Kitchen Scraps

The 'canadian-guy' plays some defence... The only reason I was able to eat that much food is because it was so darn tasty and I had a busy day of chopping wood and playing hockey. Besides, I only had half a stack of pancakes for breakfast before I had to hop in my dog sled. My toque goes off to the excellent food prepared and the wonderful people gathered for a high-energy evening.

Michael Ruhlmann's new book is hitting the stands and is available now at the usual online spots. Sounds like this is more of a "How to speak food" than his usual journalistic insight of the inner workings of a chef. There is no question that Michael can write, has boundless entusiasm for food, knows a helluva lot of people in the industry and has the golden touch when it comes to taking on a variety of book projects. It will be no surprise that this book ends up in the hands of professionals as well as food enthusiasts. Here is a summary of his blog press release... • good reviews from friends, colleagues and the press • lots of stops on his book tour (complete tour available unlike some other harder-to reach writers) • some other interesting stuff .... and stuff So happy together... Michael Ruhlmann and Anthony Bourdain are so cute together, which is probably why Amazon is offering a great deal if you buy Elements of Cooking and No Reservations.

The word 'Supper' used to describe an evening meal conjures images of dry meat, sloshy overcooked vegetables from a can served with floury gravy and probably on a plate that is sectioned into different compartments. Dinner sounds much nicer. Also, I defy anybody to use the word 'goopy' to describe food in a positive light.

It's tough to find the time to get into all these great long prose, so for the short attention reader I recomment the Schott's Food and Drink Miscellany. It's full of odd and fascinating bits and bites. On the proper literature front I would also like to throw in a good word for Michael Ruhlmanns' Making of a Chef and Soul of a Chef.

Ever notice how people who don't know how to roast a marshmallow always get their caught on fire? Then they claim to like it that way... The picture of a crispy browned steak is getting me drooling. I agree with fat guy that if it gets black on the outside, you did something wrong... burnt is burnt. Grill marks are not an exception, just becuase they are covering less surface, doesn't mean there should be little burnt tire treads on your steak. Get them brown and crispy, not burnt. Crisp the sugars, activate those amino acids. Bottom line is to make sure your steak tastes like steak: not blood, not iron and certainly not burnt anything. Dry-aging is crucial to get rid of the acrid blood taste. Resting the meat after cooking is crucial to redistribute moisture. Paying close attention to the surface is crucial to avoid burning. Not reverting back to cavemen is probably a good idea too... sure they had organic steaks, but no matter how good those steaks were, they could never enjoy one with a glass of shiraz. Here's a more important question... when do you salt a steak? Before or after it is cooked? PAL Pierre A Lamielle