Posts by castironchef

You've gotten great advice on food above. However, I'd like to offer some cynical advice on the subject of Valentine's Day. It'll sound EXTREMELY jaded, but someday you'll be mulling it over and realize that I was onto something. ...

I've found that the two stage method works well for cutting down on the loss of crispness. You first cook the fries at a lower temp, say 320F, to get the insides cooked. Then, after cooling, cook the fried a second time at a higher...

One word: "microbiology" Well, there's more to the class, but that one topic could easily take up 3 credit units by itself.

Is this what you had in mind? It's a recipe for Rabbit with Pine Nuts & Black Olives - - Coniglio con Pinoli e Olive Nere, posted by someone from Groppo di Treseana in Lunigiana (Tuscany's province of Massa, inland) and that it...

I'm with Breton on this one. From your questions and your tone, I get the impression that you are well meaning, woefully inexperienced and quite naive. I can just see the glint in the eyes of your employees as they realize that...

The phrase means cook now, serve later. The methods, though, are numerous and vary depending upon the product, the time and available equipment, etc. For instance, to hold a lasagne for an hour, it can be as easy as keeping it in a...

It can be a pain to set up a "buy" at a commercial food supplier for a one-time project. However, Costco carries pork butt at good prices. You could also check out other "food warehouse" type operations in your...

I second Japan Woodworker. I have a good friend who works there and the quality is exceptional. (And no I don't get a discount or a referral fee!) Their website is www.japanwoodworker.com.

I LOVE your Chez Panisse ice cream idea! (When will it be ready? I'll be over.) I use 50/50 water/flour, but by volume, in my starter. The viscosity is 1/2 way between pancake and crepe batter. Let us know how it turns out.

Did this one on a whim one Thanksgiving and my family loved it and insisted on making it a family tradition. Great pumpkin flavor, but light enough not cause you to feel like you're going to explode after overindulging on...