Smithy

I haven't yet met a South African wine that I liked (it was not I who suggested them, farther upthread). That may just be the luck of the draw. The pinotage grape - a South African grape NOT to be confused with pinot noir - seems to have a really distinctive, wild, flavor and aroma suggestive of cat pee. I'd avoid it without knowing more. Also, I agree with Chris Taylor that you aren't likely to find a California wine of comparable quality to your more local selections without paying a lot more money. Similarly, someone noted above that a good chateauneuf de pape is likely to be a bank-buster, and that an affordable one (that is, at your price range) isn't likely to be representative of the genre. They're right. I wish I'd thought of that. The suggestions upthread to talk to Majestic wine salespeople, or other salespeople, to get guidance on potential winners based on your present tastes and experience are excellent ideas. Tasting ahead of time is good if you can do it. I also think that the folks who are suggesting that you start with lighter wines may be onto something. When I first started drinking wine, it was the Rhinecastles (rather sweetish whites) and roses for me. I thought chianti and cabernet sauvignon were much too strong; I think it was a burgundy that first got my attention as a Good Thing. Now I like a good spicy zinfandel or Rioja, as noted above..but I also adore a Cotes du Rhone - it really is a lovely blend - or gamay beaujolais (there's the Georges DuBoef again) for its lighter notes. So I think, if you aren't able to do a tasting or a good consultation with a knowledgeable salesperson, you should try for a cross-section from light to robust wines. By the way - in the USA, at least, it's difficult to get a good pinot noir without spending a lot of money. Otherwise I agree that it's also a lovely grape. Heck, I think they're all great - except the aforementioned pinotage. Are you thoroughly confused by now? :-)

What a great trick. I'm eager to try that and check the difference in results!

Yuri, welcome to eGullet! I'm sorry to see that more than 12 hours have elapsed with nary a reply to your question. I don't think that means a lack of interest, but it may mean a general feeling of "eh? er...?" and general shuffling of feet among the people who are paying attention this weekend; or else it means that The People Who Really Know This Stuff are all busy at the moment. I'll start a response. I hope other, more knowledgeable people will chime in. First of all, the easy part: yes, cheese and red wine absolutely go together. You can spend a lifetime exploring *which* cheese and *which* wine match each other best; this truth gives me no end of pleasure and my husband no end of frustration. As an example, a feta cheese and a sharp cheddar cheese are not likely to not pair well with the same wine. In fact, I can promise you from direct experience that a particular basil pesto and one particular merlot can sing together whereas the same pesto and another merlot can merely cohabitate. At the same party. If you're interested in more exploration of the topic you can go over to the eGullet Culinary Institute (eGCI) for a (free) course on tasting wine; there are some really interesting comments on pairing foods with wine. The same goes for cheese and wine. If you need help finding the course, just ask. If I were in your shoes, I'd plan to pick 6 pairs of wines: each pair being either 2 of exactly the same wine (same vineyard, same year) or 2 of the same wine from different vineyards, preferably from the same year. Then you could do some comparing and contrasting to start learning what you like and don't like. Here would be my suggestions for the red wine pairs: - The Beaujolais-Villages from George DuBouef that you linked to is, in my experience, a nice light (what they call "approachable") and eminently drinkable wine, with or without cheese. I haven't had the 2011 but in previous years I've liked this. Yes, I'd say you should include it. - A red Bordeaux will have a bit more body but lots of good flavor. I can't recommend anything out of the listing, though; I don't know any of them. - Grab a couple of the Cotes du Rhones. I find the Cotes du Rhones blends to be meal-friendly but very amiable on their own as well. These have a bit more body than the last 2 I've mentioned. I believe Chateauneuf de Pape is a subset of this blend. I know it's a very tasty, toothsome wine. It's usually rather expensive, however. I don't know whether an inexpensive Chateauneuf de Pape would be a good representative. - For a bit more spice or body, I recommend a good Spanish Rioja or a California Zinfandel. I just looked at the price points of the California wines, and I see what you mean about prices. Rioja is NOT the same grape, but Rioja and Zinfandel, in my experience, have a similar spicy note and zest. Get the right bottle, and you may find yourself yelling, "yahoo! I see what the fuss is about!" - Hmm. Should I recommend a cabernet sauvignon as a noble grape, or a merlot as a smoother noble grape, or malbec because it has flavor and spine without as much tannin, or a good Italian Chianti, or a red burgundy? I wish I knew more about your tastes! Have you noticed that the Majestic Wine web site has selectors for things like "wine style" (smooth reds vs spicy red, for example) as well as price point and region? Those may be good guides for you. I'm sorry, I'm totally clueless about rose wines; I've enjoyed some and am not laughing at them, but can't help a bit. Not sure I've helped much as it is, but at least I'm bumping the topic back up. Ask questions! Good luck!

Strange, I was just researching this after meeting a man in the grocery store who was trying to find a proper cleaner and couldn't read the labels on cleaning products. He finally decided to go to another store and see if he could find his original helper, which he claimed was something like Soft Scrub with Palmolive - or perhaps it was Palmolive with Soft Scrub. At any rate he said his pan had originally worked well but not was no longer nonstick for eggs, with or without butter put in the pan first. He was having a terrible time getting the pan clean. After I left, having been no help at all, I looked up "greenpan recommended cleaning" and found several disgruntled posts in which people reported that the surface had ceased to be nonstick after a relatively short time. Some noted that the pans do better if they're never subjected to high heat. The manufacturer says the thermal conductivity of Thermolong is such that one need never do more than "medium" (or was it "medium high"?) heat. They didn't go so far as to say that high heat would destroy the surface as it would Teflon. I overstated in my first sentence when I used the word "researching", since my "research" consisted of reading 3 articles and the first levels of their link...but overall I decided not to bother with these pans. If someone else has had better experience than the folks I read, we can hope they'll post here.

One design feature I haven't seen discussed this time around is the smoothness or roughness of the disks' interior surface. My first food mill was a pretty-looking thing, made by one of the companies that produces less-expensive tools. I don't remember the company's name. The disks were easy to change, but the holes were so smooth that food got pushed around in circles without ever breaking up. By contrast, the Foley I got to replace it has a very rough disk surface that helps grab and shred the food. No interchangeable disks, but it works. I took the other one back for a refund.

If you have freezer space, you might try the freezer trick instead of the fridge for the beaters and bowl. Another possibility is to nestle the bowl of cream in a larger bowl of ice while you're beating. Should be manageable since you're using a hand mixer. Yes, do please let us know what you learn!

Oh dear, you have my sympathies! However, I have a question: are you sure the All-Clad is ruined? I once burnt a shallot reduction - cooked it dry, to little bitty crispy former shallot mince- in my AllClad tri-ply pan, probably the same as yours. There was a lot of blue language in the kitchen that evening, I can tell you. However, that tri-ply construction held together (nothing delaminated) and eventually I was able to clean it, inside and out. If you know to look you can see a couple small stains on the interior, but the exterior looks as good as ever and the performance is unaffected. On the other hand, there was the time I burned a stew in my good Revereware aluminum-disk stainless steel 16-quart stock pot. By the time I got out of the shower there was at least a half-inch of charcoal (formerly known as lamb, potatoes and stock) stuck to the bottom of the pot. Charcoal is a terrible conductor of heat, and the three-ply disk system had begun to delaminate from the bottom. That's the most expensive shower I've ever taken...particularly because that line of pots isn't made any more, and it was my favorite. Now, if THAT's the kind of damage your house guest did, then the pan is indeed ruined. Can't help with your original questions, but maybe I can save you some money.

I seem to remember hearing Lynne Rosetto Kasper say that ultra pasteurized cream wouldn't whip up well, so I went to my 2 favorite reference books to check. Harold McGee (On Food and Cooking) doesn't directly address the effects of ultra pasteurization on cream's ability to whip, one way or the other. Shirley Corriher (Cookwise) says that pasteurized and ultrapasteurized creams don't whip as readily as raw creams. Homogenization makes the fat droplets smaller, and the smaller fat globules make the cream more difficult to whip. Is your cream homogenized? McGee does note that, in this country, ultrapasteurized cream is usually homogenized...so in a way, I think he makes the same connection as Corriher. Both writers note that temperature is the biggest issue: your cream, the bowl and beaters, and air need to be cold - as in, put the bowl and beaters in the freezer for 15 minutes before starting. McGee recommends that the cream start out at "the low end of 40-50F/5-10C". Corriher notes that if you start with cold equipment and cold cream, but beat 90F/32C temperature air into it, you'll be heating that cream up and unable to develop a proper foam. Have you noted more trouble getting cream to whip up during the summer, or is this a year-round problem for you? The minimum fat content for whipping cream is 30%, according to both writers, so you're probably alright there. Corriher also notes that the breed of cow makes a difference: Jersey and Guernsey cows produce milk with large fat globules, while Holstein milk has smaller fat globules. As with homogenization, the smaller globules make it tougher to whip the cream. So: maybe it's the ultrapasteurization, maybe it's the source of the milk, or perhaps you're trying to whip cream in too hot a kitchen. Does any of that help? Edited: spelling, as usual. <grr>

First of all, let me say "welcome to eGullet, Hazen!" You've asked some great questions. I want to address your bonus question, although - allowing for the language barrier - I may still be misunderstanding you. You state that "nothing is added to the cream, it is simply processed in a matter that does not aerate it". However, your description of beating the cream to whip it belies that description...and in American English, at least, the term "whipped cream" specifically implies the incorporation of air to "whipping cream". If you whip cream, you ARE aerating it. The density reduces because of the added air, and the whole mass will float atop the coffee as a result. Whipped cream would even float atop un-aerated whipping cream, for the same reason. Did I understand your statement correctly - and did I answer the Physics question - or did I misunderstand something along the way?

Cool, Ttgull. Let me make sure I understand: you put cold sauerkraut on the heated risotto? Do you think the temperature differential contributed to the taste surprise?

I don't know what a "jaffle" is, and I'm not a "Dude!" even without the exclamation point. I recall the cheese getting pretty hot, but then, so does most, if not all, cheese that's grilled. I love the way Aussies talk. Snadra, does "jaffle" mean something good, or is that the name of the Toas Tite as you know it? Meanwhile...referring to another topic...Shel_B, it looks to me like your Toas Tite might do double duty as a crimper for oversized homemade ravioli. :-) Edited: stupid formatting.

I'd be up for that if I could do it in a (heh) half-baked way. At this time of year we rely heavily on fresh produce, and I wouldn't care to miss out on the Last of the Local Tomatoes (Duluth has had its first frost warnings already) in the name of not-shopping. But I'm trying to work my way down through the depths of our freezers - I definitely stockpile too much, and like Anna N I've been more successful at setting up inventories than at maintaining them. Anyone else interested in a no-shop challenge?

Well, at some point the meat and other ingredients overshadow the cheese to the point that "grilled cheese sandwich" would be misleading. For instance, getting a Reuben sandwich when you ordered grilled cheese might be a bit of a surprise. ;-) That doesn't make meaty, cheesy, goozy sandwiches - with or without fruits or vegetables added - any less delicious. Cuban sandwiches I've read of but not experienced. Medianoche sandwiches are beyond my ken. What are they, and how do you particularly like them?

Do you put the sliced pears in the sandwich? If so, before or after the sandwich is grilled? I'm a sucker for plain, salted potato chips at any time, which is why we rarely have them around the house. I agree that they play nicely off the grilled cheese sandwich.

There are many stone fronted buildings in NY, and there are even more graffiti artists around. That is the professional method I have seen done. BTW, not all baby powders contain talc. dcarch Questions: What kind of degreaser? And is it important to have talc as a component? I'm interested in the chemistry of this. Would it work on pale-colored laminate?

Noonu Enoch, welcome to eGullet! I'm glad you asked the question about Lebanese desserts or sweets, because it sent me looking through the eGullet Culinary Institute ("eGCI") for Foodman's excellent primer, "Introduction to Lebanese Cuisine". I found a lot of other good courses along the way that I'd forgotten, so the search was helpful for me. These courses are free, you can go through them at your own pace, and a link is provided for you to ask questions. It's hard to find unless you already know it exists, so here's a link to the post: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/28480-introduction-to-lebanese-cuisine/?p=390820 It's a long post. The dessert discussion is about halfway down.

Goozing is my new favourite word even if I think grilled cheese sandwiches are highly overrated! Goozing: how I've been needing this word! Thanks! Anna N, I too thought grilled cheese sandwiches were highly overrated, before I started messing with the ingredients. Now I've made a convert of my husband. Perhaps you're next?

Keith, that was an outstanding explanation. Thank you.

The smell is probably coming from the bacteria colonizing your sponge. The microwave (and above-mentioned bleach) kill the colonizers. Your well water might affect which bugs are present and what smells are produced, but city water users have the same general issue of bacteria growing in porous damp warm media like sponges and (I hadn't thought of this before) dish mats. Getting back to the original topic: I've avoided putting the blades of my food processors (including a new Cuisinart) in the dishwasher, but when I'm feeling lazy I've put the plastic bowl and lid in the dishwasher, so far with no ill effects. I don't use the dry cycle. However, I did learn the hard way - with a newish "Magic Chopper" or some such as well as my good old reliable Regal food processor - that the blades and their plastic housing didn't like being subjected to the rigors of the dishwasher. The plastic that housed the blade did some weird erosion or corrosion thing and cracked; meanwhile, I don't think I did those metal blades any good. That article link upthread to proper dishwasher use, including detergent amounts, was great. Thanks to weinoo for posting it!

Wow! Who knew?!

I love that ricotta-ball idea, and will have to try it! Shel, our grocery stores do sell sheets of fresh pasta, packaged in maybe 3x6 sheets, in the fresh pasta section. I've never tried working with it so I can't tell you precise size or price, just that it exists. If you have a deli area that sells fresh pasta - generally it's close to the cheese, butter, or otherwise lightly cooled open bins - you'd find it there, probably near the fresh pasta sauces.

Hassouni, I was in our local TJ Maxx earlier today. Calphalon nonstick pots, anodized exterior, glass lids. The ones I handled and priced looked like those in Dave's Zwilling Thermolon link. 2-1/2 quart was $29.99 and 4-1/2 quart was $49.99. There were others, with straighter sides, but I didn't heft them. I don't know whether you have a TJ Maxx nearby, or whether their stock would be the same, but I suggest you go there forthwith if you can, just in case they do. Edited: spelling and clarity

What Lisa said. TJ Maxx is another place to haunt, for the same reasons, and with the same caveats.

That looks like a really good design. Thanks for the pointers to the right source!