mrsadm

Please take your time in picking out a Japanese knife; there is much to know and folks can have really different preferences. If you just want one knife, the recommendation of a Tojiro gyuto is excellent; you won't spend too much money on it, either. Never use a honing steel on it; you can use a ceramic steel however. And learn to sharpen it as well yourself; if you take it to a sharpening place that uses a grinder you can ruin the knife. Good luck!

it smelled really bad and tasted bad too. I am wondering if the box I purchased sat on the store shelf for too long. Now I must admit I've never cooked pure wild rice before, only those mixes with some wild rice and mostly white rice. So maybe I don't have a good taste reference? How long does wild rice keep?

A Mexican chef for the white house? I think the interview of Rick Bayless was a nice gesture but I doubt they will seriously consider him. Thomas Keller? Too much of an artisan; he probably would not like all the big catering events. Paula Dean? ;-)

I have two business colleagues in Denmark that I'd like to send a holiday food gift basket to. I am trying to think of what would be (1) American in origin and perhaps interesting a different for them; and (2) items that won't melt (like chocolate) or need refrigeration. I'm sure many of you will have great ideas!

Would be interesting to see what Harold McGee might say about this.

Looks like a new expensive tome will be coming out from Gordon Ramsay. Does anyone know what it will be about? Three-Star Chef

Sounds like a great book, Chad! Congratulations. I'll be looking forward to it. I really enjoyed your piece about knives on egullet.

I live in the Mexican-ingredient challenged northeast US - can anyone recommend a source where I can order blue corn tortillas?

Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that ovens weren't common in Japan, just that I don't have one. It makes cooking most western dishes difficult for me, since most recipes call for one. I have a recipe from the February 2008 issue for chicken in a pot - it looked interesting, until I read that the chicken is put in a dutch oven, then put inside a regular oven. I guess I was wrong, but I thought the whole point of using a dutch oven was so that it could be cooked over a direct flame. But anyway, it called for being cooked for 80-110 minutes, and then I thought about what that would do to my gas bill, and I hurled the magazine into a corner. Where it has sat until I dusted it off just now to see what month it was. ← I think pretty much every dutch oven recipe that says bake in the oven, can be equally cooked on the stovetop. Just keep the flame low and check it now and then.

Oh my goodness, congratulations Bob on a fabulous piece! Amazing.

I absolutely adored the food at Chutney Mary's last time I was there (granted it was over a year ago). I don't know enough about traditional Indian food to say how authentic it was, but it sure was delicious.

Here is a good web site about how to freeze various foods (click on "General Information" for a section on foods that do not freeze well): How to Freeze

As I said to my husband, when notified we'd be given a check, we are being stimulized! What should we spend it on? With rice disappearing will any of you be buying 20 or 50 lb bags to hoard for a while? I myself would like a new TV, with high-def, and a DVR to record cooking shows! I've already ordered the Rick Bayless brand baking dish that sits in a metal stand, a very nice way to server enchiladas or lasagne at the table: link How about you?

Me too, me too! I guess my moment of realization was when I started taking photos of the food in restaurants.....

I just checked amazon in the US and the new Jamie book is available for pre-order, to be available in Oct. 2008 (what a long time! - maybe they are converting words and phrases like "easy-peasy" to "simple" ;-) Here is a link: http://www.amazon.com/JAMIE-AT-HOME-COOK-Y...08547915&sr=8-3

Sorry I have not read all 17 pages of this thread but, where is Bourdain's blog about this season? I loved his comments last season. Bravo TV site links to a "Vote for Bourdain's Blog" page but I cannot find his blog, am I missing it? http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/4/blogs/index.php Thanks

Thanks, Toliver. I will order the Test Kitchen set. At $14.99 PER EPISODE I think Lydia is getting a bit greedy! But I appreciate the pointers...

Does anyone know if any of the current PBS cooking shows are out on DVD? We don't get PBS since the antenna fell off the roof (we have DirectTV via a satellite dish) and I was in a hotel Saturday watching PBS and really miss those shows! There was Ming, Lydia, Test Kitchen, and more ..... I searched shopPBS web site and didn't find anything. Any clues to the PBS-deprived? Thanks!

Thank you both! The farmer's markets in upstate NY are generally closed throughout the long winter; otherwise I agree that's a great place to start. I will check your links, thanks very much.

Sorry if this topic has been covered, I did some searches and read some threads but did not find what I was looking for. How can I - a home cook - find sources for meat that is not necessarily organic but at least humanely slaughtered? Is there some kind of association, group, or web sites that help? I have been horrified lately by all the discussion online of a particularly cruel incident at a meat-packing place (Ruhlman's blog has a link to it) - I will never watch it but I do want very much to do what I can as a consumer to support humane practices. Thanks for any pointers.

I like "foodie". And let's face it, the word will continue on whether we here on egullet like it or not.

Recipe, please?

The cover page logo is turquoise and brown - not exactly food colors to me. Also I feel the drawings and helpful bytes of information are talking down to me ... either that or I've become more sophisticated (I prefer to think the latter of course). At any rate this is my last issue, I'm letting my long time subscription lapse.

Feeling really down today about cooking. Yesterday I made mu shu pork and it just gagged me. I've been trying to cook seriously and trying to get better for nearly 5 years now. I have 100 cookbooks and all the video's. I have taken 6 Saturday classes at the CIA. I have learned a lot. I know how to broil, roast, saute, braise, and make some classic sauces. But I still have days when I make stuff that tastes just terrible and I don't know why. Is it lack of practice? I do work long hours so I generally cook only on the weekends. Lack of a palate? Just plain lack of talent? Or do even the great chefs have days when they produce something just barely edible? I hardly ever experiment. I follow recipes. Maybe it's the recipes, and not me? Should I make a dish over and over until I get it right? Maybe it's time to sell the cookbooks on ebay and take up stamp collecting... Maybe it's the winter blues.....

I really like my two Swiss Diamond pans. I have had them about 2 years. No idea how long they will last. We'll see. I'll report back here in 5 more years ;-)