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jgm

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Everything posted by jgm

  1. Just curious...I was reading this thread and was wondering what kinds of variations might be possible, when this post came up. What varieties do you remember? Do people put things on top, as with cheesecake, or is it more a mixed-in kind of thing? Do they vary mainly the filling, or also the crust? Yum. Sounds wonderful!
  2. I would suggest you start with something that hit your "wish I'd thought of that first" button, and go from there. Vary something, add something. If an intriguing ingredient would be...oh, chili powder, for instance, think about everything you've had that had chili powder or that flavor in it. Corn? An herb? Let your mind wander and keep a notebook handy to jot ideas.
  3. I just went to www.cookinglight.com and searched the recipe database for 'bearnaise'. It produced two hits; one was a beef and potato salad with bearnaise sauce, and the other was just a recipe for bearnaise sauce. The one person who reviewed it didn't like it at all, but I would suggest you take a look at it and see what you think. The reviews on the Cooking Light website are often right on target, but sometimes are a reflection of the reviewer's cooking skills and quality of ingredients. It would be a starting point, anyway. Do let us know if you come up with something really good!
  4. I nuke 'em for 30-60 seconds. They are very easy to microplane at that point. The juice is still slushy but easy to extract and strain. No worries about juice flying during juicing. In fact, I think I need to stock on another bag of organic lemons this week... ← Since the price of citrus can vary so much, it'll be nice to stock up when prices are down. Not to mention the convenience. No more moldy fruit! Yaaaay! Thanks!
  5. The local newspaper, the Wichita Eagle, will e-mail a recipe to readers every day. This is what food writer Joe Stumpe added in today's edition: Details when I get them. If anybody already knows what's up, feel free to let the cat out of the bag. Jenny
  6. Would you elaborate a little? What an intriguing idea! How do you thaw them (nuke, leave them out, etc.)?
  7. Look around for a chef who will do on-demand classes in people's homes. You could schedule the class for him and some friends, or for just him and the chef, and then invite friends over to eat the results. Not every chef would be willing to do it, but I'll bet there are a few in your area who would.
  8. But that's not true!!! Back in February '05, several of us explored various kinds of braising vessels (look under "eGullet Culinary Institute"). Had I not already owned a Le Creuset pot, I would have used it as an excuse to buy one. Let us know what you've got your eye on, and we'll design a course around it.
  9. The bacon flow chart is so wonderful! Even though I'd heard of cooking bacon in the oven several years ago, I just recently started doing it that way, and I will never go back. We've tried several brands of bacon this way, and even the cheap, thin stuff does much better than in a frying pan. When I cook it on top of the stove, I always seem to miss that magic window in which it's just done enough, but not overcooked. This method allows much more room for hitting the mark, and it cuts down on shrinking and curling.
  10. I think you need to offer as much variety as you can. These days, people have all kinds of food sensitivity issues. Sandwiches would be a disaster for someone who has celiac disease. Many are lactose intolerant. Quite a few have allergies. Etcetera. I would suggest soup (maybe two different kinds), half sandwiches or tea sandwiches, cheese, vegetable salads, fruit, and perhaps a light dessert such as cookies or small cakes. It wouldn't hurt to get the word out to those attending that if they have specific food requirements, they should contact you ahead of time. I've done a small amount of catering, as well as being in the position of having to order lunches for large meetings. Another possibility is to give attendees a proposed menu ahead of time, and have them mark what they'd like to eat.
  11. jgm

    16-bean soup

    Well, maybe that's the case. All I remember is, the last time I made this soup, it wasn't very satisfying because some of the beans were mush and some weren't quite done. (I'll have to ask my shrink why I bought more...) Maybe if I made sure all were done, the mushy ones would be so mushy I wouldn't notice. Next time, I think I'll just buy several different types of beans, cook them one at a time, freeze, and combine at a later date. Question: I know cooked beans can be successfully frozen. If I do the boil-and-let-sit-an-hour instead of the overnight soak, can I freeze the beans at that point, or do I need to cook them until nearly done, and then freeze?
  12. My only comment would be to examine that insert carefully, and read the manual in reference to how it cleans up. If it's a PITA to clean, you may not want to use it as much. That is one heckuva costly slow cooker. But with All-Clad's quality, who knows -- it may be less expensive in the long run than the discount store variety. We looked, briefly, at this one before replacing our old one. The price was the determining factor for us. There's no getting around, however, the convenience of being able to brown food on the stovetop and then just transfer the whole thing to the slow cooker. The one we bought has a black ceramic interior that usually takes a lot of scrubbing to clean up without a film clinging to the inside. I also would love to be able to program the unit to cook for an hour on high (to get up to temperature) and then drop to low for a few hours. If the All-Clad can do that, you have a very good reason for spending that much money on a slow cooker. Do let us know whether you like it, if you do buy it. Also understand that today's slow cookers tend to cook at a higher temperature than the old ones. My understanding is that it's a deliberate thing caused by food-safety issues. Monitor it closely the first few times you use it.
  13. jgm

    16-bean soup

    I love 16-bean soup, but I don't love the way it comes out when cooked according to package directions. I'm hoping for some practical advice on how to handle this. The problem is that if you soak the beans (or boil and let sit for an hour) and then cook them, by the time all of them are cooked through, some of them are cooked to mush. I bought a package of them last week, and thought I'd just quickly sort through them. Not happening. Duh. Who wants to sit and sort all those beans? So I found a large-hole colander in my kitchen and now they're sorted into two groups: small and large. I guess I'll get out my "Joy of Cooking" and do a little reading to try to figure out the relative cooking times for the two sizes of beans. I'm thinking about doing the soaking in two batches, draining both, starting the larger beans cooking, and then adding the smaller ones about a half hour later or so. If this doesn't produce a satisfactory result, does anybody have any advice on how to get there without buying 16 different kinds of beans and cooking them in 16 different pots????? There's gotta be a better way.
  14. jgm

    Ask Aida

    When I watched the pie-baking show, when she baked off the piecrust with foil and beans, she said the beans would be fine to cook in the normal way. I've always read that once you use beans in that fashion, you should keep them for that use, and not cook with them. That would make sense to me; I've never tried to cook beans that have been used as pie crust weights, but I would think that baking them for 20-30 minutes would have an effect on them. I've never checked it out, though.
  15. jgm

    Pasta and Diabetes

    You probably want to do some Googling of the glycemic index. It's a fairly controversial topic, though. Some people consider it to be the gold standard of what to eat. Others say the GI is not reliable, because adding any other food to it changes the whole picture, and not necessarily in a predictable fashion. It boils down to who you decide to believe.
  16. Reheating will kill bacteria, but not the toxins they create.
  17. jgm

    Ask Aida

    I watched the pie show last night. Although I like her and I think she has a good camera presence, I don't like the format of the show. I don't mind reading the e-mails, as a way to integrate information and viewers' questions, but the video was phony and stupid, and I get really impatient with stuff like that. The sidekick thing doesn't work well for me, either. I'll probably tune it in from time to time, especially if she's covering something I'm interested in. Obviously, I'm not part of the target audience, so it doesn't really appeal to me.
  18. Interesting this topic should resurface at this time. A recent article in the newspaper indicates a group of college and university presidents have formed the "Amethyst Initiative", which is in favor of reducing the college drinking age to 18 from 21. Here's a link to the story. I went to college in the early/mid '70's, when the drinking age in my state was 18 for beer (3.2% alcohol content) and 21 for the "hard stuff". I have vivid memories of girls in my dormitory doing a lot of binge drinking of beer on Friday night, praying to the porcelain goddess for several hours afterward, sleeping to mid-afternoon, and then getting up and doing it all again on Saturday night. Binge drinking was a widespread activity among our student population. A few people had fake ID's so they could get into the "21 bars", but that was for social reasons more than for acess to alcohol. I know of no studies indicating there's any reason to believe that binge drinking will stop, or even slow down, if the drinking age is lowered. In fact, I'm somewhat surprised to read that a group of fairly educated people would simply make this assumption, as they apparently have; none of the news stories I've read indicate they've cited any studies, statistics, etc. that would support their position. I'm hoping someone will find a link showing I'm wrong; that would at least restore a little of my faith in those involved in higher education. Personally, my opinion is that if we can't talk college kids (and others) into behaving responsibly with alcohol now, we shouldn't expect to be able to just because the law has changed. I'd love to hear your comments.
  19. While I think all of this sounds excellent, maybe what I'm really asking is "what do you do when your plans fall through?" Today is a good example. Got to work just fine. Went back to car to run an errand, and the battery is dead. There are two restaurants within reasonable walking distance, for lunch. Either has fairly decent food. But just suppose, for the sake of argument, that at said restaurant today, I bite into the sandwich, and it's okay but not at all wonderful? The practical aspect of the situation is this: I can't go anywhere else, and even if I could, I can't afford two lunches today. I can't go hungry all afternoon; my blood sugar will dump me and I'll be extremely crabby and feel like s***. So I'll gulp down something really unsatisfying, or try to find a machine for something (hopefully not too awful) to just fill me up. No, my car doesn't break down every day. But there are plenty of days when we have an urgent situation at work and I can't take an entire lunch hour - I have to eat something quickly and get back to work. If I've brought lunch, great. There are also days when I fix lunch and go off and leave it. (Much to the dog's delight!) Long story short: it's fast food or nothing on those days. Or I'll get home from work with a massive headache and not feel like cooking as planned. Or something else will come up that interrupts the plans. This really is my biggest diet hurdle. Lack of time and energy to plan as completely as I'd like, combined with having to change plans at the last minute. There are no grocery stores near work, or I'd just go get some fruit. The outlook for much improvement isn't good, considering some new activities in my life that will make the next 6 months very hectic, in addition to two very sick parents that make things pretty uncertain. This could last for a few more months or a few more years. Life is like this for me a lot, though. I've conquered a lot of my other challenges to eating well, but these remain. Suggestions are welcome.
  20. The newest issue of Bon Appetit has an article by Melissa Clark, and how she keeps her weight down even though she works as a food writer and recipe developer. In a nutshell, it's all about portion control and exercising. And evidently she eats food that always tastes so wonderful, even a small portion satisfies her. Must be nice. We who have weight problems potentially have about a million excuses for eating what we do. That's certainly true of me. But where she works around wonderful food everyday, I'm sitting at a desk, often getting hungrier by the minute, and by the time I can get away for lunch, I'm starving. I try to bring my lunch, but don't always have time, or things don't work out as I'd planned. Sometimes I end up at a local sandwich shop; sometimes it's with fast food. Not satisfying in flavor, so as we all know, we make up for that with volume. Truly, there aren't really good meals, at a reasonably-affordable price, within reach on my lunch hour. I hang out with people who think Pizza Hut makes pretty damn good pizza, not those who dine on "foie gras terrines, braised lamb shanks, or desserts with names like Molten Chocolate Nirvana." In short, although I could put more effort into making better tasting, more nutritious meals, there's also a limit to what I can do. I suspect that's true of many of us. Melissa is right, that high-quality, well-prepared foods are often quite satisfying in small portions. That's the goal, for me. I'd be interested in what fellow food-lovers have to say about how they make that happen, and whether they can as much as they'd like. What are your realities? How do you deal with your challenges?
  21. I'm starting this topic because I know several eGulleters have excellent knowledge of how scientific studies are run, and how to interpret the results. A news story out this week cites a study done on 750 Chinese men and women between the ages of 40 and 59: Here's a link to the UNC report: Link I read the story in the Chicago Tribune, which allows comments after its stories. And there were some very interesting comments. One person recommended people go to www.migraineweb.com, which has a list of ingredients it claims "always contain MSG": and other processed foods that "often contain MSG or create MSG during processing": Another reader speculated that MSG is a neurotoxin that affects a person's setpoint that determines their weight, or perhaps that weight gain could be the body's way of diluting MSG's effects. I'm interested in what others think of this information, both that in the UNC article and in the other info I've listed. I'm interested in hearing some "educated" opinions. Or comments.
  22. I think this is a difficult subject to handle. I'm not a pastry chef, and know little about this. But if my faith required certain dietary restrictions, and someone knowingly violated them when making something for me, I'd be pretty upset. I wouldn't, but some people might be inclined to sue. I think I'd just tell them, "if you want X, understand that it involves using alcohol" and let them make the decision after you've provided the details. Myself, I see nothing wrong with a little alcohol in cooking, even if I were someone who doesn't drink it. In my own mind I separate drinking alcohol from using it for chemical purposes in cooking; if others don't make that separation, though, I think their wishes should be respected. It may mean that they don't get their first preference if I can't produce the product without alcohol, without going to a lot of trouble. If I invested a lot of time trying to get around the no-alcohol restriction, I'd expect to be paid for that time.
  23. If it's obsessive, it's far from record-setting obsessive. My sister and I were talking about Corningware last night. Her mother-in-law LOVES the old corningware coffee percolators. Since they're not being made anymore, she buys them when she finds them at garage sales and antique stores. She has 17. edited to add: She actually uses a Corningware percolator as her everyday coffee maker. When one burns out, she goes out to the barn and gets another... and starts looking for more whenever she's out and about.
  24. I have a problem. I need to get rid of my very first food processor, a Cuisinart CFP 5A, but I just can't. I don't want to use it any more. Like me, it's old and stiff and has to be coaxed into doing things. Its motor is still strong, but its workbowl is a major PITA. Even a second-hand store wouldn't want it; its parts have to be held just right to get it to work. The Cuisinart company once offered to buy it from me, and allow me to apply the proceeds to the purchase of a younger, sleeker model, but I would not sell. When the lady on the phone started laughing, I accused her of being the kind of person who'd sell her own children. So it and its accessories have been lovingly packed away, and will probably stay that way until after I'm dead, and someone else gets rid of it. It represents my first step into the world of Serious Cooking...the world of learning to make food myself, from raw ingredients, instead of getting it out of a can or a box. I used it to make my first batch of mayonnaise. It was there through thick and thin, through kitchen triumphs and tragedies. Two days after I brought it home, every bit of food in my kitchen was chopped, sliced, or pulverized to one degree or another. It sat and challenged me; my friend Mark, who had actually taken cooking lessons in France, told me the French chefs were sniffing about it, insisting that it didn't do anything a good knife in the right hands couldn't do. Eventually, because of that conversation with Mark, I bought a good knife and began practicing. Although I now own 3 food processors (all more than 15 years old), I rarely use them because of my greatly improved knife skills. So now it's time to retire my old friend. Practicality dictates that I should just put it in the trash and be done with it, already, but I just can't. Maybe I'll have it buried with me. Except I really would rather be cremated, and its metal base will likely not melt down enough to get stuffed into an urn with the other remains. And I doubt I'll be able to talk anyone into storing my remains in it, although I certainly think that would be appropriate. It would just look strange on a mantel, you know? Some people can't part with their first car. I can't part with my first Cuisinart. So it will sit in a box in my garage or basement, until I'm gone and my nieces and nephews shake their heads, wonder why I would keep such a thing, and put it in the garage sale. Anybody have any words of wisdom that can change my mind?
  25. The Chicago Tribune this morning carried the news of her passing... The story Since the link will probably be available only a short while: I remember her as the author of Cuisinart cookbooks and one on food of the Midwest. The article doesn't mentioned the cause of death, or any other details. I had never met her, but I still feel like I'm losing an old friend.
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