jackal10

Hmm...not sure this would work for me. You must have a commercial size food processor and pans, as we can eat all we can make in one batch. 17 per person is the record, but I was much younger and slimmer then...

Poilane Bread Box and knife Kenwood Electric Bread Slicer

Wot? No mention of the New Tayyab, basic but excellent Punjabi and eG's favourite - lots of threads. Open for dinner only, however. Affordable as well. The Ritz has more history, and a newish chef.

I agree with slkinsey. It depends what you are used to. I routinely use soft full carbon knives, and routinely steel them before doing anything, even chopping an onion. Its easy to feel when they have lost their edge, and easy to restore it then and there with few strokes on the steel that lives in the knife block. Its automatic, needs no thought, and doesn't even affect the work flow. I don't steel my harder steel knives - it takes much more work to have any effect, and seems to need more care. Its also more of a production, getting out the stone etc... I only sharpen them before a major event, or when I have lots of spare time and so, because I only occaisionally do a full sharpen on them, most of the time they are not as sharp as the softer carbon steel knives. Thus for everyday cooking, at least for me, full carbon wins.

In the UK some supermarkets with in-store bakeries (and Tesco in particular) will give you fresh yeast for nothing if asked.

Sugar cane Sugar beet Ginger (and galinagle etc) (root and stems) Angelica (stems, crystallised) Orris ((iris root; bit obscure, but used as a gum and as a flavour fixative). Other gums are dried exudates. Many herbs (swet cicely, Bay, geranium leaves, mints are all used as sweet flavours) Marshmallow (the orginal was a root)

I think its an extension of the doctrine of shatnes.

Cassoulet

Is this the place to discuss the definitive Latke/Levivot/fasptshes/pontshkes recipe? I give mine in the eGCI Potato Primer, where I say

Personally I don't like gratton edges, nor stainless steel, nor the rounded edge shape. Also similar knives are available on Amazon for a few bucks less and eBay for about half price. For myself, I use old-fashioned Sabatier Carbonne, full carbon knives. These need a little more care - they rust if you put them in the dishwasher, the blade acquires a dark patina with use, and the steel is soft, in that you have to sharpen them (a few strokes on a steel) in use, but the edge is like no other. You can cut a tomato, or a sheet of paper by just resting the knife on it and moving it with a fingertip. My "cooking" knife is the 5-inch carbon steel boning knife. They also do an 8 inch (and a 6 and a 10 and 12 inch) in the same range Amazon have them.

Illustrated recipe, and much, much, else in the eGCI Great Potato Primer http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=31701

One of those insulated picnic hampers and a hot water bottle, or equivalent (bowl of water, or those freezer packs). Make sure the food in not in direct contact with the heat reservoir, Otherwise find a warm spot int he the house - on top of the boiler, or the airing cupboard. Some people even build their own proof box, with a low wattage lamp bulb in the bottom.

I don't know about unusual, but Potato Stuffing is traditional, maybe with extra chestnuts and/or fruit (apple, apricot)...Lots of recipes on the web. If you have a wood fired oven I guess you know that you need to let it cool from pizza temperatures. Alan Scott (builder of fine ovens) just sent a message to the Brick Oven List, another excellent resource (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/brick-oven/) You will get an amazing amount of wonderful fat from the geese, To prevent burning put the goose over a large pan with some water in it. Even so you will have to empty the pan half way through to stop it overflowing. This fat is like gold for roasting potatoes, confit and other delicious things. I quote from Alan's email, as it contains the key techniques and temperatures. A goose breast is much thinner than a turkey, so it won't take as long to cook, but the principle is the same, and if you cook it in a cool oven the danger of overcooking is less. Another contributor writes:

I fine my students if their phone rings during a seminar. I don't see why restaurants should not adopt the same policy. It is the same principle as anything that disturbs the other diners in the same space - noisy children, noisy drunks, shouting matches...

There is a fallacy here, which is the assumption that "motivating the customer to leave money" and "pleasing the customer" are the same. Instead the tip system motivates the waitstaff to beg. Its outdated to believe that people, (waitstaff are people too) are motivated entirely by money; obviously they need enough to live on and support their family, which is more secure if covered by salary. Maslow (and others) then show that issues such as peer esteem, good working environment, and the opportunity for advancement is more motivating than just cash. In the absence of these cash is used as a status marker. The wise employer creates a supportive environment to satisfy the human needs as well.

Its hard to win as a restauranter, since the customers bring their own prejudices, or worse the predjudices of the critics that they have read. Its hard to please the couple that are discussing their divorce, and hard not to please (or be noticed by) the couple discussing their engagement. Very few have the palate to appreciate what you are doing, an don't understand why you are offering what to them is strange food, when what they really want is steak followed by chocolate. Most have gone to your high-end restaurant, not for the pleasure of the food, but as a status symbol or to show off to their dining companion, such as their boss or lover. Thus a high-end restaurant, and the staff with customer contact has to be as much about education, explaining what they are tasting and why it is so good (and expensive), as about actually producing the goods. Most customers, if not actually poisoned really can't tell. Particular bete noirs: a) The model type who toys with the food, and perhaps eats a small lettuce leaf, before trashing the rest of your lovingly made creation b) The earth mother who insists on breast feeding at table, or the couple that eat each other while the food is cooling and congealing c) The self-proclaimed foodie (or friend of the chef/owner/Maitre D) who loudly expresses their incorrect opinion d) The drunk or druggy - frequent long trips to the loo to powder their nose. Worse when in packs e) The mumbler, who can't order with any clarity, and then complains (in a thick accent) when you guess wrong f) The person who orders the most expensive wine, or a young tannic claret and then complains its not sweet plonk Grumpy? me?

Commemoration of the Benefactors "In piam memoriam fundatoris nostri et benefactorum nostrorum" 24th Nov 2004 Graham Beck Blanc de Blancs 1998 Roasted Pumpkin Soup with Roasted Sesame Seeds Tokay Pinot Gris Albert Mann 2000 Egg en cocotte with smoked ham, gruyere cheese and cream Roast Breast of Mallard with parsnip and orange puree, and a truffled jus Bouquet of vegetables, Chateau potatoes Ladoix 1er Cru Francois Parent 1997 Warm tangerine and dark chocolate turnover with Grand Marnier icecream and almond Brittle Rhona Musacadel 1998 Desert (Cheese, fruit) and Petit Four Quinta de Passadouro 1997 Ch. Lestages Simon 1995 Ch. Loupiac Gaudiet 1990 Another stellar effort by the kitchens to produce food of this quality for the 150 or so Fellows and Scholars of the college Just turning potatoes for 150 would give me nightmares

Another annoyance, and equally a pleasure and a sign of good service when it is got right, is whether the server remembers who is having what. I hate it when the food appears with the question "Who is having medium rare?" etc. If the notion is to simulate personal service, its another question that should not be asked. Its something chains could easily implement, rather than the specious over familiarity and announcement of name, shoe size etc.. Its not so hard. If the order is taken at the table a simple sketch of the table with number of which guest has ordered what is taken by the server on the order pad. It's slightly trickier where the order is taken in the lounge or bar before seating, where a brief pen description is needed (e.g male, bow tie, glasses). This then enables the serving staff to silently lay the right cutlery and get the right food to the right person. Alas some of the radio terminals don't allow this, which is poor system design.

You really need an open fire, or a charcoal brazier and a cockney accent. Its part of the romance... Score the chestnuts or they will explode. I guess 20 minutes in a hot dry frying pan, shaking and turning from time to time. Eat with salt. For cooking it is MUCH easier to to tinned puree or sous-vide packed whole chestnuts. Merchant Gourmet is one brand that Tesco sells. Soups, stuffings, deserts (Mount Blanc or chestnut meringues and creams), or tossed with Brussel sprouts, candied as Marron Glace etc etc More on http://www.merchant-gourmet.com/osb/itemdetails.cfm/ID/522 I've never managed to use dried chestnuts successfully, but that can be ground to flour and used in breads etc.

Nothing to it, just a bit tedious if you have to do lots. I pluck dry, stating from one end. Do it inside a garbage bag, otherwise you'll get feathers everywhere. Then cut the head and neck off, make an incision around the arse and empty the body cavity. Wash While plucking, sing out loud The Pheasant Plucking Song "I'm not a pheasant plucker, I'm a pheasant plucker's son I'm only plucking pheasants 'till the pheasant plucker comes."

Whats wrong with the traditional Soup (or prawn cocktail) Turkey with the trimmings Xmas Pud Mince Pies I'd feel short-changed if I was served anything else....well, since the US eats its Turkey this week, then a large joint of beef.

My apologies. You have a tough job. My comments were more about the set-up that makes staff depend on "voluntary" payments. Since they are habitual, rather than voluntary and a reward for above average service, why not increase the prices by 15%, and pay the staff a decent wage? It is really a cultural difference. In Europe, at least in some parts, waiting is an honorable salaried profession. Some places refuse to take tips, believing it is demeaning and unfair to the staff, who will have pride in what they do, and do their best anyway. In the US, the set up is that staff have to survive mostly on tips, and hence try and maximise them. I guess also, in this economic climate, more are waiting at table, rather than doing what they really want to do...

In what perverted portion of the universe do the powers-that-be think that the requirements set out in the Food Tutor's report above constitute good manners, or a pleasurable dining experience? What middle management hell do these people inhabit? I guess the motivation is that somehow they think that announcing your name stands for personal service. They have read a pop psychology book that talks about trust associated with having an identifiable person, and seek to subvert that. It also may be a legal point, with a specific identified authorised agent of the company taking the order. Push the appetiser and the specials, since there is more profit margin there. The quaility check I believe is another legal point. As I said above shifts liability from the establishement to the diner, and conpletes the contract - (You ordered, we delivered, you expressed satisfaction, accepting the food). None of this constitutes genuine concern, careful hospitality or mutual enjoyment However the reasoning behind the mandatory pepper beats me

"How's everything" is a question that should not be asked. Besides being poor English ("The war is Iraq is pretty bad" would be one reasonable reply), it shifts the responsibility from the waiter to the customer for things wrong. It should be the waiter, by their own observation, that ensures everything is good. That is their responsibility. That is what they are there for. It reminds me of an old Jewish joke, illustrating the use of the Yiddish "Ah-ha!" Insert your own embellishements, as to the goodness of the golden chicken soup mit knaidlach, how many years the late Mr Goldstein (may he be remembered for good) had dined at that restaurant, always taking the soup etc etc... "Mr Goldstein, what's the matter? You haven't touched your soup!" "Here take my spoon, and you try it!" "OK, give me your spoon" "Ah-ha!" (there was no spoon)

Don't you have the under-butler make them?