robyn

I'm far from an expert cook - and I don't eat that much meat - but what I've found in general from limited experience is that if you cook something in the oven for a long time (like a roast) - you don't need to do a separate sear. With something you cook for a short time (like a pork tenderloin - which I'll be doing on Christmas) - you have to do a separate sear. With fowl - well a big bird like a turkey browns on its own. And you have to do a little bird like a Cornish game hen on the spit on the BBQ (pretty high heat) to get it to brown up. Haven't really ever figured out what to do with a whole chicken - I suppose I'm not very motivated since Costco sells really good 2 pound roasted chickens for $4.99 - and for $4.99 - I'm not going to waste a whole lot of time figuring it out . Quite frankly - I hate all recipes which call for a pan sear before doing anything else - because half my kitchen (and all of my clothes - and my glasses) wind up spattered with grease. So perhaps some expert cooks/chefs here can share their "searing guidelines" with us. And maybe some tips about how to avoid all that "grease spatter" (I have a couple of those "grease spatter" things to put on top of the pans - but they're not very effective when you're trying to sear all sides of something shaped like a pork tenderloin (you have to hold the tenderloin up vertically to sear the ends). Certainly wouldn't be effective with something big like a rib roast. Even with relatively flat chicken pieces - when you go to turn them - they get you! Robyn

Although I do tend to make my own stocks, I rarely make turkey stock because I rarely use it. I've used the WS turkey stock as well as their demi glaces, and I've been happy with both. I just got my hands on some demi glace gold though, so I'm looking forward to trying that out. ← Let me know what you think of the demi glace gold compared to the WS. I've used the former before (just once) and never the latter. I'm using the WS chicken broth for an apple/prune cream sauce for some pork tenderloins for Christmas dinner. Haven't tried that particular one before - and I'll let you know what I think. Robyn

Is it possible that we all have different methods we like best because we all have different kinds of ovens with different cooking characteristics? FWIW - I just noticed last week that I've been cooking my rib roast on the "convection bake" setting on my oven - which is mostly for cookies and other baked goods. There is also a "convection roast" setting which sets off different burners/fans (never noticed it before last week although I've had the ovens for about a decade - I'm not very observant ) - and I have no idea what that would do to a roast. At this point - I'm not sure I'm willing to experiment with a $50 cut of meat which I only make once in a very blue moon (my husband and I only eat beef about once or twice a month - and a rib roast maybe once a year). Robyn

The north/south phenomena plays itself out in other countries, too, with some similar results. One theory I just read (in an academic text, strangely enough) is that in every thing the human mind applies itself to, there must be an "upper" part and a "lower" part. The "upper" part being thought the "better" in the overall conceptualization, the "lower" part having been created by the mind for the singular purpose of segregation of "us" and the "others", making the "others" into something dangerous or different which of course self-mirrors the "better" upper into a reality of a sort (at least within the mind). Once this labelling occurs of upper/lower (even if it is geographically-based) the thing that has been named lower has a certain burden to bear. One way of bearing a collective burden is to embrace the definition, the naming, as a group, and bear it proudly rather than trying to apologize or hide from the name. Humor and defiance are then used by the group within the ideologic structure that has been created, and an identity group, a culture independent of other things, has been created. ← So Southerners self-identify as an ethnic group that they have created due to oppression, regardless of ancestry. Makes sense, pre and post civil war and all. Someone else pointed out to me that Jewish people share the same sort of self deprecating sense of humor. I think it was a prominent southern African American who pointed out that "In the North, they don't care how high you get, as long as you don't get close. In the South, they don't care how close you get, as long as you don't get high." High as in "uppity" and self-important, rather than high as in sucessful. I suppose you would have to speak the language to get the twist. Wish I could remember who said that. Anyway, it explains the commonality and community of the front porch and cold glass of sweet tea. It's not hard to find a tall glass of water in the south if you're thirsty. ← It's apparently an old proverb (i.e., no one remembers who said it first). I don't happen to think it's true - there's more than a little segregation and racism left in the south (not that the north is any better IMO) - but it's an old proverb. As for the north/south upper/lower thing - sometimes it works - i.e., the upper is thought to be better (e.g., Italy) - and sometimes it's the reverse (e.g., the UK). There are still some remnants of self-deprecating Jewish humor - but I think you'll find that younger generations of Jews (including mine - and I'm not so young) - don't find them so amusing these days (except maybe for some vintage Woody Allen). Borat is the new hero (especially in Israel because a lot of his foreign language speaking in the movie is in Hebrew!). Robyn

When in Rome.... Miami is essentially an hispanic city these days. And the big deal meal isn't Christmas Day - it is Christmas Eve (known as Nochebuena). A whole pig and the fixings are traditional. I'm sure you can find places all over - and especially in Little Havana - that do a decent/good/great Nochebuena. I haven't lived in Miami for about 10 years - so I don't know which place(s) I'd pick today. Google a little - and let me know what you come up with (I may have some comments if some of the places that were around then are still around now). Robyn

I usually thin cut the roast - and I have never found a way to reheat it where it doesn't look and taste like "yuck". Usually just eat it raw - warmed to room temp with a bit of jus to heat it up. Think next time I'll simply slice what's left over into something that's as thick as a steak - so I can sear it and wind up with something warm and edible. Robyn

I make a simple "jus" as follows. Pour most (but not all) of the fat out of the roasting pan. Deglaze with some red wine I like. Add some Williams Sonoma beef broth in a box (it happens to be relatively low salt - but it also tastes ok - no really "off tastes") and a few sprigs of thyme. Boil up a little. That's it. Note that I also rub some garlic on the roast which winds up in the pan - so I'd fry up some garlic in the fat first if there wasn't any on my roast. Robyn P.S. I tried the Williams Sonoma turkey broth in a box to baste some turkey legs for Thanksgiving and thought that broth was pretty good too.

With the caveat that the cooking time should be a bare minimum of 2 hours (if it's a small roast - and you cook for less time - you'll need to sear). Robyn

Haha, yes, I meant "don't" ... so annoying to say the exact opposite of what you're trying to say. I was talking about the same study that you mentioned, that found low incidence of heart disease among Inuits. The French seem like an anomaly because most older studies ignored that regional diets high in saturated fat tend to also be high in hydrogenated oils. The French and the Inuits provide interesting models because their diets are high in the saturated fats but not the trans fats. I'll have to go back and see where my information on China came from. If I'm wrong I apologise for the misinformation. None of these broad population-based studies is controlled for genetic differences, but fow whatever reasons the researchers don't seem to think this is a major factor. In general, recent research, focussed on distinguishing between different fatty acids, supports that trans fats are a more potent culprit in CHD. Here's a metastudy published this year: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...l=pubmed_docsum ← Genetics happens to be a huge factor. Ask anyone like my father (no one in his family has ever had CAD) or my late mother (everyone in her family has/had CAD). They all ate the same things - smoked the same amount - etc. Bypass surgery increased longevity in my mother's family by at least 15-20 years. Robyn

Well, fois gras is an ethics issue, not a health issue, so it's not the same thing. As far as sugar and white flour doing horrible things, I have yet to see any clinical evidence of them being the villains that certain health food communities make them out to be. And I've done a lot of searches through orignal research on Pub Med looking for it. On the other hand, there are mountains of evidence linking trans fats to heart disease. In general I've believed the axiom that there are no bad foods, only bad diets ... but trans fats call this into question. They really appear to be as bad as the hype suggests. ← Of course foie gras is a health issue. Organ meat is absolutely terrible for you. The only retort I've ever heard is that no one can afford enough foie gras to suffer any ill effects from it. Robyn

What conclusions? Stuff like this (from one of your cites)? "CONCLUSION: TFAs are strongly associated with systemic inflammation in patients with heart disease, which suggests that attention to TFA intake may be important for secondary prevention efforts." Members of my family who have/had heart disease have problems when they drink too much water - or eat too much salt. Should we ban those things too? I doubt this ban will save 1 life every ten years - because chefs are now working to substitute palm oil for Crisco type things - and we know how great tropical oils are for our health - don't we? And if the chefs use butter instead of palm oil - well it's still the same number of calories. And all those fat people who are fat and will get fatter despite a trans-fat ban will still be at high risk for heart disease - diabetes - etc. So what's the point of this? Being fat is bad for your health - and eating too much fat makes you fat. Doesn't matter what kind of fat you're talking about. You can get fat and unhealthy eating too much olive oil. I am sure I eat a lot of things that aren't great for me - but I tend to eat those things in extreme moderation - or as special treats. My late MIL's crisco pie crust was the best. As are some dishes I like that are made with tropical oils - or the occasional roast beef (loaded with saturated fat). Too bad the government can't legislate self-restraint. Robyn

Best way to improve any braised meat (or chili or similar things) IMO is make it a couple of days in advance. Put it in the refrigerator - and reheat on low heat a day or two later. Robyn

As someone who does not live in New York - I sometimes wind up with 6 month old frozen bagels. One way to "freshen them up" is to sprinkle a little water on them before you defrost them in the microwave (then split and toast them). A bialy is not a bagel - it's baked - not boiled. And I find that they don't freeze well at all. So if I were the OP - I'd eat the bialys first. Robyn

Ditto. Especially whipped cream cheese on bagels. Have you ever tried a real Italian cheesecake? I don't know what they make it with (I actually buy them at a local Italian bakery) - maybe ricotta cheese? Light as a feather (as opposed to the Cheesecake factory kind of stuff which is like eating lead sinkers). Robyn

I'm talking about a standing rib roast. If there's any prime meat sold where I live - I haven't found it yet. Best rib roasts here are in Fresh Market - although the more expensive "aged" beef it sells isn't necessarily better than the cheaper stuff it also sells. I just eyeball the roasts - and look for one with decent marbling - no matter what the label says. Don't do anything to it before I cook it except rub with some olive oil - and season with salt/pepper/minced garlic. Note that with Marlene's convection method (which I use) - I don't think you need a sear unless you're dealing with a small roast (cooking time less than 2 hours or so). I always cook a larger roast. I don't think you need an hour's rest - but you do need at least 30 minutes (and an hour won't hurt). Robyn P.S. We all know ovens can vary quite a bit. My convection oven is a 30" Kitchenaid which tends to "cook hot" on the convection setting (it's got a pretty big fan). It will automatically tell you to lower the temperature by 25 degrees when you're using the convection setting (which can be a disaster if you're baking - but that's another story).

Here's the thread from about 3 years ago where I learned how to cook a prime rib roast. I've followed your convection oven method (300 degrees until internal temp is 120) since then. Always a great crust - some medium stuff on the ends for people who want medium - and the insides are rare and beautiful. Just made one last Friday for Chanukah - and it was excellent. Robyn

Sounds like you have/had a lot more land than we do! We only had to bushhog our acre once - before we built our house. Although I suppose if we let it go for a year or two - we'd have to bushhog it again. I try to keep ahead of the undergrowth - but it isn't easy. My husband and I used to do it all ourselves - but it's too much for us now. So we have to hire people to help us. I'm curious about the beehives. Were they fun? Was the honey good? Everyone here complains how the bee population is getting smaller and smaller - but I find all I have to do is plant a couple of dozen bee friendly flowering plants and they're loaded with 2 or perhaps 3 different kinds of bees almost all year. Butterflies and hummingbirds too. As well as wasps (unfortunately). Robyn

i assume you're talking about wayside market. it's still there. i get an elvis (peanut butter and banana shake with lowfat yogurt) and a low fat chocolate muffin every week. the elvis is great. ← Don't remember the name - but it sounds like the place. Glad it's still there. Robyn

Racheld - When I moved to Florida in 1973 - I learned pretty fast that the lawyers who spoke slowly with a southern drawl had a lot more upstairs than most people from up north thought they did. Think they took time to think while they were talking slowly . I learned pretty fast to talk one way in Miami - and another way in Tallahassee! FWIW - IMO - there is a big difference between a southerner and a redneck. You can find rednecks all over the US. But a real southerner is a much rarer species. I went to the Art & Antiques show here in Jacksonville this weekend. Doubt there were many rednecks there buying those 5-6 figure paintings. Or many rednecks who were thinking about hiring Preston Bailey (one of the speakers) for their daughter's wedding. I'm not sure how many people outside the south really know about southern society types (of which I am certainly not one). Different backgrounds - different foods. By the way - the one thing you didn't mention you owned was a bush hog . Robyn

No problem with the long post as far as I'm concerned Anne. I've read a lot of that stuff too . I don't deny that Key West has a long history - but I think that historically the culture (and food culture) there is pretty different than the culture in the northern parts of Florida (even to this day ). Wonder what people ate in Key West 150 years ago? Apart from fish. It isn't exactly the most hospitable place to raise crops or large animals. I also agree that not only is the south fairly young in terms of history - so is most of the United States - compared to a lot of the rest of the world. I'm just not willing to label New Hampshire as being part of the south because they have NASCAR races there! One thing about a lot of parts of the south is that they were changed irrevocably by the invention of air-conditioning. Being able to live and work in climate-controlled places led to explosive population growth in many areas. Which means that the original culture - whatever it was in 1900 - or even 1940 - has been subjected to a lot of outside influences - and (frequently) considerably watered down. I personally like to cook. When I lived in south Florida - I learned to cook Cuban and "Floribbean" dishes. When I moved to north Florida - I learned to cook traditional southern dishes. Not because of any real connection to any of the cultures (I'm Jewish and grew up as a kid in New Jersey) - but simply because I like to eat good stuff and cook when possible with good local ingredients (I suspect it's easier to find great collards in Jacksonville for New Year's Day than it is in Kansas). On the other hand - I still cook my family's traditional recipes - it's amazing how many native northern Floridians have never had a kugel before . I guess the point of this is that people should learn about the places they live in - because there are relatively few Americans who'll live their whole lives these days in the places where their parents and grandparents lived. They should incorporate the best of the traditional stuff that they find in their new homes into their lives. But they should also bring their own traditions with them - maintain them and share them. It would be a shame if all of our traditions were lost to new generations who can only relate to pizza and burgers. Robyn P.S. To anyone who thinks this is too much "Florida talk" - I just want to point out that Florida is now poised to become the 3rd largest state in the country population wise. It is already the largest state in the south - if you exclude Texas (and I won't get into the argument over whether Texas is or is not part of the part of the south - ain't got no dog in that fight! - although I will point out that the major airline from Texas is called "Southwest" ).

Doesn't ring true. You have to keep in mind the history of Florida in terms of non-native settlements. The Panhandle and Northeast Florida were settled fairly early on (because they were connected - however poorly - to the rest of the country). In about 1900 - Pensacola and Jacksonville were the largest cities in the state (populations of about 38,000 and 28,000). South of northeast Florida - there wasn't a whole lot of anything (Mosquito County took up a large part of the state ). Except on the west coast where the trans-Florida railroad ended (it ended originally at Cedar Key - and then in Tampa). And in the area of the northern part of the peninsula where the railroad passed through. (Note that the first trans-Florida railroad was completed in the middle of the 19th century.) Miami wasn't connected to the rest of the state by any reasonable means of transportation - and had a population of perhaps 500. Key West did have a reasonable population (although it wasn't the largest city in the state - population was about 10,000) - but the population there was basically people from Cuba and some other islands - and it wasn't connected to anything. Flagler didn't extend his railroad to Miami until 1896 - and to Key West until 1912. Almost as important as the lack of transportation was the Everglades - which had a tendency to flood a lot of south Florida on a regular basis until it was basically destroyed. I assume when people are talking about "southern culture" - they're talking about something with a reasonably long history that exists or comes from a particular place - not something people brought with them when they moved from someplace else. And if you look at the history of Florida - and the lack of people in most areas 100 years ago - you can see why "southern culture" - at least in an historical sense - is basically restricted to the northern part of the state and the Panhandle. Robyn

I think Meyer lemons are more or less a central to north Florida fruit. But I'm not sure. My Meyer lemon is grafted - the rootstock is flying dragon - a relatively hardy citrus rootstock native to Japan. Anyway - the trees are very iffy. Last year - we had a northeaster a couple of weeks after the fruit set. All those little tiny beginnings of lemons except for a few were blown off the tree. This year - I've been lucky - a bumper crop. But I can see why citrus producers aren't keen to grow this stuff commercially (apart from weather problems - my little tree requires tons of fertilizer and spraying throughout the growing season from early spring until almost the end of the year - and I have to net it all summer to keep birds/animals from picking at the fruit). Robyn

Agreed. There has to be something wrong with the numbers here. My husband and I are kind of normal - not thin - not fat. We'll often have a can of tuna with mayo for lunch. About 2-3 tablespoons of mayo max. Can't imagine how much tuna I'd have to be making to use - much less save - a half cup of mayo. Robyn

I'm no expert - but high end sushi restaurants are probably the best for exotic fish. As for seaweeds - we found they were a popular offering in the department store food basements. So that might be your best place to sample. Robyn

Fairchild Garden has one of the largest - if not the largest - collection of palm trees in the world. It is also a center of palm research. I can't imagine many more important food plants on a worldwide basis than the palm. It also has a large collection of tropical fruit trees. Fairchild has a lot of well-heeled donors - which tends to make it a more attractive place than a county park. Look at the web sites and see what you think. IMO - the most interesting thing about the Redlands these days is how long it has taken the area to "come back" after Hurricane Andrew (in 1992) - and a fair part of the recovery is because Miami/Dade has grown so much that people are now willing to commute from there. There is still some agriculture there - but if you want to see the guts of south Florida agriculture - it's more interesting to take a trip to the Lake Okeechobee area. Not necessarily pretty - because most of the people who live there are really poor - but interesting in terms of seeing where some of your food comes from. If I had to guess - judging from my last trip through the Homestead/Redlands area - the biggest single agricultural interest is probably the huge tree farms owned by a fellow whose name I forget (he is rather wealthy and politically connected). Reminded me of Bebe Rebozo's "tree farms" in earlier years (people who want to invest in real estate in Florida for the long term usually make some low cost agricultural use of their land - like tree farms - to keep their property taxes down). Robyn