scott123

I eat my pulled pork on the same thing I eat my sausage w/ peppers and onions - portugese rolls. Straight out of the oven, fluffy, not too crusty, but still with a little more heft than a hamburger bun. I also prefer my pulled pork to be on the juicy side- the amount of liquid would definitely wreak havoc on sliced bread and might cause some issues with a flimsier bun. But then again I am from New Jersey and know almost zilch about 'q.

I'll second the medical marijuana recommendation. My lighting up days are long gone, but if I found myself getting treated for cancer, I'd seriously consider imbibing again. It's phenomenal for combatting nausea. There are many theories on nutrition, and I'm certainly not an expert, but I have found that sugar on an empty stomach doesn't work for me. Sure, I'm energized/happy for a few minutes, but once the sugar burns off, I crash... hard. But that could be just me. I guess if it's a choice between eating something sweet or nothing at all, something sweet might be the lesser of two evils. Still though, if you could possibly entice the patient towards real food, something nutritionally sound, that would be ideal. Fructose metabolizes differently than regular sugar, so maybe fruit might be a better choice. Broccoli is a superfood and has known cancer fighting compounds. Cream of broccoli soup made with heavy cream, broccoli and chicken stock. One thing that I notice about high-fat foods is that they taste very rich/heavy. The one exception I have found to this is sour cream. I can have a bowl of chili that's greasy as heck, but with a dollop of sour cream, it tastes less rich.

It's been a solid 10 years since I've been there, but I had a great time at Lucky Chengs in the city. You can't beat a Chinese restaurant with transvestite waiters for boosting the fun quotient. That is NYC, though. Do you have access to a big open space for the night? You might want to track down a good chef that will cater it for you and then you can plan activities yourself. I know a couple of Indian places that do very competitively priced great tasting catered food. It also shouldn't be hard to 'drum' up someone to play tabla and sitar. Btw, I ate at Marakesh a few years ago, and although the atmosphere was different/kind of fun and the couches were comfortable, the food didn't blow me away. Good but not phenomenal.

Balsamic vinegar also contains a decent amount of residual sugar, providing it with some freezing point depression capabilities

Anonymouze, most of my favorite Indian restaurants (in Morris County) have a buffet lunch every day (or sometimes 6 days a week) and usually one night a week is a buffet dinner. That seems to be the norm around here. Many wonderful Indian restaurants have been mentioned on eGullet. I'd pick out a few that appeal to you, and call each of them and say "do you serve a dinner buffet, and, if so, what night?" It should take more than a couple of phone calls.

I've found that the biggest difference between the two is that if you find the same (or comparable) item in both stores, TJs will be quite a bit cheaper. The one catch, though, is that because of it's size, TJs has only a fraction of what Whole Foods carries. One large difference that means quite a bit to me personally is that Whole Foods has a long list of artificial/processed ingredients that they won't allow in any of the products they sell, one of the more notable being partially hydrogenated oil (aka shortening/trans fats). TJs has no such standards in this regard- I wish they did. A partially hydrogenated oil laden cookie/cake, regardless of where you buy it, is not only going to be bad for your health, it won't taste any good either. In that regard, WF is light years ahead of TJs. I'm especially impressed by the all butter icings on their cakes. I may, for the sake of frugality, buy my meat at Shop Rite, but I wouldn't be caught dead buying a cake there. If I could pick the single worst item Shop Rite (or any other low end supermarket) sells, it would be those abominations they call cake. The fact that so many people buy them frequently causes me to question if there is any hope for humanity. Doesn't the chapter on Revelation have something about Shop Rite cakes being one of the harbingers of armaggedon?

The viscosity (i.e. hardness) of the caramel relates directly to it's water content. Less water=more color=more rigid. So... cook it to the desired color and then add some water back to achieve a softer 'stage.' Getting the right amount of water will take some trial and error. If you use too much, the caramel will have a tendency to absorb into the custard. I never use a thermometer when making creme caramel, but then I'm not too hung up on the final texture of the caramel. If you want a consistent texture, I'd carefully measure the water you add back to it (after reaching the desired color) as well as using a thermometer for the initial caramelization/water evaporation.

A good Low-Fat Chocolate cake can certainly be accomplished. Think of the great desserts from the book "Chocolate and the Art of Low Fat Desserts" by Alice Medrich. ← That's fine, but chocolate by definition would have to contain about 50% fat. Anything lower than that wouldn't be chocolate. And, even if it could be accomplished, it probably wouldn't taste very good. Fresh fruit, anyone? ← I've seem many a recipe for 'chocolate cake' where only cocoa was utilized. A low fat/fat free cocoa based cake. Not my cup of tea, but certainly definable as 'chocolate cake.'

Sorry Jacques, but I'm not buying it. Tell me it's unpalatable and I may think twice about boiling. Tell me it's undigestible and I either start asking for degrees and/or double blind studies. I have no degree nor have done any studies, but from my own experience, I'll put money on it- chicken stock is one of the most digestible foods on the planet, clear or cloudy. And, while we're on the topic, I'll go one step further and commit complete culinary heresy by stating that skimming stock is utter crap. There, I said it. Describe, if you will, the difference in compounds extracted from bones/flesh boiled in water and bones/flesh roasted in an oven. The exact same stuff oozes out. Is there anything the least bit unpalatable about fond? NO. Do we skim the fond? The thought is ridiculous. And yet we're supposed to bust our humps skimming stock. The way in which people speak of 'impurities' in bones you would think the bones were contaminated with feces. Puh-lease. Scum certainly has an unpalatable sounding name and it looks kind of nasty sitting on top of the pot, but if left unskimmed, scum has zero negative impact on the taste of the stock. Nada.

Whole Foods, at this point in time, is expanding- rapidly expanding. They're not closing or moving ANY stores, regardless of how close in proximity the new store may be to the old one. This rapid expansion, btw, has no end in sight, so if you hear of a new store opening in the next year or two, know that it's extremely likely to occur. With some chains, projected new stores can easily become derailed and fall by the wayside. But not this chain. These guys are hell bent on expansion.

Yes, definitely, Whole Foods is opening a store in West Orange. Sometime next year I've heard.

Yes, I'm due for a trip back as well - long overdue. I hope they haven't a developed a case of old restaurant complacency syndrome. I'm optomistic. They seemed pretty ancient when I was eating there and they were anything but complacent back then. It's the kind of place that gives you the feeling that it will always be great. That reminds me... although I went with a group a few times, on occasion I would go on my own and sit at the counter. That place has some VERY colorful characters.

Okay, I finally went it to Moghul (in Morristown) for the Sunday lunch buffet. I liked it so much I went back... and back... and back... and back. Yeah. I think the word is infatuation. Chicken tikka masala, as anyone that knows me can attest, is my raison d'etre. I'll go for days on end pondering it's many intricacies. After tasting the CTM at Moghul and finding the spicing rather... awkward (too much ajwain?) and the chicken bone dry, I really thought the place was doomed. How could they compensate? The lamb might have redeeming qualities, I thought. Nope. Just your basic stew meat fare. So how could such an avid carnivore like myself end up head over heels in love with a restaurant that serves mediocre lamb and chicken? Well, let me tell ya First word... panir. When I first joined eGullet, I remember reading a post from Suvir talking about grades of panir and how easily panir can end up rubbery in the wrong hands. At the time, I was a little skeptical "panir is just panir," I thought. Nope. Panir is most definitely NOT panir. This panir transcends. If every panir I've ever had ranged in quality from, say, 1 to 5... this would be 50. It's completely revamped my perception of cheese. I've made my own panir a handful of times, I thought that I knew a thing or two about the process. Compare to the craftsperson that precipitates this masterpiece, I know nothing. Absolutely nothing. Second word... okra. It's... the... I- I can't even talk about it... I'm getting ferklempt. Go... just go... Sunday buffet (don't go on a weekday, it's not as good). Sometimes the okra's not available (a day of mourning). Even without the okra, the cheese is worth the trip. $13 for what might be the best panir you will ever consume. Oh, I haven't tried it yet, but the tomato soup is supposed to be killer too.

The shop rite in Hackettstown has a full time demo 'kitchen.' At $20 a class (and the fact that it's Shop Rite) I get the feeling that these courses are geared to people that know very very little about food. That's my feeling.

I disagree. Maltitol produces a perfect facsimile, and, for those wishing to avoid maltitol's laxative effects, there's erythritol/polyd. Both these options reproduce sugary desserts flawlessly. It's replacing the wheat flour that's the hard part. Granted I'm only one person, but I personally haven't found this to be the case. I always use Splenda for coffee and tea, and actually prefer it to sugar. I never bake with Splenda, but I've always thought it works great in drinks. ← The phenomenon I describe are certainly not universal, but they are common, at least common to both the members of the low carb discussion forum I moderate as well as the many forums I frequent. Out of maybe 2,000 low carbers I've come across that were/are baking with splenda, I'd say at least 200 have complained about it's issues with chocolate. There have been less complaints about splenda and coffee, but I have come across them. I think that, as with the aftertaste issue, this is a personal response. If this were something the originator of this thread were making for themselves, I think using splenda on it's own would be fine, but making something for someone else, the insurance policy of an additional sweetener (or two) is a good one.

Verrilis in Morristown makes some of the best bread I've ever had, but no baguettes. If you can, call ahead and find out when the bread is coming out of the oven. You won't regret it.

Bergenline has an amazing strip of Cuban places. My favorite is Las Palmas. The grilled steaks are phenomenal. It's been a year or two, but during the time I was going there, the wait staff spoke no english. I just pointed at the menu to order.

The texture is going to be way off. Splenda, unlike sugar, adds no texture to baked goods. A shortbread without the textural impact of sugar is a cracker. Also, part of the 'short'ness of shortbread is the sugar hampering gluten formation, so you might be looking at a very sturdy cracker (aka hockey puck) even with careful mixing. Also, coffee and chocolate are both fairly reknowned for having issues with splenda. Because of the bitterness they add, they require additional sweetener to compensate. For those sensitive to Splenda's aftertaste (a small percentage of the population) this high concentration of splenda is unpalatable. Another big complaint about splenda and chocolate/coffee is that, regardless of the quantity of splenda added, the end product is too bitter. Almond cookies are nice, but if shortbread was requested, I'd go with that. If your client is allowing you to use wheat flour, by all means, use it. For a better quality of sweetness with little to no aftertaste, combine the splenda with ace k (another high intensity sweetener). For the right texture, use a non-laxating sugar alcohol like erythritol and combine it with polydextrose (a fiber that has the texture of sugar). These ingredients are a little tricky to find, but if you want the best sugar free shortbread cookie on the planet, I highly recommend obtaining them.

A whopping 51 posts on ranch dressing and not ONE mentioning MSG? I'm flabbergasted! Commercial ranch dressing (and everything else 'ranch' flavored) is one of hundreds of potent MSG delivery vehicles. Let's face it, humanity is hardwired to love umami.

Well, first off, as I'm sure you're aware, baking with cocoa butter is going to be quite a bit more expensive than butter. Secondly... I've been spending quite a bit of time developing my own sugar-free milk chocolate (foregoing dried milk with it's lactose) and I can say, with absolute certainty, that cocoa butter adds a perceived milkiness to chocolate. Also, I have a decent understanding of tempering when it comes to milk/bittersweet/unsweetened chocolate, but when it comes to tempering pure cocoa butter, I'm at a loss. From the little bit that I've worked with cocoa butter, I get the feeling that it's a slightly different ball game due to the lack of particulate matter. It almost seems that pure cocoa butter, no matter how you treat it, once it cools, it's hard. At least that's how it ends up for me. Now... a buttercream frosting made with cocoa butter. I think it can be done. I think the temperature you work with it will be critical, as will the added ingredients. You'll need some liquid. You might need some form of emulsifier to prevent the cocoa butter from separating from the liquid. Blended soft tofu might be interesting. I will be very curious as to how your quest turns out. I love the taste of cocoa butter, but am not all that thrill by margarine, especially the non-hydrogenated stuff.

Chili freezes well. Just make sure you make it a little thicker than normal as freezing releases a little extra moisture from the veggies/meat.

Whatever you add it to, be careful about adding additional salt, as this stuff can get pretty salty- at least the brand I use is.

A word to describe umami... Glutamaic :)

Sugar is a freezing point depressor. Grapes work well becuase of their high sugar content. Strawberries, on the other hand, have very little sugar, and thus wouldn't work all that well.

I'm a sucker for the typical Japanese restaurant avocado salad with ginger dressing.