Chef Casper's Profile
What to eat with cottage cheese?
I diden't take the time to read this entire thread, so I dont know if someone has suggested this already, but Cottage cheese is absolutly devine with mashed or sliced avocado in it.
It plays on the texture and adds a deeper flavour, really good.
whole smoked duck [moved from Los Angeles board]
I have heard of, and my father has succesfully attempted tea smoked poulty.
When we did it it was some sort of chinese tea smoked chicken.... or pousson, I can't recall. Try green tea smoked duck, or chai, These are the only ones Iv'e heard of.
Best sandwich I ever invented
I once created a sandwhich of: french bread, black forest ham, chedder cheese, and alfalfa sprouts.
I then, refused to eat ANYTHING else except this exact sandwhich for 2 years or so.
Now I can't stand the idea of sandwhiches, refuse to eat any pork products, and vomit a bit in my my mouth at the sight of classic american "orange" chedder cheese.
Still like alfalfa sprouts though...
Frozen chocolate croissants @ TJ's?
Oddly enough, I found myself upon the EXACT same situation when I saw this article.
Im going to sneek them to some coffee house in the 'morrow for breakfast, then we shall see if they Truley hold ground.
Although I must admit, I woulden't have picked them up if they diden't seem to have particulalry good ingriedients. Plus one look at the Nutritional info tells me their going to atleast be buttery.
Unusual..but delicious...ice cream flavors
I must say that when I once tried avocado gelato I really dug it. I know that technically it's different than ice cream, but I figured it was close enough.
I got it at this local resteraunt called guissepies, and now that I think about they once had a tarragon gelato which I absolutly ADORED. It was like swwet licorice/anise flavour, really creamy and nice, it would go good with strawberry sorbetto.
Today I actually had some pumpkin spice LaLoo's goat milk ice cream with a bit of curry sauce on it (!) It was surprisingly good, I think I used bassicly yogurt, curry powder, garlic, onions, ginger, maybe tumeric and some other things in the curry.
Breakfast - Easy, On the Go
Well, yes I have had tofu for breakfast, its just that I (and sorry if this makes me sound ike a full-on foodie retard) can't figure out how to scramble it, as its solid and not runny like eggs.
Breakfast - Easy, On the Go
This is an interesting collum.
I too, must admit I have a bit of a "problem" when it comes to breakfast.
Normally I crave sweet things, coffee drinks, pastries, and the like, but I'm trying to up my protien content of every meal, and I dont happen to be fond of scrambled or omlet type egg dishes. Also I detest pork and ham so my breakfasts are pretty limited.
For a week or so I was living off a really great quiche made without cheese (used creme fraiche insted) spinach and chicken livers.
Really, it was awesome. I used the quiche recipie from Tartine if anyone is interested.
Food Franchises That Don't Suck
Personally, I can't stomach chains.
Literally.
I'm not trying to make a pun, alot of the time I find chain restaurants make me sick.
The only places I can really go to are small local chains these include:
-Broadway Bagel Company. (Ok well I have only tried it like once, but it was ok)
-Higher Groundz. (Maybe they're nationwide, but I haven't heard anyone mention them. But I also think the one next to my house is really the only one worth going to.)
-House of Bread. (Funny, I'm not even really into bread, but they do a good job here.)
Alternative Food-Based Careers
Yes!
Catering, that would be awesome!
Why dident I think of it sooner?!
Alternative Food-Based Careers
Yeah, thanks for the advice!
True I love to cook and I recieve and attempt to utilize advice from all the people I meet in the industry. Recently Iv'e made friends with the pizza chef of one of the local italian restaurants which I frequent and she has real good ideas.
Currantly I'm going to try and get a job at Splash Cafe, its a chowder house in my area. It's not my preffered type of restaurant, or food for tha matter. But it will give me a chance to see what working in these situations is like, and see if I like it. Plus it will "break me in", in a way, so when I have more time to devote to a job (summer) I can probably get a job at a better restaurant.
Recently I also saw a nutritionist, and she set me with a sort of "good foods/bad foods" list and a dietary plan to try out, so I'm going to be "culinarily-challenged" around the home aswell. I think it could be fun and I could get really creative with it.
Thanks again for the advice threedogs, and others on this board. Keep me posted!
Rack of Lamb from Trader Joe's
My mother ALWAYS buys the one from the meat section. (the one that retails for like $14 a pound or something.) and according to her its the most fabulous lamb you can get at the price. I, personally have never tried it, because I have somewhat of an aversion to red meats (or even most poultry), but she seems to love it and says the seasoning is "spot-on". So yeah considering I know her tasts well enough I would recommend it.
Alternative Food-Based Careers
Wow, first off I just want to say that personally this is a really interesting topic.
I too am currantly looking for SOME type of future career in the food business. (I am only 16). Much like you threedogs, I love to cook, I love more to eat. I too have made my own bread (Well, croissants and sweetbreads mostly, heh) and tons of other things from scratch.
Unlike you however, I did it for the love of creating, not out of nessecity, not that I'm saying you never liked cooking, as it is obvious you do.
But I have lived a fairly privaledged life, I go out to eat ALL the time, and thus through my numerous eatings out and job searches, have come to have a personal relationship with many of the restaurant owners, managers and staff in our area.
However I have yet to get a job, and am still wondering exactly WHAT I will do with my passion.(I too entertain the idea of writing, food critiquing perhaps?)
Please keep me posted man, best of luck to you! I'm glad I stumbled on this page!
Just bought ice cream freezer-- what to make?
Personally I would suggest checking out the cookbook: "The Sweet Life desserts from chantrelle" for Ice cream and sorbet ideas, such as coconut-creamcheese ice cream(!). But I shall supliment my own personal idea for you: whilst they are in season, try getting some good figs, preffarably turkish or black mission and making fig+maderia ice cream.
With chocolate I imagine it would be heavenly, and you could probably do it as a sorbet aswell...
Which healthy substitutes actually taste better to you?
Well personally in my cooking and consuming I never compromise on ingrediants. I always use full fat butter, pure suger, whole milk, (unless baking requires otherwise) and generally keep healthy by never really eating pre-packaged or processed foods or snacks.
However this is considering that we're only talking about literal "substitutions"; i.e. splenda, rice dream, etc.... Ido enjoy HEALTHY foods all the time, such as I've noticed that people say the like oatmeal or brown rice which aren't really SUBSTITUTES for anything.
Top Chef- right now
I must say that personally I thought the pesto dish sounded the most interesting and I would like to try it the most. (wished the would have used duck instead of pork though, maybe tuna aswell?)
Anyway I was surprized by the elimination, personally I would have eliminated howies teamate (Her name escapes me at the moment.) or howie, just because I'm so done with his attitude at this moment.
I loved how howies teamate could totally read that he despised her and played on that, though. HILARIOUS!
Oh yeah and it was fun to see that new ken doll model... Oh I mean Rocco, yeah, yeah, Rocco.
ISO portable b'fast food (recipe) I can put together the night before and pop in the oven in the morning
This is easy.
The quickest simplest answear would be- muffins.
Yes, muffin batter is actually much more versitile and beautiful than most people realize. Whenever I make muffins for myself I always make a batter than refrigerate it and bake a new muffin every morning, so I always get that "fresh-baked" quality.
But you could also make pancake/crepe batter and 'fridgerate that, or if you really want to blow his mind (and yours attempting to make it-) you could make souffles, and freeze the batter in the ramekins, then fresh bake those in the morning-
I have only heard of doing this from the book "Sweet life, desserts from Chantrell", and she actually has some good morning-food sounding ones. (such as maple walnut, or goat cheese and purple basil.)
Top Chef- right now
See, this is why I love the internet.
I'm on the west coast, so this episode hasn't even aired yet, but now I know what's going to happen!
Sweet I can get the VCR prepared.
Cook your own dinner restaurants?
Right, like I was saying probably your best bet for something along the lines of what your talking about would be found in a japanese restaurant or other sort of asian/fusion restaurants. (taiwanese if they have it, would be perfect.)
Lots of those places have hot grills and sunomono bowls, things like that.
Cook your own dinner restaurants?
Well whilst I don't know your area too well, I do know that many tappen bars(I hope I spelled it right) have your sort of participate with the chef. I know that theres also tons of build your own pizza and salad kind of places, but it sounds like what your looking for is a kind of place where you actually 'cook' along with the chef. As far as my knowledge goes I don't know if any such place exists.
But isn't the point of going to a restaurant to experiance someone ELES food and cooking skills?
ISO super dense, moist, extra lemony Lemon pound cake
Well I have only good things to report.
Certainaly it turned out very dense and moist, which I like because I really like my startches (bread, pasta etc..) to have more "substance" than traditonal angel food cake or white bread. However if what you are looking for is a really tart lemony cake, I might forgo this recipie, as the almond paste made it feel bassicly like marzipan bread with a hint of lemon, which is a really nice touch to the marzipan flavour. However it has a really strong citrus glaze which kinda makes up for the flavour thats absent in the actual "bread" part.
I now, really just like the Idea of offsetting marzipan desserts with citrus zest, but hey I'd say this is a winner.
(Note: Oh, yes if you do make this cake only use ALMOND PASTE, like it says, otherwise the suger which is already in marzipan will make it taste like something from starbucks rather than a french patisserie.)
ISO super dense, moist, extra lemony Lemon pound cake
I'm only too sorry that I diden't get to this thread sooner.
Interestingly enough, whilst on a recent breakfast outing I happened to spot some lemon-poppyseed muffins and, although I opted for a bearclaw and croissant(I believe the quality of a bakery can be judged on their croissants alone), My interest has been peeked and I'm determined to make something lemonpoppyseed flavoured.
Currantly I'm going to attempt the Lemon-almond tea cake from the book: "Tartine"(One of my alltime fav's).
It suggest to use almond paste in the batter to make it extra moist and good, I don't know how its going to turn out but, I SHALL REPORT BACK!
What to do with fish heads and fish tails?
My gosd, you actually need IDEAS for how to eat fish heads.
Brother if I have a whole fish I go straight for the head, it's the only part that matters to me.
Personally I'd say eat it as is, poaching or roasting probably is best.
Any bones/leftover, like most people say go good for stock or fertalizer.
Belgano, SF - has Leonidas chocolates, Laduree macarons, Kookez cupcakes - anyone try it?
I knew that I would be able to hunt down macaroons in San-Fran.
I've been on the hunt for those damn buggers for months now, hitting every sweet-shoppie in sight. Down here you'd swear asif people have never heard of the things! The typical response is a blank stare.
If anyone could help me out and recommend some quality source where I can mail order them, or even more prefferable coulde someone direct me to a really good recipy? Thanks, any help is much apreciated,
Ratatouille
Of-course! You must stay for the credit crawl during a pixar movie!
If you look really closley you can find that one of the team is actually deemed "Credits". They have a whole team dedicated to that specific task!
I still halfway expect to see a pixar movie to the end one day and then when the credits are over see a giant splash of colour and lights that proudly proclaims: "CRRRRRRREDITS DONE BY _______!!!!!!"
But it's also kinda fun to name scan and see all the chefs and food critics and such that came together to help create the movie.
Ratatouille
Yes I must agree here entirley, Ratatoullie is a great food movie for a menagerie or reasons, but really just because of the level of detail, research, and actual WORK that those Pixar kids devote to all their movies, really makes it worth whatching. I really like how actual chefs, like thomas keller, had a hand in creating the film.
On a couple side notes: For food movies aren't we all forgetting "Mostly Martha?", especially since now it's being remade into, in my opinion, horrific romantic-dribble schlock film?
Also, I think movie theaters should have hit the food angle harder on this movie. I mean woulden't this be the perfect thing to see whilst enjoying an elegant prie fixe menu or something? Maybe they could have private screenings in fancy upscale resteraunts. I'm not sure but something about munching on reeses pieces whilst they are talking about "veal sweetbreads" just seems out of place.
Top Chef - Ep. 4
Well what about doing an intermezzo course? It might be too easy but it would have been easy for all of them to do something like a small sorbet or some other palet cleanser, but generally that with large 7 course meals, and I have a feeling the judges would have called them out for doing such a small course.
But, yes I agree if you don't know how to do baking you can still try to do a desert course by just mixing sweet and savory, like foie gras on french toast or an artisan cheese platter. It woulden't be leaving you'r comfort zone as much, but personally I think the creativity that would have to be involved would make up for it.
When you cook, what things do you NEVER compromise on?
Fat.
I never go against what a recipie calls for, if it says a pound of full fat butter than dammit, it's going in there!
If a recipy calls for low fat milk, or something similar, usually I'll go with the recipy, just because I know that it's called for, for a reason this is especially true in baking where full fat or non fat have different properties.
Top Chef - Ep. 4
Yeah, I too thought that, atleast in culinary collage you were required to do a semester in pastry work. I don't know, for a guy like me who's main expieriance is pastry work it's sort of interesting to whatch so called "professionals" say things like: "Umm, I didn't know how to use the POWDERED geletin." When I'm sitting there thinking, "Gosh if only I had enough time, a pinapple cremé caramel would be interesting..."
But yes I agree, even if you don't incorperate much of the knowledge into your main body of work, if you wish to be called a chef you MUST do some pastry work. Or, atleast know how to use powdered geletin for christ's sake.
Mushrooms????
Personally, I love to make mushroom tarts.
You can make a tart shell and just sort of scoop in the mushrooms with maybe some onions and herbs, then you make a custard of some sort to hold it all together. I primarily use the recipy out of the Tartine cookbook but I'm sure you could find others on the internet.
Also just sauteing some in a bit of a sauce and poured over a protein is excellent, but I also like the idea of stuffing chicken or cornish hens with 'shrooms.
Really, you cant go wrong.
Ratatouille
I just wanted to throw my input in here because I can't get over this movie!
I loved it, seen it 2ce in theaters now, and it goes up on my favorites list of Pixar films along with the original Toy Story.
I was just wondering, I'm not sure if anyone has mentioned it yet, but did anyone else notice how Linguinni aquired bruises and scars on his hands after Remy taught him how to cook? That's the sort of detail I really appreciate, I'm sure it was something Thomas Keller pitched to the Pixar lads.
