geekdoc

Today Varmint and I met in Pinehurst to beat a small white ball mercilessly. Our dining matched our play, top notch all the way. I believe between the 2 of us we had 2 pacs of Nabs, a peanut bar, banana and a couple diet Pepsis and some cheap American beer (just me). Despite this I had a spectacular time proving that the company is by far the most important part of the meal. Thanks Varmint!

Don't those photos qualify as pornography? I know I was aroused!

If it makes you feel better I have bought duplicate books on several occasions. Usually those that had been on my wish list for a long time, and whenI see another for $2.50 at the used bookstore, BAM I have 2 copies. The second is then given away to a friend. "Liked it so much I had to get this for you!" How about this for a Homeresque "doh!" - I donated some clothing to the local thrift store that shrunk or I got too fat to wear, as my wife so gently puts it. Since I am a big fan of these stores for bargain couture, a month or so later I see this great suit and buy it in too much of a hurry to really try it on, only to find - its the same one I just donated! So the Junior League gets paid twice, its for a good cause right?

Gorgeous! Did you have the confit made well in advance or was it a "quick confit"? Really nice photography as well. Made my mouth water!

Doh!

Just one turntable? My daughters call them the big black CD's, but they get more play than the little silver ones. Just hard to get them into that little slot in the car.

Boy can I relate to that. AND I have a 6yo named Julia as well

I just found this thread in the forum and MAN are ya'll eating well. What time's supper? Therefore I'm trepidacious about posting any recent meals, since I have to cook to the tastes of my young kids and New England wife whose idea of spicy is corned beef (sorry honey), but here goes. Yesterday was a pretty standard daube of beef shanks which had been marinated ovenight in wine, herbs and aromatics (cooked off the EtOH first), and then browned and braised about 4 hours, after which, the meat was removed, the braising liquid strained and reduced, and served with a mix of root veggies (carrots, parnips, pearl onions) which were steamed until tender in my pressure cooker) . Served with a simple pommes anna (my favorite starch dish). I have to serve the meat and vegs separated for the kids - for some reason when mixed they are not appealing to 4 & 6 year olds. The beef turned out the consistency of butter (a good thing), and the little one said it was "really chewy, like bubblegum" - thanks. Tonight we smoked some dry rubbed baby back ribs with pecan wood (ice storm brought some limbs down off my trees), and served with lemon water steamed brocolli and glazed carrots, and strained lentil soup (the lentils broke down to an unpleasant mush (oops), but the flavor was good so I ran it though the strainer a few times, with very decent results). This time the little one made the bones look like army ants had gotten to it, and was disappointed when there weren't any more left. Go figure.

My family and I are moving to NZ (likely Invercargill) from the US soon for a year+ sabbatical. I was hoping that any Kiwis out there could give some advice on what are the best culinary products to look for and where to find them. What are the great bargains? Also, what items are unavailable that we might commonly have in the US? We are really excited about this and I am just trying to be mentally prepared for what I may find in the markets. Ka pai Henry/Geekdoc

My take on "weird foods" is somewhere in the world there is a group that has been hungry long enough to eat it and make it palatable, so that being said, I will eat anything prepared well by someone who knows what they're doing. In the South if you ask anyone of African-anerican descent if they eat chitlins, they will invariably reply, "Yes, but not just anybody's". They will then go on to say that they will eat their grandmothers, etc, but you gotta make sure they're cleaned properly. So basically it is a trust issue. I would eat tarantulas cooked on a fire by an Amazonian, if he/she had a reputation as a good cook! I do cringe a bit when watching the later Star Trek series when the Vulcans slurp down live critters. Prefer my meat dead. But just barely in the case of beef!

Try the French Laundry cookbook for a good citrus cure using salt, pepper, orange/grapefruit/lemon/lime zest x about 4 hours and the poached fully submerged in olive oil at 110 degrees for 10 minutes (I stick my finger in the oil to make sure its not too hot - should be like medium hot bath) Awesome results and easy as pie. works great with tuna as well. Thanks T.K.

God I'm glad I'm not the only one crazy enough to have brined a whole pig in a bathtub! I use Alice Waters brining recipe and everyone always loves it. (Salt, sugar, garlic, thyme, allspice, juniper berries) Where I grew up we were lazy. A pit was dug and a fire built inside and beside it. When the coals were ready the hog was laid in the pit on the coals, and then covered with the coals from above and then dirt was placed on top of that. Finish drinking whatever whiskey is left and go to bed. Wake up at the crack of noon, exhume the corpse, hose it off, and lay it on the table to eat. (Some folks with more foresight use foil or some other covering to keep the pig clean) There are however as many ways to roast a pig as skin a cat and the results are much tastier.

Boy and I thought I was a book slut! My wife has limited me to a shelf of our butler's pantry so there has been some serious editing which I am pretty proud of. That and the fact that the library which has a great collection is right across the street. Probably a few hundred in my possession, of which only about 50 which I use regularly are out in the open. Keep in mind that is is coming from a guy who on our last move had over 120 liquor size boxes of LP's left over from my DJ/music studio days (do the math, its over 10,000). So basically the lithium is working pretty well now.

Addendum I posted the suggested bio thread (painful to write about oneself) if anyone wants to discuss HRT, etc. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=38696 Eat well Geekdoc

lg regarding your mother's history of cancer, it would be important to know exactly what types of cancers she had (e.g. ductal carcinoma of the breast, etc). OCP's and HRT have been shown to decrease the risk of colon and ovarian cancers, so its not a one sided thing. You might want to have a genetics consult where someone reviews your family history in detail to sort out which diseases are heritable and which are essentially random. It does seem like she has some genes which increase her succeptibility, but if she were a heavy smoker who worked in an asbestos plant and sniffed glue on the weekends, then... (just kidding of course).

(if it get's too off topic, maybe doc can create a bio thread since this would be relevant to him) What is a "bio thread'? As for the risks of cancer etc, there is much we don't know. However, I like to make the analogy that chronic pain/ arthritis/etc patients use NSAIDS (Ibuprofen,Motrin, Advil, Aleive, etc) in huge quantities nationally even though it is well documented that catastrophic GI bleeds directly attributable to NSAID use kill more people annually than AIDS (30-60,000). Why? Because they know those medicines IMPROVE THEIR QUALITY OF LIFE. So the first thing I would ask myself before starting or continuing any medication, is how much will it improve my quality of life, and am I willing to accept the risks. For me, I find that coffee improves my day to day quality of life even though it is probably not the healthiest thing in the world. I quit for 6 months a while back and hated the way I felt, so... Finally, one needs to really look closely at the breast cancer data from the WHI study. It is not nearly as scary as the press misinterpreted it to be. One needs some real knowledge of statistics to appreciate what things like relative risk mean. In the case of breast CA and HRT, women showed a 30% increased relative risk of breast cancer, which means that instead of 3 women per 1000 per year it rises to 4 women per thousand per year, not 300 (30% OF 1000)!

I'm glad to see that I wasn't blasted out of the forum my "non-natural" suggestion that avoiding cyclic "changes" using hormones might be a good thing. As opposed to the pill which has a fairly high serum hormonal level a few hours after ingestion and drops over the next 20 hours or so to an "adequate level" to prevent ovulation, the Nuvaring provides a very steady state hormonal level approximately equivalent to the LOWEST level that the pill reaches just before it is time to take another. (On a graph it looks like the Himalayas versus Kansas). It also minimizes the "screwup" factor, which ALL studies have proven, that being, despite what patients report, they do a lousy job taking their pills on time. Also, because this product provides adequate levels for at least 35 days, one would not have to buy extra product each month to fill in the gaps - remember only 21 of the 28 pills in a BC pack contain hormone - the rest are placebo/marker pills. At this time I have 100's of patients using Nuvaring continuously and only 2 have wanted to switch to something else - really unprecedented compliance in my experience. The idea of little to no bleeding, no hormonally related mood swings (can't account for anything else!), no other cyclic events such as pain, migraines, etc which many patients experience, is appealing to lots of women to say the least. It is also a very good option in the perimenopause, when the periods and everything else go haywire. I should add that I have absolutely no ties to the company nor get any kickbacks from its sale - I just like something that reduces patients minor (and sometimes major) complaints with a fairly safe risk profile (all of the same caveats which apply to oral contraceptives, apply to Nuvaring, but may be actually less due to its overall lower level). Feel free to bounce any other questions off me, as long as the site admin doesn't mind! Geekdoc aka Henry Dorn

To any of the NO's I would say that I am sorry that they have never had the precious pod cooked properly. Drop by sometime and be awakened to the joy that is OKRA. BTW, has anyone but me attended the Irmo SC Okra Strut, an annual event to celebrate the harvest, complete with a parade and queen? In conclusion YES

Fat Guy asked about the Kuhn Rikon, which is what I use and adore. For starters they are made of induction compatible stainless, so that means that their speed with an induction range is unparalleled. As a Southern cook this means that I can get adequately cooked veggies to the table in the evening without simmering all day. Even dried blackeyed peas can be hydrated and cooked in a 2 step process to mushy loveliness in about 30 minutes, and compare favorably to the traditional methods. Although someone expressed disdain at their use for making stock, the simple fact is that they are excellent for stock since a higher temperature can be obtained WITHOUT boiling (which emulsifies the impurities and fats), and as a result less water can be used initially which substantially reduces the reduction time after straining. I can toss a carcass or bones in the pot, brown them in oil, toss in the aromatics and water to barely cover, heat until the indicator is at the lower mark (to avoid boiling), an in 30 - 60 minutes have a very decent stock, which has approximately the concentration of a 2:1 reduction and can then be further reduced as needed. Be sure to let the pressure come down on its own after removing from the heat (as opposed to any of the quicker methods such as holdong the closed pot under cold tap water, or releasing the pressure valve). Otherwise the contents which will be hotter than 212F will boil agressively whenthe lid is opened, making the stock cloudy. I have 3 sizes which share the same lid (though I have 2 lids), and one is always on my stovetop. Eat well Geekdoc

I would add that growing up, my acid test for a new girlfriend was what we call a "pig pull", where a whole hog is roasted, laid out on a table, and the fortunate guests simply pull off with their hands the meat, which is invariably succulent. If a young lady were to ask in a timid voice whether I would mind just getting her some and not telling her where it came from, I knew right away that we weren't meant for each other, and that pretty soon I would say or eat something that would offend her and that would be that. Somehow I married a Yankee gal, from New York City no less, without ever having attended a proper pig pull with her, despite the aforementioned intimate BBQ reception at the State Fair Grounds. Finally, after we moved back South, some friends in the lowcountry invited us to a combined pig pull and oyster roast. Needless to say I was relieved when she got her hands good and greasy and slurped down a few of the slimy boys as well. Many years later we are still happily married.

I know this is an old thread but I had to put in my 2c about something near and dear to my heart, BBQ. So dear in fact that it was the sole (soul) food served at my wedding reception (including the fixins of course) for about 400 of our closest friends. Pigs hide when my family is nearby. My mother has a reputation as the BBQ Queen amongst our friends, as this sophisticated southern belle has zero trepidation about driving down a dirt road to a rundown house with a tin roofed shed off to the side, with a couple mangy dogs tied up in the yard where she has been told they make good 'Q (as she calls it), knocking on the door and coming away with a few pounds of frozen meat and a pint of hash, and telling her nervous young son who was left in the car, that apparently they only cook every other Saturday, but she was able to talk the proprietor into selling her some they had put away for themselves ( such is the power of the Southern belle). Heresy is referring to backyard grilling as Barbeque, by otherwise well intentioned folks from northerly or western parts of our fair land (as the anticipation is greeted by dismay). When travelling, we have a good rule of thumb for determining the quality of unfamiliar joints when hunger strikes. The more anthropomorphic the pigs are on the sign, the better the BBQ. For example, a plain profile of a pink porker rarely promises porcine pleasure. A standing pig with a hat on chewing a piece of straw might do in a pinch, but be on the lookout for 2 pigs dressed in calico square dancing, or the ultimate, a really fat pig, seated at a table with a napkin tucked under his chin eating what? Pig of course! (this generally results in the screeching of brakes and a quick U turn into the inevitable gravel parking lot and white painted cinder block building containing BBQ made with love. Be sure to ask for it sliced or coarse chopped if available (bigger and usually leaner chunks of meat) and definitely get the hash on rice in in South Carolina, but DO NOT ask what's in the hash - just eat and enjoy. Some properly cooked string beans (meaning the opposite of al dente) or cole slaw, and some banana creme pudding topped with Nilla wafers will certainly be there too. Diabetics have your insulin handy if you drink the tea which WILL be sweet. Through my travels I have come to appreciate all of the various forms that are found throughout the Southeast (ketchup based, mustard based, vinegar based, whole hog, shoulders, pit roasted, hickory smoked, etc, etc) and as long as they are made with the aforementioned LOVE it will be good. Just look for the dancing pigs!

Margaret, Enjoyed reading your article. You mentioned your "cred". Other than being an excellent writer what is your background? As one of those OBGYNs, I am always interested in any new perspectives on women's experience with their cycle, etc. Although its obviously highly controversial nowadays, many of my happiest patients are on continous birth control and therefore are not cycling, nor experiencing any of the PMS symptoms, which for some are quite debilitating. Since there seems to be a lower incident of ovarian cancer and several other diseases, as well as the health and personal benefits of avoiding unwanted pregnancy, I think the benefits balance out the risks. (This is based on a fairly thorough review of the current literature) Any thoughts? (I know this is miles away from cooking, but I didn't start this train rolling!) Henry Dorn, MD FACOG

Why not just go with continous OCP's or Nuvaring and stop this crazy cycling altogether? Not kidding about this, its what I do. Patients LOVE it.

How about Rio Grande for decent texmex, and run by the Bethesda Bagel Bakery for NY quality boiled dough.

Ming is a high school acquaintance of mine and is brilliant, having attended Yale as well as captaining a national squash team. He came into professional cooking somewhat late, but grew up in a cooking family (his father owned a chinese resto.) That being said, I do find his on air personality not wholly representative of the great guy he is in person, and don't watch often. Fusion is also not my bag. Mario was initially cloying until I sat and really listened to what he was saying and realized that he is a virtual encyclopedia of regional Italian and has the chops to go along with it. Rooney also has some serious knife skills but his "character" must go. Sara M. was an aprentice under the inestimable Julia Childs and as such does know what she is doing but the pacing of the show and the overall style bores me somewhat. Tony B. almost always speaks his mind and is the Howard Stern of Food TV. I thought he like Stern was a poseur at first but I'm starting to believe that's how he is. I loved his comment on the iguana. ("Unbelievably horrible. I just want to die.. I mean really bad. I want to dip my head into a bucket of lye, you know, pull my eyes out of their sockets and jump off a cliff.") He really digs offal, which having grown up in the South where the only thing we lose on a pig is the squeal, appeals to me. All that being said, my TIVO is set to record anything which has to do with Julia Child, my all time favorite. Very gracious and affable, always questioning her guests about their opinions and techniques, and at the same time completely uninhibited about subtly stating her own. Example, Jacques Pepin (not exactly a culinary slouch) is making a Sauce a la Provence and is not using garlic, and Julia asks him about it and mutters in the background "I would use garlic". She would be my top pick as a dinner guest, as long as she did the cooking! I even have a pegboard wall in my home kitchen as a tribute to her. Very practical. Will miss her when she's gone.