Smithy

These posts are wonderful. Thank you very much! The mice-like rice are particularly entrancing.

Er, sorry about that! This will disappoint you, but on the rare occasions I deep-fry, I use peanut oil. To my taste it's neutral, I like the high smoke point, and it's inexpensive. I hadn't read about rice bran oil but may give it a try after reading this topic. If I couldn't / didn't want to use peanut oil, then I'd probably go with safflower or sunflower oil for deep frying; grapeseed is too expensive for me to use in that quantity. I've been considering going back to the old home ways and using Crisco, or perhaps lard, but not actually tried it yet.

I couldn't do a side-by-side comparison, but I think the Barefoot malbec was more well-rounded and softer, both in nose and taste. There was none of that strong note that you and I both noticed, like an alcohol burn, with the Alamos. I'd take the Barefoot over the Alamos in the future, even at the same price. I'll plan on getting more of this in the future. This wine seemed to be a 'bust' as far as Wine Roulette goes, and I'll have to step away from the game for the next couple of weeks. If someone else wants to pick a wine and get the conversation going again, don't be shy... :-)

I like California Olive Ranch EVOO. I haven't tried their infused varieties yet.

That sounds really good, huiray. How do you think that would work with firm white mild fish? Would it overpower the flavor, such as it is, of the fish?

That is a fun video, but I can't see the price or operating cost or counter space either. I agree that it would seem better if you could use your own dough. The pods generate a lot of waste. There might be a niche for it in hotel breakfast areas, next to the waffle makers, if the operating cost came way down. Rotuts, I'm surprised at you. Red wine, like chocolate, goes with just about everything... :-D

I just heard about a new use for dandelion petals in today's episode of The Splendid Table: Dandelion Petal Sorbet. The link above goes to the recipe posted on The Splendid Table's web site. The recipe is adapted from The Herb Farm Cookbook, by Jerry Traunfeld.

Strange, none of those geese can be comfortable, but the ones at the right look especially uncomfortable. Do you know whether they're left hanging like that routinely, or had those tried to escape and gotten snagged just before the photo was snapped? There doesn't seem to be room for them inside the cart. Going back to food etiquette: if there are no leftovers, do the hosts take that as a sign that they didn't provide enough?

You lot are leading me down a bad, bad path. What makes it worse is that last night, for the very first time, I tasted a deep-fried Snickers Bar. Oh, my.

Thanks for that explanation. I had the wrong sense of 'stocking' altogether, and thought it was an interesting metaphor referring to something pointy in one's footwear.

In addition to the capers with their salt (or are these preserved in vinegar?) you listed mustard, creme fraiche, butter and brandy; all those are acidic to some degree. Note that I'm still speculating about the contribution of acid to microbial control, since I don't know what the finished pH of your product might be. The sealed jar and the fat (as you and others suggested above) probably helped also. No, there isn't a special section. If it's a savory-type cooking question it goes into the Cooking forum, if it's more related to sweets or baking it goes into the Pastry & Baking forum, and so on. (Each forum is labeled as to its main purpose, to help you figure out the appropriate place to post.) Don't be shy about asking questions of the hosts or managers via PM if you have a specific question about where or how to post something. Oh, and you may find your questions already addressed; click here for the Sous Vide Index. Happy hunting!

Those are beautiful!

You have a fair amount of acid in that pate. Is there any chance that's contributing to microbial control? I'd expect her to taste rancidity, but that in itself won't make her sick. Bacteria will, and maybe they're well-controlled. (I don't iknow the answer. I'm throwing the question out for discussion.) Welcome to the eG Forums, by the way.

Welcome! You have questions or opinions? You've come to the right place! There are a lot of Modernist cooks here as well as traditionalists, and as of a week or two ago this is the home of the Modernist Cuisine forums associated with the cookbooks.

I haven't noticed the 'rancid right off the bat' bit, but to me it develops a fishy flavor and odor as soon as it's heated. If restaurants where I eat are using canola in their cooking, then they're using a better grade than I do, or doing something different. I generally use safflower or sunflower oil when I need a neutral, high-smoke-point oil. I occasionally splurge on a bottle of grapeseed oil, but it's expensive and I usually don't get through it before it's gone off.

I had so many enjoyable segments that it's tough to pick out a favorite! I loved the level of detail and math that went into the phase changes and diffusion, and did my final project on diffusion; however, I also loved fermentation and thought it was fascinating! I think my least-favorite section was on elasticity. That was at least in part because (IMO) the presentations were confusing. I still haven't taken the plunge into Modernist cooking, but this class opened my eyes to the possibilities. I'm interested in seeing what others are coming up with now, and I'll enjoy seeing what you come up with, too.

That's a fascinating article, Chris. I hadn't thought of it from the perspective of people with food compulsions or cooking fears before now. Thanks.

Welcome, Ollie! Come on in and join the conversations! Do you practice your culinary skills at home, or are you a bit too busy with other pursuits? What PBS shows did you especially like to watch?

Lest I denigrate the rest of your point here - and I don't want to - let me note that in many parts of this country, including the part where I currently live, we're doing well to have something labeled as an 'Oriental' grocery. Distinctions between Chinese, Japanese, Cambodian, Vietnamese or Korean are not to be made, and distinctions among Chinese provinces are not to be conceived. But I digress.... ...please elaborate on that charming but puzzling expression "skew in the stocking"?

Welcome, Stephanie / absolutelyfuzzy! As Anna noted, there are a lot of "Modernists" here as well as cooks of all other stripes. I also took that edX course. I enjoyed it and learned a lot from it. Did you have a favorite - or least favorite - section from that course?

If your kettle is heavily scaled, be patient and make sure you get all the scale out. I grew up in a household with very hard water, and over the years the tea kettle got so much scale that it was noticeably heavier. My mother heard about the vinegar trick and tried it, whether with cider vinegar or white vinegar I can no longer say. Well, the scale layer was so thick that the vinegar layer permeated it without removing it. We drank vinegar-flavored tea for a week or three before she finally admitted defeat and replaced the kettle. We had some peculiar-tasting rice pilaf during that time, as well. I'm glad to hear the vinegar worked so well on the pots and strainers.

Thank you for that link, rotuts. The review and the excellent video clip reinforced my suspicions prejudices (I admit it) about this product. No, I haven't tried it. I tried a little of my mother's Ensure a couple of times, marveling that her nephrologist claimed it provided full nutrition. (She didn't like it either, but we'll save the topic of kidney diets for another day.) Sounds like this is even worse. So no, I haven't tried it; probably never will unless someone already has a container and offers me a sip. Are you offering to be the first?

heidih, I've never heard of barley tea before now. Barley beer, barley wine, yes: tea, no. Can you describe it?

Have you tried scrubbing with a good (safe) acid, like white vinegar, or lemon juice? I'd expect a low-pH cleaner would help the process. A nice, acidy carbonated soft drink (cola or lemon-lime come to mind) also might do it, though you'd then have to get the residual sugar off. A restaurant co-worker used to use a rinse of whatever our lemon-lime soft drink base was to rinse and finish cleaning the taps in the evening. I don't know what the boss would have thought of it if he'd known, but he liked the results. CLR claims it should work without damaging your pot. I haven't looked at the MSDS, but it's available for download from their web site: http://www.jelmar.com/CLRbasic.htm. Note they offer a money-back guarantee. Note also that they say not to use it on aluminum, not to get it on your clothes or countertops, etc. Given its corrosive nature, you'd have to find something to rest the pot and strainer in upside down, to get the rims. Cheapskate that I am, I'd probably try some readily-available culinary acids first. :-) Edit: sorry, AnnaN, I didn't see your answer while I was typing.

Fine Living? Do you mean Fine Cooking? Or is there a new magazine out there that I haven't discovered?