gruntermen

fantastic! thanks!

Today I bought some cheese labeled "morbier du haut livradois". It seems rather different from the morbier I usually buy. It is much milder (not stinky at all) and instead of having a horizontal layer of ash, it just has the occasional streak of ash running in no particular direction (kinda like a blue cheese). Is there any difference between morbier and "morbier du haut livradois" or am I just losing my mind?

Okay how bout this: Brown: 1 lbs chili grind beef or chopped cube steak 1 lb ground pork along with a chopped medium onion and a lot of chopped garlic (I use 7 or 8 cloves at least) mix in 2 or 3 tablespoons of ground ancho chile pepper 1 tablespoon (or more) ground chipotle peppers 1 tablespoon or more of ground new mexico chile peppers 1 or 2 tablespoons mexican oregano 1.5 to 2 tablespoons cumin a couple of teaspoons of epazote a teaspoon or so of cocoa powder a bit of turmeric 1/2 or more of a 14 oz can of diced tomatoes (pureed if possible) salt to taste 3 or 4 cups of beef stock a few cups of water let it simmer and sit overnight... if needed I thicken with crushed saltines... don;t let it simmer too long though or the onion will disappear and the chili will be a bit grainy.. still good though I add canned beans in the last 30 minutes or so of cooking

Tim: Where are some of the good Sikh grocers in St. Louis? My parents always shop at Seema but I get the impression Seema is oriented to the gujarati & vegetarian crowd... thanks

Well an IR gun is a little out of my price range, however my thermometer pressed against the side of the wrapped package says 39 degrees. I figure that if this is inaccurate since it's not actually touching the surface of the meat, the inaccuracy will be on the safe side. The same thermometer says my fridge is 41 degrees. That's been my attitude so far but I'm always a little paranoid that the one time something goes wrong will be the time I have guests over for dinner.

All of the instructions I have ever seen regarding the thawing of meat usually forbid thawing things at room temperature. Nonetheless when thawing things like small chickens and game hens I often do the first half of the thawing at room temperature. Is this truly dangerous or ill-advised as long as the wrapped surface of the meat never goes above the temperature it would in the refrigerator (perhaps because it is surrounding a still frozen core) ???

Crisp Bacon, fresh lettuce, cheese and mayo sandwiches... the orange shrinkwrapped kraft pastuerized process cheese style food kind of cheese. It salty, crispy crunchy and mushy all at the same time.

More fat Start slow Smaller chunks Did you warm up the potatoes in the fat, or warm up the fat first and then throw them in? How high did you have the heat on the burner? A lot of other questions V ← The potatoes were actually nuked in a microwave for 3 minutes before slicing. I had the pan and fan on just a little below medium for quite a while before adding the sliced potatoes and onions.

Thanks!

Leave some of the fat in as you shred. You are looking for a rough spreadable consistency. If it doesn't come together into a pastelike consistency add fat back in until it does. If you have the meat/fat ratio just right you'll use all the fat just as it gets nice & spreadable. Don't forget that it will stiffen up when cool. Getting the ratio right is just a matter of practice. (believe me if you make this once you'll make it many times over) Doesn't alter the taste so err on the side of too much fat. ← (Sigh) and to think I was hoping to make it to 30 before having my first heart attack So far all I've done is use it to make chili and fry up some potatoes They seemed to be cooking too fast at the edge before I could get them really nice and crusty in the center. Should I have used more fat?

HELP ! I decided to try and see what I could do with chili and saltines. It's not haute cuisine but it is one of my favorite meals. Unfortunately what I got was this: Where do I begin? The chili isn't as dark as it looks, thats just my lousy photography skills. As far as garnishes go, cheese, rice, pasta and sour cream are out of the question. I just don't want them in my chili. I love white onions and cilantro. I was thinking of something like chopped yellow or red habaneros but my chili is pretty spicy as it is and my guests might try to kill and/or sue me. Anyone… Constructive criticism? Destructive witticism?

Ktepi: My loss of self control included the purchase of 20 lbs of chicken thighs Dave: Once the pork is shredded do I mix it back in with the fat or do I only use the fat during the cooking process? Ludja: I've never been a pinto bean fan. Black beans and cumin are another story...

I tend to lose all self-control when I go to Sam's. The end result is that I now have a cup and a half of clean bacon fat that I don't know what to do with. So far the only thing that has occured to me is to fry some potatoes with it. Thoughts?

Oddly enough, I also use this pan about once a week for making chili A lot of curry also.

I have a kitchen aid that was probably in the 10 or 20 dollar range. It looked really great in the store but it turned out to be somewhat of a nightmare. There is no seal between the lid and the canister so spices will fly out if i don't put plastic wrap over the canister first. Even worse, this just can not produce a fine grind. The only plus side to the kitchen aid is that the canister is metal and removable so I can wash it and it won't become stained and scratched by things like cloves and turmeric. It is perfect for grating hard cheeses. I'm not a coffee person so i can't really say if it works well for its intended task If you get the right mortar and pestle you may not even want the electric grinder. My parents have one that it quite large and the pestle actually is cut to fit the entire bowl. Its more of a grinding stone I suppose. You just put spices in, place the pestle/stone in, press down and turn. Nothing ever comes flying out. I absolutely love it. It would have disappeared from my parents residence long ago if it wasn't for the fact that it is somewhat heavy and that with my luck airport security would decide it was either a weapon or some type of drug paraphernalia....