gperls

Is there any difference between gravlax and lox?

I've never tried this with a BBQ mop, but this method might work. Put the mop in a long sock or pillow case, tie up the end, and run it through your clothes washer and drier. That should clean it up.

I've found this site carries excellent quality Italian ingredients for very reasonable prices. http://www.teitelbros.com/

I don't know how original this is, but I keep a shaker jar of flour by the stove for those dishes that require a flour dredge before sauteeing. It's handy if you have just a few pieces to flour. You sprinkle some on the protein, pat it around to remove the excess, and you don't have to get another pie pan dirty.

I'll add a can of Rotel to creole dishes, like grillades or gumbo, that call for diced tomatoes. There's always the classic Velveeta and Rotel dip.

Are you putting the onion skins in your stock? I've found that makes a substantial difference in taste as well as color of chicken stock. Greg

How about $7/lb? http://www.secure-kew.com/grimaud/display.mv?1099018927

The best pizza stone for the budget minded is to get a bunch of unglazed quarry tiles from any local home improvement store. Be sure to measure your oven rack first, and allow 2" on all sides for air flow. Whole thing shouldn't cost you more than $10, and you'll have a 1/2" thick pizza stone, bigger than the BB&B thing.

So can anybody post a cookbook review, now that it's been out for a month?

Living about as far away from fresh shrimp as one can (Kansas City, MO), being relegated to the Taiwanese, frozen EZ-peel shrimp from Costco, I find that these shrimp, which are already split down the back and deveined, but the shell is left on them, peel very easily after being cooked. It may be heretical to suggest pre-splitting your fresh shrimp before cooking them, but it seems to make the job much easier.

I bought a Meco Electric Smoker, based on Cook's Illustrated recommendation, for $80 this year. I've smoked on it a few times so far. So far, it's done very well for me. It holds it's temperature rock solid, with very little fiddling. It's easy to add additional soaked wood chunks to. It has two grates for food. I chose electric cause I knew I wouldn't use a charcoal smoker that you had to stand over alot (I put a whole brisket in to cook overnight while I slept).

I had never heard of Krizman's. I'll have to give it a try. Thanks for the tips, everyone. Greg

I usually put all of the same product in a single bag, even if it's subdivided into serving portions. I figure an extra 2" of bag material for every time I'll be opening and resealing the bag. For example, I'll freeze bacon in 1/3 lb. portions wrapped in saran, then put them all in a bag that's about 4" longer than necessary, so I can pull out 2 portions and still have bag material to reseal the rest. And, depending on the shape of the food, as you pull some out, more empty bag material is available for resealing. I wouldn't want to cut up everything into individual serving sizes and seal them all separately, as I'd never find them among the multitude of bags in my chest freezer (even with my marking on the bag it's contents). Greg

I've given up trying to find decent andouille sausage here in Kansas City, and am ready to buy some via mail order. One review I've read puts Prudhomme's regular smoked andouille as the best. Are there any other opinions out there that differ? I need a brand that is available online, so Cousin Beaurigard's down at the corner grocery store/laundromat won't help. What brand and on web site is it available? Greg

I blanched them in boiling water for about 1 minute. I wasn't using a wet sauce, and figured an uncooked noodle would absorb too much liquid. But, I'd guess if you're using a wet tomato sauce in your lasagna, you probably wouldn't have to blanch them. Greg

My favorite lasagna is made with multiple layers of fresh pasta sheets, bechamel sauce, and bolognese (cooked with milk and wine and very little tomato), layered in a pan and baked. No ricotta, no tomato sauce. It is smooth and creamy. I bought the pasta at a local italian deli, ordered in advance before they cut it all up into shapes. Was able to fit 6 layers into the pan. This may be what you're looking to duplicate. I got the rest of my recipe from Giada deLaurentiis, on FoodTV.com.

One of Lidia's recipies for pasta a'olio includes tossing a few anchovies into the heated oil and garlic before adding the pasta. The anchovies will dissolve into the sauce. It's an excellent dish.

Here's my attempt at a recreation of the "Oysters ala Gaetana" as served at Kemoll's restaurant in St. Louis that I used to have while growning up there. It is a tangy, cheese, creamy concoction that still maintains the oyster essence. If anyone has the real recipe, bring it on. Oysters ala Gaetana Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 24 fresh oysters 6 ounces grated Pecorino Romano 2/3 cup mayonnaise 1 tablespoon chopped parsley 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 pinch cayenne pepper 1 dash hot red pepper sauce 1/2 cup Bread crumbs Mix all ingredients, except the oysters and bread crumbs, together in a large bowl. Spread on top of oysters, about 1 tablespoon per oyster. Sprinkle with bread crumbs. Broil until crumbs are browned. Serve hot.

I've had the wide Benriner for a few years now. I like it. Once I started heeding it's warning to use the plastic guide, I've stopped slicing my fingers off. Regarding the wide vs. narrow versions, the wide one can cut a wider diametered vegetable without having to narrow it to fit the slide area, like a potato or onion. The thickness setting is infinitely adjustable within it's range with a turning knob. And yes, it is dishwasher safe. That's how I've been cleaning it since I bought it.

My Kitchenaid gas range (which I don't like) has a 15K and 12K burner. The higher output burner brings water up to a boil or oil up to temp much faster than the 12K one. That's the main advantage I see in the higher btu burner.

I've made creme fraiche using your recipe, and have bought it at the store ($5/8 oz.). The only difference I've noticed is the store bought is a bit less tangy. But the homemade is a worthwhile substitute.

Rib roast has been my traditional holiday meal for many years now, and I've tried many ways to cook it, as this thread shows. Irrespective of the recipe you choose, here are a few tips I've learned through my experimentation: * The lower the cooking temp you use, the more consistent the degree of doneness will be. If you want the roast to go from medium well to medium rare, pick one of the 350º+ methods. * The higher the cooking temp, the more it cooks after taking it off the heat and tented. A roast cooked at 375º will rise 18º if allowed to rest for 20-30 min. So if you want a med rare roast, take it off at 117º. Be sure to use an accurate meat thermometer for this. * The last two roasts I've had were cooked on a Ronco Rotisserie. They turned out great. Greg

I've tried Alton Brown's method, both with some standing ribs as well as a whole beef tenderloin from Costco, the kind wrapped in cryovac. Usually, those cryovac tenderloins are so wet as to cook up mushy. I let it dry out for 5 days in my 50% humidity, 38º refrigerator (within recommended guidelines for aging), wrapped in a cotton towel that I changed daily, on a rack over a sheet pan. Drying this cut really improved the flavor and texture. It did the same for the standing ribs, although not as dramatically, since they started out as a better cut to begin with. It does increase the density and richness of the flavor.

Here's what Cook's Illustrated said about this: "When stored at home, mushrooms go quickly from proud and plucky to shriveled and dispirited or slimy and discolored. To test the best storage method, we purchased several 12-ounce packages of button mushrooms. We stored one in its original sealed container, one in a paper bag (suggested by the Mushroom Council and thought to promote air circulation), one in a perforated plastic bag (thought to promote air circulation and hold moisture simultaneously), and one in its original cardboard container with the wrap removed and mushrooms then covered with a damp paper towel. (We did not clean the mushrooms, which can cause bruising and would affect the results.) At the end of five days, the mushrooms in the paper bag were completely dehydrated. The mushrooms in the perforated plastic bag were spongy and discolored. The mushrooms under the (ever-refreshed) damp paper towel were also discolored but in relatively good condition. The mushrooms in their original sealed container experienced the least deterioration; they were perfectly good after four days. By the fifth day they looked slightly dry and flaky in their container. The moral of this story: Sometimes ready-made packaging has a function beyond simple convenience—sometimes it actually helps to preserve the contents. If you open a sealed package of mushrooms but don't use all the contents, simply rewrap the package (with the remaining mushrooms still inside) with plastic."

I use Mastercook to store most of my recipies. Then I print out what I am cooking. I can add notes to it afterwards in Mastercook. It has the added advantage of helping me rapidly search for what I'm looking for. I have around 30,000 recipies in it now, too many for a paper-based system.