chappie

(he did say Western Md.) When you say, "the broths were ready," do you mean they first cooked down a bunch of bones to make the broth, then skimmed the fat off, etc? And then, if that was the process, did they have to remove the meats to cool for awhile? How did they get all the pieces out of the kettles?

Arrrr, but ain't there somethin' about getting up early and stirring, sweatin' over them oats? I used to make them every morning, but I haven't in awhile. I think I'm going to start again because of this thread ... mmm... I used to soak overnight with a splash of kefir milk in the water (the enzymes are supposed to break down something to make the oats more digestible). Then, about five minutes before they're ready, toss in some dried cherries. Dollop o' butter on top, grade B maple syrup and a dash of kefir or yogurt on top. Sometimes I'd even sprinkle in flax-seed meal at the end for health -- and a nutty flavor. Now that's breakfast!

Ah, I'd like to do this with brown rice. Should I slightly undercook the brown rice first, then make sure there's a touch of liquid for it to absorb on the oven stint? What would you say, cook it about half-done? Or with pastas that will go into the oven; maybe half-cook them first also?

My wife works long days on her feet (she owns a hair salon); I work nights as a sports editor. I'm the cook of the house, and I try at least a couple days a week to make something healthy, tasty and homemade she can heat up. Like yesterday I boiled down the carcass from a rotisserie chicken with herbs, garlic and veggie scraps into stock, reduced and made a really good chicken and whole-wheat noodle soup loaded with carrots. What I'd really like, though is a good source for recipes I can make in single portions and freeze, that are also easy to reheat. (Also, good sources for foil-pouch preparations of protein + veggie combos I can leave in the fridge and she can reheat when she gets home). This way, she can go to the freezer in a pinch and still have something homemade and healthy. (Emphasis on healthy). Thanks in advance for any help...

I wouldn't do the bruscetta as a side for pizza -- it's just doubling up on the bread. (Always makes me laugh that delivery chain pizza joints sell breadsticks as a size for bready pizza, and nowadays, for dessert -- sugary doughballs!). How about a size of broccoli rabe, sauteed in olive oil, crushed red pepper flakes and garlic (lid on for awhile to steam, then off to reduce the liquid), finished with a hit of balsamic?

This isn't about McDonald's, a blasphemy, I know -- but I thought it would get more looks here than the Africa forum. I spent a summer in South Africa and Zimbabwe in 1994, and ate at one of these. Check out the weird Native American theme/mascot, the song and the kids' area with the "Secret Tribe." http://www.spur.co.za/

This is a little off-topic, but I didn't want to start a whole new thread and waste all that precious screen space in these difficult times. It's about salad, but perhaps not your everyday variety. I need to make one to feed, oh, 35-40? on Saturday. It's for three log canoe crews (www.logcanoe.com -- kind of like rugby on the water) as a side dish at lunch. I need something hearty, so I'll probably add hard-boiled eggs and bacon, etc. (Maybe even avocados, but I'd break the bank on that...). So what I need is a good theme and perhaps a great dressing I can make ahead. I'll be bringing all the ingredients, sailing all morning and assembling right before we eat, probably in two large batches, the second put out after the first one is finished. I want to dress it at the last possible second. High-energy ingredients are a plus.

Just bought a bag of these for about $2.50, the dark cocoa variety, and it's one of the best snacks I've had in a long while. Ingredients: dry roasted pumpkin seeds, cocoa powder, extra virgin coconut oil, cane sugar, palm fruit oil, vanilla powder and sea salt. I wonder how hard they'd be to replicate? They were hulled pumpkin seeds, I believe. Rich cocoa flavor with a hint of salt and just a faint background of sweetness.

We had a bunch of chocolate leftover from making fondue at our Christmas party in December, so my sister and I made a bunch of chocolate-covered bacon one night after dinner. It's one of the best things I've ever eaten. Also, dark chocolate and brie paninis are great.

Crab prices have been rising steadily, with a recent report during 4th of July weekend here on the Shore of bushels of live crabs going for over $200. I'm surprised no one has a website tracking the fluctuations. What do they cost where you live?

OK then, I take back my grumblings. So how do I win one?

Shouldn't there be a way to find a suitable crock with all those "features" for, oh, I don't know ... $100 less?

I was up late and caught an episode of this last night (hadn't seen it but a few times before, an earlier season). This is a nasty show. Nasty in mean-spirited and revealing about all the ugly, judgmental crap that goes into producing television. It made me uncomfortable to see that one girl weeping, wanting to be on Food Network that bad.

I've been wondering about eating slugs for years now. I've already fried and enjoyed green tomato hornworms, so why not these slimy pests, too? Makes sense to me. I'll have to try it and report back.

Created this at some friends' brunch yesterday and it was a hit. Called it the Redbeard (after my red beard). Contents: Vodka (1 to 2 oz.) Pomegranate/cherry juice Coca Cola Champagne, sparkling wine or prosecco. Throw in a few fresh raspberries for garnish. Delicious.

I only use garlic hand-picked in Nepal above 16,000 feet and then overnighted on only the largest of cargo planes, because the bulbs need ample space between them to prevent that insufferable crowded flavor. But as far as raw vs. cooked in preserving, I am not sure I agree. Doesn't raw garlic contain numerous anti-bacterial compounds and enzymes that would be destroyed by heat? My instinct is that preserving raw (or lacto-fermented) would keep garlic longer than cooking. But again, I will add the disclaimer that I ain't no syintist.

I think it's important to recognize that filming for this is spread over just a few weeks (right? -- maybe a short break before the final episode or two), meaning "heavy favorites" aren't quite as ingrained on the set as they seem to the viewer spread out over months of episodes, with miles of blog commentary, online and newspaper articles between airings. When you think of it this way, it really does seem more like a tournament. Even Roger Federer loses from time to time, and in a short weekend on the links, guys from the PGA nethers can win a major and validate their careers. In this vein, I agree wholeheartedly with Coliccio's oft-repeated statements that he and the panel judge based solely on a single challege basis. To them, Richard (just this season's example) hasn't dominated for the months we perceive, but has maybe been on a three-day hot streak on a given night.

I had posted this in the eGCI forum "Q&A: All About Eggs" back in March and never got a response, so I'm moving it here: I have lately become adept at poaching eggs and do so for my wife most mornings before she leaves for work. But (ed: a March issue of the) Washington Post food section printed a blurb that confused me and countered my own intuition on the technique. It read: "Another tip is to use eggs right out of the refrigerator; a chilled white will be thicker and less likely to 'feather' or become stringy when it hits the water." To the contrary, I have been using either room-temperature eggs or even soaking them in water as hot as my tap will produce for at least 10 minutes before poaching, using the logic that they will set faster by beginning closer to the setting temperature when they hit the simmering poaching water. I have had good results this way. How do you explain the Post's logic? Also, if you're adding cold eggs, won't it lower the temperature of the liquid and both slow down cooking and encourage "feathering?"

Oh, nothing's wrong with Ilan other than he was the cheapest, phoniest, most manipulative scumbag ever to win a television cooking competition. But I've griped far upthread about this too many times to rehash.

I'm housesitting for my dad, whose garden is overflowing with swiss chard. Having never used it, I picked a ton of leaves, cleaned them really well, spun them dry and sauteed in a bunch of olive oil, garlic and red pepper flake. Whoa........bitter! Is it now too late to use this stuff, or is there a method to kill off some of the bitterness? I can take some, but this was too much.

God, I love this thread. Re-reading page upon page I've just laughed all over again at other people's memories I had seared into my brain and then forgotten. I've also rekindled the horrors of a few of my own worst meals. This simple line from John Whiting just had me rolling. A highly effective description I hadn't before read in print: "an ambiguous vegetable stew whose watery broth could have come straight from the rain barrel."

I second the comments about deer. It's funny how shooting an unsuspecting game animal from a tree in the woods seems so different at first glance than slaughtering livestock. But as soon as you got to the dismembering phase of your photos, everything looked the same. I'm really glad I got to butcher deer as a kid, because it taught me how to skin a creature and where "meat" comes from. I'm surprised no one mentioned haggis to utilize the lungs and other parts of the pluck. I haven't made it, but would like to. Last summer at a friend's wedding, a man was barbecueing one of the maybe 10 or fewer lambs he rears each year. I asked him if I could obtain the offal for making haggis, and he was incredulous -- almost indignant. Apparently "some local Scottish guy" (who turned out to a friend I sail with) asks him every year for the pluck, in order to make this dish. And apparently it's beneath him to provide it. I gathered from his comments that he was offended I didn't want to buy a lamb, but rather just the guts that would perhaps otherwise be thrown away?

Butterscotch does not traditionally contain whiskey.

Well, I always toast (non-brown, haven't experimented with that variety yet) basmati in butter with a touch of oil for quite some time, then add water and cook the old-school rice way. But it's a much quicker-cooking rice than the browns I've been getting, which risk burning, undercooking and overcooking with several methods. I'll try the oven method next. But, like I said, vitamin loss be damned, this "pasta boiling" way works great with the included post-boil steam. It doesn't require any measuring or monitoring, and you can prepare the rest of your dishes while it's rolling away on the stove.

It's not about saving time. It's about achieving consistent, good results. The article discusses the fact that -- and I can corroborate this -- many of the methods shown on rice packages (even those on heirloom or organic, etc. varieties), don't yield a good finished product.