paulraphael

It looks to me like the risk is minor, as with many other foods. If you're unwilling to eat uncooked, salt cured ham, you should similarly avoid smoked fish and soft cheeses. http://cerhr.niehs.nih.gov/common/listeria.html

Interesting thoughts. Someone else suggested that in this country, a lot of oil labelled EVOO is actually a processed product that's just had its acidity reduced (this in response to my question about all the cheap, bland oils at the supermarket labelled EVOO). Is this the case? Do these cheap inauthentic EVOOs share any of the advantages of the artisinal ones? I tend to use EVOO for everything, in general, but the one I cook with is one of the el-cheapo types. The flavor is pretty mild, especially when cooked, so I find it works for most things. It would be nice if this stuff actually came with some of the alleged health benefits.

Just a quick survey to see what temp people like to cook their roasted chicken to. I used to pull it out of the oven when a thermometer stuck between the thigh and breast read 155 to 160 ... then let it rest under a loose foil tent for 10 minutes or so. I forget what temp it would rise to, and it's actully been a long time since I've used a thermometer at all. I do know I like it somewhere between what the government recommends (incinerated) and what James Peterson recommends (still flapping its wings). I'm especially curious what people think the ideal temperatures are for the white meat and the dark meat separately. (I like to cover the breast meat with foil for the first several minutes of cooking so I can control the two separately)

ha! I was telling my best friend about the place, and the $3000 sashimi knives in the glass cases... he's a cook and a bit of a knife fetishist. he said the same thing you did. I asked if he was afraid he'd walk out of there with a sashimi knife. he said, "I'm afraid I'd walk out of there with a sashimi LIFESTYLE--I'd buy the knife, for sure, but I'd have to figure out how to rearrange all my priorities in order to justify having it."

What I'm trying to figure out is why olive oil besides extra virgin is getting hard to find. I used to have a good extra virgin oil for dresings and vinnaigretttes and dipping bread (anything raw) and a big can of cheap "pure" grade for cooking. Now almost everything, even at my local (ghetto) supermarket is extra virgin. If there are any other grades, they're usually no cheaper than the cheap extra virgins. Of course the cheap-o extra virgins are much less flavorful than most of the expensive ones ... but it makes me wonder what the deal is with this glut of extra virgin oil that tastes like and costs the same as cheaper grades.

My least favorite part of cooking: reaching up into my cabinet for a storage container, having 12 of them fall onto my head and all over the floor, picking them up, and discovering that none of the lids that fell on me matches any of the containers that fell on me. My stash is a mix of retro-colored oddities bought at discount stores and supermarkets, left by dinner guests and ex-girlfriends, mixed in with some pieces of unknown origin (including a plastic caramel corn container that has somehow survived two cross-country moves). Each of the containers is good enough for what I ask of it, but as a collection they're driving me insane. There must be a better way. Here's what I'd love: -decent quality. something that will last, and that won't melt in the microwave when reheating leftovers (almost all of them seem up to this) - rectangular shapes that store easily - just a few useful sizes. so matching lids is easy. maybe even ones that differ just in height, so lids are interchangeable. smallest ones should be small enough for a bit of leftover sauce; largest ones should be big enough for a roast chicken. - cheap enough that i won't get mad when i leave them at someone's house. Any ideas??

Cool, thanks. I'll check these guys out. Couldn't find a website for Florence ... anyone know if they have one?

Not quite. I went to Korin yesterday and drooled over a few knives. Had a long chat with one of their knife guys. I think I'd be interested in a japanese santoku knife for the light duty stuff ... a Misono, or Ittosai perhaps. I'm going to stick with my goldhamster for an all purpose chef's knife though. Partly because I love it, but mostly for maintenance reasons. The man at Korin told me I wouldn't get too far maintaining the Japanese knives on a steel, and that they need regular maintenance on water stones (they might hold their edge for several times longer than the german knife can go between steelings, but then the sharpening is a lot more serious--skill and labor intensive). My goldhamster still has the factory edge on it, and it's been my only chef's knife for the last five years. steeling has kept it sharp enough to shave with. I think there's an advantage to the softer steel in this regard. But I think when I have some extra cash I'll get the santoku ... it will see lighter use, probably be a joy to slip through carots and onions, and will probably go a couple of months at a time between sharpenings.

Admin: threads merged. I used to buy prime, dry aged beef at Balducci's, but they're gone now. The restaurant chain that took them over runs things very differently. Since then I've gone to Jefferson Market, where the quality isn't quite as high (and the price isn't either). I'm not that impressed with Citarella or Dean and DeLucca (seem overpriced for the quality). One day when I rob a bank I'll try Lobel's, but I'll never be making a regular habit of that place. I'm wondering what other places people like. Preferably in a downtown neighborhood. Thoughts?

Spice blends seem like they can be a reasonable compromise for someone in a hurry (although I don't buy them, and I get really annoyed when I see products like "Italian Blend" ... what the hell could that be??) Cookware and knife sets seem almost universally ridiculous, though. The worst examples of false economy. It just takes that one useless pan in the set to turn the bargain into a bad deal. And I personally think different materials suit different functions ... which rules out any set offered by anyone. I always beg people to just get the one thing they need most ... a good chef's knife, a good saute pan or poele ... and start from there. Figure out what shapes and sizes they really use the most, and figure out how they like to use them, and then replace the wallmart cookware a piece at a time in order of urgency. Saves any major cash outlays, and helps prevent collosally expensive mistakes.

I got the viking pan, and put it through its paces: a pair of chickens roasted on a bed of vegetables at 500 degrees, and a pan sauce on the stove afterwards; 6 lbs. of beef and veal shank rounds browned and deglazed on the stovetop for stock; 6 lbs of beef shin bones browned in the oven at 375 degrees and then deglazed. Browning was perfect, on all the meat and all the pan drippings. evenness is especially impressive when deglazing on the stove. Nothing burned or overbrowned. This is by far the best roasting pan i've ever used. the stainless/aluminum clad material works as well as it does in other pans, and the short (2-1/2") sides allow much more even browning than in my previous pan (same materials, but sides an inch higher). Seems so strange that no one else is making a high quality clad pan with low sides. Only complaint is the odd handle design ... they bend inward and so cut into the interior space of the roasting pan. This annoys me, but in practice hasn't caused any problems. I love this pan. If anyone is interested in it , it's the viking "chef's pan" ... not the "roasting pan", which has high sides and an accompanying rack.

My thoughts are the same as yours. given the choice I'd shop there instead of most of my local stores (factory meat, cryovac city) any day.

Has anyone discussed non-stone options for counters? The kitchen I have right now (rented) has a mix of granite and marble, and I have to say the stone surface drives me nuts. I like being able to set hot pans down, but it's not worth having to be so delicate with dishes and glasses. After living with stone, formica seems cheap, but I've never had the solid plastic options. I do have a butcher block that I made out of a 3 foot sanded piece of maple butcher block countertop. That might be my ideal counter material of all. Fairly high maintenance, and you have to be ok with scratches and dents (I am) but otherwise, I like the look and the forgiving nature of it. Any thoughts?

Be sure to check out the factory refurbs that are available from the kitchen aid online store. The pro 600 goes for $239, with free shipping. Warranty is lowered to 6 months, and doesn't cover minor superficial blemishes. Word from KA is that any product that gets returned for any reason, including overstock from a retailer or shipping company, must be sold as refurb. They get inspected and any parts that wear are replaced. If I were buying a mixer I would do this without hesitation. The forums at the KA site have a lot of useful info ... especially on geek topics like the metal gear box.

"need" is such a buzzkill of a word, isn't it? honestly, I don't need anything. I use my chef's knife for 99% of everything and love it. I just think these Japanese things are pretty and cool, and love the idea of an obscenely sharp blade for some more delicate cutting. I'll definitely take your advice and spend some time at Korin. I think I can learn a lot from how a knife feels and balances in my hand. It's what I love about my current chef's knife ... I knew it would work for me before it ever touched food.

I just splurged and got this pan from viking: http://www.chefsresource.com/viking-3-func...-chefs-pan.html It's the only pan I could find that had what I wanted: clad stainless construction, and low sides. I haven't roasted anything yet, but on the stove it shows no hot spots. Very nicely made. My only complaint is the bizarre handle design, which intrudes an inch into the pan on each side. Best not to have food this close to the sides anyhow, but it strikes me as a gratuitous feat of dumb overdesigning. Not a deal breaker, though, because I couldn't find any other pan that got the basics right. My kitchenaid roasting pan was almost perfect, but the high sides (3-1/2 inches) really bugged me. They interfered with browning on any of the large roasts that the pan was made for. These high sided pans seem designed for use with a rack, whcih isn't the way I like to do it. So that pan and unused rack are on their way to ebay, and my fingers are crossed that I'll enjoy the pricey new one more.

Thanks to this thread, I just discovered Korin in NYC. I plan to go down there when I have a few more coins jingling in my pocket. Right now I'm quite happy with my heavy 8" german chef's knife, so I'd be mostly interested in something to supplement it, probably for slicing delicate things. Would this be a good use for a santoku, or should I consider some other style?

You believe there's a problem with freezing it?

I don't know if gelatin breaks down in a way that reduces its thickening power, but it definitely runs the risk of developing unpleasant textures when it's over reduced. When making strong reductions for glace de viande, it's possible to end up with a sticky or gluey texture in the final sauce that is not present if you use greater quantites of less reduced glace. It's also next to impossible to get the same luxurious texture that comes from coulis thickened by multiple immersions (tripple jus, for example) but which are too expensive for most people to consider. A bigger issue for me is the loss of subtle, volatile flavor components from extreme reduction. I tend to prefer a traditional demiglace (made with a fair amount of meat in the stock, slightly thickened with starch and moderate reduction) over highly reduced glace, for this reason.

this month's cooks illustrated has a review of dutch ovens ... a couple of super cheap enamel cast iron ones competed well with the creuset. if you do want a le creuset, be sure to check out ebay. when i bought my dutch oven a few years ago, there was a canadian company that sold brand new le creuset pieces for dirt cheap. my 7-1/2 qt pot cost $125 ... not much more than half what they were asking at zabars.

I guess I'm wondering about two things: the effects on clad metals--what's holding that stainless steel to the aluminum or the copper, anyhow? how heat stable is it? and do you risk warping or separation because of inequal expansion rates of the materials? And relatedly, why a company like all clad gives a maximum temperature. is it arbitrary, just to be on the safe side, or is it based on something real. Do pans get much hotter than 500 degrees under the broiler? I guess that's where people are most likely to have practical experience with this.

I like to roast a high temperatures ... usuall 500 degrees, but lately I've been going to 550 for some smaller things, like cornish hens or pork tenderloin. I'm noticing some pan companies don't recommend this. So far I've only used a 10" calphalon anodized skillet for this. It doesn't seem to have any problem with it, and I don't even remember the official rating. But now I have an All Clad stainless 10" skillet, which I would prefer to use, since I like the shiny surface for examining the brownness of the pan drippings. But All Clad says its limit is 500 degrees. Has anyone been brave enough to test this limit? Is it arbitrary, or will the pan actually delaminate (or warp, or discolor, or explode ... )? A viking stainless/aluminum clad roasting pan that I just ordered is rated to 640. A lot hotter than my oven goes. Also, I have some Mauviel 2.5mm copper pans, lined with stainless. They don't blink at 500 degrees, but I don't remember ever seeing and official rating. Any idea if there'd be trouble going hotter?

Also, regarding the story about the screaming harpie who broiled her Goldhamster: as horrible as she was, those are really great knives. I don't see any great advantages to the smaller sizes, like the paring knife (except it's gorgeous), but the 8" chef's knife is the nicest all purpose knife I've ever used. I have big hands, and it's the first knife I've ever picked up that fit perfectly and balanced perfectly, with my knuckle right over the bolster (not over the thin blade). It's heavy but feels nimble and precise because the balance is so good. It also holds an edge for a really long time, but is easy to maintain on a steel. It has a definite german style blade (not the 15 degree, shave your eybrows off japanese style) but I have no complaints. One day I might treat myself to a thin bladed japanese knife, but in the mean time i love the goldhamster chef.

Cool post, Bob. Nice to see what's being made by the more underground makers. Only thing is that I agree with everyone that weight and balance are personal preferences, so I'd be hesitant to buy one of these beautiful things without trying first. Something like the Shun (which I've admired but never bought) has the advantage of being availble in stores where I can try it. Are any of these more exotic knives sold in stores?

Could you elaborate? How does ten minutes of simmering not kill bacteria? I know it's traditional in French kitchens to keep stock pots going for days at a time, getting depleted and replenished (but not completely changed). And it's also pretty normal procedure for certain soups and stews (like a pot au feau) to be kept going almost perpetually through refrigerating, replenishing, and simmering. I haven't seen any science related to this; if you know of any I'd love to check it out.