Jinmyo

I'm not so sure about slow cooking myself. But then I very specifically want charred surfaces and fat and a basically raw interior. I never knife and fork steak. I make paper-thin slices to be dipped in jus, shoyu, and wasabi. Or a Dijon/horseradish/peppercorn sauce. I liked the idea of doing the fat side first to get the stuff into the pan so it can be absorbed.

Click here. This is on cooking a ribeye steak.

Indian food is fairly popular in Canada. However I hear from my friend Gaurav that most of the other Indians he knows primarily go out for Mexican food. In Canada. "Mexican" food. In Canada. As to whether Indian food is better here than in the U.S., in that Canada is supposed to have a "multicultural mosaic" approach rather than the U.S. "melting pot", this might be so in that there tends to be much more tolerance for different cultures being as they are. And so there might be more readiness on the part of diners to encounter a cuisine as it is. Maybe. But having only eaten Indian food in Florida at the most dire spots imaginable, I can't really say. edit full disclosure: I meant to say "Indian food in the U.S. in Florida" etc.

In Japanese culture, these are the things you shouldn't do with o-hashi: SASHI. "Sashi" means "inserting". This means never stick your hashi into food, as though you were spearing food with a fork. And of course, never spear and leave them in your bowl of rice. At funeral services, a dish of rice with hashi stuck into it stands on the butsudan (altar). And never pass food from your hashi directly to someone else's; the cremated bones of the dead are passed from person to person this way, although usually with metal hashi. (Still, it's gross). MAYOI. "Dithering". This means don't wave o-hashi around in the air, for example while trying to decide what to eat next. Also, don't point at anything or anybody with hashi. YOSÉ means "drawing near". Never use o-hashi to pull dishes of food toward you. And a few other points: Always lift bowls to the level of the heart when eating rice or drinking soup. Keep elbows in towards the body. Lift the bowl to your mouth rather than craning your head down into the bowl. When you eat tempura, sushi, sashimi (raw fish) or other foods that you dip in a sauce, hold the dish with the dipping sauce with your free hand, though there is no requirement to lift it. When you are eating foods from dishes that are too large to pick up (for example, the plates used for grilled fish), you would just leave the dishes on the table. If you are eating a communal dish such as a hot pot or yakitori, transfer a portion from the communal pot to your own bowl, then lift the bowl toward you to eat from it.

I must admit I do try to educate the pallettes of those I cook for. But I'm not really interested in hearing compliments about the food, just what they noticed. In fact I once made some damn wild mushroom pies with some store-bought shells and people fought over the leftovers and one woman telephoned her mother about it being the best thing she has ever eaten. I was so disgusted that they liked this so much more than what I had made the previous day (which was much more nuanced) I said that I would never make it again. That was six years ago and I haven't. Humph.

Thank you. I do write quite a bit and there's been talk about a cookbook but as far as I'm concerned cookbooks are about photographs. I despise recipes with their damn measurements and pickiness. As we all know, pastry takes precision. Cooking let's you get away with anything that works. As for the Risotto Milanese, you bet portobello would be good. But you'd have to remove the gills and skin or it would discolour and waste the saffron. Even better are fresh or dried porcini. But then I wouldn't bother with the saffron either.

winodj, if I might seem directive with your permission: Get some carnaroli or arborio rice. A red or white or Spanish onion. Some white wine. A bit of saffron. Some unsalted butter. Some good salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Some reasonable olive oil (Colavita will do). Some chicken or vegetable stock or just hot water. Mince the onion. Some garlic would be nice too. Get a fairly wide pot on the heat. Add the olive oil. Add a bit of butter. Emulsify by stirring them together. Add the minced onion. Stir stir. When it becomes fragrant, add the garlic if you have it. You could season lightly. Pour the rice in. Stir stir for about 3 minutes until the outside of the grains are coated and softening. You are playing with starch here, doing major chemistry and physics. Add the white wine. Let it boil and snap and do stuff. When this subsides, add enough stock to cover. If you want, the saffron can be steeping in the stock. Or you can add it later. But it's best steeped in the stock. Oh! Add some more stock! Stir stir stir, sir. Keep adding stoick as it reduces. The rice will swell. Taste it. Gah. Smooth on the outside of the grain, but chalky and tough inside? Good. This means continue. So, continue adding stock only to cover and stir stir. Continue to taste/smell/hear/feel. When the risotto is almost ready, add a however many scoops of butter the better angels of your nature say are good. Or better. Whip it in, emulsify it. Now add grated parmesan. Whip it in. Go, boy, go. Whip it in. Take it off the heat if you haven't already. Let it rest for a few minutes. Spoon it out into a bowl. Crack some pepper onto it. Look. Smell. Some julliened proscuitto? Some mortadella? A fried egg? A raw egg? Some leftover chicken? Whatever. Slowly swipe the surface with the edge of a spoon and put it in your mouth. Is life good? No. It will kill you. Is risotto good? Yes.

Heh, tommy. Well, whether you or jhlurie said it first, I agree with both of you.

Patak's Lime Chutney with naan or roti and eggs. I had this at least once a week for about a year.

Sounds great. A Google search (they preferred the spelling "Kerala") produced a few recipes. This is for roast pork (clickety). This one is for "pork piralan". And here's pork vindaloo. edit full disclosure: Forgot to close a bracket. :confused:

Simon, I don't believe that there is a tradition of curing meats in Indian cuisine (due to the prohibitions of climate). However, is for example bacon used much in contemporary Indian cuisines?

Bux, exactly. And sugar does the opposite: it closes off taste. Which is why I don't care for it. I think, biologically, "sweet" triggers "safe" while "bitter" (which I like) triggers "mebbe poison?" "Salty" triggers, "hm, what's this." All very scientific of me, hm? Anywho, salt heightens and lifts other flavours, brightened by its crystalline nature.

Oh, good. That explains all. "Why did you just shout 'Yow yow yow! Weeeeez!'" "It's a Science thing." "Oh." ........ "What's that on your shoulder?" "It's a Science thing." "Oh."

Uh, about picking decomposed rabbit bits from a stream. Your wife and her colleagues do this for a living? :wow: Scotland is an amazing place.

Americans do seem to prefer their bacon vulcanized. Myself, I prefer all forms of bacon (Wiltshire, Canadian back or "pea-meal" bacon, "streaky" bacon, panchetta) tender and crisp as Wilfrid does. And I prefer to buy my own slabs and carve it as I see fit. Similiarly, I prefer the rind on a picnic shoulder roast to be crispy yet pliable. Any other way of eating bacon means that the terrorists have already won. (cough, cough. I hope that wasn't too far over the top.)

cabrales, you're the perfect guest. When you do like the meal, do you tell them why you liked it in the manner you tell us here on eGullet?

Yes, winodj, answers to Steve Klc's questions to your question would be very helpful. (Plus Fat Guy can then come in and tell us about sponges.) And B Edulis' point about ethnic markets should have been one of the first things that I thought of.

Adam, simply horrid. I actually feel compelled to apologize for your guest to you even though I had nothing to do with it. I believe that you are correct that people feel that an unusual (to them) dish can abrogate the usual civility and decorum that would be expected. To make matters worse, many people so limit the range of dishes that they encounter that even calf liver let alone monkfish or cod liver can ellicit some amazingly rude responses. They seem to revert to a certain childish level of response, much as if the "unusual" dish allows them to behave as they did at age 5 about the brussels srouts. :confused:

tommy, you bet. Are you just leaving it in the oven? (Except to clean it?) It really does make a difference. I think ovens should come with a pizza stone.

Without more specifics, it's difficult. Buy the best ingredients you can afford. Develop relationships with your best suppliers: grocer, butcher, fishmonger. If you see something unusual, ask about it. Ask how to cook it. Learn how to braise well. Some truly excellent dishes can only be made from the cheaper cuts of meat. Get a good knife and keep it sharp. Um... Clean as you go. Uh... Mise en place all over the place. Most important thing is to have your mise ready, all ingredients chopped and whatever, ready to go. Uh... Eggs. So many things you can do with eggs. Um... Save all bones and such in your freezer for stock. When making stock, light simmer and don't boil. Skim, skim, strain. Uh...

My implied point, Wilfrid.

Nah, there's worthless bacon. If it's not good, it's not good. And when it's great, it's great. But I've had slimy bacon, shattered bacon. Worthless. And I've had bacon that transcends "great".

Steve Klc, I agree entirely. The question of how something can be improved, tweaked, raised in quality and yet also in efficiency of movement and thought is crucial in culinary work. And yet each person will decide how important it is to them. With few exceptions however I myself have found gadgets that need to be brought out, set up, used, then cleaned (if I have to do it or if it will slow down others) far more limiting than liberating. If I can get away with a stick blender instead of a food processor, I'll do it because I can just whir it under steaming water and its clean. I even regret dropping a chef's knife to pick up a paring knife so usually just continue with what's in my hand. Usually a chef's knife. But the right tool is great. And what the right tool is should be open to question.

If I recall correctly, Tojo's "special sauce" does use miced shiso leaves. A touch of ume-su as well. If the wasabi stood out so much, that's unfortunate. There is certainly a tendency for Westerners to overdo wasabi. Perhaps Tojo is following the lead of his clientele? As for "sushi" or "sashimi" made with frozen fish, I have an old friend in Kyoto who is stubbornly but politely and kindly insistent that "This cannot be sushi or sashimi. I'm so sorry, but I am sure it can very good. But the texture and flavour of the fish is dramatically changed by freezing or salt slurry." That kind of thing. (The "salt slurry" is the mixture of ice, salt, and slush that live fish are kept in, sometimes for two or more weeks, on large fishing ships.)

Matthew Grant, a very nice post. But 70 minutes? Egad.