andiesenji

Regarding cleaning: I have discovered that the silicone basting brushes are great for cleaning delicate mushrooms, the gentle "fingers" are just enough to sweep out the dirt but not damage the flesh.

If you have an overabundance of morels and can't use them right away, put them loosely in a wire colander or basket and allow them to dry at room temp. Or if you have an oven with a standing pilot you can put them on the oven rack and allow them to dry. Dried morels have even more concentrated flavor than fresh. They don't change much in appearance if dried at room temp, just become lighter in weight and shrink just a bit.

Those are nothing like the ones my friend bought.

I use the paper surgical tape and tape the wound closed with a lot of tension on the tape. You can then put a bandage over it but the tape will act just like a suture. Change the covering bandage but leave the tape in place for at least 24 hours, 36 if you can keep it clean and dry. You will have less scarring than you get with stitches. I once cut across the top of my thumb with a mat knife, exposing the extensor tendons. I taped it closed, covered it loosly with a sterile gauze 4 x 4 and had my boss look at it the following day. He simply applied more tape and said it should heal fine and not need suturing. The scar is virtually invisible, only a faint line.

Bread pudding, yes! And I add it to rice pudding too....

One of my friends went to one of the "demonstrations" (AKA high pressure selling meeting) for the Swiss Diamond pans last spring and forked out 600.00 + for a set. She brought one over for me to try and I didn't care for it at all. I tried it with an omelette and the bottom did not release as it does in my Calphalon comm. non-stick and left shredded bits of egg on the bottom of the pan. I cleaned it and tried a catfish fillet in butter and where the piece of fish will slide around with simply tipping the pan in my Calphalon, it stuck in the Swiss Diamond and did not release when it was browned, which it will do in my copper pans. Those are the two tests I use. I told my friend that I hoped she would be happy with the pans but they were not for me and I did not want to attend one of their demonstrations. The last time I visited her home I noticed the S-D pans were hanging on her pot rack but she used one of her old Farberware mellinium pans to make grilled cheese sandwiches. (The Farberware are thin but have that super tough coating in which you can use metal utensils and they too have a lifetime guarantee. They are good for certain purposes.)

I have one of these and a larger one made by Nemox like this. however if I were to get one now, I would get the Musso Lussion like this one. I used to have a Simac that I used for many years until it would no longer hold the refrigerant and when they stopped selling Freon, it needed a different valve for the new coolant. The ebay seller is one from whom I have bought several other items. You can ask if they will be getting another of the Musso, they just sold one yesterday.

I have used many silver teapots from solid to plate and have never noticed any particular metalic taste.

My mother makes one or two smoothies every day out of frozen fruit, and broke the blades of our Waring! I looked into it and found that frozen fruit is really hard on blender blades--ice, being brittle, isn't so bad--and Vita Mixes are the best blenders to get if you're going to blend lots of frozen fruit. They are expensive, but worth it if you're a heavy blender user. ← I have mentioned earlier in this thread and in others about the Vita-Mix and how tough it is. I do hope you have good results with your Waring. I do know people who have old Waring blenders made for bar use that have to be 30 years old and except for new seals for the bottom of the container they are still working fine with no repairs. If you ever do decide to spend the bucks on a V-M, you will find that it can do things that no other blender can do but not everyone needs all that power. Last summer when I was making some plum puree, I missed a plum pit and it ground it up. I had to discard that batch, but something like that would ruin another blender but the V-M handled it just fine. There have been times when it stalled because something was so thick and stiff in the bottom, but you just turn it off, lift the container off the motor, add a little liquid, stir a bit and give a little turn to the blade (I use the handle of a wooden spoon) and the machine will reset itself after a few minutes and you can start again. This has happened to me many times when making sambals, which are a very thick paste and occasionally when grinding wet mustard seed as it gets very thick, almost like plaster in the bottom of the container. Anything else has been handled with no problems whatsoever. Other than having my 30-so year old one rewired when the cord began to show some cracks (normal in an appliance of this age) I have had no repairs done to any of the ones I have owned.

Take the 5, not the 405. The last time I was down south and got stuck on the 405 (couldn't get over to the left far enough), it took me forever to get past the airport. When you get into range, tune to KNX 1070 as they have the most traffic reports and the most accurate.

I use it in and on a lot of things. I buy the Tradewinds brand (large container) at Smart & Final or the store brand at Costco or Sam's Club. I use it in marinades, brines and rubs, on squash and pumpkin, on many other vegetables, roasted vegetables, particularly root vegetables, carrots and parsnips. It goes into stews, chili, meatloaf I also use it in most of the homemade sausages I make. It goes into my pickle mixture for bread and butter and sweet pickles. It even gets dusted lightly onto some breads. It does nice things for some fruit salads, poached fruits and so on. Don't be afraid to use it but use it sparingly at first to see how it works for you.

I cook very large "butter" beans, AKA large limas - I grew up calling them butter beans and simply can't get my brain to record them as limas. They are very large and yet the regular overnight soaking time is fine. I also use scarlet runners and white runners which are comparable in size. The corona beans I have had are a little larger than the large limas and a little fatter. Fifi, this site has info about the corona beans (and other Italian beans)

I too wonder at the attitude of anyone who refused to have photos taken of their food service. Several years ago I drove down to a town in San Diego county and met a friend and went to a restaurant that had gotten a fair amount of press in the local news recently. They had an outstanding buffet and I was so impressed I took some photos as we were being show to our table. The manager/owner came up to me and tried to grab my camera and when I resisted said he was going to call the police and have me up on "charges". My friend walked up and asked what was the problem. The manager said I want the film that "B-word" took or I will call the police and also my friend Judge So and So and have her arrested! MY friend said, so you know Judge So and So, and the idiot said, "I certainly do." Whereupon my friend said I doubt that as I certainly don't remember you, and if you had bothered to read the local paper you would recognize me, as my picture appeared last week and if you are going to drop names, you should really know the person whose name you are dropping. He went on to say that we were leaving and would advise any of HIS friends not to patronize the restaurant. The place was out of business within 6 months. It's nice to have friends that carry big sticks!!!

For anyone who is interested. There is a 7-quart Lodge Logic Dutch oven going for a very reasonable price on ebay with 4 hours to go. ebay Lodge Logic pan These have been rated very good by several reviewers and the price is right! I just want to add that I have purchased several things from this vendor and have never had a problem. They have a lot of kitchen gadgets (which I collect) and appliances and I have gotten them at very, very good prices. PM me if you want any further info.

I can't resist asking whether Hungarians have a traditional rice pudding and, if so, how they eat it. Attila is a national hero in that very civilized place. ← I asked my housekeeper, who is from Czorna, Hungary, and she said the puddings with which she was familiar were made with bread or cake, liquor, cream or egg custard and often topped with chocolate. There is also a semolina pudding made for children but she doesn't recall a rice pudding, however she says that she is not familar with the puddings of southern Hungary, which may be different from the area where she lived. She said that one could probably get anything in Budapest. (The "puddings" she describes sounds more like a trifle and summer pudding than what we think of as pudding.) She did say that the packaged "instant" flavored puddings have become popular in recent years but her mama would not have them in the house.

That makes two of us. Now, would you go for the USDA Choice over the USDA Prime? ← I like rib eye for flavor, choice ditto. However the home raised stuff I have in my freezer right now is comparable to super prime. If you live anywhere near a rural area you can buy a calf and arrange for kids in 4-H to raise it for you, you pay the expenses and they get credit for it and you get the meat.

I certainly agree about the Grade B maple syrup. I buy the B grade at Trader Joe's and use it all the time, in cooking, in condiments, in ice cream, on anything that "needs" maple syrup (fried grits, for example.) It has much more flavor and I want a distinct, hearty flavor, not a delicate hint of maple. Some of the regular olive oils that are found at the middle eastern stores, or the Italian markets are much cheaper than found in grocery stores. I buy them in the gallon cans for making oven-roasted-in-oil garlic cloves. EVOO is not needed for this, and in fact the "green or vegetal and peppery" flavor of EVOO is not what I want in this product. They have a much faster turnover in these stores and the product is fresher than at regular markets. I prefer to buy these oils in the metal cans as I firmly believe that light is one of the prime things that degrades oil rapidly.

Check at Wal-Mart. They have some plastic ones but they are not as good as the wire baskets. However they are not always in the "kitchen" section but for some reason are stuck in the section that has laundry and closet stuff. I have a bunch of them and keep all kinds of stuff like small jars and cans. I also use them in the fridge to keep all the little jars of condiments and jams, etc., in order, stored upside-down, as I have mentioned in other posts, to keep the contents away from the air, they last much longer that way. They have plain stainless wire or white coated wire in my local stores. They come either 6 in x 15 in. (the size I use most) or the half length ones that are 6 x 8. They also have narrow ones but they tip over easy. I have some of the oval "bread" baskets made of plastic, some bought at Smart & Final and some bought at Sam's Club, (sold by the dozen). We use them outside for napkins, etc., however they get sort of gummy after a while just from being stored on a shelf (inside a bag) and are impossible to clean well (melt in the dishwasher) so I just toss them as they are pretty cheap. I have tried just about everything and find that these wire baskets are the easiest to maintain.

I have lots of hooks, I like everything within easy reach and I absolutely detest having to dig through a bunch of stuff in a drawer to find something when I need it RIGHT NOW! I don't care how fitted a drawer organizer is, if you have more than 5 items in the drawer, something will be on the bottom. I also have a lot of tool holders that can stand on a counter, set in a roll-out drawer or hang on a wall or on the end of a Metro-type shelf system.

Check at Wal-Mart, they have both wire and solid expandable 3-step spice shelves. Or you can see a bunch at this site! You can also get one that swings down to eye level if you have a upper level cabinet shelf on which it will fit. That one is fantastic, especially for the vertically-challenged. Pull down spice rack. There is also one made of stainless steel wire that is a bit more expensive but this one works just fine.

If the cookware works for you, be happy. Not everyone is obcessed with having the be-all and end-all of cooking and many, many, many cooks will happily cook their entire lives without ever touching a top-of-the-line piece of cookware and do an excellent job. There are certain situations where a particular piece of cookware makes a particular task easier, but unless you are doing this many times a day, day after day, there is no reason to opt for that. I have known fantastic cooks who produce amazing meals with plain old Wearever cookware and wouldn't know what to do with a piece of All-Clad if it were given to them. I gave a bunch of old cookware to a neighbor, soon after I moved up here and bought new stuff and she is still using it, 16 years later and loves it. I also am using some cast iron skillets and other pieces that are nearing the century mark and they still do a great job. Figuring what they cost when new, they have outperformed any modern cookware for minute fractions of a penny. Enjoy your set, I think you did very well indeed!

I have had a couple of requests for this recipe so am posting it on this thread. It was earlier posted on the "Ketchup Conundrum" thread. Mushroom Ketchup About 1 1/4 cup very hot water - close to boiling. 3 ounces dried porcini or dried shiitaki mushrooms. (buy the big container at Costco or Sam's Club, they are wonderful.) 1 1/2 pounds Italian or brown mushrooms 2 tablespoons kosher salt 1 tablespoon brown sugar 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (or sherry vinegar if you can find it) 1/4 cup dry sherry 1/2 teaspoon allspice, freshly ground 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg, freshly ground 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground 1/4 teaspoon Angostura bitters (If you don't have this on hand, use 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce) 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce, Tabasco or Crystal or ?? 1/4 cup of carmelized onions, the browner the better..... Use filtered water if possible. I find that I get the best results with it. Put the filtered water in a one quart Pyrex measure and microwave until nearly boiling. Break the dried shiitaki mushrooms into the hot water and weight them down with a saucer so they will be covered by the water. Allow to stand for about 30 minute. They should be soft. Remove mushrooms from the liquid with a slotted spoon. Filter the liquid using a paper coffee filter and save in the refrigerator tightly covered. Chop the soaked mushrooms into small dice. If the stems are too tough, discard them. Quickly wash and drain the fresh mushrooms. Place both types of mushrooms in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse several times until the mushrooms are finely chopped. Turn the mixture out into a quart jar, add the salt and mix well. Cover the container tightly and place in the refrigerator. Keep refrigerated for 2 to 3 days, stirring once or twice a day or shake the jar vigorously. Place a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl and line with a cotton dish towel (or a piece of washed, unbleached muslin). Pour the mixture into the strainer and allow to drain, pressing on the mixture with the back of a spoon to express as much liquid as you can. Gather the corners of the cloth and lift out of the strainer and twist to express even more liquid from the mushrooms. When you have wrung out as much liquid as possible, don't discard the mushrooms, set them aside. Now strain the liquid through a paper coffee filter in a strainer into a saucepan, or saucier, about 1 1/2 to 2 quart. Now add the liquid from soaking the porcini or shiitaki mushrooms Place over low heat and bring to a simmer. Add the remaining ingredients. Simmer for about 40 minutes, uncovered. Add the mushrooms and continue simmering at a gentle simmer for an additional 20 - 30 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to cool somewhat. Pour into food processor and process for about a minute, stopping a couple of times to scrape the sides down so that everything is emulsified. (you can also use a blender but do it in small batches) Return to the saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Immediately pour into hot, sterlized 1/2 pint jars, cover, and cool. Store in refrigerator or in the freezer if you won't be using it up within a month. Yield, about 2 1/2 cups. Andie Paysinger

One of the reasons you are instructed, in basic kitchen lore, to never pour water into a pan of hot grease is that it forms steam which carries the fat particles into the air surrounding the pan and if you have an open flame WOOSH - you have a fireball. People have been severely burned, inhaled burning vapor and died from the effects, so this is not something you want to do. I saw this happen at an outdoor food event at Universal Studios (before Universal Citywalk was built) quite a few years ago and the young chef who was the victim lost his eyebrows and eyelashes and the front of his hair and his voice was permanently changed because of damage to the larynx. He was treated at the Grossman burn center and a friend of mine was one of the nurses there.

It was the fat that vaporized and ignited.

Not everyone has the tools or the strength to handle copper sheets. If you can make your own then you are ahead of the game. I happen to be an older woman with disabilities. I am quite satisfied with purchasing something that is made in the exact size I want. Copper of this thickness is not cheap here, it may be cheaper in other places. I just got an estimate on having the top of a partner's desk covered with copper to use in my baking center. The copper is much thinner and it is considerably more than "a few bucks per square meter".