jgm

For me, the best compromise is the packages of fresh herbs at the grocery store that are a mixture of several in one packet. A few weeks ago I found a packet that included thyme, rosemary, and a couple others. It was just perfect for what I needed. The ultimate convenience, of course, would be if the grocer had plants, and I could just snip off what I want. I haven't seen the frozen herb cubes around here. I think I've seen some of the tubes, and haven't tried them, but maybe I should. I did also purchase an Aerogarden, and that's my favorite. I can't wait until my new seed pods arrive! Jenny

As I'm learning more about cooking, I'm moving toward being able to cook without recipes. It's one of those one-small-step-at-a-time things for me. Having had a meat and potatoes upbringing, it's difficult for me to envision where to go, once I get something mastered. Or conquered, as the case may be. Recently, a chef/friend taught me to make a sauce that I've come to adore. Start with a handful of minced shallot, saute briefly in melted butter, then add white wine. Continue to cook until the wine's nearly gone, then add some whole grain mustard, and after it's incorporated into the shallots, finish off with cream. Cook until sauce coats a wooden spoon. Tried it first on salmon: excellent. Tried it second in a much different way; as my friend directed, I added some chopped tarragon, then mixed it into a salad of roasted red potatoes (cubed with skin on, olive oil and herbes de provence added before roasting), steamed green beans, toasted pine nuts, feta (bleu cheese is better, but my husband won't eat it), topped with slices of bratwurst. Downright yummy. Next time I may sneak in the bleu cheese, 'forget' to mention it, and see how it goes. I know there must be more things to do with this sauce. So those of you who are seat-of-the-pants cooks (which I want to be when I grow up), what would you do with this basic idea for a sauce? What else would you use it on/with? Which ingredient would you switch out for another, and how would you use it then? TIA Jenny

I'm not so sure a court would award damages, especially the price of a new coat. As mentioned earlier, the coat is not a new coat, and therefore not worth a new price. The stain is on the inside and barely visible. The restaurant has already spent substantial bucks trying to remedy the situation. The customer had the opportunity to check the coat, thereby keeping it out of harm's way, but refused. Customers understand that accidents sometimes happen, even in the best of establishments, and there is some risk when one hangs his/her coat over the back of a chair. So it's not like the customer could not possibly have understood that his coat could be damaged. He could have spilled something on it himself. (That would have been hard to do, but I'm a lifelong klutz and you must trust me on this.) I think a good lawyer would tell the customer (nicely) to grow up and move on.

For a brief moment, there was a restaurant here called "Coli." Supposedly it was pronounced SO-lee, but that's not what people saw. And that's not where people went.

Swiss steak, chicken fried steak, and the like, are about all you can do with this cut. But for Swiss steak, I much prefer a roast. But then I'm prejudiced. My mom would cut these damn things into portion sizes, fry (medium well done) in a frying pan, serve with mashed potatoes and canned grean beans, and my dad would yell at me for being a picky eater because I didn't want to eat them. The green beans and the potatoes were much better, and I'd often manage to down about half the meat. Another dinner suffered through with silence and animosity. These ugly things do not come into our house. I'd like to say the same for the canned asparagus Mom also served, but my husband likes it, so he eats it. Jenny

We're getting closer to finding out just what this thing is going to be. I was in this store this morning, and they have opened up the new area, but it's got the same old stuff in it. However, there is a really large section in the middle that is walled off with hanging plastic, and appears to be undergoing renovation now that its former contents have been moved into the new part. So far, nothing indicates this will be anything interesting, much less spectacular. I'll keep y'all posted.

Chicken mole made with a Cadbury's Fruit and Nut Bar. (This is pretty obscure. You get to assign yourself extra points for this.)

I started to watch the second season of TC, but then decided not to. I think it's because I'm uncomfortable with the kind of editing this show does. If the producers decide to make YOU the villain, how will it affect your future? I strongly suspected that although the contestants probably appeared as pretty much who they are, I think there was quite a bit of evidence that through creative editing, certain personality traits were portrayed as more prominent than they really are... especially negative traits. Caveat emptor.

I've posted this before, but this definitely fits in the category of "strange cooking techniques" Lava Cooking

DeFazio's, which I've heard originally opened as an Angelo's way back when (but you'd know more about this than I would) still has marinated eggplant on their salads.

I'm wondering, really, if this was a technical flub. If I remember correctly, it was shown a long time ago, that subliminal advertising is ineffective. I can't imagine why McDonald's would pay for it or even want to mess with it. I'm not saying that I think either McD's or FN is above doing stuff like this. It's obvious to me that money is the one and only real motivator in anything and everything they do. And if confronted with this accusation, I would not expect either entity to admit to it, if they were doing it. But who knows. Nothing surprises me anymore!

Marlene's method works well for me, but I've noticed that it does only when I use my heavy saucepan. My husband somehow acquired some rather thin pans -- I think they were free with our refrigerator (!) and insists on keeping them around. If I use them for hard-boiled eggs, I need to keep at least low heat under the pan for the entire duration, or the eggs don't get cooked through.

I can offer only the experience of a customer, since I've never worked in a restaurant. I suspect there are three kinds of customers: those who have no understanding of a restaurant's need to turn the table; those who do know, but become engrossed in conversation and don't realize they've overstayed; and those who do know, and don't care, for whatever reason. Nevertheless, I think the restaurant staff must always rise above the problem and display only impeccable manners. Clearing the table of everything is a kind hint. Offering to buy dessert in the bar, or at another "special" table (possibly designated as special only 30 seconds ago...) are both very kind ways of handling the problem, and I think in most instances, that kindness would be deeply appreciated. Put yourselves in the shoes of someone taking dear Aunt Hilda out for a birthday dinner, knowing that Hilda has cancer and probably won't be around for another birthday. Or people who are dining with friends or relatives, together for the first time in years, and it just feels too good to stop. Or young parents who are enjoying a rare night out. In either instance --or any of several other possible situations-- rudness on the part of the staff will alienate everyone at the table. That's a dangerous step for the restaurant to take, and one that could ruin an important evening for customers. I think the successful restaurants are those who handle problems with kindness and professionalism. You just never know when a guest might introduce other friends to his or her new favorite restaurant... but you know that a report of a bad experience will make it across town faster than a speeding bullet. If all else fails and you must ask customers to leave, a complimentary dessert or entire meal, in most instances, would smooth things over.

One little thing that may be handy for everybody to know, is that with Tupperware and other containers, the round containers tend to be more leakproof than any other shape. It has to do with the uniformity of tension (or something like that) when the lid is on the round shape, whereas with a square or rectangular shape, the sides tend to gap a little, and leaks are more likely to happen. Or maybe one of the engineer-types on eG can explain it better.

Plastic page binders? Genius! Especially for those occasions when you have to transport knives, and don't like the sight of blood (especially your own).

This is an interesting discussion. I am currently using a magnetic strip, and store my knives handle-down on it. It's meeting my needs adequately at this time, but we're planning to build another house, and knife storage is one of the issues I'm concerned about. We're smack in the middle of tornado alley. In '99, an F4-F5 hit our neighborhood, destroyed our garage, took part of the roof, and left the front door hanging by one hinge. When I finally got up the guts to enter the house, I found that the living room furniture looked as though it had been gathered by a giant pair of arms, rotatated around the room, and set back down again. Stuff from the bedrooms was in the kitchen, at the opposite end of the house, and vice versa. But the knives were still attached to the strip. I had a momentary blanch of horror, though, when staring at them and thinking about what could have happened, had they come loose. We weren't home, but could have been, and the pets definitely were. I would not have enjoyed the sight if one or more had come into contact with the cats or the dog. I probably won't use a magnetic strip, or at least an exposed one, in the new house. I like the idea of mounting one in a drawer and using it there. I've left the strip alone because we have very little drawer space and very little counter space, but I'm not crazy about it. A few weeks after the tornado, our home was entered by an intruder late at night while I was home. The situation ended up being harmless enough, (crackhead looking for a bathroom; too high to worry about stealing anything or hurting me), but there's merit in the idea of not having knives visible and handy to someone with bad intentions. Jenny

For the most part, I agree with what's been said in this thread. A few years ago, while working as part-time Christmas season help at Dean & Deluca, I became acquainted with their Herbs for Meat and Herbs for Poultry. Using those two blends really helped elevate my cooking. I'm now ready to blend my own, but they're not explicit about exactly what's in those blends, so I'm a little concerned about that. I have a feeling I'll be fine, though. Another thing that stops less experienced cooks from doing their own blends, is the lack of recipes "out there". Cookbooks don't often publish them, and there aren't many on the 'net. If anybody has some you particularly like, please don't be shy about starting another thread. I have been using Sally Schneider's pepper blend, and I really like it. As for the pots and pans, a few years ago my husband and I abandoned all the ratty pots and pans acquired in our single days, and bought a set of Emeril's All Clad. It was a good excuse to get the crap weeded out of the cabinets, and since we bought the small set, we didn't get a lot of things that we haven't found a use for. The small saute pan hasn't seen much action, but the rest has been used quite a bit. I doubt we'll ever buy another set, but it was a good place to start. Jenny

OK, what's the most unusual cooking technique you've ever used? Is it more exotic than this? If ever in my life I'm going to encounter anyone who's actually done this, surely it will be on eGullet. It's on my list of things to do before I die.

If you can have sauce-filled chopsticks, can a sauce-filled fork be far behind? Or a melted butter-filled fork? Mashed potatoes... yum...

About the flour mess-- I've gotten into the habit of doing the second rise on a cutting board. Just before dumping the bread into the hot pan, I take the cutting board to the sink and use a brush or paper towel to brush away the excess flour from around the loaf. I continue to be amazed at this recipe. Sometimes I pinch myself, because I just can't believe I can make bread like this, for such a small amount of effort. It's literally a dream come true. When I ran across this article, I had begun a systematic study of various bread machine recipes. Some were not too bad, and the convenience of the bread machine was great. Since discovering this recipe, the machine has sat unused, and I probably should put it away again. I have a loaf in the oven right now, and the aroma is driving me nuts.

Our first cooking session was last night, and it was enlightening for both of us. First of all, I want to say that although this is turning out to be a somewhat different thing than I had first thought, it remains an extremely satisfying thing to do. This is a financially struggling young couple. They have a bit of family support, but would rather not rely on it. Their wonderful baby is quite active, but played contentedly by himself while we worked and talked. We stewed a whole chicken, discussed food safety issues (she has worked in restaurants, and so was well aware of them), and discussed a range of foods to work on. She does think she can afford to make fettucine alfredo from time to time. She owns a fat separator, although she didn't know that's what it was. Her husband doesn't like anything with tomato sauce or ketchup in it, so that's going to limit a whole range of dishes. She has a few food "hesitations" but seems to be willing to try new things. Bonus: they received an outdoor grill as a gift, and with it came a vegetable grilling tray. She's already grilled vegetables on it, and discovered how good they taste that way. And she was happy to know she can do about the same thing in her oven. Tomorrow night, we'll turn the chicken, the broth, and some other ingredients into filling for chicken pot pie. Not sure where we're going from there... probably the fettucine.

I've never heard of this, so I'm eager for more information. Do you allow your flour to age slightly, or do you add oxidants? What do you add, and how much? Very interesting! Oh, such a geek I'm going to be at the Christmas table! Edited to ask: I usually put even my unbleached flour in the freezer when I first get it home, to kill any hitchhiking bugs. Does that affect the "age" of the flour? I am happy to report success in my proselytizing efforts. My sister has heard the words of the Gospel of the Bread that have fallen on her ears. My brother-in-law called this morning to discuss the sizes of cast iron pots available, and which would be best! Yesssssssss! (He's going with the 5 quart, as opposed to the 7 quart.)

...when you realize that you are in your second transition. The first transition was when I felt guilty about eating certain things, because they were highly-processed and just not "pc" for eGullet. Or when I ate them but knew I would never "fess up" to it on eG. The second transition is no longer having any appetite, at all, for such things. What's next?

Wonderful! I love it when success comes out of the oven, don't you?

Missed this question first time around, but.... Not speaking definitively, but I don't think it'll work. The no-knead technique substitutes time for kneading to develop the gluten. Celiac-OK breads don't have gluten that needs development--they use other "stiffeners" like xanthum gum and the like. I don't think it would even develop any additional flavor, or not to a significant degree. As such, though yeast-based GF breads do need rising time, there's no point in letting them sit around for eighteen hours--they just need to rise until doubled, then baked. My sister and my niece both have celiac-sprue, so I've had my share of experience making GF breads. It's more chemistry then artistry. ← I haven't tried this yet, but I'll probably play around with it using a GF flour. My friend isn't much of a cook, and if the recipe is too involved, she won't mess with it. If I could get something like this to work for her, that would be great. I've also found out that her problem is not a severe one. She can tolerate a little gluten. And by the way, the gastrointerologist she spoke with last week, predicts that within 10 years, the world will have changed significantly for people with celiac disease. He predicts a pill will soon come out, and also that technology will help people create much better GF products. I hope he's right! Scott, if you have any good bread or pizza crust recipes that an "average" (= non-obsessed) home baker could do, I'd love to have them. But that's another thread.