Smithy

I'm glad someone is finally volunteering again!

I just tried making kale chips for the first time last weekend. The recipe called for deveining the leaves, cutting the flat greenery into smaller pieces (roughly 2"), tossing with olive oil and salt, and roasting at 275 until crisp, turning once. The results of that operation were so crisp as to be brittle; I'd be more concerned that the kale would fragment into tiny shards during the tossing-and-dressing stage than with their getting soggy. But yes, I think your idea of dressing the salad at the last minute is a good precaution. Maybe if the leaves are left larger - apparently what you are planning to do - you'd end up with a balance between crisp enough for good texture and flexible enough to allow tossing. Hmm. Maybe if you did have brittle leaves you could fracture them as a top layer over the rest of the salad. Kale croutons, anyone? Please understand I'm just brainstorming here, based on my miniscule experience of last weekend. By the way, I think the roasting time was about 20 minutes for my chips at 275.

How do you plan to roast the kale at the outset, without losing its crunch?

Thanks, RobertCollins! I think I'll be able to round that gear up without too much trouble.

So far I'm reading about using glass, crockery or plastic jars for the kraut. Would a stainless steel stock pot work, using the plate-and-weights-and-bags noted above with open-top pails? If not, why not? On the other hand: if I were to acquire a glass or crockery jar for the purpose of making kraut, how would I go about acquiring an airlock-type lid? I understand the checkvalve principal but can't think of where I've seen something like it. A beer brewer's store, perhaps? ...and RobertCollins, I'm really glad you resurrected this thread. Even if it does mean I've yet another book winging its way toward me...

At the risk of highjacking this thread, I too would like to know more about dcarch's success with dwarf citrus. My dwarf satsuma produced fruit that never had any flavor. My Meyer lemon, admittedly not a dwarf but grown from a seed from my parents' ranch, never produced fruit at all. It became rootbound despite repeated repotting and root trimming, but that may have been this amateur's mishandling. One or both suffered from whiteflies and I never could get them eradicated. Having said all that, I'll also say that the blossoms from both were heavenly. Back to the indoor herb gardening: Andie, thanks for that indoor hanging herb garden link - you're right, it IS brilliant. I'll have to give that a go next spring. My rosemary survives the low-light winter, but the annuals - basil, oregano, parley - take waaaay too long to get going around here. This is what I get for growing up in a Mediterranean climate and moving to the frozen north.

I like the idea of using a colored salt to affect the color of the pickle. That could be fun! Pink and white kraut, anyone? RobertCollins, did you ever try cooking or pickling with the saltwater from the spring near Boonville? It sounds like it could be a local's Secret Weapon. I can't help with any of your questions, but I too would like to hear others' experiences.

Wow! Thanks for that information; I'm signed up!

Those are charming cookie cutters! I think I like the safari set best, but they're all fun. MJX: do you mean, for instance, that I could make crisp chocolate chip cookies by leaving out the baking soda? Not sure I'd want to, especially in the case of chocolate chip cookies, but it would be a handy thing to know.

I'm sorry nobody has addressed this so far, because I'm curious to know the answer and don't have any idea. Meanwhile, I'm also curious about why you'd want to do this. What am I missing?

Jaynesb. thanks for that reminder. All of my All-Clad has come from Cookware and More - some on sale, some on their normal discount. Their products have been of excellent quality; their prices stellar, and their customer service quite good. If I seem relatively relaxed on the "customer service" issue, it's because I haven't had to deal much with that department. That in itself is a good sign.

Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! And a whole lot more common than you think! Ha! The reverse can also be true, and just as frustrating. I have a cookbook by a well-respected author with a recipe for carrot cake. The ingredient list specifies the grated carrots, but the instructions never get around to stating where or when those carrots should be added! II've looked and cooked my way through that recipe many times. I have not overlooked the darned carrots in the instructions; that addition step is simply overlooked.. ...and yes...for those of you who are experienced bakers, this may seem like a no-brainer. But to this writer, it seems that "carrot cake" should explain exactly when the carrot should be added to the mixture.

I feel your pain. Since I read your post this morning I've gone looking online for electrostatic air filters and cleaners, and made the following discoveries: 1. Consumer Reports did a survey on them that's available online. As usual, they give a decent background on terminology, styles (floor-mounted, in-duct, etc) and the pros and cons of each. I didn't go into enough detail to see which they recommend, and why, but there's the usual table. That article should give you some background to start your search. 2. Home Depot and similar household-supply places offer a broad selection of filters that may do the trick. A Google search brought them right up. 3. These things range from large floor models on rollers to smallish models that might sit on the counter and collect the smoke from next to the stove. Some are listed as being good for an entire house; of course that will depend on how well air circulates through the house, but you may be able to find something that sits innocuously in the open living space and does the trick. I won't be Investigating With Intent To Buy for myself any time soon, I fear, due to other demands on time and money, but I'll probably be looking into it at some point. I'll be looking at these parameters: high air volume, easy cleaning, portability, quietness, efficiency of removal, cost, and satisfaction guarantee in case I have to try more than one. (No doubt I'll be wanting what my father would have called a champagne model on a beer budget. ) I'll probably look for a smallish filter that I can hoist onto the counter and set next to the cooking space, to maximize capture efficiency, instead of a larger model that has to collect air after it's dispersed through our entire open area. The farther from the stove your collection system is, the more chance the smoke and grease has to disperse. I may even look to see whether an in-duct filter can be put into my microwave-range hood system, but I doubt that will be possible. The in-duct systems I saw were designed for restaurants and they vented outside. Very impressive, but not in my budget or space! Good luck. I hope someone else has more specific information for you. Please let us - me, at least - know what you find and how it works out.

...and, if you have an inland basin (called a "sink") with water flowing in occasionally but never flowing out, you'll end up with either a very saline body of water (the Salton Sea in California, the Great Salt Lake of Utah) or an alkali flat (Bonneville Salt Flats and the landing area for Edwards Air Base being 2 examples in the western US). Water comes in, much of it evaporates and leaves the concentrated salts behind. I don't think I'd care for Salton Sea salt now - too much contaminated runoff to provide impurities - but at the turn of the last century salt mining was a going concern there. We should be glad that most of our inland water bodies eventually drain to the oceans.

*bump* Shel_B, have there been any new bits of information or insight into this issue? I'm guessing that the originally-posted "in a few weeks" time hasn't elapsed quite yet....but I, for one, am still eager to read what you learn. I'm also guessing that your lessons will include Basic Care and Feeding of Kitchen Utensils...like not leaving an empty pan on high heat. ;-)

Heh. That's a great advertisement! Thanks for the link.

As long as the pan in question is deep enough to allow cover (if you need it) there's not a thing wrong with using your skillet(s) instead of a roasting pan. As for whether to use nonstick vs. er, non-nonstick, I'd say it depends on 2 things: 1. Will the oven temperature be high enough to threaten the nonstick coating and, by extension, your air quality? If so, use the stainless or cast iron. 2. Will the materials in question let off juices that would lend themselves to deglazing and making a sauce or gravy, and would you take that extra step? Stainless or cast iron will give you a better fond and a deeper flavor. Otherwise, I agree with you that nonstick will be a better choice due to its easy clean up. My husband (King of the One-Step Meals) has been using a nonstick baking pan as a roaster for years. We've observed dark stains developing on the interior, but it doesn't seem to matter for his purposes; the pan continues to be nonstick for the meat and occasional veggies he roasts in it. I cover my bets and keep another nonstick pan reserved for baking. Just in case.

Amen, Andie. Thanks for that link.

Oh, one more thing: remember that the braising process is slow enough that you have a long period of time when it's done, before it starts to get overdone. If you're trying to time everything you're better off allowing an extra hour or two; when the ribs are done, you can wrap them tightly and keep them warm until it's time to eat.

My spare rib braises are typically done at 200 - 225 for about 4 hours. I start checking the ribs at, oh, 3-1/2 to 4 hours by prodding them with a fork. Sometimes they've taken as long as 5 to get tender. If I haven't seen any activity in the tenderness direction by 4 hours then I generally step up the temperature - that would be, say, from 200 to 225. I don't think I ever go above that in my oven braises, but it depends on your oven. Remember that for a braise you want the liquid to be just barely at the simmer - slow, occasional bubbles. In my experience the heavy Le Creuset oval french oven gets better results - meaning more tender - than a heavy baking pan with foil; on the other hand, the oval shape won't allow more than one rack to lie flat and it's difficult to get both racks to cook evenly. If I'm doing 2 racks in the Le Creuset then I'll rotate them partway through, to keep them exposed more or less the same to the braising liquid. In addition, the Le Creuset takes longer to come up to temperature than the heavy baking dish with foil, so the whole process takes longer if you haven't preheated the pot by browning the meat and bringing the braising liquid to a boil. (I generally don't do those steps with spare ribs; I've taken to just loading them into the pot or pan with a little liquid, covering it, putting it in the oven and monitoring it.) Starting from a cold pot and meat, I think I'd allow more like 5 hours in the Le Creuset at 225, but I'd check the temperature to make sure I had just a bare simmer, and adjust the temperature accordingly. Sorry I can't help with the pressure cooker question. I don't think spit-roasting spare ribs would make you feel happy about your purchase.

Thanks for the report to date! I must say, I overlooked the fact that Marques de Riscal was offering a Rioja...I'd have recommended it...I particularly appreciate their Riojas, and I hope you appreciate them as much as I do.. Keep us posted as you keep trying the rest of your purchase!

Mine lasted for weeks, or months. It's been a few years now, but I remember being able to use them long after I'd completed the course. I don't think I refrigerated them. I KNOW I didn't try to taste them; but they held the aromas I needed.

Would you be willing to make your own? The eGullet Culinary Institute ran a course on evaluating wine some years ago. The introduction has instructions for making your own component kit. It was inexpensive, easy, and very useful for me. Here's the link. The instructions for making your own aroma (component) kit are down near the bottom of the post. http://forums.egullet.org/topic/62944-introduction-evaluating-wine/ Edited for spelling

That does look like a great stove/oven, the type that can trigger serious Appliance Envy. I hope you find the oven to be as wonderful as the stove, once you make friends with it.

I too have found some great Argentine and Chilean reds, but hadn't seen any in the list that I recognized. Thanks, P.C. I'll be looking for those myself! By the way - I agree with you about the blends.