robyn

I've seen adjustable V racks that are non-stick - and have owned them before. But they're really small - suitable for perhaps a small chicken - nothing larger. Robyn

The one thing I sear on the stovetop more than anything else before finishing in the oven is pork tenderloin marinated in various concoctions which all involve olive oil. Always get a good sear. I tried the same technique (lots of fat) on Marlene's recipe for prime rib last holiday season - and got an equally good sear. Perhaps it never occurred to me to pan sear anything without using a lot of fat. Beginner's luck . Robyn

I would say that is not a correct assumption under most circumstances. If, for example, you are roasting something on a rack, the thermal properties of the roasting pan are nearly irrelevant. Roasting is not about the pan cooking the food; it's about the air in the oven cooking the food and the pan is there mostly to secure whatever is roasting and to catch drippings. Even if you make a reduction on the stovetop after roasting, it's not as though you need quick responsiveness -- you're not making hollandaise. If you're braising -- in other words not using your roasting pan to roast -- you want a thick vessel like a Staub or Le Creuset oven, though I think heavy all-metal Dutch ovens are also terrific for braising and a lot cheaper and better for roasting smaller items. I think the best values in roasting pans (and stockpots, and lots of other things) are to be found at restaurant supply places. You can find something like one of the Johnson Rose 24 gauge (that's a little more than 5mm thick) steel roasting pans for about 25 bucks. These things function day in day out under restaurant conditions, where handles would mostly just get in the way. Check out this one from BigTray. And you can probably do better in most any Chinatown. ← I've never gotten into the physics of cooking - but I know braising is a totally different animal from roasting. For braising - I use 2 old Magnalite pots I have (one is a Dutch oven shape and the other is a roaster shape but they're made the same way). Magnalite isn't made anymore - but Williams Sonoma has something that looks like Magnalite (don't know whether it's made the same as Magnalite though). Robyn

I think the key with any rack is finding a rack that's a good snug fit in the pan. I have 2 "V" racks - one for each roaster. Also forgot that I have another roasting pan that came with a snug fitting flat lift out rack (think it's Chicago Metallic - something like that) that's in between the size of the small and big Circulons. It's good for roasting things that simply need to sit on a rack and drip (it's hard to baste using that particular roaster). Anyway - I'm not a purist - and I don't think that one size fits all - dishes or cooks. There are certain dishes I cook again and again - and I've bought cookware for those dishes. Decide what *your* favorite dishes are - and then find the cookware that cooks them best - and that you find easiest to handle (in terms of getting the thing around the kitchen - cleaning up - whatever). Robyn

I'm in north Florida. BBQ everywhere - yes. Achiote - no. I called a few of the hispanic grocery stores in town. They don't speak English (luckily I speak passable Spanish) - and they don't sell achiote. Also called the biggest herb/spice store in town. They used to stock the paste - but don't these days. About the closest thing I found was a Goya spice mixture packet in Publix which contained achiote - but it was about the 8th ingredient on the list of ingredients - and I think that 90% of the packet was salt. Couldn't even find the stuff on the Spice Hunter web site (I usually order a bunch of stuff from them about once a year). So I think I'll pass this time around. Robyn ← Was the Goya mix called Bijol? As I recall, the annatto count was higher in Bijol than 8th in ingredient list.. It's been a while since I lived in Florida so it's all a bit foggy. ← It's in the line of Goya products called Sazon Goya. One type of this particular seasoning comes "con achiote" - the other "sin achiote" - and the "achiote" is listed as a coloring ingredient. So what you're thinking of must be an older product (or one that's not available here). Robyn

I have 2 circulon roasters (a big one and a smaller one) that I bought quite a few years ago. They're non-stick - but have a nice "heft" to them. I looked them up - and think they've been discontinued (at least that's the message I got on Amazon). So although I don't think you can buy them - my two cents is don't automatically reject something that's nonstick as junk. I can sear things on the stovetop with these pans - put the pans in the oven to finish the dish - leave the pans out all night - and wash them up in 2 minutes in the morning. I can also deglaze the pans if I want to - and all the little bits and pieces of stuff in the bottom of the pan are easily incorporated into the sauce/gravy. Robyn

I did. Although it might have been easier had I been in a store rather than trying to shop on the phone the day before Christmas (when everyone is really busy). Like I said - I'm heading to south Florida next month - and I'll see if I can't score some. Robyn

I'm heading down to south Florida in a couple of weeks - and if I can't find it there - I'll take you up on your kind offer. I'm not sure that the ingredient would make much of a difference in this dish. The bulk of the flavoring comes from the citrus in the marinade. But I'd like to try the recipe again as written and see what happens. Just hope that we manage to have blood oranges in the stores for more than a couple of weeks (I don't see them here that often). I'll note that of the several recipes in the link I gave in an earlier message - the real winner was the recipe for the plantains. It was a plaintain puree - and a really elegant side dish with the pork. Robyn

Pan is The Devil's stooge. Who knew? Salt, used judiciously, sharpens and lifts and heightens other flavours just as sugar dulls and flattens them. ← Nothing wrong about sugar - "used judiciously" - in the right dishes. I made a pork tenderloin last night - sweetened and soured with a citrus juice marinade (there's an acid component as well as a sweet component in citrus). What's wrong is too much of it - in the wrong dishes. Likewise with salt. I can't stand the taste of overly sweet things - but I can't stand the taste of overly salty ones either (nor do I like waking up at 2 am in desperate need of a liter of water because dinner was too salty). I can't say that moderation is always the key - but it certainly is more often than not. Robyn

I'm looking at the label for Hellman's and it's a bit confusing. Sugar is listed as an ingredient - but it also says the carbs are 0% - and all of the calories come from fat. So perhaps it's simply a trace amount of sugar? Robyn

I made some salsa last night with plum tomatoes that I bought in Publix in north Florida. Pretty good. Probably helped that the recipe called for grilling/broiling them and the other ingredients until they were a bit charred. Since it was cold and rainy last night - I passed on the grilling. So don't give up! Robyn

First things first. Here's a good web site that I found for freighter trips. It looks like an extremely honest website. Even has pictures of the cabins - and some really postage stamp size swimming pools . A freighter trip is definitely not my cup of tea (I am too old and always like to be pampered) - but it might be yours. I am thinking more along the lines of a luxury cruise line. You're all giving me great general ideas of the contours of a trip like this. Like most people with no knowledge of the area - well I just think "Asia" - without even giving a thought to the fact that Tokyo is probably very different than Shanghai. When I spoke with my travel agent today - he confirmed this. He said one could travel in Japan the way one could travel in western Europe - but that any trip involving China would be more like our trip to Egypt (about 1 1/2 weeks - 4 days in Cairo - week long cruise up the Nile - only cruise we've ever taken in all our years of traveling except for a 1 night Cruise to Nowhere charity cruise out of Miami). I remember that trip. It was great in some ways (fantastic things to see - many years before things like overpopulation of tourist sites - too many people breathing carbon dioxide in tombs - and terrorism were issues). Bad in some ways. My husband and I love to eat - and we are not particularly good about food precautions in second world countries (we've never been to a third world country). My husband got dysentery in Cairo - eating the most delicious looking tomatoes in an upper class restaurant in Cairo - and I got dysentery a little later after a street food indiscretion somewhere up the Nile (although I didn't get as sick as my husband). I didn't think I'd get my husband to the cruise (only time we've had to use those bags on an airplane) - but I was glad that we had a cruise. Because he was totally out of it for almost 2 days in the cabin while I could go sightseeing. And - by paying "baksheesh" (tips) to large numbers of people - I could get him things like primitive medical care and copious amounts of rehydrating fluids like soup. If we had been "on the road" - I don't know what I would have done. As it was - I gave him 48 hours to get better. If he hadn't gotten better - we would have been on a plane to a first world country. Well - we're 20 years older now - and no more careful when it comes to our food habits (old habits are hard to break ). So I'm beginning to think of this trip as more of a sightseeing and relaxation than culinary adventure. And whatever culinary adventures there are will be very very careful. In fact - I had our travel agent quote us not only the cruise from Alaska to Tokyo - but the leg of the cruise from Tokyo to Hong Kong. There is something very intruiging about only unpacking once on a month long trip. If I win the lottery - the entire 93 day cruise around the Pacific might be in my future . Robyn

Just found this thread. I want to plan a trip to Asia in 2005 - because my husband and I have never been there before. But (big but in light of what I've been reading here) - we'd like this to be a refreshing relaxing somewhat non-adventurous trip. In fact - I'm looking at transpacific boat crossings so we won't get a megadose of jetlag before we arrive. We don't want to worry about boiling water - peeling veggies - getting sick - etc. Been there - done that (when we were younger and it wasn't much fun even when we were younger). I had assumed we'd be able to travel very well in Shanghai and Hong Kong and not worry about these things - but - after reading this thread - now I'm not sure. Are most of you basically saying that going to these cities is like going to someplace like Cairo? Robyn

I am as sad as you are, my "fromager" told me a few days ago that the FDA no longer allows the import of vacherin across US borders. I do not rememeber why, or may be he did say why and i was so in shock that my ears went numb for a second. This is not cool ← Took a quick look - and it's a "raw milk" "possible listeria" thing. The rules have been on the books for a long time - but the FDA has started to enforce them more vigorously. Robyn

I just pulled a jar of Koon Chun Hoisin Sauce (made in Hong King) out of the pantry. Number one ingredient is sugar - and the calorie content just about matches that of sugar. Of course - when I use this stuff - I don't use much of it. Robyn

I'm in north Florida. BBQ everywhere - yes. Achiote - no. I called a few of the hispanic grocery stores in town. They don't speak English (luckily I speak passable Spanish) - and they don't sell achiote. Also called the biggest herb/spice store in town. They used to stock the paste - but don't these days. About the closest thing I found was a Goya spice mixture packet in Publix which contained achiote - but it was about the 8th ingredient on the list of ingredients - and I think that 90% of the packet was salt. Couldn't even find the stuff on the Spice Hunter web site (I usually order a bunch of stuff from them about once a year). So I think I'll pass this time around. Robyn

I usually order some cheese from France about this time of year - and I always order a Vacherin Mont D'Or. Isn't on my favorite cheese site now - or on any other cheese site I've looked at. Am I a bit too late in ordering this seasonal cheese - is it sold out - or did something else happen to it? It's one of my favorites - and I'm sad that I can't find it. Robyn

This is the Militello recipe - and the history behind the recipe (he says it's a derivative recipe - like most Floribbean recipes - derived from pork pibil). Although it's somewhat like the recipe you gave - there are differences - and I'm sure one could find a hundred recipes for pork that are even closer. So I think it's wrong to say he's "stolen" the recipe. It's simply his "take" on a classic dish. And he gives credit where credit is due. For what it's worth - I think I first ate at one of his restaurants maybe 20 years ago or so (the one in the strip shopping center in North Miami) - and he was cooking these kinds of things way back when. I'm sure he wasn't the first person to marinate pork in citrus (mojo came before Mark - not the other way around) - but he was certainly one of the first - if not the first - to prepare food like this in a high class fusion restaurant (where you'd get a pork tenderloin - as opposed to lesser cuts). My husband and I have to put on a lot of miles the next couple of days dealing with family medical problems - and if I can locate an hispanic grocery store along the way - I'll have to try to find some achiote. Robyn

Robyn: I will second your accolades for Publix. I spent a year in Gainesville for school and the two closest supermarkets to my apartment were a Publix and a Winn Dixie. The choice was not a tough one. The Whole Foods on Glades is certainly a spectacular store but for a regular market the Publix on Hidden Valley at N. Federal is more than sufficient. Publix looks even better to me as I watch the gradual destruction of the once-beloved Giant chain here in the DC-Baltimore area at the hands of Royal Ahole, I mean Ahold. ← Winn Dixie is the sad case here. Winn Dixie is what it is - but the Davis family (founders of Winn Dixie) is local - and an important local corporate citizen. Winn Dixie - like a lot of lower end chains that have to butt heads with the likes of Walmart and KMart supercenters etc. - is probably doomed to extinction. I wonder if I'll ever see a Jax zoo exhibit donated by Walmart? I'm not holding my breath. Winn Dixie even tried a higher end "concept store" in my neck of the foods - but - I don't think it can compete head-to-head against the Publix, Harris Teeter and Fresh Market stores that are within a 3 mile radius. That Publix on Federal Highway is neat - nothing like a Publix with a barrel tile roof. I'm surprised Palm Beach hasn't required the Publix there to renovate its ancient store and make it look like the Boca Federal Highway building. Robyn

What does the stuff taste like? The other ingredients in the marinade are cumin - olive oil - garlic - shallots - blood orange juice - lemon juice - wine vinegar - sugar and pepper - so I doubt one teaspoon of anything will make a huge difference. This is a Mark Militello recipe I got from the NYT a while back (pork tenderloin with black beans and sweet plantain mash) - in the summer. Only then did I learn that blood oranges are a seasonal item in the winter. I'm looking forward to making it - although I suspect the marinade - when finished - will wind up flavoring the pork just like a bottle of store bought mojo . Robyn

I have a recipe for a pork tenderloin marinade which calls for (among many other things) achiote seeds. I'm sure if I spent half a day driving around and hitting specialty hispanic grocery stores - I'd find some. But I don't have the time right now. One web site recommended the following possible substitutes: turmeric, paprika or saffron. I don't want to put $5 worth of saffron in a marinade. I have turmeric and paprika and lots of other stuff in the spice drawer - but don't know which to use - because I don't know what achiote seeds taste like. What would you use (any of those things mentioned - or something else)? Robyn

Hockey puck biscuits (or scones or the like) are usually the result of overworked dough. All I had to do was touch the dough - and it was overworked. So this is what I do. I put the dry stuff in the kitchenaid mixer with the paddle. Add small pieces of very soft butter and mix on the lowest speed until I can't see the butter (which isn't too long). Then I add the liquid while the paddle is still turning. Turn it off when the liquid is in the dough (again - not too long). Drop the biscuits or scones. They are better than the hockey pucks I used to make. Robyn

← Don't know exactly what you have in Canada - but McCormick now has ground Ancho Chile Pepper in its "Gourmet Collection". It's available in most supermarkets where I live. Robyn

I've only eaten at Nobu once. But I have a recommendation if you can swing it. We ate with a large party (about 12) at a big round table in the back. Basically told the waiter to do omakase - hot and cold. And it was fabulous. Enabled us to sample many dishes a party of 2 or 4 might not have sufficient appetite to consume. So if you can round up a reasonably large group - and get a big table.... Note that it was about $125/head - moderate drinking - no big wine. And that was about 4-5 years ago. Robyn

I'll second Whole Foods for a national high-end chain - and King's for a local gourmet store. As for Publix - it's one of the best (if not the best) middle-of-the-road supermarket chains in the country. And it treats its employees very well. If I had to pick only one place where I could do my shopping - Publix would be it. Robyn