annabelle

Same here. I'll come sit by you.

That's kind of dumb since apple seeds contain toxins. Granted, you'd have to eat a LOT of them, but still. You aren't supposed to feed apple cores to dogs because of that.

No, it doesn't need to cover the meat in a crockpot, just about halfway up the piece of meat. Turn it after a few hours and add more stock/beer/bbq sauce if needed. I find I don't need to add much if any extra liquid.

Lipton Onion Soup is a lifesaver when making pot roast.

Nope. You're not alone, Jaymes.

I loved The Galloping Gourmet before he sobered up. He was always in the bag by the time the food was served. I loved how he'd drag some giggly woman out of the audience and slosh wine at her and pretend to snog on her after they ate a few bites of whatever he'd prepared.

OMG. A new candidate for this topic has popped up on the Food Network. I can't even recall the name, it was so horrible to watch. Has-been celebrities competing on a cooking show hosted by Rachael Ray and Guy Fierri. At least they are playing for charity, but that doesn'[t make it anymore watchable.

I rinse my dishes and glasses before putting them in the dishwasher. I also run it every night and sometimes during the day if I am doing a lot of prep or feeding houseguests. Katie Meadow, in the past ten years we have bought three dishwashers after deciding to replace the relic that came with the house. It has been the electrical components that control the cycles of the washers that have failed and not the electical heating elements or the wands. The contacts failed to make sufficient contact after brief (six months) use and Hubs took the box apart and fixed it twice. Previous to that, we had one that had a knob the was used to dial up the cycle and a small child who loved to fiddle. That was likely human error, not the dishwasher's fault that it died. We then replaced that one with the one we have now that seems to be hanging in there after three years use and a now older child who has lost interest in it.

I make mayonnaise in the food processor. Also salad dressing whick I make by the quart.

The useful life of a dishwasher, at least one that is used with some frequency, say once or twice a day, is about 3 years tops. I don't care how much you paid for it or how many whiz-bang features it may have. Rust away.

It makes great tempura batter, as well. Dakki, Wondra is available on Amazon.

I was raised by a German grandmother and a French mother who, between the two of them, were the cleaning police. Several times a year we removed all the items from all the cupboards and washed and wiped them out, washed the items themselves, and returned them to the shelves. Twice a year we replaced the shelf-paper, as well. The everyday glasses went in upside down. Stemware and crystal had its own cabinet and was stored sitting on its base. One of my friends had a large family and they stored their glasses right-side up and by the end of the day the cupboard was usually empty until all the glasses were washed and returned to the cupboard. I store my mugs upside down, too.

Please explain. This sounds useful. Wondra is a superfine flour that is sold in a canister. It thickens quickly without a raw taste and doesn't need to be mixed with cold water like cornstarch. It also doesn't turn glossy.

I never liked Jeff Smith too much and Craig, his lovely assistant, used to creep me out. Bad cooking shows have to include MaryAnn Esposito's. She was the messiest cook on tv next to Natalie Dupree who made biscuits every episodes and ended up dusted with flour from head to toe.

We have a mixed marriage: Yankee (he) and Southerner (me). After having it my way, hoppin' john for years, I have caved and am making pork and sauerkraut today. I'm cooked out from the holiday feasts, so I'm not doing beans, too. I hope we're not doomed now.

I make pizza quite a bit, but I make it on a baking sheet and cook it at 400 degrees. I've been using the same recipe for 30 years and it's great.

I don't use the dry cycle on my dishwasher. I shut it off when it's done washing and let them air dry. I also don't usually put my good knives, wooden utensiles or pots/pans in the dishwasher unless I'm feeling lazy. Most of us don't own Samurai quality knives so who cares if they go in the dishwaher now and again.

Shelby, do you save the deerskin or know anyone who tans it? I would think it would make fantastic mocassins.

Ha! I do this, too.

I've given up trying to turn out a decent sourdough bread. I've killed more starter mothers than an abusive spouse, mainly through neglect and lack of care and feeding.

I will not decide that my fruit pies aren't really too full and won't boil over causing a gigantic smokey sticky mess on the bottom of the oven because I didn't slide a baking sheet under them when I put them in.

Making fresh pasta. Yes, it's fantastic, etc. I'm not making it anymore since I can buy it at the store. However, most of the pasta recipes we like use dried pasta so why make yourself crazy? If it's good enough for countless Italians and Italian-American families, it's good enough for me.

Half and half for my coffee. Butter. Salad greens. Fruit. Loose tea. Local honey. Bacon.

Tri2Cook, what are the odds that we could see a return of simple poached fruits with a creme or fruit sauce? Pears in a wine sauce? Baked apples with hard sauce?

I like this show. Nyesha who is currently not-quite-on Top Chef was in an episode early on.