TicTac

Just to show I am not going crazy....found the video! Great recipe, btw;

I watched a video with a (I believe 1* Michelin) chef from India doing his home made daal recipe. He toasted whole spices at the beginning of the cook, but added the garam masala (which is ground and pre-toasted) towards the end. Finishing touch was ground and sieved fenugreek leaves.

Also interesting to note, recently I learned that as the spices are toasted for the mixture, garam masala should be added towards the end of the cooking process.

Awesome! Maitake's are delicious and are still on my bucket list to find in the wild! Base of Oak tree's, from what those in the know have to say...

Sometimes you make something that even you impress yourself with. Last night was such an occasion… foraged some boletes first ever attempt at pork belly Picked lobster served with a orange/lime/Serrano gastrique Playing skills suck, taste made up for it!

That sabre you carry around on your hip!?

@btbyrd with the knife flex!

I was going to comment on the stupidity of our culture when it comes to 'celebrities', glad someone else did! Most of them are not worth their weight and certainly should not warrant any attention more than a Doctor or Teacher should (the true 'celebrities' of our society) - we certainly have some things bass ackwards. Back on topic - over the years I have formed the belief that "Hallmark holidays" are not when one should be limited celebrating with important people in their lives (Valentines day, Fathers day, etc) but rather any and every day is one to enjoy. It's amazing how food (for most of us here) is the central factor when celebrations occur (perhaps a bit of booze as well!). Being together with loved ones and friends should always be sufficient justification for enjoyment and celebration. Perhaps going above and beyond and cracking into the 'special' dried chili's from Mexico to boost your salsa up a notch, or dipping into the extra fine tequila for your margarita mix (can you tell we are having tacos tonight!?). In other words, don't save the good stuff for 'special occasions'!

Probably easier to go hungry, but certainly not as enjoyable 😛

Few recent dishes from dinners - Bonito soy/blue fin octopus wild salmon/sorrel sauce soon to be dinner - recent find - boletes!

If it's the variety of mushrooms - then perhaps they are Slippery Jacks's (just picked a bunch - delish!) Or - more likely; the caramelizing of them with sugars, etc.

Been making fried green tomato jam and chutney lately. Our tomato crop sucked this year, no idea why - needs new soil, me thinks. Oddly enough the one spot that has a ton of sand underneath, the Cherry tomato is about 8' long (i just let it go this year due to frustration!) and still fruiting. Oh, and hot sauce - bumper crop for hot peppers. Very strange times indeed. I blame COVID (why not, everyone else is!)

George Brown has some excellent culinary programs. Perhaps one day when I retire I will try my hand at cheese making. I seem to recall some members years ago posting their journals of cheese making journeys and they produced some amazing varieties!

Hopefully everybody’s foraging season has been bountiful. Up here in southern Ontario thanks to the autumn rains we have had an unreal season for mushrooms… finally found Boletes! and did you know there were female boletes too?! LOL

You sure you don't want to just join me on the QC team!? 😛

Welcome to the forum. If you ever need any local 'QC testers' for your cheeses, there are a number of us locals who I am sure would be willing to be your guinea pigs 😛

Perhaps try a different knife? Sometimes a bread knife will slice easier through coated items and ones with skin on.

I suppose you could do it after - but mostly it is used to remove the gunk left over from manufacturing, prior to seasoning.

Cooking on a wok that has not been properly cleaned from manufacturing greases/coatings is not a wise move. The salt/potatoe skin method mentioned above was instructed to me when I purchase my carbon steel pans from Matfer Bourgeat. You could see the grime coming off of the steel onto the mixture. From there, it's up to you if you want to start cooking on it. Certainly you will not see the desired results you might expect form a wok - but that depends on how much time you want to invest in properly seasoning it. I have seem many Chinese chefs swear about an initial seasoning process - however with access to 5,000,000,000+ BTU burners, they just roast it openly on the flame - metal turns all shades of black/blue/red and it's done.

Save the sandpaper for your wood projects - no use here. Wash down well. I did potato skins, lots of salt and fried that for a while to remove the baked on crap leftover from the factory. Super high heat, tiniest amount of flax oil on a cloth - rub, heat up, cool down - repeat that about 10x or so.

Great photos as usual. $34 for a pizza, lobster or no lobster....Oy!

Fish Rib cap? AKA the collar? Curious to hear more about that sauce.

One of your more creative plating's of late. Awesome! Edit - we are still getting lots of cherry tomatoes here in Ontario, as well as hot peppers finishing up. Re-seeded lettuce also doing it's thing nicely. Tons of ground cherries this year!

Perhaps it's the name that just throws you off. Call it Roasted Heirloom Tomato risotto finished with fresh grated cheese if it helps sell it to yourself 😛 As mentioned earlier, artichoke risotto works really well, especially if you make a puree and add it at the end. Same goes for asparagus. And if you want to splurge, you can never go wrong with white truffles and young pecorino.

Risotto is one thing I can say that I know quite well. When I was 12 my uncle and I even entered a local risotto competition and beat out one of the city's top chefs! I seem to recall it was artichoke risotto. Hilarity aside. Wild mushroom risotto is classic, preferably porcini's. The key, IMO - is your liquid. Taking the time to make an intense mushroom stock will pay off big time. Also I will saute some mushrooms, add butter, wine, mushroom stock - and reduce. Add that towards the end of cooking for a flavour boost. If you want to branch out, lately a big hit at my place is 'deconstructed pizza' risotto - basically take garden tomatoes, make a sauce - strain - there's your liquid. Add basil and Parm/Mozz at the end of cooking. Enjoy. So many more iterations. The key though, is your liquid!