Richard Kilgore
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Posts posted by Richard Kilgore
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Thanks for all the interesting ideas. Last night I used them, blanched in an omelet with onion, potato, crimina mushrooms and herbs -- and grated P-R on top. Nice. I'll look forward to trying them some of these other ways, too.
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Here are a few I made the first weekend I had the book. Garlic Soup, Tomato Bread with Serrano Ham and Orange, Goat Cheese and Almond Salad.
All were very good, especially the soup. Chunks of bread gave it an interesting body. I need to dive back into it again.
Those look delicious! Did you folow the recipes closely, or did you tweak or make any substiutions? Did you have wine with it?
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Here is an Amazon link to a search for Riedel Champagne glasses. It appears that the perfect design for champagne has many variants. I probably would not normally do it, but I happened to pick up a set of six of the non-traditional Riedel Vinum Champagne glasses when I found them on sale for $40. In contrast the Riedel Vinum Champagne, Prestige Cuvee glasses are a more traditional design, with an etched "fizz mark" in the center of the bowl that direct the flow of bubbles upward in a single stream. Or so it says. And there are other Riedel champagne glasss that cost even more.
For those who have used any of these designs, what do you like or dislike about them? Are any "better" than the others? Are any of them "better" than other crystal champagne glasses that cost, perhaps, 1/5 to 1/2 the price of the Riedel designs?
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Good timing. Last night I dropped into a Vietnamese restaurant I had not tried before. It turned out that this is the kind of place you really need 6 - 8 people in order to sample a number of things and not OD on something like the "Pork slices in hotpot sauce". It was called something like that, but it turned out to be the equivalent of a huge bowl of thickly sliced bacon (not lean by any means) in a sauce. I am not sure what was in the sauce, but I would guess some fish sauce at least. You could play around with Vietnamese/SE Asian flavorings.
Now this may sound like a bit much, and while I could not eat the whole thing, I ate more than I thought I would. It was delicious. The server offered hot sauce to go with it, and that was good as well as the pork in sauce straight. All with white rice. However, I would not suggest serving or eating this alone. It needs complementary dishes to lighten it.
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As you already suspect that all your requirements may not be possible, I would suggest How To Taste by Jancis Robinson. It is a brief (200 page), informative introduction with overviews of grapes and the wine producing countries of the world. She writes in a casual manner with a sense of humor, and handles the wine jargon by explaining much as she goes, and by including a helpful glossary in the back. No prices, but I don't think any book is going to be able to keep up with new releases and with prices (that's what this forum and the rest of the internet are good for). More importantly, she gives a basic foundation of information that includes many recommendations that will help in making buying decisions.
It was the first wine book I have bought, and while it will not be the last, I feel quite comfortable recommending it to anyone as a first book.
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Anymore suggestions for great butchers in the Dallas area? I am looking right now for pork and pork fat for sausage making, as well as a source for casings.
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I picked up some dandelion greens at the store today, but have never used them before. Adding them to a green salad with a simple vinegarette is the obvious thing to do, but I am interested in hearing about ways to use them in other ways in salads, as well as cooked alone or as part of a dish.
How have you used them in your part of the world, and what are your favorites?
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My KA is really old. It was a wedding present, and we are soon to celebrate 25 years. Back then, there was only one KA available, and I just checked. My bowl is 3.5 quarts. No wonder I need two bowls!
Thanks for checking that out, Susan. I couldn't figure out why the discrepancy. So now my decision rests more on the cost of the DeLonghi grinder and whether having three screens vs two is a real asset.
I called this morning. The Delonghi grinder runs a mere $149! I don't think so, even if it has an extra screen...and even if it cuts a little better.
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Chad - what about the 270mm Tojiro-DP Gyutou. You said the 8 inch is a great deal. This too?
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My KA is really old. It was a wedding present, and we are soon to celebrate 25 years. Back then, there was only one KA available, and I just checked. My bowl is 3.5 quarts. No wonder I need two bowls!
Thanks for checking that out, Susan. I couldn't figure out why the discrepancy. So now my decision rests more on the cost of the DeLonghi grinder and whether having three screens vs two is a real asset.
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IIRC: Mussels need a constant stream of water going through to provide fresh oxygen. If you put them in a stagnant pool, they will use all the oxygen available around them and then die of suffocation.
There you go, Kevin. I see your next piece of culinary equipment -- a 50 gallon tank for your mussels, clams and other creatures.
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Thanks -- Susan, Ron and Dave.
I had planned on visiting the Northern Industrial shop here for the stuffer (looks like a very good deal), but was hoping to keep the grinder cost down. I discovered a potential alternative in the last few minutes. I have a 7 qt DeLonghi and the grinder attachment for it has three screens rather than the two that I think come with the KA. I'll call tomorrow. If the grinder doesn't cost twice as much, would the added capacity help with the bind? Or would I still need two bowls. (I already have an extra 5 qt. KA bowl, so this requires a certain kitchen calculus to make a decision.)
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This is a truly amazingly wonderful thread. I admire all your delicious work.
I have one question (well, actually I could have dozens, but...), for those of you who are using the meat grinder attachment for your KA, does that work reasonably well? I really want to avoid spending $300 or more for a serious dedicated grinder, since I will be doing small quantities -- mostly fresh sausage, max 5 pounds at a time, at least for the time being.
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A cast-iron wok serves as a heat sink more effectively than the tri-clad. And The All-Clad 14 inch wok with no lid costs $150 on Amazon. A carbon steel wok would probably work about as well as the All-Clad, for about 80-90% less.
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I have found this more often in smaller, stand-alone (likely financially marginal) markets, in contrast to the larger ones, and ones that are small but appear to have growing management skill. The Asian market I shop at most often these days is one that has shown a significant improvement all around over the past two years -- better organized, fresher product, and clean floors and displays. They also now have more signage in English than they used to and more staff who speak English. Since I am usually the only non-Asian in the store, my guess is that the additional English signage and language is due to the diversity of Asian languages, and the fact that second and third generation Asian immigrants may read primarily in English, as much as it is for the benefit of potential non-Asian English speakers. Likewise the large sucessful hispanic chains are professionally managed and are serving many people who come with mainstream grocery store expectations of cleanliness and quality. And I faily regularly buy meat from a small hispanic market that I also trust.
So it all depends.
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They are simply not grits if they are that large. It has to be dried hominy. Grits may be either yellow or white, and I have both, as well as Polenta, all from Anson Mills in my freezer. They were named one of the top 15 artisan food producers in the US by Newsweek last year, and there are a few threads here on them. If you are really interested in serving grits in your restaurant, you don't want "quick" grits or worse yet "instant" grits. Check out the Anson Mills website for more info on the differences between their various grits, polenta and other corn products that come from their heirloom farming. In a phone call last year they told me that different parts of the US and different cities tend to be either white grits or yellow grits. For example, at that time he shipped primarily yellow grits to Dallas chefs and white grits to those in Houston.
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Well, I planned on ordering mine direct, but the book is available for under $40 (plus tax and shipping) from B&N online, where I ended up ordering mine in a B&N store since they did not have a copy in stock. I think it was only $43 total.
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Zassenhaus makes a hand coffee grinder, but they appear to be out of stock right now. Sweet Maria's sells them in the US but are also sold out as of April 12th, although they are expecting more.
Penzey's Spices also carries them, though we are talking more about retail than manufacturer-direct in this thread. But maybe you can find a trail and follow it.
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I agree with Chad. No need for a set. Whatever you have to spend on your knives, I would put most of it into a chef's knife (or cleaver). I used only a cleaver and a paring knife for many years and did not feel like I was suffering.
I now use a $19, 12 inch scalloped Dexter-Russel slicer for a bread knife, which works well even with very large round loaves. (I think andiesenji recommended it in a thread last year.) My 8 inch expensive bread knife that came with the knife set I eventually bought many years ago has turned out to be rather limited as a bread knife, although I grab it now for slicing tomatoes.
My chef knife is 8 inch, like all chef knives that come in sets, and I would prefer one closer to 10 inches, but don't feel any urgent need to trade up.
And now I usually go for the $5.95 French paring knife you can find in any good cookware shop, rather than the expensive one that came with the set -- it has a thinner blade, which I find useful, and is plenty sharp.
It's a good idea to hold a few chef's knives and play with them a little to see which one feels best to you.
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By the way, for those of you who were enjoying your Passover Coke with real sugar this last couple of weeks, apparently Dr. Pepper will be doing a special "retro" bottling of Dr. Pepper using CANE SUGAR around the July timeframe, for about three months.
everyone together now:
I'm a Pepper, You're a Pepper, She's a Pepper...
The Cane Sugar DP I bought recently in Dallas is coming out of the Temple, Texas plant, rather than Dublin, although the store display signs still say Dublin.
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I did a quick visit on Saturday and had a mixed reaction. The produce looks fine, though limited, and the bulk mixed greens are a good deal at $3.99. I picked up a pound of the Portugese sausage they had on sale and will report later on it. The cheese section looked pretty thin; better cheese at good prices at Sigel's Deli (Inwood just South of Beltline) and worth the short drive. In the prepared food aisles I ran across a bottle of balsamic vinegar marked with a great big "12", but closer inspection revealed a small, faint "stars".
The bulk coffee was cheap at $5/lb, but looked oily and over-roasted.It's not going to replace Whole Foods or Central Market, and my Kroger's even has a wider selection of produce, but if there's one in your neighborhood, it looks like a good option for day to day produce and other staples.
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Michael posts frequently in the forums. One of the most active threads for the past month has been the one in the Cooking Forum based on his book Charcuterie. He posts there fairly often. It's worth checking out.
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Here are a few inexpensive (under $10) wines available in my area. Anyone familiar with any of these?
Luccio Rufia Chianti Rsv 2002 -- 8.49
Rosemaont Estate Shiraz 2004 -- 7.89
Smoking loon Merlot 2004 -- 6.75
Chateau Arnalud Haut Medoz 2002 -- 8.99
Schmitt Sohne Reisling-Spatlese 2004 -- 6.99
Ruffino Lumina Pinot Grigio 2004 -- 7.99
Water Wheel Memsie Shiraz/Malbec/Cab 2004 -- 9.99
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Congratulations, Chef Rucker. I don't think this was a bad review at all. I think it will stir interest from those in whom interest can be stirred, as seen on this thread. Allison Cook seems to like you and wants to like the food. She is a fine reviewer who is capable of writing reviews that sing. Like any reviewer of anything, she writes from a personal perspective that is subjective as much as objective. Being compared to Alinea, Avenues and wd is not the worst thing in the world for "a small town kid". Your gracious response to her review speaks well of you.
Daniel Boulud cast iron cookware
in Kitchen Consumer
Posted
I recall seeing these in a discount store, TJMaxx I think, a year or two ago and thinking they looked okay. You would have to pay about $100 for an LC second of that size in one of these stores. How does the enamel look to you? Any cracks or chips? The color okay? That is, the lid matches the bottom and doesn't look like a manufacturing error?
Your budget is up to you, but the price is about right.