ScoopKW

Seems an automatic-basting roasting pan needs to be invented -- remote control basting without opening the door.

Indeed, most of the world's great cuisines began as a way of making the undesirable bits and pieces of available food palatable. Gourmet cuisine was born of frugality.

Another advantage to shopping this way is that as a group of consumers we're sending a message -- "less packaging, more product!" The more people who shop this way, the better. For instance, when I installed LED light bulbs people said I was crazy to spend so much. Now they're half the price. My LEDs haven't burnt out (and won't for several more years), and they've paid for themselves a couple times over in energy savings. Next time I replace a bulb, it will pay for itself in a matter of weeks, not months. That's progress. If only this would catch on for Compressed Natural Gas cars... still waiting for THAT to happen.

I'm sure. Here's why. Our mouth contains a X amount of bacteria -- and we can live with that. The acidic nature of our saliva keeps the worst nasties at bay. They cannot easily multiply in an acidic environment. Place the nasties on a drop of water, and they swarm and multiply. Some die. Other nasties land on the water and feed on the dead bacteria. Then the next person to take a sip gets a super-concentrated blast of infectious organisms. It's basically the same argument as, "Why do I need to wash my bath towel? I was clean when I last used it."

On my model, yes. But I've only owned a few dishwashers. That means there's a hole in the back of the dishwasher where water for the spray arm comes out. The top rack has a nozzle which seats into that hole. I doubt there would be any harm in removing the rack and running a load to see what happens. My wife is the person we should be asking. I swear she believes there is a "dishwasher loading committee" somewhere which hands out prizes for the most efficiently-loaded dishwasher.

I think there's plenty of pretentiousness and elitism in the world, no matter where we look. And I think, yes, there's plenty of snobbery in the food world. From people who are sanctimonious about their dietary choices, to people who are elitist about the restaurants they frequent, to the "my gadget is better than your gadget" crowd -- plenty for an observer to level "snobbery" charges. Add the fact that a large percentage of this planet isn't going to eat a nutritious meal today. It makes our "French vs. Italian truffles - which is better?" discussions seem almost callous. Many food writers have written about the morality of a $1,000 lunch when so many go hungry. It's something at least worth thinking about, if nothing else to be thankful for the ability to be a "foodie." (I'm just playing devil's advocate here. I happen to like truffles, gadgets and fine dining.)

I don't know; I would have to run a cost analysis. I have all the equipment to do full grain and at one point was able to make five gallons of pilsner for around $5. I know how to culture yeast so that is a one time expenditure for each type. Gotta factor in the gas for heating the mash/sparge and boil, the chemicals for cleaning and sanitizing, power for refrigerating the fermentation vessel, the price of swing-top bottles (or kegs), filtration medium -- everything. Add to that all the equipment cost. Sure, propane burners are cheap and kegs can be converted into kettles fairly easily. It's the cellaring side that gets expensive -- conical fermenters, fermentation temperature control, etc. (I would factor in time to clean up, annoyed spouse, storage of fermenting beer/bottles/kegs/equipment. But that isn't really a dollars and cents issue.) Don't get me wrong, I'm all for homebrewing -- it increases the market share of craft beer. But most people who homebrew don't do it for the savings. In order to make something as good as Sierra Nevada, it costs more to homebrew it than to just buy a keg of Sierra Nevada and keep it on tap. (I can get 15.5 gallons of Sierra for a little more than $100. That's just a bit more than 5 cents per ounce. Wherever you live, there is a regional brewery putting out good beer at that price point.) EDIT -- I also buy high-gluten flour in 25-lb bags. And I buy aluminum foil and plastic wrap at restaurant stores. It's all about getting the volume discounts. I've worked it out that shopping smart, and being energy smart allows us to take an extra 14 days vacation each year.

High-quality stainless isn't going to leech into the water. If it did, bar owners would be screaming for a better solution than stainless steel kegs for transporting beer. I'm for anything that reduces our consumption (and wanton disposal) of plastic. Next to nobody in my area recycles. So the plastic bags and bottles end up in the Pacific where we can wait a few hundred years for them to photodegrade. (EDIT - Or they end up in a landfill, where they might actually sit until plate tectonics finally takes care of 'em.)

It costs more money to brew your own than to buy beer -- grain (or extracts) and hops have gone up as well. At one point in 2008, hops were running $30/pound if they could be found at all. The trick for beer (and anything really) is to find the least expensive price per ounce. Kegs are the best bang for the buck, but require another refrigerator -- so factor in increased power consumption into the cost. If kegs aren't viable, a 30-pack of Tecate cans is going for around $18 around here. Buying by the six-pack is almost always the most expensive (per ounce/per alcohol by volume). Look for case prices from larger-volume stores. It's all about volume discounts. I'm with you on coffee -- although Costco still has Rwandan beans for $5/lb. When that deal goes away, I'll start buying green Kenyan beans by the bushel and roast my own.

A 6%, 70 IBU dry India Pale Ale. Preferably one of my own brews. If that means I get an extra 30 days to concoct my last beer, bonus. Live by the barleycorn, die by the barleycorn.

I'm thinking about making a Black IPA with some smoked malt. I'd say the Alaskan Smoked Porter is the standard by which others are judged. Although a couple of the old Bamburg breweries still put out a good Rauchbier.

When I'm in Boston, I always make time to go to the Union Oyster House. It's historic (Daniel Webster ate here often, they claim). You can get a good lobster roll and a few dozen oysters and craft beer. It's a very short walk from the Marriott.

1K/4K wetstone. Steel as needed. Need to buy a strop.

The fridge. If that fridge was alive, I'd sprinkle arsenic over it's food. Die, refrigerator. Die. Hate, hate, hate. And I hate the company that made it. They will never see my business again. I don't care if GE straightens up and makes non-garbage again. They've lost me forever.

It will just be the two of us for the game. I'm freakin' exhausted. I'll make some wings. I may pick up some good bratwurst to poach in beer. That's it. If any event calls for basic, regional comfort food, it's the Superbowl. Keep it simple -- that way the cook enjoys the game, too.

I am SO trying that next year. I currently use a food processor with a plastic "blade" -- the first runnings go into a container. And the rest is thrown into a pot with a small amount of barely simmering water for a few minutes. I then strain the second runnings into another container. I actually prefer the taste of the second runnings as a basic juice drink. My wife makes penobscot cocktails with the first runnings.

It was my understanding that only salted water would leech caffeine out of coffee/tea. Welp, just wiki'd it. Turns out there are lots of ways to remove caffeine from tea. None of them sound appealing. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decaffeination

I almost always make croutons with my stale bread. I LOVE croutons -- as a snack, in stuffing, on salads, as a snack, with beer, dontchaknow.

I like my wine to be made from grapes. So, grapes are my favorite fruit wine. Ba-dum-DUM!

1) My 300mm Tadatsuna Wa-Gyuto. 2) My almost-complete collection of Cop-R-Chef pots and pans. 3) My Watanabe Nakiri. 4) My 300K BTU outdoor kitchen. 5) My LaPavoni Europiccola espresso machine. (And, professionally, my access to a Bohemian Breweries 20 barrel monoblock brewhouse. Although I wish I had a bigger system, because I cannot make beer fast enough these days.) I also wish I had one of those neat-o Berkel meat slicers. And as soon as I'm a few bucks ahead, I plan on getting a Grizzly sausage stuffer.

I'm pretty much down to Good Eats and No Reservations. The rest of 'em just annoy me. Particularly Giada. She hasn't done anything I want to watch since her first couple seasons.

Sushi. I could eat sushi -- breakfast lunch and dinner -- every day for the rest of my life. Unfortunately, I cannot afford to.

Found a TEC Patio 2 Infrared Grill by the side of the road when I lived in Key West. Needed $50 worth of parts.

Tell your friend to quit doing that. She is still damaging her body and causing burn trauma, even if she can't feel it.

I don't think this would work because entry-level brewing could be taught in it's entirety in three one-hour programs. I suppose shows on various beer styles could keep such a show running for a few seasons. Once we get into malt biochemistry, water composition and yeast biochemistry, the show would be over the heads of (and very boring for) most of the population. Like home furniture building, brewing is too much of a niche hobby -- one that relies on periodicals and the internet. I think Food TV lacks decent programming because there are very few Alton Browns and Julia Childs out there. If we had more people like that, we'd have better Food TV. Similarly, there isn't an astrophysics channel on TV because the world has produced exactly two people who could host such a show -- Carl Sagan and Neil deGrasse Tyson.