Simple, creamy, delicious, satisfying, savory, spicy, vegetarian, meat, dairy, fish, main, side, lunch, dinner. Risotto can be anything you want it to be, because risotto is a method of preparation, not a recipe.

In the winter, it has the stick-to-your bones quality that wards off the chill in the air. In the summer, it pairs with a simply grilled chicken breast for a simple evening meal. With saffron, it is the upscale classic accompaniment to Osso Buco, risotto Milanese.

I have made risotto with Israeli couscous, barley, orzo, butternut squash, asparagus, mushrooms, and whatever else might have been on hand. I have made rice pudding, which, for all intents and purposes, is a sweet risotto. It is perfectly neutral, perfectly textured, perfectly unctuous.

The only ingredient you need is imagination, and the patience to stir.

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Remember our friend from before?

In my meat chart, I indicate that a #2 is meant for braising and other long, slow cooking methods. While this hunk of meat still walked the earth as part of a cow, this particular muscle group was responsible for the constant daily back and forth motion of one of the two front legs, as well as a weight support for the front half of the animal. These muscles only rested when the cow was laying down (Cows do no sleep standing up. Cow tipping, while funny, is a myth).

It is a fairly lean piece of meat with well-developed connective tissue, which means it’s going to be tough. This meat needs a relatively long exposure to heat in order for the muscles to be tender enough to chew. In other words, if you take a steak-sized slice of this meat and throw it on the grill or in a pan for eight minutes, you’ll wind up with a steak that’s about as easy to eat as a shoe.

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#2 chuck blade roast. No where near actual size.

This post contains an unsolicited plug. I just bought this piece of meat at my local makolet, Super Turgeman. It is a #2/Tzlaot, or Chuck Blade Roast. Actually, in this case, it’s pretty much an entire chuck top. They have a selection that was quite surprising, and the prices are suspiciously reasonable [jk - Ed.]. But more on the prices later.

There is a label wedged into the folds of meat on the bottom that says “without added chemicals or water.” See the photo inside the post. Who cares about the chemicals? No added water? Huzzah!

Some of the meat already say Kosher for Passover. What??! Already!!?! Cue the panic scene!

So we have a 3kg piece of meat currently thawing that my wife is eyeing with uncertainty, my cat with lust, my teenagers with impatience, and I with curiosity. Now what?

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I thought I would start off this new section of the site with a simple procedure.

Panko, which simply means ‘breadcrumbs’ in Japanese, are different than the breadcrumbs Western cuisines are familiar with in a few ways. When making panko, the crust is removed from the bread first, or it’s baked without a crust altogether. Panko starts out as much softer bread than Western breadcrumbs, which are typically completely stale before they’re ground up. As a result, the panko crumb is larger and more airy than its western counterpart.

There are two ways to make panko at home. The first is the more traditional method (a tradition that stretches back seventy years…), the second a more convenient method. Then there’s a third, but you’ll have to read on.

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Thomas Keller said that once you reach perfection, then it’s no longer perfect, because you can always improve on what you have. Chefs are always rethinking their dishes.  They draw inspiration from history, art, world cuisines, as well as science, and each day brings new discoveries that translate into fascinating and inventive gastronomic discoveries.

In the CK Labs section of my site, I am going to experiment with different ingredients, procedures and flavor combinations. I hope to be able to demonstrate things you can replicate in your own kitchens at all levels, beginner through expert. I’m not a molecular gastronomist, but I’m not saying we won’t dabble.

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