scubadoo97

Next Iron Chef meets Top Chef. That has been my impression of this show and when they pulled out those coolers and went to their out door kitchens that solidified my impression. Fun to just read Bourdain's comments where he says just that. As for Andrew Knowlton, not my favorite judge but yes we could have gotten RR.

Really like the show. Good recipe Ideas. Fun watching him jump the globe and pal around with his chef buddies. Like the interaction with Mario and the Italian Grandmothers

Figured the old Solis could be used for drip or other grinds that you don't want to do in the Rocky. I use mine for drip and French press and use my Mazzer for espresso only.

Chris good luck with your new Rocky grinder. Too bad you broke the tabs on the burr carrier. Actually you can get a replacement if you want. Baratza will still send you the grinding adjustment ring that you broke free of charge. They have been sending those out to anyone that ask since it appears they had a poor design and have been making those available to anyone that needs one. Remember that regular cleaning goes a long way. I've had a Maestro Plus for about 5 years. I can disassemble as easily as the day I bought it. I just try to clean it about once every week or two. That's kept it in fine working order.

Both work well. My Syrian G'mother used pistachios exclusively.

Again assuming that they are not off taste wise but are just not that flavorful shrimp cakes would be a way to add some flavor. Pulse in the food processor. You could use some scallop puree as a binder as well as bread crumbs.

Nothing exciting to show. I just jot down on a note pad what comes to mind and maybe during the week start one when I know we are out of something and need to restock. Too often the list is not with me when I shop. So much for organization. Jamie Lee-Thanks for bringing shopping list voyeurism to EG. The fact that you got excited when seeing a previous shoppers list in the cart was a hoot. BekkiM and Anna-OMG, amazing level of organization. Maggiethecat-Loved the list on paper towel. Got the basics covered

Rancho I've used fresh chile powder in salad dressings, dusted on a fried egg. There are lots of places where a little chile powder gives good flavor, spice and is more suited than a whole chile.

Rice in the Middle East is often cooked with a fair amount of oil. This really helps to get the nice browned bottom. I always fry my rice in oil before adding the water. After it's done you just turn down the heat and let it sit. You will get a nice golden brown, crunchy bottom. Flip it over onto a plate. This is how I grew up eating rice.

I make my own often and always toast the peppers. Toasting brings out flavor. Dried peppers can go from toasted to burnt in a matter of seconds so don't over do it. Once burnt they will become bitter. Anchos are wonderful like big spicy raisins. I grind them up and keep pure ancho powder and also mix some with cumin and oregano for chili powder.

You can certainly make it several days ahead. I have some wrapped in foil on the counter that's two weeks old and it looks and tastes fine. Best stored in the freezer for long term storage

I gave this a try for a Rosh Hashanah dessert and brought it to the big family get together. I knew it would be judged critically by this crew. Over all it got rave reviews and of course some critiquing was expected. I used a 1 lb package of phyllo that had the two halves rolled and packaged separately which made it very easy to work with. Spooned some clarified butter down and laid the first half of the phyllo down then the nut mixture and then the second layer. It took me a couple of minutes to decide the best way to cut it and in that time the top layer began to dry out so when I stated cutting the very top layer was sliding around on me. Thank goodness phyllo is very forgiving. Mine came out looking more like gfron1's than ChefCrash's. I didn't get the rise and felt the phyllo was a little denser than usual. I will have to try this again. Mistakes- over processed the nuts, felt there was too much syrup in my final dish. Need to work faster. My aunt said she thaws the phyllo in the fridge but then lets the box sit out of the fridge for several hours and that make the dough more workable. I guess I'll try that next time as well.

Absolutely stunning board and knife Bob. Too bad Dave is throwing in the towel. His boards are beautiful.

I have both end and edge grain boards and have never had any color coming off the wood when oiling.

put me in the steel cut camp. Grew up with quick rolled oats but really like the more toothy texture from the steel cut oats. I cook them like rice for an average time of 20 min so they aren't soft and mushy.

I am a fan of the waiter style cork screw like this one waiter corkscrew My wife likes the rabbit corkscrew and even though they are easy to use they are large and bulky. To often the screw is very long on these and they penetrate the cork leaving little pieces of cork in the wine.

I don't think it's your fridge. Maybe you needed to use more sugar/salt mixture. I tried my hand at gravlax last month. Since it was just for two of us I used a small fillet of wild sockeye salmon that was about a pound. I used equal parts of sugar and salt and made enough to coat both sides. I didn't measure but just made sure I had enough to cover it well. I don't think the dill does much so if you used dried it would be okay. I used one bunch of fresh dill and crushed corriander seeds. Wraped tight in plastic and weighted with a couple of cans I let it sit for 2 days. The fish had a very firm gummy texture but tasted good. I think I should have pulled it a day sooner and I don't think I needed to weight it down. I was able to make nice slices with a very sharp slicing knife but had to keep wiping down the blade after each slice.

Well the Magnum + is living up to the hype. Great grinder. I may go back and order a peppergun.

Home roaster checking in. Been roasting for going on 5 years now. Started with a Fresh Roast Plus roaster and various poppers. Gave heatgun roasting a try for a year and have been using the stir crazy/turbo oven combo similar to the one seen here for the last 2 years and find it a great inexpensive roaster that can do a 14 oz batch or green in around 13 min. http://homeroast.pbwiki.com/SCTO I joined the greencoffee coop http://www.greencoffee.coop/ early in it's development. It's a wonderful place to buy larger quantities of coffee. Due to the sometimes lack of available coffee at the coop an alternate site is http://www.greencoffeebuyingclub.com/index.php I have never run out of green since I usually have upwards of 50 lbs or more in my current rotation. Like anything else it can become addictive. I use to get nervous when my stash got below 80 lbs. We travel with fresh beans and grinder when at all possible. I took a couple of pounds with me to Maui. I swear my morning coffee in the room was worlds better than the Kona served in the hotel restaurant. On that trip my suitcase reeked of fresh coffee so much I thought I was going to be search for drugs. Figured they might think I was using the coffee to cover the smell of weed. No searches no weed, just great coffee.

The PepperStick looks like a slimmed down elongated version of the Keytop. Wouldn't you need two hand. One to hold the mill and one to turn the top key. Edited to add that from the website the Peppergun is the only one that looks to be a one handed mill I am looking forward to using the Magnum. It is out for delivery today.

same here. I though it was Dale for sure due to the foreshadowing of his closeness to Casey and the fact that he can't seem to get it right under pressure.

Works for me.

Grammar aside, I thought last nights episode was one of the best in terms of challenges. Doing wacky challenges does not make a top chef. Being able to do classic dishes is a better measure of a chef's ability.

We have a large oriental lacquered dinning room table that I think is walnut. Very beautiful wood. We only use the dinning room when we have guests for dinner and usually eat at the kitchen island counter or previously at the kitchen table. My wife insists on pads and a table cloth when we use the table. I've seen enough spills over the years to think this is a good idea.

Just saw the SC show last night. I just about fell off the couch when Tony did the Rachel Ray dig at the Hominy Grill. That was just so funny and true. 10% tips on $40/day. Just sad