moreace01

I was also going to add info about the protein powders. I used to make a shake in the morning in the blender (I bought a blender that had a drink cup attachment so I could just blend and go). Many brands have drinks/bars to go. I know my brother used to use something called weight gainer - also a protein powder. Not sure how nutritious it is.

Having never been pregnant, I don't really know a whole lot. But I do know this - my officemate and I have a daily Vosges Chocolate Break (approx 2pm). We did this most of the way through her pregnancy until we figured out that the chocolate was waking the baby up and making him rather active (kicking her like crazy). It was especially bad after we broke into the Creole bar with the espresso beans (imagine that!). So might want to watch the caffeine. Anyway, congratulations!

I saw SEI water in my local (Jewel) grocery today - they say the packaging was inspired by a military canteen. Funny, I thought it looked like a bottle of gin. Anyway, it sure was pretty. Wish I could find some better pix - this is probably the best I can do: http://www.thenibble.com/reviews/main/beve...i-water-188.jpg . Apparently I must live under a rock cause this was "news" about a year ago. Also love the Metromint packaging. And love the fact that companies are finally making flavored water without sweeteners (natural or artificial - I don't want sweet water).

Thanks for your suggestions everyone! I found the Roaring 40's (I live in Chicago, so it's pretty easy to find cheese - local whole foods had it), but chickened out and grabbed the Maytag instead. We'll see how it goes! [Moderator note: This topic continues in Cheese (2008– )]

I'm wondering if you guys could help me out - I need help selecting a blue cheese. I cannot stand blues, but spouse loves them. I'm hoping to serve with a steak (either blue cheese butter on top or in mashed potatoes on the side - something along those lines). So I guess I am looking for the mildest blue out there (for my sake) or perhaps a good substitution. For what its worth, I love strong cheeses - like aged goudas and sharp cheddars. There is just something about blues that I dislike. I will keep trying though...

- I also got a new Kitchen Aid Professional 600 - to replace my sunbeam purchased at the thrift store (don't knock it - it was a good little stand mixer till it started cycling on and off a few months ago). - big ramekins (hubby doesn't know about those - he gets so angry when we bring new kitchen stuff in to our closet sized condo - he already wants to take the KA 600 back to get a smaller model - I better use it quick so we can't take it back!) - TRU cookbook

This goes back to the "shiny pots and pans" comments upthread - but it drives me up the wall when I see TV cooks using metal utensils on their le creuset. In a momentary lapse of judgement, I used a metal whisk on mine thinking - hey, they do it on TV (forgetting that they get theirs replaced at the end of the show). AGH! Why, why did I do that?

I just got a video mp3 player for Christmas. I am kind of a "slow adopter" when it comes to technology, so all of this is kind of new to me. Are there any videopodcasts anyone knows of? Or any shows that are downloadable? I think my new gadget is cool, but I'm not so sure.

I will eat less meat, but better quality I will make my husband go to that wonderful middle eastern restaurant up the street no matter how much he kicks and screams I will find a good supplier of free-range chicken and grass-fed beef in my area without resorting to Whole Foods. I will learn to use up what I have in my pantry instead of constantly buying new stuff. I will read MFK Fisher, the omnivores dilemma (yes, i have issues - I'm currently blaming it on Bourdain's Holiday Show), and that book by the woman who left microsoft to learn to cook (can't remember the name right now - something about a knife being sharp)

Agreed - I once was charged for gourmet coffee instead of potatoes (ahem, $14/lb)! Granted, it was very obvious there was a mistake when I heard the bill total, but still. I look more closely at receipts now.

I gotta say, do you have any idea how weird it is to be standing on the El platform, waiting for your train, listening to a rooster crow? (yes, i know it isn't a chicken - perhaps rooster banning will be next) I had no idea this was such a problem in the city, but then, there are probably lots of things that go on that I don't know a thing about (and really don't want to).

Our cat Sherman... - somehow got the clamshell packaging on a box of glazed donuts open. We came home to find him covered in sticky, crusty donut glaze. Took days to get him clean. - has run off with the cheese packet (the non-powdered kind) from the package of macaroni and cheese too many times to count - and thoroughly ventilates said packet with hundreds of little bite marks. Yes, after scrubbing cheese off his head, I have finally learned my lesson and hide the packet. - ran across my just frosted Christmas cookies - tracking red frosting throughout the house - this was embarassing for me - I made cupcakes for a (non-pet owning) friend's birthday. Of course she had to get the one with a Sherman hair on top. So embarassing. i try to keep him off the counter. really i do.

I can totally understand that - it's really more of an ordinary, weeknight book for me as most of the recipes contain ingrediants I readily have on-hand. Not a book I would pull out when I want to impress someone. I think my goal in going through this book is to learn some new techniques to keep calorie levels down without resorting to fat-free ingrediants. In addition, this book is helping me come up with creative ways to use leftovers. I usually don't have leftovers and coming up with new, elaborate meals every night is exhausting me.

Right - I think it's often used in royal icings - sounds like the woman at the store was starting her holiday baking.

Other than the usual contenders: truffles (once had a bottle of expensive truffle oil that i tried to pawn off on a friend - she asked what it tasted like i said "funk" - needless to say, she passed on the offer. A salesperson i am not) and blue cheese (i try...so hard)... I cannot stand beets. Wish I liked them. Their color is so beautiful and can make an ordinary dish look so spectacular. But ugh. To me, they taste like metallic dirt.

Harold's is still here, isn't it? I swear I just ate there sometime last year. Can't imagine they are all closed.

love em roasted as others have mentioned above. also recently tried the Julia Child method of blanching and boiling in cream. I think the trick to avoiding the sprouts of your youth is not to over cook them no matter what method you choose.

Tepee – thanks for the link to the photo thread! I knew it was lurking around here somewhere… I think I need to read my camera's manual first. Based on the recommendations from all of you – I can’t wait to try the Chicken with Sherry Vinegar Sauce. I read through the other threads on this book when the “healthy cooking” thread started up – thanks everyone above for adding the links! I will try not to duplicate those entries – but had a few things already lined up. Foolproof Roast Chicken One question (ok, two) 1. Schneider recommends rubbing the chicken with a little Grappa which she says will intensify the chicken’s natural flavor (she also recommends doing this with mushrooms). Has anyone ever done this? I meant to try it, but my shopping trip was in the middle of a snowstorm and getting home was more important than stopping at a liquor store. 2. How do you get crispy skin in a gas oven? Should I just give up? I have a heck of a time with roast chicken. I think the best I can do is if I let it airdry in the fridge overnight. I can’t do high heat roasting in my poorly ventilated condo (with the stupid hard-wired smoke/carbon monoxide alarm). Verdict? Again, it was good. What I do like about her sauces is that no ingredient overpowers another – everything melds together well. I fought myself trying to thicken it at the end. Roasted Veggies – I used 3lb carrots and parsnips in a tablespoon of brown butter (well, it was more like black) with handfuls of thyme tossed on top. Nothing to report – roasted veggies always rule. But I like her suggestions of varying up the fats – I always use olive oil. I’m so boring. Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes – I used Yukon Golds. Problems? Again I noticed her potato boiling times are way off. Verdict? Yeah, ok, it’s a basic but I’ve never made Buttermilk Mashed potatoes with Yukon Golds before. For the amount of fat in these – I’d definitely do again.

Recipe 2 (what can I say - it was snowing and brutally cold today) - Warm Potato Salad with Olives, Lemon Zest and Thyme Point of this recipe – dress potatoes with wine and other flavorings instead of mayo - calories 217 Important info/notes – - I used Yukon Gold potatoes and Vermouth instead of wine Any problems/substitutions? - Um, I overcooked the potatoes. A lot. Lessons Learned/what worked - Don’t over cook your potatoes! - I love what happened to the olives when boiled with the wine/olive oil mixture. They were so good! I think it would convert anyone to being an olive lover (even my husband, but I didn’t push my luck this evening). Verdict? It was really just ok. I think that I have had similar recipes that had a bit more flavor (I think Cook's Illustrated has something similar). But on the other side, there was nothing bad about it. I think I would try it again with a few tweaks - substitute other herbs for the thyme, maybe a bit more vinegar. This shot could qualify for the Gallery of Regrettable Foods: Recipe index: Salads Warm Potato Salad with Olives, Lemon Zest and Thyme p3 Pasta Macaroni and Cheese p2

Alright, first recipe: Macaroni and Cheese Point of this recipe - replace high fat ingredients with 2 flavorful cheeses and a “rice cream” sauce consisting of rice flour and whole milk (calories are still about 483 however...) Important info/notes – - For cheeses, I used Cabot’s Aged White Cheddar, an Aged Gouda (Uniekaas Reserve) and a Parmesan (Antigo Stravecchio) - yes, i cheated by using three cheeses instead of 2, but the amounts still added up to 6 oz of cheese. Any problems/substitutions? - I somehow lost my Hungarian Sweet Paprika (I’m sure it’s hiding here somewhere) so ended up using Smoked Paprika instead - When combining the rice flour and milk, it didn’t say to do this over heat (I did)…still not too sure if it made a difference. - It also said to bring to a boil over very low heat. I got tired of waiting and cranked up the heat to medium. Lessons Learned/what worked - I liked adding the cheese, rice cream and pasta at the same time. The cheese didn’t totally get combined with the rice cream which made for spots of cheese after baking. The macaroni looked like it separated after baking. I was sure it was going to be grainy, but it wasn’t. Verdict? Pretty dang good. Very flavorful. I’d definitely make it again. I know it saves some calories by using the rice cream sauce in place of a standard béchamel. But it did use whole milk… Makes me wonder how it would taste using skim milk. Recipe index (I’ll post this somewhere else shortly): Pasta Macaroni and Cheese post 2

Inspired by the Quest to make things healthier thread, a few of us (well, maybe it's just dockhl and myself) thought it would be great to start a thread dedicated to working through Sally Schneider's A New Way To Cook (similar to the Cradle of Flavor thread). The book has been out for a few years, but has some great ideas to cook a little healthier (perhaps the Holiday Season is not the best time to start this project...). For whatever reason, I always seem to overlook this book. Maybe because there is a ton of information in each recipe (notes galore) and I find it kind of overwhelming - or more of a go-to book (like Joy of Cooking). Anyway, I think it will be a great learning experience - new techniques and ways to add flavor. Please feel free to play along! On a side note - my photog skills are SORELY lacking. I recently bought a new digital camera and don't really know how to work it yet (don't really know how to work the old one either). So bear with me while I learn (btw - if anyone can point me to the thread which talks about how to take good food pix, I would appreciate it. I swear I saw one once but can't find it now). Game on Dockhl! Hope you are settling into the new place.

fondue! swedish meatballs and other things in crockpots! (cocktail weenies or something) guacamole and other assorted dips were huge - anything that involved a flavor packet (ranch dressing, onion soup mix) my mom used to make some sort of veggie pizza that involved something like pillsbury crescent dough spread with cream chese and herbs topped with raw veggies (don't ask - it was the 70's, right?) and if you are feeling super ambitious (and maybe want to frighten guests), check out some of the "recipes" from weight watchers (sorry, this site puts me in tears every time): http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards.html alright, so maybe these suggestions won't help much. but it amused me! have fun!

wait, what's wrong with Pringles? freaking love them. could eat the whole can in one sitting. not sure why. I think it's the salt. Like it's only just enough salt to make you crave another chip, and then another and another looking for the salt. Aren't they fried? I had no idea they weren't. Alright alright on the salsa (since I'm the one who originally posted it). I was recently on vacation and torn with the decision of purchasing all the ingrediants and making my own or just saying forget it and get the jarred stuff. So I bought the jarred stuff. Ok, I admit it was the stuff in the refrigerator section cause I couldn't bring myself to actually getting the jarred kind. It was, well, just ok. I wasn't happy about it at all. But for the sake of time (need to get to beach asap) and cause I had no knife, I did it. So for the record - I did it and MAYBE under similar circumstances I'd do it again (actually hubby said maybe we should have just bought chips and dip instead). We all have something we just won't do, no matter how ridiculous other people find it. Buying pre-made salsa (from anywhere except a few choice restaurants) is mine. Won't do it.

Shoot, I was looking forward to the New Way To Cook thread. Some great stuff in there and for whatever reason, I often overlook that book. At this time of year, I'm going to be on a quest to make things healthier for sure (you know, after a bake all the requisite cookies and cakes)!

I second (third? fourth?) the aggressive saute technique. To be honest, I'm a better cook than my mom, but her mushrooms are ALWAYS better than mine. I finally (this summer) figured out why - because she has a tendency to cook things on high and then forget about them. She lets the pan get good and hot, pops them in with a little oil to saute in and then lets them go (um, sometimes a little too long). Tosses them in the pan a few times and that is about it. I think the trick is to get the pan really hot and then leave them the heck alone! Don't crowd them in the pan or they will sweat (and turn rubbery) and don't stir them around very much so they get good and brown. Add a little salt and there you go! Sure, adding wine or herbs will help enhance the flavor. But the basic technique is key. It took me a decade to finally figure this out.