HungryC

I use a small long handled saucepan for such jobs. It holds about a quart and a half, is easily dipped into the large stockpot, and if you find one with a decent rim, it will pour nicely. You can buy mega ladles, but the longer handles get on the way. I use a little enameled 1.5 qt saucepan to transfer hot liquids from 80 qt pots....works great for me.

What's up with the ridiculous rotary iron at W-S? It has to be the single most ludicrous item in the catalog: $2,000 so you can iron napkins and tablecloths? http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/miele-rotary-iron/?pkey=e%7Ciron%7C75%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C2&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-Feature_Recipe_Rule-_-

For a limited time, Ben Mazzola's ebook on making limoncello is free at Amazon. Get yours before then end of the week---it stops being free on Nov 19th. Get it here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0090VOVT6/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B0090VOVT6&linkCode=as2&tag=comparisonsho-20 Ben is the guy behind the Limoncello Quest website... http://limoncelloquest.com/

Bomba paella rice would make me happy.

Hanger is definitely NOT typical fajita meat....that's inside skirt, with outside skirt now more commonly used because of cheaper price and availability.

Hanger is analogous to the diaphragm muscle. Only one on each animal, hence it can be difficult to find at retail outlets. To my taste, hanger has organ meat overtones, which make it especially delicious. Flank is cut from a different muscle. Flank is thinner, flatter, with a distinct chew thanks to longitudinal muscle fibers.

I do flank steak hot and fast on the grill, direct over coals, then slice it thinly and serve it rare. I don't marinate it....I use a dry spice rub, then use a squeeze of lime, lemon, or other acid after I've sliced it.

I bought it as an e-book....gorgeous photos, but I was kinda underwhelmed by the recipes. Maybe I was expecting too much....or maybe I already have half of shelf of Vietnamese & Viet-inspired cookbooks, so I really didn't need another one. But it is very pretty in e-form.

My Duralex looks fine after a few years in the dishwasher, no crazy etching or clouding. I do have one tumbler, a "souvenir" from a bar, that shows a little clouding. But it is 20 yrs old, and who knows how old it was before I acquired it.

LOL...I have a $30 Black n Decker.....it works great, except it won't fit a standard quarter sheet pan. That's why I was considering the Breville.

It's the acidity of the wine causing the potato's outer layer to toughen. Happens when you cook potatoes in a tomato sauce as well. Learned this the hard way when making a tangy tamarind potato dish...original recipe called for parboiling the potatoes and I skipped that step. The tamarind sauce toughened the potatoes & they never got fully tender, despite practically falling into bits. The cooking liquid's acidity will also affect the potatoes' color.

If the sanitation is suspect, then you should go. No one should be trying to serve month old desserts or reheating the same item multiple times. Do you have a Servsafe certificate? https://www.servsafe.com/students Your state's restaurant association probably offers ServSafe classes multiple times each month, or you can do it online. Before you ditch this job, go take the class, then you can move forward with both experience and a bit of training on your side. The training will confirm what you suspect: this multiple reheating foolishness is putting the customers at risk of foodborne illness.

2:1 chocolate to cream ratio....chop or break up chocolate, put in a microwave safe Pyrex measuring cup. Zap it at 50% power in one minute bursts, stirring between increments, repeating until cream is warmed enough to melt the chocolate. No need to beat. Gentle stirring is sufficient.

Botanically speaking, they're not especially close....

Sharp, but not resilient/strong is my impression. Fine for slicing tomatoes or delicate fish, but not great as a general purpose hacking, thumping, smashing, or heavy chopping knife. I need the weight of the knife to assist me with some jobs, and ceramic knives just don't deliver sufficient heft.

Did you buy it in an Asian market? That's the only place I've seen it, aka winter melon. There are some typically Chinese preparations, including soup. Don't know of any particular LA uses....how will you cook it?

Can't say much about price, but I like the Guittard over Callebaut or El Rey....taste wise, I mean.

It does? It can have toasted rice as an ingredient -- a small, optional ingredient -- and is often served with rice, but doesn't require rice as far as I've known it. I haven't ever had a larb with rice....other than the scant amount of ground, toasted rice used as a seasoning. Many less authentic restaurant versions of the dish omit the toasted ground rice completely.

Trade with the neighbors, or just give some away. Use it as a braising liquid for inexpensive beef....but you're still gonna have to eat LOTS of it.

The strawberries steal the show! Did you paint on each little face? Never seen a caltrop...is the seed edible?

Like any agricultural product, quality varies with weather, soil, rainfall, etc. Cucurbitaceae (the family of squashes, melons, cucumbers) are prone to influence from surrounding plants in the same family....the standard gardening lore is not to plant them close together, as the cuces will make the sweet melons and squashes bitter. If its a farmers market squash, go back to the vendor and tell him what you tasted....

A basic Thai cookbook would be a big help. I was thinking chicken larb, as it is bracing, salary, and an easy dish to prepare. How about a simple veggie curry? Try a massamun curry made with potatoes and carrots...buy the curry paste already prepared and its another easy dish. The potatoes will provide some starch so you can skip the rice if necessary.

Hmm, I know plenty of BBQ people who buy charcoal by the pallet and store it in unheated garages/barns. Can't say I've ever heard of spontaneous combustion of charcoal, ever. Yes, under precisely ideal circumstances, it could ignite, but the chances are extremely low. I have 7-8 big bags on hand at any given time in my unheated garage in subtropical humidity....no problems. If you worry about every theoretical possibility, you'd never get out of bed in the AM. Regarding propane cooking equip, check out Bayou Classic. Wide range of different burners, from jet to banjo and everything in between...including this awesomeness, the mobile, heavy-duty, outdoor deep fryer with v-bottom for easy cleaning. In case your post hurricane plans including feeding the entire volunteer fire department a whole mess of hot wings or fried fish. Hey, you never know...

Pick the ripe peppers....leaving them on the plant too long will cause the plant to decrease its flowering, leading to fewer peppers.

You need a coffee strategy....when all hell breaks loose, small rituals are very comforting. Chemex pot, French drip, or instant, you'll want a way to make it. The caffeine will help flagging spirits and provide liquid enthusiasm to begin the cleanup or repair process. If you can make coffee, you will be popular with the neighbors, utility workers, and other important post storm contacts, like the guy in your neighborhood who owns a 24" chainsaw. Canned evap milk, Parmalait, or other shelf stable milk is part of my hurricane stash....simply to put in coffee. Bake bread, cake, biscuits, or scones before the power goes out. Homemade treats can help reduce the anxiety of waiting. If you have a chest freezer with some spare room, make your own block ice in pans or large Tupperware containers. Empty 2 liter soda bottles work, too. If you are evacuating and are in a high risk area, consider this: take everything out of your fridge and freezer, put it into multiple garbage bags, then put it all back in. If you are away for an extended time and can't clean out the fridge, it will be a much easier experience to toss a few bags than to scrub melted festering ice cream out of your freezer. Signed an Andrew, Juan, Lily, Katrina, Rita, Gustave, and most recently Isaac survivor