BigDan

If you are going to be downtown most of the best restaurants are pretty convenient. Beyond Rioja I would endorse Fruition, Mizuna, Luca D'Italia, Osteria Marco (the last three are all run by one guy), Panzano, and Vesta. I don't know where you are staying but even the furthest shouldn't be a bad cab ride. For lunch or more casual meal the best locations are Biker Jim's (they have a restaurant and a fews carts all easily accessible downtown), the Cherry Cricket (best burgers I've ever had, but they are just a little further away from downtown, not unreasonable though), and The Rackhouse (Gastropubish place in a whiskey distillery. Great food, deals, and an awesome beer/liquor selection. It would be a cab ride but not a bad one). As for the original poster; Fruition which I mentioned above has it's own farm where they grow all their produce so that's a good spot for local food. Most of the food in Denver is casual except for the big steak houses, but as far as bistros go I recall enjoying Indulge in the Highlands a year or so ago. I hope this helps.

Heading out to LV around Thanksgiving. After hearing so much about Carnevino I think I am gonna try and go there. I checked their website and I didn't see any of their famous aged steaks just on the menu, is it necessary to call ahead to make sure they will have one for you?

This topic has been dead for a little while but I haven't been here in a little while either. Anyway I'm glad to see that someone outside of Denver has heard of Chef Kleinman. Its a great place in what a lot of people unfairly consider a culinary wasteland (Denver). He is also a tremendous person, I actually had a chance to take a cooking class with him a few months ago and he is as knowledgeable and nice as you could possibly want. He taught eight(?) people (most of whom had barely ever heard of molecular gastronomy) in the course of about two and half hours to make a 148 degree poached egg with grilled beefsteak tomatoes, crispy prosciutto, cotija, and reduced cherry balsamic vinegar (the best breakfast you will ever have trust me), tandori and yogurt grilled salmon with cucumber gelee and pickled vegetables, dijon and vanilla sous-vide chicken with pastrami hash and rosemary air, and an orange rum sphere with creme brulee foam and caramel powder. Not only did he teach people to make all of this he was happily answering questions from the people who were more familiar with the concept the whole time. He even invited one guy to come spend a day in his kitchen. He is tremendously talented and sadly under appreciated in Denver. Unfortunately from what I hear FatGuy's experience with only one other table ordering the molecular menu is far from uncommon. If you live in the Denver area check out the blog, find a week that sounds appealing and just go.

I did the Butternut Squash soup from the Bouchon cookbook last week and it was fantastic. Obviously I can't give away the recipe but I can say that it used an immersion blender and a sieve. Also, and here is the trick, it recommended letting it set over night to become sweeter. I did so and it definitely became better after resting.

The extra 2" gets you absolutely nothing. Its what feels comfortable for you. If you are used to an 8" I would recommend staying with an 8". If you want to go with the classic 8" then just click this link http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/cu...-santoku-knives and use your gift card online. As far as the Kajis and the different steels used I don't really know but someone who does should be along before too long. I can tell you that I have a Shun 8" Alton Brown Chef's Knife which has the VG10 and even though I am a big guy I have never found it too small or had any problems with the steel.

I got the big score. I originally just asked for a nice Chef's Knife for Christmas since I'm finally to the point to upgrade out of my Henckel Internationals (the economy line), but I was extremely surprised when I opened up a 7 piece set of Shun Alton Browns that my parents found for 200-somethin. I didn't know how I would deal with the angled handles at first but they are actually barely noticeable. Oh and my Mom got the Bouchon cookbook which I have been stealing away and using.

Thanks for the ideas. I'm gonna head on out and scout around and pick up some initial presents. Yesterday my Mom started talking about getting into Sous Vide so if anyone can recommend a nice starter cookbook for that (I hear Under Pressure is not very friendly on that front as far as recipes go) Apparently she's getting a lot more adventurous than I gave her credit for. Definitely gonna look at those other books though if I can find them, she does get more than one gift.

I searched around for a thread like this but I couldn't find anything. Sorry ahead of time if I missed it. I need to shop for my parents for Christmas. They are hard to shop for because if they want something they just buy it so I have to come up with something they haven't thought of. I don't have a lot of time to do anything really artisanal (though I am doing a bottle of Limoncello using KatieLoeb's recipe), so I need some product idea or recommendations. They are retired and are on a big gourmet cooking kick so I figure this is about the ideal place to ask. For my Mom I'm thinking some new cookbooks. She does not have too many cookbooks and usually favors clipped recipes she's accumulated through the years so I'm thinking some sort of higher end gourmet book like Keller that will help her come up with some new techniques and maybe help her find some new cooking techniques. The books she has now are pretty boring, she has a Barefoot Contessa, but beyond that just stuff like the big old plaid Better Homes and Garden. Anyone have any recommendations that they think of that may be appropriate? My Dad is a bit different. He is starting to cook a lot more and branch out, but like a lot of dads he traditionally only takes care of grill duties. He is obsessive with his baby back ribs recipe and tries to constantly tweak it. Steaks and what not he usually does pretty straightforward on the grill with just some S&P. If anyone can think of any sort of awesome grilling references that would be on the right track. I know he is starting to become interested in making his own rubs and sauces. The other end of the spectrum with him is Wine and Cocktails. He is a big wine enthusiast and loves a good cocktail but mainly makes martinis and bourbon on the rocks. I don't think he is opposed to trying out some other good cocktails so a high end book for that may also work out. I hope that can help get us started but any other ideas anyone has are more than welcome. For a final note, I live in Denver and have access to Sur La Table etc... so I can hopefully find whatever I need to.

Looks like I'm buying cocoa tomorrow.

I'm in pretty much the same situation he is in. I just started broadening my horizons and realizing that better knives were out there this semester. What I got as an upgrade to the Tools of the Trade brand that were in my house were some Henckel Internationals. They are the bargain line from Henckel and definitely a noticeable improvement over the crap I was using. For what you are willing to spend they are definitely priced right. In fact I did a quick Amazon search to double check and found this on sale. http://www.amazon.com/Henckels-Internation...29194416&sr=8-1 I've used real Henckels before and while it is definitely obvious that these are not real Henckels I found this very easy to maintain even with a bunch of roommates that don't get the concept of taking care of just a kitchen knife. I would totally recommend these as the intermediate set before moving up to really nice knives.

I put a piece of bread on a plate then some turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy (in that order). Not sophisticated but it's been my traditional left over meal since I was a wee boy.

For anyone that has yet to buy the book and needs a little extra convincing (like I did until say... 2 minutes ago) Amazon is having a great deal on it and you can pick it up for only $31. Dunno if this is a Black Friday deal or not. http://www.amazon.com/Alinea-Grant-Achatz/...27908315&sr=8-1

I've seen quite a few food horrors here in college. Alcohol, no cooking skills, and a lack of money account for most of them. The worst one I can remember though was just pure mean, but I did bring it upon myself in 2006. Being from Seattle I made a bet with my friend from Chicago come playoff time. I bet him that the Seahawks would make it to the Superbowl and he bet the Bears would. Of course the stakes were that the loser had to cook the winner dinner, about as serious as we get around here. Of course the Seahawks go so I do what anyone in my situation would. I rubbed it in his face. A lot (this is football after all it's meant to be that way). Dinner time comes of course and while I am not expecting anything fancy what I actually receive is a frozen chicken breast (from one of those huge generic super market bags) grilled with no seasonings on a George Foreman. He then simply dumped a can of generic super market mushroom soup on it and gave it to me. The Seahawks losing in the Superbowl just made it all the worse. Oh and as I mentioned in another thread already I once had the unique pleasure on a camping trip of having Spam that was roasted over a cow pie fire. Not exactly one in someone's house but it was my Uncle's idea.

I can see doing a sashimi with some of the meatier and more flavorful organs, but to be honest a raw piece of chicken breast just does not sound in any way shape or form like it would be good.

Because of this thread I picked up Mexican Everyday by Bayless. My first impressions are that its a wonderful beginner book. I am in college with limited money and resources and I still think I can cook most of the stuff in there. I'll post again after I have the chance to read more into it.