ScoopKW
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Posts posted by ScoopKW
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I shop for pots and pans at Thrift Stores, on Craigslist, on "Crazedlist" (google it), and on eBay.
I have a near-complete set of All-Clad Cop-R-Chef and a bunch of Mauviel. I paid $5 to $30 for each piece. Just have to be patient. Took me about four years to assemble all the pots and pans I wanted. Short of the paella pan, I have them all. I'll find the paella pan some day. And I'll pay $11 for it. Just you wait.
EDIT -- Oh, and just the other week, I found some 15-piece Calphalon stainless set at a thrift -- new in the box -- for $99. Snatched that up, for when I'm not in the mood for scrubbing copper.
Thrift stores -- you won't BELIEVE what turns up in them. Tiffany glass, Patek Philippe, you name it...
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I'm from the Caribbean.
Favorite street foods:
1) Conch Salad
2) Conch Chowder
3) Jerk Chicken
4) Mojo roasted anything
all of the above with a side of fried plantains please....
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From the bulk of the comments, it seems to me the beef is with people who are intellectually incurious.
To me that isn't the merely the mark of a bad cook. It is the mark of a bad person. Or at least it's the mark of someone I don't want to be stuck with for more than 20 minutes.
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All of you please ignore reports of my 16-year-old son, for whom the five food groups are pizza, hamburgers, chocolate and macaroni & cheese, being whacked upside the hand with a baseball bat. If it worked for Andie's acquaintance....
At the risk of sounding snarky, why tolerate this? Make whatever you want to eat. Eventually, he'll become hungry enough to eat anything. Nothing grinds my gears like grocery shopping and hearing parents ask their "darling" children, "Do you want to have pizza or hamburgers tonight?"
It's not their choice!
Kids should eat what's put in front of them or go hungry. How else are they going to learn to enjoy food that doesn't come wrapped in bright paper, ordered from a clown's mouth?
I know a guy who is 30 years old, and hasn't eaten anything in his life other than PB&J, chicken fingers, pizza and hamburgers. Totally limits one's dating choices when he has the food savvy of a 9-year old*. What kind of woman would want anything to do with such a man? Taking a lady out to a nice restaurant is out of the question, unless they'll let him order from the kiddy menu.
* My apologies to adventurous 9-year olds.
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I was going to ask about experience with the "Earth Pans" I see at Whole Foods. But after reading page after angry page of terrible reviews, I guess it isn't all that important.
Better to learn to cook with a regular pan, anyway, IMO.
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When I first started working on the house, I drank three of the things a day -- even though they taste like carbonated cough syrup.
Then I switched to iced coffee and iced tea -- I know what goes in that, because I make it myself. I've found no difference in the "energy boost." Plus, I'm 1000% certain that iced oolong tea is better for me than "Joker Brand Energy Drink."
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I know you've said there's no outside access -- but I have to ask. Not even roof access?
I thought the apartment roof was a given perk for living in NYC?
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I know foodies look down upon buffets, but going to Las Vegas without eating at buffet would be like going to San Francisco and not getting sour dough bread or going to San Gabriel Valley and not eating at a Chinese restaurant.
Right now, in 2011, what's considered the best buffet and the best value buffet in Vegas? I've read older posts about it but the quality of the buffets seem to shift with time- they start off with a big splash with good quality to draw in the locals but then decline. Years ago, the Paris buffet was a very good bargain but it seems their quality has dropped since then.
The main problem with the buffets lately is the massive lines for ALL of them. (Except Sterling Brunch at Bally's on Sunday -- the $90 price tag keeps most people away.) Last time we did the buffet at Paris, it was a solid 2-hour wait. YMMV.
I haven't been to Sterling in roughly a year, but it's a phenomenal buffet -- Key West shrimp, Pacific oysters, Maine lobster, sushi, osetra caviar, and non-vintage French champagne. I think it's well worth the price.
As far as "value," that depends. The Studio B buffet at M Resort was a great bargain when they first opened. But the pricier proteins are no longer there. Free beer and wine, but don't expect any 90+ point Wine Spectator wines. The buffet at Green Valley Ranch always gets high marks in the Best of Las Vegas polls, but the food isn't special. It's just inexpensive.
In general, the "new" casino has the best buffet -- for about six months. Then they always seem to cut costs.
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Godfather Part 1 - at the restaurant (Louie's) in the Bronx, Michael having dinner with Solozzo and McCluskey...Sollozzo tells McCluskey to "try the veal, it's the best in the city," about two minutes before Michael comes out of the bathroom and blows both of them away.
I still use Clemenza's tomato sauce recipe:
"Heh, come over here, kid, learn something. You never know, you might have to cook for 20 guys someday. You see, you start out with a little bit of oil. Then you fry some garlic. Then you throw in some tomatoes, tomato paste, you fry it; ya make sure it doesn't stick. You get it to a boil; you shove in all your sausage and your meatballs; heh…? And a little bit o' wine. An' a little bit o' sugar, and that's my trick."
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Zombie thread, arise!
An update. King Ranch Market has changed its name to Marketon.
Their new slogan is "Save a TON at MarkeTON." As can be inferred by that calamity of a slogan, Marketon is now the worst market in Las Vegas. They tried to go mainstream, and removed the tortillas and chips and other Latin flair that made King Ranch a good place to shop. BOO HISS!
The Cuban market Liborio has fallen on hard times, and has shuttered two of their three locations. The last location no longer sells the "trash bag full of awesome tortilla chips for $4." Not that tortilla chips are particularly Cuban, but Liborio for some reason made the best. A travesty, really.
If I'm not mistaken, Mercado Pueblo has closed completely. They only had a couple locations. And it was the most "ethnic" of the Latin markets -- a good thing, in my opinion.
A new Latin Market called El Super has opened a couple stores. They have a lively bakery (no chips like King Ranch and Liborio used to do, though). Generally excellent prices on produce. Occasionally "giveaway" prices on some meats, but usually only one weekday.
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Can you recommend a particular variety of tinned clams or canned salmon? I've had some *bad* luck with most sardines. I've found some fairly good smoked herring for ~$6/lb, though I can't figure out what to do with it.
For salmon, I just look for tins stamped "Alaska." (And I prefer Sockeye to "pink" salmon.) I'm no expert in the fish canning business, but I suspect that the salmon is packaged, and then shipped from the cannery to StarKist, Chicken of the Sea, etc., who then slap a label on the tin.
Pretty much the same thing with clams -- I buy #10 cans, sourced as close to my house as possible. I'll take "USA" over foreign products, and if I'm lucky, I can narrow it down to the state.
Bad luck with sardines? I've had nothing but good luck with them.
If you're getting bad tins, I would immediately cast suspicion on the retail store. Probably goes without saying, but do you check the expiration date? Signs of damage? Denting? Perhaps you have a fish allergy you weren't aware of?
I buy Moroccan sardines at a place called International Marketplace here in Vegas. This store does such high turnover, I know that my tins are no more than a few weeks from the cannery.
Here's a bunch of reviews of International Marketplace. I'm very much surprised this place isn't world famous. Only Harrod's grocery department compares to this place, but they're also 10 times the price.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/international-marketplace-las-vegas-2
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I don't know if you have much of the way of Asian or Latin markets in Wisconsin.
But that's where I get the bulk of my tinned food. We also have International Market here in Las Vegas, and I guarantee everyone here would wish they had an International Market if they saw what's in one.
Things to buy in tins:
Italian DOP San Marzano tomatoes. DOP is key -- it means your San Marzanos are REALLY from the fields along the river Sarno. These are BETTER than fresh -- for cooking, at least. One of the few tinned canned foods I will say that about.
Sardines. I like them in olive oil. Preferably from Morocco. But sardines are great to have around. They're a superfood. They make great snacks. They make quicky spreads and pâtés. They're good on salads. The oil makes great salad dressing.
Heinz Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce -- the British variety, for making English Breakfast. Heinz is currently spelling it "Beanz."
Most other beans -- Goya is my tin of choice. But I get some good "no-name" brands out of Mexico -- refried, pinto. EDIT - I also like tins of great northern, chickpeas and baked beans. Beans from a tin are 80% as good as dried beans and 500% more convenient. (Although I think I've probably earned the ire of Rancho Gordo for saying it. FORGIVE ME!)
Tinned pineapple. Just as good as fresh for most cooking applications, particularly westernized Chinese sweet and sour, and roast pork.
Tinned chilis. 70% as good as fresh. 1000% more shelf stable.
As mentioned, tinned coconut milk. Mix this with some chilis, garlic and curry powder (preferably fresh ground) and you have a curry sauce.
Inari sushi wrappers -- season some leftover white rice, and you have inari sushi.
Most of my "wasabi" (not the kind ground on a shark skin) comes powdered from a tin. And I always have a tin of Coleman's mustard powder as well.
Tinned clams. I always stock four tins -- for making linguini with white clam sauce. With basil, garlic, olive oil, parm, butter, white wine and canned clams, I can make a great dinner that everybody loves in less than 15 minutes, including prep.
Canned salmon -- it's better for me than tuna, and I like the taste of salmon salad over tuna salad. I add capers and chopped green olives (and usually a little Old Bay) to my salmon salad.
BEER. Canned beer is better than bottled beer. (Heh, I know I sound like a broken record on this point, but hey, it's another way to sneak it into the general conversation.)
EDIT -- It sounded like I was buying Mexican baked beans prior to editing. While I think THAT would be something to try, I don't actually buy Mexican Boston Baked Beans.
EDIT -- Escargot, green peppercorns, chunk white chicken for quicky salads, "cream of" soups for ersatz sauces and cassaroles, Rotel brand tomato, chili, cilantro mix for quicky salsas... I could probably think of 100 more if I had time.
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Is there a plumber here, who can professionally speak to the wisdom of pouring boiling water down the drain and into the pipes/pvc? Or of tempering boiling water with cold tap water?
Usually, we take the pot outside and pour the boiling water on anthills and weeds that we want dead. Sometimes we pour it down the sink with the disposer, to mitigate odor.
EDIT -- PVC, not PEX
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If you google for hydrometer, the first result is from
Personally, I'd rather use a refractometer as they are easier and less messy to use. You can convert between degrees baume and degrees brix by multiplying by 1.75.
and that would certainly be more appropriate to candy than brewing.
I use both when brewing. Whenever possible, I reach for the refractometer -- it is more accurate and easier to use. But it isn't accurate when measuring liquid that is in the process (or near the end) of fermenting. While there are fudge factors for refractometers when measuring the finishing gravities of beer and wine -- at that point it's easier to break out the hydrometer.
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My secret to chicken liver pate is to add my frozen six-month supply of goose and duck liver, which I keep for just this occasion.
The chix liver provides the texture, and the dux and gooz liver provides the unctuousness.
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I was told that v. vulnificus was mostly from undercooked/raw bivalves.
That also is easy to spot -- "riding the thunderbucket" combined with localized rash that makes eczema look benign.
But I'm no doctor, just a dude with a food safety certificate -- which is probably worth the paper it's written on, and no more than that.
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I was grilled pretty hard on shellfish in school. There's the "big picture" toxins -- paralytic and amnesic shellfish toxins, where yes -- if one's bad, they're all bad.
But then there's the usual cross contamination and temperature abuse that can affect all food. Unless Deus is experiencing numbness, tingling in the extremities, or memory loss. It's likely just run-of-the-mill salmonella. And that can come from anything.
I won't say mussels AREN'T the culprit. But there's no easy way to be sure that they ARE, barring some very specific symptoms.
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Hey, PekinParadise
At $4.50 a pound, delivered, I expect you'll get plenty of orders.
Thanks for the info!
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I roll either mu shu or roast duck IN my pancakes, thank you. Hoisin is my topping of choice.
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Two pages and nobody has mentioned the "Whizzo Quality Assortment?"
mmmm... Crunchy Frog. Heap good.
EDIT - LINK REMOVED. Didn't know it would embed. Google "Whizzo Quality Assortment" if you're interested.
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I find it absolutely fascinating that anyone other than agribusiness types is offended by Mr. Oliver's attempts to improve nutrition for school children. Then again, there are those (who don't need to be named) who are deeply offended by Michelle Obama's interest in nutrtion. Bizarre!
These people are offended by the notion that government thinks it can dictate what people eat. (I'm not one of them. Tax the hell out of fast food. End subsidies for corn and soy. Stop CAFOs. I'm fine with all that.) But I can certainly see their point. I don't want government telling me I can't consume raw milk, unpasteurized cheese or eat foie gras. So, I have the exact same attitude, but from the other side of the fence.
This is an educational issue -- the general public doesn't know jack about nutrition. They're not INTERESTED in learning jack about nutrition. And they're going to wallow in Jack in the Box, Hot Pockets and any other fat, sugar and salt-laden crap they can wrap their pudgy fingers around.
First we have to make healthy food less expensive than unhealthy food. This can be done by ending subsides. Farmers will plant more greens and less corn. High fructose corn syrup will go up in price, and drag a lot of unhealthy crap along with it. CAFOs will cost more to operate, which will hopefully drive a stake in the heart of the Dollar Value Menu.
Next, we have to reverse DECADES of thoughtless school lunch decisions. Ketchup is no longer a "serving of vegetables." Ban vending machines at schools. (Or sell only fruit and bottled water.) Make school cafeterias KITCHENS again, instead of junk food re-heating assembly lines.
Unfortunately, most kids have been weaned on a diet of garbage. And some of them won't eat anything else. Although Dickensian, I'd pull the junk-food-only kids out of the general population. Put them in special schools -- at least in metro areas where that is feasible. It's not like they're going to learn anything or amount to much. No point having them pull the rest of the students down.
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I have the raclette equipment. I could do anything the Swissmar can do with a griddle and a small toaster-oven broiler. If Alton Brown were to inspect my kitchen, the only thing he'd be able to take me to task for is the raclette oven, which only gets used once or twice a year.
I'm planning on breaking the sucker out July 4, just because I haven't used it in two years.
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My wife and I brought kitchen lingo home. Behind is in CONSTANT use in our kitchen, as is "corner corner corner" and "timer timer timer."
We don't call back orders, because it's just the two of us, and that's a bit silly. But we do say "heard" a lot.
"Can you pull out a pound of ground beef from the freezer and put it in front of the fan?"
"Heard!"
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Being thought of as a world-class squid-head.
Taiwan's libel laws are stricter than most -- the law was used to punish anti-KMT sentiment during CKS's heyday. But all of that has been largely dismantled. The food scene is Taiwan is AMAZING, so it's no doubt that there is a lively home-grown food blogging scene.
Kids' Menus
in Food Traditions & Culture
Posted
Not necessarily. As mentioned in an earlier thread, I know an adult who to this day only eats PB&J, chicken fingers, pizza and hamburgers.
(And he weighs less than me, and I bicycle regularly and eat healthy food that I prepare myself. Go figure.)