GSBravo

That is why I cook, because I can. Everyone has expounded on this very nicely, but for me this is what it boils down to. There are many things in life I may never do, but I can always say that I've made several dinners that were talked about for days. And excepting e-Gulleters and professional chefs, who else can claim that?

Southeastern Virginia. I drink Coke and I don't use 'coke' as a generic term.

Having read this entire thread three times now, and contributing, I am left with one nagging question. What is wrong with us? Why do we keep making the same mistakes over and over again? I mean isn't mistaking a TSP for a TSB once, enough?

Coke. In the can. Pepsi is not an alternative. Oh, and I can get Mexican coke from the Mexican grocery store.

Is fish considered meat?

Boneless buffalo wing sandwiches, coleslaw, and fajita nachos.

I second the kosher salt, it's definitely easier to work with than regular table salt. Also, I read somewhere that when using kosher salt you use less.

I once made a meatloaf that my daughter talked about for four days. She still talks about it. Haven't been able to duplicate it since then. And homemade pasta with alfredo sauce. She brings her friends over to eat this.

My grandmother passed away many, many years ago and her funeral was one of those traditional Southern ones. The family and friends gather 'round to remember the dearly departed. And we eat. A lot. You may know, or have heard, that at Southern funerals everyone brings food over. The food that is bought in ranges from the mundane (the Aunt who picked up a bucket o'chicken) to the sublime (macaroni 'n cheese from the oven, ham, BBQ). There is enough food to feed a small army. I kid you not. Someone had bought over a peanut butter pie. Made from scratch. I had never had it before. I figured I like peanut butter, so let's give it a try. This was the best thing I had ever eaten. I kid you not, I mean it was real good. I probably ate half of it. Soon there was one slice left and I was in the kitchen eyeballing it when one of my cousins came in. She asked what it was. I told her. She asked if it was any good. Without hesitation I told her it was the nastiest thing I had ever eaten. I finished it off after she left the room. Then there was that time with my sister where I ate half of her soft serve cone in one bite.

I watched this show the other day, and tried to keep an open mind about it. But, she's not a likeable person. I found the constant "Now I want you to' and "What I want you to do" irritating. I came away with the sad impression that she probably does eat this stuff and likes it. I'm sure she serves it to her friends, who in turn serve it to their friends. And they all like it. They think this is good cusine. Now I don't have a television show or a cooking degree, don't know if she does, but I can cook better than she can. I blame all of you, if yawl hadn't talked about her I wouldn't have watched. And changing the channel wasn't an option. As mentioned up post, it's like watching a train wreck. You can't look away.

Exactly what I do, and one of the few recipes of my mother's that I still use! Minimal flattening is required, usually depending on the size/shape of the tenderloin. Just out of curiosity, what is Stove Top like? Searing. That's what what I couldn't quite see. Stove Top. It's crap. Seriously, when pressed for time, it makes an okay subsitute for the real thing. If done right, it's okay. It takes a little time and effort to make it worthwhile. However, it ain't nowhere near what my mother used to make. It's one of those things I like to keep around, so that when I'm pressed for real ingredients, I can still whip out a fancy meal. Kinda like taking credit for the cake made from box mix.

I have a piece of pork tenderloin that I am going to make for dinner. Not really sure what I want to with it either. I just had this crazy idea, well it certainly sounds crazy. I want to flatten the tenderloin, add stuffing to the center, and roll it back up. I figure I'll make Stove Top, since I have some, and I don't have enough ingredients to make stuffing from scratch. It would probably need some kind of sauce/gravy. My questions are: 1) Can this work? 2) Would I need to cook the Stove Top first? 3) How the hell do I cook the pork? I can figure out how to flatten it, but I'm not sure about the cooking? 4) Sauce/gravy? What type would work? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Oh, to add pressure, I plan on starting in about 2 hours. And there is no going to the grocery store, the cars not here.

Hmmmmmmmmmm - Well it certainly doesn't have anything resembling that. It has only discs with different sized holes in them. One of them is notched to fit into the machine and lock in place. The remainer have no such notch. Guess I need a lesson in using a manual meat grinder. Thanks for this! It sounds like you don't have blade, but only the die. When you grind meat does it seem like your just forcing it thru the die? I have no problem getting meat to go through my grinder, and it's a manual grinder. There should be a blade, like the picture above, that fits behind the die. Inside is a wormscrew, I think that's what its called, that feeds the meat to the blade and out through the die. The different sized dies allow for different size grinds. This picture shows the various parts for a meat grinder. The housing is not shown here, but two dies, the cutting balde, and sausage stuffing tubes are shown. Hope this helps.

PETA pickets the Industry. They go after McDonald's, Burger King, etc. Who in turn pressure their buyers, who pressue their sellors. Who in turn, if they want to keep that fact contract, change their system. The Government minimums remain in place, Frank's chicken farm is kinder to their chickens, PETA backs off. Everybody's happy. The point I think I'm trying to make is that you have to go after the "results people", not the "action people". Government regulations produce actions, not results. The Industry produces results, which cause actions. You hammer the people that make it happen, and you can change it.

Interesting. Using a Chocolate factory as a cover to make bombs. Also, the documentary goofcan be used on anyone. Just try to convince them that the film protrays actual events. Like say, True Romance. Tell people it's a true story, they have to believe you. Or call you a liar. And most people won't do that. And for the few that will, make them prove that you are wrong.

Having re-read this post for the second time, here's my three cents on angry cow. Where did it come from? Canada? The US? Who cares. It came, it saw, it's visting. If this means other countries don't take our beef, good, more for me. It's doubtful that the entire US herd will become infected. Especially since everyone is watching the Industry right now. It's time that meaningful steps be taken to curtail this issue. No more blame shifting. No more finger pointing. Fix the problem. Who should be responsible for getting rid of it? The industry? The Government? How about the both of 'em. The Government sets a series of standards. at best Government standards are minimal. You know this. I know this. The Industry knows this. It is up the Industry to raise their standards. If the Industry does not meet mimimum standards, occasionally they can be fined or reprimanded. It's not often this happens, the lawyers make sure of it. As long as the Industry meets mimimum standards, the Government leaves ‘em alone. Your job works the same way, you can wear the miminum amount of flair. However, if you want to get anywhere you are going to have to exceed the minimum amount of flair. As long as you do your job, no one complains. Screw up, and everyone has to tell you about it. Government regulations are not the answer to this problem. The answer has to come from the Industry. If the Industry does not have enough pride or faith in itself to wear more than the minimum amount of flair, then the Government can do nothing. You can not make people excel, they have to want to. And riddle me this Batman- when PETA wants the living conditions of animals changed, who do they picket?

If you can forgive my ignorance, why is this significant? And you're right, I'm not sure how that documentary slipped my mind. Especially since we were disussing it last week.

I've got a #10 meat grinder, paid about twenty bucks for it. I bought it earlier this year, way before the angry cow in Washington incident. It's nowhere near as big as some of the commercial quality grinders you can buy for home use. It is sufficient for my uses, which is generally feeding four people (7 when my son’s friends come down for the weekend. I use it to make fresh ground beef for hamburgers, beef-a-roni, meatloaf, ground beef for tacos and nachos, Salisbury steak...whatever I need ground beef for. Sausage is on the list of things to do, but so far I've only used it for ground beef. I bought one because I like hamburgers, and I figured fresh ground beef would help bring up the quality. And there is a difference. I've noticed that fresh ground beef patties, versus store packaged ground beef, don't shrink as much. As for the taste I can only tell you that it is better, but I can't give you any more specifics. Depending on the quantity you are looking for, I don't see that you'd need to go beyond a #10 grinder for home use. I use mine once or twice a month, and think it would be sufficient if I wanted to use it on a weekly basis. Also, let's talk cleaning. Despite their appearance, they are very easy to clean. Once you are done running your meat thru the grinder, grab 4-5 slices of old bread and run them through it. That'll help get the grease and meat trappings out, which when followed by a quick wash in warm water will have you good to go. And storing the smaller parts in a Ziploc bag with rice keeps rust away (this I learned from Alton Brown.)

Thanks, I wish I could do something like that, with a straight face. It's amazing what I can do with a straight face. I'll have to see if I still have some pictures at home from the time I, I mean someone else, moved his office into the bathroom.

If I define "cook" as the main dish is done mostly from scratch, then I'm looking at 4-5 times a week. Breakfast, more like brunch, is done once or twice a month. As I don't get home till after 8 in the evening, most often the big meals are on the weekends. Roughly every other week I'm off Friday and the following Monday, which allows me lots of time to cook. Those are the days I make pasta, grind beef, and generally spend 3 or 4 hours on a thirty minute meal.

As for the documentary thing, no. It's a running joke I have with a guy I work with. He was born in England, so I try to convince him that every English related film is a documentary. So when I see a movie and ask him about it, it's prefaced with, "I saw this excellent documentary this weekend, it's called Snatch". And so on. Some of my favorite English documentaries are: Pink Floyd's The Wall, Formula 51, Lock, Stock & 2 Smoking Barrells, and the Austin Powers series. Willy Wonka and C&TCF are one and the same. Now, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator are a different tiger. And I just read the link about the remake. Wow, Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka- this could be smoking.

Ha ha ha...did you know they are planning to remake the movie? tim burton and johnny depp. awesome. Remake? You just scared the crap out of me, fortunately I read further before posting this. The documentary C&TCF is a one of my all time favorite movies. Tim Burton, Jonny Depp? This could be awesome.

Not sure if you are the only wondering this, but yes, they will track them. You can refer to the historical document "Charlie and the Chocolate factory" for proof of this.

How's this for a generalization: my youngest sister is Shannon Michelle, my oldest sister is Cathleen Marie, my brother Thomas Franklin. Also, growing up I knew a Keith Brian, a Brian Keith, and a Roger Nelson. And my mom used to try to convince me that the Beach Boys wrote a song about her, Barbara Ann.

Really? So when would does the bread go in? When you start the oil or after it heats up a little. Can you tell me more about this? I've eaten so much fried food thus far in life that I probably wouldn't know greasy taste if it came up and bit me on the @$$. However I'm always up for improving the flavors and/or taste of what I eat.