David A. Goldfarb

I have no problem at all with a pate de campagne being brown. It looks perfectly normal that way, so if you aren't planning to store it for weeks, I think it's okay to leave the nitrite out. Pink salt #1 of some form or other (sodium nitrite) is more commonly used today than saltpeter (potassium nitrate).

I also wonder about the "penetration" issue. I assume fat is unable to penetrate the cells of the meat, but if it can ooze into the fibers of the cooked meat, that's not a bad thing to have happen. In any case, it doesn't sound like there's any particular advantage to the sous vide method, except that it doesn't require as much fat initially. I say "initially," because the fat from confit can be reused for more confit or for other things, if it hasn't gone bad.

I don't know if this counts exactly, since it's both a form of procrastination as well as a way of opening up time to complete whatever it is I'm putting off, but I used to start a batch of bread in the evening when I knew I had an all-nighter ahead, because I would have to stay up to knead the dough and bake it, and it was a nice break to do something kind of physical in the middle of whatever project I was working on. Somewhere in one's late 30's the ability to pull all-nighters drops drastically, so even this doesn't help anymore.

I like Ferrara's on Grand & Mott St. Veniero's on 11th St. between 1st & 2nd has its partisans.

Errr... a stock doesn't require reduction to become a consomme. Just clarification. Fair enough, but if I make a consomme, I've usually reduced the stock by about half first.

Since this is going to be a one bite thing, I'd try a broth that's been reduced at least to consomme, so it should have more body, more flavor, and maybe enough calcium on its own to work in the alginate bath. If all else fails, you could just make a soup dumpling, but that wouldn't be as fun.

When I do long drives, I just keep a look out for potentially interesting towns that might have something local that isn't a fast food chain, and I don't mind driving around a bit to find it, if I'm not on a very tight schedule. It might not be great--maybe just some local diner or a spaghetti & meatballs kind of Italian place, but even those are interesting in their own way.

Marinated grilled skirt steak was one of my favorites growing up in the 1970s and 80s, and it was cheap, because most people didn't know what it was or what to do with it, but the fajita craze made it suddenly desirable and expensive.

I think Paul means things like these wooden blocks with slots that fit in a drawer to protect blades as they would be in a knife block on the counter-- http://www.swissknifeshop.com/J_K_Adams_13_Slot_In_Drawer_Knife_Tray_p/jkid616.htm

I might rest a sharp stainless steel knife in an otherwise empty sink for a few minutes, because I need it out of the way while I do something else before I can wash it and put it back in the block, but other than that, no I never let knives stay in the sink as dishes are piling up, and I never put a knife into a sink full of soapy water. Carbon steel knives are cleaned and dried constantly and never go in the sink. Dishwasher? Haven't had one of those in ages.

He sounds like he has the obsessive qualities necessary for sharpening his own knives. Here's the stone I like-- http://korin.com/Mizuyama-1000-6000-Two-side-Stone?sc=7&category=17374

My Mauviel nonstick is still nonstick after ten years. I use it mainly for things that benefit from a nonstick pan, but occasionally for other things, and only with wooden, plastic, or silicone utensils, and I've never burned it. I'd made a point of never buying a nonstick pan for the years I lived with room mates, and then when I ended that situation, I decided to splurge and get something really nice. I've accumulated a fair amount of heavy copperware waiting for sales, closeouts, and second-hand deals, but this was the only piece I think I bought at the full retail price. People who are using the Swiss Nano pans also report good durability for at least four years, which is how long that thread has been going on-- And then a high end pan is worth recoating. Some manufacturers offer this service for their own cookware, and there are services that recoat pans for operations like bread factories. It seems that if one is willing to consider a pan worth repairing, then a high end pan can be used more or less indefinitely. I'm not sure what is under the nonstick surface of my Mauviel pan, but if for some reason recoating is not an option when the time comes, there are alternatives. It may be the same stainless steel surface that is on the standard version of the same pan, in which case I could just remove the teflon and have a perfectly fine pan. I doubt it's plain copper, but in that case, I could have it tinned. If it's something like an unfinished stainless steel surface, then maybe it would need to be buffed out. Of course, restaurants are turning out food across the entire range of quality largely on cheap and often warped and battered aluminum pans, so there is no need to spend a great deal of money on cookware, but I figure I'm in this for the long term, and my cookware may be in this for a longer term than I am, so I'd rather amortize the value of an excellent pan over many years and enjoy using it than replace a series of mediocre pans every couple of years.

I like making interesting things with whatever looks good in the market. I learned to cook from my father, who learned from his mother. I like historic cookbooks and learning new techniques from modern cookbooks, but most of what I do is improvised, and ingredients always come first.

Over your budget and out of production, but you can still find Mauviel 2mm copper nonstick frypans from what was called the "Cuprinox Style" line out there in stock, if you hunt. I've had one for ten years now, and it's still an excellent pan. The nonstick surface has held up well even for tasks like searing fish at relatively high temperatures, it's got just the right slope for flipping an omelet over on itself, and of course the heat distribution is very even. It will need recoating eventually, but I figure that as with cookware that needs to be retinned, it's worth recoating a $200 pan, while it may not be worth recoating a $100 pan or a $60 pan.

When I make it and have a lot more than I can eat in a short time, I vacuum seal it and keep it in the refrigerator, usually in a large bag that I reseal as I use them to keep the moisture level where I like it. It will stay that way for months.

A shrimp truck we like on the North Shore is Romy's Shrimp Shack, but we haven't tried all of them. I forget which one is the "original" one, but maybe Steve or someone else knows. Don't miss the malasadas at Leonard's, 933 Kapahulu Ave. Study the map before you get there, because you may have to go around the block to get to the entrance, depending on which way you're driving. There used to be a really good lunch truck in the parking lot at Sandy Beach, but it wasn't there the last time we went. I don't know if that's permanent or if he just wasn't there for a few days.

Da Kitchen is the real deal for local kine grinds.

I agree that sealed food items are your best bet, if you're giving food. There is a range of kosher standards and practices out there, but if something is prepared in a non-kosher kitchen, then it isn't kosher.

I think J. B. Prince used to carry these--long pate molds with screw press lids--but I just looked at their website and couldn't find one, though they have just about every other kind of pate mold and terrine you can think of. As I recall, they're quite expensive. What I do is make the terrine in a long narrow loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap and then put another identical loaf pan on top with some weight in it and press it overnight.

You're not chilling them sufficiently. They may need to be chilled longer or with more ice water for the number of eggs, or you may need to change the ice water after the ice melts and use more ice water.

Add to that "bomb" as in "the grated cheese on top is an umami bomb" or "a maraschino cherry in that drink is like a sugar bomb." Otherwise sophisticated food writers use this when they want to sound like Racheray (I'm writing that as one word from now on).

I'd guess that stock should have a fair amount of calcium, being made from bones, which would make it a good candidate for reverse spherification.

I usually find the ingredients in Escoffier or Ranhofer's _Epicurean_, but there must be some book out there that explains the origins of the name along with the recipe. Great blog, by the way, Baron. I like the pastry sarcophagus.

How much flax are you using? I put about a tablespoon, also Bob's Red Mill ground flaxseed, but sometimes another brand that my wife gets from the vitamin store, for a 1-1/2 to 2 cup smoothie and it doesn't seem excessively grainy. Maybe it's not enough, and I'll drop dead when I'm 150.

A couple of handy glossaries to many, but not nearly all, of those opaque names for classic French dishes, listing only the origin of the name, not the associated recipes. They seem to be the same in content, formatted in two different ways.-- http://www.creativecookingschool.com/ClassicalDishes.asp http://www.fooduniversity.com/foodu/food_c/reference/Dish%20Name%20Origins/AgnesSorel.html