Chad

David, nice piece. Thank you. Fat Guy, I hope David doesn't mind, but I can offer a tip on the web design. When I left my ad agency one of the designers left at the same time. He's a great designer and specializes in nifty websites, but he can't write for shit. We worked a tradeout. He's designing a website for me and I'm writing a brochure for one of his clients. He gets to offer a full package -- writing, design, et al -- to his client and I get a cool website. It's a good deal. So one option is to seek out an independent designer or small web design shop and offer your services as a writer in trade for a small website. There's rarely any call for food writing, but if you can competently string together information about, say, a furniture store, then you've got something valuable to offer. David, I made my living as a freelance writer many years ago but have been out of the game for a while. One of the ideas I've been toying with is having my clips, articles, TV commercials and ad pieces compiled into a CD. Do you think editors would be open to recieving something like this or is the standard packet of copied clips still the way to go? Thank you, Chad

Hmmm, interesting. I have the Cook's stove-top version, but really wanted the mix of creamy and crunchy provided by the baked, roux-based version. It didn't occur to me to hedge my bets with the stovetop style & just broil it for a moment or two. Back to the drawing board. Chad

This I like. One of the more sensible, meaningful and potent things I've seen in a while. Yes. Chad

Thanks, Suzanne! I think problems one and three are the real culprits as well. I'm trying the dish again right now. That's one of the advantages of working from home. That and the fact that cleaning is so much easier now that I don't have all of those pesky paychecks lying around cluttering the place up . Anyway, I'll let y'all know how it turns out. I made another batch so I can try something I saw on Alton Brown's show. He let the mac & cheese casserole rest overnight, cut it into squares, breaded them in more panko and deep fried them. That's just too cool not to try. Chad

Hey, good thought on not mixing all the cheese. I'll have to try that next time. The pasta was well under al dente. I cooked it at a low boil for about 6 minutes (half the suggested time) then shocked it in a bowl of ice water. Turned out perfectly in the casserole. One of the few things that did . Oh, and the buttered panko on top was absolutely fantastic. I made the dish again this afternoon. In fact, it's in the oven now. I took a lot more time with the roux, brought the sauce to a simmer then dropped the heat almost all the way back and let it cook for about 10 minutes, took the thickened sauce off the heat until it had cooled significantly before adding the cheese (Cabot extra sharp this time) and just generally babied it a lot more than I did last night. We'll see how it turns out. Thanks for your help, folks. Chad

This was originally posted under the "Dinner!" thread, but I realized it would make a better general cooking question. Last night I made macaroni & cheese. My wife was out of town, and this is what the kids requested. So I thought, fine, if you want mac & cheese, we'll do it my way -- the real thing: bechamel based cheese sauce, decent cheeses, a little spice and baked the way God intended. Ha! I would show the snivling little blue-box lovers what the stuff should taste like . Well, it wasn't great. I'm still trying to figure out what went wrong. The sauce was a little thick, kind of grainy and slightly gummy. Flavor was good, but the dish was a textural horror. I have a couple of possible culprits. One, I was in a hurry. I'd forgotten that my 8-year-old's last swimming lesson was last night, so I had to rush despite having everything prepped ahead of time. My 13-year-old daughter was helping in the kitchen so I was explaining mise en place to her. Anyway, I rushed the roux. Butter was too hot, I think and the roux went way past blonde immediately. More of a pecan brown, actually. Two, I made a paste of the other ingredients with the roux before adding the milk. This is a little backward from usual bechamel technique, but it's worked in the past. I added 1T powdered mustard, 1/2t paprika, 1/2t cayenne, a bay leaf and some kosher salt, made a thick paste then whisked in 3 cups of milk a little at a time. Dunno if this really makes a difference or not. Any experts out there? Three, also in the interest of time I jacked up the heat on the sauce mixture, trying to get it to a simmer faster than it wanted to go. I may have gone overboard, but as I understand it, roux doesn't begin it's thickening until close to the boiling point. I pulled it off the heat before adding the cheese, but it may have been a bit hot, reducing the cheese to gummy string and liquid fat. Four, my kids were deeply freaked out by white sharp cheddar. To them cheese must be traffic-cone orange or it's not cheese. So we used the Kroger brand medium cheddar I had on hand just in case. Perhaps this cheese has a weird melting point or just doesn't want to work in a sauce. I don't know. When in doubt, blame the ingredients . Any insights or advice from the collective wisdom of eGullet? Chad

Jack, nice lesson! I have three questions. First, you use chicken rather than ground beef in forming your raft. I've always understood ground beef (and leeks) to be the traditional method. What's the advantage of chicken? Second, does the size of the pot matter? I've made stock for years but never tried a consomme. I'd assumed that I'd have to use my stock pot and was afraid that the raft would be spread too thin with the small amount of stock I make. Never occured to me to use a saucepan. Duh. But can the pan be too narrow, leading to an overly thick raft? Third, the Royales are very cool. I have to admit, I've never seen those before. I really want to try them. There seems to be a transition missing in the instructions. After you whiz the cooked chicken and bechamel, do you then add these to the cream and egg custard mix described below or are these two different methods for making the royale? Thanks again, Chad

Good for you!!! that's what I would do. How did the kids like it ? FM Well, it wasn't great. I'm still trying to figure out what went wrong. The sauce was a little thick, kind of grainy and slightly gummy. Flavor was good, but the dish was a textural horror. I have a couple of possible culprits. One, I was in a hurry. I'd forgotten that my 8-year-old's last swimming lesson was last night, so I had to rush despite having everything prepped ahead of time. My 13-year-old daughter was helping in the kitchen so I was explaining mise en place to her. Anyway, I rushed the roux. Butter was too hot, I think and the roux went way past blonde immediately. More of a pecan brown, actually. Two, I made a paste of the other ingredients with the roux before adding the milk. This is a little backward from usual bechamel technique, but it's worked in the past. I added 1T powdered mustard, 1/2t paprika, 1/2t cayenne, a bay leaf and some kosher salt, made a thick paste then whisked in 3 cups of milk a little at a time. Dunno if this really makes a difference or not. Any experts out there? Three, also in the interest of time I jacked up the heat on the sauce mixture, trying to get it to a simmer faster than it wanted to go. I may have gone overboard, but as I understand it, roux doesn't begin it's thickening until close to the boiling point. I pulled it off the heat before adding the cheese, but it may have been a bit hot, reducing the cheese to gummy string and liquid fat. Four, my kids were deeply freaked out by white sharp cheddar. To them cheese must be traffic-cone orange or it's not cheese. So we used the Kroger brand medium cheddar I had on hand just in case. Perhaps this cheese has a weird melting point or just doesn't want to work in a sauce. I don't know. When in doubt, blame the ingredients . Any insights or advice from the collective wisdom of eGullet? Chad

Last night: grilled pork chops with a chunky tomato/basil vinegrette, wild rice, broccoli and corn muffins. Tonight: Homemade macaroni and cheese. My wife is out of town, and when I asked the kids what they wanted for dinner tonight my 8-year-old gave the perennial "Mac & cheese" answer. Fine, but we're doing it my way . Real deal macaroni -- bechamel-based cheese sauce w/sharp cheddar and a little gruyere, penne noodles, a hit of cayenne and a little onion, the whole thing topped with buttered panko bread crumbs and baked. Tomorrow, if all goes well, I'll slice the mac & cheese, bread it with more panko and fry it! Mmmmm. Chad edited for spelling of perennial -- perineal is something entirely different

Sam, I was just down at my local specialty grocery. They've dropped most of their other lines of cookware in favor of a brand called Berndes. This is not a company I've heard of before, but the pans themselves were heavy aluminum, non-stick and had some sort of powder coat on the exterior. All in all, not bad gear from the looks and heft of them. Do you have any experience with Berndes? Chad

Katie, and others, if you've never been around guns before - and particularly if guns make you uncomfortable - Think before you get one. If you're thinking of getting a gun for personal protection but you are uncomfortable being in the presence of a gun, don't do it. You'll never feel right about it and it could do you harm. Should you ever have to confront someone with your gun, you have to be ready to pull the trigger without a second thought. Never aim a gun at anyone unless you're fully capable of blowing them away. For that matter, if you feel threatened, don't even reach for a gun unless you're willing to use it. If you've passed that test and feel you need a gun, get some expert advice on what kind of gun you should have and what you'll feel comfortable with. If you've never been around guns before, or didn't grow up with them, get some firearms training - especially on the safe handling of firearms. Learn to handle a gun safely before you even think about shooting. Just a few thoughts from someone that's been around guns for more than fifty years. I'm with Nick. I'm a serious competitive shooter, but I'd never encourage anyone who isn't willing to invest a little time in learning how guns work to buy one or keep one around the house. These things are dangerous. That's the point. If they weren't dangerous, there would be no need to have them around. Having a gun is a moral commitment to learning how it operates and how to use it safely so that you don't endanger anyone who doesn't deserve endangering. When you have a life-taking weapon in your hands, you'd better have 1) a basic understanding of how it works; 2) A serious understanding of why you're pointing it at someone in the middle of the night; and 3) A sure-as-if-God-himself-had-asked-you knowledge that you are willing to pull the trigger to protect your family and loved ones, no matter what the consequences are to you. If you don't have those things, don't keep a gun in the house. It'll only be a problem. Chad

Last night, homemade pizza. I'd planned to make calzones, but I'd forgotten about "Meet the Teacher" night at my son's school. In the interest of time I made one pizza rather than the calzones. One problem, I'd portioned the dough to make six calzones so my wife and I could have leftovers for lunch. The dough for six calzones on a 14" x 16" pizza stone makes for a, well, "sturdy" pizza . Good, but very heavy. Tonight, leftover tortilla soup, quesadillas and broiled asparagus with tomato basil vinagrette. Chad

Living in the middle of tornado alley, we always have emergency supplies on hand. Even heavy winds can knock the power out for a couple of days. There's usually an overabundance of canned goods and dry goods in the pantry. I tend to stock up when there's a sale, so I have a couple of cases of canned veggies and fruits tucked away in back. I buy my rice in bulk, 10 pounds of arborio at a time, so there's plenty o' that. Upstairs there are a couple of dedicated emergency flashlights (off-limits to the kids). One of them is a 4 D-cell camp/work light that has an adjustable head and can stand on its own to illuminate a room. One drawer contains spare batteries for various flashlights and the NOAA weather radio. The weather radio is always on "standby," which means that when there is a storm warning it comes on automatically. There are several packs of long-burning camping candles and water proof matches in the kitchen. I don't even have to mention the fire extinguishers in the kitchen, garage and both cars, do I? Downstairs in the tornado room is our emergency kit, a large duffle bag that contains most of what we might need, even if we had to evacuate the house for a while. Contents below. There are also individual packs for the kids with a change of clothes/underwear/socks, toiletries, a sweater or sweatshirt and perscription meds. If we have to spend the night in a motel or a friend's house we don't have to pack in a hurry or, God forbid, dig through rubble to get out quickly. Emergency kit: Four flashlights, two normal with extra batteries, two SureFire lights -- incredibly powerful with lithium batteries that have a 10-year shelf life. Emergency blankets (surplus from Cheaperthandirt.com) 12'x10' tarp (can be used as a shelter or just to cover broken windows) Duct tape 100' parachute cord (550lb strength) -- can be combined with tarp for shelter Coleman two burner propane camp stove Four bottles of propane (extras in the garage) Pump-style water filtration system and water purifying solution Large first aid kit (augmented with Immodium, Benedryl and tampons) Extra toothbrushes, toothpaste and camping soap (Dr. Bronners) Camping towels Hand sanitizer Small hatchet Four family-size freeze dried meals Propane heater that uses the same canisters as the stove Waterproof matches & more long-burning candles Cayalume light sticks Chemical hand warmers There is 15 gallons of water in six 2.5 gallon dispensers that are rotated yearly along with two empty four-gallon water carriers that can be filled if needed (remember that water filtration system?). Seems like a lot, I know, but the gear was assembled after a lot of reading and several conversations with a friend who is a former FEMA emergency manager. He reminded me that contaminated water is one of the biggest problems with any sort of storm-related emergency -- and most emergencies in general. It usually takes a couple of days for FEMA and/or the Red Cross to get their shit together, so it's good have some water on hand or have an effective way to filter and purify it. After that comes shelter & warmth. Food is last on the list. As I said, all of this fits in a duffle bag that can be easily carried by one person if necessary. And, yes, I'm a competitive shooter, so there's usually a couple thousand rounds of ammo and several pistols in the gun safe. It's nice to know I'm not the only safety whacko around here . Chad

Last night: homemade tortilla soup (made with my own chiles!) and chicken quesadillas. Chad

Last night: Chicken & Proscuitto -- this is a saltimboca variation. BSCB are pounded flat, draped in a couple of layers of procuscuitto, rolled & tied. The roulades were sauted in duck fat & olive oil for 6 minutes, a half cup of white wine added, the whole thing covered and cooked for 6 minutes more. Roulades are removed to a gentle resting place with tinfoil cover, the liquid is reduced with chicken demi-glace (Ok, I admit; I cheated here with "Fond de Poulet" from More than Gourmet) until it coats the back of a spoon. Served on a bed of arborio rice (which nicely absorbs the flavors) with broccoli and focaccia. Tonight: grilled salmon, grilled portobello mushrooms marinated in balsamic vinegar and EVOO, green beans (blanched & sauted in duck fact with garlic and shallots) and new potatoes, quartered and coated in EVOO and kosher salt. Am I the only one who posts when he/she had done an impressive dinner? C'mon. We have Mac & Cheese or taco salad on a regular basis. I'd defy anyone with kids to say otherwise. Chad

I've heard horror stories from very reputable people who tried to lap a diamond bench stone. Using one to lap another stone whould be equally scary to me. It might be a brand thing. The stones reportedly ruined were DMT by the way. I'll stick to the sandpaper. PJ Argh! I wouldn't try to lap a diamond stone, but you can lap your other stones with a diamond stone. I'm with you though, the mylar backed, self stick sandpaper on plate glass is the way to go. I also use sand to even out my stones. Yup, a little sand on the garage floor -- apply even pressure on the stone and grind in circles. The sand will pulverize and leave a powdery coat on the bottom of the stone. The distribution of the powder shows you where you still have low spots. The low spots will be darker than the flat areas. I just grind until the surface is uniformly coated. Chad

Yup, a coarse stone is a handy thing to have. I had a Trace Rinaldi TTKK (Talmadge Tactical Kitchen Knife) in D2, a super hard tool steel, that I wanted to rebevel. It took two days with the medium stone I had on hand at the time. I immediately got a coarse stone and a diamond stone. There was no way I was putting up with that again. The Gatco is a fine system. As for the oil question -- yes, that's it exactly. As Joe pointed out, some natural stones can be used dry. Others load up too quickly and need oil. If you've used oil on your stones in the past, you'll probably need to keep using oil to float the metal filings out. Rather than hosing down your stones with oil, though, you could try putting a couple of drops on the stone and wiping it down with a paper towel or cloth. Every 10 passes or so oil and wipe again. This is just a guess, but it might be worth a try. Glad you liked the tutorial! Thanks for the compliments. I really appreciate it. Chad

Hey, cool! For those of you who've read the tutorial, you'll note that Joe Talmadge is quoted extensively. His FAQs and generous willingness to answer questions on a variety forums have supplied large part of my sharpening knowledge over the last couple of years. Thanks for handling the rounded tip question, Joe. I was a little hesitant to do it myself, mainly because I have a couple of knives that look more like first-grade safety scissors than knives . Chad

Thanks! I really appreciate it. After your knife skills class, I felt I had to keep up my end of the tag-team . I'm glad the steeling method worked for you. It takes a little getting used to. It took me forever to force myself to slow down and pay attention to my angles. But it's a lot more effective (in my opinion) than the usually-taught method. Chad

Hmm, the design of the K14 is pretty close to the K6 which I owned for a while. Looks like the blade is about half an inch shorter, which would make it 9" or so. The blade drop is rounded and the belly is more pronounced. Dunno. If you're looking for a cleaver-like knife, I'd say go for it. The fit and finish on George's kitchen knives is excellent. The 440C is mirror polished, so it cleans up easier and is theoretically more sanitary. He rounds the spine and blade drop and the handles are very comfortable. There were two things I didn't like about my K6. The belly was too pronounced and the blade was too wide. I wanted a wide blade because I like to "scoop" with my knife. That's why my Mullin knife has a 2" blade. The K6 was kind of overkill. The blade width might not have been an issue if not for the pronounced belly. George worked with many chefs when developing the design and came up with a knife particularly well adapted for rocking. I couldn't get used to it. But I know several folks, including the person I sold mine to, who absolutely swear by the design. And it did scare my kids (which was actually kind of fun ). Chad

Thanks! If you're a woodworker, you definitely need to check out Lee Valley Tools. Leonard Lee is the guy who wrote "The Complete Guide to Sharpening" and deals with waterstones and sharpening woodworking tools in his book. Get them to send you their catalog -- sheer woodworking porn. As for lapping your stones, you can use a coarse diamond benchstone but the cheapest way is mylar-backed silicon carbide sandpaper stuck to a sheet of plate glass. With Japanese waterstones, you can true your finer stones with your coarser stones. Just make sure they don't create mating surfaces. Chad

My favorites? The ones I don't own yet . I have a Murray Carter Nakiri-bocho on order that I'm eagerly awaiting. I have the usual complement of Henckels and Wusthofs, but my two favorites are a semi-custom chef's knife from Steve Mullin from his Pack River line and a cheap Japanese utility knife. The Mullin knife is the one shown in the article. It's made of ATS-34 steel, a very hard stainless supersteel. It's not as stainless as one might like -- it takes a patina like a carbon knife under heavy use, but it's like a light saber in the kitchen. It's a steal at $125. You do have to do the spine modification, though. He'll do a 15 degree edge or 15/20 double bevel if you ask nicely. The other is a $16 Japanese utility knife from Lee Valley Tools. It's cheap, cuts like nothing you've ever seen and is a great introduction to Japanese knives. See a review here. Skip the technical parts of the review and scroll down to the usage information. You'll be amazed. Those are the two that I reach for most often. I've owned a George Tichbourne K6 chef's knife. It was wonderful but so big that it frightened my children. No, I'm not kidding. I ended up selling it to another knife collector/cook. Definitely worth taking a look at, though. As for regular kitchen knives, Chef's Illustrated did a shootout not long ago and the Forschner/Victorinox came out on top for NIB sharpness, ease of use and general handling characteristics. Can't say that I'd argue with them. Chad

Hmmm, I don't know of any way to determine what kind of stones you have just by looking at them. Run your fingernail across the stone. Does the stone feel smooth? Very smooth? Coarse? Does it grind off a little of your nail? Coarse stones feel pretty rough. You'll know it's designed to take off a lot of metal in a hurry just by feeling it. Medium stones and medium fine stones are a little tougher. They're not coarse, but you can feel some texture on them. They'll grind off a little of your fingernail, but not a lot -- kind of like using a fine nail file. Fine stones feel pretty smooth. This is where it gets hard, because gradations of smoothness are a lot harder to feel than gradations in coarseness. At least in my opinion. A fine stone will feel smooth, but not slick. An extra-fine stone will feel slick and almost polished. Fine and extra fine stones will also feel very hard. Medium stones will feel, well, softer. I don't know quite how to explain it. The best test is to take a knife to them. See what happens. Does the stone remove a lot of metal quickly? It's probably coarse to medium. Is the scratch pattern deep and rough looking -- also coarse to medium. Does the stone polish the edge, removing existing scratches? You've got a fine stone. I know this sounds pretty hit or miss, but oddly enough, this is how high-dollar Japanese waterstones are graded. There's some science, some geology and a lot of touchy-feely subjective judgement. Chad

Could be Japanese-Knife. They've got a couple of video clips on sharpening, but the text translation is, well...problematic. Definitely worth taking at look, though. If you want to drop a couple of grand on a Nenox, Masamoto or Misono, this might be your place. Chad Edited for spellig

Mmmm, must be David Boye's dendtritic 440c -- very, very nice knives. Chad