ChefJayPeek

The knives I got at The Art Institute sucked so much ass I threw them away as soon as I knew better. I think the only parts of the original kit I got 5 years ago are the hamburger flipper, the plastic wooden spoon and the actual toolbox. I got a cheap set of Japanese knives off of eBay that have fulfilled my needs ever since I graduated. Why do culinary schools "give" crap knives? Cause they are for profit schools, and if they can charge 100 students per quarter $500 for $20 worth of tools, they will. At least that is my take on The Art Institute, I dunno what CIA or J&W charges...

He is funny. His books are much in the same style of his show, Good Eats. His first cookbook is the first cookbook that I actually read cover to cover. He makes reading a cookbook entertaining, and he really does help you understand everything that is going on in a recipe. Chef Jay http://chefjaypeek.net

I have both volumes of this book. I would not really recommend it for a beginner though, for one thing the recipes are all sized for a production environment, and it's focus is on production. Not to say you will not learn from it, just something to consider. It is also quite expensive. That said, I do really like them and refer to them often . You might try Alton Brown's baking book, it is good at explaining the process behind the recipes, and will give you the base knowledge that you can then explore more advanced books. Hope this helps Chef Jay

I would say the overall shape. They are larger than a soup spoon, but shaped more like a teaspoon, which helps put the sauce exactly where you want it to go, as well as creating nice quenelles. I guess it's harder to describe than it is to see in use.

I use 2 of these spoons everyday at my restaurant. For saucing plates, for filling ringmolds, for tasting, and most importantly, for making quenelles. They are well worth the 20 bux I paid for them, and I am never without them. One of the most funny stories is when I went to cook for a couple of close personal friends, and the first thing I took out of my knife roll was my spoons, they were both astonished that I would carry spoons around with me, but as they watched me use them, they understood how important they were to me. I do not know if Gray Kunz gets any money from the sale of them, but if he does, he really should be able to retire. There is a picture of him in a past issue of Art Culinaire saucing a plate with one. Yes they are that good at everything, I use them as much as I use my santoku and sashimi knives during service.

Oh man, so many possibilities with that much Foie. Slice some off, no grain to worry about, then you can sear the slices in a REALLY hot pan. Score and season it first, and 30 seconds later you have little slices of heaven. Take some and cook it sous vide with some honey and brandy, then mold it into a terrine and chill overnight. Then make a port aspic and put that on top, let the aspic solidify and slice and put it on brioche toast. For the searing, no deveining required. For the terrine, yes you want to do that so as to not discolor the terrine. If you are wanting to do this for this weekend, which I gather by your post, you have to get the terrine going ASAP. Oh yea, don't throw away the fat that melts out when searing, use that to make a "vinaigrette" for the garnish. Take some snipped frisee or microgreens and dress them with the cooled fat and some lemon or lime juice and S&P to taste. Chef Jay

Interesting, I tried a quick test of the caramelized butter at work tonight, froze some butter then rolled it in panko and used a butane torch. It worked kinda. I didn't get good coverage with the butter being frozen. I'll experiment more with putting the panko on before freezing, or using a 3 stage breading process. The butane torch at work has an adjustable venturi, so I can dial the flame down to a soft flame, I'll experiment with that too. Instead of a true caramelized butter, I'm more looking for a crunchy butter, as that sounds even better on a menu to make people go 'hmmm" I'll have to play with the separated buttermilk too, that sounds interesting. Chef Jay

This is what we use at the restaurant where I work. We have 2 different foams. We have 3 whippers, 2 are Whip-It I think, and there is my personal iSi bottle. The foams are hot, and we keep them in a hot well on the line. No problem so far, other than when one of the line cooks lost the washer.