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Bunnyman's Profile

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Location: Denver, Colorado

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Favorite foods: Anything well prepared and seasoned with love.

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The Ten Most Recent Comments By Bunnyman

From Talk

what kind of knives do you have and how do you sharpen them ?

After using and being happy with my Cutco, stop giggling!, I went straight to the Shun. Oh my what I was missing. I only use two of them: a 10" Chef that we call "The Samurai" and my 3" paring "Son of Samurai". The buggers are so sharp my 5" serrated that I used on almost exclusively tomatoes no longer gets used. I still use my Cutco carving knife because it works rather well but besides that, it's all about the Shun.

I run them over a Shun steel before every use and they stay scary sharp.

From Talk

The verdict! Anne Burrell's new show - Did you watch?

For some reason it didn't air in my area and I was quite displeased. I was looking forward to a FN show with a real, as Bourdain would say, "Hardcore Grill Bitch" rather than some fluffed up barbie-doll housewife as so many new generation FN hosts seem to be. I wanted an advanced level show for people who can cook but want to cook better. No flippin "semi" anything.

FN has helped thousands of people get interested in cooking but after they get to the Rachel Ray level, I'll call that Cooking 102, they really don't get you any farther. Well Jamie Oliver's new show is pretty cool but it's still simple cooking though done very well.

I hope that they keep Anne and let her be herself. She really knows what she's doing and isn't going to go too far. Her show should focus on things that are advanced, call it Cooking 202. Beyond that you should be in school or an externship/job for the hands on stuff that you can't learn by simply watching.

Oh and if home cooks freak that Anne uses salt liberally, they might learn how to season their food on par with their favorite restaurant - something that has seemed to elude them all these years.

From Required Eating

Gordon Ramsay on 'Nightline': Fed Up with Critics; Weighs Staff

From what I understand, Gordon can cook a storm but because he doesn't try to get cute and cuddly, insert your Legasse reference here, for the media he is labeled a as a jerk. If there was a hidden camera in the kitchen of any known chef they'd all be labeled as jerks because they don't take any guff from their staff for numerous reasons. You only get to be the best by pushing yourself and all who are working for you to be the best possible with no excuses for second place. I appreciate that Gordon stands by his work, legacy and self. He isn't putting on any P.R. image. Gordon is Gordon whether you like it or not. Bravo!

From Required Eating

This Week in Recipes

I make a Gyros Burger that is half Lamb and half beef and Manalive! it's seriously good. Lamb is under appreciated and way underused in the country.

From Talk

Kitchen Appliances Improvements and Suggestions

I think that the biggest problem with kitchen appliances is that they aren't designed by people who use them but by engineers who are trying to produce a product at a certain price point that is determined by marketing idiots who honestly feel that the more the device claims to do the easier it is to sell. Thus we have products that are designed to be made cheaply and try to do too much.

For instance: I love and use all the time my Kitchenaid stand mixer but there is no reason why it should be so loud. Some quality bearings and close tolerance gears could turn it into a quiet machine that appeals to the home cook because when you have it on you don't have to yell to your spouse "Hand me the CREAM!" That would maybe add $20 to the price of the machine but they don't do it because the marketing dudes have said that if it retails for over a certain price, they will never sell them. Well if they did, I'd scrap my perfectly good one for the new whisper quiet model.

Pans should have the lids from the other pans in the series fit them. For instance the lid on my 5qt Calphalon saute pan works nicely on my 12" Calphalon omelet pan but no other lids will fit nicely on my 10", 8" or 6" pans. When hanging them they nest fine but they won't if put flat. Ugh!

Spice grinder cups should have a simple "O ring" seal on the blade shaft so that the whole cup and blade as a single assembly comes out for cleaning.

Blenders should have water resistant motor bases so that you can hose them off without damaging the circuits. Oh and they only need an On/Off switch with a Pulse button. That's it. Simple.

From Talk

New ideas for a whole chicken.

Go Mexican with it. Cut it into quarters and rub some achiote paste on it. Braise it with some chicken stock and lime juice all wrapped in banana leaves, if you have, until it falls off the bone. Chunk it and go taco crazy.

From Talk

What would your restaurant be?

It would have to be a brewpub that features a number of beers that I brew. Everything about it would be seasonal and I don't mean the produce I mean the menu items. Hearty items like cassoulet, lasagna, wellingtons in the winter. The fall would have things like spit roasted game, wild salmon, braised ribs. Summer would see enchiladas, curries, tagine. And always beers that reflected the menu. Stouts and porters in the cold months with barrel aged barlywines for after. Dunkelweiss and hoppy IPA's when it's hot.

Yeah that sounds nice. Now I just need a lot of money and some wise fool to run it for me.

From Required Eating

'Tis the Season of Braising

Well if you consider that you often braise in things like wine or stock that alone makes it more expensive than, say, roasting. Still it's totally worth it.

From Required Eating

'Tis the Season of Braising

Braising is probably my favorite cooking method. It is easy, turns cheap meat into something splendid and produces its own lovely sauce. What's not to like? I braise year round and change up my approach depending on the season. In the summer I'm as likely to braise chicken thighs in stock and herbs for chicken salad or tacos as much as I braise short ribs in red wine and prunes in the fall.

From Talk

Alton Brown's recipes: yay or nay?

Alton is amazing. He is an idol in my home. So much so that my wife has given me permission to have his children if that would be physically possible. I have his books and they are just as informative yet entertaining as his shows are. I've done many of his recipes and they all work. The deal is: his instructions are easily the best that I've ever read on how to cook something. He writes like an excellent technical writer and not a chef so he tells you exactly what you should do and how.

Responses to Comments by Bunnyman

From Talk

The verdict! Anne Burrell's new show - Did you watch?

If we were looking for entertainment, we wouldn't be watching the food network. Why don't they get it? They aren't actors....they are regular people who cook. Personally, I don't think any of them are star quality. Being on the food network is like being "a flash in the pan." None of them have lasting power. You're in....and then your're out. Not so on PBS

From Talk

what kind of knives do you have and how do you sharpen them ?

I have Cutco knives too, and I love them. I sharpen them periodically with the sharpener that came with the set, but I am taking them with me on a trip camping this summer because I plan on stopping at the Cutco factory during the trip & having them sharpen them for me. The best thing about Cutco...lifetime guarantee! I dropped a knife on the floor and the tip broke off....they replaced it for free.

From Talk

The verdict! Anne Burrell's new show - Did you watch?

Anyone who thinks that performing for a camera is easy has never tried to do it themselves. It takes time and practice to become comfortable. Cut her some slack.

Note to FN: You should immediately fire the stylist and the set decorator. Both looked cheap and cheesy. Put her in a proper kitchen with a chef's coat and watch her comfort level rise.

From Talk

The verdict! Anne Burrell's new show - Did you watch?

I enjoyed the show and put it on my DVR to record list. But I'd like to see a few things change, should she make it past the first few weeks.

What I liked: 1. She's a real chef! 2. Good recipe. 3. She actually made something that took more than 30 minutes (this is where the network has really upset me - with their 30 minutes or less outlook) 4. She actually taught me something (Food Network isn't too big on teaching us these days)

What I didn't like: 1. Too much arm movement 2. A little less "superstah" would be nice

I like to see a real chef doing something I admire and teaching me something about food. I wish the Food Network had more talented chefs and fewer personalities. I won't watch most of their shows anymore and I don't like their marketing perspective.

From Talk

what kind of knives do you have and how do you sharpen them ?

Joannabar - have used a Chef's Choice sharpener for years. Donated the old one (with the ceramic/diamond honing oscillating thingies) and got a new model 130 a couple of years ago. Three slots. Does a great job on the eclectic collection of knives that I have - a 40+ year old L. L. Bean carbon steel chef's knife, a couple of Sabatier's, Wustoff Trident, a loooong Dexter Russell slicer, a few Chicago Cutlery, etc.

The nice thing about the new sharpener is that it gets right to the heel of the blade - the old one didn't. Cooks Illustrated testing lab likes it, too.

As far as using a whet stone - I can, but it takes a LOT of practice and experience to get it right. The Chef's Choice does a great job, and does it quickly.

From Talk

what kind of knives do you have and how do you sharpen them ?

I just recently got married so we had the privaledge of wishlisting our perfect knife-collection -- which we got. GLOBAL KNIVES. It's the best japanese steel you can buy without taking out a loan. We got:

10" Chef's knife
9" boning knife
9" serrated bread knife
4 1/2" paring knife
A 1000/6000 grit water stone.
A cuisinart electric carving knife

We also have a 7" henkle santoku that serves as a secondary chef's knife.

From Talk

what kind of knives do you have and how do you sharpen them ?

I have Forschners in my knife kit and Henckels I received as a gift at home. I like my Forschners better. They're sturdy little beasts, crazy affordable, and hone really easily!

From Talk

The verdict! Anne Burrell's new show - Did you watch?

Y'know, there's a reason why I love watching Ming Tsai and Jacque Pepin on WLIW over the weekends:

THEY SHUT UP once in a while and let you focus on what they're doing.

Just sayin'.

And Food Network has gone downhill even faster than I suspected it would. I mean, I never thought I would MISS Jamie Oliver. The Rachel Ray Overkill is even making me miss EMERIL.

From Talk

The verdict! Anne Burrell's new show - Did you watch?

@Liz - what a great observation. It's like someone at TVFN woke up late because their alarm didn't go off and their first thought was, "OMG! I have to make a new show today!"

@guttergour - ITA - Burrell kicks the crap out of the non-chef, cooking-wannabes on TVFN.

Also - to her prepping many dishes at once - I do this all the time! Especially for a party - I can have four things going at once. Two of them might be hands off like something in the oven or something cooking a long time on the stove but it's unrealistic to think people cook one course at a time. Burrell prepared two courses and the most efficient way to do this is to consider the steps and amount of time required for all tasks in both recipes then figure out how each task can be accomplished in a timely manner to have everything ready when needed.

From Talk

The verdict! Anne Burrell's new show - Did you watch?

I'll take Annie over Rachel and Sandra any day of the week. A 4 hour bolognese beats 30 minute meals or semi-homemade. Instead of drooling over Giada's cleavage, i'd rather drool over poached eggs over grilled asparagus. Burrell kicks the "crap" out of the non-chef chefs on the FN.