Lisa Shock

You can use it to make a fritatta. If the pasta browns a bit it's very delicious. I believe that there's a southern Italian dish similar to 'eggs in purgatory' where eggs, carefully cracked to keep the yolks intact, are cooked on a bed of leftover pasta. There's another Italian dish, sorry I do not recall the name, from the north, IIRC, where all sorts of pasta concoctions are layered into a giant pie/casserole. You could freeze leftovers until you have an assortment, then bake them in a casserole dish, with or without a crust.

Depending upon your water source, there are a few applications where a person without a filter might want to allow water to sit overnight to release chlorine. The best example I can think of if you are just starting a sourdough culture. (if you have fish as pets, you already should be doing this to any water you add to the tank)

Honey contains some water, about 17%, which is partially why baked goods made with it don't crisp up very well. Most cookie recipes do not contain water, and would not benefit from adding water. The sugars in honey are very different from table sugar, sucrose. You're dealing with a substance that is about 38% fructose and 31% glucose -very, very similar to high fructose corn syrup, BTW. Fructose is sweeter than sugar but glucose is less sweet. Fructose is a lot more hygroscopic than sugar, it's famous for keeping foods moist, so it is the other anti-crisp culprit. There are several different powdered honey products on the market designed for use in recipes where water is not desired. One contains some wheat starch, one maltodextrin and one table sugar. I have not used them, so I cannot recommend any of them. You could attempt to dry it yourself, I have never tried this, so I don't know what sort of results you'd see.

I have a water filter. A lot of bottled water has a high bacteria count, and many brands are just tap water in a bottle anyway.

I live in Phoenix, AZ and it's pretty similar to living on Mars. We are surrounded by desert. Cotton and a few other crops are grown with irrigation with water we buy from Colorado. I'm a vegetarian, so I don't know about meat. A few veggies are grown hydroponically here, mostly greens and tomatoes, and I buy those. There are local citrus farms, local dates, and local pomegranates. A few nuts are grown here, most notably pistachios. I know a person with a pecan tree and enough people with citrus trees in their yards that I rarely actually pay for citrus fruit. Grains come from out of state. I can get cornmeal from New Mexico, but wheat and rice products come from afar. Potatoes come from California or Colorado. Generally, we get a lot of stuff from California. A lot of Mexican things are also available, but I am suspicious about their purity. We have seen some scandals with lead-laden and pesticide-laden imports.

Yep, there's a new edition of the FDA Food Code out this week. Changes include guidelines for handling leafy greens and changes to terminology. Here's a link to a brief synopsis.

Of the things my mom actually used to make, concord grape pie would have to be the winner. It had a totally repulsive texture. I'd like to recommend The Comapny Cookbook as an example of when not to publish a cookbook.

I have always preferred Skor. I recall purchasing one when it was a new bar. At that time, Skor was made with real butter and Heath was made with margarine. -This was my original reason for trying Skor in the first place; it appeared to have better quality ingredients.

I broke an item this summer and replaced it, and now, I notice that the top edge has a green color, whereas my older items have a clear edge. Hope this helps!

Cantler's appears to be in the right area. I'll defer to anyone with a more current review.

I lived in Annapolis in the late 70's and early 80's, so I can't be of much help, but.... There used to be a place in/near Annapolis that you got to by driving through some woods. It was a plain building on the water and they caught crabs right there and served them same day. I do not recall the name, but, IIRC it was just a man's first name like Dave's or something. The place is like a shack/log cabin. They have picnic tables set up in long rows. These are covered newspaper. You order at the counter and they had steamed crabs by the dozen and maybe a couple of other things. The crabs came hot out of the kitchen in a cardboard box (the kind used to hold 4 six-packs of soda). You could get get soda in a can to drink. IIRC there were rolls of paper towels on the table. This was, at the time, widely regarded as the best place to eat crabs in the county. They did not advertise or seek reviews, local people just went there. Ask around.... If anyone offers you Smith island cake, try it!

To reply to the question from 11/3, I would leave the corn syrup in when adjusting a recipe. It really helps sugar get to the type of structure you want, and to keep it. Just don't get overeager and add too much, as too much can make it runny. If I ever get around to trying this, I would make some pulled caramel sugar, divide into two lumps, pull one to a rectangle, place a layer of fuilettine on it, cover with the other rectangle, spread PB on that and start folding and pulling under a heat lamp. But, I really suspect that the butterfinger factory has special machines to make this work out just right. The peanut brittle approach is probably pretty close for a home cook. Finely chopped nuts rather than nut butter may give a crisper texture.

I toss in a really big bowl, then serve with scissors-like fork/spoon salad server. When I toss, I just flip around like tossing stir-fry in a wok or flipping an omlette in a pan -no utensils, no hands.

I prefer the harp style, and own a large and small Kyocera. I have had these for 3+ years now. Mine are not chipped, but, I wash them by hand and place them in my tool drawer in their own compartment. They are sharper than regular peelers, so it takes less effort to peel things, and the work goes by very quickly. As mentioned above, hard items are easier to peel with ceramic. I even use mine to break down raw artichokes. My large sized one is wider than any other type of peeler I have seen, and is useful in making potato chips. (with a smaller peeler, you get tiny chips) I still own a couple of regular steel peelers, but haven't used them in years.

Oh yes, thank you so much!

Last year, when I visited Tokyo and Yokohama, a friend took me quickly through Yokohama's China town. As we walked down a crowded street, I saw a restaurant with a video display sign showing various dishes being prepared and scenes of the dining room. I did not have time to get my camera out or really to even read the signage, I got pulled onward down the street and couldn't stop. One scene showed a chef with a long, beige, oval shaped object on his shoulder -being held a bit like a violin. This object was the size and shape of a whole provolone cheese or a really long gourd: almost a meter long, at least 20cm in diameter, and evenly beige in color. It may have been dough, but, if so, it was very stiff to retain such a shape. He held a knife and was chipping shavings off the object and the strips were falling into a large bubbling vat of liquid. Can anyone identify this dish? I would greatly appreciate any clues!

I think, overall, I would like to see stars or numbers appear in a series of categories, maybe a lot of categories. And, I do NOT want those categories aggregated into one master score! I know of a very tiny Persian place where the chef and his son run the whole show. Oftentimes, the chef himself takes your order and delivers it to your table. The chef is very considerate and thoughtful, and very skilled as a waiter. That said, he also spends some time actually cooking your meal, so, your water glass may not get refilled with a lot of speed. If you are used to high-end experiences, and this place is NOT cheap, you may perceive some rough patches. I'd give the place high marks for the attitude and attentiveness of the service, but, maybe a lower mark for the amount of staff in the dining room. (it gets a bit wild when the place is full) In the same place, the location is small and in a strip mall, so the ambiance is okay for what they have to deal with but, they didn't do a dedicated remodel and it still feels like a strip mall retail space. That said, each table has a hand-embroidered tablecloth and every napkin is a hand-embroidered cloth napkin -not linens from an ordinary service. The glasses and plates are very high quality. So, it's not a location to impress my friend the Prince (I am not saying of where.) but, if he goes there with me, we get accouterments that make him feel comfortable. So, it might rate lower as not being an impressive locale, but pretty high in terms of attention to detail and what's on the table itself. In some ways, we have gotten used to using star systems as a shorthand for quality, or the lack thereof. It's an easy way to say that maybe the place is great or maybe it's not worth it. I'd like to see it refined by giving more details: is it fast-casual, is it formal, is the staff snooty, etc.???

BTW, my post assumes that you have access to a pantry of dry spices, salt, oil & vinegar. Can you assume that you've been pocketing packets of salt, pepper and sugar from fast food places??? If spices and such mush be purchased, then I agree that breakfast is a good solution. You can get a cheap loaf of bread and a couple dozen eggs and some dollar store jam and sugar (use a blender to make it powdered) and make french toast (served with the jam -since jam is cheaper and better than imitation syrup) and scrambled eggs. 2 dozen eggs = $4 loaf of white bread = $1 pan spray/butter/margarine for cooking = $1 (yes, my dollar store has 8oz cubes of butter) jam = $1 sugar = $1 box of teabags = $1 Spend the last dollar on something to spruce up either dish, like an onion, a bell pepper or some fruit. One other note from the cheap food frontier is that cabbage is cheap, especially if purchased whole -like 30 cents a pound. You can make coleslaw for everyone out of one head. You could also steam the leaves and make cabbage rolls stuffed with rice and beans and a simple tomato sauce. 2# pinto Beans = $1 2# rice = $1 2 cabbages (one for slaw one for rolls) = $2 tomato juice for sauce = $1 mayo for slaw dressing = $1 cider vinegar for slaw dressing = $1 tea bags (for iced tea) = $1 $8 total, leaving you $2 for dessert which could be dollar store pudding with vanilla wafers, rice pudding from scratch, dollar store fresh fruit, dollar store canned fruit, dollar store cake mix cooked in a bundt pan with a powdered sugar icing, etc. Earlier this year I had contemplated attempting to feed myself and my hubby for 30 days on $1 per person per day. I would theoretically shop with the whole budget available in advance, not be limited to a daily dole. I set out plans for what to buy and where, and think I have it down pretty well. But, the husband didn't want to do it. Also, having an entire month to play with gave me money for luxuries like baking powder and raisins. That said, it did involved eating a lot of oatmeal for breakfast...

It's very possible to pull this off, especially if you use dry legumes and rice or pasta. There are a lot of great Indian dishes that can be made with just an onion and maybe some canned tomato for a sauce. I'd also look at investing in some carrots and onions as cheap flavor. Do you have a 99 Cents Only store nearby? Mine carries bags of three organic heads or romaine for the magical 99 cent price tag. Add a simple vinaigrette and the salad course is done. (it WILL be a small course) They also frequently have whole heads of cauliflower and broccoli, which can help with your main dish. And, they do sell beans, rice, pasta, potatoes and onions. I frequently buy yukon gold potatoes and red onions there. (the beans tend to be 1# bags, pinto beans 2# bags, the rice 2# bags and the pasta 2# bags) I would include a soup course at the start. It fills people up, and can be made with vegetable stock from trimmings. Or, tomato soup using a #10 can of tomatoes - $2.99 at Smart & Final -for a larger party. (saute an onion and some dry basil in a dab of oil, add tomatoes, cook then puree) I occasionally make a curried potato soup that's just an onion and a couple potatoes browned in oil with some curry powder, then water is added, cook til tender, mash a bit, season and add a glug of milk and a handful of chopped carrots and/or frozen peas. Then , of course, there's Grocery Outlet. I have seen amazing stuff there. Off the top of my head, menu for 10: Shredded Romaine & Grated Carrot Salad with a Mustard Vinaigrette Tomato Soup Curried Pinto Beans & Carrots with Brown Rice Rice Pudding with White Rice Cost 99 cents each: romaine, 2#carrots, 2# onions, 2# pinto beans, 2# brown rice, 2# white rice, milk $3: #10 can of tomatoes (use for soup and a little for sauce) total $10

I'm sorry, I do not recall the name. IIRC, it was shown here by one of the digital Discovery Channels (back when they were Discovery Science, Discovery Medicine, Discovery Kids, etc. before changing names to Green, Military Channel, etc.) as a sort of mini-series over a few weeks. I think they aired it on Saturday mornings in two-hour blocks. It had to have been well before 2005. The show took place in a big city in England, I recall the students going on interviews for their externships in a later episode.

Tuesday Morning occasionally has copper pans of various brands.

These are also used in cocktails and may be found in stores with good selections of spirits for cocktails.

Let us know how it turns out! Happy Baking!

I just looked at your recipe. It looks fairly standard in terms of ratios, except that it is missing water as an ingredient. And, I always start with raw peanuts and add them after the temp gets to 250°, that way they cook in the sugar and impart more flavor. (and there' no chance of them being rancid) I'd start with a cup of water in the pan, and have a squirt bottle or brush and water available to wash down the sides as it cooks. A straight melt, like the recipe offers, is a lot more difficult to control than a melt with water. Try looking around at regular peanut brittle recipes and you'll see that the water is pretty standard. (and the washdown is always necessary) It's even in the peanut brittle in the CIA's newest pastry text. The lack of water may have been your problem all along. As for the bacon, I am thinking that what you might wish to do is, place the bacon in the pan you're going to pour into, and just pour the sugar/nut mix over it. That way, the fat isn't part of the boiled sugar at all. One more tip. Try scattering kosher salt over the top of the brittle as if it were a giant pretzel. This is optional but tasty.

Sounds like a combination of factors. The fridge isn't a problem so much because of the quick cooldown, it's a problem because it's very humid in there and sugar is hygroscopic. If you want to cool sugar down more quickly it's better to set the pan in/on an ice bath. But, in the case of a brittle, I'd only do that with the finished sheets of brittle. You might need to take the sugar up higher to get a good true caramelization. Was it rich, dark brown? It's hard to say because of small differences in altitude and types of sugar, but I like to get closer to 310. Did you pre-cook the bacon and get rid of as much fat as possible?