Rouxbe

No problem, Vanessa. All purpose flour works just fine...the crust won't be as crispy, but as long as its thin, will work well. You can add a bit of whole wheat flour, or even cornmeal for that crispy texture...or simply bake a little longer.

You can make breadcrumbs with any bread. Simply break it up and pulse it in the food processor, fresh, until semi-coarse. Let them dry a bit before using, or dry completely and store. Sprouted wheat breadcrumbs actually sound quite nice.

The feel method already takes into consideration the carry-over cooking. But remember, this only works for steaks, not roasts. Also, much depends how the carry-over cooking is done. If tented and turned occasionally on a rack (as opposed to no turning and on a plate), the doneness will be more even throughout. This means that the blood, heat, and continued coagulation has spread throughout the steak perfectly.

The beauty of this dish is it's so versatile. Once you know how to combine the cooked pasta to the olive oil in a pan with enough pasta water to create that wonderful emulsion, what goes with it is really up to you. More often than not, it depends on what is in my fridge or pantry, and sometimes on what I crave. When I crave anchovies or fresh basil, well guess what, it's going in.

If you're going to cook frozen gnochhi, make sure they go in plenty of boiling, salted water ONE AT THE TIME. If they are thrown in, they will quickly cool the water and sit at the bottom as a lump. Make sure they float, take one out and taste to make sure they are cooked through. Also, frozen gnocchi will cook a bit more starchy than fresh ones, so may require being re-freshed in cold ice bath to remove the starches, set in the fridge AND THEN pan fried in the butter.

These, in general, give you a very rough edge, though sharp for the first few cuts. They also tend to rip away at your knife much faster. Let's put it this way, I wouldn't put my best knives through them, but perhaps would my $5 a shot paring knife. Renata makes the key point in all this: cutting will be a joy with the best edge you can produce. Look for a future lesson on how to do this with a stone.

One key to aglio e olio is to end up with a pasta that is not too oily. Adding some pasta water to the pan, about 2 T or more per serving, creates an emulsion with the olive oil. This emulsion carries the oil better, so you don't end up with an oily plate when finished eating. You can achieve this when straining the pasta and leaving some of the cooking water on the pasta before adding to the pan - so straining lightly, not diligently; but it is best controlled by straining well and adding reserved starchy water later. The starch and seasonig of the pasta water is quite tasty, so it serves two purposes. Most moms don't do this technique, mine doesn't, but my dad likes my aglio e olio better than her's - though he'll never tell her. Ma, if you're reading this, please forgive me!

An oversight. It's with two WHOLE eggs. Written recipe already fixed. Some recipes call for only egg yolks, which results in a very rich dough. This is a matter of taste.

A 16-ounce can of tomatoes is equivalent to 1/2 kilogram or just over a pound of fresh tomatoes. Make sure they are very ripe. You can ripen them at room temperature on a counter covered with a towel for a day or two (NOT in the sun).

Titanium pans have non-stick properties, some feel superior to teflon. But they don't like to be heated too high and have similar limitations.

Renata, I use a good grape seed oil to cook with. I used to use sunflower oil, but converted to the health benefits of grape seed. Remember that all unrefined oils have very low smoking points, so once heated in a pan they denature and lose their flavour and health benefits. Some olive oils are refined, so more ideal for sauteeing. Keep the real good stuff for seasoning salads and other dishes, or simply add a bit AT THE END of cooking for its flavour. Grape seed oil is semi-refined, so with high smoking points but still excellent health benefits. Hope this helps.

Hi Linda. Once and for all, let's get this one right. First of all, both words are French. Fonds literally means base or foundation, and the French chefs way back intended this term to refer to any fundamental preparation, particularly stocks. The word sucs, which derives from "sucre" (sugar) was invented specifically to describe those caramelized bits that stick to the pan. In my French culinary training - in French and by French instructors, and with French textbooks, by the way - I never came across the word fonds to describe sucs. Somehow, in the North American lexicon, fonds replaced sucs, even though to a French chef fonds means stock. Let's get back on track. Hope this helps.

Sorry Renata, but I didn't answer the second part of your question. It's alright to add oil to your meat or fish before pan frying, in fact it does help to create a protective barrier before it hits the pan. However, it's more beneficial to season BEFORE rubbing with oil so the salt and pepper can penetrate and flavor the food. Also, use a refined olive oil or any oil with a high smoking point to avoid denaturing. Again, I'm a big advocate of grape seed oil for these purposes. Hope this helps.

Hi David. Firstly, as a teacher I absolutely love the fact that your experimenting and taking things into your own hands. For some reason people opt out when it comes to using their instincts and senses to arrive at their own conclusions.

The issue with thick steaks is that they may reach a point where they are basically a mini-roast, in which case there is no way to "feel" what activity of coagulation has occured in the middle. In these cases, and especailly becasue some steak connaiseurs love their steaks quite thick, you'll need a thermometer to test the doneness. The flipping methods still has its advantages, it's just a matter of a few more flips and longer resting period. Also, make sure to check by inserting from the side of the thickest part of the steak towards its center.

No problem, it does freeze well. When thawed and cooked, however, you'll notice it will be a bit more watery. Simply cook it down a bit.

Hi Jim. Definitely no time to flip at a constant rate, but at least one or two wouldn't hurt. Don't forget, to get those perfect grill marks requires similar attention. I worked the grill station at a high volume restaurant once and wish they had encouraged the flip-at-least-often-when-possible method. The steaks would have been juicier, though not prettier. When time is an issue, it's always a compromise.

Keep in mind this is not a stable butter sauce, so the butter will separate from any other liquids. For a clean look, clarified butter works best. But for flavor from the milk solids and whey in the butter, you'll have to deal with those specks. Toasting the butter actually lightly caramelizes those milk solids to produce an even tastier butter sauce (with brown speck though) called beurre noisette...which means hazelnut butter. So, both ways are correct, one with visual and the other with flavor advantages. Hope this helps.

Good call Carol. Browning the meats, such as beef shanks, along with the mirepoix, especially the onions, will lend great colour and full flavour. That's how a beef BRODO is made. Don't worry about over-simmering the meat, but make sure you add only enough liquid to top the meats...any more will dilute both the broth and final flavour of the meat itself. Hope this helps.

Love the beer batter topping for your pot pie, by the way.

Between 125-130 F...on the lower end if the steaks were tempered. And tempering the steak will produce much better results than starting with cold steaks! Hope this helps.

I agree with Stefania's comments about the origins of this dish, and from a purist approach it is often appreciated without cheese and the simplest herb...parsley. And simplicity, meaning making a dish taste great with the most minimal but quality ingredients is what truly defines Italian cooking. However, this simplicity is difficult to execute, and it would take at few dozen cracks at it to achieve success with just oil and parsley. The fact that this simple dish can elicit as many opinions as let's say a bouillabaisse says a lot about how important technique and ingredient knowledge are to the cook, let alone an Italian cook. I'm so glad Stefania that you mention the salt issue. Getting people to put ANY salt in their pasta water, from my experience, is at least a victory in the right direction. It's small steps for now. I encourage the home cook to personalize even the classics with whatever yum you want...but the focus should always be accurate technique.

By the way, the best version of this dish I've ever had actually cooks the garlic in the pasta water, not in the oil. The pasta is cooked in the salted garlic water, drained with the garlic slices. The oil is simply heated on the side with chili flakes and poured on top....grated cheese optional. A Sicilian taught me that one. I can't resist the cheese...and fresh basil.

Too much whipped whites will result in a very puffy souffle with little body in the middle. If your cheese souffle had some moist substance other than the cheese, such as grated zucchini. I've worked with recipes that actually call for more yolks than whites, and they produce a souffle with much more body than air.

By the way, Khaled, frustration is normal, especially with souffles. Persistence, however, produces that very sweet victory.

Hope this helps.

Goose is a very lean meat under a ton of fatty skin. It needs some moisture while roasting to keep the meat from going dry. Adding a cup of stock, water, or wine to the roasting pan helps create steam. Start the goose on high heat, about 400 F until skin is starting to crisp, then add liquid and turn down heat to 325-350 F until thighs are cooked through. You may have to remove some of the melted fat before adding liquid to the pan underneath. Also, make sure your goose has been properly defrosted in the fridge and then tempered at room temperature for at least 1-2 hours before roasting. Also, make sure it's cavity is not stuffed and well seasoned.

Hope this helps.

Good idea, specailly a brine with some wine and herbs in it.

No problem, flour works like most starches. In fact, it is used in a roux, and it's the flour in the roux that thickens liquid. But keep in mind that flour has less thickening power than cornstarch, so you'll need more. And it probably needs to be cooked out longer than cornstarch, about 3-5 minutes of simmering. But use it just like cornstarch.

I have to admit, I have used crushed tomatoes before. They work well, but keep in mind that crushed tomatoes usually do not come from the best harvested tomatoes. Also, they do tend to be a bit concentrated, producing a heavier sauce. However, you make a good point, Carol. They can easily substitute whole tomatoes and can be lightened with a bit of stock and lightly - lightly - processed for a smoother consistency. And if you like it thick and chunky, well the crushed is a good bet. Hope this helps.