Human Bean

I don't know anything about the cheftestants, but when I saw two(?) of them billed in the first episode as "chef/consultant," I figured that it was a euphemism for "unemployed." Am I wrong?

"An acceptable job"? I think you're "mis-underestimating" (quoting the American President) things. If you're only getting acceptable results, somethings's wrong. I'll presume that your pro sharpener isn't a knife butcher. It may take some more experience with the Edge Pro to fully realize it's potential. Did you try a Sharpie pen on the the edges of your knives before sharpening? I tried many sharpening methods before the Edge Pro, but never managed to get it quite right. Nothing else caused me to fear casual contact with the edges. Egale has it right, scary sharp is good, but also scary. This is a good thing.

Haven't had one of these in ages; my recollection is that there was too much sauce on them, but they were kinda sorta good otherwise. Thanks for the info, and I think I'm going to try them again in the next few days!

Thanks for the reminder! I don't think the first series was shown here, but I'll look for the new one. Since going high-def, I've been enjoying lots of shows on Create (Daisy, Bittman, others) that didn't show up on our main PBS channel (or showed up at inconvenient times.)

I never really noticed the GR topless shots until it was mentioned on one of the UK areas of eG that it almost seems written into his contract that there be a topless shot in every show (in one series, the topless shot was in the opening title sequence!) The US version of Nightmares seems to have a topless Gordon in about half the shows. I'd always thought that his favorite expletive was "F-ck me," which is discernable even through the bleeping, but maybe you're right, it could be 'effing hell." The amount of bleeping (by all concerned) on that last show seemed to hit a new all-time high; at times it was hard to follow what was going on, because there so few words left un-bleeped.

I just saw the Hollywood pizzeria (with "20 flavor combinations!") episode. Groan. I'm done with this show; another last-second epiphany by a cook that the editing showed us was never going to change. I think I'll try to dig up the original Channel 4 series and (re-)watch those instead. There was one absolutely brilliant bit of cross-cultural humor though; something that must have slipped past all the Americans involved. Ramsay says, "All of you are going to become great tossers." He was referring to teaching them to fling pizza dough. Maybe.

Didn't really like the third one - it was basically an alternate version of the first. Am I really to believe that at the last possible moment, the self-absorbed mangers(s) see the error of their ways and change instantly? Please. At least they didn't have a topless scene in this one. Teaser for next show (paraphrased): The filthiest kitchen EVER!!! Sounds like Must-See TV to me.

"Kitchen Nightmares." Same basic premise in the UK and US versions, but the US version is, as has been mentioned previously, more over-the-top (FOXified.) I found the first two US episodes okay, but the legal papers linked above are more entertaining. One interesting thing: One time in the show, the garish animated sign was totally blurred out - could this have been a mention of the 'cabaret theatre' that was so prominent in the legal papers, but totally absent in the show? I never saw anything resembling a stage in the restaurant interior (didn't even seem to be room for one,) but I wasn't looking for one since that was before reading the court filing.

I sharpen my Shuns at approximately the angle they came with (I think 15 degrees, and think the green mark on the Edge Pro) except for my paring knife, where I have a steeper angle. Finding the factory angle is easy with the Edge Pro; there is/was a tip on the Edge Pro website, and I'd be surprised if Chad didn't include it somewhere in his tutorial: Take a Sharpie pen and ink at least a few inches of the edge. Setup the Edge Pro with a medium stone at approximately the angle you think the edge might be (let's say the green mark.) Give the inked edge of the knife a few light-to-medium strokes, then examine where the ink has been removed. If the tip of the edge is mostly clean, your angle is too high; conversely if the back of the edge is clean, the angle is too low. Take a reasonably close look at the grind of the factory edge and where your sharpening is having an effect; it may take a few tries before you see that you've matched the original edge, but it will be very easy with just a bit of practice. When you're done, you can remove the excess Sharpie ink with rubbing alcohol (or maybe vodka if you're feeling extravagant.) Once you've found the perfect angle, write it on the instruction manual or other handy piece of paper that stays with the sharpener, and you can go right to that setting next time. I have several knife setting written on my manual; I'd never remember them otherwise, but just a glance I know that Shun = green, Benchmade = yellow, parer = red (whatever.)

I have the Lamson KnifeSafe for my knives. They come in several sizes and seem to be more expensive than the guards mentioned earlier, but are really, really good (if they happen to fit - their only flaw). Pity they don't have one that fits my cleaver; I have one of those slide-on guards for it that works okay - [edit]: Wusthof Knife-Life. I suspect that the several layers of canvas in a knife roll are designed with the idea of making it harder for a knife to cut through, but I'd rather not find out the hard way. Edit: Just because.

I don't see the point in having a 5" and 7" knife; too similar, but YMMV. I bought a santoku and returned it the same day, not so much because it didn't feel right, but it seemed like a bizarre compromise that didn't do anything particularly well - it doesn't have the length of a gyuto (or chef's knife), and doesn't have the scooping ability of a cleaver.

Major exception to the idea that a restaurant can't specialize in a particular dish: pho. There are several restaurants around here where pho is 75% or more of the business. Maybe this is only possible where there's a sufficient population to support them; the customers seem to be 75+% Asian, but the Caucasian customer base seems to be growing, though slowly perhaps. The surprising thing is that most of the pho isn't even very good (the same can be said about most Chinese restaurant food too), but it seems to be Vietnamese comfort food and is somewhat time-consuming to prepare at home, so a mediocre restaurant version can suffice. (Reminder to self: make a batch this weekend, before summer kicks in and it gets too hot to let soup simmer all day.)

...An ancient thread momentarily rises from the depths... KC was recently released on DVD. I've just watched all 13 episodes, and it's not bad. It's not great, and doesn't even attempt to represent the book, but on it's own terms, it's quite enjoyable. They didn't come close to running out of ideas, and the 13 episodes have nice arcs to the characters; a commentary track on the last episode hints at where they might have gone had there been another season. If you get the chance, give it a try; it's far from the worst restaurant-oriented comedy ever on US TV (the worst restaurant-related US comedy would be season 1 of of 'The Restaurant' w/ Rocco DiSpirito, IMO.) (BTW, my all-time favorite restaurant-related comedy is BBC's Chef! (seasons 1 and 2) for it's extremely sarcastic and abusive English humor). Edit: fix punctuation

I saw a few eps of this show in previous seasons - didn't have much of an opinion, but it seemed somewhat amusing. Just saw the first show of the new season; I think I'll pass on this one. The editing and quasi-dramatic music reminded me of the US version of Big Brother; that one jumped the shark long ago. Too much story-edited imposed-drama, not enough reality. Add to that that I've seen enough of GR on England's Channel 4 to be annoyed by the censored language (and even blurred mouths) - it's reasonably obvious what they're saying, but I find it offensive that US broadcasters can't allow adult viewers to experience the real world. I've never seen Top Chef, but think I might give that one a try; it has to be better than this piece of utter dreck (amusing though it may be if you're into it's particular blend of melodramatic edited 'reality'.) Sigh.

I'd disagree somewhat; the original Dave's Insanity does a wonderful job of adding a burnt hair (also often called burnt cat) flavor to food. -- And to FG: Huy Fong is the original and best. Dunno why NY restos would be down on it, unless they're trying to justify buying one of the many inferior imitations (and playing to the ignorance of the customer). Not only is it often imitated, it's even been counterfeited! (Thread from a few years ago lurks somewhere in the depths of eG).

From the Solo Sea Salt website linked above: Sodium Chloride (NaCI) app. 41% Potassium Chloride (KCI) app. 41% Magnesium salts, hydrated, as chlorides and sulphates app. 17% Salts of trace elements <1% Sodium 16% Potassium 21% Magnesium 2% Trace Elements <1 % It's potassium chloride, not potassium nitrate. (Sold in the US as 'No Salt' or something like that.) Just what I expected of a 'lower-sodium salt,' this is nothing new. There's been a low-sodium version of V8 juice available for a long time, but the potassium is cranked up to absurdly high levels. It looks like they're finally going for a more reasonable balance between the sodium and potassium; physiologically, this a good thing. (BTW, pointless scare-mongering: potassium chloride is one of the chemicals used in execution by lethal injection - it stops the heart quite effectively. )

Link to NYT article that lancastermike mentioned above: clicky.

Cut paper-thin slices across the grain, and put slices in a bowl of hot pho immediately before serving. Be sure to stir and separate the slices to make sure they get cooked and don't stick together. Individually freeze the remaining 'steaks' for later use.

Excellent! You are correct, waterdogs. I tried to be a bit misleading by saying 'big hair,' a subsequent hint would have been to change 'big hair' to 'big afro.' Mayonnaise is good; I also liked The General's Fried Chicken.

Totally wild-@ss guess: Sixteen Candles. It has the feeling of one of those quasi-Chinese stereotypes that are in American comedies, but I can't quite place it.

I'm indifferent to the smell of microwave popcorn. Unless it's even slightly burned - then it's awful; there is a person or two at work that haven't yet figured out how to properly nuke popcorn. When I went to college (dinosaurs roamed the earth then, and popcorn had to be made using hot oil, a pan, and preferably some real butter) the smell would attract people from miles around, including me if I wasn't the one making it. I have no idea why microwave popcorn doesn't have the same allure; I'd like to think that microwaved partially-hydrogenated gunk just isn't the same, but I really don't know. edit to add: Cilatro rules.

Sorry, I'll have to deduct a point for spelling, and a half-point for completeness, but you are indeed correct! It is in fact The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension. Now, about that watermelon: If you check out the DVD commentary (or the Web) there are a couple of explanations for why a watermelon makes a brief and easily-missed cameo appearance. Also, a DVD Easter egg (and the Web) give a recipe for "chicken in a watermelon" that is said to exceed expectations for such an odd dish. Congrats, WHT!

I guess this clue isn't really fair - it's a total non-sequitur during a chase/action scene. (We'll return to it later.) New (vaguely food-related) clue: A Rasta delivers a pink cake box.

Another one with orange soda: An orange Big Gulp, a big Cadillac, and big hair.

If you meant "Suntory time," that'd be Lost in Translation.