Porthos

In our market the raw meat is many feet removed the heat and eat. I don't buy it because I would rather cook my own. However, if properly reheated any migration of germs would still be killed off AFAIK.

Two of my best friends are non-practicing Jews. Dave's love of bacon is legendary. Yes, he is a man after my own heart.

I would never buy it but people like my wife whose strength in her hands is going would find it a blessing.

I found a bottle of VSOP in my liquor cabinet that I have no idea where it came from. It is a Pierre Duchene Napoleon French Brandy VSOP. I only cook with brandy, I don't care to drink it. Is this stuff schlock that is barely good enough to cook with or could I serve it to people such as my FIL who is big-time into wine. For a reference point he is a long-time member of the Orange County Wine Society.

My first go at roasted zucchini was so-so. I will try trimming them differently and draining them longer next time. I roasted asparagus this week and was pleased with it. My daughter, her husband and I couldn't get enough. My wife didn't care for them, thinking them to be a bit bitter. We gladly finished them for her.

Yes. I am weighing out potatoes that I am going to cook. In an attempt at portion control I am seeking out how much potato, by weight, to use per portion so that everyone gets a decent serving but there are not a lot of leftovers.

How many ounces of raw potato go into a "standard" (as in food service) serving of mashed potatoes.

I have various melamine spoons and such that I use for serving up out of pots. Melamine is not good for high heat so I don't cook with them. If you can find a ladle made out of melamine I would go for it. These items have stiffness like a good steel ladle and they clean up easily.

CUTTING-UP IN THE KITCHEN BY ELLIS? dcarch Posted at the same time :-) RIght Cutting-up in the Kitchen. my bad.

rotuts - not due, bought from a library. Cutting it in the Kitchen by Merle Ellis. Butchering techniques. Haven't read the whole thing. At present I don't foresee have to break down primal cuts.

Five books from my library: For understanding the tool in your hand: An Edge in the Kitchen. For technique The Professsional Chef's Knife Kit (my favorite) or Knife Skills Illustrated.

You have given us a fun and informative look into your kitchen and life. I have sincerely appreciated it.

Quick bread is the only type I make. When I make my corned beef I make a loaf of James Beard's Irish Soda Bread to go with it.

Used it today for the first time. I was so excited that I asked my DW, who gave it to me, to come look at it in action. Well worth the money. As for cleaning, I immediately used my sprayer faucet to clean it as well as the bowl. This is my regular habit for all baking. It's ready to go into the dishwasher. It will be a top rack item to help keep the rubber for hardening. Packaging says it is dishwasher-safe but I don't want to push my luck.

The have a cafe that also sells some bread in the Anaheim Downtown Disney. Eaten there a few times. Food is reasonably good - not great - but I will eat there again. Their bread is sometimes to be found in our local Costcos.

You have some amazing-looking places to shop. Here, about an hour east of Los Angeles, it's either Williams-Sonoma or my favorite restaurant supply store for cookware and knives. We do have a Bed Bath and Beyond but unless I have a 20% coupon I don't spend money there. IMHO BB&B's main claim to fame is selection.

Flourgirl, my 5 qt sautoir is my most-used pan. I have used my new saucier once so far but absolutely loved it.

The two Subways I patronize both do the glove thing properly. I watch them very carefully.

Brand name?

Thank you, FrogPrincess. I have sent links from this thread to the person responsible for Tea With The Queen at the SoCal Renaissance Pleasure Faire and to my wife who works in that kitchen. If I am not mistaken I think New York already has a similar regulation.

Banging around is hard on any knife. With other dishwashers we have owned I put my knives in the top rack to avoid that. This model negates that need. I have used Cascade detergent only forever. If there was going to be pitting, of which common wisdom seems to be the the thing to be feared, I would have seen pitting by now. Since I only use the one brand I can not speak as to what could happen using other detergents. I also use a heated drying cycle so the surface moisture is removed at the end of the cleaning cycle. FYI: I was in the electronics end of the business but you can't be immersed in it without learning the basics of the various corrosion mechanisms. Two of my hunting partners made their living on the chemistry end of corrosion so I was also exposed to many conversations about real-world effects. Edited to add: I only own stainless steel knives.

I pre-clean all such pieces using the sprayer function on my faucet with hot water. If they are particularly bad I will pre-soak and then wipe before the spray.

My other Christmas gift came in the mail today, a scraping-style paddle for my 6 qt KitchenAid mixer:

If you can learn to use a pinch grip (thumb and forefinger "pinch" the blade at the bolster end of the blade and the other 3 fingers go around the handle) and keep you other hand's fingers curled under it will become difficult to cut yourself.

I have one 9 1/2" chef's knife that I hand-wash. I only use it for veggie prep. All other knives go into the dishwasher. My machine has a 6 comparment cutlery tray built into the door. I only put one knife in each of the 3 sections I use for knives so that they don't bang against each other. My other 9 1/2" chef's knife, which I have had for 30 years, does go in the dishwasher. The two 9 1/2" are from the same maker, long out of business. I sharpen all of my knives on my EdgePro and have never had issues with the dishwasher affecting them. I spent 16 years in the corrosion monitoring industry so I have some insight as to what could happen.