boudin noir

Sautee fresh chopped fennel in olive oil until soft and browning. Mash up sardines mix with fennel. Add a nice handful of pine nuts pinch of red pepper flakes. Mix with pasta of choice. Fabulous .

I have half a dozen poultry shears that i have tried. None come close to the garden pruners. I have a dedicated set.

I have found that the easiest way to spatchcock chickens and especially ducks is with garden hand pruners. They cut through the bones effortlessly .

Crock pot. Prefer standard braise. Bought 20 years ago. Used twice.

Stick to food you know.

How long can you keep szechuan peppercorns?

If you froze it immediately after you composed it, I would thaw it out enough to remove all that surrounds the beef. Then I would sear the total exterior of the fillet. Then cook the fillet. Discard the surrounds.

Mouse cubes on Amazon. Release a mile away.

I have subscribed to a fair number of food and cooking magazines over the years and find now that they just recycle old ideas perhaps with a few esoteric new ingredients that you may use once. If I'm looking for new ideas I google the main ingredient and some suggested additional ingredient or cuisine and see what pops up. Works for me.

Hate peas. Fall off fork. Often starchy. Except for sugar snap peas.

Cut off the tip. Cut off the piece you wish to use with the wrap on. Stand the the piece you wish to use on end and slice down the middle with a sharp knife. The wrap will fall off.

For the lazy - could you not use frozen puff pastry dough?

Sous vide goose confit. Hoppin john

I think in cooking rules are meant to be tested. Try it. If you like it that is good for you. If not try an other route.

What unnecessary kitchen appliance or tool would you be reluctant to give up? Mine is an under the counter automatic ice maker.

Is there a flavor or texture advantage to cooking tough meats, i.e beef short ribs, by pressure cooking v. traditional braise?

That looks like the kind of schnitzel I want to make.

It has been my belief that "schnitzel" should be very thin; 1/8-1/4 inch thick. Much of what I see in the photos is much thicker. Am I wrong?

I tip over 20% almost all the time. The few extra dollars mean little to me but much more to the server.

I have difficulty spatchcocking birds ( chickens and ducks ) using kitchen shears, chefs knives and cleavers. My hand hurts from shears and the bird is usually a mess whichever weapon I use. I recently saw on Amazon garden pruning shears that could cut through a 3/4 inch branch. I bought them. (I often use non-cooking stuff when I'm cooking.) They are great. They cut through the birds with little effort and the birds look as intended.

Most of the recipes I've seen for schnitzels of all sorts of meat have called for pounding to appropriate thickness. I've had restaurant schnitzels that are thinner than 1/4 inch. I guess they might have slicing machines that can slice that thin, but then why do the recipes call for pounding if it is ineffectual.

My problem with schnitzel is thickness. I start with thin ( 1/4 inch ) pork chops. I then pound them down to about 1/8 inch. I flour, egg, bread crumb and fry. They quickly thicken back to their previous thickness as they cook. How do I prevent this?

I use the Times food site and find it to be very useful. Well worth getting the Times and for any cook looking for a vast library of recipes a great resource.

I find that I don't use very much cookbooks written by authors who also have big name restaurants ( with a few exceptions ). I am keeping mostly classics. I get many recipes online and find that I can get most of what I need.

I'm not sure that photo whets my appetite.