PopsicleToze

Okay Okay

I don't think the cheftestant in question actually bled into the food. Things like this happen, she/he (Can't remember at the moment) took care of it and moved on. Just like you would if you were on the line (it's happened to me). Hell I did it with people watching (we have/had a 16 place table in the kitchen) me. I felt it as soon as I did it, removed myself from the line - bandaged it up, put a glove on and returned to what I was doing. And didn't so much as have a drop of blood anywhere on the line or in food for that matter. ← Great that you could work through the pain and adjust so quickly. However, in this case, I didn't see the cheftestant in question stop for a moment to do any bandaging, and I did see dripping blood. Rhonda

Looks like an interesting group, but this is the second time in the series that people have actually bled onto the food while in a competition. I'm sorry but that is wrong. If the food couldn't be used due to their competence, then the bloody food should not count as a successful completion of the project. Rhonda

I'd just skip the carrots, too. IMHO -- onions are the main vegetable needed for good stocks. On the diet -- there are some strange ones out there. My mother gave me a book on eating for your blood type. For Blood Type A, chickpeas are considered poison. Rhonda

You want to strain most of the grease before you make the roux, then make the roux in the couple of tablespoons (or whatever qty you're making) of grease left in the pan. If you have excess grease, then the gravy will separate with grease settling on top. Rhonda

My favorite isn't a dipping sauce at all but a small round of buttery chicken liver pate which is incredibly inexpensive to make but so delicious. Plain softened butter is always great and you could round out the third offering with a seasoned butter. The worst thing is a restaurant that puts hard, cold butter on the table. Rhonda

I agree. I really like the man, though, and I'm happy he won, but I would have been just as happy with Keller winning. And while I don't dislike MC and agree that he certainly can cook, I walk away with less respect for him as a person than I had at the beginning of this contest. He is not as warm and generous as either Bayless or Keller. The challenge, though, was hands-down my favorite in any of the Top Chef events. I liked it that we were afforded the opportunity to know them through the dishes, and it was great that there was no trickery before the end. It was, We will give you the money and tools you need to cook whatever you want, and you have the liberty to cook your best and show us whatever you want to represent your chef's ability. That was great. Rhonda

Nope. Not this week

There is the Italian tuna and white bean salad with capers, red onions, fresh herbs, etc. Traditionally olive oil would be the binder, but if you want lots of calories, I've also had them with mayo. You can serve inside a tomato or just a bed of lettuce. It keeps well and is great for lunch. Rhonda

I prepare them like you do, except that I marinate in buttermilk instead of milk. Also, I've never even thought about Frenching the legs. Nice touch! They used to appear regularly on menus in South Louisiana and were typically included on seafood platters, but we hardly ever see them now. Rayne still has its Frog Festival every year, and they can be found in abundance there. On a side note, Rhonda

ROFL

WOW! I'm still drooling over pictures from the first post. Your write-up is great and it's a real treat for those of us who haven't made it to Spain. Looking forward to more rhonda

You just have to know your audience. Some people just can't accept anything new and different and what you served was alien to them. It's not their fault -- it's just where they are on life's food journey and you can't elevate their taste that much in just one outing. That takes time to cultivate. To bring something to a potluck for 65 people, they probably would have loved something with shrimp -- just something they recognized and felt comfortable with. Plus, you wouldn't have had to knock yourself out with special trips to special markets finding ingredients they didn't want to taste anyway. If I could have been there (or probably anyone in this forum)-- there would have been a heavy dent in your food and the mayo-laden salad ladies would have needed to commiserate. Rhonda

Is there such a thing as a meatless version of larb? ← I forgot about the vegetarian and was thinking of larbed chicken. Oops. Carry on

Being your son -- he probably has a pretty sophisticated palette for a 5-year old. Larb stands out as a fun and different lunch. Stash a cold cucumber salad in there, too. For the hummus, use it as a spread in a pita for a grilled vegetable (or meat, whatever) sandwich. I always have the best luck with children by letting them plan their own lunch. The night before you could tell him he can have a/b/c and then let him help pack it. Good luck Rhonda

Yum Thanks for the recipe. This will definitely be on the must try list! Rhonda P.S. I've enjoyed your what-are-you-cooking thread and all of the lovely beef! Definite inspiration there!

Did you strain the oil first so that there were no little bits left in it after frying the chicken? I'm not sure what happened, but I know that after you add foreign components to the roux of flour and oil (the trinity), that the roux quits browning. Perhaps if there was something left in the oil after frying the chicken, then that stopped the flour from browning. Not sure though -- just a thought. 2 hours of stirring a roux How many beers did that take? Rhonda

That's a first. I'm having a hard time envisioning this. Do they make little balls, crust with panko or something then deep-fry? Rhonda

Deviled eggs are nice with fried chicken and your theme. There's a whole thread on deviled eggs. It's really pretty and provides a nice color contract to top with a dollop of caviar. The inexpensive lumpfish caviar is fine for this and keeps it cost-effective. Congratulations on your wedding! Rhonda

Thanks for the information. I'm not saying it's a perfect answer; just a suggestion. I understand the question and I guess I should expound my answer – which is to keep pre-made reduced stocks and sauces on hand to use in this situation when one doesn't have the fond or drippings from the protein. He said reduced chicken stock doesn't cut it, but taking it a step or two further to demi-glace will achiever a greater taste sensation and might help. There's the classic; you can vary it with chicken -- and I believe there's even a method with turkey wings, but I haven't tried that one. He goes on to say, So, not the answer to every protein, but for quite a few it does the trick. Rhonda

This is when demi-glace comes in handy. When you make stock for the freezer, take the time on one of the batches to prepare demi glace -- highly concentrated flavor. Pure liquid gold and worth every minute it takes to prepare! I use James Peterson's method from his book "Sauces." I can't say it's my favorite sauce cookbook, because it's my only one. I've seen a few negative comments that he's old school, but that's what I wanted to learn. You can buy demi glace now. I did once before when I needed some quickly, but it's quite expensive buying it this way and not easily found unless you have better food markets in your area. Peterson at one time recommended More Than Gourmet brand (Glorious French Food, 2002): They keep making products better and better, and I wouldn't hesitate to buy commercially prepared demi-glace. Just be sure to check the ingredients list. Rhonda

An interesting article in Time 7/09/09: Why Are Southerners So Fat? http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,...1909406,00.html

Here's an article that lists numerous sites that allow you to type in your ingredients and then the search engine indicates recipes from that list. http://food.thefuntimesguide.com/2007/11/r...ients_on_ha.php Rhonda

I've never heard of coating chicken with mayo. How does it taste? Looking forward to the pictures. Rhonda

Mom never made this (southeast Louisiana). The first time I saw it remains one of my all-time movie food shots in Moonstruck. I make it as a late night comfort food supper and call it toad in the hole. Rhonda