Richard Kilgore
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Posts posted by Richard Kilgore
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I have not used it for jerk spice making, but my smooth M&P works well on thyme otherwise.
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I have spoons of all sorts -- ss, silicone and cheap wood -- and all have their place, but it is the olive wood spoons and spatulas that I reach for most often and find the most pleasing to the eye and the hand and the lip.
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Smart & Final sells this knife for $14.95.
As you can see, it has a 12 inch blade - it can be used for slicing ham, roasts, but I use it for bread because I bake some very large loaves and if I want to cut them diagonally or lengthwise, I need a long blade.
When one gets dull I toss it and get another, however they last, with fairly heavy use, on very crusty breads, at least 3 years.
I picked up one of these Dexter-Russells at the restaurant supply when Andie first recommended it. Paid about $19-20 US. I already had an 8" Henkels, but it was too short to be useful for large loaves. The 12" Dexter-Russell does a great job.
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Thanks for the fine report, Kent. Sounds and looks like a delicious CNY meal. Wish I had ben there.
The radish with the jellyfish was Daikon? Do you know how was this dish was cooked?
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The new Whole Foods (across the street from the old location) has been open for a little over a month now. The main obvious difference between the old and the new is the huge increase in prepared, take-out foods. A large candy-making station is prominent. And carbs are back in force with pastries, breads and a pizza station.
There is a "spa" upstairs --- mostly clothing. While they are trying for a health tie-in, it just doesn't seem to fit. But no one is going to climb those stairs for a head of lettuce.
Has anyone else been yet? Impressions?
I understand the planned new Plano Whole Foods is going to be the largest in the DFW area, and maybe larger than the Austin mothership. Huge.
This is the first I'm hearing about either one; I know they were planning an Austin-style installment to take the place of the one on lower Greenville but I didn't know they were doing one in Plano, too. And didn't they just redo the one in Plano a couple years ago?
I got a clarification from Whole Foods management at the Plano store. The Greenville store will be only slightly larger than the current one, but in a free-standing location, perhaps later this year.
Also a new store is planned for the Park Lane & Central intersection across from North Park. The timeline is tentative, but construction may start this year with an opening date for summer 2008 -- again very tentative dates.
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In scanning the shelves at my market for a light soy sauce, it struck me that soy sauce prices run about $1 to $4 US per bottle for Chinese soy sauces. That is a rather wide range, so what are the differences among soy sauces?
Are there differences in how you might use different soy sauces?
Is this a product where you pay for quality, or is there more to it than that? To illustrate my puzzlement: today I chose a Kimlan (Light) marked "Kimlan Sang Chau (Grade A) Soy Sauce". There was another bottle of Kimlan (Light) next to it on the shelf, and the only difference was the "Grade A". Same price -- $2.49 US.
Are there subtleties, such as there are for wine, coffee and tea? Or is it less complex?
Also, are there differences between soy sauces made in China and Japan or other Asian countries? Where else are they made?
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I have started a fillet of cod curing in salt following Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn's directions in Charcuterie. They suggest looking to Provencal, Spanish, Portugese and Catalan cookbooks and the cookbooks of Zuni Cafe and Bouchon for recipes.
Any from these sources that you have tried? Ruhlman and Polcyn also mention finding stacks of salt cod in Caribbean markets -- so any ideas about how it is used in island cuisine?
And how do you use salt cod in your part of the world? Any recipes that have been passed down in your family? Any recipes you have adapted or developed? Any you would be willing to share by adding them to RecipeGullet?
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Had lunch with Kevin and his wife at Little Szechuan on Saturday (the tasty garlic eggplant was my favorite dish), and then Kevin and I did the Asia World Market. My great find was fresh "Chinese style" sausage. Steam it for 20 minutes. Incredible! This alone would make it worth a trip.
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So how do you cook Bitter Melon in your part of the world. Any tried and true recipes for RecipeGullet?
You can stir-fry it with ginger, garlic and fermented soy beans (dow see); stuff it with a mixture of ground pork, waterchestnut, shrimp then pan fried; make soup with pork bones, ginger, rehydrated oysters. These are familiar dishes in Chinese households. Check out the Chinese Pictorial by eGulleteer hzrt in the Chinese forum. I'm not sure if it is in RecipeGullet.
Thanks, Dejah. Here is hrtz's Stir-fried Bitter Melons with Foo Yu.
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I passed by the Bitter Melons in a market last weekend and wondered how members of the Society use them. I have only had them in Phillipine food, but a quick flip through Elizabeth Schneider's Vegetables: From Amaranth to Zucchini and Alan Davidson's Oxford Companion To Food, shows they are thought to have originated in India (Davidson) or Africa (Schneider) and are also used in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, China and most of South East Asia, as well as Hawaii and the Spanish Caribbean.
So how do you cook Bitter Melon in your part of the world. Any tried and true recipes for RecipeGullet?
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One of the great things about the Bamix is you don't have to take it apart to clean it. It is waterproof 2/3 of the way up the housing, so you can just stick it in soapy water, blend and rinse. That also means you are not retricted to the length of the shaft when blending...you have over 10 1/2 inches to work with.
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A recent recipient of a Zojirushi NH-VBC18 IH rice cooker, I can say that everything you've ever heard about these things is true. The difference in rice quality is stunning. We notice the benefits of this machine particularly with Korean brown rice, Kokuho Rose, and the older bag of Thai jasmine rice we're working our way through (I'm really dying to get some new crop Jasmine rice).
I would never have purchased this machine for myself, but if you eat rice regularly and have the disposable cash to drop (or a kind gift-giver in your family) for such a thing, it's a bit like going from button mushrooms to truffles, I gotta say.
Does that mean there is a US source for the IH rice cookers?
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What's the current state of rice cooker technology? What's "good enough" and what's excellent? And what's the difference?
Today I was looking at a new item in a nearby Asian market, a Tiger brand Micom Rice Cooker/Warmer, 5.5 cup (model JAG-S10U). $130 US. Says it will cook brown rice as well as white rice, porridge, steam food, etc. and then keep it warm for hours. I was curious about the brown rice function in particular, because some say that most rice makers do not do well with brown rice. At another store I saw a smaller version (3 cup), same brand for $10 less.
Anyone have any experience with these models?
Any other new(er) models you have experience with? Are there other models you are pleased with...in any price range? Pros and cons?
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Shopping at one of the many Asian markets in the area today, I stopped to jot down the rice offerings:
Asian Taste Rice
Deer Jasmine Rice
Global Elephant Rice
Sweet Rice
ITC Rice
Dragon Rice
Indian Rice - Royal Brand
Brown Rice - Nishiki Brand
Japanese Rice - Nishiki Brand
Japanese Rice - Kokuho Brand
At other markets there are other types and brands, of course. One I was in yesterday had about six to eight brands of Jasmine rice.
So please help me make sense of the various types and brands. In what way are different brands of Jasmine rice...erm, different.
For what do you use each type or subtype or brand of rice in your part of the world?
Does each type require a different approach to cooking them.
Also, how do you store 25 - 50 lb bags of rice so that tiny moths and such do not spoil it and then run amuck in your pantry?
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Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Kevin. I'll try to stop there this weekend.
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The new Whole Foods (across the street from the old location) has been open for a little over a month now. The main obvious difference between the old and the new is the huge increase in prepared, take-out foods. A large candy-making station is prominent. And carbs are back in force with pastries, breads and a pizza station.
There is a "spa" upstairs --- mostly clothing. While they are trying for a health tie-in, it just doesn't seem to fit. But no one is going to climb those stairs for a head of lettuce.
Has anyone else been yet? Impressions?
I understand the planned new Plano Whole Foods is going to be the largest in the DFW area, and maybe larger than the Austin mothership. Huge.
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I think it depends on what you are using it for, quantities you expect to blend, and such. The wattage ratings on appliances are fairly meaningless as far as I can tell. I have had a Bamix Deluxe for over a year and think it is great. About $120 US.
On the other hand, a cordless model would have it's advantages. Threading the Bamix cord over and around objects on the counter is the only thing about it I dislike. Not enough to not use it, but....
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There are also two things I don't need:
1. I don't need a huge selection. It's not relevant to me. I'm just as happy -- probably happier -- for a shop to have just one example of a particular region or whatever, provided I have confidence that the shop has already selected the best example for me. I mean, you take some big-ass wine shop that has four moderately priced Cotes-du-Rhone at the exact same price, yet the salesperson tells me one of them is clearly the best -- that just makes me want to know why the shop bothers stocking the other three. Why should I pay for the shop to be four times as big as it needs to be?
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This may be a good example of "it's hard to please all the people all the time." Since there are often subtle and not so subtle differences in bottles from the same region, and what is "best" is often a matter of personal taste, I prefer having some choices and doing some exploring. While I may ask the shop staff if one is better than the others (and they sometimes disagree among themselves), I more often ask them if they can describe the differences. For me, trying different wines from the same region is just part of my wine education, and a pleasure in itself.
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Did North Main BBQ for lunch in Euless, it's amazing that they are not taking credit cards. The BBQ is always good and all you can eat for $12 your choice of tea or tea...
I have not made it there yet. When are they open? As I recall it's limited days, right?
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Maybe, maybe not. How do you usually do it?
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what is the address?
I'll get the address, but here's how to get there:
Take the South Lake Blvd (Rd?) Exit off Hwy 114. (This is west of the DFW Airport.) Take the first street south to South Lake Blvd (Rd?) and turn right. Go about 1 1/2 to 2 miles. It's on your left. If you go after dark be very careful as you turn in either of the two entrances, because they are not lighted and there is a hard to see median at the turn in.
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Jess - Thanks for the heads up. I have never been in a Spec's, so I'll make a point of a visit next time I'm in Austin.
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Did another walk-through tonight. A few miscellaneous observations:
The wine department and cheese department appear to be about 1/2 - 2/3 the size of the Plano and Dallas stores.
Great image: a couple of guys working on a 12,500 pound block of Wisconsin Chedddar cheese in the aisle. They had it cut down to a mere 4,500 pounds when I passed by.
When buying bread, remember that when you print a label for one loaf you have to enter the quantity even though the labeler reads "1" by default. Someone needs to fix this quirk.
Check out the Rome Octopus Salad in the fish department. It's made with baby octopus and is terrific.
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The new Central Market in South Lake has been open one week. I stopped in too near to closing this weekend and only had time for a quick, partial walk-through. I'll post more as I have time to see what there is to see.
It looks like they are still tweaking the operation, as would be expected.
It also appears they have taken a page from the Best Cellars play book by using easy to grasp categories for some of the wine display: fizzy, smooth, bold...that sort of thing.
Anyone else been?
Wooden Spoons
in Kitchen Consumer
Posted
Perhaps no need to throw it away. Use it in place of a slotted spoon?