Lisa Shock

It's pretty thick, I don't spray it. (I wish I could!) I brush it on with a pastry brush or smear with a bit of paper towel.

I liked the show, but, I can see that he's already covered so much territory that there just isn't much left to say. -At least at the infotainment-for-the-casual-user level of expertise that FN is interested in presenting in their lineup. But, he's a savvy producer, and, if he says he has great things on the horizon, I would believe him. He's always been straightforward with the press.

I use granules to make a trans-fat-free pan-release coating for baking pans. This stuff works really well; better than shortening. Ingredients: 2 oz lecithin granules 1 cup vegetable oil (use one with a smoke point above 400°) Mix in a blender or food processor until smooth. Store tightly sealed in the refrigerator for up to a year. Use to grease pans.

I put my ZoJirushi on a timer, mostly to save energy when I am asleep. Maybe the husband would be ok with that? (It also means that I can make tea immediately upon rising.) The main difference between a hot water pot and the instant hot water for sinks is the connection to the house's water line. The hot water pot can eventually dry out inside, and older models that didn't have the sorts of thermostats we have today would have problems with burning out the heating element if the water was gone. That can't happen in the just-in-time models unless you have a plumbing failure or water shutoff.

They probably would appreciate some naan bread off the grill. For the most part, they are used to using bread as a 'scoop' when eating, and this more than anything will be a touchstone for them. Can you get an extra grate for your grill so the naan doesn't have to be cooked in meat juice? I'd also serve basmati rice and a vegetable masala dish of some sort. And, salads are important -just regular greens and tomatoes type salads with vinaigrette. I found the websites of a couple of Indian newspapers with recipe resources (kinda like allrecipes) a couple of years ago and have been trying to cook from them when I can. I am sure others here are a lot more qualified, I'm just a vegetarian who reads Madhur Jaffrey and eats at Indian restaurants.

Looks like they want liquid eggs in the brownie formula. (as opposed to powdered) The egg section asks for you to either use cracked eggs as they are naturally (no shells), or, to use packaged yolks (unsugared) and packaged whites in the same ratio as found in nature. That is, a 2oz large egg is 1.25oz white and .75oz yolk approximately. Fresh or frozen is ok. What sort of eggs do you have access to?

MasterCook software has had features like this for years. It comes with recipes, and you can input your own, and it generates shopping lists. It will also show the nutritional values of the recipes so you can make sure you're serving healthy foods. I guess sites like that are ok for people who don't know much about cooking and never had a Home Ec class.

I have an older edition, and I do use it -especially for brainstorming menu ideas.

Acids keep starches firm as a general rule. That's why, for example, I add a tablespoon of vinegar to the water I boil cut potatoes in -to help them keep the shape of the knife cuts. It's also why you don't add acidic ingredients to baked beans until they are cooked and tender.

Thank you for the info. Does refrigeration help delay the oil from becoming rancid? If so, how much time does it buy? Refrigeration does slow things down considerably, so does limiting exposure to air. Try to keep containers almost full and use a vacuum sealer if you have one. I can't give precise predictions because there are too many variables, but, I store all of my oils and nuts/seeds in the fridge or freezer. (I also add a little BHT to oils when I open the containers and write an 'opened on' date on each package.) I don't currently have access to equipment to test results, but, my feeling is that you can get an extra six months or so out of a product. That said, I try not to buy oils and oily items in bulk quantities unless scheduled for a task in the near future. I also run my home fridge like a commercial one, FIFO rotation of new items to the back and a weekly cleaning & inspection of dates and quality. I attend a couple of potlucks each month which conveniently give me a way to use up oddball items.

Distributors often have free classes on their wines, look into what they offer. There are also sommelier classes available in most major cities via different organizations take a look at the web info for the major groups and also ask at local culinary schools. Cheers!

Could be your water, maybe. I try to use my RO water to cook beans after reading that sometimes they take forever to cook due to minerals in the water. So, this might be related to either acidic or mineral-laden water.

Patak's curry pastes -not always, just when I am in a hurry or can't get to the market to get all the fresh spices I need -I live fairly far from the nearest market with Indian produce Old Bay Seasoning -my family moved to Maryland when I was 10, and it's a flavor that resonates for me in certain dishes And, yes, I use liquid smoke and granulated garlic as well as onion powder -but, those are pure, real ingredients with specific uses.

Thanks for the link to the chart!

My sense is that he is partially trained and thinks that he knows more than he does. When one goes around speaking at South Beach, having adoring fans of one's website, and hob-nobbing with hotshot chefs, one might begin to think that their words have some authority. As Rumsfeld said, you have to know what you don't know (paraphrase). Agreed. I have seen him be cavalier about food safety issues in his blog and not understand the difference between foodborne infection vs. foodborne intoxication.

Do they know basics like using a scale instead of volume measurements for dry ingredients? How about temperatures to cook basic food types to for particular results? I tend to like teaching classes where you learn the big theory behind a category, or ingredient, rather than having the focus be 'let's learn some recipes.' For example: muffin method baked goods, separated foaming method, biscuit method, etc. Or: pan sauces, mayonnaise type sauces, etc. Or: green vegetables, starchy vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, etc. This way, a student learns to look at the ingredients and think of how they could/should be handled and the methods they know how to use to get particular results. So, later, when they see a corn cake recipe they can place it in a mixing method category in their minds, as well as knowing the cornmeal ingredient, and know what the style of result will be even if they have never made it before. And, they won't keep viewing the world of cooking as a huge list of recipes they have made vs the recipes out there they haven't tried.

The stuff was invented during a time when the average lifespan was 22 years. If you'd like to emulate that system, that's your choice. And, like I said, there can be considerable damage to the oils (rancid is a vague term used to cover several different processes of degradation of oils) before it's possible for the huiman nose to smell anything. HERE is a link to modern research into rancid oils. As many of you know, a lot of research that occurred prior to the Internet era isn't documented in it. Consumption of rancid oils has been considered to be a health risk for decades in western medicine. It's understood that rancid oils are part of the diet in developing nations because they don't have access to good transportation and storage facilities. But, just because millions of people are forced to eat the stuff or nothing )much like contaminated water supplies) doesn't make it good for them. Rancid oils aren't poisonous to the point of killing people, but, they certainly don't do anything to optimize lifespan. (edited to add link)

It's covered in the book I linked to above, Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach by Pearson & Shaw, originally published in 1982, IIRC. They have legitimate scientific studies backing up the work, and a huge index at the back of the book. Sorry, not able to reference anything right this minute.

Actually, don't stir the butter. You can swirl it gently til it all melts, but it won't brown properly unless it's still for a while. Let it foam a bit as the water boils out, then watch for the milk solids at the bottom to brown and pull it off very soon thereafter. It should have a distinct hazelnut aroma.

I have an ice cream machine that is electric but just one step above hand-crank, it uses ice for cooling. I use my old ice to make ice cream.

Baconnaise (spelled various ways) has been a staple of many kitchens for a while now. Several companies sell it in jars. I believe that Fat has instructions on making it.

You don't have to dry it. Chile oil is easy to make, I've made it with New Mexico green chiles and several other green types. Each has its own character. I recall going on a huge jag of trying every pepper I could find and making everyone I knew chile oil gift sets in 1992. It was a lot of fun. The hard part was using all the oil up after a while. Take an oil that heats well, like peanut or safflower or canola and put it in a heavy pot like you're going to deep fry. Get the temp up to about 220°F and toss in a couple pepper that have been split open to expose the middle. Seeds are ok, you'll strain this anyway. Let the pepper 'simmer' in the oil for about 5 minutes at the same temp, then remove the pot from the flame and allow to cool. Strain, and place in jars when cool. Try to use within 6 months.

The compounds that are formed by the changes are known carcinogens.

I rarely have enough dirty dishes in one day for a load, I tend to wash the pans by hand as they get used, so, I add them piecemeal. This keeps the kitchen looking clean and my sink free and clear.

Oils can go rancid (microbial rancidity, oxidative rancidity, hydrolytic rancidity) long before the human nose is able to detect an off odor. I don't like to keep any ground nut/seed or oil longer than 6 months, even if sealed. And, I treat my opened oils with BHT to help prevent cross-linking -something I picked from reading Durk and Sandy in the early 80's.