Doodad

I owe a lot to Martin Yan. I have always loved Chinese food and that was the first cookbook I sought out. The plus was watching the shows of the recipes and meeting him on demo tours. Still have them all, oily, stained unbound etc. One went with the daughter to college.

Very true. I was going to tell the OP to find a good polenta source and work from there.

Having endured the horror that is Ohio grits, closely akin to their idea of chili, I can almost assure you those were instant grits or at least 5 minute version. I am betting instant. Grits, no matter the final presentation, require seasoning. Only the best of freshly ground grits can stand alone IMHO. Even then salt is needed. Google Logan's Mill here in Ga and order my friend. Then, in the half hour or more that it take to properly cook grits, make the redeye gravy.

I thought Richard Blais had an interesting comment after working with Bayless on TCM. He mentioned in making the mole the "beyond burned" concept and how significant it was to the flavor of the mole. Having made it myself I have to agree even though I was scared during the process.

Well, they are/were both in Atlanta, which certainly narrows the world down some. They've worked together on and off for at least three years. Eli was sort of the "keeper of the chemicals" when Blais was the executive chef at One.Midtown Kitchen. Eli was also Richard's best man at his wedding. They were both at FLIP recently trying out some new things.

And when talking to the judges it was I, me, mine....

That was one weird episode and I can't for the life of me see how Ashley got sent home. She is not my favorite, but dang. Ash did nothing and admitted it. Mike and Robin's stuff looked horrible and they were at each other's throats. Robin should have been gone looooong ago. My biggest beef is making them cook in the house on Macy's "Mr Wok" and such. Come on. And the preview looks like they get to do it again next week.

I have never made Dauphine, but get the process. But, can it be done with sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving or are they too heavy? I searched but have not found this done. Thanks.

Me too. Did it last week. It was mostly poulty that I got them for. Some fish trimming and shellfish as well. Kitchen twine I guess.

Our community garden has three bins going strong. We put our summer vege that we all pulled in it, and household veggie scraps, egg shells and such. We are getting spent barley from a local brewpub as well. We don't put animal products, weeds or diseased plants in the bins.

If you have comcast, they have TC up now too. They are usually only a day behind on current shows. They have the extras with Fabio cooking as well.

I used it last week as a flavor component in acorn squash fritters. Added more sweet and a savory touch to the squash.

Wasn't it Gail Gand (sp) who made the baby food reference on TC Masters?

Very standard practice especially with golf courses. We just planted our Fall garden of lettuce and greens and plan to plant winter rye come November as green manure for Spring.

As a Korean food lover and homebrewer who used to work in a supply store I would not use the brewer's malt. I would, however, use sorghum syrup if I could find it. Or do Richard Blais' trick in the TC finale and cook down the Carribean drink Malta. If nothing else for flavor's sake.

I was just thinking that some commercial (but natural) carrot juice might have some emulsifiers or stabilizers that would aid in texture and the breaking.

I have cooked it many ways and some are hits and some are misses. What I found is the best though, is to treat it like rice noodles. It makes a killer Singapore mei fun. Or mei faux as we call it. Cuts the carbs for my wife and you don't miss a thing. We have subbed it in basil rolls (summer rolls whatever you call them)with less stellar results. Pair the Mei Faux with a good Gewurtraminer and you can't go wrong.

You can add mine that started the question: Sunrise Breakfast. I have never heard that again and who knows if the mess sergeant was just making it up because he did not like toad in the hole or whatever the soldier called it that showed it to him.

The only rice salad I have ever had was my Southern grandmother's curry rice salad. My first introduction to curry as well. I am sure an internet search would turn it up in a heartbeat. I seem to remember peas and carrots in it.

KennethT, Is there a limit to the amount of cooking a piece of protein can take and still glue? And, does tofu have enough to enable sticking?

How about this? I stumbled upon it this morning. http://www.alacuisine.org/alacuisine/2004/11/molecular_gastr.html

Yes, I expect issues with the cooking times and that is why I was wondering if partially cooked would still "glue." I would cut the filet down as well and since I like rare meat, that might work. My other thought was to put a place holder in the spot and place the steak at service. I could even differently flavor the steak to contrast the fish.

For those who have used this product and can advise. I had some ideas and hope to have some meat glue on the way soon. One idea: "Cedar Plank" Salmon I thought that I could take a full salmon filet and cut it in strips. Then I would glue them together on their sides to create a wood board look. Part of the board would be a "knothole" of seared filet mignon which the salmon strips would wrap around to look like wood grain around a knothole. Glue all these together, wrap and press flat. Then brush with ponzu and perhaps mastic to get a resiny flavor and cedar plank grill it to get some wood flavor to it. Would this work? Can a partially cooked protein be glued with TG or does even slight cooking break the bonding sites in the protein?

Not to mention the mustard noodles thickened with agar in the rabbit dish and that the trout dish was sealed with transglutaminase, cryovacced and sous vide.

Sorry for the late response. She is getting Mastering I believe; waiting on a new edition (?) Not sure it will do all she needs as I have never really used it and don't own it. Pictures or illustrations are going to be very helpful for her. She has Les Halles and between the lack of pictures and salty language I can tell it is not her cup of tea.