Chad

Alton's method works spectacularly well. As a matter o' fact, I prefer my KC Strips cooked this way -- even over grilling. Don't be shy with the salt, either. Forget anything you might have heard about salt drawing out the juices from a steak. That's what you want! In a fast, dry heat cooking method like this, the proteins in the meat juices carmelize (Maillard reaction) to form the oh-so-lovely crust that is the pinnacle of steaky perfection. However have your vent hood on high, all your doors and windows open and your smoke detectors turned off. There's a reason my kids call this "smokey steak." It tastes wonderful, but if you're not prepared it can fill your house with smoke in very short order. You have been warned . Chad

Hmm, last night was grilled chicken breasts marinated in teriyaki, ginger & garlic, arborio rice and corn on the cob. Washed down with our favorite summer swill, Lindeman's Bin 65 chard. I also pickled some of my chile peppers this weekend. These are infusion pickles rather than fermented pickles. Along with the SuperChiles (a pequin hybrid) and habanero, I threw in some onion, smashed garlic and about a pound of baby carrots. The pickling solution is cider vinegar, water, sugar, mustard seed and crushed red pepper. What I'm hoping to end up with are pickled peppers and hot, semi-sweet carrot pickles. Keep your fingers crossed. Tonight, pork roast (brining as we speak), asparagus & julienned carrots, foccacia and salad. Chad

Great. Thanks for the tips. I didn't realize they'd need to be dried first to make chile oil. Of course it's 106 today, so stringing them up and drying them on the deck for a couple of days would be pretty easy. As for infused alcohol, that's a nifty idea which immediately made me wonder if chiles (as a fruit) have enough residual sugar to be fermented and distilled into a brandy. Talk about "firewater!" I built a still as my eighth grade science project and have always wanted to try it again. I'm from North Carolina & Tennessee -- you might say it runs in the family . Chad

Yay, my chiles are starting to come in. The Carolina Cayennes have finally come to life, the habaneros are turning orange and the SuperChiles (a pequin hybrid, I'm told) are going gangbusters. Aside from salsa fresca, pickled peppers and generally heating up anything within reach (when the wife & kids aren't looking ), I'm considering making some chile oil. I realize that this is probably so simple that I shouldn't even be asking the question, but: Do you have a recommended oil (EVOO or something more neutral)? Do I just pop the chiles in the oil & wait or is there some heating involved? What's the time frame between putting the chiles in the oil and having a sufficiently infused oil? Any other recommendations or hints/tips? Thanks! Chad

Oy, until I moved to Kansas, I'd never seen beef referred to as barbeque. Growing up in Tennessee, Georgia & South Carolina, barbeque (the noun) was slow cooked pig. Gas, charcoal, wood -- doesn't matter all that much. But it was always pork. I was (and still am) appalled at Kansas style "barbeque" that's basically grilled or smoked beef smothered in thick, sticky-sweet sauce. Ick. I'm on the fence about Memphis-style dry rubbed ribs. They are a joy and a wonder, but I'd argue that, all of the competitions and cookoffs to the contrary, they ain't barbeque. So let's throw another variable into the equation. Is it the smoke, the cut of meat (tender or tough), the saucing (or lack thereof) or is it some combination of those with the type of animal consumed? I think we can all agree that chicken can't be barbeque (the noun). Neither can fish, cheese, veggies or, in my opinion, beef. Chad

Hmm, how 'bout Napolean House on Chartres. One of the best muffalettas I had in New Orleans and reasonably priced, to boot. Chad

Okay, aside from the obvious garlic, kosher salt, EVOO, et al -- Blair's Death Sauce. I love it on corn on the cob, especially when the Death Sauce butter drips onto the plate and I can dip my grilled burger onto it. As an aside, I grilled hamburgers last night and just can't get the kids (or my wife) to buy into the idea of Lottery Burgers. That's where you take a really hot sauce and mix it into one of the patties, arrange them so that even the cook doesn't know which is which and see who starts sweating & hiccuping. Dunno why they won't go for it . Chad

Any pre-packaged spice mix. There's a very good reason the celebrity chef on the label is smiling . Okay, I'm ignorant. What's wrong with dried mushrooms? Chad

Last night: Grilled chicken breasts (mine spiced, the kids plain), diced new potatoes sauted in duck fat, broccoli with cheddar (trees with cheese to the kids). All in all, pretty yummy. This was the first time I've tried sauteing the potatoes in duck fat. It really adds another dimension to the flavor. Nice. Chad

AP Wire Photo: Ever mindful of closing the gap on Typhoid Mary's record, Salmonella Sal dishes up her (in)famous Chicken Tartare. Chad Added because I first posted this in the wrong place. Ack.

No, no restaurant owner or chef would agree to be torn up, but the kitchen is a hot, fast-paced, loud environment. We didn't see any of that, just an antiseptic view interlaced with marketing drivel. A good, or more aptly, confident chef or owner could turn problems to his or her advantage. Show the kitchen as it really is, what the pace is like, the adreneline rush of a busy service. Show a mistake or two -- BUT show how the chef catches errors (even minor ones), handles quality control, reworks dishes on the fly to make sure that the meal is perfect. Better TV, more realistic view of the restaurant and the chef becomes a hero just by showing that there are always problems, but the best places fix them in a way that is never apparent to the diner. And, yeah, I'd love to see Bourdain producing the show . . . "Shouldn't you be doing something?" Chad

Hmm, I have to admit I was really disappointed in "Into the Fire." I was hoping for the hard hitting, behind the scenes look at a top-end restaurant. This was not it. The Cheesecake Factory show was a powder puff PR vehicle, sometimes known in the PR biz as a "blowjob piece." Of course, most restaurants wouldn't agree to a show like that unless they had some input and control, but this was ridiculous. Nobody in the weeds, all the waiters & waitress were perfect, serving only smiling customers who were way too overjoyed with the whole experience, no bad dishes or returns and the owner & marketing weasel ladling out corporate jingoism by the bucketload. Ick. Now, I don't expect a "60 Minutes" type of expose, but a little realism and a lot less corporate-philosophy-from-on-high would have made the show much more enjoyable. Chad

Low fat, part skim Mozz last night. It ran less than the usual assortment of cheeses that end up in the calzones simply because they were in the wrong part of the fridge at the wrong time . I'm beginning to think it's a structural problem rather than a bonding problem. I keep my calzone dough sticky, so it should seal well. I also use cold sauce/meat fillings (generally leftover from a pasta dish & hauled out of the refrigerator just before filling). I've found that using gellid sauce keeps it from running out onto the edges while I'm trying to seal them. I've also found that the egg wash is much better at imparting a lovely golden crust than it is a bonding the edges together. Dunno why. It should work. BUT, the minor epiphany of last night was that when I lay the top edge over the bottom I try to make them meet neatly. Which would be fine if the bottom layer didn't slide back a little as you roll the edge up. Next time I'll try underfolding the top edge a little, wrapping the bottom edge up over it to create a lip, then rolling/pinching shut. Think it'll work? Chad PS: Yes, I could use less cheese but I love the stuff, and even the cheese that oozes out onto the stone and bakes is pretty damn tasty. It gives me something to nibble on while plating . CW

Homemade calzones (okay, I didn't grind my own Italian sausage, but everything else was mine), salad, plonk. Gotta figure a way to keep the cheese from oozing out of the calzones. I've tried a fork, pinching & rolling, egg wash glue, etc. In short, just about everything I can think of short of stapling. Any suggestions? Chad

Hmm, the nastiest beer I've ever consumed was called Drewery's. Purchased regularly when I was in school at UGA in the mid-80s, but I've never seen it anywhere else. Vile, vile taste & sediment on the bottom were offset by the $8/case price (less if you returned the bottles). Mickey's Big Mouths would be a close second. Chad

Got to agree 'bout the welding gloves -- damn handy in the kitchen or working with the grill. I tend to use them (or, it, actually, as a I generally only wear one, leaving my other hand free to handle food) outside rather than inside. Dunno why. I bought one of those zippy new bumpy silicon potholder/mat things -- supposed to be good up to 600 degrees. The only problem is that the surface, which is nice and grippy when dry, becomes dangerously slippery if there is even a hint of oil on it. It's been relegated to trivet status. Other than that, kitchen towel all the way. Chad

AP Wire Photo: Ever mindful of closing the gap on Typhoid Mary's record, Salmonella Sal dishes up her (in)famous Chicken Tartare. Chad

Hmm, 'bout 40 for me if you include the wine books. Man, I feel like an amateur. Chad

Dear God, have we forgotten pork rinds? One of my favorite snacks growing up. Chad

What a cool thread. Inventolux, thanks for introducing a new technique, one I've never seen before. And thanks to Dave & SLKinsey for questioning -- and testing! -- to see how it might work. Dave, your willingness to try this out and post the results is truly above and beyond the call of duty. I have to admit, even given Inventolux's credentials, I was pretty sceptical. It just didn't sound right. But your tests, and SLK's theory about the temperature of the water make a lot of sense. Okay, we're still not all the way back to duck confit (a subject about which I'm woefully ignorant), but I think the detour was worth it. Carry on, Chad

AKA: Seven-Bone Chuck Steak The seven-bone or center chuck gets its name from the 7-shaped bone in it (you may have to turn it over to see the 7). Since it's part of the Chuck, it's probably better off braised. Chad

Just finished Pepin's The Apprentice and The DaVinci Code. Currenty re-reading Wolke's What Einstein Told His Cook, The Fourth Star, The Nautical Chart - Perez-Reverte, and re-reading Auster's New York Trilogy. Chad

Heh! Plate these suckers just right and that fuzzy little Emeril will be my bitch! (yep, stolen from Kitchen Confidential, but it was too good to pass up) Chad

Well, Jeez, anything with Velveeta would work. Hmmmmm, flavors o' my youth . . . Moon pies & RC cola "Congealed salad" with Jello & Cool Whip (preferably with pineapple chunks or cherries) L'il Smokies sausages Any casserole with Ritz crackers as a topping Fried catfish Chad

My favorite food-related quote is also one of my favorite Southernisms. Said by a friend about someone else's tenacity . . . He was hanging in there like a hair in a biscuit. Chad