Chad

Part Three is an excellent way to round out the course. Seems like a good place to link to the Chemotherapy: Cooking for a Patient thread as it deals with many of the same issues. Great work, folks. Chad

I use that bread recipe a lot. It's my wife's favorite, so whenever I feel like baking bread, that's generally her request. I don't use the bean flour, mainly because I don't keep any on hand. I can attest, however, that the addition of the semolina and the balsamic vinegar make a huge difference in the taste of the loaf. I've made mine with and without each, and it's vastly improved with both. The other trick she mentions, misting the loaf, makes a big difference in the way the crust develops. Have fun, Chad

I really enjoyed this, as well. Nice work. Chad

Another resource: Envision is a not-for-profit here in Wichita that serves people with macular degeneration, low vision and no vision. They have a retail store that sells adaptive aids for the visually impaired. There's some pretty nifty kitchen stuff available -- White Canes & More. Chad

I'm really looking forward to eating at Louis's place. Anything you recommend? Chad

Tom, if you wanna see a culinary wasteland, join me out here in Kansas! . I enjoyed living in Greenville. It's a pretty great place. And there is plenty of good food. The restaurants I mentioned were all within walking distance of my house -- as were a fistful of others worth eating at. Fine, formal dining? Not much to speak of, at least there wasn't when I left six years ago. But if you can't find anything else . . . well, your standards must be a lot higher than mine. Chad

As a new eGulleter, you certainly are . Welcome! And if you've got Henderson's book, I suppose that makes you doubly hip. Soon you'll be so hip you'll have trouble seeing over your pelvis. Take care, Chad

More great acts-of-kindness stories can be found in the discussion of Ingridsf's article. Restaurants doing a little something extra pays off in big ways. Chad

Cool, you have a Chantry. Very nice system. The Razor's Edge Mousetrap Steel is also a very handy product, especially for restaurant volume steeling. For everyday use, Brooks, you might take a look at the EdgePro ceramic steel. These things are amazing and significantly better than any grooved (or even smooth) steel. My sharpening regimen has been greatly reduced since I switched over to one. Chad

Very nice writeup on the book by Russ Parsons in today's LA Times Food Section Foodies Go Hog Wild. There's even an eGullet mention. The book is indeed making a splash Chad

Jon, that's just disturbing. Chad

Yep, turducken is a Louisiana thing. Specifically, it's a Paul Prurdhomme thing. Jeffrey Steingarten in It Must Have Been Something I Ate tracks the history and origin of the turducken and discovers that Prudhomme's claim to have invented the thing in the 1960s is true ("Birds of a Feather, pages 225-236). Gotta take exception to this statement: Nope. Mustard-based barbecue is found only in Columbia and lower. Upstate barbecue is much more like NC barbecue with a mix of vinegar/red pepper sauces and ketchup based red sauces.As for dining in the upstate, Greenville has some pretty damn good restaurants. Seven Oaks was fun for more formal dining, but I believe it's closed. Downtown, Ristorante Bergamo has good food. Trio is good. Barleys makes one of the best pizzas I've ever had, and Soby's used to be pretty good, though I've heard that the quality has declined. Don't know much about Charleston. I don't like the place. I'm having dinner at Louis Osteen's place in Pawleys in a couple of weeks. I'll let y'all know how it goes. Chad

Congrats on your Sabatier! Very nice knife. I have seen the Benchmade set, though I haven't had the pleasure of playing with the knives. The reports and reviews I've seen have been very good. It's a nice set (though overpriced, I think), and it was cool to see Benchmade stretching out a little. Another knife to consider -- and I can't believe I didn't think of this before -- is the Spyderco 9" chef's knife. The Spyderco line of kitchen knives is generally excellent, especially considering the price. They take a good edge, handle well and are easy to maintain. Chad

Wonderful! Thanks so much. Must get busy. There's drinking to be done. Chad

Now that's just cool. My SuperChiles are supposedly a hybrid of Thai Bird Chiles and pequins, though they were not as hot as I expected. I'll have to look into the rocotos. I'm always looking for serious heat with serious flavor. Heat alone is boring and pointless. That's one reason I was so disappointed in my Habaneros last year. They had a nice fruity flavor, but not the heat that I'd expected. I really wanted to make a Habanero/mango ice cream. This is probably deserving of another thread, but have any of y'all tried the Toad Sweat line of dessert hot sauces? I got a gift pack for Christmas and I've been itching to try them. Chad

I can assure you, you don't want to do this. I successfully grew some of these a few summers ago, and well, lets just say, they aren't really usable in food. I ended up putting mine in the food drier and grinding it into chile powder... and mixing it with WEAKER chiles. Stuff is way, way, way too hot. Jason, thanks for the heads up. I'm not one of those "I've eaten chiles so hot that I pissed blood for a week and went blind in my left eye" macho chest beating types. It's just that I was very disappointed in my orange Habaneros last year. Kansas may not be offer the right growing conditions. Mine were pretty weak. Weak enough that I could pop half a chile in my mouth and chew it up -- NOT something you're supposed to be able to do with any Habanero, though the fruity flavor was quite nice. I was hoping that by going with the Red Savina I might get close to what a Habanero is supposed to be. And =Mark='s Habanero ice cream is calling to me. Chad

Yup, 'fraid so. Hot drop forged knives do have a stronger and more regular carbide lattice than cold stamped or laser cut knives, but the image of a smith hammering out knives on an anvil is one of the best marketing smokescreens in the industry. As is the "ooh, it's forged so it must be good" marketing drivel. Frankly, it's a matter of economics. Stainless steel is very difficult to forge in the traditional manner. Carbon steel can be hand forged or air-hammer forged, but stainless just can't, not for any price that the buying public is going to pay. See the Knife Maintenance & Sharpening Tutorial in the eGullet Culinary Institute for more information than you'll ever need about knife steel, construction, et al. Works for me! I'm a firm believer in buying the absolute best you can afford, even if you have to stretch a little. Tough call. I haven't seen the Rc numbers on the Forschner, but I'd guess it's in the low 50s. Henckels & Wusthofs are somewhere between 52-56Rc, so there will be some difference, but it won't be dramatic. By the way, Gul_Dekar, KnifeCenter has the 10" Forschner Fibrox for about $26. Yep, 10" is a big sucker, but once you get over the intimidation factor you'll find it hard to use anything smaller. As a matter o' fact, eGullet's Basic Knife Skills class, taught by Marsha Lynch, is about the best intro to knife work around. Check it out. Nope, Globals are something special, indeed. They have a high vanadium content (like some of the MAC lines mentioned previously), that makes them harder than hell and allows them to take an amazing edge. The Globals are up somewhere around 58-62 on the Rockwell C scale. They're a bitch to sharpen, but they'll hold a screaming edge for a very, very long time. MACs and Globals are always a good choice. And unlike some of the customs I've owned, they don't require the love, upkeep and attention of a purebred Chihuahua.I love talking about knives. Thanks, folks! Chad

I do not own the Forschner/Victorinox. I have, however, used one. I would not recommend it if I hadn't. Yes, I'm a serious knife nut and collector. I love my custom knives. (click link for an article about my twisted passion ) I enjoy sharpening them, modifying them . . . hell, I love just handling them. However, high end knives, custom or Williams-Sonoma retail, would not be the best idea for Gul_Dekar, in my opinion. My recommendation is based on pragmatism rather than personal preference. One: he's a student and doesn't have a lot of cash on hand, though the Wusthof sale changes the equation substantially. If he can get a Grand Prix for this price, he should go for it; Two: the Fibrox is a damn fine knife for the price. I've used it. I liked it. A bit too light for my tastes, but fast and maneuverable and easy to handle; Three: don't believe that Henckels and Wusthofs are really forged. Certainly not in the traditional sense. It's bullshit. Everyone has an image of an artisan blacksmith standing over an anvil when the truth is a multi-ton drop forge that, yes, stamps the knife blanks out. The difference is the thickness of the metal and the pressure of the stamping mechanism. They are better than lightweight stamped knives, granted, but they are not forged in the same way that custom carbon steel knives are forged. Doesn't happen with stainless steel; Four: simply put, maintenance. If this is his first knife, he's probably not going to spend the time to steel it regularly, sharpen it the way it should be sharpened or do much of anything other than throw it into a drawer when he's finished. At least I didn't when I was a student. The Fibrox has great out-of-box sharpness that will last quite a while even under heavy use. So, do I own one? No, I don't. Would I buy one for my daughter when she goes off to college? Hell, yes. I think its a great starter knife. Chad

Rube it is! Okay, so I'll be picking up a copy of Garrett Oliver's The Brewmaster's Table: Discovering the Pleasures of Real Beer with Real Food. Based on what I've been drinking, what would be a better beer in the same stylistic range? Chad

Hmm, I may have to plant some of those. Last year I grew Habaneros (orange), Carolina Cayennes and SuperChiles, which are a Thai Bird Pepper/pequin hybrid. The SuperChiles were amazingly prolific, but not as hot as I would have liked -- hotter than a Serrano but not anywhere near Scotch Bonnet/Habanero territory. They were wonderful in my salsas, homemade hot sauce and spicy pickled carrots (the best thing I did with my chiles last year). This year I'm going to try my hand at Red Savinas, more cayennes, perhaps some more SuperChiles and Tabasco peppers. Oh, and Brandywine tomatoes. I might have to toss Thai Dragons into the mix. Looks like I can get them at ChilePlants.com. Chad

What a cool blog. Thanks Carolyn! I just stumbled across it and read it from the beginning. Nice job. And not bad PR for your employer, either. I'd never heard of Ladera before, now I'm going to have to pester our local retailer to get it in. I feel like I have an emotional investment in tasting what "our" little grapevine produces . Chad

Interesting, they look a lot like the SuperChiles I grew last year (a variant on what I've always heard called Thai Bird Peppers), but apparently yours are a little different. Those are Prik ki nu, a vital ingredient in Thai cooking, I believe. You'll have to let us know how they work out. Take care, Chad

Okay, here's a curveball. I know little to nothing about beer. I tend to prefer wine with meals. Every meal. In fact, if anybody could suggest a good Fruit Loop wine, my quest would nearly be complete . I do, however, like an occasional beer, especially when I'm grilling or eating spicy food. I'll generally have Dos Equis at our favorite Mexican joint or Blackened Voodoo when we eat at the pseudo-Cajun place down the street. I also enjoy Bass every once in a while. Are these decent beers or am I a rube? If I am a rube, what would you recommend based on my current preferences? Thanks! Chad

My brother just went through this. He's finishing up his radiation now. Hodgkins lymphoma. I think the type of cancer and the aggressiveness of the chemo make a huge difference in the patient's appetite and ability to eat. They put my brother on an extremely aggressive chemo schedule called the Stanford Five. It's fast but brutal. They rotate meds each week as you cycle through the therapy. He went from about 210 to 160-something during the course of it. The tumors pressing on his stomach made eating difficult anyway, so the nausea-induced lack of appetite only made things worse. With that said, there were a lot of high-protein shakes involved, just to keep his weight and strength up. He was really only able to keep down one meal a day at best, though he did have occassional food cravings. One day it was a Big Mac -- that, and only that, was what he wanted. The thought of anything else made him ill. Go figure. So, whatever the patient feels like eating is what you need to feed him. Be aware that the chemo drugs can make him very sensitive to strong tastes and smells. My brother had to give up coffee because the smell of it made him sick. Same thing with any spicy foods, which he dearly loves. You might check with the oncologist to see if the chemo regimine has any food no-nos associated with it. And stock up on high-protein weight gain shakes like bodybuilders drink. This is only from my limited experience, so take it for what it's worth. Chad

In that price range you can still get a pretty decent knife. Cook's Illustrated did a shootout of the most common chef's knife brands in the November/December 2002 issue. The top rated knife was the $31 Forschner (Victorinox) Fibrox, Model 40520. It is lightweight, maneuverable and has a comfortable, grippy handle. Surpise, huh? I personally prefer a heavier knife, but this just goes to show that you don't have to spend a ton of money for a quality knife. The second rated was the Wusthof Grand Prix at $82.50. The Henckels Four-Star, one of the most common knives available, was right in the middle of the pack. For those who are familiar with my eGCI course on Knife Maintenance & Sharpening, this might be a little surprising. Yes, I'm a knife nut. Yes, I have a couple of custom chef knives. And, yes, I'm recommending the Forschner. It's a decent knife and a good starting point. Chad