Robenco15

Hi All, So today I picked up a gorgeous Pollo Rosso heritage bird. Guest coming over tomorrow so I was going to do TK's roasted chicken and root vegetables. I got the bird because it looked great and was 4 pounds so it would be a perfect size for 4 people. Then I went out and got all of the ingredients for the dish. Now I'm researching more about the bird I got and I'm learning that a Pollo Rosso is better if cooked at a lower heat and slowly. Regardless, I am roasting this bird with the vegetables. However, instead of doing the 475F for 20 and then 400F for 40, I'm thinking I should adjust these temperatures. How do you guys recommend I adjust for the bird but still get the carmelized vegetables? 350F for 90 minutes? 475F for 20, but then 350F to temperature? Just say screw it and follow the recipe? What could really go wrong? The bird is currently salted and on the top shelf of my fridge drying out. I also have an oven probe thermometer for the chicken so getting knowing when it will be done won't be a problem. Just finding a happy medium of not to high of heat, but still getting a good roasted bird, is what I'm looking for.

Good point about the sink. I'll have to measure but I'm sure an 18x24 board is probably too big for it. I'd rather deal with some awkwardness at the sink though to have more cutting room on my countertop.

I'm buying a maple 18x24 end grain board from the boardsmith. CANNOT WAIT. Definitely get an end grain board at the very least.

Thanks for all of the tips rotus!

Thanks for all of the feedback! I'm thinking my oven might not be that clean so it had to burn off some crap. Regardless, the smoke detector is just in a bad spot. I'm going to have to talk to my landlord about replacing it with a newer, less sensitive one. Thanks for all of the stovetop info too. I guess it is better to have a burner that can get really hot and get really low then one that can't get really hot but not low enough. The kitchen gets so hot. Glad there is a door to the outside!

Hi All, Just moved into my new apartment and there is a gas stovetop. It is a GE Spectra XL44 range. The high output burners do 12,000/1,000 BTUs (is that maximum and minimum?). I have always used electric burners and am thrilled to get a chance to use gas. My question concerns how my All Clad d5 pans are responding to the stovetop. I understand a gas range has less of the heat source touching the bottom compared to the electric coils, but I thought that is what my All Clad is for. First off, the All Clad is working great. No hot spots and heats quickly. I guess my question has to do with the various levels on my gas range. Using a saute pan that has about an 11 inch in diameter bottom (approx. 8 inch flame diameter) if I need it sizzling hot, I turn the dial to around 7. If I want to simmer though, I basically am getting away with turning it down to 5 or so. It seems 4 and under is just way to low to keep a hot temperature. I thought with All Clad I was supposed to use medium and low heat, but the flames are just looking to low to be able to heat the pan. I am basically eye balling the flame size, which is working, but here I thought I would be able to make the 5 setting my "high" setting. Now I guess this comes down to this specific gas range, but on gas ranges are the flames from low to medium pretty low? Not really "touching" the pan? My other question concerns the oven. When I preheated the oven to 450F, my smoke detector (located right outside the kitchen) went off. No burning smell, or smoke though. I figured it was just too hot (oven heating the kitchen up and outside hallway?). Now I am using the vent found above the stovetop whenever I use the oven too. Is that typical for gas ranges? Should I leave the oven door open when it begins to pre-heat? It seems to emit a lot of heat up until I open the door for the first time. Moisture? Thanks for all of the help and advice. A lot to get used to and I really don't want to remove a smoke detector every time I cook. I also don't want to risk ruining a good pan because I'm constantly needing to use higher heat.

Thank your for the help with that thicker probe vs. needle probe. I like the needle probe for its length and thinness, but I wanted the thicker one for using in an oven as well as on a stove top (deep frying). I wish it wasn't 8 inches though, that seems like a lot of extra probe hanging out of a piece of meat. Will probably eventually get the needle probe though.

Would the probe that comes with the $129.99 kit work or is it too thick? What probe would I then use? http://www.thermoworks.com/products/handheld/TW8060.html Thanks! Bought it yesterday and cannot wait for it to arrive! Edit: Oh, I think I found that mini probe. Is that probe necessary for sous vide? Or just a convenience?

Can you do this if you use the water displacement method?

It's from ruhlman's 20 but I basically do the 5 hour carmelization Tk calls for and substitute water for the stock. Sherry, red wine, red wine vinegar. Good stuff.

Thank you all!

I always save chicken bones over time and then make stock from that using TK's recipe. But as that wasn't the question asked and I'm sure Shel_B knows the virtues of homemade stock versus canned stock, but is aware of the convenience of using canned stock when needed, I'd say - The More than Gourmet is fantastic stuff. Someone posted a link to buying the roasted stock in reduced form (add 20 parts of water or something like that), and I'm sure that is fantastic. I haven't had experience with that exact stock, but I buy the "liquid" form of chicken stock and beef stock they sell and it is great. I can always find that at Whole Foods and I think Fresh Market. http://www.amazon.com/More-Than-Gourmet-Culinary-32-Ounce/dp/B001PNXO5Y/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1391088020&sr=8-4&keywords=more+than+gourmet+chicken+stock http://www.amazon.com/More-Than-Gourmet-Culinary-32-Ounce/dp/B001PNXO3G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1391088031&sr=8-3&keywords=more+than+gourmet+beef+stock I also recently purchased this veal stock (add water) and made a red wine sauce for a steak and it was amazing - http://www.amazon.com/More-Than-Gourmet-1-5-Ounce-Packages/dp/B001EO619A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1391088121&sr=8-2&keywords=more+than+gourmet+veal+stock I can't get veal bones so that is the best I can do. I don't have an oven so I can't make my own beef stock. I used the More than Gourmet beef stock in beef bourguignon and it was great. I highly recommend More Than Gourmet and I learned of the brand from James Peterson's high recommendation. Quick thing about using water - depending the situation, definitely fantastic. Made French Onion Soup with it (Ruhlman's recipe) and it worked perfectly.

or did I edit that second question as you were replying to the first one?

Seeing as I asked 2 questions, what does that "No" refer to? All cast iron is dark black and because mine is grey that is a problem? Pre-seasoning won't contribute to any cracking? Thank you!

Would the factory seasoning contribute to it cracking? I don't have an oven to use to season it. Just an electric stovetop burner. The new cast iron pan I received I believe is pre-seasoned, but I did notice it is much grayer in color than the dark black I originally had. I guess cast iron pans vary in color?

For future reference, I contacted Lodge. They asked for pictures and once I sent them the pictures they let me know they'd be sending me a new pan at no cost to me. I really was happy about this because I didn't have to deal with Amazon.com, even though it was purchased through Amazon.com. I wasn't looking forward to mailing a broken cast iron pan back to Amazon. It came in the mail today, a day after they said it would be sent out, so all and all I can't complain. I'm using it tomorrow night for a steak so here is hoping it doesn't crack.

So that three tier bamboo salt holder is great. I have my smoked salt on top, then grey salt in the middle, and fluer de sel on the bottom. I've noticed that after about 2 weeks or so without using the fleur de sel and grey salt, I went to get some the other day and both were clumped together. I stirred it around with my pinky and it broke up and seemed ok, but I was curious if the bamboo is messing the moisture of the salt. After stirring it around with my pinky it seemed to still have moisture in it, and maybe the top of it seemed "dried" out. Anyway, I was curious if anyone else who uses a bamboo salt holder finds it negatively affecting their salt. Thank you!

Steak! 1.5lb, 2 inch thick, 30 day dry aged NY Strip. Toaster oven first at 250 for 20 minutes then finished in the pan, basting with butter, garlic, and thyme. Was perfect. Sorry for no finished picture though. Kinda ate it.

So do I buy another Lodge and take my chances?

Hello, Today I used my cast iron pan for the first time on my electric stovetop. Before, I used it twice in a 450 degree oven to roast a chicken. This was the first time on the stovetop. It is this one - http://www.amazon.com/Lodge-L10SK3-Pre-Seasoned-Skillet-12-Inch/dp/B00006JSUB/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1390002211&sr=8-3&keywords=cast+iron I preheated pan on the stovetop (on medium, right in the middle of the dial) and let it heat for about 10 minutes as I got my steak out of the oven and other things organized. Then I heard a pop and looked over and saw the pan cracked from the lip of the pan towards the middle. What the hell happened? It is cast iron. I didn't put it on a crazy high temperature, just medium. It is the third time I ever used it, first on the stovetop. It wasn't cold before I put it on the heat, it was room temperature. Was there already a crack in it? I thought Lodge was good. What do I do now? Buy another one? They aren't very expensive but I don't want that to happen again. Thanks for any input!

French Onion Soup and Avocado Souffle. I've never made a souffle before, let alone an Avocado souffle, and I made this in a toaster oven so I was happy with the results. Can't wait to do it again though. Really enjoyed it. Apologize for the crap pictures. Took them right out of the oven on my counter next to my dish drainer. Edit: no idea why they got rotated. Oh well.

It has now arrived. To be honest I am a little disappointed. It's poorly translated and the layout isn't very inspiring. Just pages and pages of recipes with little text. Maybe I am too used to the high quality of books that are released these days? Don't get me wrong, the ethos of the book is great, but it feels like it was made on a shoe string budget. I can however now see where Rene Redzepi got a lot of his inspiration from. Yeah it is from 2000? 2001? I can't believe how ahead of everything he was, not that I'm an expert of what cuisine was in the early 2000's late 1990's, but still. Pretty incredible and I don't mind the book too much. Haven't done anything yet from it but planning on a couple things. Not terribly difficult recipes.

I found a good price three tiered bamboo salt box for my Fleur de Sel, Sel Gris, and Smoked salt. Should be great.

Very cool. Is it ok to keep the Fleur de Sel in its plastic bag for the time being? That I guess is a more pressing matter.

Good to know. Of course I couldn't help looking. This looks good because I also got Grey Salt. I could put both of my finishing salts in the same container. http://www.chefscatalog.com/product/29356-rsvp-marble-dual-bin-salt-keeper.aspx?sourcecode=EW2GGP245&gclid=CNmXgt_Y6rsCFclQOgods2cAaQ