chezcherie

another lefty here, but i think every kitchen tool i use is righty, except for these: we sell them in spoon and spatula models, and they also come in right-handed....i love the feel of them in my hand.

cranberry curd

yeah, but giada and rr aren't really cooking--tv cooking is a completely different animal that working a line in a trailer all night. something that occurred to me briefly---if i was (drugged/ held at gunpoint/ completely out of my senses) packing to go off and participate in one of these shows, would i even toss any of those clubbing clothes in my bag? no...why would i think i'd need them, when the whole thing is supposed to be grueling cooking challenges and tight quarters? with the exception of the couple women who have clearly been counting on their looks, rather than their cooks, i'd think you'd want to save the space in your bag for your good pillow!

i was thinking the same thing---now, maybe if they put them in speedos, it would cure me once and for all of watching this show!

if you leave the root end attached when you chop, it will help keep the whole thing intact, with no middle slippage. ( i peel the skin back to the root, but not all the way off--that way, i can grip the paperky skin as a handle while i shop--keeping fingers out of the way!)

i don't measure wine when i cook--and i tell my students that i think it is "parsimonious and frugal" and that it imparts that frugality to the dish. estimation is the rule, and i also suggest that italian and french "cups" contain at least 10 ounces.

i also have chickens in suburbia, and there is just nothing like the taste of a fresh egg! my favorite new way to prepare them is one i saw in "the 150 best american recipes". it's from judy rogers of zuni cafe, and how i missed it in that great cookbook, i don't know, but man, it's tasty. start with a couple tablespoons of fresh breadcrumbs. stir in enough olive oil to give the texture of damp sand. Toast them in a saute pan until crisp and dry, then crack in an egg. Scramble or sunny-side up it, on top of the crumbs, until desired doneness, and tip out onto a plate. swirl about a teaspoon of vinegar (i like raspberry) into the pan (picks up any stray crumbs, and any bits of oil) briefly and drizzle that over the egg. crispy, eggy, slightly tart goodness!

when i made the switch for daily use, i put my chef's knives away for a few weeks. it took about a week for me to really love the santoku....now i barely ever reach for a chef's knife. the santoku has become my go-to.

you know, i don't mind this so much in the packaged meat...what i do mind is when i ask the actual live human to weigh out, for example, a pound of shrimp, and he/she plops some on the scale, and looks at me..."is 1.25 lb okay?" jeez...it's SHRIMP...take a handful off and hit the mark, huh? i know it's sometimes a form of "up-selling" but sometimes it's clearly laziness....and that's some kinda lazy....how hard is it to toss 6 shrimp back in the case? have a little pride, people.....i know a lot of cooks who take unreasonable pride in being able to lop a hunk of butter off the block, and weigh it, and hit the mark they were aiming for exactly...

i am on the edge of my seat. missed the crop last year, and i am determined to git me some this year!

mine is when they don't count back your change (you know... stating the amount of your order, and counting back to what you gave them: "$18.50, nineteen, twenty" as they place the change and the dollar in your hand"), but just announcing the amount they claim to be putting in your hand, with the change on top, and the receipt on top of that,, rendering an unwieldy pile of paper, coins and bills that result in a little juggling act on your part as you attempt to (a) verify that it is correct and (b) get it into your purse, pocket or wallet. no one counts back change anymore, the way i was taught in the old days, and i'm a grump about it...privately. err...semi-publicly now, i guess.

nice, rjwong...both the "score" and the review...my mouth is watering. gotta get over there soon, although i think the pizzeria will be calling me...do they have the budino at the osteria? (i crave it.) and, are they making mozzarella? i know there are a couple places in the bay area that are doing so, in a demonstration kitchen setting, and as i've been dabbling with cheesemaking recently, that would be so fun for me to watch, while enjoying some wine and apps!

This Southerner IS aghast. I'm glad I'm not the only person who was really irritated bothered by that. And re: the charcoal point. Kingsford or not, there are much better ways to light charcoal than lighter fluid. A charcoal chimney works every time. I can't believe these guys know monkfish liver, but some of them seemed mystified by charcoal. ← Absolutely dead on...I kept saying to myself, where the hell are the chimney starters? ← does kingsford make chimney starters? does kingsford make lighter fluid? i think we have our answer....(i haven't smelled or seen anyone use lighter fliud in yeeeeeaaaars!)

i drove past a kebab house this week named "spitz". i get it, but really? who wants to eat fast food at spitz?

i suggest(ed) olive oil instead of an egg because (1) i like the flavor better and (2) kids WILL put that raw dough in their mouths...and even though my kids were raised on raw eggs in all sorts of stuff, some parents would faint at the thought..;->

i'd add a tablespoon or two of olive oil.

the hearty boys won the first one dan steve and had a show about entertaining..i think it was just one season, but repeats constantly? guy fieri won the second season, and has had a cooking show, and apparently has a second (non-cooking---another road food show) on or about to debut.guy

i also think this is a reference to a Dole product--presliced, very thin strands of regular cabbage. i've seen it packaged at the produce section. always thought it would make some pretty soggy coleslaw...but maybe for stirfry? what's the recipe for?

i used to have good luck with Zout. (now i wear black or burgundy coats.)

holy inflamed gallbladder, batman! that was soooome trip. great report, russell...i am impressed and envious of your california dining adventure. thanks for documenting it.

when i made this, i found that by the second day, the caramel chunks melted into the ice cream, making it a bit sweeter (even though my caramel was quite dark too). i'd be interested to know if this happens with your batch.

after a cooking class last week, i was chatting with students, and one was asking about salt pigs---you know, the kinda periscope-shaped vessels that are supposed to keep salt from clumping. one of the women (i didn't know her, so can't track her down) mentioned that she grew up with little vessels that were shaped like a prone woman, with a depression in the belly for the salt. i'm fairly certain she said this was in mexico...she said they were hand-crafted, but were everywhere. boy, i'd love to get one...or twelve. anyone familiar? thanks in advance--they sound just marvelous!

i've made lime curd and blood orange curd, and with both, the key for me was to use some lemon juice along with the other citrus juice. the tang of the lemon is needed for the best flavor.

i teach this so often in class that some of my returning students play a drinking game (ala "rachael ray--every time she says EVOO") when i demo it to new students...(as long as they don't have knives in their hands while they play, i'm fine with that!;->) the variations i use--i show them to peel the onion skin BACK, but leave it attached at the root..that creates a little vegetable "handle" --more convenient (and safer) than trying to hold on to that hairy lil root end. also, i agree with the posters above---if you nearly bisect the onion (almost, but not quite through the root) , parallel to the cutting board BEFORE you do the vertical scoring, it will hold together better than if you do the vertical cuts first and then try to do the horizontal cut. then i teach them the "get the onion smell of your hands with stainless steel" trick, and everyone goes home happy! (oh, yeah...i'm left handed...so these photos may be spacially confusing for righties!)

muir glen. fire roasted, if i can find em, regular (organic), if not.