The Dave's Profile

Grussels sprouts are one of my favorite ingredients.

Required Veggies:
Cabbage
Onion
Pimento Stuffed Olives (thin-sliced or diced)
Celery

Simple vinaigrette:
Canola Oil
Apple Cider Vinegar
Olive brine
Salt
Black Pepper
Garlic Powder (or Garlic Salt, with less salt)

Optional Veggies:
Carrot
Radish
Turnip
Jalapeño

That's interesting, because in the beer industry drinkability has an almost completely different meaning (and I'd be surprised if it were really that different).

When you conduct a drinkability panel, you will have six beers (or six glasses of wine) of a period of time, and you will rate each one based on subjective metrics.

Beverages receive a low drinkability score when they find that the subjective score drops with repetition.

It's the old, I don't mind drinking it once, but I wouldn't do it everyday thing. Beverages with high drinkability could be consumed every day.

Most mass-market beer is considered very drinkable, and a good table wine would be considered very drinkable.

I would add, prep the coffee maker for the morning.

A pile of dishes seems so much more approachable with coffee in-hand.

Accusharp!
http://www.amazon.com/AccuSharp-1-001-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B00004VWKQ/ref=sr_1_1

Less than $10. So easy and safe to use, even your parents can do it.

I'm to the point now, where I carry a spare or two, because inevitably when I use it, somebody will just beg me for one.

According to an old Julia Childs (and later quoted by some recent TV chef, Ramsay perhaps), the water should be salted to about the same strength as sea water.

It changes the flavor of the pasta, and the way it takes on water. So, when reproducing a recipe, certain assumptions are made about the preexisting saltiness of the pasta.

Adding an oil float to the pasta boil does two things:
1. It reduces foaming
2. It helps keep the noodles separated after straining
(3. And if you use olive oil, it reinforces that flavor).

Many have said that they have tried it both ways, and either cannot tell the difference, or prefer it unsalted.

In all things food and drink, it's a matter of taste, if you have tried the recommended way, and modify it to suit your preference, that's cooking!

I second the advice about the Accusharp 001.

I am very good at hand sharpening knives with a diamond file (I keep two around 1 new one for coarse work, and an old one that's full of old steel for fine work).

But, I have to say that the Accusharp 001 does 95% as good a job in 1 minute, as I can do in 5-10 minutes by hand.

Also, Cooks Illustrated did a review of knife sharpeners and knife sharpening techniques, using experienced chef's, and their conclusion was the AccuSharp as well. And, it gets high marks for being safe to use for both the knife and the person sharpening.

Now, about once every 3-4 months or so, I'll sit down to watch TV with my kitchen, hunting and fishing knives, and give them a thorough sharpening and polishing. But, for day to day use, I only use the AccuSharp.

One of the keys for high-heat cooking (and wokking) is creating the fond on the meat. Nonstick surfaces are notoriously bad for this.

Also, many wok recipes will ask that you 'park' food on the higher edges of the wok, while you finish things in the middle (where the heat is).

The key to being able to park the food are the ridges created by a hammered steel wok.

So, my recommendation is to go to your asian market and buy a mid-range wok ($20-$50), that has the ridges on the outside, barely has a texture to the touch on the inside, and has a mottled coloration.

Then take it home hand scrub it hard with steel wool to take off the shipping grease.

Use the wok seasoning advice here:

Fill half way with oil, and heat until the oil begins to smoke.
Carefully, transfer the oil to another pot.
Carefully, fill the wok with water and bring to a boil for 5-10 minutes.
Drain and dry the wok.
Then carefully, refill with oil and repeat the process 3-4 times.

For storage, wipe entire wok with peanut or canola oil, and wipe off excess with dry (paper) towel.

I followed this advice from the mother of a girl I went to high school with and have had my flat bottom and round bottom woks for over 20 years, and now they gleam with an intense well cooked on brow glowing sheen!

I have also taken classes in various asian cooking styles, and have reconfirmed this advice about 2/3 of the time (by far the majority).

caedstrom, nithya at hungrydesi, tamalinn, rosebud-

And thank you pomme for pointing this out that sushi can be eaten by hand.

But, to clarify, most sushi is properly eaten with your hands. Both nigiri (fish on rice) and maki (rolls) can be eaten with your hands, even in fairly formal settings.

If the sushi, has a sauce or toppings that would stick to your fingers, you're supposed to use chopsticks.

And, anything else on the plate or table should be eaten with chopsticks.

As a further note, it is considered gauche to mix the wasabi in the soy sauce, and to dip the rice in the sauce.

Wasabi should be applied directly to the fish (or you can request that the chef use more), and the roll should be dipped fish-side-down into the soy sauce.