scubadoo97

treat it like you would a tenderloin. They are fantastic with more flavor than a beef tenderloin

This topic is always great and revealing. If it makes you go searching the depths of your freezer, that's a good thing. I just pulled out a whole 4# chicken tossed in the freezer 2/09. It was in the original tight plastic packaging. Just had the liver for luch while I cut out the backbone to spatchcock the chicken. It is in a brine at the moment and will be grilled or smoked later today. I have short ribs from around the same time that need to be cooked as well. I could live out of my freezer without having to buy proteins for quite a while.

A felt pad and block can be seen and purchased here http://www.japaneseknifesharpeningstore.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=27

I deburr on a hard felt pad which is suppose to remove a wire edge but find a great improvement with a few passes on the leather strop. I suspect the strop is correcting some small flaws in my technique but could be removing a fine burr.

I'm not sure that's exactly true. As an experiment I've been using just one stone, a 1000 grit Shapton glass stone to sharpen and touch up my most used Japanese knives. They are very sharp and function quite well at this level of finish. I should also mention that I do a few passes on a chromium oxide loaded leather strop after the 1000 grit stone. Doesn't take more than 4-6 passes on each side.

Was one of my favorite kales at our CSA. That and Russian Red Kale.

Cutting toward the hand is usually done with a traditional single beveled Japanese knife. You notice often fish is cut to the left and meat to the right. I think this has to do with the type of knife used and how the're sharpened. Certainly for katsuramuki a traditinal single bevel usuba is used most often.

I use a 270mm Japanese slicer called a sujihiki. I've altered it to be very asymmetric which makes it really sharp and good for slicing fish. I too make gravlax or Nova lox at least once a month.

Shalmanese I think that's a wonderful idea. My large extended family gets together and prepares traditional Middle Eastern foods for our holidays. The food is labor intensive and it is fun to work together at preparing these dishes. It's as much a social event as a anything else. We all work hard but have a lot of fun. I have hinted at the exact proposal you presented. Getting together to make something and then taking it home for later preparation. Your 4 requirements are right on target. A couple of things we do for holidays are stuffed grape leaves and squash as well as soup kibbeh. All require a fair amount of time to prepare and the extra hands are great the bonding even better. Many Middle Eastern dishes are labor intensive. Fried kibbeh, Lahm Bi`ajeen and sambousek (a kind of empanada) all come to mind The suggestion of tamales, pierogies or other dumpling is excellent. They meet your 4 requirements to a T.

Thanks Scout-21. In doing more research I stumbled across the L'equip immersion blender as well. Uses the same type head and blades as the Bamix and my old Thunder Stick. It boast a 550W 2 speed motor. The Gastro maxes out at 200W as well as the other Bamix models. I know there is hype surrounding wattage but the L'equip is only $69. Oh and is from China. Anyone have a L'equip? For durability and longevity I would have to assume the Bamix would be superior but L'equip is getting some good reviews.

Shenna, that's how you tell it's ready to be touched up. Seriously in reference to paulraphael's thread a change in technique will avoid you cutting down into your board and retain your edges better. You just don't need that much force to cut. More slicing than chopping.

I've watched most of these videos a while back. Really had to change some techniques to preserve my edges on my J-knives. The sharpness allows you do slice or shave instead of chop-chop. Very light fluid movenent but very effective

Any Bamix Gastro 200 users out there? I am in need of replacing my Bamix copy, The Thunder Stick, which has actually worked very well for near 8+ years. I want the real thing and have found one place selling the Gastro model for $179 in the US. The mono which was around $99 a few years ago has crept up to $129. The Gastro is 2 inches longer and a little more powerful. Just wanted to know if there were any downsides to the Gastro model. I read for some online review that the head was bigger and it was a problem blending in some containers. Questions to Bamix-USA have gone unanswered.

Mostly it's a very good fruity California EVOO that adds a big punch of flavor. Nut oils are good also. I don't keep them around as much due to their short shelf life.

Chase card aside I really wanted to eat some of that food in Turkey.

A lot depends on your destination. In the Keys I'm cooking all seafood for me and wifey. The non fish eater kid will be getting hamburgers and steak. If driving I always take my own knives/cutting board and at least a large cast iron skillet. Can do just about anything in that. Things I would use a lot like EVOO I might bring or just buy there assuming I will use most of it up while there. Certain spices I may bring or vinegars. Just depends. You can usually find what you need in the stores at your destination and bring back what you don't use. I always bring fresh roasted coffee, grinder and a compact method to brew it like an Aeropress. Most places will have a drip machine but you never know what kind of dreck you may find in a vacation condo. Either way I'm starting my day with fresh beans. When flying to a destination I will pack one multipupose knife plus a paring knife in my check in bag. I ended up having to buy a cutting board at the last place we went to in Beaver Creek since all they had was hard plastic cutting boards. I left it there should I return.

For me the things that elevate at the end are; acids, finsihing oils, citrus zest and salt

Can't say that I have Bruce but I would think after looking at pictures of your food for the last few years, you could have taught the Chef a thing or two.

Another product that works well is Dawn Power Dissolver.

Absolutely safe. Why would they not be safe? Just wondering.

Pawncrackers, your food is so visually appealing. The pictures look professional and your plating looks like it was done by a food stylist. I'm drooling at 10am for every dish.

That was my exact thought after watching this cast away's video. Looks cool but why?

I 2nd the use of soaking for cleaning pots and pans. For really stubborn stuff you can fill the pot with water and bring to a boil then turn off the heat and let it sit overnight. If anything remains the next day a bit of Bar Keepers Friend will take care of it then.

I bought a Weber Genesis over 10 years ago. At the time there were not a lot of high end choices. Previous to the Weber I had purchased less expensive Char Broil grills that would need to be replaced almost every 2 years due to corrosion. I still have the Weber and have replaced the flavorizor bars and the electric starter a couple of times but the burners are still fine. Now there are a lot of choices with IR burners and more options. Good luck with your search. Make sure that the burners are stainless with brass fittings. I think most of the upper end grills today are built to last.

I've made it with steelhead trout. Called it gravlax. No one could tell the difference from salmon.