FoodMan

Yes, I have the UK edition. I buy the books as soon as they come out on Amazon.uk. It has no exotic or strictly-UK ingredients in there, that is why I am wondering what could Helen mean by her comment. I thought the same thing about using a wooden or plastic thing instead of the knife for the squid because like you said the result is even and fast. It has to be shaped like a knife, so maybe a thick piece of cardoard that can be cut to shape? Or just carve and taper the ruler a bit.

what do you mean? I have that one too. I cannot say at this stage that I learned too much from it, but it is a big book a very useful to beginner cooks. I loved te doughnut recipe he has in there though. BTW, I also did cringe when he used his knife on another knife to score a squid. On the other hand, I never noticed any foibles infront of the camera. the guy has been doing this for years and is as comfortable as it gets. I see nothing wrong in putting good meat on a work bench if you know what you are doing. It is a laid back cooking show with a good premise and a capable cook. The recipes are simple and tasty and like Kevin said, you learn something almost everytime. I'd love to say the same about most of FTV's crappy new ....cough..Neely's...cough... 'programming'.

It's that time of year again and the lovely small (the only ones I'd use for this) zucchini are at the market. So here is a more detailed pictorial of one of my favorite comfort foods from this week. The trickiest and most time consuming part is properly coring the zucchini. The goal is to make the wall thin, remove the pulp and not puncture the fruit. As you can see one here has a hole in it's bottom, but of course still usable. Do not throw away the pulp! It makes good Lebanese fritters/pancake of sort called "iija". The filling I use is beef, arborio rice (I like the fat short granules), Samen (clarified butter), a little allspice and salt and pepper. I am using a large Colombian clay pot to cook the zucchini here. I also added all leftover filling into the pot. The zucchini was simmered in water with a few cut garlic cloves for an hour and half before I added some tomato past and simmered some more.

Now that's a great idea for a meal, Essex Fried Rabbit with Leeks with Pancetta.

This past week's fried rabbit looked pretty damn good too. I like the idea of braising it then frying it crisp.

Actually most of them do not use Truffle and Foi! My biggest challenge is the time commitment that most recipes need.

What is it about shows (or films) which feature a REAL working kitchen that are so endlessly fascinating to me (an a few others I see)? I absolutly loved this episode, and Ripert was a great and surprising addition. Certainly my wife liked that part the best . Seriously though that dude is cool. I'll defintily be seeing this again, back to back with Singapore.

sorry for the late reply...for cilantro, use mostly leaves. It really is not big deal if you have some small stems in there. I usually cut off the bunch where the thick stems start branching in to smaller ones and get on with it. I never bother picking leaves from small stem. If you use the dumplings, you might need an extra cup of water. Use your judgement though. IF it needs more to make it soupy, just add it. Hope this helps.

If you all have some chocolate cravings (and all of us do), you have to make those cupcakes!! We needed an easy chocolate fix and my wife asked me to bake those. They so exceeded our expectations. They were slightly dense, rich and loved by us (30 somethings who love bitter chocolate taste) and the kids (oldest is 4. 'nough said). I cannot say enough good things about these and they taste almost as good two days after they were baked. So, go home and make some chocolate-chocolate cupcakes...I think that's the name, I do not have the book with me now.

I have been cooking from Michel Richard's book 'Happy in The Kitchen' (there is a thread about it in cooking) and here's a good tip for making a nice red wine sauce that reduces nicely. He uses a little sugar or honey and beets! Beets will add a nice subtle earhty taste, viscousity and color. At the same time I doubt there is any red wine sauce that does not benefit from them. Usually a small cubed potato goes in there as well in addition to shallots and other flavoring depending on the recipe. Here is a dish from HitK sauced with the brasing liquid that included beets and red wine. As for broth-sauces, they work great in lots of dishes, but they are no substitute for a glossy sauce.

In today's Houston Press Robb Walsh reviews Little Bitty Burger Barn Seems like the Sliders is the way to go. OTOH, what the hell is up with his buddy? Is it just me or does anyone else thinks it is a sign of very, very poor taste to take food into a restaurant. No matter how much you dislike the joint, either don't eat there or chug down the damn burger.

That might be acceptable for some third world countries, but in the US, THAT is beyond deplorable.

Here is where I said that I think it is ill-advised to publish it on the menu. I don't choose my restaurants by what's happening in their Human Relation Departments. I'm ok with restaurants doing whatever they will for their employees. I do not view health benefits as a right. It's real real nice to have. But skilled workers should be able to advance in their carreers and find work with pay and benefits commensurate with abilities. Dave, the Living Wage movement which I think you are referencing is most often tied to government contracted jobs that expire when the contract does. Yes I think there are jobs that do not warrant living wage. Shoot me. J-o-b-s not p-e-o-p-l-e. The good news is in America we can rise above our circumstances if we are not limited by our government's heavy hand. For example, Worker X is a dishwasher with health benefits and nice wages and he wants to advance into food prep. Another smaller restaurant might want to hire him so he can get the training he wants there to advance himself but he's gotta take a cut in pay and no benies either. Why should they risk training him and investing in him if he's just gonna turn around and fly off for better money somewhere else. Going backwards and forwards at the same time is tricky. Being under qualified and over paid locks him in where he's at. No? Like I said, the San Fransisco places need to qualify their workers if they are to invest more in them. Train the dishwashers to prep food. These are good ideas. ← Thanks for clarifying. I do not agree with you on so many levels, but this is not the topic (or the forum probably) to discuss them.

It's a interesting how an episode can inspire someone to want to visit a certain place or not. This one did not (neither did Germany). I've never had Jamaica on my 'to visit' list and watching this episode is certainly not going to change my mind. I enjoyed it for what it had to offer, but since I am in no way interested in going to Sandals and its ilk where you stay in the resort, Jamiaca is just not for me.

K8memphis- After all that discussion, I still do not understand where you stand on the topic's main issue. Should restaurants provide benies to their lowest paid employees and are you willing to help pay for it? Be it via a surcharge or a higher price per item?

Going back to the orginial issue, I totally agree with FatGuy. I applaud any restaurant that provides benies for all employees and am happy to pay for it with a few extra points. That's how it should be. No legal job should be filled with someone who cannot go to the doctor if he or she needs to. I am not saying they should be rich and prosper from a dishawsher job and start a big family. That would be foolish. Healthcare though, that is everyone's right IMO. Now, I would much rather pay that as part of my food cost instead of a 'surcharge'. I really hope that the dishwasher's coverage is not directly tied to how much money I spend there. I think it's not at places like Incanto. So, why not hike up the prices a bit and make a small note of it on the menu, again like Steven suggested? Bottom line, I do not mind paying this at all, but it is not the best method to go about doing it.

Man, this is brilliant. Thanks for sharing! Singapore is definitly THE food episode of the series.

The book is defintily worth it. It has a few cool and easy techniques that can be applied to everyday cooking and is beautifully photographed.

Cooking more vegetarian items, this latest one is a tart with chard, goat cheese, pine nuts, shallots and raisins. Prawncrackers, that lemon sole looks great. Is that roe I see?

Filet Mignon with Simple Syrah Sauce The Tasting Notes It was good, very good. I am not saying I’ll be cooking a piece of expensive beef tenderloin once a week, but this cut of meat, when treated right and cooked rare can be a thing of beauty. This is one of the best, if not actually the best Filet Mignon I’ve had. Ok, well, I almost never ever order it in a restaurant, but still this was fantastic. The earthy pungent potatoes, with a piece of the buttery meat dabbed in the intense sauce then followed up by a piece or two of the tempura is the way to go here. The lovely combination of taste and texture is remarkable.

Not sure if I have an english language book with Karabige recipe in it. I'll have to get back to you on that.

Jim- I buy trusted quality meat or grind it myself and treat it like a burger. So, I like it cooked medium. Usually the fattier the meat, the more coking it can withstand. So it's up to you. Another key here is not to pack it too tight or it will turn rubbery, again just like a burger patty.

Please don't be, I'm not. I was not questioning if pigs in the blanklet tasted good or FG's criticism of the meal.

I agree with the jist of what your saying here, but I think you are talking about how much faster and efficient digital books are. This is not why I buy a book. I certainly do not just buy it for reference either. I agree with Lindacakes here in saying the two forms can and I believe will coexist. Your editor friend reads her novels on the same e-reader? When it comes to text books. who reads those for fun? So a digital format is more than welcome for when my kid starts school.

Nothing IMHO can give you the same experience as a real book. Sitting on the couch drinking some wine and flipping pages is an experience I cherish. It is not about efficiency or time-saving. I doubt the classic book will ever be obsolete because nothing can give you the same experience. I am getting the Alinea hardcopy and looking forward to checkout the site, but the two are not mutually exclusive.