Chef/Writer Spencer

I'm glad to see a chef get the praise that is usually bestowed upon his better known celebrity equivalent. I, for one, love to showcase my staff's talents...

I was about to ask about that... thanks for clarifying. Last time we went to NO for the weekend we could not get reservations at Emeril's but we did have dinner at NOLA and Delmonico. Both were superb. FM Ate at Nola a couple of years ago...and dammit, I loved it.

What do you enjoy about a longbean that you don't get frrom a string bean? I've never really gotten it. I find that the texture of long beans never seems to please me, plus the little beans growing in the pod are often more mature than I would like. When longbeans are wilted down (either by stirfrying or "braising" in liquid) and then are glazed with a flavored cornstarch slurry they get pleasantly chewy--not rubbery like the boring green bean. I love green beans raw, not so well cooked. It's totally a question of personal preference, of course. There's a restaurant around the corner from me that put long beans as described on their buffet and they rock out...

Chinese longbeans with sweet soy enriched beef glaze (cornstarched quick beef stock) and fried garlic chips....

Buckhead Beef out of Atlanta...The short ribs are 9.77/lb but worth every penny, trust me....

What about onglet Wagyu......

Wow. I wish I could take that jab back. He did seem like a happy go lucky good soul. Sorry for the loss. I apologize...

Ohh Fabio, where art thou Fabio....Two shows in a row, and his name is actually Fabio in this one. The overtones are getting quite...uh, Liberace-like. Are you tryin' to tell us something Tony.....

Sounds good. What about the texture. Did you have to cut it against the grain? I bet it'd be just lovely anyway you ate it.

Oh yeah daddy. I was skeptical too. They've got the chew of an onglet (hangersteak) but man, that marbling really gives those babies some flavor. I'm thinking--perhaps misguidely--that most of the Kobe cuts are like that. All I did was sear them, pop em in the oven for two minutes and boom. The cut I used was boneless. Amazing stuff....

I just mentioned in an earlier thread about my love of Wagyu short ribs. You can sear em and eat em md. rare. They taste like the juiciest beef flavored butter you can imagine. I tried the oxtails though and got very little meat to fat ratio--rendering the things worthless. And especially after you braise em you can't tell the difference...Can anyone suggest any other cuts that might pack a bang for the buck..

you're welcome. you can get that, and a lot of great blends--they have 10 different curry variations, great dried herbs (they dry them out in the sun), and interesting things like that from Colorado Spice Co. Let me know about that recipe...

You're kiddin' right? When Alfred Portale was quizzed on this subject he pretty much laughed the idea off. And he's supposed be a proponent of the perfect risotto.....

There are millions of restaurants in the world, I'm sure. All are seeking visibility, to stand out in the buyer's mind. To cut thru the clutter and be noticed. This fellow at Old Bay is in the select few who have had achieved that objective. CNN, several turns in the NY Times, most French TV and radio. That's not a bad investment for (maybe) pouring out a few hundred dollars of wine. And, there's no solid evidence of the pour out other than his word for it. A local butcher here in NJ put an ad in the Caldwell NJ Progress newspaper, supporting the President's call for action against Iraq. Although a number of angry people wrote letters of complaint, he told me last night his business is up 20%. Hey, it's not the goddamned wine's fault...

OH MY GOD The Lighthouse..... We used to walk to it on the beach early early in the morning. That brings back beautiful memories. I'm glad to hear that it's still there...Rockin' good. Thanks.

When I was a kid we used to vacation at Newcomb Hollow Beach just outside of Wellfleet. We'd stop about half way up the Cape and eat at a small road side clam shack called Arnolds. It was nirvana. I haven't been up that way in years, does anyone know if it still exists...It was the cape in a nutshell. Great clams......

I've been waiting to tell someone about my method of cooking Basmati. First of all, don't use the Americanized Basmati (at least for this recipe). Use the stuff in the four pound burlap sacks. Don't rinse it at all. I know that runs concurrent with traditional thinking but this is what you do: measure out one part rice (and do it in separate pots if the quantity is over four cups to prevent overcrowding and uneven cooking) and then measure out EXACTLY two parts water--I'm talking to the drop. Then--don't gasp Suvir--pour a quarter cup of the water out. Put the water and rice with a nug of butter and a healthy dash of K. salt into a medium sized (but not too large as to dwarf the stuff and cause burning) sauce pan or stock pot, cover it, crank the heat up until a full rolling boil is achieved, turn the rice down to "mare" simmer (sorry obscure Justin Wilson reference) and simmer until small holes appear in the top surface of the rice and the mass appears firm (absence of H20). Allow to sit for 5 minutes then fluff in a mixing bowl. Voila. Now if you're into Indian seasoning just do that magic before hand and add to already aforementioned procedure....Spencer.

Let me guess: identity theft! (You can get their credit card numbers as well, but it involves poking through their garbage! Ooops!) nah, it's totally on the up and up. it involves a certain website...

Stone - Being in a similar position (I finish up high school at the end of May), I think the issue is very similar to anyone who wants to go into a field where success (whether that be realization of dream, material success, fame, whatever your definition...) may be a long way, if ever, down the road, but where the person has an enormous amount of passion for what they want to do. This applies not only to the culinary arts, but also to painting, writing, filmmaking, sculpture, architecture, and so many countless other jobs that people do and love for very little (or sometimes very much) money. But, if you really have to question whether you should make the decision, then it does kinda seem that you probably shouldn't. And that's not to say that we all don't doubt our decisions at some point, but I think if you are really worrying about whether money and security is more important than doing what you are passionate about, then it might create problems and impediments somewhere down the road. What if success takes five years? What if it takes ten? For me, the choice kind of made itself, almost as if I really have no choice -- that I cannot possibly idle through 4 years of college majoring in English, philosophy, or something else, only to get out and go apply for a job in a restaurant a day later. This wasn't always my plan and I really had no clue I wanted to go this direction at all until I walked into Trio for dinner on my birthday, last July and I've been really sure ever since. Before I was considering studying film, or literarure somewhere for four years...architecture was also an option I've taken seriously and liked for sometime, my dad being an architect and having grown up surrounded by books of Frank Lloyd Wright and Tadao Ando, but he warned me a few years ago about the state of the profession...how it is not the way it was back in the past, and that everything is done by computers now with very little creativity. And I haven't based my decision with that solely on his word...all I have to do is look around the suburb of Chicago I live in, at the houses -- expensive, boxy and all the same -- that have been built here in the last ten years, and realize that this is what I would be doing and that it is not, in fact, what I want to be doing. So as far as advice goes, I really can't give any from experience, but I do think that if you feel very strongly about going in a certain direction and are sure, at least as much as you can be, that it's what you want to do, then go for it. Too many people prescribe the same four years at college and too many people end up not liking their jobs. If you are lucky enough, like pastramionrye said, to find something you love, then why not goddamn it? Why not? Don't listen to anybody. Go for it and don't look back...

IF you guys like garam masala may I suggest Ras El Hanout. It's a spicier blend, a little orange rind (I think) and chiles. Great in curries....

His kitchen was cliche/caricature of most of the smaller French kitchens. His brigade was the typical flotsam/serious types. Someone who had spent time in such kitchens obviously worked on the show. His food was--from what I saw--fru fru French, tourned roots, extravagant plouche and the asparagus tied up with a blanched leek green stuff--interesting maybe, tired probably. The best part about that show for me was watching the brigade react when Blackstoke flared up. God the looks, the sniveling ass-kissing eyes, the nervous energy. I know every single one of those reactions....Biblically...It was like floating above your body and observing.....

Try to clean the fryer out with soapy water before turning off and draining....

God, I think I'm getting depressed here....

Yeah, I think he was fixating. But that's in character.....Next week he'll be sportin' a kangaroo suit and a fifth of some indiginous potation as he weeds through the restaurants of Australia and makes obscure loaded references to the mafia. Every week is something new--good or bad. This week was great...

Tony,' Great show on Salvador. You captured a piece of its soul. The focus was crystal clear, it was all about food. And I laughed hard at your uncomfortable dealings with Fabio the waiter. Really enjoyed the offal and the array of beach offerings. What an endorsement for an unsung destination. No dry humping ex-wrestlers for the Spice Channel here. Thanks....