divalasvegas

The chefs' descriptions of their dishes on Iron Chef America are really starting to get on my nerves in two ways: 1) The actual description goes on and on and on to the point where it has become beyond irritating. I can almost feel the irritation/impatience of some of the judges--or maybe I'm just projecting--who I feel at any moment want to scream: "PLEASE JUST SHUT UP AND LET US EAT THE DAMN DISH ALREADY!" 2) Their interminable use of the following words/phrases to describe how much of whatever ingredient they've used in each dish: a bit/a tiny bit/a little bit/just a bit of................. OH PLEASE STOP! Bobby Flay and Mario Batali do this a lot, with the edge going to Batali, who I otherwise adore. This was most notable during the recent Battle White House Garden episode. I appreciate being given some information on how the dish was constructed and what ingredients were used, but I really think that a little self editing is in order.

So do you think that this method could be used to prepare a large amount of mashed potatoes if one doesn't have a potato ricer or food mill? Instead of pulling the partially cooked potatoes, removing the peel, and returning the potato to the boiling water, can't you just leave the potatoes to boil until done, then remove the peel? Just to be clear, I do have physical limitations which makes using such a method desirable.

Well damn egale the fact that you actually did this is just beyond awesome!

I couldn't agree more regarding desserts. I generally do not care for the addition--often quite heavy-handed--of herbs, chiles, flowers, etc. to my desserts. I was once served a brownie made with Mexican chocolate (YUM!) loaded with chiles that made my lips tingle (and not in a good way). If anyone here wants to start an eG list of the top ten worst dining trends of the decade, I'd like to nominate this one: please stop adding cilantro to EVERYTHING! ETA: re: the Tribune's list, I actually like blooming onions/blossoms/mums. Yes, I am one of the great unwashed masses.

I think it really depends on the extent and nature of each person's diability. If your hands are severely affected by arthitis then the sharpness of one's knife or honing of one's skills is irrelevant. Anything that can save the amount of strokes/cuts needed to get the job done is a Godsend. If, by using one of these devices, someone who experiences pain with every stroke can minimize the jolts of pain they experience while chopping, I say go for it. Maybe the gadget will take 10 strokes as opposed to 30 or 40 knife strokes and make a huge difference to the user. I'm very grateful for this thread since my problem is standing while prepping food (severe hip pain). Hence, I love to cook but I HATE PREP and appreciate any gadget that can lessen time on my feet in prepping not just onions, but celery, potatoes, bell peppers, fruit, etc. I can't tell you how often I put off making a dish because I dread the hours of aches and throbbing agony that are almost always sure to follow.

Exactly. In in that vein, I'd like to add: "Simple" Potato Dishes By simple I mean au gratin or mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, etc. I've always made these dishes from scratch but my aforementioned housemate believes doing so is once again just "too much trouble" and should come from a box. Of course, even "easy" dishes like these can seem difficult if you're struggling with a dull knife or peeler, or believe that you must have a potato ricer or expensive mandolin to make them.

I'd like to add the following: Guacamole I've never purchased store bought since it's so criminally easy to make and you can add or leave out ingredients to suit your taste or mood. Gravy The best, of course, should be made from the pan drippings and/or fond of whatever protein you've cooked, but one can also make a quite tasty gravy from a roux and stock. Again, so very easy. Tartar Sauce/Cocktail Sauce Not cooking really; more a combining of ingredients that anyone with a halfway decent pantry can make. Buying this stuff jarred is totally taking that off ramp into crazytown. Already mentioned, but I have to add: Blue Cheese Dressing/Dip Sorry Marie, but mine kicks your ass! BTW, I have a house mate whose cooking philosophy can be summed up with one phrase: too much trouble. So for her guacamole always comes frozen, gravy is from a packet or a can, and all condiments and salad dressings come from a bottle.

On a recent shopping trip to Harris Teeter I found another very good reason to sanitize/cleanse those parts of the shopping cart where you're likely to touch it with your hands. I was in line behind a woman and her little darling who was sitting in the back of one of those carts with the safety seat and seat belt. Yeah, yeah the shrink-wrapping of our kids--another topic for another time. Anyway, I noticed that he had a crab leg in his hands that he was eating and sucking on given to him by mommy from a bag of crab legs she had purchased; pretty disgusting in my humble opinion. I alerted one of the managers to this fact because of concern for anyone with a shellfish allergy unknowingly using a cart contaminated with a possible life threatening exposure of crab drippings and that perhaps she could have an employee wipe down the cart once the woman was done with it. Her reply was to thank me for my concern and point out that Harris Teeter has wipes near the carts and she figured the woman would definitely wipe it down herself and that employees wipe them down daily anyway. By the time we finished talking the woman was gone. Of course, hopefully, people with such allergies will be proactive and carry their own sanitizers. However, I wonder how many people with such allergies who take care not to ingest or in any way be exposed to problem foods might not think of this.

Grape jelly, canned cream of mushroom soup and bottled barbeque sauce. These three ingredients are part of an actual crockpot recipe someone shared with me years ago. I think they were combined as a sauce for pre-made, store-bought frozen meatballs. I passed on this one.

That's funny, I watch her all the time and never heard her say this. Oh well, it's just another reason for me to adore her! I think Julia Child felt the same way about the stuff as well. Speaking of which, it's one thing to be able to avoid having to taste straight up eggs as a chef, but what about an ingredient like cilantro which 99.9% of the planet seems to love (and expect even) and has seemingly found it's way into EVERYTHING. I've even seen it listed as an ingredient in desserts and cocktails................... BLECCCCH.

Thanks for the clarification. Heck, I might even try it myself, although I've never really been a sunny side up person. And if I could, I'd be honored to make a "test" batch for the both of us--with bacon of course.

Oh, okay, I understand but................ No, No NO-O-O-O-O!!! I can't understand since that's just plain wrong. So what, you end up with a tasty, crispy side and a soft, moist, squishy side? Oh well, to each their own, but still..........................

I should qualify, then, that my family's culinary slant is towards Philly/NJ. Obsessed with sandwiches ← Hi Reignking. I'd love to get obsessed with some Philly sandwiches, especially real Philly steak and cheese and that sandwich I've never had with roast beef, provolone, and Italian greens I think? I'd like one of those right now as a matter of fact. Anyway back to the toad in a hole, I just wanted to ask how everyone likes the egg part? I prefer the egg to be runny which is why I was somewhat confused about the covering the pan part of cooking. In my very humble opinion, the cooking on one side to get the bread light brown--yes my preference--then the flip should be all that's needed to cook the egg, unless one likes it completely cooked through which would be an absolute heresy in my household.

Why should anyone here be any more qualified to give a scientific/medical perspective? eG members are generally members because they have an interest in eating and/or cooking food, not because they are experts in the scientific/medical side of being a picky eater. ← Hi prasantrin. Sorry, didn't mean to offend, however over the years of reading here I know for a fact that there are doctors, nurses, nutritionists, food historians, etc. who post here, hence my dismay, and I stand by my original question. EDITED for attempted clarity.

I have no credentials either so I truly appreciate and respect your perspectives from a life experience level. That's all I have really. But I am quite surprised and dismayed that there is absolutely no one here on eG of all places who can give us an additional scientific/medical perspective on this disorder. The happy exception is of course the insight offered by slkinsey.

Another adventurous eater here too djyee100! I actually come from a family of totally non-adventurous eaters and I know from some of the looks I've received over the years because of my food choices they found "weird" or "strange" (meaning Indian food, Lebanese food, Ethiopian food, etc., etc., etc.) that there are just some people who don't get it, meaning stepping out of their safety zone when it comes to food. Oh well, as I say, more for me. But back to the original topic, I'm still curious and awaiting answer as to why all white/beige/brown foods. Really. I just don't get it and was hoping for some scientific/medical input from someone here as to why that's all these folks eat. I also wanted to say that I agree with them about the hurtful, shaming comments people make to them, either privately or publicly; that's just hateful, rude and wrong, and, most importantly not helpful. However, I would be less than honest to not also say that I would find having any kind of intimate relationship--lover, spouse, very close friend--with a person who had this disorder impossible.

I grew up in DC and we had these all the time and called them "Toad in a Hole." Cooked in bacon fat and butter. I actually would just kind of pinch out a hole in the middle (the holes were always fried as well). Then put the bread in the pan adding a dot of butter inside the hole, letting it melt, before pouring in the egg. Served with bacon and sometimes the flipped side was topped with cheese. FatGuy we never covered these after flipping so they never got soggy.

Your reasoning about the nature of this condition makes a lot of sense. My initial gut reaction was that these people became this way during childhood and this behavior was tolerated or indulged which may have given them a sense of comfort or power so they never bothered to try to do anything about it their entire lives. Indeed the woman who was trying to change because of a possible reoccurance of breast cancer had previously been shown boasting about how she thought she was just fine and had made it through the years despite dire warnings from family and friends. However, at least she was making progress using behavioral therapy as you suggested and has greatly expanded the variety of foods she eats. Another woman (the bread stick woman) did try hypnotherapy to reduce her anxiety levels by not just eating but touching different foods; in her case the therapist used carrots and celery, but didn't appear to make any significant progress. As for the man who only eats french fries and grilled cheese, his "solution" was to find a restaurant that specializes in grilled cheese. I still wonder why, as was noted in the program, all of these people's limited eating seemed to be limited to the consumption of white/beige/brown foods? And exactly how does the body adapt to being so deprived of essential vitamins and minerals, protein, etc.?

While channel surfing over the weekend, I came across an interesting program on the Food Network, My Life in Food, devoted to a group of people who described themselves as adult picky eaters. Specifically, these were not people who didn’t like certain foods or cuisines, but adults whose food choices were severely limited to eating only a handful of specific foods. For instance: - One man whose diet consisted of french fries and grilled cheese sandwiches (who lamented at not having been on a date in 12 years) - A woman with a core diet of peanut butter and crackers - Another woman who apparently could only eat bread sticks at Pizza Hut. Seriously. She would always order them “loaded” with whatever topping they sprinkle on them at Pizza Hut, but wouldn’t even touch the sauce that accompanied them and could only eat the middle parts, not the ends. The program not only focused on their food preferences, but also how their eating habits affected them psychologically and socially, their relationships, struggles to change their behavior as well as health issues. One woman in particular related how she had been forced to consider changing her limited diet of primarily french fries since after being cancer free for three years (she had breast cancer) a recent check up indicated that the cancer may have returned. Also featured was an online support group started by a self-proclaimed adult picky eater, Picky Eating Adult Support. A meeting of several members of this group was filmed at, ironically, a restaurant. Among other things, they discussed how they had suffered a great deal of social isolation because of how they eat and shared stories of how they were treated by “normal” eaters who they felt wanted to embarrass or shame them about their condition. I wanted to find out if anyone here saw this show or heard of this condition? Does anyone have personal experience with someone with similar eating habits? Also, how is it possible for people to survive for decades like this without consuming any foods that contain the nutrients we’ve all been told are essential for maintaining good health or even life itself? I had personally never heard of this phenomenon in adults which some researchers have named SED (Selective Eating Disorder). There have been numerous topics on eG about personal food likes and dislikes, eating habits of relatives/friends that we find annoying, supertasters, etc. but I don’t think I’ve ever seen this topic discussed here. I’d be interested in hearing your opinions or experiences with this phenomenon.

After you do exactly as JFLinLA suggests, make shrimp and grits. The fat used should be bacon fat or butter, or a combination of both.

Gee Busboy sorry to hear that you haven't had a wonderful peach lately. I've actually not been able to find a bad peach and I'm not going to Whole Paycheck or any farmers's markets, I'm getting them from Safeway and Harris Teeter right here in Northern Virginia. The signs say that they're local so maybe Virginia is peach central right now? The ones I currently have are fragrant, juicy and sweet like the aforementioned peach porn. I've got a couple of them chilling in the fridge and well after this conversation I gotta have one NOW!

I don't know about Squiggy, but Lenny sure went on to have a great career. I don't think Mega Food Stars, who also have multiple restaurants and product lines (e.g. Batali, Emeril, Flay) have anything to worry about. I don't think Martha or Rachael are going anywhere fast either. Rocco was a food star when he was in his kitchens - especially at Union Pacific, where, in retrospect, perhaps he should have stayed, cause he was obviously a hack on TV...and then when you show up on Dancing with the Stars or whatever, well...the end of the world is upon us. True hacks, like Guy Fieri, the cake dude, et.al. will hopefully fade away - or burn out fast. ← When you reference "the cake dude" are you talking about Duff of "Ace of Cakes" or that loud, obnoxious attention whore baker on "Cake Boss?" If it's the former, he seems to be running a pretty solid bakery and is a very likeable fellow with an equally likeable bunch of hard working employees. I don't see them going down fading away or burning out. If it's the latter, then I agree he's so over-the-top awful that he should at least fade away from the tv spotlight fairly soon although he too seems to be running a successful business.

I've been making Nigella's recipe which is basically all these, plus good olive oil, sliced Kalamatas and some chopped Italian parsley. We love, love, love it around our place. ← Jaymes I've heard of this salad and it sounds delicious but I haven't made it yet. Can you share what kind of feta cheese you use? I want to use the type of feta that doesn't crumble but that holds together when sliced or cut into cubes. Thanks. ← Well, that could be a problem. I'm not really a 'feta expert,' but all of the real fetas I've had do crumble at least some. I very much prefer a real feta from either Greece or Israel. I find that they have more flavor, more 'tang' than others. They are much more expensive than the US-made "Feta-style" cheeses, but I don't think there's any comparison in flavor. As far as the crumbling thing goes... I do cut them into squares. They hold up fairly well at least for a while. But I am unaware of any feta that won't crumble at all. I just don't think it's in the nature of that particular type of cheese. ← Thanks. I'd probably need to just compare different kinds of feta (I think there's even French feta?). I love that tang too, I just don't like it when it falls apart so easily that it ends up looking like scattered little curds of cottage cheese which I find visually unappealing.

I've been making Nigella's recipe which is basically all these, plus good olive oil, sliced Kalamatas and some chopped Italian parsley. We love, love, love it around our place. ← Jaymes I've heard of this salad and it sounds delicious but I haven't made it yet. Can you share what kind of feta cheese you use? I want to use the type of feta that doesn't crumble but that holds together when sliced or cut into cubes. Thanks.

I did an altered version of this salsa/salad from Ingrid Hoffmann's show on FoodTV Simply Delicioso (it's the second recipe on the page). I kept the corn, avocado, red onion, red bell pepper, but I added black beans, used pickled jalapeños since I like their tangyness in this dish, and substituted lime juice for the red wine vinegar called for. I also omitted the cilantro since it's just not an ingredient I like, but I'm the oddball since most people love it. I served it as a salsa with chips but I don't see why it couldn't be served as a side salad. I made it as part of a barbeque spread and everyone loved it. It not only holds up very well but actually gets better the next day (and no, the avocado didn't turn brown the next day either).