JAZ

The skillet is what's sometimes called a "French skillet" -- it's not as flared as, say, All Clad's. It's shaped more like a sautepan -- a little deeper and with straighter sides. For many jobs, I like it better than "American" skillets. (One of All Clad's newest pans is their own "French skillet," which looks just like Le Creuset's.)

Last year, I found the Spirited Dinner I attended to be the low point of the whole conference. Too many people for anything but banquet quality food (there seemed to be about 80 at the dinner I attended), no explanation of most of the drinks, and when the "bar chefs" did speak, it was virtually impossible to hear them. Maybe some of the other venues had smaller groups, but unfortunately, there's no way to tell from the website how many reservations each place will take. I'm sure that all the chefs and bar chefs will come up with great menus and drinks. The restaurants are some of New Orleans' best, and there are some great mixologists featured. But don't expect an intimate dinner with a bar chef. You'll be at a banquet.

It sounds as if you've got what's sometimes called "country ribs" -- even though it's boneless and has, in fact, never contained a rib bone. You're right -- it's shoulder, cut into strips. I love it for braising, but I'm not sure how it would work for pastor. I just used country ribs to make chile verde. After browning and simmering for a couple of hours in a tomatillo and chile sauce, the meat just falls apart -- you can shred it with a fork. If you want to roast it, I'd suggest low heat for a couple of hours.

I posted some recipes here a while back that you might like (by the way, the strawberry version is now called the Ballet Russe). My aunts and female cousins all loved them. If you want something easier, try a quarter ounce homemade grenadine and a healthy shot of bitters in champagne. Really good, and a beautiful color as well.

Last night we had tacos with skirt steak, corn and tomato salsa, guacamole and salsa verde. My original idea was to make flour tortillas from an old recipe in Fine Cooking magazine which I'd always wanted to try, but we got a late start on dinner, so we just used tortillas from the grocery store. I'll try making them next time. The skirt steak was marinated in orange and lime juice, chipotle, garlic, salt and oil. Ordinarily I add cumin, but I forgot. Skirt steak searing. Heating the tortillas. Building the taco. The salsa verde was charred tomatillos, poblanos and jalapenos, pureed with onion, cilantro, salt, lime and cumin. The corn salsa has tomatoes, red pepper, red onion, and avocado, seasoned with cumin and red pepper flakes.

Le Creuset's stainless clad line has a great pouring lip. My Demeyere Sirocco saucepans pour beautifully, but they're a little expensive if you just need a pouring lip.

Makes sense to me. But I have trouble enough finding 80/20 ground beef; I've never seen anything with a higher fat content. Do you find it at a regular market, or a butcher?

No specific pointers, but keep in mind that frozen, the vermouth will taste much less sweet than at room temp or even just chilled. I've made sorbets with champagne, and the first time, I way underestimated the amount of sugar needed.

It saddens me that I will never be able to write a sentence as perfect as this one.

So from the comments above, I assume that fact-checkers are assigned to a particular section? So that the staff members checking (for instance) on food stories are experienced in the sorts of points that they might need to check? Because of course in this context, the question of whether guanciale is cured or smoked isn't a big deal. But if it that minor error were to pass in an article on -- for instance -- some local salumi maker, it could be a much bigger deal.

I think that's what Dave meant when he talked about teaching "shopping." Unfortunately, I don't think we'll have the time for a field trip, but I wonder if there are ways to teach this kind of thing without one. In the basic class, for instance, we talked about making friends with your grocery store department heads. We'd shopped almost exclusively at one of the big grocery stores for our supplies, because we figured that's probably where they'd do most of their everyday shopping. And we wanted to show the students that it's possible to get very decent products from a mainstream store if you know some tricks. So it's more than explaining what to look for in asparagus, for instance. It's what to do when the only asparagus on display isn't very good. It's what to do if ribeyes are on sale but the only ones you see are cut too thin. I'd say that all of our beginning students were amazed that you can ask a butcher at Publix to cut meat to order, or that you can ask for them to order stuff that's not on display (within limits, of course). I personally think that learning how to shop at your local supermarket can be a better tool for an intermediate cook than how to shop at a farmers' market or high-end specialty store. More of those tips would be fabulous to have on hand.

There is an attendance cap -- it's been 16 for the kitchen basics course; it might go down to 12 for the intermediate course.

The discussion of whether a chef can successfully cook a cuisine from another country has been moved here: Chef's nationality: does it matter?

We tried, in our basic class, to do a little of this, without making a lecture of it. This material from my Taste and Texture eGCI courses is what we draw on. Is that the sort of thing you mean?

Thanks for all the great suggestions. A couple more points in addition to what Dave said: I think baking is a great skill, but where we teach, baking classes and series are taught by others much more experienced than we are, so we're not planning to cover that. We started with some very basic knife skills in the Basics class, and we'll definitely continue with more in this series. But, again, there's a dedicated knife skills class elsewhere in the curriculum, and so we don't want to duplicate that. The suggestions to teach flavor and texture are great: we did a little bit of that throughout the basic series -- we made an asparagus soup, gave everyone a bowl of soup and a bowl of salt and had them add a few grains at a time to see the difference. It seemed to be a real awakening for most of our students. So suggestions about that sort of experience for the next level would be very helpful.

I'll second Markk's recommendation for Tarte d'Alsace -- it's a thin cracker-bread style crust topped with creme fraiche, caramelized onions, ham and gruyere. I've also tried one of their pizzas -- I can't remember if it was Pizza Margarita or a four-cheese -- which was better than most frozen pizzas. I like their frozen shrimp and vegetable potstickers, but wasn't too impressed with some chicken empanadas I got. The filling was pretty good, but there was no way I could find to make the crust anything but soggy.

Although I don't ordinarily name drinks after classics, once in a while it's a natural fit, as in the case of my Velvet Daiquiri (rum, lime juice and Velvet Falernum with a dash of peach bitters). Not only is it structured like a daiquiri, but I think Velvet Daiquiri describes it well; it's softer and plusher than a Daiquiri -- more velvety, in fact. Usually, though, if a new drink is similar to another, I find a different way of making the connection. Thus, when we changed the proportions of the Last Word, it became a Closing Remark. I think it's great fun to name drinks; I don't worry about it if nothing comes to mind immediately, because I know something will soon.

Sur La Table has entered the cookbook market, but instead of following Williams Sonoma's example of single subject books, they've come out with Things Cooks Love, (which is also the name of their new branded line of cooking gadgets -- I think it makes a better brand name than cookbook title, but maybe that's just me.) It's not surprising that much of the book seems to be dedicated to equipment. Not having seen the book itself, I can't say how useful it is, but it could be a good reference for the new cook. Likewise the "Global Kitchen" section, which is designed to give "comprehensive looks at the implements of global cuisines, detailed lists of essentials you’ll want in the pantry for a culinary tour, plus delicious recipes to put it all together." Regardless of the execution, it doesn't sound like something I'd get for myself, but I can see it being a nice gift if it's done well. Has anyone seen this?

Given bourdain's statement that the blog won't take place, this topic has reached its conclusion. Thanks to all who posted.

The butcher shop I used to buy from in San Francisco almost always had lamb shoulder and some kind of chops (they'd also order any other cuts, as they would with most any meat). I don't know about the chain supermarkets there because I so rarely bought meat at them. Here in Atlanta, there seems to be a lot of lamb at my Publix -- certainly way more lamb than veal, although less than beef or pork. I tend to buy lamb through the CSA I use, so it's local. I don't know where the lamb in the supermarket comes from.

Yeah, sorry, couldn't quite hang with 100% Rose's here. I have to admit I haven't had a gimlet for years. Now that I think about it, maybe ever. All in all a pleasant cocktail. That Rose's sure has a weird flavor, though. Tastes like Coconut or something to me. Might have to start making my own, per LibationGoddess' procedure here. ← Not to promote myself, but if you're looking for a closer approximation of Rose's, I think my syrup is probably closer than Audrey's (good as it is).

Having used both Lodge and LC stovetop grill pans, I'd say there's not much difference in cleaning them. I think, in fact, that the Lodge takes the edge because there's a bigger space between the ridges, so it's easier to get between them. For cooking, I've come to prefer the Lodge. It's heavier, and I think you get more attractive grill marks from the wider ridges. At at about half the price, the Lodge wins on that count, too.

Refrigerate it. I didn't for quite a while, and when I started, I definitely noticed a difference in the flavor. I use a lot of it, so I don't worry about its shelf life. A couple of months is fine. As for recipes, try the Corpse Reviver #2.

I have a lamb curry recipe that uses yogurt as a combination marinade and cooking liquid. It's really great. This topic makes me realize I haven't made it in ages. Lamb curry

I agree with that. It's quite tricky to avoid getting that herbal note when you're juicing it for a drink. I've often thought that I'd managed to do so and then, when the drink hits my tongue -- blech: there it is. ← Perhaps that's why I find Meyer lemons to go well with components that have an herbal overtone -- Chartreuse and Lillet, for instance.