Alex

Feed the fish... Get Fuzzy, part 1 Get Fuzzy, part 2 --------------------------- Calvin, on vegetables

Do you want the main focus to be on the pasta itself or on recipes using pasta (or maybe equal focus)? It sounds like the former, but I thought I'd ask. edited to add: Welcome to eGullet!

Good timing. Our Saeco Odea Giro and backup machine Odea Go both developed serious issues in the past several months, so instead of dealing with repairs I've been on the hunt for a new one that wouldn't cost us any body parts. As mentioned upthread, the Jura machines still have a decent reputation for reliability, but pretty much any superautomatic machine is a risk. The Jura's frothing system can be odd, too; some will do so only via a milk container and plastic tubing. I decided to get another Giro (the Plus model) because it was familiar and because I got a Seattle Coffee Gear refurb via eBay, with a two-year Square Trade warranty, for about US$360 including shipping. The Vienna is a good basic machine, too, and less expensive than the Odea. I even bought one a couple of years ago for our faculty lounge.

Interesting. This provoked a memory of a chili cook-off I entered about 30 years ago, in the Detroit area. The winning entry, like your pizza, had some chopped celery. Heresy, so it seemed, but the judges said they really liked the texture contrast.

Fish. Hooked.

I'm definitely a cocktail novice. I virtually never order one when dining out (although I'm permitted a few sips of Ms. Alex's) and have made exactly four varieties at home: gin & tonic (David Rosengarten's recipe); sidecar x 2 (cognac and bourbon versions); and margarita (non-frozen). I usually prefer my non-wine, non-beer consumption to be an occasional after-dinner good Cognac or single-barrel bourbon. However, the other day I was looking at our half-full bottle of BLiS Bourbon Barrel Maple Syrup and for some odd reason started wondering about using it in a cocktail. Of course, bourbon itself entered my mind as a possible top note (Is that the right term?), so I plugged the two into the search engine at The Internet Cocktail Database, et voila, the Maple Leaf. I wound up making it with slightly more than the 1.5 of bourbon (Maker's Mark) and slightly less than the 0.5 of maple syrup and lemon juice. I liked it a lot. It seemed to mellow after about 5 minutes in the glass. I also wondered how it would be if I made it with some muddled mint, but I haven't tried that yet. I also intend to see how it works when paired with a schmear of pb and bacon on a baguette slice. (I know; I'm weird.) Any thoughts about this cocktail? Have you made it with different proportions or additional ingredients?

Very true for a man. I learned to cook because I didn't have the money to buy a fancy Italian sports car, then I realized it is more effective to win a lady's heart to be able to dazzle her with a multi-course candle light dinner that you whipped up from your kitchen. It's all about sex, for a man. dcarch I probably would have followed the same cooking path no matter what, but it sure didn't hurt my dating life. Twenty-three years later, Ms. Alex still remembers the details of the first dinner I cooked for her (now there's a forum waiting to happen), not to mention what we ate on our first date, at a Chinese restaurant (and even what we wore and where we sat!). About the son, if he's reasonably healthy and happy eating the way he does, I'd leave him alone. I mean, sheesh, he's 58. And how much is he going to resent any pressure, even if well intended, to start eating differently? How about just enjoying his visit and eating some good food together without the pressure or advice? If you (or Toots) feel you must do something, talk with him about how he's doing with finding a significant other who likes to cook. But that, too, like Chris A wrote, "Horse, water."

See here. A lifelong friend lived in Harwich, right next to Chatham, from junior high through high school. His mom was a Nickerson, as mentioned in the article. When I visited, we always ate at his house, so I have absolutely no memories of eating out, except for ice cream.

Could I talk you into some caramelized onions? (Also a good sort-of staple, as you can make a large batch and store it in the fridge for a while.) I mentioned Jarlsberg because that's what we have around most of the time, living as we do just a few minutes from a Costco, but we often have other cheeses. Cave-aged Gruyère makes a killer, if expensive, sandwich. I usually don't eat pasta for lunch, so I probably wouldn't think of offering it, but it's a great pantry item; we usually have several varieties hanging around. A few ideas: 1) goat cheese (also from Costco), sun-dried tomatoes, and spinach or arugula; 2) heated olive oil, garlic, and anchovies, with parsley and black pepper (an augmented aglio e olio); 3) #2 with flaked canned tuna and lemon zest/juice; 4) Ruth Reich's spaghetti carbonara.

Like JAZ, expanding the definition of pantry to include long-lasting fridge items: Bread + butter + Maille Dijon mustard + Jarlsberg from Costco = grilled cheese sandwich Or bread + butter + Costco tuna + chopped shallots (+ celery, sometimes) + Hellman's mayo + Maille Dijon mustard + dried dill + Jarlsberg from Costco = tuna melt Or bagel + butter + farm eggs + Jarlsberg = cheese omelette (I buy a dozen bagels at a time, cut each in half, and freeze.)

What a great first post! Thank you, MrsB.

Looks great! It reminds me of my life-long favorite--cream cheese, bacon, and tomato. (As I progressed into middle adulthood, goat cheese occasionally took the place of cream cheese.) What kind of bread did you use this time? Looks like White put Brown at an early disadvantage (the backgammon game, not the bread).

Based on what I see on Amazon (US$98.91 today), this looks like an improved (?) version of a model that came out in 2007. Any thoughts on that? Dejah, are you using the optional accessories kit or just improvising from what you already own? BTW, you (well, the fryer) had me at "naan."

Fun article -- thanks. It could fit right in to a delightful book I've been reading: A History of Food in 100 Recipes, by William Sitwell. In fact, thinking about it, the book could use its own thread.

Alex, I was so focused on the stabilizers in the recipe, I completely overlooked the other ingredients. 1 cup lowfat milk to 1/2 cup cream is, imo, way too little milkfat for ice cream- hence the ice milk texture. That makes a lot of sense. The original recipe was for cow's milk blue cheese, which has a much higher percentage of fat than goat cheese. Next time I'll try reversing the amounts of milk and cream and see what happens.

Thanks in advance for some advice; this will be my first time using stabilizers in ice cream (or anything else). So, let's say a recipe for what looks like a little over a pint -- like this one -- calls for 1/2 teaspoon of guar. If I use xanthan + guar, how much xanthan should I use, and should I decrease the amount of guar? Also, what amounts should I use if I increase the recipe by 50% in order to make something closer to a quart? That's a tough question. I know there's a synergistic boost, but I haven't spent much time tracking it. I would definitely say that 1/4 teaspoon of each is too much, but I think 1/8 might be a little too ambitious. If it were me, I'd probably split the difference and go with 3/16 which is probably in the realm of a round 1/8th t. Btw, are you 100% cetain that the recipe you linked to actually works? When you get into savory ice cream, you lose the freezing point suppression effects of the sugar which introduces greater textural concerns. The expensive ice cream makers that have a built in compressor freeze the ice cream faster and create smaller ice crystals/a superior texture with less stabilizers. I can't help thinking, based on the wealth/professional affiliation of the people involved, that equipment plays a part in this recipe and that your typical sub $100 ice cream maker may not give you the right texture, even with two gums. Thanks for the suggestions. I have no idea yet if the recipe works. I was planning to do a test run before Sunday's dinner. I'll post my results. I'm going to substitute goat's cheese for the blue cheese and leave out the hot sauce. If it doesn't work in my non-compressor Cuisinart, I guess it's back to the custard base method. Or maybe it'll be a good excuse (well, an excuse, anyway) to go out and buy a compressor unit. For the goat cheese variation, just under 1/4 teaspoon of each stabilizer worked well in my Cuisinart bowl, frozen to -5F, then ripened for 15-20 minutes after freezing. However, after sitting overnight, the texture was more like ice milk than ice cream. Taste-wise, I preferred it w/o the salt and with 3-4 Tablespoons of honey instead of the recipe's 2 (and with no hot sauce). I served it with peaches macerated in cognac and vanilla, and garnished with raspberries and blueberries.

I'd also probably opt to not broil them but, as rotus said, maybe you can try one that way and see how it turns out. I'd be more likely to bring the steaks to room temp, preheat my B to the desired internal temperature (or just below), then cook the steaks until done, followed by a very quick sear on each side in a very hot pan. (I have a rectangular cooling rack that, serendipitously, fit perfectly above the B's roasting tray. Just for the heck of it, I did a Google search for "Costco strip loin" (w/o the quotation marks), and found this pleasant and helpful video:

Thanks in advance for some advice; this will be my first time using stabilizers in ice cream (or anything else). So, let's say a recipe for what looks like a little over a pint -- like this one -- calls for 1/2 teaspoon of guar. If I use xanthan + guar, how much xanthan should I use, and should I decrease the amount of guar? Also, what amounts should I use if I increase the recipe by 50% in order to make something closer to a quart? That's a tough question. I know there's a synergistic boost, but I haven't spent much time tracking it. I would definitely say that 1/4 teaspoon of each is too much, but I think 1/8 might be a little too ambitious. If it were me, I'd probably split the difference and go with 3/16 which is probably in the realm of a round 1/8th t. Btw, are you 100% cetain that the recipe you linked to actually works? When you get into savory ice cream, you lose the freezing point suppression effects of the sugar which introduces greater textural concerns. The expensive ice cream makers that have a built in compressor freeze the ice cream faster and create smaller ice crystals/a superior texture with less stabilizers. I can't help thinking, based on the wealth/professional affiliation of the people involved, that equipment plays a part in this recipe and that your typical sub $100 ice cream maker may not give you the right texture, even with two gums. Thanks for the suggestions. I have no idea yet if the recipe works. I was planning to do a test run before Sunday's dinner. I'll post my results. I'm going to substitute goat's cheese for the blue cheese and leave out the hot sauce. If it doesn't work in my non-compressor Cuisinart, I guess it's back to the custard base method. Or maybe it'll be a good excuse (well, an excuse, anyway) to go out and buy a compressor unit.

Thanks in advance for some advice; this will be my first time using stabilizers in ice cream (or anything else). So, let's say a recipe for what looks like a little over a pint -- like this one -- calls for 1/2 teaspoon of guar. If I use xanthan + guar, how much xanthan should I use, and should I decrease the amount of guar? Also, what amounts should I use if I increase the recipe by 50% in order to make something closer to a quart?

Ick is right. As much as I like Groupons, I figured that that was their kiss of death.

I've used Broil only for melting cheese or top browing, which it does just fine.

I just re-read this thread. I have a Krups that while adequate, I am not entirely happy with. Can you tell me in what ways the Breville beats out the Krups? I am already sold on the idea that a quarter sheet pan will fit into it as I use those a lot, and also that it will fit a pizza. My problem is the Krups is not all that old so I am having trouble justifying the purchase of a Breville. I ran into the same dilemma. I eventually decided to take the plunge based on the reviews (and floor model pricing from Williams-Sonoma), and figuring that because the Krups was still relatively new, I could recoup some of the purchase price by selling it on Craigslist. Also, I mentally amortized the cost over its expected 15-year (I hoped) life span; after deducting the expected selling price of the Krups, about four cents a day seemed like a good investment. The Breville's capacity is a huge advantage for me, too. That, in and of itself, would have been sufficient. (Just the other day I baked banana bread in two 9" x 5" loaf pans at the same time.) It also does a better job of toasting frozen bagels (the ones we cut in half and freeze, not the frozen ones from the store); baking more evenly; and, for Ms. Alex, toasting Pop-Tarts to the proper degree. I hope this helps.

I've never eaten in New Buffalo, but the best place there is supposed to be Bentwood Tavern, in the Marina Grand Resort. If you're willing to drive 20-30 miles, there are other choices. Boulevard Inn & Bistro, in St. Joseph the restaurant at Tabor Hill Winery, in Buchanan Tosi's, in Stevensville

Bojana, where are you located? If you have access to good tomatoes, gazpacho is easily made ahead of time and can be served, for lack of a better term, in little disposable cups.

I imagine that certain fresh ingredients might be difficult to procure via the 'net, but that certainly shouldn't stop you. (I assume there are no East Asian-type food stores within reasonable driving distance.) I'm sure that other eG'ers can recommend other books, but for Japanese cooking, I recommend "Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art," by Shizuo Tsuji (or, being linguistically correct, Tsuji Shizuo). Apropos your post, the newest edition is US$27+; there are used copies of the 1997 printing on Amazon for less than half of that. I haven't seen the new edition, so I don't know if the additional material is valuable enough to recommend it over the previous one. Here's a good thread about Chinese cookbooks.