FoodMan

So is he leaving Avenues? We had a terrific meal there last year.

That's odd because it's in stock at Amazon.ca - wonder if it's just a misprint. My daughter grabbed me a copy from my local Cosco. ← Canadians know what 'easy-peasy' means...we are so lost if we read that in the text BTW, I've seen his previous book, 'Cook with Jamie' at Borders sold in a package along with the flavor shaker. I would've picked it up but I already had a copy.

I made these lovely individual brioche breads recently. They are so good, delicious and addictive any time of day. I still have half of the recipe's dough in the freezer, I'm thinking of making those raisin-pastry cream snails with it soon.

Like I said before, the issue is not that she USED a premade sausage. It's HOW she used it. Using it for filling a ravioli is great (a la pre-roasted chicken in pierogi)...but maybe not for a tailgate.

Where is this place supposed to open?

Store-bought sausage (or pre cooked chicken) in of itself is not bad. For example, If she removed it from the casing and used it to stuff a butterflied pork loin. That can then be rolled and tied and grilled and made into porchetta sandwiches. That would've been great and no one would be complaining about her laziness and uncreativity. However, she chose to use the sausage as her main dish! In that case she most certainly was just a bad lazy cook by choosing to not make her own sausage. I cannot remember what the other contestant used the chicken for in previous seasons, but I'm willing to bet it was not a stand in for roast chicken. Was it?

I KNOW! She's in the bottom almost every week, she loses almost every quick fire, and yet she's somehow still here!!!! I think this is a major failing in the show, the fact that someone can consistently cook crap and still remain week after week. I predict she'll be gone within the next two episodes. ← Agreed. I was shocked they kicked Ryan off! Sure his concept was idiotic, but still she was downright bad. She grilled some store-bought sausages fro heaven's sake! Oh yeah and added some grilled onions and peppers for good measure. Any semi-good cook would've at least made an effort to make their own sausages, let alone a Top CHEF contestant. She. Cannot. Cook.

I definitely look forward to this thread every year. Until/if I return to El Bulli, I'll have to live vicariously through these wonderful reports and pics. The Asparagus course is the one that I'm very interested in. Any more details about it? Did each spear have a different texture and different sauce? It just looks delicious.

My wonderful wife just bought me a Boos for my B-day last week. It's about 1.75 inches thick and slightly heavy. I am enjoying it very much but it does slip a bit if I do not anchor it with a liner or towel. My previous wood board, which I still have, has 4 small rubber feet. any idea where I can get those feet to attach to my Boos? BTW...Those Boardsmith ones are simply stunning!!

According to this fascinating study , eating more than an egg a day can kill you! I say these folks have way too much time on their hands. IMHO, the only line that makes sense here is this one "But, remember: eggs are like all other foods -- they are neither 'good' nor 'bad,' and they can be part of an overall heart-healthy diet," Eckel wrote in a commentary."

Air drying has a happy medium. You need about 60% humidity to evenly dry the ham or duck ham in this case. What is happening in your case is the thin parts are drying out too quickly and the thicker parts are not. The end product should feel like a thick piece of proscuitto.

Elie, I received that unit as a gift a few months ago and it's been a real pleasure to use. It's fast and easy to clean. It also stores relatively compactly, too, which is nice. The only thing I can't yet assess is the durability (because I haven't owned it long enough) but the warranty seems pretty good. =R= ← Thanks Ron and fellow 'Duderino' (I couldn't help but make a commnet about your sig line). I'm hoping to break it in by this weekend, but like you said and barring any factory/QA bugs, only time will tell.

I am finally sick and tired of hand cranking to grind meat. Clean up for the damn heavy hand cranked model takes almost as much time as grinding too! So, after research on and off this thread I figured this grinder from Northern Tools is the best deal for my money. It seems sturdy, with all metal parts, powerful enough and is a great deal at this price. Better yet, apparently there is a NT store 15 minutes from my work. So, I did not have to pay for shipping. Looking forward to to giving it a try ASAP and reporting on the results. Anyone else has more experience with it? I know a couple of posters early on in this thread mentioned buying a NT grinder. edit: borken link

Ok, thanks again Chris. I drop the 8 oz of Munich and use more Belgian Pale instead with maybe a few ounces of honey malt. Irish moss is gone too. I think I'll also stick with sugar for priming. It does not seem that honey will make much of a difference.

Thanks Chris! Below is the updated recipe. Looks better? If honey (assuming a light clover honey or alfalfa) is used to prime, does it normally leave a discernible (or obtrusive) sweetness or flavor? Beer: Summer Honey Wit Style: Belgian White (Wit) Type: Extract w/grain Size: 5 gallons Color: 7 HCU (~6 SRM) Bitterness: 19 IBU OG: 1.047 FG: 1.008 Alcohol: 5.0% v/v (3.9% w/w) Water: Bottled Water Grain: 3.75 oz. Dextrine malt (Cara-Pils) 3.75 oz. Rolled oats 3.75 oz. Rice (raw) 5 oz. Flaked wheat 8 oz. Belgian Munich 1 lb. 8 oz. Belgian pale Steep: Steep grains at 150° for 30 minutes. Remove grains and add extracts. Boil for 60 minutes. Last 15 add honey, Irish Moss, Orange zest, and coriander. Hop according to schedule. Boil: 60 minutes SG 1.067 3.5 gallons 4 lb. Wheat extract 1 lb. Honey 0.25 oz. coriander 1 oz. orange zest 2 tsp Irish Moss for the last 15 minutes Hops: 1 oz. Hallertauer (4.25% AA, 60 min.) 1 oz. Cascade (4.5% AA, 20 min.) Yeast: Pitchable Wit Yeast Log: Ferment for 14 days. Prime, bottle and condition for 7-14 days more. Carbonation: 2.6 volumes Corn Sugar: 4.74 oz. for 5 gallons @ 70°F 5 oz corn sugar for bottling (or Maybe try with Honey - 5.36 oz diluted in 1 cup warm water)

Summer is approaching fast here in Houston. I am planning on brewing some refreshing Honey Wit Ale this weekend to start drinking in a few weeks. Here is the recipe I adapted using the fantastic recipator. Any ideas, improvements or comments are much appreciated. What about bitterness? Should I add more cascades maybe? Also, I know Chris mentioned early on that using honey to prime is not advisable since it is a bit unpredictable. Should I give it a try here based on the amount recommended by the tool or just play it safe and use corn sugar? Beer: Summer Honey Wit Style: Belgian White (Wit) Type: Extract w/grain Size: 5 gallons Color: 7 HCU (~5 SRM) Bitterness: 26 IBU OG: 1.050 FG: 1.008 Alcohol: 5.4% v/v (4.2% w/w) Water: Bottled Water Grain: 3.75 oz. Cara-Pils 3.75 oz. Rolled oats 3.75 oz. Raw Rice 5 oz. Flaked wheat Steep: Steep grains at 150° for 30 minutes. Remove grains and add extracts. Boil for 60 minutes. Last 15 add honey, Irish Moss, Orange zest, and coriander. Hop according to schedule. Boil: 60 minutes SG 1.071 3.5 gallons 4 lb. Wheat extract 1 lb. Light dry malt extract 1 lb. Honey 0.25 oz. coriander 1 oz. orange zest 2 tsp Irish Moss for the last 15 minutes Hops: 1 oz. Hallertauer (4.25% AA, 60 min.) 1 oz. Cascade (4.5% AA, 30 min.) 1 oz. Cascade (4.5% AA, 15 min.) Yeast: Pitchable Wit Yeast Log: Ferment for 14 days. Prime, bottle and condition for 7-14 days more. Carbonation: 2.6 volumes Corn Sugar: 4.74 oz. for 5 gallons @ 70°F 5 oz corn sugar for bottling (or Maybe try with Honey - 5.36 oz diluted in 1 cup warm water)

Nothing wrong with that, it's a two way street. Being a discriminating anything means you are picky. Naturally that means avoiding many things. In this case NOT watching most what FTV has to offer and only watching the 2 or 3 shows that you actually enjoy.

That was stupid and insulting...as was what his name's comment about Mexican food cannot be fine dining!! I sure am not sorry to see him go.

Lahmi/Lahma = meat Awarma = basically a confit of minced lamb meat. The lamb is minced and cooked in it's own fat and heavily spiced. The lamb used for this is the one found in Lebanon, the one with a fat tail (liya). This is a traditional pantry item for Lebanese homes to go through a cold winter. So, a Hummus with Awarma is a bit different than with Lahma. I'd say the one you had was more than likely the latter of the two. For the dish you are talking about here's what I do. I brown some ground lamb (traditional) or beef in some olive oil until crispy. I heat up a good helping of butter or Samen (ghee) till light brown and add in some pinenuts. Swirl them around until nice a golden brown. Sprinkle the meat on top of the hummus and top with the butter/pinenut mixture. I typically do not season the meat with anything more than salt and pepper, but you can season it to your taste.

Braised Carrots with Carrot-Top Sauce The Tasting Notes I am so looking forward to making this again. It was absolutely delicious. The carrots were cooked perfectly and a bit on the sweet side (that can be modified by reducing the amount of sugar). The sauce was velvety smooth and had a sharp carrot flavor that worked so well with the sweet cooking liquid in there. If you want a lovely carrot dish and are tired of the good old glazed carrots, then give this one a shot.

All good Mahshi candidates. My mom always included small stuffed eggplant too.

That's a great point, I also eat no packaged/prepared foods. ← I certainly don't eat a lot of these, but I can't say I don't eat any. Sometimes, they are actually pretty good. ← I even take my kids to McDonald's every other month ...I never eat anything though. The smell honestly makes me sick. What can I say, those toys just call my sons name...

I can only hope that th NYT article is just framing Steven's words to make him seem like my college idiot friend who believed dinosaurs never existed!! Beyond what Sam and Doc Sconzo said , I really do not have much to add. If we are predisposed by genetics to get cancer, why even bother getting checkups? Same applies to food. If our parents were obese, that gives us no reason to pig out on cheese covered pork bellies in duck fat sauce every day. Moderation is the key, it makes sense. Now, if we just want to say 'Oh, frak it...I don't give a shit and I'd rather have my fried pizza everyday in the name of food enjoyment', well then, that is a personal choice.

I just made another batch this weekend of fantastic smoked bacon from Neiman Ranch pork (About 20 lbs total). As I've been doing from the get go, I cold smoked them. I am not sure why Ruhlman asks for the meat to be cooked. I just never cook it.

I did notice that you live in Japan, but I guess I thought that many western ingredients would be much more available. So, you are limited by most "western" cookbooks then, not specifically the Jamie Oliver one that was refered to upthread? I'd hate to see you trying to cook from a Claudia Roden or Paula Wolfert book .