weinoo

The first thing I learned in cooking school was when using a recipe to read it all the way through (before starting!) and then proceed.

Different, that's for sure. I like doing duck leg confit because it makes practically no mess as opposed to the traditional version. ETA: I like doing duck leg confit sous vide because it makes practically no mess.

She had an impact far beyond America. I bought a copy of the metricated version of "The Classic Italian Cookbook" in 1980. This was the first of many Italian cookbooks that I bought but unlike many of my earlier cookbooks is one that I still use today.Rest in Peace Marcella, you had a significant global impact bringing authentic Italian cooking to those of us outside Italy and will be missed. Rereading this thread - I'd like to get a copy of that book with metric weights - very cool.

And tons of salt might be an exaggeration, no? Confit does require a certain amount of salt, however if done correctly, doesn't really end up salty.

There are any number of threads about frittatas... Here's one that Fat Guy started. Here's one that Fat Guy started. I don't think you should even think about reheating frittatas. I make them specifically so that I can have them at room temperature. Leftover pasta is one of my favorite "fillings" as I blogged about a while ago.

This is what I'll do, except I'll substitute that if it's a baking recipe, I follow it as closely as possible.

Over in this Carrot Safety thread, one of the posters cut their finger while following a recipe exactly. Because, you know, the recipe said to do it that way. Do you always follow a recipe exactly? Or, if you think something might be a little silly in the recipe, do you adapt?

So true, Bill. I'm pretty sure she wasn't that easy as spouses go either. Russ Parsons' obit in the LA Times is nicely written as well.

Are you trying to use or serve the carrot whole? If not, I cut carrots into manageable lengths before cutting them lengthwise. Also, are the carrots gigantic? Because I've seriously never had to core a carrot. A parsnip, yes.

Well, I've had short-ribs braised sous-vide, and they were pretty damn good. But at home, I'd rather get the aroma of a TR braise.

Ahhh - thanks. A little slow today. But shouldn't any "final taste" include a traditional braise as well?

What's PC?

As I posted on my Facebook page, coincidentally or not last night I made pasta with herbs and raw tomatoes. The first time I made it was August 27, 1989 - over 24 years ago. It's a recipe from Marcella's Italian Kitchen.

This article from Reality Pod is pretty awesome. Not much written, but great photos of families in different countries and the food they buy and eat over the course of a week. Almost everyone has bananas! And it's sad to see how little some have to get by on when we think about how much waste there is, certainly in the good old USA. Of course, if you read through the comments, there are the usual number of idiots.

Mine are dog-eared and written in. Great books!

If you're a cook, there are probably any number of people who helped shape your cooking chops. There's family, of course - grandmother, mother, father, etc. And there are probably some TV personalities too; I always loved watching Julia, Jacques, Pierre, Graham, Jeff, James, Yan, etc. Nowadays, god forbid, it's Rachael and Guy, but that's another complaint and another post, and if they're shaping your cooking chops, maybe you should be, I dunno, drinking? And then there are the cookbooks and their authors. When I started cooking (I mean, other than helping my mother bake cakes and making scrambled eggs and stuff when I was 7), I took some cooking classes and I taught myself by buying and reading cook books. One of the first, if not the first Italian cookbook that I bought, read and studied was The Classic Italian Cook Book. Released in 1973, I read it cover to cover, many times over. I still turn to it, for inspiration, guidance and just because it's a great read. I mean, look at these lines from the preface: Marcella Hazan passed away this morning at the age of 90 (and if that's not an endorsement for the art of eating well, I don't know what is), and the world of cooking has lost one of its greats. RIP Marcella. And thanks for all the lessons you taught me...

I know there are people who make fun of her and her strict ways, but when I started cooking 40 years ago, her first few books taught me so much about Italian food, lifestyle and cooking. I still use them as references.

One egg omelet with "deconstructed guacamole." Or, heirloom cherry tomato and avocado "salsa." Real rye bread. Single origin espresso; Stumptown's Ethiopian Duromina.

We like Keane and we liked Cyrus when we dined there a long time ago. We recently had dinner at Bryan's Range and it was very good. I'm surprised Burke made it this far - kinda floating by on his reputation, because I can't imagine he cooks very much any more.

So what do you do when a company and/or one of it's big mukety-mucks, makes a statement that is offensive? There was that Chic-Fil-A thing a while ago. Now it's Barilla, whose company president made an anti-gay remark. Then apologized, sort of. Me - I'm not buying Barilla any more.

I wonder if there'll be a Cronut recipe in Ansel's book?

So why don't you just get a 6" or 7" Victorinox? I see they're also making Santokus. http://www.cutleryandmore.com/forschner_fibrox.htm

The hot sauce sounds intriguing. I bought some of that yeast stuff - blech.

I'm concerned that the 8" blade may be a bit much for her. I know a 6" blade will work fine. Couldn't find a 6" model except for a utility knife. In that case, try the Wasabi Santoku These knives look to be sharpened on one side only. So, if anyone is left-handed, won't that be a problem?

It sounds like you're trying to buy a knife for you that Toots will like using. I bought my wife a Shun 6' Santoku - she really likes it and I don't mind using it when I have to.