Smithy

So let's talk about baker's peels for a moment. I have a wooden peel I picked up at Bed Bath & Beyond for about $10 and a composite peel from...Epicurean?...heck, they're even almost local and I don't remember...but it's a composite made from recycled materials. The second peel is about 1/4' thick, and the wooden peel is closer to 1/2" thick, with tapered (beveled) edge. I generally find the thinner peel easier to work with for sliding under objects in the stove without shifting them. I've thought about going to a thin (1/8", stiff) metal peel, but been too skinflinty to do so given that most pizza parlors and bakeries seem to favor the wooden peels. What do y'all favor? To what extent does the thinness of the peel, or its composition, matter?

I think my first choice would be to heat the juice to, say, 80C (to be safe) or even bring it to the boil (to eliminate the need for a thermometer) unless there's too much other material in the mix that can't be cooked. Was that what you meant by not being able to deactivate the enzyme?

Thanks for posting that naan procedure, Ttogull. I love baking and have been working on flatbreads, but hadn't tried naan yet. Yours is going on my list!

Interesting that you found the nonfat half-and-half to have the same mouthfeel as, er, full half-and-half. I didn't have the same experience, and had decided it must be an industrial hoax. I continue to use the real thing, but I'm glad to know that the nonfat stuff actually works for some people and isn't some cheap marketing ploy after all.

btw dcarch, your photos and presentations of the hosta dishes are beautiful.

"Pastured" as applied to chickens is a new term for me. What is the difference?

I pay $3 /dozen from my local organic chicken farmer. While I applaud the goals of using more sustainable (for the earth's and our health) and humane (for the chickens) methods, I wonder whether $6/dozen isn't a bit, er, overinflated. Unsustainable, even. Aren't the colors beautiful? I love getting variously-colored eggs. I must admit that so far I haven't been able to tell a difference - they all taste great - but Lynne Rosetto Kasper, whose palate is doubtless more finely tuned than mine, noted a creamier and richer flavor with one breed's eggs (don't ask me which one) than with another.

I had no idea, either. I thought hosta's main purpose was to provide ground cover in the shade and give deer an easy excuse to annoy the gardener. Additional delicacies on the eastern white-tail deer circuit are daffodil buds and tulip buds...the night before they open.

I don't know how I missed this topic all these years, but I'm delighted to see it! I have a version of African Peanut Soup from someone, somewhere - and occasionally trot it out. I hadn't heard of mafe before this rainy morning, nor seen how many easy variations there are. Thanks, Chris and Chris and participants! And welcome, GregR!

That sounds delicious, Ttogull. I'd never heard of "clinching" before. I'll have to try it!

I've never grilled potatoes without at least a little precooking, but that's partly due to inertia (doing what works) and partly to save time and fuel. I favor waxy potatoes because they won't fall apart over / into the flame.

I've been wondering the same thing.

I haven't tried grilling romaine hearts yet, but now I'll have to try it! Tell me: when you serve it, do you serve in intact and let your guests cut to their preference, or do you cut it before tossing with the dressing you describe? Nice topic, by the way!

I can see using the 3D printer to replicate, or scale up or down, kitchen tools. I have some WWII vintage tools that just aren't made any more, or else are of inferior make. As for using it to "print" faux food I may be more of a Luddite. Yes. Remember the Nutri-matic in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy? After a long and complicated computerized analysis of the individual's DNA, tastes and needs it always dispensed something that was "almost, but not quite, entirely unlike tea". :-)

There are some great ideas going here! I'm eager to try some of them, especially that ultra-garlicky tikka marsala spin and the grilled favas. One of our most massively used outdoor cooking utensils is a grill "wok". It's wok-shaped but has holes to allow fat to drip out and flame to contact the food. Our current grill wok has a long handle, which provides better protection for open-flame work and makes it easy for the cook to toss or roll food around the way one would in a skillet. Although skewers have their advantages (presentation, more flame contact) I generally favor the grill wok because it's less work upfront and there's little chance of losing things to the fire. That said, I discovered lamb meatballs on my own, using the grill wok (easier than skewers) and using a spice mix loosely based on Merguez seasoning: ground cumin, ground coriander seed, ground fennel, paprika, parsley, cilantro, garlic, and a touch of salt. (I'll post the exact proportions if anyone's interested.) It's best if the cumin, coriander and fennel start as seeds and are toasted, then ground, but I'm generally too lazy to do that. Oh, it was good - and my husband, who is leery of lamb, loved it. You could put these meatballs into pita pockets, or eat them with rice or grilled potatoes. You could serve them with a good garlicky sauce. You could serve them lots of ways, and we have. Another regular favorite of ours is grilled vegetable salad, which may or may not be meatless. It's very free-form and also relies on the grill wok. Cut into bite-sized pieces any or all of the following: bell peppers (we like 'em ripe, not green), onions, asparagus, potatoes (cut, then nuked or steamed until almost done), leeks or scallions if you wish. Use whole cherry tomatoes. Keep and cook the items separately, because they have different cooking times. In each case toss it with olive oil and seasonings of your choice, throw it into the grill wok and roll/toss it until nicely charred or softened or otherwise cooked, then dump into a large salad bowl. When everything's cooked, toss all with a good salad dressing. (I favor a garlicky lemon vinaigrette, with chopped parsley, ground cumin, sumac, salt and white pepper. My husband usually sweetens his a bit at the table.) Note you can use different vegetables - sometimes I use skinny Asian eggplant, and change the dressing. You can also grill chunks of stale bread, tossed in oil and seasonings, and toss them in. To make this what some would consider a complete meal, grill chunks of marinated meat - my preference is chunks of boneless skinless chicken thigh, marinated in my all-purpose Middle-Easternish marinade, but I've used chunks of beef or lamb or chicken breast. This meal is heaven in a bowl, very flexible, and the cleanup is dead easy.

Wow. Wowwowwow that sounds wonderful! Is the pineapple cooked in any way, or just cut and coated! I'm eager to try it!

The checkout clerks at a grocery store we visited recently were trying out a new flavor of potato chip, I think, or possibly tortilla chip. I don't know whether it was only a test-market or a fully-marketed product, but either way I think it qualifies for this thread: the flavor, if you can call it that, was chicken and waffles. With syrup flavor included.

At least you were able to experience the stuff in one "wedge-sized" package. I bought a bottle each of the lemon and lime, thinking they might make decent "in a pinch" substitutions for when we're traveling and run out of the real thing. I tend to be a purist about ingredients and never buy the bottled juices, but for trailer travel there can be a room issue. I figured that, at worst, I'd be out some 5 or 6 bucks - not a very expensive test. Now I'm trying to figure out what to do with this stuff - it certainly isn't a substitute, but it might make an interesting seasoning in its own right. I'm amused by the nutritional info: OF COURSE there are "zero" (as in, less than 0.5)g of sugars and calories, when the entire packet's contents weight 0.8g. The bottle makes the same claim, because 1 serving is defined as 0.7g.

Consider already-prepared boil-in-the-bag meals. There's a lot of that around, of good quality. It freezes well (and thaws in its own time) and is well-contained. Depending on how long you'll be out, and the tastes and size of the crew, you might be interested in keeping dehydrated ingredients on board. I spent time as the ship's cook, but it was for time on the order of days and a crew on the order of 6, and may not be helpful. More information as to time on board, size of crew and crew's preference would be helpful. It's been a while since you posted on this topic. Have you taken the job? Got any more information?

Jjahorn, have you made any more attempts? Had any success getting those stoppers out?

I have no idea! But I'll watch this topic with fascination. Good luck!

In cooking, to the limited extent that I use salt, I use a fine sea salt - don't remember the current source, but I have a jar of Eden ("Portuguese sea salt triple washed") waiting until this current batch runs out. Sometimes I can find fine sea salt in large bags in the Oriental markets and I'm good for at least a year for little money. I don't know why, but so far I haven't liked the Morton sea salt. It may just be prejudice. However, I keep Morton kosher salt on hand in the handy blue box for kosher salt needs. Finishing salts: I'm fond of the Viking Smoked Salt from Salt Traders, but I also like some of their other smoked salts: presently at the table we have a small bottle of guava wood smoked salt that I bought as an experiment. It's a little more subtle and floral than the Viking salt. I also have coarse sea salt in a grinder at the table; when my husband reaches for the "lite" salt substitute (blecch) I'll add my real salt to the final dish.

I wonder if there's something about the water you're using. In my trailer travels around the country, I've learned that the water matters. I don't know what, chemically speaking, makes the difference - pH almost certainly, chlorine probably, hardness and the associated minerals perhaps. (I'd love to hear some ideas on this.) You might try using distilled water and see if that makes a difference. At less than a buck it's a cheap test.

I had good success with pork liver some years back, and I suspect deer liver would work as well. If you search for the topic "Everything but the oink?" in this forum and look at posts 5, 13 and 15, you'll see some good ideas. They all involve slicing and a quick saute, with various seasonings or sauces added. Sorry I can't post a link, but either this tablet or the software is preventing me from finding a way to do it.

There's my smile for the evening. Thanks! :-)