A bit of warm (OUCH!! Warm not hot!!) chocolate frosting and Reddi Whip circling the nipple. Accent with a mint leaf and enjoy!
A lovely, creamy caramel, still just slightly warmer than body temperature.
Whipped créme fraiche, with a little kirsch blended in.
Swiss Buttercream, with a little praline mixed in, piped into little a little fancy shell border around the nipple
Strawberry Glaze
Bittersweet Chocolate-Espresso Sauce
<getting a little dizzy from the thought…>
'scuse me while I go whip up a batch of cream caramel…
Chef Troy!!!
Can you help me with this one?
[/QUOTE]
I know of no way to completely prevent rust and discoloration from forming on carbon steel cutlery… it’s just one of the trade-offs for superior sharpness. You might try oiling it with a little food-grade mineral oil (don’t use any kind of vegetable oil; it will turn rancid), but I don’t know if it will help much. DON’T try to season it in the oven the way you would with a cast-iron frying pan - you’ll wreck the temper and your cleaver will never hold an edge again.
Here’s some things you can do to minimize the staining and rust, and to remove it when it happens. First of all, clean it immediately after using it, washing it in the hottest soapy water your hands can stand (the hotter it is, the faster your cleaver will dry) and drying it thoroughly. To remove discolorations, two solutions I’ve heard are:
- silver polish
- dipping a used wine cork in cleanser and using it as a scrubber
If you REALLY drop the ball and your cleaver gets rusty, I suggest using naval jelly and superfine steel wool to remove it.
Let me know how it works.
Is it just me, or did you get a picture of someone digging into their bellybutton for this “naval jelly”?
To stay with the OP… yeah, whatever Chef Troy says.
Hey Culinary School Student!
Thought I’d let you know that I’m off to the store to get the fixins for tomorrows independence bar-b-que. Or should I say “independance,” as I expect your sauce will put the dance in independance.
**
I prefer CC over Henckels simply because of the shape of the blade. As JM noted in another post, I bang my knuckles on the board when using a Henckels knife – there’s just not enough heel to 'em for me, and I end up holding the handle in my fingertips, rather than in the full grip of my hand. Also, you get wooden handles and a full tang for (IIRC) less than the cost of the Henckels compsite handles.
Question:
My wife has a heavy-bladed Japanese knife, similar in shape to a chef’s knife, but with a bit more of a dropped point and a little less curve at the toe. The interesting thing about this knife is that it’s beveled on one side only. I recently dug it out and started working on getting the edge back in shape, and was curious if anybody had any insight as to the reasons such a design would be desirable in the kitchen.
Thanks Chef Troy for answering my question about rust-proofing carbon steel knives.
Here’s some things I’ve discovered about them:
Those yellow sponges with the green tops work great on getting that rust out. Use the green part.
When I got my knife, I went to Williams-Sonoma and got a little sharpening stone for $15, and a tiny bottle of “Sharpening Oil” for $4. As I think was mentioned on this thread earlier, the sharpening oil is just mineral oil, so that was definately a rip-off. It turned out the stone was way overpriced as well. I went to a Chinese grocery and got one with two different grains (a rougher and smoother one), that was about 4 times bigger for only $4. I use it every once in a while, and it works great.
I’ve read a few different techniques on testing knife sharpness… I can’t remember any of them except for one that involved using your fingernail or something. None of them seemed very good to me. At any rate, what I"m doing is I tap my fingers very lightly on the blade. From that I can tell fairly well how sharp it is, I haven’t cut myself yet.
Oh, and one more thing - I’ve noticed the instructions for my wooden cutting board say not to use razor sharp blades. I don’t know if my blade is razor sharp, but it’s pretty darn sharp - it can slice through an onion as if it’s nothing at all. I wonder what they mean by that… and what happens if you use razor sharp blades?
Wooden handles are preferable only from an aesthetic standpoint. They are not as durable, more likely to become slippery if they get wet, and their porous nature means they may absorb unwanted liquids and become a breeding ground for bacteria. A full tang is indeed important, but the superior weight, balance and edge of a drop-forged knife blade are more important. (and anyway, you can go buy Wusthof-Trident knives and get a drop-forged blade AND a full tang.) Incidentally, if you are rapping your knuckles because you are holding your knife like a hammer, you’re not doing it right anyway - you should be holding it between your thumb and fingertips for greater control unless you’re chopping vigorously, in which case you should be using a chef’s knife with a wide enough blade to protect your fingers.
I’ve been told that one of the reasons a japanese cleaver is sharpened only on one side is to allow them to more easily make those paper-thin horizontal cuts that sushi requires. I have no idea if it’s the real reason, but there you are.
I created this soup to take advantage of some wonderful tomatoes and red bell peppers I bought at the Dallas Farmer’s Market. I served it hot, but it would make a good chilled soup as well.
ROASTED TOMATO AND RED BELL PEPPER SOUP
2 lbs. roma tomatoes
4 large red bell peppers
1 large onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh basil (or 1 teaspoon dried basil)
1 tablespoon sugar
4 cups chicken broth
1 pint cream or half-and-half
Crème fraiche or sour cream for garnish
Set oven to broil. Arrange tomatoes in a single layer on a cookie sheet and place 3" or so under the broiler, turning frequently, until skins are completely burned and blistered. Place tomatoes in a large ziploc bag to steam and cool. Repeat with halved bell peppers. When cooled enough to handle, peel peppers and tomatoes; halve and seed tomatoes, then coarsely chop tomatoes and peppers and combine them in a bowl.
In a heavy soup pot, sauté chopped onion in olive oil over medium-high heat until translucent and beginning to caramelize. Lower heat to medium. Add tomatoes and peppers, along with any liquid they have given off; cook until tomatoes and peppers are soft and beginning to break down. Add basil, reserving a bit for garnish, and simmer for five minutes; add sugar to balance the acidity of the tomatoes.
Purée tomato mixture in a blender or food mill, working in batches. Strain purée to remove any remaining fibers and return to pot (you want this to be as smooth as you can make it). Add chicken broth to desired consistency and simmer five additional minutes. Stir in cream. Serve hot with a dollop of crème fraiche or sour cream on top, sprinkled with reserved basil.
I posted this in GQ before I saw this thread, so here goes.
Me and the kids will be buying fresh live lobster this weekend, and I am looking for the best way to cook them.
We will eat our fill right out of the shell, then I want to make some lobster ‘stuff’.
Suggestions?
We might get some mussels and clams too. And recipes for leftovers are welcome.
(The only thing I ask is no mayo in the recipe, I gag at the sight of it, so any recipes using it are not an option.)
MaryannQ, I have a kickass cookie recipe that I will post as soon as I get home. There is instant pudding instead of some of the flour, and if makes soft chewy cookies…drool.
OH, and can I freeze guacamole?
the best way to cook a whole live lobster is to boil it. And yes, cruel as it may seem, they have to be alive. ( I suppose you could kill them seconds before cooking by plunging a chef’s knife into their heads, but it’s a LOT easier to simply plunge them headfirst into the boiling water). Get a big soup pot and fill it most of the way with water, bring it to a hard boil, plunge the lobsters in (cook only one at a time unless you have a REALLY big soup pot) and boil until the shell turns bright red. Let the water return to the boil before putting in the next one.
As for recipes to use up the leftovers…shrug I’ve never had leftover lobster. What kind of freak are you? grin
And yes, you can freeze guacamole. the important thing to remember is that you must not allow any air in the container. The best way to do it is to spoon the guac into a ziploc freezer bag, seal the zipper most of the way closed, squeeze all of the air out of the bag, and finish closing it.
All this talk of knives reminded me of another knife question. What is with the white bladed knife that the guy on East Meets West uses. I guess its ceramic or something. Are they sharper or hold an edge better. It seems to me like it would chip or something.
Chef Troy is right about lobsters being alive when you cook them–when they die, their flesh starts to emit toxins that after just a short time of sitting around, will be poisonous to humans.
For the leftover lobster, I would normally suggest a seafood salad, but you’re anti-mayonnaise (I’m not too fond of the stuff, usually, but will eat it if it’s in small amounts and homemade). I was mulling over the question, and thought about a pasta seafood salad, but instead of using a mayonnaise based dressing, use a lemon vinagrette (olive oil, white wine vinegar, lemon juice & zest, dijon mustard, chopped chives & parsley, salt & pepper). Chop up your lobster with some nice crunchy veggies (blanched asparagus, red & yellow bell pepper, celery), add some cooked shell pasta, and toss with vinagrette.
Lobster is also very tasty in scrambled eggs. Makes for a decadent breakfast.
Save your lobster shells. They help make a great stock if you’re interesting in making lobster bisque or ciopinno.
wolfman: I’ll have to check out this knife on East Meets West. To tell you the truth, I’ve never watched this show all the way through to ever notice his knife. Now, I’ve got to watch and find out about the knife.
Lobster Bisque???
Is it hard to make?
So, steaming it is out of the question?
I wouldn’t steam them because they have to be alive when you start cooking them, and the boiling technique is much more humane–it kills them in about 10 to 15 seconds, where steaming will take a few minutes for them to die. You could steam them, if you were to take your knife and pierce their head (at the intersection of the little cross), which kills them.
(by the way–if you boil them and you hear a “scream” when the lobster hits the water–they are not screaming, but the air from under the shell escaping)
Here is a lobster bisque recipe, lifted from The New Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer
Combine in a large soup pot:
5 cups water
2 cups dry white wine
2 cups Fish Stock
1 cup Brown Beef Stock (can use a low-salt, canned broth)
Lobster shells
Bring to a boil.
Add 2 large live lobsters
Boil for 12 minutes.
Remove from heat, and remove lobsters from pot.
Plunge lobsters in cold water to cool off. Remove meat from shells, and discard the coral and tomalley (green matter). Cover and refrigerate the meat. Break up shells and bodies, return to the broth, and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes. Strain through a fine sieve and discard solids. You will need 6 cups of broth. (if you have more, boil down until you have 6 cups; less, just add water)
In a large saucepan, melt 4 Tablespoons of butter and saute:
1 cup onions, small dice
1/2 cup carrots, small dice
1/2 cup celery, small dice
Stir in the 6 cups of broth.
Add 1 1/2 cups of chopped & seeded tomatoes
1/3 cup long-grain rice
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 tsp. minced fresh tarragon
1 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
generous pinch of red pepper
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes.
Chop lobster meat, and toss in a hot skillet with melted butter, until heated through. Stir in:
1/4 cup Brandy
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp White Pepper
Cook until nearly all liquid is evaporated. Reserve 1/3 of the meat for garnish. Add the rest of the meat & juices to the soup.
Remove the bay leaf from the soup, and run soup mixture with a blender until smooth (best done in batches). Return the soup to the saucepan, and add reserved meat. Add:
1 cup of heavy cream
Heat through on low heat.
Ok, so it’s not a one-pot dish. But it sure is tasty.