Jump to content

gfweb

participating member
 View Profile  See their activity

  • Posts

    11,777

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Posts posted by gfweb

    Robuchon Method for Fries

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I have only used one layer of fries with the pan uncovered.

    I suppose you could use more layers and more oil so long as it doesn't bubble over (which BTW happens less with this method than the standard one).

    I've only done tests in smaller pans...with so little oil it heats pretty quickly. I'd be afraid to keep it covered.

    Robuchon Method for Fries

    in Cooking

    Posted

    In another thread it was suggested that someone start a new topic re the seductively easy method reported by Jeffery Steingarten as being the cook-at-home technique used by Joel Robuchon. It's simple...cut the fries...put in enough room temp oil to cover them...heat till browned ~365ish. Takes about 5-7 min depending on pan size and uses very little oil.

    I've fooled with it and it works well with fries that are less than steak fries in thickness. Russett potatoes worked better than yukon gold (which I wouldn't use for fries anyway). They weren't greasy and were crisp outside and just right inside.

    Anybody have thoughts about this?

    obnoxious diners

    in Restaurant Life

    Posted · Edited by gfweb (log)

    Oh go ahead name the restaurant. There is no implied confidentiality when one eats out. A bad experience should be outed.

    Re someone else "having a good time"...that is fine up to a point and depends on the setting. A sports bar has one sort of conduct. A quiet restaurant another. From my point of view, a conversation should not be audible at the next table.

    Favorite/Least Favorite Food "Celebrities"

    in Food Media & Arts

    Posted

    I fell asleep on the sofa last night (I'm pretty sure it was Christmas Eve) and when I woke up, on the tv Sandra Lee was on some beach with an extremely low cut top showing a whole lot of cleavage and making what I think might have been pinkish tinted margaritas. It was surreal, and I don't mean that in a good way. Kinda garish and nightmarish in a cheap and sleazy pornographic kinda way.

    She's now number one on my Shite list.

    In fact, I think I'm swearing off of Food Network real permanent like.

    I hate you, Food TV.

    You are right. There is something about the lighting/camera work on her show on her show that accentuates the sleaziness.

    Dedicated Omelet Pan?

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    [

    well, i'm sure it's more nonstick than a worn out teflon pan (like any pan that's seen year or so of real use), but not a new one. the nice thing with carbon steel is that the seasoning can be renewed easily and they last basically forever.

    Actually the carbon steel is amazingly slippery. One can slide an omelet around on the thinnest film of oil. I've never had a teflon pan as slick as this surface.

    Thoughts on equipping a bachelor's kitchen

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I have a few dirt cheap steel "restaurant' sautee pans. About $35 or so at Amazon. They are slicker than teflon when seasoned properly and live forever.

    Lodge has a new line of enameled cast iron, just like Le Creuset at about a 1/4 the price. Amazon has that too.

    Amazon also has a discount section for cookwear that has some really great bargains.

    eBay sells dig. scales for next to nothing e.g $12 for a 500g model. Be sure to check what the weight range is.

    Iron Chef America (Part 2)

    in Food Media & Arts

    Posted · Edited by gfweb (log)

    Are any of Cora's scores really low or high...to skew the average. You dont have an SD caluclated by any chance ?

    Reading some old Steingarten a while back. He is quite vocal on how he thinks Greek cuisine is not worthy of the name cuisine (a statement with which I agree). I wonder if he has judged Cora?

    My suspicion is that knowledgeable judges would have the greater variation in scores. When it is good stuff, they'd recognize it and grade accordingly. Likewise, crap would be treated as such.

    Iron Chef America (Part 2)

    in Food Media & Arts

    Posted · Edited by gfweb (log)

    cora has the lowest average scores among all the iron chefs

    This is true.

    and has a lower average scores than the challengers.

    This is not true. She is better than both the average Iron Chef challenger as well as the average challenger she's specifically battled (albeit barely.) It is true that she is comparatively weak on "taste" scores, where she is, in fact, outscored on average.

    Cora's average scores are:

    Taste: 22.7

    Plating: 12.3

    Originality: 12.4

    Total: 47.3

    The average scores of all Iron Chef challengers are:

    Taste: 22.8

    Plating: 11.8

    Originality: 12.0

    Total: 46.6

    The average Cora challenger scores are:

    Taste: 23.4

    Plating: 11.8

    Originality: 12.0

    Total: 47.2

    (which means that, going by score, the previous contention that Cora has drawn the "weakest" challengers is wrong. Cora has actually drawn the toughest challengers, by this measure.)

    To be rigorous, one must look at the judges involved. No fair compairing scores of different judges who would have differing personal scoring methods. While interesting, the above analysis of ''all IC Challengers'' is invalid for this reason.

    Such a narrow margin in favor of Cora suggests to me that she's due for a losing streak...or that the judges have a tendency to favor the IC in close contests.

    Dual Fuel Range or all Gas?

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    We are redoing the kitchen and are agonizing over what to buy. The big problem is deciding between a gas oven and an electric one.

    Consumer Reports says no difference between the two, but they have been wrong before.

    Any difference in time to reach temp? Evenness of heating?

    Other issues I haven't thought of?

    So what does the eG expert panel say?

    Bluestar Ranges & Ovens

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I have had problems with my 30" BlueStar  range.  (1) I could not get the simmer burner to simmer, turned out I needed a new handle, the one I had was defective.  (2) The hinge on the oven door kept sticking and had to be wrestled open.  I had just moved into a new house, with many defects that needed fixing, and by the time I got to the door, my warranty was over (bought the range in January, it was not installed until late March).  The appliance serviceman reported that forcing the door open pulled the door lining out of whack, and I needed a new lining as well as hinges. I called Pritzer-Painter, who were curt and unhelpful; call the distributor, I was told.  The distributor ordered one, which was not in stock; they had to construct a lining with attached hinges.  Four months and $260 later, plus $90 for the serviceman, I have an oven door that works.  Two defects adds up to poor quality-control.  (3) I'd also prefer it if the oven heated up to 550, rather than 500 (as did my unlamented previous Amana range), so that it did not take forever to heat a baking stone for artisan bread.  I like my BlueStar a lot, it's a serious cooking machine, but David Rosengarten's rave review does not compensate for imperfect quality control and downright poor customer relations.

    Holy moly!! I was looking online just now because I have the EXACT same problem with the oven door on my 30" Blue Star. Ours, too, is obviously out of whack from us yanking on the door to get it open. The sticking hinge got progressively worse and worse, and then last night we were unable to open it all all until it cooled down. Because we had food in there, we did yank it open but not super, super hard. Now I see that the metal on the side of the door is warped. I am really, really depressed to read your post. Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away. I need my oven. I am going to be super mad at Pritzer-Painter if I can't get it fixed by then.

    This door problem is an on-going issue. When we first had it installed, the local distrubuter incorrectly attached the door, and both cabinet fronts on either side of the oven melted a little. Arrgh!!

    Any resolution to all this? I'm about to buy one myself and am getting nervous reading about your problems. Was it the distributor or Bluestar tah screwed up?

    Iron Chef America (Part 2)

    in Food Media & Arts

    Posted

    All I know is that Paula Deen and Cat Cora are teaming up against Robert Irvine and what's-his-name on ICA. What on earth is going on at the Food Network???

    That. Was. An. Abomination.

    I couldn't agree more. I literally sat there last night, dumbstruck, as to how it could possibly get any worse. Was it me or did the judges seem WAY TOO lenient when it came to the judging of the dishes? Tyler's Buche de Noel was a complete disaster and the thought of combining processed cheese food with chocolate had me gagging.

    it was a merde noel

×
×
  • Create New...