Richard Kilgore

Alton Brown has nothing on Jaymes!

Yes, the glass cutting boards are a problem , but then so is igniting wood boards or melting plastic boards with your pilot lights. Glass with wood or plastic board on top?

Thanks for posting your very detailed report on your ExtraMSG Dallas Tour 2003. Please do tour again. Raynickben -- welcome back to Dallas. Let us know about your dining experiences here.

In this small kitchen I like Jaymes glass cutting boards better than the over the sink type. Partly because of the advantage of constantly washing pots, pans, bowls, etc. as you go. I don't think a hinged board would be practical for your reasons and how would you wash it down adequately? Mis en place will make things much more manageable in terms of using your space to best advatage without tripping over yourself if you are doing much more than making an omlette. In other words, you avoid chopping things up while you are cooking. Do the chopping first, clean up and then start the actual cooking.

A bunch of excellent ideas on this thread. Alton Brown is a clever fellow. I ran across a pasta maiking solution in his new book on kitchen equipment and tools. He bolts an Italian pasta machine to an ironing board. I had been looking for an easier way to do this when I ran across his idea.

Suvir - I am delighted at your projects and achievments, and was wondering how you could juggle so many balls. Glad you will continue to post and contribute here on eGullet as you have time. Richard

I know nothing about any current scientific comparison studies, but even if the risk is only 15%, you are not going to serve rare chicken, are you? It was only 15% in the late 1960s - early 1970s for domestic poultry, as I recall, and would guess that it is higher than that now in the industrial chicken coops.

Just in --- Gael Green has a preview review in New York magazine of Amma, now chefed and owned by Suvir Saran and Hemant Mathur. "The fabulous slivers of eggplant pickle that spike savory stuffed chicken legs, peppery fried spinach with mung beans, and the sweet-and-sour pear chutney with lamb chops are his (Suvir's) memories of home, " Green writes. Congratulations, Suvir! You certainly can keep a secret.

Congratulations, Suvir! You certainly can keep a secret. The brief description in the review sounds wonderful. "The fabulous slivers of eggplant pickle that spike savory stuffed chicken legs, peppery fried spinach with mung beans, and the sweet-and-sour pear chutney with lamb chops are his (Suvir's) memories of home, " Green writes. Do tell us more about the menu. Richard

Thanks, Paula. I have seen them in the catalogues, but have not tried one. We have a couple of Sur La Tables here, so I'll check it out.

Sam - That's one funny looking chicken. After following this thread the past day or two I had to roast a chicken. So I picked up one of the "premium" chicks, almost a four pounder. Stuffed it with limes (no lemons in the house) and rubbed it with salt and pepper, then did it in the Romertopf at 425 for 85 minutes followed by 20 minutes of browning. Crisp and suculent. Served with Chinese eggplant and a simple mixed green salad and vinegarette. I am going to have to try the cast iron skillet roasting method just to compare.

Fifi -- My sister is an anthropologist, and we have had similar discussions. I may be wrong, but I don't think that hypothesis is as controversial as it once was. In other words, the idea is that there were early migrations across the Bering Sea and then south down the N.A. continent, and also migrations across the Pacific to South America, Mexico and then north.

That's an amazing collection of Falk, Suvir. Congratulations. I am sure they look great and that you will have a fine time using them. Jam Pot suggestion: Put it on the floor in your living room, with a round glass top it will make an attractive coffee table.

Maggie - Williams-Sonoma also has a list of re-tiiners that they recommend.

Tommy - I guess I should go back and edit my post to say that was my point: if they make better stock, they also make better roast chicken. There, I said it.

It's because bland, tasteless mass-produced chicken is such a huge challenge! And if there is one thing eGulleteers seem to like, it's a culinary challenge. I may have missed it, but I don't think we have addressed the type of chicken we use. CI did a typically detailed study of which chickens make the best stock, and there testers all found your standard grocery store chicken pretty worthless. They could easily tell the difference between 1) the typical bird and 2) Kosher chickens and other premium chickens running $2 - 3 per pound. But here I am straying off the subject. You asked WHY. so - 1) the challenge, as noted above. 2) Because we have chickens imprinted in our DNA from thousands of years of chasing them around bushes while trying to survive. 3) We are working out the trauma of way too many rubber chicken dinners earlier in our lives. 4) Our mothers fed us chicken, and we're out to prove she made the right choice even if she didn't know how to cook it. 5) Because it's good, but could be better. 6) Because all of us have been standing around just waiting for the opportunity to say "spatchcock!"

There are two A-C knock-off designs - Tri-ply and disk bottom. Most Tramontina I have seen are tri-ply, except for a stock pot. Chefmate also has a number of pieces with the clad bottom, but I have not used them. If you are comparing the heavier A-C to the Tramontina tr--ply, you will notice more difference than if you compare it to the SS A-C tri-ply, which is what I thought you were doing. A diffuser is just a disk of aluminum or thick enameled cast iron and cost about ten bucks. It essentially has the same effect as adding a disk to the bottom of a pan. That may be a solution if you want to continue using the sauce pan and saute pan. The Are you using gas or electric? I found that on electric a diffuser helps a little with any hot spots. I should also say I have not used any of the A-C knock offs for sauteing, only for eggs and sauces. Minimal sticking and very easy clean-up.

fendel - The Tramontina is almost, but not quite as thick as the A-C, but that has not been a big problem here. Did you try coating the pan very lightly with a neutral oil? I do that even with the A-C. The hot spot problem doesn't sound good. What happens? Also, did you try a heat diffuser with either of these?

I have been doing whole chickens and pork in a Romertopf for several years and it works very well -- moist, suculent and nicely browned. I usually put a few vegetables under the chicken, and then remove them before the browning.

Fifi --- it's on page four of the thread. But how hot does a crock pot get how quickly? I have had salmonella twice (many years ago) and it wasn't so much fun that I want to do it again.

Glad to hear it's 16! I thought you needed a massage rather than a mixer when I read 116. I discovered that the above named 5 qt model that was (is?) on Amazon was not the sturdiest model. It's 325 watts. However, I did checkout the COSTCO one, and it is the 350 watt model with splash guard, etc. for $250, a bargain. Check their website. Unless you are going to go for the 12, of course.

Welcome bhoward. Thanks for mentioning Lola. Care to start a thread on East Texas restaurants, cafes, or BBQ joints?

The earliest Tex-Mex memory I have is eating at La Tupinamba in Dallas in the mid-50s. Even then I thought of it as Texas food, rather than food from Mexico.

The Armadillo reminds me of a great only-in-Austin radio adv for Shiner beer from that period. It went something like... Billy Bob: Hey, Joe, let's knock off and go get a beer. Joe: That sounds great!. What'll we get? Billy Bob: All right! Let's get a Shiner! Joe: My god, Billy Bob! That stuff's awful! Billy Bob: No, Joe. They've improved it! You can almost drink it now!

I was thinking about a few Austin restaurants of years gone by. I think the one that still exists is The Raw Deal, but it's in a different location from the original...and that makes all the difference. The original was on a one block long dead-end street next to a produce market. All the streets surrounding the block were one-way, so you could spend a good amount of time circling, trying to find the street in. When you finally arrived and walked through the door there was a large sign hanging over the order-counter that said, "If you don't like The Raw Deal just remember, you came lookin' for The Raw Deal, The Raw Deal didn't come lookin' for you!" Next was Taco Flats, a tumble down shack with a warped floor supporting a pool table that stuggled without success to be level. They sposored an annual jalapeno eating contest (no fatalities). The sign out front had Taco Flats in big letters and then after a year they tacked on an auxillary sign (much like the McDonalds signs that touted three millions burgers sold!), but theirs said "Over 1,000 Tacos Returned!". The next year they crossed that out and added "2,500 Tacos Returned!" Inside Taco Flats there was a sign on the wall behinf the order counter. A small hand scrawled sign next to a small rat pelt. It read, "Fresh Meat Served Daily." That's the funky. What's your sublime?