pacman1978

Hi, I came across this recently http://www.guardian....logger-s-review I am gobsmacked how you could treat a customer like this. I am sure it is going to damage his restaurant. I'm particulary disappointed in Tom Kerridge as I always admired him and his cooking. The irony is no one would have even read this but him doing this made it reach the bbc news front page. Anyone ever had a go at a customer like this?

Baselard, thanks for the suggetsion. I am cooking this dish this weekend for a dinner party as the main course and so might slice of a rib and SV it as an experiment to get an idea of the end result. The success of it to me though is the mirepoix, plus smoked bacon, red wine and chicken stock then all the marrow from the bone rendering into the liquid that I then skim and reduce to make a fantastically intense jus. So if you are to SV the ribs what do you do at the end - the meat might be nice but you still need to impart some flavour otherwise it's just another steak with mash/chips(fries)/etc

Interesting comments on smoking but I get the impression that americans are much more into home smoking that us brits. Generally we eat a few smoked foods (Bacon, kippers, etc) but very rarely do we try to carry that out at home. I tried it once with some Mesquite wood and I upset the neighbours due to the smoke plumes drifting across.

Ok so I have a little confession... Normally coking a loin I would sear it then roast it but I was so desperate to use the SV I just got delivered to work and only had a couple of hours from getting home to needing to serve food. So just part of the learning curve really, but today I bought some inch and a half thick rib eye steaks from this incredible butcher called ginger pig at borough market in london (london based peeps will have heard of if) and SV'd them for 3 1/2 hours then flash fried in a pan. Given the thickness of them I knew they would not dry out and I can honestly say I am lost for words. I love the way all the fat is edible and not just the fat but the sinew everything. You hear the science behind the collagen rendering and all that but to actually taste it is something else. My first thought now is to try a really well marbled wagu steak as using this method you just know you are not going to ruin it! I can totally see how it really suits the slow cooked fibrous cuts and so keen to crack on with them. That said I have an amazing recipe for braised short ribs that people are always amazed by and I don't think SV could offer any more so to me it's just an understanding of where and when it can advance your food as opposed to being the default answer. Thanks for the tips

Thanks for the tips/thoughts. I suspect maybe I cut it too thin (about an inch) as well which made the searing have more effect. Will give it another crack on 60 and with thicker slices at some point but loads of other things I want to cook first! Already have a blow torch as well so will try that as well

Food porn I meant of course ;-)

Ha ha - corrected that one!

Hi, So I took the plunge and got a sous vide demi and vacum machine. Desperate to use it I got some pork tenderloin(knowing it could be done in a couple of hours) to cook for my wife and mother-in-law (who was visiting). Wary of serving too pink pork(mother in law...) I set it to 63 deg and put the pork in with some butter, salt and pepper. I took the bags out after about 2 1/2 hours and had a little taste and whilst I would happily have had it more rare it was juicy and tasty! Unfortunately I then heated a pan of veg oil till smoking and added the pork pieces and quickly bronwed just one side for maybe 60 seconds to try and develop the maillard flavours. Then I rested it for 5 mins under foil and served it. It was over cooked and slightly dry, especially compared to what I tasted beforehand. I guess the question is how do we compensate for the browning process accurately Give we have a perfect piece of meat to the nearest half degree are we not then introducing a wild variable into the equation? I appreciate that sous vide is going to be a learning curve of trial and experiment but any tips are always appreciated! Cheers, Paul

Isn't Onglet hanger? To be honest I struggle with these cuts as I know they are called different things between french/english/american butcherry. I always find onglet is the best cut as I find bavette slighter more fibrous and tough. Either way I would never dream of marinating it as lancastermike/hungryc say just char the hell out of it in a few minutes and then a really good resting period is essential.

So I am sat here watching Masterchef professionals and they complained about how someones pasta is too thick. How can you make pasta too thick? Given you just keep turning the dial to make it thinner and thinner till the lowest setting how is this possible and especially for a professional? I'm more interested because I might be missing a trick to make my pasta thinner! Thanks, Paul

Ok so maybe I am misunderstanding the cut but flank steak to me is what we call either Bavette or Onglet steak. It needs to be cooked very quickly and rare - I would never dream of marinading it as you need to develop the maillard flavours very quickly so has to be dry. That said what an amazing cut of meat - so flavourful!

Isn't is called a tarka? Simplest example is a tarka dahl with lentils and then some fried spices added at the end. Happy to be corrected by someone if I'm wrong there!

You could make 100 year eggs - an ancient Chinese recipe where you bury them in the ground for months. I can only imagine how bad they must smell!!

Nicolai - I love love love buratta! I'm from the UK but just got married in Italy and we had it at our wedding. Fantastic just as you served it but even more decadent with some shaved truffle on top! To those who don't know it, it is a mozzarella that has cream inside and if you're looking for a unique antipasti dish it can be the centrepiece to elevate it!

I'm amazed sometimes how the US food industry seems to manipulate food. If what you say that they boil them then try and replace it with an oil coating is true I find that ridiculous as clearly it must be a preservation exercise to maximise profits... Here in the UK all eggs are sold just on a shelf and never refridgerated. In fact to use eggs most of the time they need to be room temp anyway as if you just simply boil them the shell will crack.

Hi, I was just reading a thread about braising and it reminded me of an amazing duck ragu that I once made. I'm just a passionate home cook and so alternate between simple couple of elements meals of an evening and more complex fine dinning dinner party meals. The question is even for the great chefs out there do you keep track of what you have cooked and make notes on what worked and what did not? Guess I have had an epiphany in that if I always make some detailed notes on every time I cook something it will help me remember the great dishes that worked and those that did not. I imagine as a professional chef it would be even harder to remember everything you have ever tried. I am sure I have forgotten some great dishes I have made even though I don't make that many. Thanks in advance for any advice. Paul

I can't see where it says how much liquid he used - where is that? To me it is just a sensible ratio that covers well but not drowning I love the bolognese idea of shredding the meat after braising I've done something similar a couple of times to make a duck ragu and that was fantastic so will definitely try that in the future.

What about making a pomme puree out of them? That would surely keep a few days longer than just boiled potatoes and simple to reheat with a splash of milk to loosen if needed?

Gordon Ramsay for me. He was a great chef but now is a tv celeb and a large chunk of his restauarant empire failed a few eyars ago and he was close to losing it all. RHR is an amazing restaurant with 3 stars but it would be interesting to know how much he has to do with that and how much needs to be credited to Clare Smyth the head chef... Sadly though a lot more money in the celeb route cooking simple food than being head chef of a two or three star restaurant.

Eel is lovely - once had an amazing soup in a chinese restaurant with eel and pork belly. Only thing is it can be tricky to eat as has the bone that runs through it

You can get farmed sea bass as well which is smaller but cheaper and still pretty decent I think..

Hi, As a non-professional I go to a restaurant to be wowed and appreciate food that I would never normally consider combining together. So with that in mind I would never dream of saying that I want something changed about a dish. However that said I am open minded to food whereas ultimately you are running a business and so keeping the customer happy is core to your business and reputation. On that basis I would always be mindful of what such a hard line could do to my reputation. I always remember watching a Jamie Oliver programme where Bill Clinton and his entourage all came to his fifteen restaurant in London and they all ordered steak and salad as the aitkens diet was all the rage. He ranted on camera about "Why do I f'ing bother with all this" but you know what.... He served them all steak and salad cause he knew his business reputation was on the line. If you are some superstar chef then you can probably get away with it but ultimately if you mis-time this it could impact your business and livelihood. Just my tuppence worth - 2 cents to the americans :-)

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. When you say par cooking you literally mean just boiling the rice in liquid for six minutes. Will that allow the starch to be released allowing for a creamy risotto or does that par boiling include constant agiation? I normally use arborio rice if that makes any difference Thanks twyst - will try doing that and slapping it in the freezer for 10 mins and see how I get on. I once tried that but just stuck it in a tupperware and unsurprisingly it was mushy as clearly kept cooking.

Hi, I would like to know how you pre-cook risotto so that it can be finished off quickly when required. I am an enthusiastic home cook who loves to do fine dining dinners and so would love to be able to simplify the prep of a risotto to allow me more time focusing on other components. I am assuming in restaurants risotto is not cooked to order every single time as it requires so much attention. Thanks in advance for any advice!

Monkfish for me is an amazing fish, so meaty and robust that it really stands up well to bold flavours. Few fish I can think of are: Turbot - also slightly expensive but a beutiful clean tasting fish Mackarel - nice and oily and so goes well with sharp flavours to cut through the oiliness. Cheap as hell here in the uk - goes really well with beetroot and horseradish Swordfish - Very similar to tuna in texture, really meaty and can be handled in a similar way Mullet - Mediterranean fish that can be nice stuffed with lemon, herbs, etc and roasted. Trout - similar to salmon really nice cooked en pappiotte Cod/Haddock - very common in the uk meaty clean tasting fish although probably a little boring for what you are after. Sea Bream/Sea bass - really good with oriental flavours What type of cuisine are you thinking of cooking as certain fish lend themselves to those styles? Hope these are some ideas!