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I would like to take a moment to remember the sacrifice of our heroes of the past, present, and those in the future. Your courage, dedication to your country, and your selflessness have paved the way for what I NEVER take for granted: the freedoms that we enjoy today. Perhaps the Well Done Chef! Blog would not have existed if not for those heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Gone, but NEVER forgotten.
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petit cochon asks:
I’ve just had an epiphany – it’s possible to make fresh chorizo?!?! In my kitchen?! I just stumbled across a recipe in my Sunset Mexican cookbook (browsing, thanks to various cookbook usage threads), which seems to indicate that it’s as simple as mixing ground pork with chiles, onion, vinegar, various spices…
Absolutely. If you have access to a grinder, sausage stuffing materials, anything is possible. I prefer to have the mixture loose, so I can use it in my soup.
I have used Michael Ruhlman’s recipe from Charcuterie. There is also another great reference site you might check out if you like:
Pacbell.net – Len Poli’s Sausage Making – Homemade Sausage Formulations and Recipes
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Swedzfish2 asks:
How do you keep orzo from sticking to bottom of pan?
Orzo is a small rice-shaped pasta, should be treated like any other pasta. You need to have 4 liters (quarts) boiling, salted water per pound of pasta. When you pour it into the water, you need to stir it vigourously for the first few minutes. The pasta water should return to a boil, and then you will see the pasta “grains” moving with the water.
I do not like to put oil into the pasta water, as it really does not help the pasta from sticking. Remember the procedure above, and you will be okay.
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CookinSoldier asks:
I am working on creating a twist on Thanksgiving. I am attempting to turn Green Bean casserole into a cold soup. From how I see it, it is rather difficult to leech the flavor of green beans into cream (I am wanting the soup to be smooth, no chunks)… So… I am thinking of making a simple cream of mushroom soup and puree’d green beans and serving it as you would see marble cake or such swirled together.
I am sorry to say that it would be a hard sell for cold green bean soup. The best that I can offer is to serve the soup hot, with a base of vegetable stock. (I would not want to drown out the flavor of the green beans with a meat stock.) I would also thicken the soup with potatoes. I would not blend the soup, rather I would have some Kelbesa rounds for garnish. How does that sound?
Jonliu asks:
What is a salamander usually used for, in a restaurant? What do you think it would realistically be used for, in a home kitchen?
A “salamander” is a broiler with the flame on top, giving the items below direct heat. Some chefs will comment that the salamander is good for “melting cheese” or “it will burn your food if you don’t watch it.”
The answer is right there. It is an overhead broiler, and should be treated as such. I am not sure that one needs it at home, as they could just use the one in the oven.
