MelissaH

Thanks, all. We've bleached and otherwise washed, and so far have seen no return of the Dread Citrus Mold. I'd like to go to the supermarket where I got the original nasty moldy fruit, and tell them to take some of the bleach they're apparently (so says my nose) using in the fish counter, and apply it to the citrus bins. No, I won't buy fish there. Ever. MelissaH

I, too, am interested to hear about the evaporation issue. Would leaving the lid ajar do the trick, or is that a bad idea? MelissaH

PC, that's exactly what I've been doing for years. I just violently object to having to copy (either by hand or by typing out) a recipe that's already in an electronic format that cannot easily be printed, such as Kindle! MelissaH

My biggest gripe about cookbooks on Kindle (and its ilk) is the inability to easily print recipes. I don't like to bring my electronic devices into the kitchen, just as I don't like to bring my good cookbooks into the kitchen. Page breaks in Kindle books aren't always as well thought out as page breaks in paper-and-ink books, and I get annoyed when I need to handwrite a recipe that is already in an electronic format. I do like the ease of searching in an electronic edition, although that is not by any stretch a substitute for a good index! MelissaH

Call me a local, but if you're looking for a fish fry in upstate NY, you'd be better off going to Rudy's in Oswego than to any of the Doug's locations. MelissaH

My prime concern is not me getting sick from the stuff growing on my citrus, but rather the spores hanging around long enough to infect the next batch of citrus I bring into the house, thus causing it to become unusable more quickly. This time of year, when we're home, the windows are wide open most of the day, so any remaining spores have been thoroughly blown around the house. We've wiped down what we can, and we'll see what happens! MelissaH

I guess this counts as "high-quality ingredients," or the lack thereof. Maybe. Consider yourself warned. We purchased a bag of lemons at our local supermarket (the one in town) late last week. Four days later, we noticed that inside the bag didn't look quite right. So we investigated, and discovered that at least one of the lemons inside the bag had gone moldy. The mold was so bad that blue-gray moldy dust had sprinkled itself into a puddle onto the counter, and when we lifted the bag into the sink to see if any of the other lemons in the bag were salvageable, a giant gray poof of (what I presume were) mold spores came floating out of the sink. We've wiped down the counter with a disposable disinfecting towelette. (If that's not a prime use for one of those things, I don't know what is!) We also washed all the other citrus in the house, as well as the tomatoes that had been residing on that end of the counter, with soap and water. But what about that cloud of spores? How do I disinfect my kitchen, so I don't have issues with moldy fruit in the future? (Do we need to wipe down the counters, cabinets, ceiling, floor, and all other surfaces with StarSan?) Help! I won't be buying produce from this supermarket anymore. Everything I've gotten there lately seems to go moldy, slimy, or otherwise bad in a much shorter period of time than produce purchased elsewhere. MelissaH

If I'm in the neighborhood of a store, Penzey's is fine. But if I'm going to mail order, I prefer The Spice House. Same family, different sibling. Less fancy packaging, great quality, generally a little less expensive. MelissaH

I'm a convert to the mustard-based South Carolina sauces, as exemplified by =Mark's version: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php/topic/126568-south-carolina-mustard-barbecue-sauce/ MelissaH

Don't forget that many small towns have Chinese restaurants that are reliable sources of rice, if you're looking to go that route. Melissa

Resurrecting this long-dormant topic to ask a question. A friend gifted us with a loin from a deer he shot. It's been vacuum sealed and in our freezer for a few months now. We've thawed it, and are thinking of cooking it sous vide. I've seen the charts in Modernist Cuisine and other advice here for cooking venison, but I'm not sure (a) if those numbers apply to domestic venison or (b) if you need to do anything different with the wild kind. What would you do with it? Is there a better way than sous vide? Thanks, MelissaH (at least the fifth generation of city dwellers in my family)

My husband's lately started to use the handle end of his muddler to crack ice. Says it's better weighted for the purpose than our regular eating spoons. (As far as barspoons, he doesn't use one, as he generally prefers cocktails that get shaken.) MelissaH

When it comes to cookbooks, I have a strong preference for paper. E-cookbooks are harder to make notes in, harder to print recipes from (at least with the Kindle variety), and far more expensive when you take them into the kitchen and spill something. My Kindle is also the old-fashioned e-ink variety, which is great for text, but leaves a lot to be desired for photos and other pictures. For other books, I like my Kindle. MelissaH

I think the best mayo or mayo-like substance is the one you grew up with. In my house, it's Hellmann's and Hellmann's only, for forever. (My husband differs, but I think he's starting to come around, finally.) I'll give you three guesses what the H in my name stands for! MelissaH

There was a recent series on Serious Eats where Kenji Lopez-Alt did exactly what you're talking about. The last post of the series is at http://www.seriousea...ime-vegan.html. The whole series is worth taking a little time to read through. MelissaH

How much effort does it take for you to go to Nice? Is there reliable public transit, or do you drive yourself? Is it a "big deal" sort of trip for you? (I ask because I'm dissatisfied with the supermarket in my little town. There's a much nicer option about an hour's drive away. I'm in that neighborhood once or twice a week anyway, so I try to do my shopping on that trip, as well as other things I can't do closer to home. We don't have a good public transit option.) MelissaH

I love this statement. Would you mind saying a bit more about why you moved to Monaco? It seems like such a glamorous place to live, and I'm enjoying seeing your life there (both the glamorous and mundane parts). MelissaH

Those of you who have Vacmaster chamber sealers, especially those of you who have had them for a while, are you still happy with them? We've just about had it with our FoodSaver and its inability to seal liquids! MelissaH

I actually did the calculation once. However, I don't remember what the results were, largely because as MSRadell said, what's far more important to me is that the dishes get clean. I wasn't happy with the Cascade powder I'd used, and didn't think the Cascade pouches were any better. However, the Finish tablets do a great job---and there's nothing like your local warehouse store having a special offer: BOGO, with a coupon for an additional $2 or $3 off. The only thing that would make the tablets better would be a wrapping that was easier to open, or that dissolved. MelissaH

We tried the Bigger Bolder Thicker chipotle bbq doritos a couple of weeks ago. What got to us was the texture of the chips, which reminded us of the cardboardy nature of a baked chip. We don't think we'd bother with them again either. MelissaH

Can anyone update me on some of the places mentioned in this thread, and where else might be worth going to for a meal? We'll be downstate next month, and with luck, we'll be hopping on the 7 train one day. MelissaH

Alton Brown always gave dry ingredients a spin in the food processor bowl rather than sifting them. In my house, any time saved by using the food processor was given right back in washing the food processor afterwards, as we never seem to have the room in the dishwasher. MelissaH

I usually press mine, then open the press, rotate the tortilla half a turn, and press again to take care of any unevenness at the hinge end. MelissaH

I don't blame the machine for wanting to eat them! (And I wonder how the machine would feel about running some pretzels through. ) I want to come over and play at your house! I'll even be able to bring TJ's gingersnaps later this year when the store in Rochester opens. MelissaH

I'll try to come, and a residence is fine with me as well. MelissaH