Where my fellow cooks at???

[count2infinity]

I love jicama slaws. That is actually and insta-order on menus when I go out. I've never actually bought jicama in the store though.

[shmenguin]

I love jicama slaws. That is actually and insta-order on menus when I go out. I've never actually bought jicama in the store though.

I've never had jicama before. It's great to work with. Seems like it just takes on any flavor you throw at it. Easy to manipulate from the big chunk of root you get from the store.

[tifosi77]

Makes sense. That's what tif does with his aquatic meat baths.

Sort of, but that video kind of bugs me. The Millard reaction can technically begin at temps as low as 140-150°F, but they don't really kick in until you get hundreds of degrees higher; that's actually the whole point of searing over high heat. All you're doing cooking at that relatively low temp is mimicking the dry aging process. Not bad, but not all it could be. Searing only after the product has been cooked through is better than not searing at all, but pre-searing followed by post-searing is the best. You're actually developing real Maillard flavors as the steak cooks if you pre-sear, and it's easier to refresh the crust with a quick post-sear. If you're worried about slightly over cooking the steak during pre-sear, put the meat in your freezer for 10 minutes beforehand.

The rest of the video looked cribbed from ChefSteps and a raft of recent cookbooks. The 'rest it, slice it, serve it' thing was straight outta the Momofuku cookbook. (I should say, I watched the video sans audio.)

[columbia]

Where to Find British Savory Pies in the U.S.
http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2 ... n-the-u-s/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I can verify that #1 on that list is damned good.

[columbia]

I picked up a tomahawk ribeye and going with the reverse sear technique:

i decided to err on the low side and went with 45 minutes in the oven and a sear it for one minute a side.

You get what you pay for.

[the wicked child]

Top Chef

Spoiler:

Doug is back in full force. Gregory recovered and delivered in the elimination challenge. Mei had a down week, but managed to survive, thankfully. I don't have any good reasons... but Melissa had really started to wear on me. TOO happy and friendly? I dunno. Had nothing to do with her food. Almost certainly irrational.

Not sure if there are one or two more episodes since they sometimes do 3 chef finales, and other times they've done two. I prefer the head-to-head matchup. I'd still like to see Gregory vs. Mei if they go that route.

[mac5155]

Is broiling flank steak (that I've had marinating since last night) using a cast iron skillet a bad idea?

[count2infinity]

no, plenty of people do it that way. just don't overcook it.

[mac5155]

Figured about 3 minutes a side. Thanks. HAve never cooked it before... I got it to try Alton Brown's way of directly on the coals, but I am getting impatient and don't feel like dealing with Charcoal when there's 3 inches of snow on my porch.

[Shyster]

Made crockpot carnitas using the recipe posted here. Very nice. Sustained a significant cooking injury though; while chopping garlic I lopped off a substantial chuck of my left middle fingertip, including about a quarter of the nail. I think this is the worst cooking injury I've ever sustained. I soaked through maybe four or five big gauze pads before I got the bleeding under control. Anyone else have a war-injury story from the culinary trenches?

[mac5155]

Yikes. I really can't see a time where I wouldn't rather just use minced garlic out of a jar. Sacrilege or not...don't hate.

[tifosi77]

Worst injuries I've ever had were burns. Thankfully have never had a really bad knife wound... altho, as luck would have it, the one time I did cut myself somewhat badly our dinner guest that night was one of Mrs Tif's best friends - who, at the time, was an ER nurse.

Yikes. I really can't see a time where I wouldn't rather just use minced garlic out of a jar. Sacrilege or not...don't hate.

I will not delve into details, I will simply give you three words: Bleach. Phosphoic acid. Do with that information as you see fit.

[shafnutz05]

I will not delve into details, I will simply give you three words: Bleach. Phosphoic acid. Do with that information as you see fit.

I always use Spice World so never thought much of it...eesh.

[count2infinity]

People consume bleached products all the time and they're not terrible for you. Phosphoric acid is used as a preservative... some use citric acid instead. Neither one is bad for you in the quantities you're getting from the garlic. That being said, there's no comparison in taste from using fresh garlic and the stuff that's diced in a jar. Additionally that being said, I use spice world diced garlic all the time.

[mac5155]

x3 for spice world.

[shmenguin]

Made crockpot carnitas using the recipe posted here. Very nice. Sustained a significant cooking injury though; while chopping garlic I lopped off a substantial chuck of my left middle fingertip, including about a quarter of the nail. I think this is the worst cooking injury I've ever sustained. I soaked through maybe four or five big gauze pads before I got the bleeding under control. Anyone else have a war-injury story from the culinary trenches?

The carnitas i made Saturday were from the same recipe (though no chili powder for me unfortunately).

Broiling them at the end was a game changer.

[mac5155]

Flank steak turned out good, and the Mexican rice was even better. Always used pre made pouches but it was nice to make it from scratch for once, and not really that much harder.

[tifosi77]

So I finally got an induction 'burner'. Brought 3 qts of water to a boil in about 3 1/2 minutes. Only problem is that nearly half of my cookware was not working with the unit. Not quite sure what that's all about, because I checked the bottoms of all the pieces before buying and a fridge magnet stuck to all of them. Don't really like the idea of buying all new pieces.

[tifosi77]

Top Chef

Spoiler:

Doug is back in full force. Gregory recovered and delivered in the elimination challenge. Mei had a down week, but managed to survive, thankfully. I don't have any good reasons... but Melissa had really started to wear on me. TOO happy and friendly? I dunno. Had nothing to do with her food. Almost certainly irrational.

Not sure if there are one or two more episodes since they sometimes do 3 chef finales, and other times they've done two. I prefer the head-to-head matchup. I'd still like to see Gregory vs. Mei if they go that route.

Spoiler:

Over the last month I've really come to like Melissa; she really impressed in her last 4-5 episodes. She's a good follow on social media, fwiw. Would still like to know if another non-restaurant chef has ever made it as far as she did. I posed the question to her on FB, but the comment got deleted.

I feel that the reasons they didn't like Mei's dish (to the extent they did) were a little petty, but to each their own. In the teaser for next week's episode, they showed Mei plating a dish that looks like a riff on guacamole, with the puree wrapped in slices of avocado to make an 'cannelloni'.

elBulli (Ferran Adrià)


Tickets (brother of Ferran, head of the development kitchen elBulliTaller and probably the person who invented the dish)


The Bazaar by José Andrés (student of Adrià, former cook at elBulli)


Mei is the sous chef for Michael Voltaggio at ink. MV was the original chef de cuisine at The Bazaar by José Andrés. She is making a dish from elBulli for the finale. That's ballsy for a couple reasons: 1) It's a dish that's well known as coming from someone else, so that might hurt her. And 2) it's a complicated technique that is much harder to pull off than it looks. Good luck to her.

The difference from dish/chef to dish/chef is what the avocado is wrapped around. I am going to be trying this dish later in the spring, and will be stuffing it with a Thai spiced crab salad.

[the wicked child]

Top Chef

Spoiler:

Gregory is officially back on track. Mei is slipping a bit, but I think she's going to bring it now that the pressure of making the finale is gone. I'm looking forward to what should be an excellent finale, between the 2 chefs I've wanted to see face off for most of the season.

[count2infinity]

Spoiler:

I'm all on team Gregory. He had a bit of a slump in the mid-late part of the season, but he's definitely back and cooking very well. I'm hoping that there's at least a little bit of a challenge to the final rather than just cook your best 5 course meal.

[columbia]

Spoiler:

That guacamole sure looked killer!

That was kind of a joke.

[mac5155]

Motion to move top chef discussion to TV shows thread

[count2infinity]

as founder of this here thread, motion denied.

[mac5155]

seriously though. I come here expecting new recipes.. pics of good looking food.. and am constantly let down.