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

Most interesting was probably the "potato" salad that turned out to be a breadfruit salad. Best was probably the vegetable soup that was concocted out of leftovers on what passed for a chilly day there. Little Cayman is a very small island, and when I was there, the weather had been such that the supply barges hadn't been able to get through for a couple of weeks. Thus, much of what we ate came from either the pantry, the freezer, or (like the breadfruit) was grown on the island. MelissaH

I'm back, and did not encounter any bananas whatsoever. I saw unripe papayas hanging on trees, and an ackee tree also. No mangos or avocados where I was. I did have my first two encounters with breadfruit, and if nobody had said anything, I would have sworn I was eating potato both times. The trip managed to do something unexpected: de-Coke me. What I drank on the airplane home tasted way too sweet, for some reason! MelissaH

Whew! I'm safe, because I love all of the above, except ackee. I can't say anything about ackee because I've never had an opportunity to try any before. Next week, I may be able to modify that statement. Thanks, all! MelissaH

I don't know how or why I don't like bananas. My parents claim I ate them when I was very young. I don't remember eating any, though. I don't like the texture. I can't stand the smell. And I can't get close enough to even think of tasting. This holds true for any variety of banana that's called a banana, even the little red bananas or the finger bananas that sometimes show up at Wegmans. When I was teaching organic chemistry labs, I had to get someone to cover the day we did the ester synthesis, as isoamyl acetate (banana oil) is a favorite of lab coordinators everywhere. I still can't walk inside the chemistry building on campus on the days students do this lab, and my husband always warns me if I'm going to be in the neighborhood. Elizabeth, I think you might have just given me a subject for tonight's nightmare! MelissaH

I'm going to be traveling to the Cayman Islands next week, where I will be fed by other people. (The institute where I'm staying employs a cook.) I'm looking forward to the adventure, but I have one concern. I cannot eat (or even be near others eating) bananas. The smell alone is enough to start me gagging. Am I likely to have a problem with bananas everywhere, or hidden in innocuous dishes? Will I have to specifically ask about whether every dish contains bananas? Plantains, amazingly enough, are fine, either ripe or unripe. And other tropical fruits are delicious. It's just bananas that drive me bananas. I'm hoping I won't be asked to eat turtle, but my problems with that are all in my head, I think. MelissaH

My gut instinct is, no. I think I'd re-process in a pressure canner, to be safe, unless you have space in your fridge or freezer. Then again, when I process my MIL's apple pie filling (apples, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, salt, water, lemon juice), I always use the pressure canner even for that. MelissaH

Doesn't Penzey's also do several versions of onion, as powder or dehydrated chunks? MelissaH

Your early-morning airport shuttle experience in Tucson is right up there with my early-morning taxi to the airport experience: we phoned it in the night before, I was waiting at the gate of the apartment complex in plenty of time, the cab didn't show, and when I called them, they told me that "nobody picked it up." I wound up having to wake my sister up at 4:45 to drive me to the airport, which was exactly what I didn't want to do. Transit troubles aside, if you get back to Tucson, the Mexican food is terrific. I'll ask my sister the name of the market that she took me shopping to, which was very international and lots of fun to wander through. And glad to see that you found an acceptable breakfast at DIA, since early mornings aren't conducive to eating much of anything! MelissaH

Thanks for all the help. My MIL is glad to have a starting point. MelissaH

Agreed with everyone telling you to do the chef's choice at Poca Cosa. And definitely don't miss the Desert Museum. Last time I visited my sister, the whole famiy enjoyed the botanical garden as well. MelissaH

I talked to my MIL this morning, who tells me that her other son would like to make a candy with the texture of a gummy bear, but clove-flavored rather than fruity. Has anyone heard of such a thing? What would be a good place to start? My MIL is an experienced hard candy maker, every year doing batches flavored with cinnamon and clove, and I suspect this is where the idea arose. My knee-jerk reaction was that you'd need some kind of fairly neutral fruit as a base, maybe apple, to get the body and texture right, and then you could add some clove oil to bring in that flavor. (Well, my first reaction was "Yuck!" because clove-flavored anything isn't my thing. This was my first productive thought on the subject.) I was thinking maybe an apple pate de fruit recipe? Or would gelatin be a better bet? Thanks, MelissaH

I own this and like it a lot. I'd consider it an "entry level" sort of book, though and not really comprehensive as it's not that long and covers a number of types of desserts (tortes, strudels, tarts, cookies, puddings, etc.). Pretty sure, but not certain, that it does not have weight measures, if that is important. Depends on what the OP is looking for. No, no weight measurements, unfortunately. A while ago, I'd e-mailed the author to ask him what a cup of flour weighed, as he measured it, and he gave me a kind of snarky response to the effect of "These recipes were written for volume measurements so that's what you should use." But it is an enjoyable read, in any case. MelissaH

I feel like I need to lunch with you sometime. You seem to find all the best stuff! MelissaH