NulloModo

I don't have either book, but it could just be that some people like cheesecakes sweeter than others. I tend to use around 1 1/2 cups of sweetening agent (maybe it is two cups worth, especially after synergy effects) for around 48 Oz of Cream cheese, two eggs, 1/2 cup of cream, and a stick of butter for a cheesecake.

For Old Fryer Oil - I heard somewhere that I shouldn't dump it down the toilet (which is what I used to do), so, now, I wait until midnight and go empty it into the storm drain. For trash - My apartment complex unfortunately only has one set of dumpsters for the entire, huge, multi-buidling complex. This means that I have to drive my bags of garbage to them, and it also means that taking out the trash is quite a hassle. Thus, I am invested in a huge trash can and super-mega-trashbags so that I don't have to do it as often... and also tend to compact stuff such that each bag ways nearly 100 lbs before it is carried out. Maybe I wouldn't dread carrying it out if I didn't let it get so unmanageable... but hey, that would require me to stop procrastinating ;). I am lucky to live in an area where there is no charge for waste disposal, and no tallying of how much waste you make, as I hear some of the Pacific Northwest states are beginning to do...

I believe we used your basic large marshmallows for it. We didn't actually bake it, we went to a local chain (Peace-a-Pizza) which is known for bizarre pizzas, wanting something bizarre. We had recently watched the Ninja Turtles movie where I believe they order a marshmallow pizza, so we asked them if they would bake a bag of marshmallows onto a cheese pizza if we brought them in, they said yes, and it was good, very good. The sauce and marshmallows actually go oddly well together, it is bizarre, but it works.

Oh wow, I totally forgot two of the best bizarre pizzas ever: Marshmallow pizza - Start by making a basic cheese pizza (crust, sauce, cheese) and just toss a bag of marshmallows (well, the marshmallows, not the actual bag) on top before baking. The marshmallows will brown and carmelize just as the pizza finishes, and the flavors blend wonderfully, this is seriously one of the best pizzas I have ever had. Garbage Pizza - Inspired by the 'garbage fries' at a local eatery, man are those good: Make a pizza and put onto it: Sauce, cheese, fries, canned chilie, nacho cheese sauce (velveeta), jalepenos, bacon crumbles, salsa, black beans, and well, whatever else you want. Bake it, then top with fresh guacamole, sour cream, mustard, mayo, dill pickle chips, more salsa, and whatever the hell else you like. This is super messey, but actually pretty good.

Perfect Burger? I would say it is not just one, but many possible combinations and variety in toppings. I mean, some days you feel like a chili-burger, some days you don't. I will go basic of my regular old perfect fav though: Patty: Half and half regular ground beef and ground sirloin, at least 1/2 lb, preferably 3/4 lb, cooked nice and rare over coals. Meat should have salt, and tons of cracked black pepper mixed into it. Bun: Soft here, nothing too crusty or tough, you basically don't want to bun to get away wit the stuff in the middle, which is what is important. Sesame seeds are nice though. Condiments: Nice thick layer of mayo (on both halves of bun), Mustard (spicey brown or yellow), acceptable other intruders: blue cheese dressing, onion relish (only if it isn't sweet), hot hoagie spread, barbecue sauce (only if the burger also has bacon, but does not always have to come if bacon comes)). Toppings: Must haves - Lettuce (romaine, shredded iceburg will also do in a pinch), thick slices of tomato, dill pickle chips, thick slices of raw onion, bacon, sharp cheddar or provolone cheese. Optional but fun - Onion rings, avacado, chili, sauteed onions and mushrooms. On the side: Fries tossed with spicey salt and old bay seasoning, and drenched in mayo and vinegar such that they need a fork to be eaten. Crispy onions rings also work. There has to be at least one dill pickle spear. To Drink: Newcastle Brown, Yeungling (the poor man's Newcastle Brown), or just a big glass of ice water work well.

I have to disagree about Pizza Buffets, I used to really love the Pizza Hut PIzza Buffet, but then again, I love pizza hut pizza. The pan pizza style slices really stand up well to the extended time under heating lamps, thick crust is the way to go here, doesn't get soggy, just extra flavorful.

Eh, regardless of if it is accurate or not, confit is a cool name, makes it sound classier.

I don't see Soy Flour being the way to go. Soy is just too dense and has too much fo a 'soy' taste to be an acceptable flour sub. The best options for flour subs that I see out there right now are Wheat Protein Isolate blended with Oat Fiber, or this new CarbQuick stuff, but that is more of a bake mix and has leavening agents and whatnot inside as well. What would be dandy would be if the people who make CarbQuick would release the flour used in it as a seperate product, but apparently they don't think there would be a market for it.

Shalamese - It isn't about temperature, itis about time. The long cooking time allows the flavors to develop and blend over the long haul. You can cook a stew in half an hour, or you can cook it all day, which one will taste better?

I've never made a whole what crust, but I've made flax-seed, what protein, oat fiber crusts that have a very whole wheatey taste, and do take some special attention to get to rise. Basically, in my experience, when working with more difficult doughs, you have to proof the yeast in a warm place for at least ten minutes, then let the dough rise in a warm place for over an hour, longer than recommended rising times. A little baking powder never hurts either.

I love to get menus under the door, how else would I know who delivers and what to order from them? Then again, I live in Suburban DE, so I get maybe one or two menus a week at most... I imagine the avalanche of menus in NYC could be a different story...

As mentioned in a past superbowl thread, Buffalo wing pizza is top notch: Make your basic dough, apply a spicey tomato sauce, and crumble buffalo wing mean (Wing meat doused in hot sauce of choice and butter) all over top, followed by a light layer of mozerella, then drizzle more hot sauce, blue cheese dressing, and blue cheese crumbles all over. Mexican pizza is also fun: Instead of tomato sauce use a salsa of choice, top with chorizo, refried beans, jalepenos, jack cheese, shredded lettuce, olives, avacado, and whatever else you like along those lines. When it comes out of the oven add some fresh cold sour cream on top. Hamburger Pizza: Hamburger meat, dill pickles, ketchup (I like to use only a very little, marinara actually works just as well if you don't care about being authentic), mayo, cheddar cheese, onions, and cold shredded lettuce added after baking You can do anything as a pizza, they are quite versatile, I love playing with new flavor combinations.

I plan on baking mine, as my dough recipe might not work in a steamer, and I don't own a steamer or a steaming basket anyway.

I am not really perplexed but it, but I often omit it, simply because I have yet you encounter turmeric with any flavor, and I don't really care if my dish ends up being yellow or not. What did your Indian turmeric taste like? Do you know of any sources to get high quality stuff in the US?

You might as well just focus on jello shots if you want an easy way to get drunk 2 ounces at a time. ← Don't get those near me. I can handle shots of Montezuma Tequila, I can handle shots of straight corn whiskey, Bacardi 151, and if I really have a grudge against my own body, everclear. But I simply can not manage to swallow one of those wiggly weird jello shots without doubling over and gagging halfway through.

Ah, the joys of Superbowl Sunday. The superbowl presents an opportunity to lay out a spread even bigger than what would be seen on Thanksgiving, and all of it blissfully low-brow. This year my menu will include: Buffalo Wings (WTG Homicide Sauce will most likely have to do) Atomic Buffalo Turds (bacon wrapped cream cheese stuffed smoked jalepeno peppers) Big pot of bratwursts, onions, and pepper. Or maybe Italian Sausage, onions, and peppers, and bratwurst in kraut. Some sort of cheesey sausagey dip thing Random pickles, pickled things, beef sticks, salamis, cheeses, etc. Some large piece of meat I will cook in the smoker.

I love Fennel Gratin. I basically just slice the fennel bulbs, and layer them with lots of whipping cream (not whipped), parmesan, riccotta, and mozerella in a casserole dish, then bake till done, salt and pepper added to taste. Onions are ctually pretty good tossed into this as well.

Yes. Yes it would. I'll bet it's not a bad sandwich; I think Wawa hoagies are pretty good. Not amazing, but they'll do the trick if that's what there is. ← I am convinced WAWA is the be all end all of convenience stores. I used to be a 7-11 fanatic, but wow, the Wawa subs just aren't half bad, and being able to pick one up fresh made with exactly the fixins you want 24/7 certainly rocks.

So tasting of the 'Stag and Suds' got put off longer than I expected. I long simmered it a while the first day, then just wasn't hungry that night, so it went into the fridge. I took it out to simmer back to warm it up the next night, but got distracted by some friends visiting, so, alas it got put back into the fridge again before I could eat any. Not being able to wait any longer I had some for breakfast this morning. The verdict? The flavor was very nice, full, rich, warming, tasty. The long simmering really seemed to help all of the flavors leach into each other, and on a whim halfway through the bowl I swirled in some sour cream and horseradish, these made it even better. My only complaint is that some of the venison was a bit tough. It may hav ebeen overcooked, or just because venison is so lean it might not do well in long-cooked stews. Still, this will be one I keep around in the recipe file.

I am an avid fan of the Japanese show, and I also enjoyed ICA. A huge draw of the japanese show though is the goofy commentary, it is as much comedy as it is drama and cooking, ICA lacks that simply because we don't have the benefit of the language being changed. The atmosphere of the original show is also better, they really need to add a studio audience or a 'royal box' or something to add some noise into that place while the cooking is going on. A lengthier introduction would also be welcome. As far as this particular episode went, I didn't detect any snobbery or disrespect from Flay to Bayless, I think it might be reading too much into a simple 'Mr.' vs 'Chef' to say that Flay doesn't appreciate the work of Bayless. As far as the outcome went, I am positive it wasn't rigged, I just don't think FTV would do that. There were some comments made though that make me think this wasn't neccessarily the first episode filmed, particularly some things Steingarten said, so perhaps the FTV people just picked an episode where the Iron Chef won to start off the series in lieu of showing them in chronological order. Also, it is worth noting that Flay only won by 1 point over Bayless, and that it was in presentation, not taste. To me, all of the dishes looked very tasty, thought I might have given a slight nod to Bayless there. It looked as if Flay's dishes were overall much more original though, with Bayless basically cooking slight variations on traditional regional mexican fare. Flay's dishes were clearly more artfully arranged though, much more colorful, more care taken in plating, so, his winning in the presentation category is not suprising.

So the interior of the Advantium is stainless? Does that mean you can put metal into it and it won't mess up while microwaving? I have always dreamed that perhaps someday someone would invent a metal-friendly microwave...

Since you bring it up: What is the appropriate tip for the water/coffee/plate-cleaner people at buffets? Certainly it doesn't warrant a full 15% tip that a fully functional waitperson would get, but I feel as if I should leave something. Generally when at a buffet we do the everyone chip ina buck thing, which seems fair, gives the server/busperson (usually one in the same) something, and because most buffets are priced at under $10 a head anyway, the tip comes out being over 10%.

I have lots of combos that just seem made in heaven: Onions and Garlic always work well together, obviously. Mushrooms and sage, Mushrooms and bourbon (butter helps this) Cranberry and Rasberry (aided by clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon) Liverwurst, onion, and mustard (sandwhich made in heaven) Sauerkraut and Carraway (add some pork and you've got a meal) Mayo, beef, and cheese French fries, old bay seasoning, mayo, and malt vinegar umm, lots more, certain things just beg for other things to round out and complete the taste experience...

OK, so my concoction is on slow simmer on the stove at the moment, with the addition of some fresh cracked black pepper, cayenne, cloves, bay leaf, carraway seed, and sauerkraut. Wow, it smells exactly like barbecue sauce... how bizarre. I am going to simmer it down for a bit tonight, then let it rest overnight in the fridge and taste tomorrow. I hope it is tasty.

Shots take practice, definately don't hold it in your mouth, just slam it and swallow in one fluid motion. Learn to do without chasers, it will gain you respect of other heavy drinkers. Shots vs. sipping definately depends on the situation and the alcohol. I would not dream of doing shots of Booker's Bourbon while enjoying a cigar and just chilling out with friends. On the other hand, certain occasions are much more enjoyable whilst inebriated, New Year's Eve parties for example, thus being able to take a shot is essential.