Smithy

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!

One of the treats of lazy Sunday afternoons of my youth was when Mom would cook sandwiches: maybe a BLT, maybe a grilled cheese. I recall enjoying them but not thinking of grilled cheese sandwiches as anything special. I gained a new appreciation for them in Mom's later years, when the grilled cheese sandwich became one of her hallmark meals for times she was too tired and hungry to do (or wait for) anything creative. Shepherd's bread, Colby-jack cheese, mayo and mustard between the bread and the cheese, butter on the outside. Cook it in the skillet until it's brown, warm and melty. Enjoy and collapse, knowing that the chores are done for the night. This summer my sister and rediscovered that gem but played around with it bit to suit our tastes: first the French's mustard (Mom's favorite) gave way to Dijon, then the cheese gave way to cheddar. Along the way we found an even happier combination, one that unfortunately I'll have trouble duplicating now that I'm back in Minnesota. San Luis brand Sourdough Olive Oil and Rosemary loaf. Fagundes Farmstead "San Joaquin Hanford Jack", a farmers' market special jack cheese from Hanford, California that features small chunks of roasted garlic, roasted red bell pepper, and cilantro. By itself the cheese is rather bland, but it plays beautifully off the rosemary and olive oil in the bread. A couple of nights ago I got a serious jones for those sandwiches for dinner. My DH took the idea quietly but was clearly unimpressed. "Wait and see," I urged, "I really neeeeed one of these!" I lovingly pulled out the last of the cheese and bread I'd brought from Visalia last month. Slathered the bread slices with mayonnaise and Dijon mustard and just a touch of horseradish mustard for good measure. Cut slices of that San Joaquin cheese and laid them carefully onto the bread, making sure that not one square centimeter of bread was left uncovered. Mated the bread pieces. Buttered the outsides. Into the pan they went, over medium heat, taking care not to overbrown before turning. When I was done the sandwiches were golden brown, with cheese gently oozing out the margins, and some bits browned crisp where the cheese had touched the pan. We ate, and overate, and he gave some of his highest praise: "This is not my mother's grilled cheese." I have a convert, and he says I can do it again anytime. I wish I could, but I'll have to find a local substitute. How, if at all, do you tart up your grilled cheese sandwiches?

I can't speak to Calphalon nonstick pots, but their skillets have good heavy walls and even heating from what I've seen. I love All-Clad; I have both skillets and pots in their stainless steel line and they all have heavy walls and even heating. However, since my All-Clad are of the non-non-stick variety I can't speak to the durability of their nonstick finishes. Analon seems to make a good heavy grade of nonstick skillet also, so their pots may meet your requirements. In my experience T-Fal pots are delightfully nonstick and durable, but not very heavy. Still, you might give one a try if you could pick it up cheap, see whether it would work for you. My Revereware and Farberware pans are too light for what you're seeking. I hear you about the tadig. A friend cooks Persian rice for us in her lightweight aluminum rice pot. The results are delicious but the cleanup is a nightmare. Edited for clarity.

The dining hall at my mother's residence offers citrus fish with an avocado-strawberry salsa. Citrus on fish I like, but I'd never thought of pairing avocado with strawberries, much less atop a mild-flavored fish. Once I tried it, I was hooked.

Port and Snickers bars.

Aren't we collectively funny?! We haven't the first clue about what this guy is like - his preferences, fears, predilections - but we're all eager to lead him along a road he may not wish to walk! Do let us now what you find out; it should be clear that you have a captive audience...and no matter what happens in the culinary arena, here's hoping you enjoy the visit :-)

It occurs to me that the cleanup might be an issue too: making sandwiches doesn't involve dirtying up a skillet or pot. If that's the issue, then one-pot meals or microwaved food or grilled food might be a help.

They do make electrostatic air filters with an activated charcoal filter. dcarch For home use? This I didn't know. How big, how expensive, how easy to find and install? Please tell more!

Unless the recirculating fan is much, much better than mine is at capturing and filtering soot, I think you *will* have smoke getting everywhere, and you'll be wishing you'd brought the WSM. I think the smoke is more likely to be discouraging than the CO. Get a CO detector and set it up in the kitchen area to keep yourself safe - that is, for your peace of mind. If the stove operates properly and the condo isn't too tight, you'll probably never set it off. Oh, and make sure it alarms in a range you can hear. My husband can't hear any of those pitches, so *I'm* the resident smoke and CO alarm. Edited for clarity and hearing note.

Heart of Rural Texas, eh? There's probably a H-E-B right around the corner, and they're great. Depending on his interests and tastes - I'll be interested in hearing what you learn, also - some other possibilities for easy food to get him going are: - buying a roast / rotisserie chicken, eating some parts out of hand, and using the rest for pasta dishes. Soups too, if he's so inclined, but I remember thinking that broth was a very mysterious and difficult thing in my earliest cooking days, so I might avoid that idea at first; - Tex-Mex-style dishes: burritos or enchiladas made from canned ingredients (beans, salsa, etc) - tuna-noodle casserole (you can eat on that forever) or large pots of chili or spaghetti I agree with the posters upthread who say it would be an improvement if you could even get him to upgrade the selections of materials for his sandwiches. Keep us posted~

Ruhlman is the guy who...keeps stock on the stove top, unheated, for days. Not according to the above-cited Ruhlman article. I'm in the "we need to relax about this a bit" camp. We collectively, in this country, seem to be breeding superbugs with our quasi-ubiquitous use of antibacterial agents. OTOH I certainly agree that people with compromised immune systems - that probably includes most elderly people - need to be more careful than most. Back to the question at hand: if water is plentiful enough, I usually rinse meat to get rid of the stray stuff, then pat it dry and go on about my business. In all honesty, I probably do it as much because I was raised that way as for any more logical reasons, but thinking about it, I think I'll continue to do it. I do not use such a vigorous spray that it's splashing all over the counter: that's messy and wasteful. I would not take a friend to task who chose not to rinse meat.

Oh, thank you! I'll have to give that a try. It looks as though your Thanksgiving crowd doesn't mind messing with tradition a bit. Excellent!

I am deeply curious about the recipe you use because everything sweet potato I encounter seems to be, well, VERY sweet to the point of basically being a dessert. While sweet potato based desserts are fine, I don't really want to eat them while they're pretending to be a soup or a side dish to go with something else. I'm with you on that. Sweet potatoes are already so sweet, that by the time they've had brown sugar or marshmallows or whatever else gets thrown into them for many dishes, I'm quite put off. Roast sweet potatoes, by themselves, are great. What about a savory sweet potato soup? I'd try that!

tehmeena, please educate us (or perhaps me, in case I'm the only person who doesn't know what you're showing): 1. What is maamoul? How is it made, what does it taste like, what are the ingredients, when might you eat it? 2. What is that interesting hand-held gizmo in the photo? I expect it's involved in making or serving maamoul, but I don't know. As I write this, your maamoul post is only your second post to eGullet. Welcome to eGullet! Please stick around and keep contributing! You've certainly piqued my interest!

That's a heck of a good question, judiu. In some cases I can see the reason to add seasonings first - for instance, if you want to cook spices or aromatics in a dry pan for toasting purposes - but otherwise it would seem that adding the aromatics before draining the fat would mean losing some of the flavor. I'll have to start paying attention now, to see what I actually do!

Just for the record, in case I wasn't clear: I meant wiping the rind with vinegar, as in a towel soaked with vinegar, followed by blotting with a dry towel, to discourage mold; not to dunk the cheese in a vat of vinegar. Having said that, I'll also note that I still haven't tried it myself.