Chris Hennes

Precisely - and Radhika did nothing whatsoever to defend herself. It really just seemed, throughout the entire episode, that she was out of energy for the competition. Carla was making absolutely inane comments, I think Radhika would have been perfectly justified in "throwing her under the bus" (to use their favorite expression). But she failed to do so. I think had she defended herself, and said that she trusted Carla to do a good dessert, and that it was Carla's cooking that failed here, whereas only Radhika's ability as a hostess, she might have swayed the judges.

Well, I was really hoping they would give Leah the boot and get rid of this relationship BS with Hosea, but I think Radhika earned it in the end. She really seemed burnt out, and I agree with Tom's assessment that it doesn't seem like her stamina is going to carry her through the rest of the show. Carla's comments were inane however, and this is one where I really couldn't tell which one of them they were going to axe until they announced it. I think at this point I'm hoping for a showdown between Jamie, Stefan and Jeff, as the final three.

I had a George Foreman rotisserie for a while and the damned thing was amazing. You absolutely could not screw up a chicken with it. It just took up more space than it was worth for that one task. That said, my french fries are still inferior to nearly all other fries in the world.

Yes, sorry I wasn't clear: I am comparing regular buttermilk to Bulgarian buttermilk, which apparently uses a different bacteria in the culture, and is reputed to be more acidic. It's only $0.20 more for the half gallon, so I think I will give it a shot next time and see what I end up with.

Has anyone ever tried making pancakes with Bulgarian Buttermilk? I have read it's tangier than regular, so I don't have any idea if you would need or want to change other quantities. I saw some at the grocery store the other day and was thinking of giving it a try.

I made the Bavarian Bratwurst (not to be confused with the German or Swiss Bratwurst recipes also included in the book!): as detailed here I was very happy with the flavor, though I prefer bratwurst with a bit finer texture (the book recommends using the medium plate).

Today I made the Bavarian Bratwurst from the CIA's Garde Manger: they were more or less successful, though of course there are some things I will change next time. I'm using scraps from the pig I bought last year, so the fat content is a little higher than shoulder, but not by too much. The seasonings are primarily marjoram and mace, with a bit of black pepper and lemon zest, as well as a bit of granulated sugar. As usual, I monitored the temp a lot and tried to keep things very cold. I added the water in ice form, as recommended by the CIA book. I first crushed it in the blender so that I didn't have a lot of chunks of ice flying around in the mixing bowl: that worked quite well. One of the things I did differently this time was to try to do a "minimal" bind, where I stopped the mixer as soon as the meat came together and was starting to look sticky. As you can see from the definition, the meat was ground on a medium plate, which is not my favorite texture for brats. Also, unfortunately, using the very light bind created problems with the final stuffed texture of the sausage. It did not hold together as well as I prefer, and left far more air pockets than usual. The flavor is very good: exactly what you would expect a brat to taste like if you grew up in the Midwest (i.e. Johnsonville brat country). This is nice for when you serve homemade brats at a picnic: when you tell people they are brats, this is the flavor profile they are expecting. I think the addition of the lemon zest adds an interesting component, but it is too far in the background, IMO; next time I am going to add much more zest.

That's an excellent point: while of course fresh tomatoes have their place in many pasta sauces, canned tomatoes have a very long history and many sauces are specifically created around them, and one would generally not use fresh. So while Pommarola is traditionally made with perfectly fresh summer tomatoes, Sugo Scappato (your basic Red Sauce, traditionally a winter tomato sauce) is generally made with canned tomatoes.

Canned tomatoes (either canned myself or store-bought) are a fantastic thing to have in the winter months when you can't get good-quality fresh tomatoes. Many, probably most, pasta sauces are better made with good canned tomatoes (use whole tomatoes and puree or chop them) than with poor winter supermarket tomatoes. Don't go making Pomodoro, but Amatriciana? Absolutely.

I didn't watch "Chopped" (is that the one you are talking about?) but my hope for this Bravo show is that they have weird challenges and random "twists" that I think make Top Chef more fun than just a regular cooking show. I like seeing how chefs work when they are faced with that type of situation. A "mystery ingredient" or "mystery basket" is still just a single type of constraint, I like the idea of playing with other things for the chef to deal with.

Again, as paulraphael pointed out above, in the culinary world the word "rancid" means something very specific. It is not a "catch-all" term for something that one doesn't like, it refers to a specific type of spoilage. So, cultured butter may be distasteful to some, but in the sense that we are discussing rancidity here, it is not rancid (well, at first! of course it can turn rancid like any other fat). I promise you, the best way to understand rancidity is to find something rancid and smell it. You will forever be able to detect its presence, even in smaller quantities. It is a specific and distinctive smell that is not just "ooh, I don't like that smell," it's "ooh, that's rancid."

It's important to remember that as Paul points out, "going rancid" is a process that takes time. It's not like one day your oil is perfect and the next it's gone. It gets more and more rancid as time goes on. Stuff that's only a little rancid may be tolerable, but believe me, if it's really rancid, it's definitely not "less dramatic than the word" and you will spit it out. Truly gross. Find a can of vegetable shortening, unseal it, and leave it in your cupboard for three years. When you open it, you will understand rancidity. Personal experience.

Fat that has gone rancid has a very distinct smell, and it seems to be the same (or very similar) across any fat I have ever experienced it with. Various fats seem to hold up better than others, but eventually they will all go: the effect is exaggerated by exposure to heat, and I am told light as well, though I don't know that from personal experience. I can call the smell to mind, but I don't quite know how to describe it: it's pungent, funky, musty, and just generally nasty. You really can't mistake it. And if you taste it, you'll know for sure. My taste buds are cringing right now just thinking about it...

For me the handles on the lid of the doufeu are a reason not to get it: there are two, one on each side, which I'm sure is necessary when the thing is loaded with ice, but make it tough to lift the lid with one hand and stir with the other, which is something I do all the time with my dutch oven. You can replace the resin handles on the standard LC models with a metal handle, and I've personally never had mine come loose while cooking. If I notice it getting loose when I wash it I tighten it then, no big deal.

In their March 2006 issue Cook's Illustrated featured this in their "Do you really need this?" column. Their ultimate conclusion was: They say they started out with less liquid than normal, but apparently not enough less. I suppose you could dial in the optimal amount of liquid, but then you'd have to adjust every recipe you wanted to use it in. No thanks.

I just ran across this tidbit over at Eater.com: It will all depend on the caliber of the chefs they manage to convince to compete, but if this is Bravo's take on Iron Chef-style competition, I'm watching. I hope they make the challenges compelling...

I was going to deny it, but then I went to make dinner, which involved slicing beef and onions. Sure enough, the motion I make has a distinct lateral component: I am definitely slicing, at least for both of these items. Just imagining the motion I make was not enough, I had to actually watch myself cut things before I noticed it.

I make and freeze large quantities of chicken croquettes—sort of old-fashioned, but if you make them small (golf ball-sized) they reheat to a nice crisp exterior in about 20 minutes in the oven. I think if you bind them with a veloute made using schmaltz instead of butter, which I generally do, they would be Kosher (but I'm no rabbi, so YMMV). Package them up with some mashed potatoes and gravy and put the canned corn display next to the freezer case and you've got the whole meal covered.

Dammit, I was hoping they'd axe the girlfriend. And what's with the excessive sexual tension they are building up between those two, anyway. I thought I read an interview of a past season's contestant who explained that such things violated some rule. I'm sure it makes for good reality TV drama, but I tell myself that Top Chef isn't like all those other shows, and that's why it's OK to watch . More food, less relationship. On the plus side, they must have muzzled new judge guy: he was much more restrained this time, and didn't launch into too many carefully-rehearsed lame-ass "critiques."

I don't know that I buy any of that... could you explain? I can't see how it is any of those things. After all, it requires more motion. To me, that seems less efficient and less accurate. And cleaner? I just don't follow... I know that the microserrations that remain on a very sharp blade act like a small-scale serrated knife when you draw the blade across your food, but I come back to slicing vegetables for mirepoix (probably my most common slicing task): I don't see how slicing is going to buy you anything versus chopping (I'm sure I have a slight forward motion as I chop, but nothing like when I am actually slicing). Keep your knife sharp, that's the real key, as far as I can tell.

Until you posted this I assumed I sliced, but if I really think about the motion I make, I think the answer is, "it depends." For example, I definitely slice a tomato: I push the knife down and forwards to cut cleanly through the skin and then flesh. But I chop celery, carrots, onions, and herbs, pushing the knife straight down (or rocking it off its tip, which amounts to the same cutting action). I keep my knives very sharp, so only a very little "slicing" action seems to be required on very delicate items. No idea if I'm dulling my blades more quickly doing this, though.

I have read (someplace) that you aren't supposed to dump it down the drain because it forms a slick on the surface of the water in the treatment facilities. This is bad, for some reason that escapes me... At any rate, I save the container the oil is from or use an empty gallon milk jug, fill it with the cooled oil, and throw it in the trash.

lol, I use Ziploc-brand freezer bags because they're thicker than their regular bags... I agree, they are just about perfect for making tortillas.

I think mine is around that size, and I've never needed anything larger. For plastic I use cut up freezer bags, which are thicker and easier to work with than plastic wrap.

I actually just made some last night, based on a bechamel (does that really make it a Sauce Mornay?) and was not thrilled with it. The best way I have found to make it is to saute an onion in a little oil, add cream and heat, then stir in cheese (something that melts well: jack, etc.). Add jalapeños to spice it up, and some sour cream for tanginess. I've also tried adding tequila, which works OK but didn't seem necessary.