jgm
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Posts posted by jgm
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Oxo also has a fairly new line of containers that seal up tight enough to keep bugs from migrating in or out.
They're available at lots of places, and are nice-looking containers, if that's important to you.
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A thought that just occurred to me:
If it's a $9.95 dinner in the local Applebee's, yeah, it's just food.
But if it's a $75+ dinner at an upscale restaurant...
If the restaurant is owned by a well-known chef, or employs a well-known chef...
If somebody went to enormous trouble to get it to look just right on the plate...
baby, it ain't just food. I know I'll get some disagreement about that, but I think it's a stretch to call the kind of meal I'd have to travel over 1,000 miles, for -- and save up for -- just food.
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I am extremely anxious to hear stories and see photographs. Wish I could've joined you! Maybe next year. If it were to be in Kansas City, I'm sure I could!
But for now, I must live vicariously through those who were able to attend.
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I think a great intro to cooking is the omelette. You can actually make a few different omelette for very little money and use the opportunity to explain a few cooking basics.
You can even finish the course with a soufflé.
I think egg cooking is, indeed, an important area to cover. Eggs are so incredibly versatile, plus they're a good basis for teaching a variety of dishes. For example, there's custard - sweet - as a dessert; with flavorings it becomes pie filling. But it's also a savory dish - quiche, or a vegetable flan.
A few months ago I contemplated doing a cooking class for teenagers. One of the things I thought about was gougeres. The basic recipe + pudding (custard!) is a dessert, creme puffs. It also can be made in to profiteroles and eclairs. But with cheese added, it's an appetizer by itself, and made with or without cheese, it can house a chicken, tuna, or crab salad for a sandwich.
When I taught a young friend to cook, the first thing we did was stew a chicken. She had meat and broth (and the bones could have been saved for stock), which can be turned into chicken and noodles; chicken and dumplings; chicken pot pie, and many other things.
Have fun!!!
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I, too, like the idea of the flaming sugar cube. It may be necessary to practice with different sizes and shapes of vessels.
Why not set the sugar cube in a piece of fruit or very moist vegetable? For example, cut an apple in half. Put the cut side down, inside the vessel. Using tongs (or whatever), set the alcohol-soaked sugar cube into a small square you've cut in the apple. Light with a long match. The apple isn't going to burn, but it will insulate any heat from the glass. If an apple isn't to your liking, there are several other possibilities. A thick slice of cucumber?
Very interesting! Please post results, and pictures if you can!
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I grew up in a small town in Western Kansas, in a working class family. I don't think my mother has ever been to a big city, and my dad would have been only during WWII. So fine dining at the world's best restaurants isn't exactly a family tradition. Nor is it for anyone I know, other than those I've met here.
I now live in Wichita, which is an area with nearly half a million people, and I don't think we have anything here that compares with the best of what places like Chicago and New York City have to offer.
So answer this: if no one writes about food... if no one photographs those lovely dishes... how would I even develop the desire to go to those places? Why would I want to taste those things? I will never forget waiting anxiously for Ronnie Suburban to post his story about his first visit to Alinea. In celebration, I mailed to him a photocopy from one of Craig Claiborne's cookbooks; it was a bite-by-bite description of a fabulous meal he had in Paris after winning "dinner anywhere in the world" in a public television fundraising auction. I had no idea, at the time I initially read it, that anybody ever ate stuff like that. Russel Baker's parody on Claiborne's piece was pretty much the funniest thing I've ever read. (PM or e-mail me if you'd like a copy.) Ronnie enjoyed it, too.
Why do people photograph and write about food? For the same reason they write about, and photograph, all of the other things this planet and this life have to offer. My life is so much richer for it.
Thank you, Craig.
Thank you, Russell.
Thank you, Ronnie.
Thank you, all of those who do.
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An Italian restaurant I used to frequent always served a scoop of spumoni with a flaming sugar cube on top. We always just blew it out and ate the sugar cube along with the first spoonful of spumoni.
For what that's worth. . .
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My only thought would be to make sure the pieces are all the same size, and are evenly distributed throughout the bowl before you start pulsing.
I suspect you're using various-sized pieces, and pulsing extra to break down larger pieces, after the smaller pieces are already the right size. Then by the time the larger pieces are broken down, the rest is powdered. If I remember correctly, I think Cuisinart literature used to recommend 1" pieces.
If that doesn't work, you may indeed want to think about buying an extra blade and dulling it somehow. I haven't bought a food processor in a couple of decades. They used to come with a plastic blade, the same size and shape as the steel blade. (And also a dough blade, which had shorter um... arms?) If you have anything like that, you might give it a try.
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I've made superfine sugar in the food processor before and it works well. I would think you could use a blender, too, although I've never tried it.
FYI, if the idea appeals to you, you can also flavor sugars. Lots of people put vanilla beans in sugar so that the sugar can absorb the vanilla flavor. I would think you could use large pieces of citrus fruit zest the same way; some people also put the zest in with the sugar to get the citrus flavor. I've never tried it, but I would think that herbs might also work.
Uh-oh. Now the ol' brain juices are flowing. How about... salt ground with just a bit of sugar, and flavored with lemon zest and maybe an herb (oregano? celery seed? dill? fennel seed?), for Bloody Marys?
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I'm thinking the issue with not giving a lot of details about temperature, cooking time, etc. is probably a course of action that was decided upon by someone involved with the show.
I'm going out on a limb here, a little bit, but I think it's deliberate. Every show has a producer. I have no idea who is producing this one, or how much experience that person may have. But if you look at the other FN cooking shows, you'll notice that pretty much, the hosts are fairly diligent about giving out that information, and even repeating it quite a bit. Then along comes this one, and it's a whole 'nother story.
Content of a show isn't solely the decision of the person on camera. Many decisions are made behind the scenes, and depending upon the working relationship between the on-camera person and the producer, the on-camera person may or may not have any say in how things are done. In the olden days when I produced a TV news program, I made all of the decisions about what went into the show on a daily basis. The design of the "clock" of the show - when we'd show local news, when we'd have a national news segment, when we'd do weather, when we'd do financial features, etc., was a decision arrived at by several people, but the news director had absolute veto power. The anchors had relatively little power. I was the one who 'stacked' the show every day. This show, since it's all about Anne and her talents and her view of things, probably allows Anne quite a bit of input, but it's likely that others have considerable input, also.
If Anne were leaving the information out, due to her own decision or simply because it was something she tends not to remember to do, be assured the producer would let her know about it if indeed the producer was of the opinion that it needs to be there.
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There are two considerations: cost and space.
We don't do a lot of entertaining. It's just the day-to-day dishes I'm concerned about.
Come to find out, the dishwasher we have now has a "quick wash." We've just never paid much attention to it. I'm thinking that there may be more people like me who are balking at this issue, because I'm seeing more companies point out that their machine has a fast-wash cycle that is good for washing dinner dishes, etc. - in other words, not pots and pans. We're trying the feature out for awhile. If I can get a load of dishes washed and another loaded in under an hour, I'll be happy and we'll save the money for the second dishwasher and the extra plumbing, and spend it on something else.
As I've told my friends: even if we were spending three times the amount on a house that we're spending on this one, I'd still not have the kitchen I really want.
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I agree. It seems like the name "Chocolate Chip Cookies" technically includes any cookie with chocolate chips. While one recipe may be more traditionally thought of as being a "Chocolate Chip Cookie," I don't think you can disqualify a different recipe for additions.
I haven't made Paul's recipe yet, although I have found and purchased the muscovado sugar, and plan to do so as soon as the heat breaks enough to make me not feel sick at the mere thought of turning on the oven.
However, I don't know how differing ingredients - especially browned butter vs. whatever, could disqualify a recipe from the generic "chocolate chip cookie" recipe. I could see differentiating Toll House cookies from others, because that's much more specific; it's a recipe born in a specific place at a specific time. And who knows, somebody may be able to come up with an argument that would make me take even that back.
I guess taste will tell. But I still don't understand Mr. Leite's statement about a difference between chocolate chip cookies, and cookies with chocolate chips.
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Interesting news...the GE profile series has a "speed cycle" of 35 minutes that they recommend for "everyday dishes and glassware." Theoretically, I could get the dinner dishes out of the way in 35 minutes, and then do the pots and pans.
Anybody have one of these? Comments?
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What a great thread! I just fixed the fruit salad with honey-lime dressing, and it's super!
We're having Nigella's chicken and sausage bake Monday night.
I printed out a lot of other recipes that I plan to make soon...very soon.
My winners so far this year are:
Green Bean and Hazelnut Salad from the May 2008 Gourmet. I didn't mind buying the hazelnut oil, but the only flaxseed oil I can find here is nearly $20, so unless I can find someone to split it with me, I'll continue to substitute canola oil. Be sure to toast the hazelnuts until you can smell toasted nuts, or the flavor won't be there. I toast them in a dry skillet on top of the stove, moving them constantly until they're ready. I also couldn't find whole hazelnuts at the store (although I know where in town I can get them, and will try them soon), so I used chopped hazelnuts.
Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter from the September 2007 Cooking Light couldn't be easier, and it's just plain yummy.
My mother discovered Penne with Tomatoes, Olives and Two Cheeses from the Epicurious website, and it's become a keeper at our house.
Skillet Chicken and Vegetables is a weeknight go-to in our house now. I add Herbes de Provence to add flavor. It's a really basic recipe that you can tweak to your heart's delight.
Asparagus Melt with Pesto Spread is simple, made for summer, and a great way to use tomatoes.
Yesterday I made a salad that absolutely rocked! A boyfriend from Lebanon made it for me 25 years ago, and I improved on it by one step, by using champagne vinegar instead of regular:
for one person:
1 small tomato, seeded and diced into approx. 1/2" pieces
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced into approx. 1/2" pieces
equal parts champagne vinegar and good olive oil
about a tablespoon of chopped fresh mint leaves
Toss together, eat, and be reminded that summer is a good thing, despite the heat.
Jenny
P.S. That same boyfriend also added Miracle Whip and vinegar to a can of Veg-All, and it wasn't too bad, as I remember it. But love can be as taste-less as it is blind. He also baked a steak with cherry tomatoes and cinnamon... ...I have such fond memories of him!
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so, what kitchen inovations have you got in your mind? what crazy kitchen can we cook up? . . .Hell, let's do it all. I challange you to make the best foodie space there is. It is all about home and hearth, after all, right?
I'm so glad you started this thread. I'm the person who asked the two dishwashers question, and I'm becoming amused at the responses I'm getting. My 'regular' friends look at me like I've lost my mind and ask, "Why would you want to do that???" My cooking/foodie friends look at me like I've lost my mind and ask, "Why wouldn't you???"
In the next few weeks my husband and I are going to get the house-building process started. For me, that means facing the sobering realities of how much money we DON'T have. I could spend half a million dollars on this house, and probably not get everything in the kitchen I'd love to have. (We're not even spending half that. Fortunately, we live in an area of the country where housing is far less expensive than it is on the coasts.) We have the plan picked out, and are very happy with it. The kitchen will be U-shaped, with an island in the middle and a walk-in pantry.
One of the things we're agreed on, is under-cabinet lighting. We both have had it with trying to work in our own shadows.
We believe we will be installing laminate countertops. Eventually, I'd like to get some type of stone, but we're going to go with laminate counters and a vinyl floor for now.
The builder's basic cabinet is oak, but I would like to upgrade to maple. In this area, most apartment kitchens have oak cabinets, and I can't walk into a kitchen with oak without being reminded of some really bad old days. Another possible upgrade is to have a glaze done over the finish, which would be really lovely, but it will add at least $1,500 to the cost of the cabinets, and I think we will have other uses for that money. At this point, I have no idea what kinds of compromises I'll have to make in the kitchen, but I should know soon.
I'll be watching this thread with interest!
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I have four Wusthof knives; an 8" chef, a santoku, a super slicer, and a paring knife. Each has a place in my kitchen.
The santoku has a thinner blade and I like it for chopping softer vegetables like celery, onions, etc. It's better for tomatoes than the chef. The chef is my oldest knife, however, and needs to be sharpened, so that may be a factor.
For meat, carrots, potatoes, and other items that offer more resistance, the chef is just fine. I like both for herbs. If I had to choose just one, however, it would be the chef.
The super slicer is just wonderful when a serrated knife is needed. And the paring knife performs quite adequately for tasks appropriate to a paring knife.
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There have been enough suggestions here, that I think it's time to sit down and talk with her. I think that you could puree something like vegetable beef soup, if that sounds good to her, and if she would like to have some beef.
Part of the equation here is determining what she's willing to eat. A lot of vegetables could be made into a soup by just pureeing them with half and half. I also like the tofu idea. It would provide some extra calories and some nutrition, if blended into other things. The milk toast Abra suggested really sounds good, too. Myself, I like Malt-O-Meal a lot.
Ask her what she'd eat if she could eat anything she wanted. That might start some ideas on how to adapt things for her.
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Gourmet or Bon Appetit had a great looking recipe for grilled stuffed tomatoes. It involved bread crumbs and blue cheese and looked realllly freakin' good. I'd look for it now if I wasn't running off to class.
On another note, I'm awfully jealous of your abundance. I'm growing grape tomatoes and someone keeps stealing the ripe ones before I can get to them. I'm seriously considered putting a sign next to them that directs them to the nearest Acme or Farmer's Market. Grrr...
Put a sign up that says something like "Pesticide Test: Specimen 23-804B". Do it on the computer and add something that looks kinda like an agricultural logo. Oh, and at the bottom, add (in red!) "Danger: non-FDA-approved systemic pesticide applied to plant. Not for human consumption." Of course, everybody will think it's bogus; but if the sign looks good enough it might make them leave it alone. . .just in case.
In my opinion, the success of my plants this year is directly attributable to the fact that everything is in containers. It's much easier to control moisture and weeds. Location can even be controlled, if necessary. Carrots, peppers, beans, herbs and tomatoes are all doing really well, I'm happy to report.
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I neglected to mention in my post about our GE Profile microwave/convection oven, that there are three ways to use it:
1) as a microwave
2) as a convection oven
3) combination microwave and convection
Ours is used as either a microwave or a convection oven. I've never used the two in combination, because it's my assumption it would be like learning to cook all over again.
Baked goods do really well in convection ovens, especially things like pies, biscuits and cookies that need to brown. I've never tried a cake. Someone on the pastry and baking forum may need to address baking cakes in convection vs. regular ovens. I wonder whether the convection would dry the cake out any. In that short of time, I doubt it, but I don't actually know.
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Recently I've been looking for muscavado sugar. (See the thread on the chocolate chip cookie bake-off, and you'll know why!
)I'm not sure whether there are dozens of different kinds of sugar, or whether there is simply a lack of uniformity in referring to a few kinds.
muscavado (dark and light)
raw sugar
cane sugar
demerera sugar
Succanat (trademarked name)
These are just a few of the sugars I've come across. Will someone please straighten this out for me?
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Depends on the coffee.
If it's an aromatic, freshly-brewed, really good coffee, it would relieve my stress unless I couldn't have some. Or unless the only cream around was the powdered kind.
But smelling the six-hours-old, burn-the-hair-out-of-your-nose stuff we have at work induces stress for me.
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A friend of mine makes a "beef salad sandwich" in the same way you'd make tuna salad or chicken salad - mayo plus whatever seasonings you'd like to use, such as pickle relish and/or olives, etc., with or without chopped hard boiled eggs.
Just a thought.
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Anna, our GE Profile microwave/convection combo is a countertop oven. They make both. And like I indicated in the other thread, I think it's just wonderful.
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The book arrived yesterday, and I can't wait to try the quarter-onion-roll trick. Very cool. Looking forward to the CBS segment and the radio shows... and the rest of the book!
Creating a flame using sugar cubes & alcohol
in Cooking
Posted
Lemon extract? Of course! The alcohol would burn. While I don't know if an extract would be appropriate for the project under consideration, in another setting, it might be ideal.
Of course, an extract of about anything could be made by soaking it in vodka or grain alcohol.