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chiaros

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Posts posted by chiaros

  1. 23 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

    Yes you have to look at what and how you are cutting a chiffonade but there is a reason its taught as a basic cut in cooking classes because its freaking easy.

     

    Here's a video of preparing "Wensi Tofu", which is a refined form of chiffonade-cum-julienne – of silken tofu. Done using a CLEAVER.

  2. 1 minute ago, biakbiak said:

    In her restaurant a lot of dishes use the holy trinity which a small dice is used a lot. And while its not used in every cuisine its not an archane cut or unheard of in the cuisines you listed. 

    I DID NOT say it was unheard of in any of the cuisines I listed.  I pointed out that it is not "...the base for nearly all dishes at a restaurant or at home..." which is what you stated, without any further caveats.  OF COURSE a small dice is known in every cuisine around the world, but that is not what is at issue here.  Tanya's restaurant may use the Holy Trinity, which ought to be rendered into a small dice, and I suspect you use this Holy Trinity too in almost all dishes you cook – but you made no mention of this stringent caveat in your post. The point also remains that such a thing is not used in many cuisines, and is not required "at home" for "almost all dishes".

  3. 47 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

    ...a small dice is the base for nearly all dishes at a restaurant or at home, and a chiffonade literally requires  no skill ...

    Really?

    Hmm, a small dice is infrequently required for my dishes at home, nor in restaurants - with many regional Chinese, SE Asian etc dishes and cuisines, for example. Chopped/smashed garlic might be the closest one comes to it, but I would call that a MINCE of garlic instead. Diced vegetables in most Chinese dishes? Uh, no.  Oh, diced onions for South Asian curries would be another common example, but even there I can't say I bother to make a perfect dice - as the onions get cooked down to an integrating mass before the spices go in .

    But for "nearly all dishes at home" - not universally, I think.

    As for a chiffonade, it depends on how fine a chiffonade one is doing. I often do chiffonades of (the requisite rolled-up) collard greens, as an example, for a 2-to-3-minute cook in broth, using my usual chef's knife with care to get the 1-2 mm thick slices I want - so one has to watch what you are doing, and your knife ought to be sharp, and if not you need to know how to sharpen it.

    • Love 2
  4. On 1/3/2018 at 6:57 PM, Haleth said:
    On 1/3/2018 at 6:24 PM, marinw said:

    Do we have a date for Season 3?

    I was just looking yesterday. It's been filmed but no premier date has been announced. Last year it started in April so we should be hearing something soon.  

    Th current "best intelligence" is after the end of the Winter Olympics but before April.

    See these threads:

    https://www.reddit.com/r/TheExpanse/comments/7o05j0/when_is_season_3_slated_to_air/

    https://www.reddit.com/r/TheExpanse/comments/7rcrkk/we_may_not_have_a_date_for_season_3_but_weve_got/

    https://www.reddit.com/r/TheExpanse/comments/7p8dc7/any_idea_regarding_the_air_date_of_season_3/

    And...

    Spoiler

     

    it is thought that "Season 3 will begin at Chapter 38 of "Caliban's War" with Bobby taking over Mao's yacht.": https://www.reddit.com/r/TheExpanse/comments/7p30s2/season_3_starts_at_chapter_38_of_calibans_war/


     

    • Love 1
  5. 11 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:
    20 hours ago, chiaros said:

    There was another exit that has stuck in my mind as a bitter self-serving swipe at the judges (notwithstanding whatever one may think of the tastes of the judges) – the exit interview by Michael Patlazhan in TC12 ep 1.

    I had no memory of this guy at all, who as it turns out was a first episode boot, but Google brought me to the PTV recap of his episode (love how the recapper kept referring to him as Cartoon Cat!) which instantly brought back the whole thing for me:

    http://previously.tv/top-chef/padma-spits-blais-swallows/

    In fact, Patlazhan didn't even compete in LCK that season, and also was not in the panel of eliminated cheftestants available as sous in the Pre-Finale Part I that season. Even Aaron Grissom was there, but Patlazhan disappeared completely from Season 12 after that exit interview of his. See here for a previous comment of mine.

    • Love 2
  6. 9 hours ago, Yeah No said:

    Everything out of Claudette's mouth in her talking heads was just plain sour grapes.  She knew she was outclassed so she belittled everyone else in an attempt to make herself look better, which, incidentally, was also the source of her under-bus throwing.  She didn't have the self awareness to realize how bad it was making her look.  Making snide and leading (or misleading) "vanilla" comments was an attempt to swipe the entire show on the way out.  She has to be one of the worst exits in TC history next to Jen Carroll.

     

    There was another exit that has stuck in my mind as a bitter self-serving swipe at the judges (notwithstanding whatever one may think of the tastes of the judges) – the exit interview by Michael Patlazhan in TC12 ep 1. I don't readily see a link, now, to a video of his scathing comments as broadcast then...and Bravo puts out only a "sanitized" version now where he "admits" that he wasn't cut out for this sort of competition on TC...but I clearly remember his scathing view of Collichio and friends on his way out (in a similar way to Claudette's comments about "vanilla TC") where he declared with curled lip that Tom C and Co. was stuck in their severely deficient old ways.

    • Love 1
  7. 6 minutes ago, dleighg said:

    Also weren't they cooking in the same kitchen and observing the dishes, the plating, and the drama (or lack thereof) of the other team?

    Yes, indeed. It was also "amusing", so to speak, watching Claudette and Bruce being right next to each other side-by-side and observing each other and making those comments they did.  :-)  :-D

    • Love 6
  8. 1 hour ago, Totale said:

    Does anyone know IRL if the two teams present on the same day?  Beyond basic abilities, it sure looked like they hit Conifer early in their service when they were still pretty fresh and when they got to Commonplace they were already way behind.  It seems fatigue could set in both among the teams and the judges, and it would be more fair to run the teams on separate days, with it stated that the judges would arrive say 45 minutes in.  They can always get back in their RW clothes for judges table.

    In past seasons they *have* run RW on separate days in *some* seasons, yes, but mostly they have been on the same day; sometimes at different "hosting" restaurants (where each team took over the premises). The downside of doing it on staggered days has been pointed out to be that the team serving "second" has a chance to assess what went wrong (or not) with the 1st team, at the designated place with whatever constraints present, and also note what complaints the judges had, and so on and so forth.

    This season's RW was run on the same day in the same place with a physical partition between the two restaurants.  Here is a screen shot of a relevant moment in the episode.

    5a6e022fd9679_RestaurantWars-ConiferCommonPlace.thumb.jpg.f73264f19332583859eebc8a8d84c5fc.jpg

    • Love 3
  9. 13 hours ago, Blonde Gator said:

    @chiaros  That is exactly what I described as Joe & Carrie eyerolling at each other this week....your first grab was clearer.   Maybe Joe & Adrienne were eye-rolling in another part of the episode???? 

    Having said that, EVERYONE was really super uncomfortable any and every time Claudette opened her mouth at JT!  No more!  Woo hoo everyone.

    JF & C probably did so somewhere else in the episode, quite possible.

    But that blurry clip I posted ALSO showed that Bruce was exchanging looks with Joe F too as he and Carrie were rolling their eyes during Claudette's bus deployment. Heh. HEH.

  10. 15 minutes ago, carrps said:

    Yes, but Joe and Adrienne were in their Conifer grey aprons in the shot I'm talking about. It was definitely from this week's show. And Joe didn't say anything directly to Adrienne this week. They both just rolled their eyes. My sister was out of the room, and I yelled at her that she had to see the eye rolls. It was a pretty quick shot (hard to pause on), so easily missed.

    Was it at Judges' Table, or from another part of the episode?

    If it was at JT, I don't see what you refer to, from rewatching the episode a couple of times regarding the JT sequence as aired.

    Here's another screen grab of the nisode at JT, a few seconds after the one I posted above, showing that Joe F was next to Carrie, who was next to Bruce...demonstrating that Adrienne was at the FAR end – and it is hard to see how Joe F would have exchanged an eye-roll with Adrienne if one is referring to what went down at JT.

    5a6d444aa11c3_RestaurantWars-atJT-JoeFCarrieBruce.thumb.jpg.3cdaa7bcefec36e16a7d6281dc90e902.jpg

  11. 5 hours ago, carrps said:

    I thought that was Joe and Adrienne. They showed Carrie, too, in a different shot. But I definitely remember the eye roll as between Joe and Adrienne. I even rewound to show it to my sister.

     

    3 hours ago, Blonde Gator said:

    Joe (F) and Adrienne did the mutual eyeroll LAST week, LOL....in the Olympics episode, when Claudette was throwing Tonya under they bus, the editors dubbed in what Joe said to Adrienne (because he kind of whispered in her ear) "that's what she did to you with the fish".   IIRC, episode 2, where they had to combine fish & cheese, & Claudette didn't know how to smoke the fish, then blamed Adrienne for her mistakes.

     

    5a6d2934beffc_RestaurantWarsatJT-JoeFCarrie.thumb.jpg.ead000d8700d938dfaa3c99a0c614a77.jpg

     

    5a6d2a17d9bc1_OlympicGames-atJT-JoeFandAdrienne.thumb.jpg.5ab57a1fd80b6cd59757a64bf5f6c8c3.jpg

     

    ETA:

    And here's another screen grab from this clip: http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-15/episode-9/videos/is-claudette-only-out-for-herself

    5a6d351af28af_RestaurantWars-atJT-JoeFandCarrie2.thumb.jpg.ece1eb51df66515e69b01d3a2936b95f.jpg

    • Love 8
  12. 1 hour ago, Bastet said:

    Was having to do nine dishes as crazy as it sounds?  How many have they done in previous Restaurant Wars challenges -- I think they usually had two choices for each course, not three?  I wonder if they required more this year just for the the "bringing back an eliminated chef as a sous" element, which fits in with the twist of bringing back a LCK chef early this season.

    They have had 2-3 dishes for each course before, but not 3 for every course.

    A not-exactly-the-same comparison, but still semi-valid, I think, is RW in Season 13 when they had a two-part RW where the two teams had to serve lunch followed by dinner - so they had to prep, cook and serve lunch; then without pause immediately commence on prep, cooking and serving dinner. (It really showed when one of the teams could not finish off the lunch service - while the other team did so and had started already on prep for dinner - and that "late" team got squeezed badly in their ability to prep properly) Counting both lunch & dinner dishes, team "District LA" put out 12 dishes, plus a ridiculous apéritif; team "Palate" put out 11 dishes.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Chef_(season_13)#Episodes (episodes 9 & 10).

  13. 7 hours ago, Charlesman said:

     

    There have been a few rare times. Wasn't there even one season that both restaurants did so well that no one was eliminated? 

    I think the "Bodega" restaurant might have been the one that impressed the judges most. 

    The RW episode where nobody was eliminated was in Season 3, when both teams did badly enough (not "so well") that the judges decreed a do-over. Then in "RW the Repeat" - Tre was sent home, Sara M was the winner.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Chef_(season_3)#Episodes (episodes 10 & 11)

    "Bodega" (TC Season 8, All Stars) - the one with Fabio as FOH - was indeed uniformly loved by the judges, but other RWs have also garnered great praise albeit with a few flaws in some dishes. (Before "Bodega", in Season 6, "REvolt" (the Voltaggio brothers, Eli, Robin) was declared to be The Best RW Ever by Tom C; while RW in Seasons 11 and 12 also spring to mind)

    As for FOH performances, Adam (season 12) and Travis (Season 11) were very good and very well regarded by the judges.

    Nick Elmi gave possibly the best EC/expediting performance (also Season 11) I can recall – smooth, efficient, drama-free; while the opposing team (with Justin Devillier as EC) was a hot mess with utter breakdown in the ticketing system/expediting/EC-ing.

    • Love 6
  14. The editors a.k.a. Magic Elves certainly do their editing tricks --- but they CAN'T play editing games with what they DON'T have. This has been talked about regarding previous seasons both here and elsewhere. Meaning, if cheftestants didn't say the things they did or did not act the way they did the editors would not have the material to play with in the first place. Even in Talking Heads, even if the interviewer asked "leading questions" or pushed them to say something, if the cheftestant refused to take the bait or did not answer the Magical Elves would not have the material to manipulate. So – Brother Luck did say those things, and showed the body language and behavior he showed....  This is the 15th season - all these cheftestants must have seen at least some past seasons and known that they have to assume that anything they say or do whether in the "house" or in the kitchen WILL be recorded if any camera or mike is within a thousand miles of them.

    • Love 1
  15. 13 minutes ago, hkit said:

    I was very surprised at Joe's hidden charm. It was so nice to see him embrace the role and make the evening special for all the diners, not just the judges. And I know that this may be sacrilege, but I was never a Fabio fan. I found his FOH stint to be obnoxious and off putting. Joe seemed to know just the right level of interaction without making it all about him. 

    Joe Flamm was charming and executed FOH very well. Props to him.

     

    I thought Fabio was both smarmy and like a used car salesman. And you should have read his "recaps"/"commentaries" on his blog, at the time, on the episodes of his season, ESPECIALLY after he got kicked off for his "Booorrger". Those recaps were nasty and utterly cringe-inducing, and he took pleasure in attacking and sliming people left, right, and center; and especially Angelo Sosa, whom he mocked for all sorts of things, questioning Angelo's "masculinity" in the process, and dwelling on his "camel toes" (yes, he wrote that repeatedly) and his "tight pants".

    • Love 11
  16. Many comments have been made as to whether race is involved in the remarks made by Tanya insofar as Carrie and Da Bears and Claudette and so on and so forth are concerned. Commentary that includes her perspective on being a Minority Black Woman making her way in a White World.  Here's an Op-Ed from a person of color/colour, relating specifically to the situation in the UK, but which I imagine overlaps with the USA. There is no statement on my part of whether she is right or wrong, but this person's perspective bears thinking about.

    https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jan/24/white-people-tv-racism-afua-hirsch

  17. 8 hours ago, Blonde Gator said:

    Maybe at Chilis, where they won't serve you a medium rare burger.....but at upscale restaurants, the customer is the consumer and is always right.

     

    6 hours ago, Bastet said:

    Only if you didn't want anyone to eat there.  I'm being flippant, of course, but I've also never been served lamb cooked to anything near 145 degrees, because that's hideously over-cooked and chefs wouldn't do that unless the customer ordered it well done.  And, in fact, there are chefs who refuse to do that to a piece of meat, even when a customer asks.  I have a friend who inexplicably orders prime rib well done, and half the time she does so she has to end up ordering something else, because they simply won't serve it that way.  And I overheard a customer in a New Orleans restaurant being kindly but decisively informed that no, she could not have the "study of lamb" dish (lamb three ways, all of them delicious; it was what I ordered, which is why the conversation caught my ear) well done; the chef's name is on the restaurant, and he won't be serving food that he feels is improperly cooked.

    Yes.

    But the point remains - the official FDA standard is 145ºF for lamb. It's right there in their published ServeSafe specifications. So at the least one could acknowledge that all this lamb being served at 125ºF is technically in violation of the US Government's specifications and, theoretically, subjects a food establishment serving the public to fines or closure by the Health Department when lamb (and the other meats cited in the FDA publication) is served at a temperature less than 145ºF.  (What you do in the privacy of your own home is your business)

    :-) 

    If you and all the chefs out there have an issue with this y'all should be working to change that official definition of the minimum temperature for lamb and the various other meats.

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