jsmeeker

I bought a coplue of honeycrisps on Sunday. Bit into one monday. Wasn't impressed. Not what I was expecting. It wasn't really sweet and it didn't have a crisp texture. Kinda soft and loose. Based on many of the comments here, I think I didn't get a good example of this variety. I have one more in the fridge, but I suspect it will be the same. It came from the same display at the grocery store. I didn't pay much attention as to where they came from. Maybe the one I still have has a sticker on it that will reveal some more info? We'll see. My favorite apple is a Macintosh. But I can't eat it.

I thought lardons was just the way you cut the bacon. Is using slab (not already sliced) and cutting it to size not a lardon? Or is a true lardon made from a different cured/smoked pork product?

I found what I think is Rick Bayless's recipe 2 quarts goats' milk 2 cups granulated sugar 2-inch cinnamon stick 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, dissolved in 1 tablespoon water Calls for bringing the milk and sugar (with cinnamon stick) to a simmer, removing from heat, adding the baking soda and water mixture, then back on heat, cooking it until it gets like mapel syrup. Seems simple, and not too time consuming. I suppose I could half the recipe. Or, maybe do 1 qt goat milk (found quarts of goat's milk at SuperTarget yesterday) 1qt. regular cow milk. andiesenji, can your recipe be successfully made on the stove top? I don't have a crock pot (although I could easily borrow one from my parents.)

margerine. For the love of God, why? I see people already addressed the pound of instant yeast issue. It's WAY less expensive, and it truly does last a LONG time if you keep some of it in the fridge, and the rest in the freezer. I've done WELL over a year. In fact, I've still got some. I slacked off on baking bread. Need to get back to doing that. I should see if the yeast I still have is still working. If not, I can easily pick up another pound of it. (I have the SAF instant, bought at Smart and Final in the L.A. area and carred back with me to Dallas) Why multiple sizes of beverages at a fast food joint with free refills? to-go orders (both walk in and drive through)

thanks. I think I'll give this a try if I can track down the goat's milk. I don't have a crock pot (or other slow cooker), but I have a nice 7 qt. Le Crueset dutch oven. I'll seek out Bayless' recipe (his Everyday Mexican is what made me want Cajeta) I've heard of the can of condensed milk in boiling water drink before, but Rick Bayless seems to indicate that dulce de leche isn't quite the same as Cajeta. Anyone care to chime in on the difference (if any?)

I want some Cajeta. I thought for sure I would be able to easily track it down locally. I'm even pretty sure I've SEEN it a local grocery store while browsing/looking for other stuff. But I struck out this weekend. Of course, I only looked at two places. I was thinking of going to a supermarket that caters to the Hispanic market. But then the idea of making it myself came upon me. I understand it's properly made from goats milk. So, I have to get a hold of that. I *think* I have seen that at Whole Foods. So, how hard is it to do? It seems like it's just taking some goats milk and sugar, and cooking it very slowly until it gets to the right color and nice and thick. I plan on using it on roasted, very ripe (black) plaintains, as an ice cream topping, etc.

There's a little of this on Andrew Knowlton's weekly TNIC blog posts on Epicurious: http://www.epicurious.com/bonappetit/blogs/editor ← Ruhlman comments on his blog, too.

picked up a bottle of Laird's Applejack this weekend. Just the regular, blended stuff. They didn't have the bonded. Made an Apple Cart with it. Pretty good. A little tarter than the sidecar I whip up. But I could taste apple in it. Not bad. Now, I need to try some other things with it.

I don't eat breakfast during the weekday often, and I can't recall the last time I had McDonalds for breakfast. But the past three mornings, I've had McDonalds for breakfast. On monday, I got to the office. Someone asked me if I wanted a McGriddle. Somone had bought a big bag of them, and they had one leftover. So, I took it. On Tuesday and Wednesday, I actually walked to McDonalds (didn't drive through) and got a medium coffee and a small fruit and yogurt parfait. Now THAT is actually a decent, sensible breakfast. And costs $1.30 less than what I would normally spend on a coffee drink at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf

thanks. Since I've never had it before, I don't know how the various forms stack up against eachother, especially when mixed into a cocktail. I've read some of the Applejack thread, and I get the impression people are liking the Laird's bonded stuff a lot. Cost wise, how does Calvados stack up against a blended or a bonded American Applejack? (I'm assuming the French stuff costs more??) I'll have my friends that leave at/near the town in Ohio and see what is available there.

My event is getting closer, and I think I have a pretty good idea as to what I want to do. A similar thread has inspired me to do something wtih Applejack/Apple brandy. I think this will be a great idea since apples are big part of the fall season. Here is what I came up with.. Sidecar, plus a variation made with apple jack or apple brandy. I think someome called it an Apple Cart Pegu Club Manhattan An apple brandy/apple jack based high ball suggested by someone in anohter thread. Apple jack, bourboun, apple cider, topped with ginger ale, IIRC. Possibly an apple jack/apple brandy based punch suggested by Alchemist. I'll jump into the apple jack thread, but can someone quickly tell me the difference between apple jack and Calvados (something that was mentioned in another thread) are they similar in relationship as Congac and brandy are? If I can't track down actual apple jack, but can get Calvados, will that work??

Which place is Tre's? Also, has anyone tried Lola (I know, veering off-topic, apologies)? ← Abacus (in Dallas). Way, way up in the thread, I posted some photos of a meal I had there at the chef's table.

Check out her restaurant web site. She doesn't look at all the same! ← Wow, she looks completely different! Anyone actually eaten there? Whoa, those are NYC prices! ← Nope. I'm not really into fancy asian places unless it's sushi. But I've been to Tre's place a few times. Really good stuff there.

Make chicken stock? It's been a long time since I bought chicken in a supermarket, so I'm going to take note of prices when I go shopping tomorrow. ← heh... the funny thing is that when I make fried chicken, I cut it up in such a way to yield boness breats. Then I have a nice carcass to make stock. And I don't cook the wings, either. They go into the freezer with the carcass to make stock.

Sugar Pops became Corn Pops Sugar Smacks/Honey Smacks were always wheat. There has never been a sugar coated rice cereal ← hmm.. They looked like little grains of rice to me. Of course. it's been years since I have had it, so I may be misremembering it.

Along those lines, aren't Sugar Pops now Corn Pops? I loved Sugar Smacks. It was my first choice whenever we got the Variety-Pak of little cereal boxes. My little box-bowls always leaked, though. ← no.. Sugar Smaks were a rice cereal. Little grains of puffed rice coated in a sugary coating. Corn Pops were/are different.

I like all the cereal boxes. My mom usually didn't buy is the stuff like Cocoa Pebbles and Captn' Crunch, but we would sometimes get Froot Loops and Apple Jacks. And Sugar Smacks. I remembered when they were called Sugar Smacks, then they dropped "Sugar" from the name. Who were they fooling? I guess that's where KFC got the idea.

just pulled out some molasses clove cookies from the oven. I had some froze dough balls in the freezer that I has made previously and was out of sweet treats to eat, so I decided to bake the remainder of the batch.

hmm... I dunno. To me, horseradish is what makes cocktail sauce cocktail sauce. Do you have the other components that you add to ketchup? (lemon, Tobasco, woersteshire ) The wasabi sounded like a good idea. Too bad you don''t have any of that. Here is a wild card. Have no clue of it might work.. What about some fresh ginger? It's a root. and it's got some bite..

thanks. The punch you listed here sounds good, as does rlibkind's drink. His could make a great highball. Anyway, maybe I'll go back to my other thread to continue the discussion there so others can get back to the specific caramel apple drink.

I'm taking great interest in this thread. I started another thread asking for some help on coming up with a list of cocktails for a party where I agreed to "play bartender". A few people suggested drinks with Applejack, but since I'm not familiar with that, I didn't really give it much thought. But now, this thread is making me re-think things.. The party will be early November, in the middle of fall. I think apples just scream fall. Seems like going with something seasonal like this would be a fantastic idea. a few questions. what IS Applejack? How is it different than apple brandy? One of the drinks suggested in the other thread was a Sidecar (a drink I really like). Could I do a riff on a Sidecar using apple brandy instead of regular brandy/congac??

You mentioned this in another thread and I was wondering what exactly it was. I was thinking maybe it was simply another term for Chex mix. But it's a sweet version of. Sounds pretty interesting. If it was me, I'd want to try it without the powdered sugar first. Does it stay crunchy? What about mixing some nuts or peanuts in there?

So you can make Michael Ruhlman's Chicken Fried Pork Belly Caesar Salad http://blog.ruhlman.com/ruhlmancom/2007/08...ducingthe-.html

CoolWhip? The only way you can redeem yourself as an eGullet member is to consume some quality fried chicken ASAP!! dark meat spicy red beans and rice It's all you need to know.

Prices here in the Twin Cities are roughly similar, except I can get whole chickens for $.69/lb. Pieces can run cheaper, if they are on sale, but then you have to buy the mongo family pack. What blows me away is why someone would spend three times as much for a cut up chicken (which, BTW, is minus the back, neck, gizzard, heart and liver). I don't quite comprehend spending more for less. It takes just minutes to break down a chicken, if you have a sharp knife, and why would I pay someone to do that and keep the best parts of the bird? BTW, no clue about white meat. I do buy whole chickens, and usually use the breasts for cutlets or stir fries, or chicken salad, but, this week, thighs at my local supermarket were on 3-day special for $.60/lb, if I was willing to buy packages of 5 pounds or more. Yes, my freezer is full. ← At 69 cents a pound, how good is that chicken? Anyway, why pay for just parts? Well, if want to make chicken wings (Buffalo wings), buying just wings is a lot easier. A chicken has but two wings. I would need to buy lots of chickens to get enough wings to feed just ONE person. Then, I would have a ton of chicken leftover. What am I gonna do with all of it?