deltadoc

I'm seeing Cousin Eddy in Vegas Vacation using Solar Power to fry the chicken on big 'ol rocks! Rusty suffered the ill-effects! doc

At a restaurant I worked in during high school, the fry cook almost waited in anticipation (as we all did) every Friday night, some guy out in the parking lot (we had carhops in those days) would always send his cheeseburger back and say it wasn't cooked enough. The SOP for dealing with this was to scrape off the old cheese, put the patty back on the flat grill, flip it a couple of times, and then the fry cook would put his cleared throat "chef's surprise" onto the patty, then covered it with a new piece of cheese. He'd use the spatula to spatula some grease onto the cheese to melt it onto the patty good. Re-wrapped the cheeseburger and then we all ran to the side window to watch the carhop redeliver the special cheeseburger to this guy. This happened almost every Friday night for several years that I worked there. We cracked up laughing so hard. However....I never send food back when eating out!!! And if I do complain, its always AFTER I eat, and then I make sure I never go back to that restaurant again! doc

Reviving this thread because I have FOUND what I was looking for!!!! www.tulikivi.com is a Finnish manufacturer of soapstone fireplaces, fireplaces with ovens, and even stoves and ovens. They're beautiful, and one will go perfect in my living room. Has an ash box at the bottom, a firebox with glass window so you can watch the fire like a regular fireplace, and then above that is a little alcove with door, which is your brick oven! A little pricey, but hey, in Minnesota, an outdoor brick oven can only be used maybe 3 months of the year, but an indoor one can be used all year long, and especially in the cold winter months when we're burning wood in the fireplace anyway, we can bake pizza, sourdough loaves, buns, all kind of things. They even have a baking pan that fits into the oven so you can bake other things too! And there's a local distributor not too far away in the Twin Cities! doc

We've got at least 4 types of brown rice from the Natural Food coop (Fresh and Natural). I put it in the Zojirushi Fuzzy Logic Rice Cooker, add chopped celery, chopped carrots, sometimes chopped shallot and/or chopped portabellas (or any combination of the above), a dash of EVOO and a pinch of salt. Makes an excellent accompaniment with almost anything that I would eat with rice as a side dish. doc

We found some Swanson canned Chicken Broth in our basement. Cans in excellent shape, but when I opened them (they were dated to be used by 2002), they didn't smell bad, but they didn't smell good either. We tossed them. Found one large can of Swanson Chicken Broth dated 02-2005. ONly about 1 1/2 year out of date. Opened it, and it was about the same non-descript, non-appetizing nothingness in smell. Did try tasting it and it was bland. Threw it out too. I go by the adage that god gave me only so many meals in my lifetime and I don't intend on wasting any of them. When in doubt, throw it out! doc

I think you ideas are wonderful, and I wish that something like that would have been available when I was in Jr. High School. However, be aware of the litigious society we live in these days. A sharp knife, even in the hands of a professional, can take off a finger tip very easily. I think that is why god invented fingernails, but even they cut through fairly easily. I would make sure that you had signed waivers from the student's parents/guardians that it is ok to teach them knife skills for use in a kitchen environment, i.e. that they will be handling sharp knives and spell out the possible dangers that could occur. doc

When I make too much of something and I cannot: 1. Foodsave it and freeze it 2. Make lunches for work out of it 3. Eat anymore of it I take it to the place where they feed homeless people. It beats having them dig through the trash behind supermarkets for stuff to make food out of! And I don't itemize either! doc

And Samantha Carter, Stargate SG-1, is always seen eating the Blue Jello, even in the disrupted timeline in Season 8, as well as most of the other seasons too. And Teal'c, when asked if he would like a glass of cold milk replies "I would not enjoy bovine lactose secretions at any temperature". He did like his fruit though! doc

And in Men in Black, the creature, after wearing Edgar's skin, drank sugar water! doc

And of course, Olive Oyl his (and Bluto's) girlfriend! doc

By definition, a "veal" is a very young beef, so it is always less than 2 years of age. So, like I said, if i am to believe the American Beef council, veal calves cannot get MCD. Seems safer to me, but besides, after using beef stock and now veal stock, the veal stock is so much more beautiful and tasty! There are different methods of making brown stock. Professional Cooking and Professional Chef have methods that are similar yet different. I generally roast my bones and/or bones with meat on them, until they're nice and brown (not burnt). I sometimes, if i remember to, brush them with a bit of tomato paste. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't, also roast the mirepoix with the bones, adding it in after some time into the roasting process. Otherwise, I remove the bones, and put them into a stock pot (I use 24 lbs of bones at a time, and two 24 Qt. stock pots). I then pour off the grease from the roasting pan, and deglaze the roasting pan, and add that to the stock pots. I then add back in the grease into the roasting pan and usually that is when I create my mirepoix by browning the veggies in the grease in the oven for a more controlled process. I then add the roasted browned mirepoix to the stock pot. Then I add cold filtered water to the stock pots to cover the bones sufficiently. I always add a Bouquet Garni and/or a Sachet d'spice (cheesecloth containing a bay leaf, some whole black peppercorns, a few whole cloves, a whole clove garlic, some fresh parsley stems) tied with a long string that allows me to retrieve it easily. I then place them on my lowest gas burners and let them gently come to a point where just a few bubbles break the surface. It takes some adjustment, but it is easily done. Then I let them go like that sometimes overnight. When I get up in the night (or whenever I am doing the stock making) I add additional water to maintain the bones under water. Do this gently so as not to disturb the stock. NEVER MIX the stock up. Never add salt to the stock or espagnole or demi. Always S&P at the time of using them in your recipes. Continually skim the scum off the top. I use a special spoon/sieve, of which I have two, to do this. They work really well. Others use scum/grease mops on a stick. I don't like them as well. If it is winter or you have a huge refrigerator, you can cool the stock quickly in an ice bath in the sink and leave it in the fridge overnight, and skim the entire fat/scum content off as a solid in the morning. Finally, I remove the bones, pour the stock through a larger holed-sieve first, and then again through a fine sieve china hat. I don't like using cheesecloth to filter as it usually clogs up on me right away and is bothersome! I now taste the stock, sometimes I reduce it a bit more after straining. Usually I use immediately what I need to, sometimes making some Espagnole Sauce to which I then add more fresh stock, another Sachet d'spice, and reduce down 55%. Then I have a nice Demi-glace ala Escoffier. I add the Sherry or Dryzack at the time I use the demi. (Escoffier says: Reduce the 1 Qt of stock and 1 Qt of Espagnole sauce to .9 Qts, and add .1 Qt Sherry: Different editions of Escoffier's Cookbook specify different wines). Demi freezes very well. I can the remaining stock. Sometimes I run out of canning jars and then I reduce the remaining stock 90% and make a Glace de veau viande. This freezes well, or can sit covered in your refrigerator for some time. I tend to freeze it because I had read that you can leave it in the fridge indefinitely, but mine finally grew mold in it!! doc

I made beef stock with beef neck bones for years. They generally cost about $.49/lb. However, I stopped using them entirely because the neck is actually part of the spinal column, and Mad Cow Disease lurks in the nervous system. Whether its true or not, the American Beef Council informed me that only cows 2 years or older can catch MCD, so I started using Veal neck bones. They were about $1.99/lb, but my source dried up. Upon recommendation from VenisonAmerica, I tried using their New Zealand Veal shanks. They did indeed turn out a very tasty veal stock, so that is all I use now. Wayne Gisslen stated that stock used to be made with a mixture of bones and meat (roasted for brown stock), but due to the expense, most stocks now are made strictly from bones, and broth strictly from meat. However, I think that if I could get veal neck bones again, I would make stock from them without any worries. IN the meattime, the veal shanks are working out reallywell. doc

Three best sandwiches I've ever had were: Pastrami Sandwich with Hot Pepper Cheese at the 400 on 57th Street, NYC Mazlak's Garlic Beef (knock-off available on the internet "Delta Doc's Garlic Beef") Maid-Rite from Kathy's Maid Rite on HW 63 on the north end of Waterloo, IA. doc

Before I was marreid, I had a girlfriend who was diabetic. We'd make pizzas by pushing the hamburger down inside a pieplate, as though it were the crust. Then I added chopped onions, tomato sauce and some mozzarella, and baked like a regular pizza. She could eat the whole pie! doc

Whatever you do DON'T buy DACOR! I bought a Dacor top-of-the-line Dacor wall oven, and it nearly electrocuted me. Here's a list of the problems: 1. Bad Design: I paid through the nose for a removable heating element (plug-in) to make cleaning the bottom of the oven easier. It didn't work right. Meatloaf came out like Vets Dog Food. Dacor didn't admit to the problem until one week after my warranty ran out, and THEN they tell me there is a "field fix" for the problem at my expense. I had it installed at ~$250, and all they did was hard-wire in a new element that was unremovable. Yet the cost of the oven was enormous because of the removable element feature. 2. The hard-wire field fix was bogus. They had to stretch the wires to reach the wires of the new element, and over a very short time, something called "plastic cold flow" occurred and the wires shorted to the oven frame. Sparks shot out of the oven nearly 6 feet knocking me on the floor. 3. The repair company came out to address the problem and told me they "temporarily" fixed the problem until a new part could be ordered. I was assured that I could use the oven except for the "conventional oven" setting. Trouble was, I had to spin the dial past the "conventional oven" setting, and once again, sparks shot out nearly 6 feet. 4. Dacor absolutely refused to address a replacement. 5. The conventional element has burned out its connectors twice since then, and I've had to pay through the nose to have it repaired again and again. 6. The dials, and knobs, to a one, have cracked and partially disintegrated. 7. To turn the temperature knob, which isn't there anymore, I have to stick a flat head screwdriver into the hole to try to twist what's left of the metal shaft that once extended out of the console to which was attached the knob that disintegrated off. 8. The oven temperature was never right from day one. Dacor had a software fix for that. Trouble was to find someone that knew how to push buttons in the right order to activate it. Finally achieved the goal of raising the temperature margin by its maximum of 30 F, and it still never solved the problem due to a very non-linear temperature profile. 9. I use the oven solely at 550 now to bake pizza, sourdough bread, and rolls. Its useless for anything else, and I figure I'll use it at that extreme temperature until it finally dies the death it so richly deserves. Conclusion: It is my "life's duty" to inform all of Dacor's crummy oven and their even crummier customer service. 10. I forgot to tell you that the bottom of the oven started to wear through. The nasty mouthed customer service person demanded to know "how are you cleaning the oven????" I informed her "exactly like the owner's manual says"....she offered no replacement, even though the oven was still under warranty. 11. Also forgot to tell you that the self-cleaning feature will also "kill" the oven! Anything you buy will be better than Dacor!!!! doc

It is the fatty segment of a whole beef tenderloin, easily separated from the rest of the tenderloin. doc

I've spent literally years trying to duplicate the taste of hamburger from the 1950's/1960's. The closest I've come to is a 1:1:1 ratio of tenderloin strap (silverskin removed), lean sirloin and prime chuck. When it is frying, the smell is like a time machine, taking me back 40 years to the "good ole days". My wife agrees, there's nothing like it available anywhere. It is expensive, and takes time to trim, but then, that's exactly why its "NOT" available anymore. It's expensive and takes human labor and time to produce. But unlike "Ragu" you do know what's in it! doc

My thought is that if you've been used to using a real commercial power restaurant range like Wolf, you'll never be happy with the "pro-style" residential ranges. They "look" great, but lack power. I'm in the process of re-remodeling my kitchen cause I made the mistake to go with a Thermador "Professional" Gas Cooktop. THose 15k BTU burners/griddle/grill just don't cut it for me. Looking at a 60" Wolf, American, or Superior. A little firebrick all around, a bigger gas pipe, a few adjustments to my Vent-a-Hood, and I should be there! doc

All of these are reasons I rarely eat out anymore and cook at home instead! 1. At a staid old restaurant, with exorbitant furnishings, known for classic French cuisine, I ordered the French Onion Soup. It was a clear chicken broth, with boiled sliced onions. No carmelization. It did have some cheese on top of the crock. 2. At another swanky place, ordered a filet mignon advertised with Bearnaise Sauce. The Bearnaise sauce had not a smidgeon of Tarragon in it, and tasted somewhat like a simple white sauce with nutmeg. 3. In the Quad cities, ordered a tenderloin with demi-glace. Tasteless, so I spoke to the waitress. She brought out some of the demi-glace in a bowl for me. It was Demi-glace Gold before being diluted and heated, but she swore this is what the chef puts on the tenderloin! 4. Double NY Strip steaks! Wow, sounded great. Got two rubbery minute steaks in a small Iowa town! 5. Ordered Moussaka, got Pastistio. When questioned, the waiter said this is "Genuine Greek Moussaka". 6. "Genuine Crab Cocktail" turned out to be that processed fake crab! And the list goes on and on. doc

My recipe for vinagrette pleases me and my wife so much, we rarely deviate: 2 TBSP EVOO 2 TBSP Aged Modena Balsamic Vinegar 1 TBSP Finely diced Shallot or Red Onion 2 TBSP Raspberry Puree 1 TBSP Organic Dark Brown Sugar 1 TBSP (Heaping) Grey Poupon S&P Just occasionally, I substitute 1 TBSP Red Wine Tarragon Vinegar for 1 TBSP of the Balsamic. On Romaine, this is delicious. Sometimes for variety I add some thinly slice portabellas or crimini, some thinly sliced radish, and a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesiagno Reggiano. doc

My wife and I have been canning for over 30 years. We started out with water bath method and quickly went to the pressure cooker method. I can for the following reasons: 1. Make my own stocks (veal, turkey mostly) 2. make my own soups (French onion, mostly) 3. Make my own Tomato puree (from farmer's market Roma Paste tomatoes) 4. make my own ketchup (using whole spices per Joy of cooking) 5. Make my own sauces (lasagna, marinara, mastriciano, spaghetti, etc.) 6. Raspberry puree (from our bush and from the farmer's market, nothing like adding two TBSP of puree to a nice vinagrette on Romaine, or on ice cream) Mostly, so I know what's in the food, to make huge batches that I season and get just "perfect" then can it so's I can have it again and again and again! To take advantage of stuff available in the summer. And because I love to cook, and I can spend a whole weekend making veal stock, then Espagnole sauce, and then combine some of both and make Demi-glace. I can the stock and Espagnole, but we freeze in 1 cup metal containers the Demi-glace. I cook, the wife cans, and we get to spend quality time together! doc

You might enjoy basting it with a mixture of hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ginger and plum jelly. I always reserve a bit of the sauce to serve with the finished dish. doc

You're right~! I meant to say low pressure and temperature! The lower heat needed at lower pressures then contributes to less bond breakage in the tomato juice molecules. Thanks for keeping me straight! doc

I have not purchased sauce in a jar.. But are you saying, a person with fresh tomatos cant beat a jarred sauce? I cant believe it.. ← First of all, I'm not saying that, the guy who wrote the "encyclopizza" web site said that about canned tomato product (sauce, pizza sauce, paste). I just repeated what I read that he wrote. But, after over 35 years of canning fresh Roma (and other varieties) from the Farmer's market and my own garden, I realize from experience that I cannot get that "tomato-y" taste in my sauces like I can from using canned product. The guy from encylopizza put together the website strictly for professional pizzerias. The amount of technical information is astounding. What he says makes much sense to me, because boiling fresh tomato juice at atmospheric pressure, just because of the higher temperatures cannot help but decrease the flavor and nutrient content. Manufacturer's can reduce juice by pressurized low temperature processing, which cannot help but retain flavor and nutrients. Its chemistry 101. Heat is energy. Energy can break chemical bonds. Less energy, less bond breakage. This equates in my mind to more flavor. My taste buds confirm what my mind equates. Anyway, I agree with Jason, that you really you really "can't get that concentrated tomato concasse-like flavor strictly from cooking down fresh tomatoes in the home kitchen". Anyway, in the end, one must do what pleases one's self. I'm happy if y'all are happy! It's summertime, man, and the living is easy~! doc

Harrumph! Growing tomatoes doesn't take that much effort, really. Three tomato plants, even the patio variety, can provide quite a large amount of tomatoes for one to eat, even if one doesn't have true garden-space. Time and willingess (mostly willingness) is another question, though. When I make the baked tomato sauce, garden to jar time is frightfully low, probably 3 hours or less. It really is doable. ← I think the point was that you lose a lot of the taste by having to reduce the tomato juice down to a sauce at home cooking temperatures as compared the significantly lower temperatures that the manufacturer's process provides. doc