mhberk

The best knives that I've EVER used (and I've used A LOT of knives) are the Shun Ken Onion 10" chefs knife and the Shun Ken Onion 3" paring knife. When holding the knife the correctly (actually holding the blade) like this: the curvature of the handle fits perfectly in my palm and the blade is one of the sharpest I've ever used. The angle of the paring knife makes it convenient to chop (when needed) without my knuckles hitting the cutting board. If these knives weren't so darn expensive, I wouldn't have to rely on holidays and birthdays to get them. I doubt I could ever justify spending that kind of money on a knife, but as long as I'm not paying for them, I'll sing their praises!

I wouldn't start out with anything too expensive. I remember really putting a hurting on my knives when I was just getting started. If I were you, I'd start out with a set of really inexpensive knives and then see what you use the most for what you do. Once you get a feel for the knives, you can move up to the better quality ones. I too like the santoku knives. The ones to get are the ones with the air pockets that reduce the friction when your slicing through meat. As far as disposing of knives, I just give mine away to family and friends

MMmmm, soft potato things...

I go to Roots Market in Clarksville. They have a section for bulk herbs and spices and herbal medicine. I get all the herbs and spices for my Palena chicken brine there.

Cosign. I don't agree with everything that's printed, but I think it's a great starting point when I compare recipes from other sources. I enjoy all the sections (Quick Tips, Equipment, Tasting Lab, Food Science, and (of course) the recipes) and find everything very informative. They not only give you the recommended recipe, but they also give you the recommended product brands (ie crushed tomatoes, cheese, balsamic vinegar, etc) to use with the recipe. Every issue seems to have something that makes me rethink how I prepare something. This issue, for instance, showed a technique for preparing thick cut steaks that started off with them in the oven and then finishing them with the sear on the stove top (instead of the other way around). Or the Balsamic vinegar article that broke down the history and then listed the vinegars with the sugar and pH levels of each. The_Problem_with_Thick_Cut_Steaks.pdfBalsamic.pdf

Cook's Illustrated is my favorite food magazine

That could be interesting

Unfortunately, it's not an isolated incident. That type of service is consistent with about 80% of my visits there. I will say, however, that you should at least experience the chicken before you write them off.

I have to agree with everyone that suggested buying a block of Parmigiano Reggiano and a microplane. A block (as opposed to the grated stuff) has a lower surface-to-volume ratio and less of a chance of spoilage. Grating with a microplane will grate it so fine, that the cheese seems to liquify as soon as it hits the pasta or soup. ATK did thing on selecting cheeses.

You mean Maiwand Kabob? Man, you REALLY get around, don't you?

I remember reading an article in BusinessWeek a few months ago about the restructure of the stores. Since then, I've see a complete transformation occur at the one here in Columbia.

Thank for posting the recipe Brian! What do you call it?

I think I had this exact salad at Two Amys last summer. It was UNBELIEVABLY good!!

I didn't see anyone mention this already, but is this the dish that Johnny Depp's character eats throughout the movie "Once Upon a time in Mexico"? If so, there is a special feature on the DVD where the director shows how it's made.

I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY dislike brussel sprouts! Always have! But for some reason, these are my favorite roasted veggies. I HIGHLY recommend this recipe! Would you mind sharing your recipe for the roasted tomatoes? I've never made roasted asparagus at home, but it seems to me that if you roast it at a very high temp (turning the oven up as high as it will go and let it stay at the temp for about 10 minutes before you put the pan in), you'll be able to carmalize the outside of the asparagus quicker - without the inside getting a chance to turn to mush. Or what about pan-roasing them?

Roasted Cauliflower is great! Sometimes, after roasting it, I'll puree it with some warm chicken stock and butter and eat it like mashed potatoes. Roasted sweet potatoes are great too. I like to peel them and cut them into cubes. Then toss them with olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh cut rosemary before I roast them. The rosemary really compliments the sweetness of the potatoes.

I've been on a roasted veggie kick lately and have been doing everything from brussel sprouts to sweet potatoes. Last night I made some brussel sprouts by first clipping the outer leaves and cutting them in half. Then I blanched them in boiling water with small pinch of baking powder (for the intense green color) for about 45 seconds, put them in an ice bath and finished the process by putting them in a salad spinner to get the excess water off). After that, I tossed them in large bowl with olive oil, salt (plenty of it), and freshly cracked black pepper until everything was well (but lightly) coated. I laid them out, cut side down, on a sheet pan and placed them on the bottom rack of a 525 degree oven for 15 minutes. While they were roasting, I did a medium dice 8 strips of thick cut bacon and then rendered it off. Once the sprouts were done, I sprinkled the bacon on top (for Thanksgiving, I'll toss the finished sprouts in some of the bacon fat for added flavor). I am really not a fan of brussel sprouts, but THESE are out of this world!

Why?

Doesn't Keller fry them in duck fat?

There's a Sysco store in Jessup, MD that sells their products to the public. You can get just about everything they sell to restaurants (#10 cans of products, stock bases, industrial size boxes of food and spices, kitchen supplies, seafood, etc). And if they don't have it in their store, they can order it from the warehouse. I usually order a case of canned plum tomatoes when I make my tomato sauces.

This will also allow you to look at a company's financial statements and look for ways to improve on what went wrong with the previous owner

I was thinking about doing the same exact thing! I spoke to my brother-in-law, who works for Elite Spice, over the holidays and he told me that if I were serious and had a recipe that I wanted to manufacture, I should let him know and we could discuss it. His company specializes in products like this and he said that they could do as much or as little of the production (including packaging and distributing) as needed. He does blends for Predue Chicken, Mama Illardos, many of the large meat plants in the country, many of the large tea companies, chocolate companies, snack food companies, etc. He also told me stories of people like you and me that have recipes for products that they would like to sell; his company would produce a marinade, seasoning blend, powdered drink mix, sauces, or other product in small batches and people would rent a booth at a food show and sell their products there. Several of them got picked up by national chains. What it comes down to is that if you have a recipe, for a price, companies like this will produce, package, and distribute it for you. All you'll need is a business plan. Your whole supply-chain could be in one place.

That DOES look good!! Having made it so often, is there anything you've found to tweak the recipe at all?

Yes, the kabob. You can request it spicier than it's usually prepared. Just tell them the level of spiciness you would like It IS all good! For my wife and I, I'll usually pick up a chicken kabob platter for each us and then get the vegetarian platter, as well, for extras and leftovers. The pumpkin, potatoes, and spinach are all fantastic. If I have some leftover chicken pieces, I'll mix it with some mayo and a splash of lemon juice (the other spices are already supplied by the kabob) and eat it as chicken salad for lunch the next day with the bread that they provide.

I LOVE the one in Columbia!!!! That HAS to be the best cheap eats here in town (Columbia). I always get the chicken extra spicy and with extra spinach.