of protein for consumption during endurance exercise. i'll dig up the research if anyone's interested; i don't remember the reasons soy was better.

my calphalon cookware is 5mm thick, and the pieces i've used on high heat have warped. some of them i've pounded back into shape with a hammer to get them to sit flat on a burner!

this might be a place to tip my hat to the place that makes the best pancakes i've had: Maggie's Krooked Café, in Tannersville, New York. It looks like a typical cutesy/touristy café in a typical catskills ski town. But the breakfast is out of this world. I haven't found a better brunch in Manhattan (I'm more of a pancake guy than an omelette/caviar guy) in the mornings. If you're a New Yorker and an ice climber, this is the only place you need to know about.

I've been curious about this too. Seems impressive that you can stick together metals with wildly different thermal expansion coefficients, repeatedly heat them to 500 degrees and quench them in water, and not have things warping and flying apart. I find it especially curious that my clad pans (aluminum encased in stainless or stainless bonded to copper) seem impervious to warping, while my all-aluminum pans warp prettty easily.

two favorite things in the world: -comice pears, ripe, with nothing else -pears roasted with sugar and butter; with a sauce made from deglazing the roasting pan with cream. and maybe some cognac and poire william. unbelievably good! i got the idea from james peterson.

Pancakes are the only thing I make just about every week. They might be my favorite food group. I don't have any real secrets, since just about every variation on every kind of pancake has been explored a thousand times over. But here are some thoughts: -if you like the taste of buttermilk, but don't make pancakes enough to keep buttermilk around, use cultured butter in the pancakes. I use roughly 1 TB melted butter per cup of flour. Using cultured, low moisture butter gives a wonderful flavor. -if you make buttermilk pancakes, avoid the temptation to use baking soda for all your leavening. It will neutralize the acid tang of the buttermilk. use baking powder, or combination of baking powder and whipped egg whites. -you can use the egg whites to control fluffiness. my standard recipe uses two eggs per 1-1/2 cups flour, and 1-1/2 tsp baking powder. Using the eggs whole gives a fairly dense texture. Whipping both egg whites and folding them in mikes them as tall and airy as clouds. Whipping one of the egg whites gives an intermediate fluffiness that I like most of the time. -tender pancakes are easy to make with all purpose flour and regular milk. if you get tough pancakes it's because you've activated gluten. no need to do this. my method is to stir together the dry ingredients when still dry. i then whisk the wet ingredients together (milk, eggs, melted butter) until frothy. i then gently stir the wet ingredients into the dry ones with a rubber spatula. whipped egg whites get gently folded in right before cooking. i would not want pacakes more tender than what this produces--they'd be flabby. no cake flour. -in the summer, i like to make fruit-infused maple syrup. just simmer maple syrup in a small saucepan or butter warmer, and dump in a bunch of raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, or whatever you like. they will melt into the syrup, and the excess water will evaporate. serve warm. delicious! -here's one of my favorite pancake recipes, in recipe gullet: http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r1989.html

I don't have the book yet, but read through parts of it at the bookstore. It looks like it could be a major work in the world of bread. The techniques he describes seem unique, and like a step up from what he's done in the past. I wouldn't be surprised if this leads to a second edition of the breadmaker's apprentice, updated with the new approach. My breadmaking jag is behind me for now, but if i ever get into it again I'll snap up this book first thing.

basil goes wonderfully with lots of fruits. my favorite pairing is with peach, but apples can be delicious, and so can berries. and people mentioned chocolate. basil is a natural in a creme anglaise. if it's the main ingredient, what about a sweet pesto? basil, pine nuts, mascarpone, and olive oil (or butter, if olive oil will clash with what you put it on).

I'd definitely agree with the decision to not get the cuisinart. I checked one out thoroughly at the store, and was extremely disappointed in the construction. It appeared to be designed by a marketing department in order to photograph well. the machine also has no track record; i don't want to be a beta tester. I'd avoid delonghi, too, since they have a record of problems similar to KA's, but they don't have KA's extensive repair and replacement policies. I think KA is the only game in town unless you upgrade to a true commercial mixer at several times the cost.

I think the only serious issue is flavor. Tuscan bread formulas show what yeast proportions work in bread without salt. You could start by buying some tuscan bread and seeing what non-salty seasonings work with it to get rid of the flatness. also, this is an academic point, but it's been shown that salt does not significantly affect the action of yeast in bread. But it does help strengthen the gluten structure, limiting rising.

i find that too. i don't worry about it much because it's just cosmetic (and the dark finish hides it pretty well ....) i was talking more about how well the finish itself holds up.

your experience with the vinaigrette echoes my own. i'm finding that the quality of the vinegar makes a much bigger difference than the quality of the oil. i now use a good tasting but not fancy or expensive olive oil for vinaigrettes.

I have a bunch of 17 year old calphalon, and the cooking surfaces have gotten beaten to hell ... knicks, dents, dings, and faded anodizing. But the outside surfaces, including the parts that get banged and scraped across stove grates, have held up beautifully. It's curious. In general, I much prefer stainless as a cooking surface. Only drawback is it's easier to scratch, so you have to be careful what kinds of chemicals and scrubbers you use. I don't really care what the outside of the pans look like. If my stainless all clad pan gets scratched and discolored on the bottom, great ... people will know it's been cooked with!

The sommelier I called with a roar, "There's a fly in my Chateau Latour!" He said monsieur Keller has more in the cellar, but each glass gets one fly, never more!