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Yikes.
You think people are living "the life" everyone always dreams of, and then they kill themselves and you wonder just how good that life was/wasn't. Just goes to show, money and luxury doesn't buy happiness.
Yikes.
You think people are living "the life" everyone always dreams of, and then they kill themselves and you wonder just how good that life was/wasn't. Just goes to show, money and luxury doesn't buy happiness.
Yep, look at Kate Spade. She and her husband built a 1 BILLION dollar brand. Still called it a day.
It's a tragedy that mental illness is ignored and derided in this country. I saw some stat that suicide numbers are up nearly 30% over the last two decades.
Yep, look at Kate Spade. She and her husband built a 1 BILLION dollar brand. Still called it a day.
It's a tragedy that mental illness is ignored and derided in this country. I saw some stat that suicide numbers are up nearly 30% over the last two decades.
I bet the use of prescription psychoactive and mood-altering drugs is up more than 30% in the last two decades. Seems like many of them have suicidal thoughts as a side effect even though many are prescribed to treat depression.
This one is for you, Tony. Your tales got me through some rough times and I've given your book to a few nervous, first time line cooks over my years in the kitchens.
Sorry your demons got the better of you, but you inspired a lot of folks while you were here.
Last edited by SchmoozerJoe; 06-09-2018 at 11:11 AM.
The French Laundry is frequently honored by inclusion in the annual Restaurant Magazine list of the Top 50 Restaurants of the World (having been named "Best Restaurant in the World" in 2003 and 2004). Since 2006, it has been awarded three stars in the Michelin Guide to San Francisco. It received a favorable review in The New York Times[2]and was called "the best restaurant in the world, period" in 2005 by Anthony Bourdain.[3]Since 2007, the restaurant has been the recipient of the Wine Spectator Grand Award.[4]
If you are going to purchase a new propane tank, do not do it on a weekend immediately preceding a national holiday which is typically celebrated with the grilling of meat. This was literally* the last tank in stock at any U-Haul location in the whole north-Chicago area.
(Because **** Blue Rhino & Amerigas. **** them right in their 25% under-filling goat-hole.)
* = Literally = literally, according to their inventory-management system.
That having been said, my free grill works pretty well. Just gotta clean up the grating and give it a coat of hi-temp paint, and we're ready to rock.
A tad over 1 lb of bone-in strip, before trimming. I know that some folks (mostly white people who wish that they owned more rifles than they actually do) are going to say something like "Why would you trim that?" to which I reply "The concept of 'trimming the fat' is so inherently natural that it is used as an allegory for everything from eugenics to software-optimization."
It'll spend the next 8 hours relaxingly immersed in a blend of:
Whiskey
Soy sauce
Lemon juice
Worcestershire sauce
Brown sugar
Dried basil
White pepper
Powdered garlic
Why these things? Long story. This was a recipe passed down to me by the grandmother of an especially beautiful Polynesian woman during a weekend of intensely passionate love-making in San Tumas, Malta, several years ago. In the interest of full disclosure, I admit that the love-making was with the grandmother.
Meet the veg:
1 each of:
Red bell pepper
Jalepeno pepper
Poblano pepper
Red onion
16 oz frozen sweet corn
Cilantro* (more on this later)
First, the poblano is going into the broiler. I'm tempted to make an Auschwitz joke here. Regardless of your personal opinions concerning National Socialism and the holocaust, cook until blistered and blackened on the outside, turning as needed:
Next, slice all the things!
If God loves you, the poblano will lay perfectly flat as you open in. Remove the skin first.
Pro-tip: after handling raw jalapeno, you must wash your hands no fewer than nine time before rubbing your eyes.
You're welcome.
(You'd think I'd have learned this by now, given my love of peppers.)
Now, this recipe was originally born as a knock-off of Chipotle's corn salsa. I've been tinkering with it for a few months, and am getting close to something amazing as a side-dish.
Start by cranking up the pan as high as it'll go. At this point, I summoned the dark lord Satan and sold my soul to him in exchange for upping the heat a little more. The joke's on Satan, as I already sold my soul to a girl named Holly Porter back in 1996, and good luck collecting on that one. (It was worth it.)
A little olive oil, and in go the onion, jalapeno, and red bell pepper, stirring every few minutes to promote charring without making everything wilt into mush:
That's just about where we want 'em.
Toss in a big spoonful of the Recaito right at the end (Ok, fine, use fresh cilantro if you're a purist. My grandmother will toss slightly in her grave, but that's fine, don't mind her.) Transfer into the bowl in which you've placed the drained, cooked corn (you remembered to cook the corn, right?) and add the poblano, along with 1 tbs lemon juice and 2 tbs lime juice. Mix well.
Looks like Mr. Meat is just about ready to emerge from hibernation.
Now, this is gonna sound weird, but I'm relying on some advice I learned from the University of Google here, and I admit that this is totally an experiment. Pat the meat dry, then coat in cornstarch. Yes, cornstarch. Never tried it before, we'll see how this works out.
Grill on high heat for 5 minutes per side.
EDIT: 5 minutes is too much on my grill. 3 is just about right.
Oh, yes.
I'm still learning this grill. Next time I'll probably do about one minute less, but it was still pretty damn good.
The chef says it's an avocado creme. That's all he would divulge. A little bid of diced onion and cilantro were present, along with a thin ribbon of chipotle aioli running vertically through each one in the picture. I would have never thought to put strawberries with shrimp but it was so light and delicious with the little bit of avocado creme offering smoothness. Really refreshing choices by the chef.
There were actually three of them on the plate but I had wolfed the first one down before thinking I should take the picture. #greedy
I bet it's mayo (or vegetable oil) + avocado + spices. Lots of Mexican restaurants have similar sauce since it's a lot cheaper than actual guacamole.
Idk. This place is owned by a couple of foodies and they make most things in house without cutting corners. Not a Mexican restaurant, either. And it didn't have the tang of mayo and was lighter in consistency.
I had this strawberry salad there a few weeks ago. They candy the walnuts in house.
I'm going to require an explanation for the cornstarch.
Answer #1: Google it. Lots of results.
Answer #2: I'll admit to being a total novice when it comes to grilling steak. I obtained my first grill a few weeks ago (see earlier in the thread) by rescuing it just before it was about to be tossed into a dumpster by a neighbor of mine. A new tank from U-Haul (they have really good-quality LP tanks for cheap) and about $5 worth of hardware from Home Depot, and it's working well.
With my very limited knowledge-base in mind, I've been devouring all sorts of advice on-line as to how to prepare and cook steaks. Many sources pointed to the cornstarch solution as a way of drawing moisture out from the surface and producing a nice, crisp exterior without over-cooking and drying the interior.
My experience has been positive with this technique. It does in fact crisp up the outside a tad, and if you do it lightly, you don't even notice it in the finished product.
This having been said, I find that I'm becoming a bit of a steak addict. Been doing nothing but for the past week or so, and there are four more boneless strips sitting in the fridge waiting. I've not deviated at all on the marinade (this one worked well the first time), but I've been mixing up the sides. Last night was a blend of red bell pepper, poblano, jalepeno and red onion, julienned and pan-seared in butter with a bit of oregano. The next one I've got planned is roasted cauliflower florets with bacon, green onion, and homemade ranch dressing.
Never though I'd turn into a steak guy, but god damn, this stuff is tasty. I'm fortunate to have three different grocery stores within a 1.5 mile radius of home / work, so I can usually find the good stuff on sale for < $5 / lb.
06-08-2018, 01:07 PM
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@ both posts
