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Starkman

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Everything posted by Starkman

  1. Okay, so speaking more of sharpening, There's an old fellow down a few blocks who is a professional knife/tool sharpener. He used to have accounts with many of the large grocery store outlets (Safeway, etc), namely to sharpen butcher knives. He seems a bit unorthodox (by standards I've read on this site) when it comes to sharpening (if I understood everything he was telling me). He says he's hardly too concerned about the sharpening angle of most common knives--says it's a lot of BS about having to be so precise. Further, he's totally against using two hands when sharpening; the pressure of the fingers of the "other" hand on the blade as a guide will only create unevenness. He does sharpen all knives on a machine and, according to others around town, whom I asked, he does a very good job. For $4.00 to do my Forschner Victorinox, I might just let him have the go at it, since my stone--see the very first post in this thread--will probably not come near as close to achieving what he will be able to do. But I wonder, in view of his lack of concern for angles, and without discussing this issue with him, will my knife get the best angle for the steel if I let him sharpen it? I'll need to find out from folks here and perhaps from Forschner what can be expected from this knife from either either types of angles. Starkman
  2. Okay. So, if I use oil, would that be a problem? (Yes, I've used oil on it already. I called up a local knife/tool sharpener fellow, and he said oil's the way he'd go.) Oh, and no photo. Sorry. I have no camera. Thanks, Starkman
  3. Hello all, I just bought a Forschner Victorinox and a two-grit stone (the stone was only $10.00 at a restaurant supply store). It's a big ol' stone, made in China, and says on it "Combination Sharpening Stone" and "Aluminum Oxide." Other than the dimensions given (about a foot long!), the rest of the writing is in Chinese. Nothing is given about the grit, which is really weird--it's pretty rough on one side and pretty smooth (though not super-polished smooth) on the other side. Finally, I don't know if it's a water stone or an oil stone. ("Then why the hek did you buy it, idiot?" you ask? Oh, I don't know. Because it was cheap?!) So, anyone got any ideas? Will it work for my Forschner? Thanks, Starkman
  4. Starkman

    Caramelized onions

    Odd that vinegar is suggested, yet soda is suggested in order to raise the alkalinity, which vinegar will lower. It's like two brothers fighting it out! Starkman
  5. paulrahpael, I'd have to disagree about the amount of moisture pulled out by salt as being so minimal. Maybe, yes, to the water weight, but not in over all affect and effect. I watched a time-laps video on Cook's Illustrated of a piece of roast, I believe it was, salted, wrapped in plastic wrap and left out for an hour. There was quite a lot of moisture pulled out and then pulled right back in. (Hek, I have a horrible palate, but even I can tell the difference when a piece of meat's been salted!) I'm not so sure that I'd be too happy with a chop that's been salted and put in the frig unwrapped. I tend to think you'd end up with a much more drier product than desired...I don't want my chop the texture of bacon! I'll have to test this, though, to see how it goes. Thanks, Starkman
  6. So some recipes for, say, pork chops have you salt the chops and then let them sit out for a while to do the osmosis thing (the salt draws out moisture but then it gets pulled back in along with the salt). Question, isn't there the threat that too much moisture will be lost by evaporation if the meat is not wrapped in, say, plastic wrap, thus making for a more saltier and drier finish? Starkman
  7. Yeah, I found that article as well. Hmm! I guess I'll never know til I try it! Thanks, Starkman
  8. Hello all, I have a Sunbeam Deluxe Mixmaster Mixer, and it uses dual dough hooks. They're both corkscrew shapes, but the bottom of one (that goes toward the edge of the bowl) has a "foot"; that is, the bottom is bent at a 90 degree angle. Question: are these dough hooks as proficient as a typical "Captain Hook" dough hook? Thanks, Starkman
  9. Quick Question: Is greasing the bottom of a pan before laying parchment over it done solely so that the parchment won't slide around? Thanks, Starkman
  10. Great. Thanks for the input. Starkman
  11. Hello all, I have a small package of Queso Fresco Casero (whole milk) cheese that shows an expiration date of July 9, 2009. It was purchased from a local store. Question: is the cheese still safe to eat? Next Question: If it still is safe to eat, when should it be tossed? Thanks, Starkman
  12. Eee gads! Yeah, I left that out! And that is, by the way, what I meant all along; fresh in season toms! I mean, yeah, I wouldn't waste the time of day making sauce out of the toms provided by the stores in my area. By no means! Sorry about that, Starkman
  13. No, we're not deraling it. I ask this question because I want to know, assuming an abundance of fresh tomatoes are not an issue, if people would still prefer to make tomato sauce from canned tomatoes. If so, why? Thanks, Starkman
  14. What? With a ton of tomatoes that usually come in when one plants even a few tomato plants? Hek, people are usually giving tomatoes away! Starkman
  15. I remember as a kid (long ago!) when my mother and I went to see my grandmother. We all went to this restaurant, and I had this bowl of red-sauced seafood stuff. Man, I was in heaven. For years I would remember that day, but I had no idea what the hek it was that I had eaten. All I could remember was that it had a red-sauce base and lots of seafood goodies. Years later, my then wife and I, at her folks' house, were talking about what to have for dinner. Seafood came up, and I mentioned, just kind of out of the blue, that dish I ate as a kid. My wife said, "Oh, you mean Bouillabaisse." (Is THAT what that word means! I always wondered what that meant!). "Bouillabaisse?" I said? I had no idea if that's what it was. Well, my wife's father made it for dinner, and I about feel on the floor, both from the flavor, but also from the take-back to that memory of eating it in that restaurant. For there before my eyes was that same bowl of red-sauced seafood stuff...called bouillabaisse. Heaven had truly come down to earth! Well, I didn't get the recipe that night, and I haven't tried making it myself, but I will, one day. Starkman
  16. It seems pretty clear from everyone's posts here that the real benefit from salting is to reduce moisture, which I knew about. It's good to have learned a bit about the different varieties of eggplant, specifically, those that tend to be more or less bitter than others. Thanks, Starkman
  17. Hello all, Because eggplant is watery and can be bitter, most recipes advocate salting eggplant, letting it drain and then rinsing it before using/cooking it. However, I've seen recipes where there's no salting. If it weren't for the fact that one recipe salts the eggplant but a similar recipe doesn't, it'd probably be pretty easy to figure out why the similar recipes do not salt the eggplant. So my question is when, if ever, is it okay to NOT salt eggplant before using it? Thanks, Starkman
  18. Okay, here are my notes for standard whipping cream, but you may find it works for creme fraiche: Adding a tiny amount of gelatin in water and adding it to the whipped cream at the end of the whipping makes for a firmer cream that holds up well in hot weather. Just slightly warm the gelatin mixture—body temp or slightly above being ideal—before adding it because the gelatin will set as soon as it hits the cold whipping cream.
  19. Okay, so what would be wrong with including whole chopped tomatoes (seeds and all)? Starkman
  20. Thanks for the update. This is very cool to follow. Starkman
  21. Alton Brown's tweeting, too.
  22. Okay, check this out. I did this a few mornings ago, and I was quite surprised at how good it was. Leftover brown rice. Leftover baked yam. Aromatics and Vggies Sauted minced garlic; chopped onion, bell pepper; diced carrot and celery. Added salt, pepper, worchestershire, spritz of soy sauce, simmered a sec or two. Added small chunks of the baked yam then some brown rice. It was wonderful...AND no tortilla shell needed (which I am king about the house when it comes to making leftover fixins in tortilla shells). Starkman
  23. Ultimately, when you have, of if you have, become aware of the different wines out there by having tasted them, what works with food is what works with your palate! I mean, that's when it all comes together, right? I had some Hershey's chocolate with almonds a little while ago. I paired it with a cheap Idaho riesling and it worked fine. (Why the cheap Idaho riesling? Because that's what I had on hand—this being without a job thing, you know). Anyway, I thought, "What the hek," and I gave it a try. It worked fine. Muted the chocolate a bit, but it didn't create a "yuck!" sensation. It's what works for you! Starkman
  24. Starkman

    Fried Oysters

    Ah, Mr. David Ross...them oysters look exxxxtra delicious! Starkman
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