misstenacity

This is my favorite recent topic! I'm a porridge JUNKIE. Almonds & molasses: I've even posted to my blog disgusting photos of my porridge concoctions, had the same photo be my avatar in the past, and submitted it to the 'regrettable foods' gallery. (Only for the visual aspect, of course) Photo of porridge I've previously done Savory Oats/Grains Currently I like the cocoa ugliness mentioned above, with about one tablespoon cocoa powder and then enough very mild sweetener to just negate the bitterness. Perhaps a teaspoon or so, plus what stevia is present in my protein powder. Of course, salt is added to help the chocolate flavor.... Steel-cut oats freeze wonderfully after being cooked, so if that 45+ minutes is daunting, just make a massive batch and freeze in single portions to be defrosted and topped with condiments of choice... (works for many grains, like barley, et cetera) Andrea http://foodpart.com

With thanks to 'theoldfoodie' for attempting to validate my fence-sitting problem, I have come up with a way to tip myself off that nasty little barbed-wire fence. 1. Cakes are delicious, exquisite, delicate, complicated, rich, celebratory showpieces. They are pot au feu, or Vietnam's Seven Courses of Beef. 2. Pies are happy-making. Period. They are pho, or perfect sashimi. Therefore.... in a best vs best contest as well as an "everyday" throwdown, it has to be PIE. Andrea http://foodpart.com

Taco Bell Fajita Burritos. They had some very strange and pretty gross white sauce that somehow brought the whole thing together and made it decently edible. Also, their 4 Alarm tacos. The sauce was actually spicy. But hey, I was in college eating cereal out of the box and Lipton Noodles 'n Sauce so what did I know? Andrea in Albuquerque

Anyone catch Ramsay making a cruel comment to Jean-Pierre regarding the 12 bachelorettes when he was acting flirty with them? It was something along the lines of, "Are you hoping one of them will take your virginity?" Ouch. Andrea http://tenacity.net

.... buy generic Saran Wrap. Period. Sometimes, there just is no substitute for the real deal. Andrea http://tenacity.net

Funny that this post came up - I just had a blurb yesterday about the varietals and some history of green chile in my weekly food blog post. Read it here (on Duke City Fix). I just did a little bit of hunting and found an image of a roaster: Chile Roaster. The SMELL, however, is freakin' incredible and must be experienced on site. This is one of the BEST parts of living in New Mexico - driving through town in the late summer and fall and smelling all of those little cracklin' chiles blackening in the bin. Andrea http://tenacity.net

I have to agree with Shalmanese on the ice cream thing, anyway. I've made pretty darn good homemade ice milks, some in interesting and non-commercially-available flavors, BUT: when I purchase and then eat the first few spoonfuls of Stonyfield Farm's Lowfat Frozen Yogurt and feel the rich, dense mouthfeel and lack of ice crystals.... I am humbled. I, too, am interested in this application both for personal eating reasons and for general cooking knowledge..... Andrea http://foodpart.com

It was stable as one piece because I popped it in the freezer for 90 minutes after it came out of the oven to hasten the cooling.... so it was pretty much frozen at that point. Oh, and I did run that stats on your recipe, and they are indeed very similar if you compare "like" serving sizes. But since I've heard such good things about your recipe, I HAVE to try it.... Andrea

Hehe. Just kidding.... though for reference the MEGA-brownie is 11,500 calories. It's Ina's Outrageous Oreo Crunch brownies (recipes is available multiple places online), and it is destined to be cut into 32 pieces (not 20 as Ina would instruct, because as much as I love her recipes, I definitely am not interested in having her figure...). They are rich just like they always are, but now that I've made them several times (in both the original and this oreo variation), I'm ready for Ling's recipe. Shocking as this might be, Ling's brownies could actually be less caloric.... Andrea http://tenacity.net

This topic has reduced me to a sniveling, whimpering blob of schizophrenic fence-hoppyness. But I read it with admiration, just the same. Andrea in Albuquerque

Shall we bring in the gender aspects to this? I know that women are often stereotyped (correctly, if my observations are correct) as being more "picky" with foods that can be eaten with fingers.... especially pastries and sandwiches. I am extremely guilty of breaking off teeny tiny chunks of cookie before eating them, rather than biting directly off the whole cookie mass.... Andrea in Albuquerque http://foodpart.com

No new thoughts here, but its my first time posting in this thread. I concur with many of the previous posters who mentioned the difficult to take formatting and the atrocious photos. The photos of the food I thought were the worst part of the layout of the magazine - they were bad enough to make me wonder if there was indeed some kind of intentional styling happening to make the food look blurry/waxy/fuzzy/unreal. Oh, and the recipes? Yeah, I second the "eh, not for me" vote. Perhaps for my former high school classmate who never left the Midwest and wants to cook something for their family instead of going out to Perkin's. But definitely not for me. Penzey's, I LOVE your spices. Don't ever change that. But don't look for a subscription to One from me. Andrea http://tenacity.net

I just found out this evening that my brother is the DP (Director of Photography, aka "the camera guy") for the show. Cool! We were chatting on the phone about me taking a cheap SW flight to visit in early August and he said, "well, I'll be away for awhile on that Food Network show..." and finally we put all the puzzle pieces together. Too bad New Mexico is not on the trip list, but maybe if the show gets "re-upped" for more episodes... That would be great. Chris: of course you've got me for research on all things Southwestern - I can also help with any Phoenix/Tucson/El Paso/Denver digging for hot spots. Andrea http://tenacity.net

Couple of places not yet mentioned - here in ABQ we have two "Brazilian Grill" joints, one of which has a fantastic salad bar - that would be Tucanos - that you can order without the meat-on-a-stick for $10. (With meat it is $18) BEST selection I've seen on any local salad bar, with gourmet items like quail eggs and herbed baby mozz balls, and spinach that doesn't look a week old. (The other Brazilian place just has an OK salad bar) We have a Sweet Tomatoes, and for my $8 lunch I was not excited. I think the variety is actually better at Souper Salad and they are $6. Sweet Tomatoes is the shiznitz if you want gorge on average pasta and pizza, however. I WISH we had my favorite salad place of all, which exists in Tucson - Chopped. Its a local small chain that does "build your own chopped salad" to order. Fantastic stuff with great ingredients and it costs about $8 for a rather large salad (enough to get pretty full but not quite enough to split and take home for 2 meals). We also have Il Vicino, a local chain that specializes in wood oven pizzas, but they have a fantastic and HUGE Cobb salad that masquerades under the name "Insalate Il Vicino" on their menu. And I have also been burned by the Wild Oats & 'Food Hole' salad bar by building a $10 salad that was just OK. Andrea http://tenacity.net

Wow, I thought the answer to this question was easy - COBB - but then when I really started thinking about it things became more complicated.... So my list is all rated #1, because they all are fantastic for their own reasons. 1. Steak salad w/ arugula & romaine. Rare/bloody steak, blue cheese, bacon.... 1. Cobb salad, with everything under the sun on it. 1. Green Papaya salad, made "non-whitey THAI hot". 1. Caprese, but only in late August with stunning tomatoes. 1. "The Wedge" with fantastic gorgonzola and that icy crunch. Yikes. I do loves me some salad. Not that that's a bad thing, of course. Andrea http://tenacity.net

Only quazi-related (and no offense intended towards David's recipe), but a blog called Traveler's Lunchbox did a 3-Gelato recipe showdown last summer that was fascinating and yielded a clear winner: Chocolate vs. Chocolate Enjoy! Andrea http://tenacity.net

Vegetarian lasagna or enchilada casserole (I prefer the latter's reheating abilities). On the side, a moist bread-like thing such as corn pudding or perhaps lightly sauteed succotash. A cold veggie side of marinated salad - a mayo-free slaw, if you will. Great recipe for the latter item in Julia's "The Way to Cook" - just follow her classic coleslaw recipe and omit the mayo, using whatever sturdy veggies you'd like. Good luck! Andrea http://tenacity.net

In the example I used above, it was a tiny check, so the percentage was unusually high. I mean, the (my) bill was $6.50 plus tax, so leaving $10 is about a 36% tip. But I love this restaurant and hanging out for over an hour drinking great coffee with REAL cream was well worth the 'service charge' of $3.50. Who hasn't gone to a diner and had the $3 breakfast special and left them $5? On a more typical dinner bill I'm usually going to tip just shy of 20% for good service, say $10+ on a $60 bill or so. Andrea http://tenacity.net

Thank you for this post, Gabriel. The reading I've done (very extensive to link up here, but its out there, to be sure) tends to group things this way: trans-fats: bad in any amount greater than zero, even worse in high amounts saturated fats from animals: can be OK, depending on how the animal was fed, etc. Grass-fed range animals are much better than feedlot specimens. saturated fats from plants: chocolate, avocado, nuts, etc. Generally OK. poly-unsaturated fats: jury is out. Sounds pretty neutral, certainly not as good as the next category.... mono-unsaturated fats: generally good all-around, unless you've let them get rancid which is shockingly easy to do. I've had to get over my hang-up of tossing food when I detect that my nuts or oils are "off" - once they are rancid they can be just as bad as trans-fats. Yech. Viva la salmon and duck fat! Andrea http://tenacity.net

Yes, mine never puff out, either. But when I've seen them made "live" at El Taco Tote, they are definitely first started on one section of the griddle, presumably at a lower temp, before being flipped and then moved to the hotter section where they almost immediately POOF out and start browning. So, multiple cooking temps seems to be the key. I'll try it next time, but with my electric stove I think I'll have to use 2 burners rather than adjusting the temp on the fly.... Andrea in Albuquerque http://tenacity.net

Yeah, that prison cook guy..... what do they serve in prison, chicken a la king and spaghetti 7 nights a week? Just not sure that would be a good preparation for a Ramsay-level restaurant. Congrats on making it that far, in any case.... Andrea in Albuquerque

All, Have you had occasion to dine with one or more friends and decide that you'd like to tip really well, either for great service or because it is a small bill and "what the hell, waitresses deserve it...." ...and then your 30% tip is totally blown by your companion(s) who see your high contribution and stiff on their own part of the tip, bringing the real tip down to 15% or less? I've had this happen a few times and it's always after the fact that I notice and by then I'm too nervous to say anything. Today I saw a bill for $17 for two people. My share before tip was $7, and I put in $10. Now, IF my companion just saw that $17 total and decided we should leave $20 total and they ALSO put in $10 for their share, my big tip has just been negated. Anyone have this happen? Any good ways to deal with it, short of anticipating it ahead of time and saying, "I'd love to tip them well today, so let's see what the total is....". Andrea in Albuquerque

I love the smackdown given by Ramsay picking his own person to eliminate. And Heather is just so damned GOOD.... I'm biting my nails wondering when/if she'll have a meltdown. But how could you not be rooting for her at this point? She's so focused, talented, and collected it's practically shameful. Andrea http://tenacity.net

I second and my invisible 'friend' thirds this recommendation. I didn't even discover Penzey's until I moved away from the Midwest, but I've gotten the BEST. CINNAMON. EVER. from them, as well as fantastic whole nutmegs, cardamom, ginger, etc etc.... Great people and excellent products. Andrea in Albuquerque

fours = foor tuiles = tweel Tuiles is another difficult one to get right, but for the anglophone "tweel" will suffice. What makes it difficult is what differentiates pronunciation of "Louis" from "lui": both sound like "lwee" to the anglophone ear, so that's what we say. But they're actually different sounds to somebody who is francophone. ← I heard a friend saying "petit fours" as "peh-tih-fur", with nothing emphasised and the whole thing kind of slurred together. Is that correct, or should it be "peh-TEET foor", with a pause between each word? Thank you! Andrea in Albuquerque