Jinmyo

Gah. Clicke moi, bud.

Iron Chef crassly commercial? The very thought wounds.

cabrales, note I do look forward to any photographs you might post. Which is all I can do until you do. ;)

I use stainless steel mixing bowls. I actually have about 80 of them so many duplicate sizes. But then I cook for ten to twenty or more. Some are bunged into the fridge, cling wrapped; others are on the counter, in acidulated or salted water (the original "marinade") and covered with a towel. Clean up works well because they can just be stacked inside each other and if I need to whisk, well it's in a mixing bowl.

I simply will not eat in a restaurant if the table is out in an aisle. It must be next to a wall so that I can sit with my back to it. That way, I only need to defend myself from three sides and a good sweep of the ol' machine pistol or a spray of shuriken in a clockwise sweep of the right hand does nicely. Well, actually, it's true I prefer to sit near a wall but not necessarily with my back to it. I won't sit at table where pulling back a chair will bump into a chair pulled back from another table. In laying out a bookstore a decade and more ago I learned a great deal about spatial arrangements. If people walk into space betwen shelves that opens out onto another shelf running across, they often simply won't go down that aisle. The stock on those shelves is then inert. Restaurant space is often more cluttered and obstructed than bookstores. I once cooked at a restaurant where a server could just wheel 'round to serve the next table. I won't eat at one.

I think that the posting of photographs members have taken is an excellent idea. cabrales? I know you have that teeny camera in your little handbag...

jhlurie, the kalbi were magnificent: Right proportion of fat to meat to bone, spicy, deep and profound beef flavour. With kimchee, daikon and celery salad, scallion pancakes, sake. We had three left over and so I reheated them gently, served them to a friend with grilled asparagus, Dijon mustard, and huge crunchy croutons I make by tearing handfuls of a boule or baguette and roasting them with olive oil and seasoning. She was very happy. Andy, always welcome. Layering of flavours is the way to enlightenment or at least a big grin.

The Last Word.

Was that the one where he was also crawling about beneath a termite mound? Apparently they continually modulate the temperature with a complex venting system, maintaining the perfect temperature for the fungus gardens they keep. As I remember, they prep the fungus a good two hours before service.

I've just pulled some kalbi ("Korean barbecue" beef ribs) out of the oven. I'll be serving these in about an hour and a half. I'll be putting them back in the oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes to just finish off.

Really? I find mine can develop a skin... :o Leaving it longer, it could develop something worse like hair and bones...

Sounds like it would be improved with bacon and cheese.

Parsnip and rutabaga are fine in salted or acidulated water in stainless bowls in the refrigerator for at least four hours, if not more. Andy, the point of adding basil to a sauce in the morning and then finishing with fresh basil in the evening is the range of muted and louder flavours. I'm speaking of a pasta sauce, of course. I wouldn't hold a bearnaise for more than 40 minutes on a bain marie. Let alone add tarragon too early. I agree about chopping onions and leaving them out. But if you need caramelized onions as a component for the evening, they can rest all day.

Yes, Steve Klc, perfectly true. But chives, rosemary, and many others can. If I chop basil in the morning, it's already in the sauce when the mise is done. Fresh basil added at the last minute (usually a different variety) before serving.

While some things such as celery root need to stay in acidulated water, most things can be prepped hours in advance. Even minced herbs, although a rough chop of fresher berbs to add at the end is a good idea. I usually do extensive prep in the mornings, including par cooking some dishes, for finishing in the evening.

Ah, there's nothing like a faggot of an evening just at the edge of twilight when the sky is pink as a joint and the lights of the faeries shimmer in the fields. With a bit of Keene's to make it sharp.

What do you think of novelty salts, like fleur de sel or Hawaiin pink salt? Do you find any discernible difference between those and kosher or sea salt?

Hi, Tom. I was wondering how much you are actually on the line and what your favourite thing to do in the kitchen is. I don't mean favourite dish or favourite flavour profile. I mean what physical task is the most fun for you?

Even Roy Rogers isn't Roy Rogers anymore. Clicke.

None. Nope. Never. :p About Taco Bell. I've never eaten there and wouldn't but their food has always seemed to me more promising and a better deal than burger chains. Sorry to hear t'aint so.

Excuse me. Sorry for butting in. Um. Why are they called blue laws?

Bux, this was a whole chicken. In a can. I suppose they cooked it in there too. The skin was undifferentiated from the runny gel around it. The only thing comparable I know of is the "coq au vin" I once had on an Air France flight that came out in a tin set on the plate.

Liza, you are so, like, "Steve" y'know that, like, it's a whole other kind of "Steve". (Stephen Daedalus wasn't so Stevesque, I think.)

Tinned chicken. Whatever happened to it? My parents bought this when camping in Canada (decades ago, before I moved here). See, it's a can. Like a can of fruit juice. But it has a chicken in it. If you have found it, I don't want to know. :wow:

As Steve S announced this morning here (clicke moi, svp) Tom Valenti has a new book called "Welcome to My Kitchen" coming out from HarperCollins. To raise buzz for his book he'll be appearing in our hallowed halls for questions and suchlike. Good move for him and HarperCollins and good for eGullet members. Buzz for him, buzz for us. We have an informed, civil, humourous, and international memberbase which already includes at least two other prominent Steves. If we schedule more such events, who knows how many Steves we might assimiliate? Regardless of their names, we need more Steves. What do you think? Discuss. What do you think about Chef Valenti? Have you eaten at Ouest? Clicke this clickable link to an article if you are not as yet familiar with either. Who would you like to see hold such discussion sessions here? Are you a Steve?