nibor

I don't care what they say. If I was stranded on a desert island with one food it would be bacon.

The Russ Parsons LA Times article I cited in a previous post (Russ Parsons on Acid) inspired me to make my own vinegar. I just bought 2 bottles of hearty red wine and a small bottle of raw, unpasteurized vinegar. I still need to acquire an appropriate container, cheesecloth, and some patience. But I hesitate. I have a question: Is this going to stink up my house?

Russ Parsons published an useful article on acidity in the LA Times this week (Feb 18). I could almost taste his written descriptions of how different vinegars changed butternut squash soup. When I went to check the online link for this post I found a cute and very-LA short clip of Russ illustrating his thesis. Thanks Russ! Click to see Russ on Acid

How much do you weigh now?

I am interested in the addition of chili to food where it might not be expected. This is certainly one! What other types of goodies do you add it to?

I recently saw a short TV piece on how Twix are made. After baking the biscuit on relatively low heat for a very long time (to make sure it is totally dry) they apply a thin coat of chocolate on top, so that the next layer (the caramel) doesn't soak in. Then the whole thing is coated in chocolate. This was done in a factory by huge machines that churned out zillions of perfect cookies. Pretty impressive, but it made me think of gfron1's thread about people preferring pastries that look homemade. Let us know how they turn out Lior.

I have not played with this but have a question: when you eat out do you now find yourself salting suboptimal coffee?

Good to know. What places in town serve with totally fresh squeezed lime? I know Lazy Dog does... ← Not sure. I drink it straight.

I saw this and bought some. As JoeBlowe suggests, I did a comparison test (chug out of the bottle) with what I had on hand. Yukky. And expensive.

well, just a quick update, and the pages are from Food&Wine Feb09, they had a menu contest and the recipes are the winning ones.Roasted Squash Soup with Maple-Glazed Bananas Rib Eye Roast with Chestnuts and Brussels Sprout leaves Goat Cheese Cheesecake with Honeyed Cranberries The soup is very good and rich (1/2 cup creme Fraiche will do that) and quite sweet. I made it the day before and it turned very thick, I added some more water but it was still more of a cream than a soup. Very tasty though and the banana, pecan, maple syrup and watercress garnish was very tasty too. The watercress gave a nice little bite. I cut my roast in half and ended up with about a 2 inch thick rib steak/roast (a bit over 2lb I'd guess). I made it in some kind of hybrid way, first browned it on relatively low temp, took it out and melted the butter, in goes garlic and thyme, back goes steak. Then it was in the oven at low temp, below 200 until the thermometer showed around 130, then it rested. Turned out delicious, juicy. The chestnuts and Brusselsprouts were also very good, though I'd probably not do the leaves again. Looks very nice (basically using jut the outer leaves, blanched for 20 sec and later added to the pan with the chestnut and Asian pear) but is pretty wasteful as you can't really peel that many leaves off, the core is too interlaced. I'd probably slice them or even roast them instead. It does look very neat though, unusual. The real winner is the goatcheese cheesecake though, that was very very tasty. Very rich too, the amounts they suggest for serving are probably just fine. I had made mine in 4 1/2 inch spring forms and that was almost a bit much. Half one would have been enough. The honeyed cranberries are excellent (even with frozen ones as I had to use) and the candied orange zest is super delicious too. All in all a winner in my books. The garlic/thyme butter is a real nice touch, I'll keep that in my repertoire. At least the cake recipe is online at foodandwine.com, the others I could not find in a quick search. That was fun, today I might make split pea soup, seems the right thing on a rainy day~~ ← Thanks! I need a dessert for next weekend, so will give the cheesecake a try. I have been making variations of the dissected brussels sprouts recipe as a side dish ever since I first saw this article. We love b. sprouts to start with but are really sold on the leaves. I gouge out the core with a paring knife; they pretty much fall apart after that. Last night we had them sauteed in brown butter with slivered shitakes, with toasted pecans thrown in....yum

I saved those pages and have been thinking it ... please let us know how things turn out!

I told my husband about this thread. He immediately said he understood why one would be suspicious of too-perfect pastries. Yet this is the same guy who, when we lived in Switzerland, delighted in surprising me with the most unbelievably constructed and perfect little chocolates and cakes. Maybe the difference is that in Zurich we didn't have to wonder about the quality?

I find this surprising, and am interested in hearing whether others share gfron1's experience. How could a croissant be too perfect? I need to go find one...

We always had pickles and cranberries.

La Boca: I absolutely love this place. I have actually gone for a walk after a so-so dinner at home just to smell La Boca fumes from outside their front door. Make sure you book ahead - it is small. Maria's: Incredible tequila menu. The place to go if you are thinking tequila for dinner. I can't eat Mexican/New Mexican food due to a chili problem so am no judge of the food. I think it is only ok. Nonetheless we ate (well, he ate, I drank) at Maria's at least once a week last summer on those nights when you just don't feel like cooking. Cafe Pasqual's: I don't know why, but dinner is really not very good. An afterthought? Trattoria Nostrani: My favorite in SF but expensive enough to be somewhat of a special occasion place. You will read hateful reviews online. Some are from people who showed up smelling perfume-y after being told it was not tolerated. Others are from people who really just don't like paying this much, despite the quality of food. Or who otherwise didn't like the place for whatever reason - snooty waiters, etc. In my experience the waiters are adorable- once they know you are into food. One night we ordered a foie appetizer. The waiter brought Sauternes gratis thinking it an oversight on our part.

Will do! Thanks!

As Isabelle Prescott and now devlin kindly point out, the problem here doesn't really seem to involve baking. Perhaps an appointment with a career counselor would be helpful. We are just a bunch of folks who like to cook and eat.

I am never happy with my olive oil. I think my mistake is that I actually taste it by sipping it from a spoon. I keep buying different brands and doing taste tests at home, straight from spoons. They all disappoint, being either bitter or tasteless. I know olive oil can be delicious straight from the spoon because one day in Crete in the middle of nowhere we stopped at a small cafe and ordered salads. The tomatoes and the olive oil both shocked me. I knew tomatoes could actually taste good - I remember that from when I was little. But I had never had olive oil I wanted to drink. I was slurping it down when I thought no one was looking. I don't know how to get the good stuff here (in southern CA). David Rosengarten had a olive oil of the month program going a while back but it was super expensive, and I didn't try it. My husband tells me to forget about Crete, and my dream salad on the Lasithi plateau - after all, once the oil is on the salad or in the pan, it is much harder to taste the bitterness and the off-flavors. Yes, well, but....

I hate going to Costco, but I do so for one reason: the lamb. On the last trip, since I was there anyway, I also bought chicken thighs and beef short ribs. They looked good, and the price was right. I had to throw out the chicken - it stunk despite being well within its buy-by date. The short ribs did not smell. But they exuded a shocking amount of watery liquid when I tried to brown them in the oven. I had to dump out the liquid and try to brown them again. They tasted kindof ok by the time I got done with them, but dealing with this contamination wasted a lot of my time and my temper. I will go back to Costco, but only for the lamb.

Some microwaves can be installed as drawers. Sharp makes one. That said, I have never seen or used a drawer microwave. I had an over-the-range microwave for years. It was fine. Never hit my head on it.

I learned to cook fairly late in life. Making and experimenting with recipes from Cook's Illustrated magazine helped me become a better cook. The standard format for their articles includes an explanation of what makes a recipe work. They often demonstrate the effect of varying different ingredients using pictures. For example, I liked their lemon tart but wanted it to be less sweet. Over a series of attempts I increased the lemon zest and/or decreased the sugar until I got a tart that was a) sour but also b) set up well and c) didn't have the mouth feel of an omelet. Such experimentation, based on their examples, gave me a feel for how much I could decrease the sugar and increase the acidity in similar types of desserts. If I just followed the recipe every time I would have nice lemon tarts, but wouldn't have learned much about making tarts.

Once when in a hurry I microwaved sliced onions prior to putting them in the cast iron frying pan to brown with some butter and salt. It certainly sped things up, and I don't remember them being particularly weird.

Maybe it's a regional thing?My parents live in the Los Angeles area, and their Albertson's is actually pretty nice. Large produce section, decent selection of specialty items, well organized. I've been quite impressed with it. It's a fairly new Albertsons and it's HUGE. Certainly carries more of a selection than the Stater Brothers stores in the area. ← It may also be a perception thing. I think the meat in our local (Orange County) Albertson's reeks; I think the vegetables are beyond tired. But most of my friends think it is fine and have absolutely no idea what I am talking about.

[soupcon,Jan 12 2009, 01:39 PM] I suggest Randy you conduct a little experiment with these seniors. Write them a letter asking them for help solving a problem.....] If my own personal experience with old ladies serves as any kind of guide, I wouldn't recommend this approach. They are there to be waited on and catered to, not to be given homework assignments. They are (mis)treating Randi like their servant. I can imagine this being met with disdain, offense, and more complaints to Randi's supervisor.

This is why I quit buying pork in the US.