Behemoth

Dude, so's mine! Best middle name ever. And I also made paneer pizzas with a tomato chutney once. But I think that's about where the similarity ends. (I will treasure these brief encounters with greatness, though... ) I didn't cook for the last two nights, though I really wanted to. But I did prepare my biga for Ciabatta last night, so it wasn't a total loss.

Fabric stores, of course. (Smack forehead, Duh.) Excellent idea, thanks! (I really need to re-take up sewing, but then when would I have time to cook??)

Yeah . . . trash can. Seriously, the only kind of cheesecloth that I know about is the flimsy stuff I get at the little packet at the grocery. I can't imagine boiling that stuff. I might be missing something here. ← Dude, it's $3 a pop! (I like to make yogurt cheese pretty often.) You can get slightly better than supermarket quality, which hold up for a few uses. I feel one time is kinda wasteful. I really am a skinflint in the kitchen I guess... Cucina, I don't boil stuff in the cheesecloth, I just boil the cheesecloth so I can use it again. edit: also, I like to run stock and braising liquids in it fairly often. I guess you could say I am a big cheesecloth fan.

If this guy makes a dime I will feel personally betrayed by my gender. (I'm sure he'll make lots. Sigh.)

Whenever this thread appears in "view new posts" I think of something... Do you reuse cheesecloth? I boil mine a few times before it falls apart. Is there a better way?

They are all past installments in the Foodblog thread. That's what I meant...not that I mind, just that I'm not usually good at figuring out the people from your hints. I must say this blog is really making me look forward to living in Europe again...

What is this one? Please describe. I like to improvise sauces -- here are some additional non-meat ideas: torn chanterelles with cream, butter & parmesan. Buckweat linguine with lentils, chard and goat cheese (or feta, even.) And here is a weird summer thing we always had in Lebanon: shell macaroni with a sauce made of yogurt, a little garlic, a little salt. You can add dried or fresh mint, I've added toasted pine-nuts sometimes, and it is especially nice if you melt a little butter to put over the top. Oh, I also like penne with fried eggplant strips & tomato, with a little bit of hot pepper flakes.

Weeknight mezze. Sopprasetta salami, moroccan oil cured black olives (not shown), octopus with garlic, a little vinegar and olive oil, hummus, and a new one: mustard greens sauteed in mustard oil with mustard seeds and whole red chilies. The greens were excellent, definitely a new favorite dish. Greek pita with, because I find it less appalling than what passes for arabic pita around these parts. Martini bianco vermouth to drink.

Homemade fettucine with prosciutto and cream sauce. Also, roasted jerusalem artichokes with parmesan cheese. Both good, but next time I wouldn't have them together. I just can't take that much rich food at once. Pocky & espresso for dessert, though

So ring mold on a jelly roll pan? I gotta get the book, I need to see a photo of what this thing ends up looking like. I really like the fluted edges, but somehow the flaring out seems wrong to me. Sur la Table, you say...

Cake ring is like a springform pan?

I had Matjes in season when I was in Hamburg last summer. I knew it was a bit of a big deal but didn't realize it was such a big deal...good though. But I like eel better Chufi, if it helps, I have a copy of the Alford and Duguid rice book and they list a bunch of red rices, some milled, some semi milled, some polished. If you know what country yours comes from I can check and see what they say about it. (They have listings for Bhutanese, Himalayan, Japanese, Mexican, South Indian, Thai, Vietnamese cargo and Wehani.) FWIW yours sounds like thai or himalayan, just looking at their pictures. They recommend 1 cup rice to 1.5 water, bring to boil then steam on lowest heat for 30 minutes, and let rest, covered, for another 10-15. Sounds like semi-milled brown rice method. edited, for I am a moron of typing. Gah!

Your English must be quite good, all this time I thought you were an expat!

Tell me about your tart pan. I want to buy one with 2 inch depth and a removable bottom, but all the ones I've seen flare out. Are they supposed to, or do straight-sided ones exist? I currently have low rim tart pans that are straight sided -- somehow the shape (if not the depth) seems right to me. I have been using them when I make quiche but I would like the real thing. (This will probably be the first recipe I try out of that cookbook -- I am still searching for a perfect quiche recipe. Nothing goes better with all the Riesling people keep giving us.)

Just thought I'd add that, if you replace that beef with lamb, this is the basic filling for kibbeh in Saudi Arabia, at least in my experience. Yep, and I bet they use beef too, if it happens to be cheaper. (Or already in the freezer )

Les Halles boef bourguignon. It was good for a get-home-tired, late weeknight kind of thing, but if I want to do it proper I want the lardons & tomato paste back. We drank a cheap pinot noir with it -- rex somethingorother. It was pretty good, for the price. We watched a weird Billy Wilder movie I got on DVD for my birthday -- "One Two three" -- anyone know it? My in-laws thought it would be, erm, culturally instructive (Yes, they have a sense of humor.) suzy, poor cat

Whipped "Topping." It comes in a white plastic tub. It's fake whipped cream. It's sweet, with various forms of sugars added. It also has lots of chemical additives. I'm not even certain what the main substance of it is. I think it's labled "non-dairy topping." But it's stupifyingly easy. Therefore, it's ubiquitous. ← You forgot the weird greasy residue it leaves on the roof of your mouth! Yummy. Edit: Daddy-A, I wouldn't take it too seriously. We come to eGullet for acceptance when we launch into our petty food vents, for we know they are petty, but we are in our special place, with all the other weird mutant cooking freaks. (Not that we cook weird mutants, you understand..well, some people seem to. I mean, er, oh, nevermind.)

The third one looks good. I think the working theory is that cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg take away a bad smell from meat, it if has it. Baharat is just the arabic word for "spices", which doesn't give a whole lot of information...

Er, so much so that you forget you do it and fail to mention it when you respond to the question. That's exactly what I do...thanks, Toliver

My american grandparents really love shawarma -- my mom wanted to make it for them when we were visiting. She had the brilliant idea of baking steak-umms with the onion/tomato/vinegar marinade. I do not recommend this. (Sorry mom, most of the time your instincts are right on. ) PS -- what if you tried adding the vinegar either right before cooking or sprinklng some on the chopped meat?

Appreciate all the input. I'm embarassed to say that I can't answer your question, Tolliver. I'm a gadget doofus. I only know how to do one thing - zoom in/out and shoot. Oh, lately I discovered by accident that I could make the background blur by using the macro (press on the flower thingy), go a bit further back, but zoom in. OK, OK, I know how painful it must be for photo experts to read this, but this is the extent of my camera know-how. <<<small sorry voice>>> Hi, the more experienced folks will probably have a little to add to this, but what might be happening is your camera is set to focus on the closest thing -- something I learned about my camera after a few less-than-great shots and a review of the manual. (See the comments on the very first egg photo above -- the focus was on the mat, not the egg, because the mat was closer.) With my camera, I can adjust that so it focuses on a certain part of the frame. Check to see if you can adjust that on your machine. I just noticed in your photo the nearest cupcake was in better focus, and with the cat cake (cool cake, BTW) the front of the sheet was sharper than the center of the picture.

I have to admit I have a fondness for artificial orange. I would occasionally have orange lunch: Cheetos with orange soda, followed by orange tictacs for dessert, of course. I haven't done this in a while but I feel the urge coming...

Is there such a thing as an inexpensive tripod? (One that won't drop my baby, I mean.) In a pich I sometimes steady my camera on a pillow (or something soft) on the back of a chair. But a tripod would be nice...

I think this is why I prefer to eat Chinese/Japanese/Korean foods with chopsticks. Aesthetically it seems like these cuisines evolved in a way that is flattered by the use of chopsticks -- everything is so carefully cut and assembled. I don't feel like I am getting the full sensory experience if I am attacking it with a knife and fork. Also, I always eat with a knife and fork, and it feel a little silly holding the knife since I don't have to cut anything, and it also feels weird pushing stuff onto my fork, because either you get a piece of chicken that falls off, or else you get a wad chicken and rice sludge which isn't all that nice either. If I stab at stuff, the knife doesn't get used. Obviously I've given this far more thought than it deserves??

The funny thing is I'm never 100% sure it is the traditional thing or whether it was a little touch added by my mom. Though I think I've seen other people do that shape. I personally like the added texture. I also need to try the baking step. You know come to think of it, it is the exact fold they use on Korean kimchee mandu. Heh.