Dave the Cook

Thank you, Liza. No, I haven't read Steingarten. I think if I had, I wouldn't have published this for fear of being thought cribbing. I did get one of his books for Christmas; I'll get to it right after the Babbo and Zuni Cafe cookbooks.

True. Even if you don't have a machine, you have $6-7/hour drones that work to carefully designed culinary blueprints -- in other words, chain restaurants. I was going to mention this (I was in J-school at the time but moved on). And we can see the results today -- most news reporting sucks. Not a good omen for the future of fine dining. Agreed.

I think your indignation should be aimed at the Food Network (and even people like our beloved Bourdain), for romanticizing the occupation. But this is self-correcting, I think. The dilletantes will clear out, won't they? -- although it will take a few years. At the low end of the pay scale, it would seem that the job requirements must not be too difficult, if a minimum wage, ESL worker can fill it adequately. If you are a degreed cook, why would you want this job? If this is the only job available, why would you want to be a cook? The danger is that exceptional talents (and chefette, I've seen your work and include you in this category) will be discouraged and leave the industry. This is sad, but you know what? I'd like to write a great novel, and I'm pretty sure I have the talent to do it. Unfortunately, I have no right to expect to be supported while it's in process.

chefette: I didn't say I didn't believe you. I said you hadn't made your case. But since anecdotal evidence is all we have (and I do remember SuzanneF's $15/hour post), I'll accept it. You do sound a little like Marx, and it's understandable. This is the sort of situation that often leads (eventually) to unionization -- except, as you point out, there are almost always people willing to do the job for less. OTOH (and not meaning to make light of Elizabeth 11's plight, or the numerous people she symbolizes), one might take the view that the American public gets the cuisine it deserves. Either it's willing to pay the price associated with higher food service wages or it's not. Low pay usually means that there are plenty of applicants to take your place -- supply and demand, you know. So one could also be hard-hearted and suggest that if you are not happy with the wages offered, you are not compelled to accept the job (sounding like JP Morgan). (Jason, we need a devil's advocate smilie!)

In other words, the future looks very much like the present. Still, chefette has brought up some interesting thoughts. I just wish there were more data. The payscale.com link is based on a sample of eight that doesn't include New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago, Miami, etc. It could be very misleading to make assumptions on so few facts. For instance, it's plain wrong to state that the average salary for an EC is $37,000, when you have only one data point. By definition, that's not even an average. Same for Pastry Chef -- average salary of $39K, based on one report from Colorado. I am willing to be convinced that the situation chefette describes actually does exist, but so far, the case is not compelling.

Very good question. However, your supposition seems to rest on this: I'm not sure this is true. Larger dinner checks don't automatically mean larger profits. Also, given that food cost is almost certainly higher in a top restaurant, I don't think bigger checks necessarily mean the margin (expressed as a percentage of sales) is higher, either.

Ed: Three possibilities: Refiner's syrup, which is a liquid byproduct of the refining process. It's light in color, and is used in lots of baked goods. More here. Perhaps we're all being misled by the idea of "syrup," which is a refined product (it's usually a thin liquid that's cooked down). Maybe what you're looking for is cane juice? Finally, there is a product called evaporated cane juice that is available through health food stores. It's sold as dry crystals, but presumably could be reconstituted. I had a link, but can't find it now. Let me know if you're interested, and I'll look some more.

I think Nickn also has the CIA book. You might PM him.

At the risk of having Dr. Johnson make me out a fool, I'll suggest that perhaps the knives have become magnetized, and you've got some attraction and repellence going on. Easy enough to check.

It wasn't tinned, it was vacuum-packed, but I used a similar product on a Beef Wellington a while back. Tasted OK in the package. Got lost in the finished dish. It didn't melt away, just didn't stand up to the duxelles and beef. Maybe I didn't slather enough on, though I followed the recipe to the letter. Crackers. Or croutons. Or slap some on meat right before serving.

Not to pick on Outback, nor to do them any favors, but it sounds like Acme gets the nod on the basis of great service and one great steak (out of seven). That makes the value proposition a tougher choice for me. At least a chain is predictable. If you are comfortable, could you discuss the pricing and the wine list?

How disappointing. It sounds like you'd have been better off at Outback. Am I reading that right?

I'm curious, too, and I hope others will post. I'd hate for my one-time recipe to stand as the definitive eGullet chorizo!

Anna, you're still a little new, so I'll warn you -- be careful what you wish for.

If you're thinking of adopting this practice for your parasite research, I'd be honored to advise you. Even have a few subjects in mind...

Thanks, Adam. I also would have expected the granule size to make a difference. Originally I was going to use a blowtorch, but I'm not handy enough to set up a proper jig. Also, if I'm doing a half-dozen creme brulees, I'm probably going to set 'em on a tray and pop 'em under the broiler, so the test scenario seemed pretty realistic. I don't have a salamander , or I would have tried it. You're out of luck on a brown sugar taste-off. Beet sugar molasses is used to make animal feed, yeast, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. All molasses used to make brown sugar comes from cane. And they say irony is dead.

I'm no expert on chorizo, that's for sure. I just posted it the way I made it. No claims to authenticity, except it fits the definition of chorizo as I know it. The recipe was cobbled together from tasting commercial versions -- mainly restaurant and store-bought Mexican-labeled stuff in Houston, which were very finely ground, thus preventing much discovery simply by looking at it. I looked at recipes for breakfast-type sausages to get an idea of the proportion of fat to meat. I had never made sausage before, and I was pleased with the result. It tasted pretty close, but I would have monkeyed with it if I had ever made it again. I didn't, but now I probably will. I wouldn't be averse to onion. I like green pepper, but I'm not a big fan of doing anything with it that means cutting it up and re-refrigerating it. I think it goes kind of sour. But I also think that the recipe probably varies a great deal depending on where you are, where you're from, and how yo Momma made it. Seems to me we learned that lesson on that kielbasa thread, wherever it is...

Two paragraphs, two great ideas. I never think to do anything with leftover fish. I'll have to try this. Thanks!

Definitely Mexican. Actually, I don't usually think of chorizo as a Spanish sausage, but you're right.

There's an axiom in graphic design: If everything's bold, then nothing's bold. Often used to thwart sales managers and Vice Presidents who want everything in large fat type, it seems analogous to what Maggie, JAZ and even cherrypi are saying. A couple of good, well-executed contrasts makes everything more intelligible. Or to mix the metaphor, if everyone wants to sing lead, the audience will miss the harmony. OTOH, Oraklet, I sometimes wish I had your patience.

Mine's three or four months old. Do you suppose it's the size that's making it slow? It hangs over my biggest burner by almost an inch on each side. Maybe it's just not heating as thoroughly as a smaller pan, and that's having a disproportionate effect.

I've only made this once, and I didn't stuff it into casings, but it was surprisingly good, cooked as patties for a paella. Chorizo 6 ounces ground ancho chile powder 1-1/2 C boiling water 2 pounds ground pork 1 pound ground beef 2 T minced garlic 4 t salt 1/3 C vinegar (white wine preferred) 3 T oregano (Mexican, if possible) 2 t black pepper 1 t ground cinnamon or 1/2 t grated nutmeg 1/2 t ground cloves 1 t sugar 1/3 C dry white wine Make a paste from the water and chile. Set aside. Mix the meats with the garlic and salt. Add the vinegar and mix. Add the spices excepting the sugar. Mix. Add the sugar and wine and mix one last time. Work in the chile paste, then cover and refrigerate for 24 hours before cooking or stuffing. NOTES: Buy whole chiles and toast them. Let them cool, then grind. A very small step that makes a big difference. Really. You could buy a pork shoulder and brine it, then grind it. But that's a lot to do yourself on the first go 'round, and the overnight rest will have a similar effect. Just make sure you've got plenty of fat (in the pork and beef, I mean). If the meat is lean, consider adding some fatback or fatty bacon (maybe poach it a bit to get rid of the smoke; chorizo is not a smoked sausage). I've seen recipes that use canela, or real cinnamon (from Ceylon) instead of the stuff we usually see. I'm not sure in a spicy mixture like this that you'd notice. It does help to have a bit of mystery, which the cinnamon or nutmeg does contribute. I've also seen star anise, but I remember giving it a sniff when I made chorizo, and it didn't fit for me. Finally, let us know how it goes -- and remember your Unca Dave when you're passing out samples.

Vous. Episcopalian vixen.

Danny: Could you outline the process you went through in designing your meat specs? For instance: What was behind the decision to use Niman Ranch pork? Do you feel it is a superior ingredient? Or is its reputation, from a marketing standpoint, so valuable that it's worth its premium price, regardless of its effect on the quality of the final product? Perhaps a combination of these notions? Grass- or grain-fed beef? Do you think there is a growing market for grass-fed beef? Finally, chickens: what's it take to make a Blue Smoke bird? Thanks for taking time out of what must be a very busy schedule to join us here for a couple of days.

Jaymes: I haven't tried it, but I ran across it in my research. I'm going to give it a shot, maybe as a topping for some kind of cake. It might also be interesting in beverages -- coffe, tea, hot chocolate. Got any tips? How do you use it?