Subscribing. Will be contributing. This has exciting implications.

pics are great but pics+recipes would be better

I've been cooking scrambled eggs using a make-shift double boiler. It's an easy way to cook really soft/creamy eggs (easier than the G Ramsey method, IMO.) Technique/recipe is described well in Michael Ruhlman's book "Twenty," which I highly recommend.

http://books.google.com/books?id=IUr...20eggs&f=false

See page 104 and 109 from the above link for technique, recipe, and pictures.

WLRS: Looks great! I don't like mushrooms, but keep looking for chanterelles and porcinis for guests. The oxtail looks fantastic!!! Perhaps I should know this, but what is EMC?

As far as recipes go, I post them all on my blog (eatdrinkcheer.com).

It's supposed to mean Extreme Meat Close-up, I believe - from the steak thread. His "EMC" wasn't really a true EMC imo.

Great thread, I hope to contribute but your material is tough to follow.

My famous GreenBean Casserole. Took blue ribbon at the 1998 Ohio State Fair -Cream of Mushroom Soup Division.

OOH!!! Looks amazing! Great pic! Do you share the recipe anywhere?

Thanks! Sorry, I never use recipes, in the kitchen I improvise like a jazz musician. However, I can assure you that I made this with a cup full of love - and probably a package of Lipton's french onion soup mix.

Nice google pic... A decent recipe can probably be found on back of a French's french fried onion container.

snipe,

i have a tojiro dp. please tell me what to buy to sharpen it. for a while i was going to go the whole hog and get a couple of stones, then i just got so bogged down in reading about them, reading about the need for a flattener (maybe wrong terminology, it was a while back), etc etc. i just thought 'do i really want to spend all this money and then do a bad job / barely use them?'

still not totally against the stone route but ugh. something easier that gives a good result would be good. thx!

My alltime favorite side dish. My last girlfriend hated greenbeans and mushrooms (I used C.o.M. soup) so I didn't get to make it that often.

It's never looked nearly as good as that though.

Nice! Having a good chefs knife is a pleasure many never get to experience. I actually went ahead and purchased a 5 piece japanese whetstone kit from Chefs Knives To Go (where I purchased the knife), along with a strop, and had every intention of learning to sharpen. I took several of my old knives and practiced but unfortunately was met with limited success.

I can get a good edge on 70% of a knife, but the tip, and some random bits, are pretty difficult. I've also managed to scratch the side of my practice knife pretty well, though I never feel it when I'm doing it, which really worries me.

If I had it to do over, I'd get an Apex Edge Pro hands down.

http://www.chefknivestogo.com/edgeprosets.html

Not sure which one, but Mark at CKTG will take the time to steer you in the right direction. I have no vested interest in his site or company, but really appreciated the fact that he took 20 - 30 minutes to talk to me when I was making the purchase. We discussed knives and sharpeners, and his quote to me was that while he's pretty good with a stone, if he had to enter a sharpening competition, he would use and edge pro hands down.

BTW - for everyone who doesn't want to shell out tons of money, I suggest buying a Victornox Chef's Knife on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Victorinox-475...ictorinox+chef

Great knife, though pretty tough to put a good edge on and keep a good edge on (which is why the Japanese steel's are so much more expensive - the alloys are way better for sharpening and keeping sharp, but also demand a certain level of upkeep).

thread inspired me to take come cooking classes

lol noob. Everyone knows the best green bean casserole recipe is on the cream of mushroom soup label.

That's fantastic!

I think my number one tip for cooking is to buy a portable radio (not a pc) and keep it in the kitchen. I enjoy sports talk, so sitting there, listening to my local hosts, various games, etc., really keeps me entertained. It also helps that my gf and her dog live with me, and like to hang out in the kitchen on the computer / waiting for steak to fall on the floor respectively.

Making the kitchen a place to hang out, chat, and just kick it - much like a bbq or day long smoking (meat) session are activities where people gather, if you can convince the people in your life to save the TV for later, and kick it in the kitchen, it really changes the paradigm and will help encourage you to develop.

For me, cooking also satisfies a lot of things I like to do; research, hunting for obscure ****, customization, timing, tools, etc. I also love that it's such a universal language. Everyone needs to eat, and everyone has a 'best meal I ever ate' story. Nobody is ever wrong. It's not 'debateversation' where people can just argue a position (we all have friends who's main mode of conversation is argument, and I've found food discussion helps change their tone to be a bit more civil). Instead, people are generally happy to be tasting something that you made, or sharing a meal with friends, which is pretty satisfying.

So yeah! I'd suggest hitting the library, picking a cookbook, and diving in. If you have any questions, post!

I disagree, especially the underlined part. People can easily be wrong when it comes to cooking if they don't know any better.

Seems like he was talking about eating rather than cooking. Like if someone likes a medium well steak they aren't wrong.

ICWUDT. awesome pics!

Exactly. Thanks for clarifying.

I probably didn't phrase that well it was a long, margarita-ful lunch. I was trying to say that people's tastes are completely individual, and fun to discuss rather than many conversations that turn to arguments around facts.

How do you photograph your food so well (suggestions for a $100 camera are very welcome). Also, a cooking forum would have lot of traffic/great info.

I wish I wasn't so used to using my comically large chinese cleaver for every task in the kitchen. I look completely awkward whenever I'm at anyone's house and I'm forced to use a regular knife.

My setup was pretty simple for my early photos:
Canon T3 (mine was $399 new - cheapest DSLR out there)
50mm Lens ($100)
18% Gray Cards ($10)
Lightroom ($$$$$$$ = free for everyone but parents who don't seem to like stealing software)

I wasn't sure I'd like photography, so I went with this baseline setup figuring I could always sell everything for a 30% haircut at worst. The two keys that friends have told me are

1) Natural full spectrum sunlight is your friend - best light you can get, so use it

2) Use the custom white balance feature on your camera - that's where the 18% gray card comes in. When you set the white balance, you avoid the ****ty yellow / brown pics that are unappetizing and common with tungsten (standard) light bulbs.

That will get you 90% there. I also do some light post processing if the color in the pic isn't quite right, or I'm losing detail in the shadows, but they really don't change the elements of the pic - just my mistakes as a dude who didn't light a shot properly.

Since then, I've done a bunch of diy stuff. Bought some vellum (tracing paper) and put it on a frame as a scrim to diffuse light. Bought 3 $10 metal reflector lights and some full spectrum bulbs (4 for $25), along with a piece of white foam core to bounce light off of. Pretty budget setup, but seems to work ok so far. Well, except for my wonderful gf who bought me a Canon 100mm macro lens for my birthday (which allows me to take pics like these)





Fwiw - those are just pics of vacuum pickled shallots I made with a little thyme and red wine vinegar. They literally took 30 seconds as part of the fried eggplant with habanero aioli dish I made. Interesting to see the effects of pulling -25mm hg vacuum on plant cells as they break down and take up the surrounding liquid.

As far a $100 cameras, I couldn't tell ya. I know what I've done and why, but I don't generally know much about photography (though I'm learning).

Chinese cleavers are balling!!! I don't currently use one, but know that a lot of good cooks don't need anything else. Embrace that thing!!! I'm going to pick one up one of these days.

New playground?

bone marrow?