butterscotch

Munchos are potato based, crispy, thin and semi translucent. Their entire surface is covered fairly evenly with little bubbles. Funyons have a lot of air too, but are a bit less coarse in texture and have a mild onion flavor. Munchos come in a bright orange metallic bag, and are excellent crushed and eaten like cereal. I did sometime fool my Mom at breakfast with that trick.

Steve, are corn based snacks considered crisps too? It hadn't occured to me for some reason that they could- is it extrusion that makes it so? If so, I think Dipsy Doodles deserve a shout out. Peppery and deeply ridged, they are a long time favorite. Somehow Fritos taste bland and stale in comparison. The ridges help you scrape as little or as much dip as you want, and believe it or not -they are amazing with vanilla ice cream. They seemed to disappear from the NY marketplace for a long time, and I am grateful that they too are widely available again.

Has anyone tried this recipe : http://cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com/2008/11/brioche-burnt-milk-ice-cream-and.html

I agree complely and am so happy Munchos are more easily available again. For a short time back in the late seventies, there was a very similar crisp out that was similar to both. I can't remember what the name was, but it was a little closer in look and texture to a Funyon, but shaped likehe outline of a star. Same potato flavor as Munchos, and just as salty. So good. Haven't craved those in thirty years! Thanks Steve,

I'm suprised how no one here has brought up toast racks. I have been in love with them since I first visited Ireland, where they were a quite common. I hate the damp fog created by a slice of hot toast on the plate, and the toast rack eliminate it completely. Of course they can hasten cooling if you allow them to, or not really help with crisping much if they are solid and ceramic. But dear Aunt would warm her metal filligree rack, adding the toasted bread two by two until is was filled and ready to pull out of her warm oven using an oven mitt. I have been searching for one like hers for ages! Most have too little metal seperating the pieces, and would be useless in the oven. I will find it, and then I will also use for my waffles. I hate soggy.

Just an FYI: dentists can apply a sealant these days that should help. Wouldnt she be getting stains from the red fruits too? Anyway, just a thought. Also, I have several red fruit liquors I picked up in Russia that are very nice just w/ selzer. But I will try w/ some fresh OJ and a spritz and let you know.

I think they would factor in the price of the bags needed for the amount of produce they sell, not the 5-6X that amount they would need if we all took so many extras.

I always thought that poaching meant the liquid would be for the most part discarded, so it was a method of cooking solids (in simmering liquids)?

Good to hear we are making headway in the battle of EG vs the Pickle Jar lid. Never surrender!

You mean Apiary, right? Yes sorry Kenneth Apiary! I'd only recommend it if you are willing and wanting to ask for Scott's recomendations. Makes a very big difference there. You can tell them you heard that from a little bird from Hoboken.

But a fascinating experiment which we are all following... I admire the tenacity on display here. We must persist until the odor is no more!

Instead od Veritas, try Aviary. Scott Bryan moved over there a few years back. And is still awesome.

Regarding the pickle smell, my jar fiend coworker suggests a soak with alcohol, then a sunny spot for a day. Sounds worth a shot.

If it works it will then become one of your favorite jars. You'll enjoy the small trimumph each time you use it. Fingers crossed!

No wonder my soda bread was dreck. I can picture you in the kitchen, thinking baking powder.... hmm that girl is nuts! Hope it helps.

OMGosh, you are right- it was soda! So sorry Steve.

Well I'll have to come back tommorrow and see how it goes. I just made a thick emulsion and shook it over the course of two days. A good container is hard to part with!

Just make a ittle paste, rub it in the lid. Leave overnight. You might have to do it a few times, but I have had it freshen plastic up after leaving in citrus juice and getting an off smell. So, theoretically....

Did you try a paste of baking powder for the pickle smell?

I would definately add some finely chopped candied ginger to whatever recipe you are using for the cookie. Leeuwen's truck does it that way, and wowsa, the extra heat and chewy bits really do it. I have nevr tasred a ginger cookie as good as theirs.

The best microwave popcorn I ever had was of the "on the cob" variety, it had a phenomenal freash corn flavor. I cannot recall the brand, but it used to be sold in Macys Cellar's foodcourt by the register in individual packages. As I recall they came in little burlap bags with a paper bag and a cob. My favorite method was to rub the hard kernels with cold butter, working it into the crevices, and then sprinkling it with salt before putting it inot the bag. i found this gave just enough butter flavor (I ususally over do it) and fatty goodness to keep them from etting that styrofoam texture they can get when popped with no oil. It also helps the salt stick enough, and is easier than dumoing butter and salt in latter which are tricky to deal with in a crowded paper bag. I do confess to frequently throwing an extra pat in there and shaking after the corn is popped. But the flavor of the corn was so good, it didn't need anything. I have tried so many brands - everything out there basically, and I have never had popped corn that tasty. Totally worth it.

I have to admit to loving Nocello liquer, which has artifical walnut flavor. I remember being very bothered by a friend who I had gifted a bottle to. She said she very much enjoyed the first glass of it, and while reaching for a refill, read the bottle and immediately pronounced it repulsive. Rude. I should have hidden her eyeglasses, and if not that, I should have taken the bottle home with me. It's wonderful on dark chocolate or expresso flavored gelato too.

That's exactly it, I think that both women broke ground in different ways, but both inspired lots of people (and not just women) to think bigger about what they could do in the kitchen- whether it was personally or professionally. Julia was showcasing classic resturant food, while AW was changing the idea of what that food could or should be. Most chefs who get out there before the public with cookbooks and TV shows do influence home cooks more than they do cause people to get up and start there own resturants or food related businesses. Chefs do not only inspire people to open their own places, their fans are not so literal or narrow as to see that as the only option. If you want to hold up someone who was very influencial in getting women to start up on their own in food, I know quite a few people (chefs included) who credit Martha Stewart as a huge inspiration. A one time caterer, I believe we would have to admit here she did fit the definition of chef as well, while running her catering kitchen. And she reached probably ten times the audience that Alice Waters ever did. She had a very different audience than AW, and would probably only be a divise pick around here, but to the rest of the world outside EG she was hugely influencial.

Interesting you skipped over the first line in Wiki: A chef is a person who cooks professionally for other people. Although over time the term has come to describe any person who cooks for a living, traditionally it refers to a highly skilled professional who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation. Per Merriam-Webster So according to most definitons, it is someone who managed a kitchen professionally Did Julia not manage her kitchen, which is now in the Smithsonian in a brilliant and professional manner? And do you really think people who watched her didn;t realize she had made a brilliant career in food- seriously? It was kind of obvious that she was a serious pro and not a home maker. Just a woman's point of view.