slkinsey

Anodized aluminum has many benefits, for sure. However, as I pointed out in my article, the main drawback is that it is very prone to warping at high temperatures. For certain tasks such as making roux, etc., people also find the dark coloring a difficult distraction to work with. I think Calphalon is very good stuff, although significantly overpriced at regular retail. In terms of guality, I'd put it somewhere in the middle of second-level cookware. I have owned many pieces of Calphalon over the years, but ended up getting rid of most of them because I never found the cooking surface any more non-stick than stainless steel, which is compounded by the fact that it is much more difficult to keep clean, and because every single piece I had eventually warped. At the present I have only one piece of Calphalon (a large roasting pan) and I'll try to pick up two or three of the large commercial non-stick skillets if they go back on deep discount at Amazon. All this is to say that I think Calphalon cookware can be a good addition to a well-constituted battery of quality cookware, but I don't think it makes much sense to have an all-Calphalon or mostly-Calphalon kitchen.

Johan, I didn't include woks because they aren't standard stovetop equipment in the Western kitchen. In my own personal experience I have also found that most of them do not work very well in the home kitchen unless one has special burners. Back when I used to have a wok, I made two stir-fried dishes at the same time -- one in a nice wok and the other in my stainless lined heavy copper curved sauteuse evasee. The stir fry in the copper piece worked 100 times better. I haven't used a wok at home since. I find the curved sauteuse evasee by far the most versatile pan in the kitchen. Mileage, opinions and preferences may differ on this matter, of course. Hard to say what your wok is made of without more information. Does your wok look anything like this or like this? I have a feeling it is probably enameled cast iron, even if it isn't very thick.

If you are really interested in making this dish with >$30 industrial balsamic, you should go ahead and reduce it to a thin syrup.

Exactly the reason to get stainless steel-lined copper! There are no known functions for tin in humans. In fact, it is sometimes considered a mildly toxic mineral. The good news is that there are no known chronic or serious diseases from tin exposure or ingestion. Furthermore, tin is poorly absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract -- probably less than 5% -- the rest being excreted primarily in the feces. Since the average diet contains somewhere around 2 mg of tin/day, there is little to worry about where tin-lined cookware is concerned (provided the tin alloy does not contain lead).

Not in Chicago, but: Atlantic Retinning and Metal Refinishing Rocky Mountain Retinning Company Fante's Kitchen Wares Shop A look through the Chicago Yellow Pages brought me to: Archer Tinning & Retinning

I just made an ungodly amount of stock this weekend, because I had around 13 raw chicken skeletons in the freezer. Am I the only one who routinely clarifies his stock? I find it makes them a cleaner-tasting, better looking and, I like to think, a bit more versatile. It's easy to do: For around 3 gallons of reduced stock I just whisked in a dozen egg whites, continued to stir as the stock came up to temperature and then let the stock simmer for around 20 minutes so the "raft" forms and coagulates nicely. After that, it is simply a matter of straining the stock. I carefuly lift out the raft bit by bit with a slotted spoon and strain that separately, so for the vast majoroty of the stock it is simply a matter of pouring through cheesecloth or a fine sieve. Of course, you're left with a dozen egg yolks... But that's why they invented things like egg yolk pasta, lemon curd, pastry cream, etc...

Man... my pet chicken is going to be really glad to hear that!

I solve the turkey problem by braising the leg meat in red wine and roasting the breasts by themselves. Since I plate the servings in my multi-course Thanksgiving dinner, there is no percentage in trying to present a roasted whole bird at the table. I really think more people should just forget about roasting a whole turkey. The breasts, in particular, are getting ridiculously large, which only compounds the problem. My strong suspicion is that any perfectly cooked turkey one has had in a restaurant has had the legs and breasts cooked separately.

Forgot to read this: Went to the one on 9th Avenue as per usual. No stir-fried chicken skin to be found. Was forced to make do on pickled cabbage with red oil, dan dan noodles, spicy beef tendon, fresh-killed kung pao chicken and spicy twice-cooked pork (the fatty kind, of course). Our lips were tingling big-time until I remembered Fat Guy's tip and we went across the street for some black and white malteds at Island Burger. Still plan to check out the stir fried chicken skin over on Second Avenue and will report back if someone doesn't beat me to the punch.

I think the idea that pleasure + a little pain = more pleasure has been around for quite some time in various forms.

0.25 inches = 6.35 millimeters. This means that it is either 6 millimeters and they are rounding up to 0.25 inches, or it is 7 millimeters and they are rounding down. I am unaware of any aluminum bases thicker than 7 millimeters. So either way, it's at or near the best available -- which is what one would expect from Mauviel. At this point it becomes a matter of price, aesthetics and perhaps percentage of the base covered by the base (although I don't expect there is a big difference between the top manufacturers in this regard).

According to this article, there is a "loophole" in the NY State smoking ban that allows "cities and other municipalities across the state the right to grant waivers to bars and restaurants that have lost business because of the ban" if such businesses can prove financial hardship. The NYC ban has no such provision, and as a result the loophole in the NYS law would not apply in the City (although I suppose a business that was under a certain restriction under the NYS law that would not apply, or might have a different application under the NYC law could petition to abide by the NYC law instead of the NYS law).

Always nice to follow up dinner with a refreshing jump from the Castel Sant'Angelo, I'm sure...

Going to Grand Sichuan this evening... shall try to talk companions into ordering the chicken skin... will report back.

I assume you're talking about these? Mauviel is one of the oldest and most respected cookware manufacturers, so I am sure it is quality stuff. That said, you will want to get some data. I am a little bit wary of these lines for cooking over a flame, simply because they seem to be primarily designed to work with induction hobs. One thing go keep in mind is that Mauviel actually makes two stainless steel lines. The "Pro-Inox" line has an aluminum base while the "Induc'Inox" line is fully clad with the interior layer being magnetic steel. We have data for the Induc'Inox line (2 mm thick), but it is not particularly encouraging for traditional cooking. I would stay away from Induc'Inox. Pro-Inox could be good, but I think you would want to inquire as to the thickness of the aluminum base. You can email them at this address, and I gather that French or English is okay: v.leguern@mauviel.com Let us know about any data you collect!

I occasionally put sugar in my chicken brine. I don't think it changes the flavor of the meat all that much, but it does encourage nicely brow skin. As for aromatics (herbs and whatnot) in the brine, I have done it a few times by boiling the aromatics in the brine, which then must be cooled. It made a difference, but not so much that it was worth the pain in the ass.

I'm with you on the green beans and peas... but I can't agree that there is any better way to eat fresh fava beans than shelled and raw.

Of course, one has to be careful when one is eating a soft cooked egg and using one's laptop at the same time, lest the egg spill into the keyboard... Not that I know anyone to whom such a thing has happened...

Absolutely! This is the enameled cast iron casserole I describe in my article. One of the best pieces of cookware that can be found for stews, braises, low/slow cooked tomato sauces, etc. A 30 cm 2.5 mm thick stainless lined copper fry pan for €96 strikes me as a very good deal indeed. You should definitely buy it.

There are a few things thast could have gone wrong: Maybe you started out with a chicken that was already salted? Maybe your brine was too salty? Maybe you are very sensitive to salt? There are two things that make brining so alluring: 1) You can get a lot of extra flavor into the meat (primarily salt, but I also use some sugar and sometimes use herbs and other aromatics); and 2) you can get a lot of extra moisture into the chicken. If you have never ever had a problem with dry breasts or underdone legs when cooking poultry, then you are one of perhaps 10 people in the world for whom that is the case. That said, people have different preferences when it comes to the doneness of poultry. I know some people who don't consider breast meat sufficiently cooked unless it is what I would consider unacceptably dry, and other people are just fine with what I would consider underdone leg meat. Brining allows the cook to achieve a chicken where the leg meat is completely cooked through and the breast meat is still moist enough that fluids run out when it is cut. I spatchcock so often that I find I can remove the backbone with poultry shears (which is all you really need to do) plus cut out the breast bone and those funny shaped ones attached to the leg bones in around 2 minutes, so I almost always spatchcock. The added bonus is that I throw the raw bones into a bag in the freezer which I turn into chicken stock every time it fills up. The brick is for tourists. Absolutely unnecessary, and actually makes the chicken more prone to burning. I have around 50/50 success with this technique, abeit I am trying it in the oven rather than on a grill. I think one of the important elements of pollo al mattone is to preheat the brick as well. Is that what our brick-users are doing?

Geez -- does that really work?? I've been doing the basic side-side-breast up thing at about 400 degrees and it still takes an hour or so. Can the chicken really be done in half an hour with no turning? I, too, was a non-believer, until I tried it. dave, have you ever done this with a spatchcocked chicken? (was that the right word?)I don't want to speak for Dave, but when I employ this technique it is always with spatchcocked poultry. Works especially well with multiple small fowl such as squab, poussin, cornish hen, etc. With chickens, I sometimes like to flop them skin-side down in a preheated skillet, cook it on the stove for 5 minutes of so, and then toss it under the broiler for 15 minutes or so before flipping the whole thing over and tossing it in the oven for another 15 minutes. A great advantage of this technique is that all the juices from the poultry are conveniently preserved in the skillet, just crying out for deglazing, a brief reduction and mounting with butter.

Not true. Look it up in "On Food and Cooking." I thought that as well at one time, but it turns out to be incorrect (unless I am remembering incorrectly -- will check when I get home). see page 615 of McGee Yep... I must have remembered incorrectly. Strangely, however, on page 613 he says: That must be what I was remembering, and it does seem hard to reconcile this statement with what you quoted. This statement, along with McGee's statement on the same page that the rate of radiation is relatively inefficient below about 1800F lead me to conclude that ovens were largely cooking via conduction (especially when one considers the conduction effects of vaporized liquids in the semi-enclosed environment of a modern oven). Anyway, when it really comes down to it, the main thing is that an oven is a really inefficient way to heat anything, regardless of the mechanism.

See, now... when I saw "vegetarian burgers" I thought of "burgers made out of vegetarians" rather than "burgers made for vegetarians." First I thought, "but... wouldn't that be kind of dry like turkey burgers?" And then I thought, "hmm... maybe grain-fed vegetarians might have better marbling." And then I thought, "wait! Aren't cows vegetarians?"

Mmmm mmmm! Pass the corn smut!

IKEA carries one that is thick, quite large and a major bargain (I think it was $14.95). IKEA has, IMO, the best bargain on real end-grain cutting boards to be found.