radtek

I hear Hattori Hanzo is reputable? Unfortunately I only have German steel forged in China or Chinese steel forged in the same factories. Both are great. Perhaps this will produce some inspiration.

And the best steel for you. A softer steel will gain an edge and hold it but it'll be sharpened easily. Acids and wear will dull the blade. A hard blade will hold it's edge longer but the same wear and tear applies and they can be brittle, and harder to sharpen. It might take a lot of skill to properly hone too. Also does one want a knife with heft to aid the slicing, chopping process or something lighter and thinner that'll glide through the target material but will require more effort at times? Some of my embarrassingly cheaper knives are my favorites, though I cannot discount the value of the more expensive ones. So it's a balance of economics vs wear and tear and how one will use the knives.

A bottle of Lillet White, a large bottle of Veseca triple-distilled potato vodka and a bottle of Absente "Absinthe Refined". They told me that the absinthe had only been available for two weeks and I was the first to buy it. Hehe I'll give it a shot tonight without the louche even though the bottle came with a spoon...

That is good info there on "Cooking Issues". Thanks. Cleared something up regarding "salting" for me. It may be about the finer points as something may not be ruined by salting it beforehand but discerning palates may notice the difference. Obviously everyone wants their food to be optimum- especially if serving it to others.

Thanks! Very interesting- a google search reveals that a spring planting instead of a fall planting will probably produce these. I may plant some in March just to see what happens.

Wow that looks really good. What type of garlic is that? Looks significantly different from what I'm used to.

LOL! I wonder if our porky friends will complain about the after affects?

Sorry! I wasn't singling you out!

There's a lot of salt in cheese as a preservative and for flavor. Always has been. Always will be if one wants quality. Just another thing for the uninformed fearmongers to complain about.

I'm sure you tossed it. But IME the heat often fades significantly after an overnight in the fridge! Often to my disappointment. And a little served with a lot of steamed rice is a good way to combat over-spiced curries and 5-alarm chili's. I treat it more like a condiment in this situation. Not to say I'm above trashing a fail!

Ahh the 4th iteration of the Thanksgiving turkey wing! Turkey pot pie done in hot-water crust pastry and a 16oz ramekin. Or is that a soufflé dish?

Sounds good actually. Sorry to hear life is piling up. Well I either want something effortless or something complicated to take my mind off things. Rarely though do I choose the latter option. For me though braised dishes or pasta like you've done. I can whip up short-ribs in the pressure cooker within 30 minutes of getting home. Follow it with potatoes and carrots. Or do a slow cooker/pot full of pork-chops, sliced onions and apples with mushroom soup as a sauce and have it ready 8 hours later when returning from work. Steamed rice can be ready in 20 minutes or about the same with egg noodles as an accompaniment.

Beef is pretty resilient safety-wise. The fact that it has been in marinade makes me more confident that the environment has been reasonably cold, salty and acidic and would inhibit bacterial growth. I don't care for refreezing raw meat if it has thawed out already. You lose a lot of juices that way and end up with a dry mealy product. Since it was semi-thawed... Might as well give it a try though. Report back and discuss any quality issues.

LoL I understand- and wholeheartedly agree about radiating a positive confident and generous attitude. Being gracious in the worst of times will carry a person very well.

Also agree about attitude- this covers the entire spectrum of life's experience. I have over 20 years of experience in the industry; know what incompetence is and do not go looking for it when dining out or going to bars. My desire is to have a good time and am willing to pay for it. Unfortunately what I see demonstrated time and time again consistently by a portion of staff front and back of the house is the tendency to do the absolute minimum they can get away with while carrying large egos because people hand them extra money (particularly waiters) or are in positions of responsibility. Also, for many employment in bars and restaurants is decent paying part-time entry-level work often gained while in school. So the desire or drive just simply isn't there to achieve excellence because they will be moving on and when it comes down to it they simply don't care. For others this is the only type of work they can find and will ever know. And they still suck at it. Like I said going out is a crapshoot because it isn't everybody that exhibits subpar performance. Was in a celebratory mood so went for sushi yesterday. The server demonstrated nearly every undesirable tendency brought forward by other posters in this thread. However, she was friendly, knowledgeable, enthusiastic and got my order correct. Constantly asking me how I was doing didn't bother me much, nor did asking to clear my bento box with two pieces of sushi left when I wasn't finished- but she was short and I was at the bar. So there was an angle of vision issue there. Still left her over 15% because her attitude was correct. Furthermore, being treated like a "Rockstar" because you are known to tip well is just throwing your money away. Everyone should be treated with the same excellence. I've witnessed this attitude of "what comes around goes around" countless times before and it exactly reinforces my point. If I know the cook or chef and they want to take care of me I'll take care of them. But if it is done with thoughts of reward- like so many bartenders who over-pour and expect a whopping tip what have they accomplished? I'm still paying the same ultimately; they've served overly strong drinks which is dangerous and are stealing from their employer as well. Yeah. That's something to be admired and encouraged.

Hehe. I'll be the first! Turkey and dumplings. Dumplings are croutons of day old Italian bread. Corn, carrots, Brussel-sprouts and shredded turkey wing garnished with blanched fresh green beans. Washed down with home-brewed English style bitter made with Columbus and Cascade hops.

That sounds pretty tasty Shelby. Clever usage of the ingredients. I'll have to try something like that! After the leftover turkey-wing flavored the pot of beans I shredded the meat into a container and ate the gelatinous skin yum-yum. Now I'm making something along the lines of turkey and dumplings with it. That'll be the last of the leftovers and the one lowly turkey wing has already been a participant in three meals. If there is any of the soup left over it'll be made into a turkey-pot pie served in some large ramekins. Don't think I can stretch it much further than that.

Well I do gotta say that the rare exceptional server will have you buying that bottle of wine, ordering apps and dessert and you thinking it was your idea all along. Few and far between though. I couldn't sell a dessert to save my life!

Food dehydrator is a plus. I'm constantly putting herbs and various veggies in there. Some scraps of vegetables can be frozen until there is enough for stock. I'm constantly freezing pork trimmings and fat for sausage including other meats. I even save rendered fat to cook with as long as it isn't strongly flavored by spices. Yesterday the dregs of leftover salsa, a turkey-wing from thanksgiving and the lower half of a bunch of cilantro made a nice pot of beans. Most people would have tossed the remains of the cilantro. Very little gets thrown out- usually only because I've left it too long. All these can all be transformed and eaten in some other form or fashion. Soups are a great way to get rid of those 1/2 cup containers of various leftovers as well as fillings for omelets, fritattas, tacos, pastas and stir fry's. I like ChefRobb's idea of thinking of these things as just "ingredients" and that you are only limited by imagination. Last week I was told that my panzanella soup was delicious. Which is interesting because the panzanella itself was basically stale bread and other bits from the fridge and the soup was leftovers from the bread salad. Thankfully it all got eaten or I would have been forced to make it into something else probably.

I prefer very little ice when it come to low-brow water. It melts and remains cool but not icy which to me nails the taste-buds. I agree about not adding a bunch of chlorinated ice to my $8 bottle of fancy mineral water. Why bother at that point?

It should be covered by the warranty. Contact the manufacturer. Ordered one on Thanksgiving- mine should be here Dec 1st! As a test run I'm going to do some of Ruhlman's fresh garlic sausage that is already vac'd and awaiting frozen in my freezer. And maybe some pork ribs.

It's good to know about doing in the packaging because I was considering SV'ing a brisket packer without removing it. The meat would be seasoned post SV.

I regret to hear of your recent loss Busboy. It must have made the experience all the more poignant. And you conveyed it wonderfully. We lost Mom on the 27th of Oct. Really thought I'd have one more Thanksgiving with her and was looking forward to it. Our own gathering was full of reminiscing and one of the best in years. So I''ll wish you the best. Didn't do any dishes this year. Just had to throw that in...

Very nice! I'm assuming you can get bags big enough to fit a turkey in? Or perhaps getting a roasting bag, sucking as much air out as possible and tying it off? Great job. You've manage to make me hungry for turkey again...

Is there a French food-centric store in NYC? One that'll have condiments? Knowing me I'd try to make it. Also I found a recipe for it http://www.recipebridge.com/g/179/818630/potage-creme-dartichaut-recipe and a jar can be ordered on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Artichoke-Cream-DArtichaut-Martin-toasts/dp/B008GU3C6U.