chezcherie

the pork sounds like it will be fab without the salt. for chicken and veg, i find that a little squeeze of lemon does much of what a sprinkle of salt will do. especially if one has been eating hospital food or the equivalent, that little hit of citrus really perks up the tastebuds.

i, too, went to culinary school in my 40s. one of the benefits of being older is that you have the wisdom of experience behind you. you will be surprised at the number of students in your pastry program who have never really baked...much of anything...and are really starting with a blank slate. since you have a base of knowledge already (even if it's just "at home" experimentation), you will know what questions you want answers to, what has happened when you have done "xyz" in the past, etc. take a zillion pictures! i probably spent another tuition just in developing fees (no digital camera then!) but i'm soooo glad to have those photos to look back on! have a terrific time going back to school!

I've cooked on electric all my life until recently. Compaired to my Viking range top I think my old electric stove got hotter. Gas is great for the infinite ability to adjust but electric isn't that bad but will take you some time to get use to it. One tip that can help is if you use two burners. Let's say you have something like rice that you brought to a boil on high and then want to simmer you can have a second burner set to simmer and when the rice has come to a boil slide the pot onto the second burner. Now you didn't have to wait for it to cool down. ← i second this, and wish i had learned it waaaaaay before i did! when forced to cook on electric, the first thing i do is turn on two burners--one high and one either medium or low, depending upon the application. that way, i don't want for the burner, the burner is waiting for me.

Just for clarification, the manufacturer is Kershaw and the name of the line is "Pure Komachi." I've just now realized that Kershaw is the overseas name for Kai Cutlery, which is a major brand in Japan. I've seen those knives before and wouldn't hesitate to buy them for casual use. Kai is a very trusted name in Japan. Here's a link to the Kershaw site (look under "Kitchen Cutlery" for the Pure Komachi line): http://www.kershawknives.com/large.htm ← merci to you both---they are too adorable to resist a try....and also hard to lose when taking a knife to someone else house. those reasons alone are enough to place an order!

If anyone has any comments about these or has worked with them, let me know. ←

i think she has my previous metabolism, and i would really like to have it back!

that line will run through my head all day. that, and "i had what he needed and it cost me nothing." lovely, lovely piece. thanks!

here's one we use in my cooking school. it's pretty fool-proof, and tasty, too: Valencia Almond Cake 8 oz. blanched almonds 1/2 cup sugar, divided 4 eggs, separated zest of 2 oranges 2 tablespoons Amontillado Sherry pinch of salt Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 9” cake pan. Place the almonds in a food processor with 2 tablespoons of the sugar. Pulse until the almonds are finely ground. With an electric mixer, beat the yolks with another 2 tablespoons of sugar. Add the orange zest and the pinch of salt, and beat 2 minutes. Stir the sherry into the ground almonds, then combine this mixture with the yolk mixture. With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Sprinkle in the remaining 4 tablespoons sugar, a tablespoon at a time, until incorporated. Add half the egg whites to the almond/yolk mixture and stir to combine. Add the rest of the whites and fold gently to combine. Spoon into the prepared cake pan, and bake 30-35 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. We serve the almond cake with vanilla ice cream mixed with sherry, and fresh blueberries.

my college son did his first euro tour last summer. he loved the food, including the best pizza ever---just tomatoes, but he said the flavor of those tomatoes (insert kissing of fingertips icon here). he was, however, pining a bit for american food by the time he landed at lax. having done my due diligence, i drove him straight to the nearest "in n out"......the hamburger didn't get a second glance until he had peeled the lid off the coke, and gazed adoringly at the abudant ice cubes. he said "there is more ice in this cup than in all of europe". then puzzled about this phenomenon. "they HAVE the technology", he proclaimed, "they've got water, and freezers...i know, because of all that gelato! why do they refuse to use the technology?" i believe he's making a business plan to sell ice in europe to hot americans! (he will support me in my old age!)

i optimistically ordered an "heirloom tomato salad" ($12!) at a new place we tried last night. figured, well, it's nearly august--let's see what they got. sigh. the tomatoes were certainly not heirloom varieties--beefsteak at best...and they were crisp. (i cannot abide a pink, crispy tomato!)...well, there were two slices of yellow tomato...but if that one was "heirloom", i'll eat....that tomato. very disappointing. taught me to remember to be skeptical!

this is a "punk'd" prank, right? please say it is....

if you will be a california college student, you'd best have at least a passing familiarity with in and out burgers. some folks love 'em, some folks say they ain't what they used to be, but they are a CA institution, and if you arrive at college without having experienced one, you will be the object of scorn and pity. there is one on walnut in pasadena (very near cal tech, which i assume is the pasadena destination), and i'm sure there is an outpost in palo alto as well. happy college touring!

is an indoor oven also available? if so, he could grill them very rare, and finish them on sheet pans in a low oven. i teach cooking classes, and in order to have enough grilled steaks for all the students to sample, we do this--the students usually can't believe that the steaks were grilled before they arrived at class, and served an hour later. (we show grilling one or two in class, but don't have room on the grill nor the time to grill enough in class for everybody, so we employ this method, which has the bonus of being a good learning point!)

just to clarify, i should have said 130-135 after resting...and obviously, the lower the rarer.)

i'd say 130-135 F would put you in the beyond bleu zone. you may already know this, but since you said you haven't a lot of this experience: be sure to insert your thermometer from the side of the steak, parallel to the pan or grates, rather than the top, as the steak is most likely not thick enough to get an accurate reading from the top to center.

lots of collagen from the feet will produce a gelatinous stock. asian markets sell chciken feet very inexpensively. i find it a bit disconcerting to wlak past the simmering stock and see a foot or two bobbing up..but, then, i have chickens as pets!

sugar=2 years? what is going to happen to sugar after 2 years? and pepper=4 years? it seems really arbitrary to me (not that i have any 2 year old sugar, but...)

pedro--thanks for the pictorial---these look like they would make a fabulous sunday breakfast! how long, approximately, would you say it took to simmer the potatoes and chorizo once the liquid was added? thanks! (i may do it tonight, and make extra for tomorrow's breakfast--with a few eggs fresh from the coop, it sounds like heaven!)

i thought that resting brulee batter was done to eliminate bubbles that may have resulted from mixing. i vaguely recall resting the batter in ramekins, and then using a skewer to pop any bubbles on the surface, resulting in an unmarred top. ice cream base? ya got me? maybe just to meld the flavors? i'll be interested to see what folks say about this...

chefwear has little kid's stuff, but i think they are toddler sizes (which won't take long!)tiny chefwear clickety

thanks, alamoana--many a coffee can lid has given its life for this purpose in my kitchen...i just love the idea of being able to slather a dozen at a time, without moving (or cleaning) the stencil between each li'l spoon...i should prolly just order the damn thing, instead of longing for it!

i've been longing for this tuile stencil:spoon shaped tuile stencil from chef rubber....i keep starting to order it, and then the fact that the shipping is almost as much as the damn stencil stops me....but they would be perfect for edible tasting spoons! if that doesn't work, i have used almondinas: almondina cookies for some things, with good results. (trader joe's sells the original flavor, if you have a tj's nearby) what are you sampling? that would make a difference...

ehhhhh. got it from the library, thank goodness. it was mildly interesting plane reading, at best. the photos were quite off-putting, especially since i know how expensive color photos can be in cookbook publishing...there are way too many blurred (as in "action") shots of chefs bustling here and there, or artsy shots...including one of the POOL at the CIA...hello? kinda gave me the clue that this was an ode to the cia, instead of a great read, a la "making of a chef" .

have you tried zout? iirc, that was the only thing that zapped the aluminum grey stuff. (and affter culinary school, i switched to colored coats--an easy solution!)

i'm in new orleans this moment (sadly, leaving this afternoon). have sampled sazeracs extensively on this trip--the two best i had were at arnauds and cochon. (i don't even drink "brown liquor"---unless i'm here. but there's something about a sazerac!)