phaelon56

I didn't think that but I immediately thought of the famous Seinfeld episode that involved muffin tops - where the bottom was ripped off and only that big glorious crunchy top was being sold. Is there such a beast as a muffin pan where the body of the muffin is really shallow and a big wide crown is allowed so you end up with mostly muffin top?

1) Just go to an upscale supermarket and look for lump raw sugar. I've seen it in Wegman's and even in a Wal-Mart Supercenter. 2) I'm with Onocoffee on this one. It's not only more elegant but mixes so nicely. Sugar and other powdered sweeteners never really dissolve properly in cold beverages if mixed directly in. 3) Splenda may be used in exactly the same volumetric amounts as sugar to get equivalent sweetness. That's volume not weight - e.g. a tablespoon of Splenda powder equals a tablespoon of granulated sugar for sweetening power. But you may have issues of consistency - it has a different body than sugar when dissolved with heat and water. You might consider doing a blend to get the right consistency but still yield a glycemic index low enough for most diabetics. I use a 50/50 mix of Splenda and sugar when I make apple pie and my friend who has Type II diabetes can eat it with no problems.

No personal experiences to share but what I've read about it indicates that it's capable of producing shots akin to what you'd get from a Rancilio Silvia or Gaggia. Recovery time between shots or for steaming may be a trifle slow but it's evident from the photo that the portafilter and the grouphead assembly are nice and heavy - crucial for good shots. And as you've now proven - there's a real benefit to spending as bit more for an entry level espresso machine - you truly get what you pay for.

This seems to be the fan favorite over at the BBQ Bible Forums I have a Char Broil electric water smoker, which does ok but is somewhat boring because you aren't using charcoal, just an electric coil with a thermostat. This summer I will be getting a Char Griller. I love the size of them and the fact that it doubles as an extremely large charcoal grill makes it all the more attractive to me. ← Count me in as a very happy Charbroil electric water smoker (bullet style). I bought oner back in 1998 because it was cheap and easy - about $70 and all I have to do is soak some wood chips, fill the pan with boiling water, load it up, turn it on and come back later to great results. My original mindset was that if I enjoyed smoking meats etc I'd buy a bigger and fancier unit later on. But the fact is that I can do up to three or four racks of ribs at one time (plenty for me even with a small crowd), the results are stellar and clean-up is relatively easy. It's also durable. For the first two years I owned it the cover stayed on when it wasn't in use and it came inside in the winter. Then I moved to NJ, left it on the back deck of the multi-family house I lived in.... and used it only once in four years. It sat for nearly the entire time with no cover on it and has now been back in Syracuse for another three years getting plenty of use every summer. Shortcomings: It's not cool and macho 'cause I don't light and tend to piles of burning stuff .... and it does have limited capacity. It also lacks the oomph to get and stay hot enough when the ambient temperature is below about 60 degrees but my inclination is to smoke during the nice weather only so that's not an issue for me. I use mostly mesquite and typically smoke just ribs or butts. But I have enjoyed alder for fish and poultry and have dabbled with oak but found that a little oak goes a long way. I guess I'd best hunt down some cherry and apple.

I agree that chilling the bottles and water is a great touch. In any culinary environment where the quality of tap water is a crucial ingredient I strongly recommend the solution that many higher end independent coffee and espresso bars rely on - Cirqua. You submit water samples to them and indicate your desired usage. They'll provide a customized solution that removes the nasty bits and other components that produce undesirable taste artifacts and then adds back in the appropriate trace amounts of minerals for the desired taste profile and usage. In my neighborhood there's a modestly priced Mexican influenced bistro I visit periodically. By chance I was called up to install their new coffee brewer and espresso machine. When we discussed the need for filtration I was pleased to discover that they filter ALL the water used in the kitchen - even the water used to wash vegetables, boil pasta etc. And this is in a city whose municipal water supply is pure enough that it doesn't require filtering at the source - they just add some fluoride and a bit of chlorination and pipe it on into the city. The overall water quality is as good or better than that of New York City but the fact that they take that extra step is impressive (and this in a place where no single menu items exceeds $13 to $15 in price).

If I'm drinking for purposes of evaluating a coffee I'll always drink it black but when drinking for pleasure I nearly always prefer my drip coffee with some half 'n half (although on two recent occasions I had some stellar coffee from a Clover machine and drank it black). Last year I had some phenomenal unwashed Ethiopian Yirgacheffe from Ecco Caffe Roasters and it was literally a blueberry bomb. It smelled like crushed blueberries when you opened the bag of roasted beans and the same note was in the cup in a very big way. I tried a cup of it with some half 'n half and it nearly ruined the coffee. That particular coffee was, to me, nearly undrinkable

The answer was hidden towards the end of my somewhat wordy post.... The biggest issue with freezing coffee is that every time you open the frozen container to take some out and then return it to the freezer the coffee you had in that opened container sucked up moisture when it was open briefly. Coffee loves to suck up moisture from the air but it's not a good thing in the cup. So... whether it's whole bean or pre-ground -- bets bet is to freeze small portions in zip-loc sandwich bags and then put all of those in a freezer bag. Take out just the portion size bag that you'll use in a day or two and immediately return the main bag to the freezer. Allow the bag you're going to use to thaw for an hour or longer before opening. And you're right that a cheap blade grinder won't produce a consistent enough grind for a moka pot or an espresso machine. By the way - I actually freeze and periodically use a specific pre-ground coffee that I can only find locally in vacuum packed pre-ground form. It's the Vietnamese brand Trung Nguyen and I've yet to find any other coffee that makes nearly as good a cup of cafe sua da (Vietnamese style iced coffee).

As always - it should be about the quality of the coffee, espresso and espresso drinks first, service and ambiance second and then... if and only if all else is equal... I will choose an independently and locally owned operation over a chain. As a franchise / independently owned operation I think a Dunn Brothers store has a better chance of being above average than a Starbucks, Caribou or Peet's. I know they do in-store roasting - that's not necessarily a sign of quality but at a minimum indicates that you'll get freshly roasted beans - a great place to start. I've heard that they do coffee tastings / cuppings periodically that are promoted as public events and that fact impresses me. I hope you'll visit and report back on your experience.

In my opinion it's not a myth and I say that based on personal experience. There are limits to how long you can store it but it's still better than being stored at room temp if you're going to have coffee around the house for more than 10 - 14 days after its roast date. But that brings up a crucial topic: freshness of the roasted beans themselves. If you can find a local roaster and buy beans on roast date or close to it (i.e. within a day or two of the beans having been roasted) it's highly advisable. Or find a good mail order source who ships fresh immediately after roasting. Some pundits will decry freezing and insist that you must seek out and buy freshly roasted beans and never freeze. I get their point but for many people it's impractical and they just want to preserve as much quality as they can. There was a terrific article that Ken Fox wrote recently for Home-Barista.com Coffee: To Freeze or Not to Freeze It actually has some fairly dense statistical analysis but the short version is that under reasonably well controlled conditions the autor and his testers/tasters could not find and significant difference between fresh and frozen/thawed coffee. That's not to say there is no difference - I'm sure that extremely refined palates can taste a difference under some circumstances but people with that ability to discern extremely subtle nuances in coffee are not the typical home coffee drinker. You really, really, REALLY need to consider buying a decent grinder, switching to whole bean coffee and grinding by the pot just before brewing. Freezing is still better than not freezing but if you absolutely must then portion out the freshly ground coffee into individual baggies and store those inside a freezer bag. An hour or more - or the previous evening before brewing - take out one bag that has just enough to brew one pot and let it thaw. This procedure prevents moisture from being sucked up by the remaining coffee when you open the freezer. Even a cheap grinder (i.e. a $20 blade grinder or a $100 burr grinder - skip the cheap burr grinders) is the biggest possible bang for the buck that exists when it comes to imporving your coffee. That and buying freshly roasted that is stored (or frozen) properly.

You know, come to think of it, since I moved to Ithaca last fall, I haven't bought anything food-like from TJ Maxx or Marshalls. All of those food purchases I made were from when I lived around DC. ← Is there actually a TJ Maxx or Marshall's in Ithaca? There wasn't when I lived there in the early 90's but then again - the mega development on Rte 13 was just a twinkle in developers' eyes back then If you get up to Syracuse for higehr end and specialty foood products (or for other reasons) you really should check out Lombardi's Imports as well as the new Place called Vince's Imports that his brother opened recently out in North Syracuse. Not only is the selection excellent - far better than Wegman's for Italian specialty items (an area where Weggie's falls very short) but their prices are very competitive. They tend to be cheaper than the large grocery chains for meats and cheeses (not to mention that fantastic fresh Italian sausage that they make in-house).

I think there are two "new paradigms". One that's extant in major food cities such as NY and a different one that's applicable to smaller markets that are years if not decades behind major food cities in terms of trends - and will never compete with them in terms of haute cuisine of the new or old paradigm. There has been an emergence during the past 5 - 10 years, in many small to mid-sized cities, of upscale contemporary restaurants that are unstuffy, have a relaxed and casual vibe and employ some of the same ingredients that were or still are being used at the more traditional places in these cities. But the menus are more inventive (even if they exhbit influences that came and went in places like NY many years ago). I suggest that it's a bit too narrow of a focus to imply that such a trend exists in NY but doesn't have parallel developments or corresponding changes in dining culture in opther less discussed markets.

I think Cafe Madeline in Ithaca fits the bill. It was an upscale French bistro but by local standards on the stuffy side. A new owner/partner came in who is of Asian descent. He added Asian influences to most of the menu items as well as adding some new ones, kept the stellar baking/pastry opertation (which sells items to go from a bake case in the rear of the restaurant). It's got a casual atmosphere yet still refined, adventurous food that is still accessible and prices - assuming you don't pump it up with lots of liquor and wine - are affordable in relative terms (by the standards of the area). It's the kind of place where college kids can come in on a date towards the end of dinner service and just get coffee and dessert or a few appetizers and drinks. I have seen them do this - they are not only welcomed there but they seem to appreciate the vibe - which is more adult than the other places they'd be welcome and you can bet they'll be back in there for dinner when they can afford it. Smart business.

I used to pick up an occasional food item in my local TJ Maxx or Marshall's when I was based in norhte Jersey. Since returning to Syracuse in 2003 I have continued to scan the shelves but noticed an absence of known quality brands. I'll guess that this change is not chain-wide but perhaps they are shipping the bette stuff to more upscale markets? All I'm spotting locally appears to be mundane stuff with fancy packaging and average quality - and none of it carries any brand name I've seen in Wegmans or in specialty food stores.

Perhaps you're picking up on the mustard flavorr and the pickle notes might remind you of relish? I'm not getting hot dog from these. And although I got really sick of dill pickle flavored potato chips after a couple handfuls I have a higher tolerance for X-13D. And why bother coming up with another name? I like X-13D....

Fertility is moot in the absence of water supply. California's Central Vallery is indeed very fertile with an incredibly deep layer of soil but it's the Federal irrigation canals that have allowed it to become a stable and consistent producer for a wide range of crops. Wells were used for sprinkler type irrigation long before the canals appeared but more than a few farmers went bust as the wells dried up and the ground collapsed in various areas.

Years ago I used to by fresh (not cured) Mexican style chorizo at a Spanish market up here in Syracuse. The owner, who was Puerto Rican, was procuring it at some sort of wholesale market in the Bronx. It rocked. A former collaegue of mine, who was raised in the Yucatan, pronounced it to be as good as what she cooked with at home before coming to the US. That Syracuse market is long gone - my best guess for a Manhattan supplier would be that place out on 10th Ave that has the killer taqueria window in the back of the store (help me out here - what's the name fo that place?). When I lived in the NYC area it was only a ten minute drive to Ironbound. At that time I bought both my dried and cured chorizo from the Seabra's market on Ferry Street in Ironbound.

I seem to have a bit of trouble finding good comparative side by side pictures but if you check out the first 60 seconds or so of this Daily Pork Ribs Video at The Other White Meat you'll see an excellent comparison that makes the size relationship evident. Point well taken and this site - Big Daddy's Kitchen - has a fantastic explanation of the different rib types and from whence they come. He even describes baby backs as having an inherently sweeter taste. I guess my palate just isn't refined enough - at least not for pork ribs - I can't taste the difference. Then again - I've never done a moderately controlled A/B test and perhaps that's one more reasons for a bit of sciene on some upcoming weekend. The lower fat content of baby backs doesn't enter into the picture for me either. It takes a bit less timeto cook them in my smoker than spare ribs take - about 3 to 3 1/2 hours rather than 4 hours - but with my trimming technique and low temp h2o smoking process all the fat is rendered and both types come out with similar texture and moistness levels. And I've never cared for the so called "Country Style Ribs. It looks like rectangular chunks of pork loin to me (uhhhh.... I think that's what it actually is!).

Rancho Gordo - I'm with you on this one. Even if he were just a newspaper or magazine journalist doing a piece on the rising popularity of organic produce and local farmers markets I would still find that piece insulting and offensive. It reeks of sloppy research and a lack of awareness relative to the real costs of being an independent agricultural producer who is not part of the agri-business system. It reminds me of some of the misimpressions offered up in the documentary film Black Gold. Granted - the film does raise awareness about the myriad problems faced by growers in coffeee producing nations. But it tries to reinforce its point by comparing the poverty and living conditions of growers families with the circumstances of affluent US consumers shopping at Starbucks etc. Here's an excerpt by "M06" from the discussion forum at the above referenced web site. He makes the point rather eloquently: Yes. And not only does that 54 cent pound of beans cost the independent roaster about $2.25 to $3.00 per pound before the costs of roasting and doing business are factored in... independent cafes can expect to pay $5 to $7 per pound for fresh, hiqh quality roasted beans. But the cost of the beans is the least signficant cost of doing business as a cafe. Once you add in cups, condiments, labor, insurances, taxes, marketing and a moderate take-home pay for the owner..... you need to sell one hell of a lot of coffee just to remain viable as a business. And there are definitely no extedned surfing vacations.

Northland Sheep Dairy in the Finger Lakes region of NY state has a couple - the Bergere Bleue is particularly good. They have no on-line sales mechanism but it is sold at the Ithaca Farmers Market. There's another artisinal cheesemaker who sells there as well - the name escapes me - and they have a fantastic "cheddar blue". But that cheese - like all of the others they offer - is a hard cheese.

.... Frankly, a brilliant bar that serves only potato chips and pickled eggs is not the kind of place we're talking about here. It is honest about what it is, and if the potato chips are tasty and the pickled eggs decent, then it doesn't belong in this discussion, for the food it does serve doesn't suck. But if you're going to bother to serve anything more than that, is it really that much costlier to pay some attention to what you're serving? ← If one calculates the potential future revenue loss impact caused by sloppy practices such as using old dirty oil in the fryolator - it makes good business sense to spend the couple extra dollars (literally) and a few extra minutes of time to engage in sound kitchen management practices. That's true even if the kitchen is the size of the closet and your pantry consists of a freezer full of basic Sysco products or stuff purchased at a wholesale club. When I lived in the NYC area I went on a semi-regular basis to the BB King Club on 42nd Street for live music. There was a $10 food or drink minimum per person and as a non-drinker I was always looking for a reasonable food choice. But the fact is that I'd typically have either a couple of sodas and then a dessert with coffee - a tab of about $20. Better revenue for the owners. Then on one visit I finally ordered "real" food - a fruit and cheese platter. I can live with the fact that the platter was pre-assembled and pulled from a walk-in cooler immediately before serving. But couldn't they at least have used crackers that weren't ice cold? And... worst of all... the ball of "fried brie cheese" was pre-fried and ice cold - it too had come straight from the walk-in cooler! I never ordered food there again despite continuing to visit for music shows. It's not rocket science and the food doesn't need to be great for me to spend extra money when I visit a nightclub.Bbut I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that it at least meet the standards of food I could buy at the corner gas station convenience store. At least once every year when I'm in the DC area I have dinner from the Birchmere Menu before seeeing a show there. It's always basic stuff - a club sandwich with chips or a some pulled pork with fries and coleslaw. It's never great but it's always acceptable - and that's good enough because I like the convenience. In a typical crowd of 500 peopel for a show they usually have about 150 - 200 who eat dinner and another 100 or so who at leasts order snacks (nachos, wings or the like). If they did a really crappy job with the food those numbers would be cut in half or more over time because they rely on lots of repeat business. When I do the math I think any smart business person (and even plenty of dumb ones) would want that extra revenue.

When I calculate what I "save" in some of these pursuits (e.g. the time I gutted a house to the subfloors and sheathing and doubled the size) relative to what I earn I'm fgairly certain that I "earn" at least 50 cents per hour But then again... I rarely take on grueling physical projects unless my tangible savings are about $40 to $50 per hour or so. But in culinary opursuits I don't apply such metrics. And I don't agonize over any of it. It's more like... I get some satisfaction from figuring out the angles so I no longer wonder about it.

The merits of spare ribs versus baby backs have already been discussed ad nauseum here and in about a gazillion other places. Today's question is posed for one simple reason: to determine the breaking point at which it is more economical to buy baby backs than spare ribs. I don't have a distinct taste preference for one over the other (I can't taste the difference if indeed there is a difference). I can buy baby backs at $2.99 per pound and spare ribs for $2.19 per pound. To prep three full racks St. Louis style takes me about 30 - 35 minutes and there's a substantial amount of waste. Three racks of baby backs can be prepped in 5 to 7 minutes with minimal waste. I'll guess that although the spare ribs appear to be "meatier" the ratio of meat to bone weight once they're prepped may not be advantageous. Have any of you done "the math"? I see speculation on this topic occasionally but no hard facts based on actual weights and measurements. And if all else is equal I'll take baby backs for the reduced prep time. When I'm in the mood to smoke ribs it's usually a weekend and spending an extra half hour on rib prep is low on my list of fun activities. In the absence of previous research I propose the following (should no useful answer appear any time soon): * Purchase and record the weight of three racks of each type * Prep and record the weight of waste * Eat all of the ribs (I'll need assistance with this part) * Save the bones - scrupulously maintaining separating between the two bone types * Weigh the bones to allow calculation of hwo much edible material there was Am I missing anything? Do I need safety goggles, a yellow plastic hard hat, a white lab coat? Should I allow ants in my backyard to pick the bones completely clean before I weigh them? Oops. Almost forgot. This is what they'll look like - unless they're baby backs in which case they might not hang over the edge of the plate - but they'll taste just as good.

In my general area (central NY state) we have a tradition that has been around for a long, long time as it is in other places that either do or once did have a large Roman Catholic community. It's the "Friday Fish Fry". There used to be dozens of shops in our small city, many of which were open only on Friday, that served up deep fried haddock filets as well as French fries, cold salad items and perhaps onion rings, fried scallops or a few other staple items. Early in my childhood we actually got our Friday fish fry at a retail counter in a potato chip factory that was on our side of town - it was their only retail service of any kind. Although many of those little shops have fallen by the wayside some have survived and others - open on a daily basis - have supplanted them along with the local grocery store chains that now offer "fried fish" on Friday in their seafood departments. But there's the rub. What used to be fried haddock - in a very ubiquitous way - is now quite often labeled simply as "fried fish". In many cases I find it to have less desirable characteristics than haddock. It's nearly always more bland and sometimes has a less desirable texture. Sometimes it's pretty darn close but inconsistency is its hallmark. I understand this to be due to the fact that a variety of different mild, white-fleshed fish may be used. Some suggest that it's the generic variety called "scrod" here in the Northeast but my local fish vendor advises that "scrod" is a size definition. For example.... (according to him) .... there is scrod hadddock, scrod cod, etc. So what is this now ubiquitous fish that I'm often less than enthused about? Is it pollock, cod, inferior haddock - what on earth is this stuff? How many varieties might there actually be? Note to self: never order fish and chips in an Irish pub in a so-called fishing village on the Irish coast - not ever again (it was in Dingle). It was unequivocally the worst fish I have ever eaten in my life.

If I recall correctly I broiled it only on one side. The filets were rather thick but got that gorgeous golden glaze on all of the exposed sides and were perfectly cooked (i.e. moist throughout but not underdone).

dude, those things taste exactly like a MCDonald's cheeseburger. The beef, onions, cheese, ketchup and mustard all together.....it's the weirdest thing! ← specifically a MCDONALDS cheeseburger?? just curious..you know, the special sauce thing and all that. ← A McDonald's cheeseburger doesn't have Special Sauce. I think maybe that's a Big Mac? The label hint is "American Classic" would imply cheeseburger to me but the inclusion fo ketchup, mustard or pickles seems a stretch. I mean... really... how many people - apart from those taking the default standard cheeseburger at a fast food joint - actually put ketchup and mustard and onions and pickles on a burger? Two out of four condiments maybe but all four?