scubadoo97

Agree with Tela T, greens and black eyed peas are a must

With regard to the butcher grinding your selected steaks, yes I have heard that too. The Publix grocer near me has a very large commercial grinder but when customers ask for steaks or roasts to be ground they most often use a smaller commercial grinder which is set near the window. I always liked to watch my roasts get broken down and feed into the grinder. Some grocery stores have the big grinders in the back and I always wondered if I was getting what I asked for. I have a cousin who would pick out two roasts or steaks to be ground. The first one he would put back in the meat case and keep the second. I certainly don't advocate doing that. I grind mine at home or just don't use ground meat.

I agree the Togiharu Molybdenum Gyutou is a great value. I sent a 210mm gyuto to a friend. I had a chance to inspect the knife and it was beautiful. It is soft enough to resist chipping, hard enough to keep a good edge and thin enough to slice through food like butter. It was very sharp out of the box.

Just a comment on the QUICK FIRE challenge. I was perplexed that some had difficulties in naming ingredients. Even as a home cook I was struck by the fact that one would not have to use their palates to correctly identify the ingredients. If you know it's a mole' or a Thai curry you should be easily be able to identify at least 6 ingredients that make up that dish without tasting it. Especially if salt and pepper are ingredients. Doing a making your own sushi for a bridal shower was a lame as it gets. It was like dumb and dumber working together. I like Gene but thought he really went south on his thinking on this. Danny, well what can you say. I think he deserved to go home.

The last time I did a duck confit I tossed the gizzard and heart into the pot with the legs and wings. The gizzard came out great. I've never had a better gizzard.

I agree with you rconnelly. Kathy Lee was just wrong to act that way on national TV. I can't believe that there was anything that offensive for her to spit it out as she did. Poor etiquette for anyone, much less someone in her position. For tonight, well gee I don't know half the contestants at this point since they don't have time to show them all.

I have a 46" Viking hood with a 600CFM motor above my rangetop. It has two baffless instead of screens. Every couple of weeks I do a full cleaning. I remove the baffles and clean with Greased Lighting. http://www.greased-lightning.com/ With the baffles removed I clean every part I can reach. Be surprised how much grease builds up in a short period of time. If I could clean the fins in the motor I would since they are caked in grease but I just can't get to them well.

My only experience killing animals has been in spearfishing. I've had the opportunity turn bulls into steers years ago. Not a pleasant job but something that needed to be done. There is a big disconnect between food and it's source. I find myself trying to get closer to this source while the mainstream moves away. While I agree with Fatguy that you don't have to want to kill an animal to eat meat since there are people skilled in that job, I find it hypocritical that there are those that eat meat find it so offensive that animals are killed for whatever reason. Protect the bunnies, protect the ducks......while they eat their chic fil a sandwhich.

Oh yeah! This Tampa born boy loves them.

Start in kernels in cold oil like Fatguy and use medium heat to get things going and then lower heat once popping in underway like Hest88

Here are some photos of my most recent attempt at cured smoked salmon I used a small center cut fillet of around 1.5 lbs. It was brined in a saturated solution of salt with a handful of brown sugar thrown in. Fillet after 3 hrs in brine solution. The fish was firm but not hard On the grill with homemade smoke generator for cold smoking for 1 1/2 hours over apple and cherry wood Some sliced for breakfast this morning. The fish had a soft, delicate but not mushy texture with a noticeable buy not heavy smoke taste.

I do it this way as well. Excellent results I agree. I actually read the directions on the bottle of Orville Redenbacher corn. I used medium heat and kept the lid slightly ajar to let the steam out. No shaking needed and the corn popped completely with no old maid or burnt ones, although I like the burnt ones.

What we got this past week in addition to the greens was 1 small 4 inch butternut squash 1 small bunch (1/2 a dozen) scallions. 2 oranges 3 radishes with their greens 1 small bunch of dill Really I'm not complaining too much because we do enjoy the greens and with just the two of us have to work to use up our allotment before the next pick up. We have a 1/2 share so every other week. I like the idea of a CSA. I want fresh organic vegetables, I want the farmers to succeed and make money so their gardens can grow. I want sustainability, I want more vegies!!

I feel your pain Dr. Teeth. My wife's friend is a member of our local CSA and new I like to cook so sent info on joining. I was ho-hum about joining but my wife really wanted to do it (she doesn't cook). Said you will like it you buy all that weird stuff anyway. I know this is the winter season but on our fist pick up we got 3 kinds of choys, kale and mustards, some salad greens a bunch of 3 radishes, 1 cucumber. The last two pick ups have not been too different. Heavy on the greens and Asian greens. I really have no problem with the greens since I like cooking them. The choys have been a challenge since I really don't like the flavor of bok choy in stir frys. I have found that if I make an Asian based soup I can dump a ton of choys in there and it taste good. I'm hoping for more diversity as the seasons change but will be reluctant to renew. It does have a feel good quality to be part of a CSA. I just don't think I'm getting my $ worth

I recently made a Nova style lox with a side of Atlantic salmon. I looked for the fattiest side I could find. It was wet brined in a saturated solution of salt and a little sugar for 1hr/half inch of thickness. The side was allowed to dry and form a pellicle overnight in the fridge. It was cold smoked over apple and pecan pellets for about an hour which was plenty. The results were spectacular. The flesh was creamy, not too salty and a hint of smoke. Every time I do gravlax the flesh turns out gummy. Don't know if I use to much salt but I use a 50/50 ratio of salt and sugar and cover it good and weight it down. I usually only cure for 48hrs but it seems too much. Anyway the wet brine was easier and took less time. This is now my preferred method of making lox

A nakiri or santoku would be great for doing julienne and dices. I still like a pointed tip which the nakiri doesn't have but some santokus retain. Chris, the only thing you need to be careful with when putting the Shun or any nice knife on the Edgepro is to tape up the sides so they don't get scratched. Don't be afraid to sharpen it. You will be amazed at the difference, even for your Shun.

Yes the majority seemed to not think outside the box.

Exactly, Brandy has some of its distinct flavor due to an ester. Low molecular weight esters are present in fruits, such as pineapples, pears, bananas, apricots, grapes and oranges. They are also present in cognac, in the form of ethyl nonanoate (ethyl oenanthate). These esters give them their distinctive flavors.

I'm pretty sure they showed them all. I know they have to do a lot of editing but they should edit the drama and show the talent or lack of depending of the chefs that are on the show. That's what I watch for not the BS drama they build in the show.

There still must be too many contestants. During the quick fire I must have fallen asleep or they only showed about half the dishes. Same with the elimination challenge. They were a lot more chefs than they showed dishes.

To help clean the grinder, grind some rice or better yet some instant minute rice. It will help clean up oils from the spices and leave it cleaner. You can then clean and wipe it out and start grinding coffee. Better yet, get a burr grinder for the coffee and leave the blade grinder for the spices.

I've done them with the heat gun/bowl method. What type of roaster are you using? Some work better than others A note of caution. If roasting peanuts you may need to worry about coffee served to anyone with peanut allergies that was roasted in that roaster afterwards. Not sure at what temperature peanut allergens are broken down and no longer cause sensitivity or how easy it would be to clean your roaster.

So I've made gravlax a few times now and the only problem I have is the fish has a gummy texture that I have come to dislike. When choosing wild over farmed I find famred is fattier which to me has a richer texture and milder flavor. I recently tried making a Nova style lox. I know, Nova is not real lox but anyway I wet brined a side of Scotish farmed salmon, dried it to form a pellicle and cold smoked it for an hour. The results were steller. The best Nova I've ever had. I chose the fattiest side I could find and the texture was soft, not mushy, with a melt in your mouth quality. The smoke was from apple and pecan pellets that I used in my ghetto smoke generator consisting of a can and soldering iron place inside my gas grill as the holding chamber. This was so much better than my previous attempts at gravlax. What am I doing wrong with gravlax? I don't dry brine for more than a day or two but it still comes out gummy.

I have a Viking pro 6 burner range top and opted for Viking for the same reasons you did. All burners have the same range from high to lowest simmer. I have not had much trouble maintaining a low simmer unless when the AC is blowing down near the rangetop and the air nearly blows out the flame at the lowest possible level. The only part of the sealed burner that I can't get clean is the metal ring around the burner. Just can't get it clean without brillo which is not recommended but what the hell.

She's doomed. I can see her go next but with TC anything can happen.