Malkavian

Just *seeing* that or any kind of contact going on makes me cringe. The mere sound of clippers puts me right off my meal I used to work with a guy who's nervous fidget was to pull a clipper out and gnaw at his nails with it, thank goodness he never did it while we were at lunch!

As a young man typically dining alone, I don't think I'd have much of the manager's sympathy in an incident like that, especially if a larger party is involved...but if the situation degraded from annoying (loud inane conversation or out of control child) to downright offensive I wouldn't hesitate to comment to the wait staff or manager. I respect that it's very much a judgment call on the part of the staff--the only way I would ever consider dinging a waiter or waitress for an incident like that is if my complaint was received in poor grace.

I <3 McRibs. Yes, I know what's in them, and no, I don't care. Taking the slightest bite into one takes me RIGHT back to elementary school, where a staple on our menu was a McRibLike pork patty served on a hotdog bun with barbecue sauce. I'd swear the ones we had were even better than the McDonalds ones

I also am a fan of the Kirkland's stuff from Costco. I find Harris Teeter's HT Traders line of international items passable, but admittedly I've only sampled a few of those (curry paste, olives, some of the Asian sauces) Store brand eggs and milk, cottage cheese, yogurt, etc without a doubt. Canned fruits and veg I'm ambivalent about--No encounters memorable enough to make me go "avoid/prefer this or that" so I pick based on stuff like sodium content and cost/unit. For me "store brand" is almost always either Food Lion or (preferably) Harris Teeter. (I can just imagine someone going "He eats food lion what? *shudder*" )

I knew monkfish liver was a delicacy in some places but I'd never heard of eating anything but that and the flesh of the tail. I'm learning a lot reading here I'll also comment here, since we're discussing fish, that the photos I've seen (like on the page you linked) showing monkfish and other fish being dissected or cut into pieces are great; i wish i could see something like that here

Thanks for all the input guys Karen- the stockpot would be on the order of 24 quarts (for brewing I prefer at least a 24 qt capacity to avoid the possibility of boilover--and that gives me the option of making stock in bulk) Doodad- I've brewed with that kind of pot in the past and it worked well in that application, was thinking it wouldn't be so hot for cooking because of a) thinness of the metal and b) apparent fragility of the coating BUT at the price it's worth a shot for sure I don't know that I'd use a stand mixer, but a food processor and/or blender would def. get frequent use, so that's on the list. As I'd often be cooking just for myself, I see a small sauté pan for the above mentioned single portion braising (among other things) being useful as well. Knives--I discovered i have some small, no-brand paring knives and a 4"ish santoku style blade that are reasonably sharp; reckon I can use those at least till they dull as utility knives, leaving me needing a bread knife and a chef's knife. The bread knife I currently have is serviceable, but it has coarse teeth which makes a horrible mess when cutting crustier loaves--I'd replace it if there was an alternative that wasn't so crumb-y. I'm accustomed to using what I think of as a "traditional" chef's knife, but def. open to suggestions there as far as shape and whatnot, as I have a small fascination with knives and doubtless will accumulate those more than any other kitchen collectable

Wow, this has been an interesting thread to read (and also has made me extremely hungry ) The photos are all beautiful. Particularly I was surprised to see monkfish, I was under the impression that it was confined to the Northern Atlantic (at least Lophius spp., perhaps there are other species that have the same common name)--Monkfish is a favorite of mine, i'd never considered the possibility of implementing it in sushi or sashimi. I find it fascinating the variety of fish that seem to be available and readily employed! Do those different kinds of fish show up in supermarkets (i.e., where you could purchase them for home use by fillets or whole fish?) or is it a matter of going directly to a fishmonger or fisherman? There are certainly a wide variety of fish on the east coast of the US, but I think to get many of them you'd have to go fishing yourself, or at least have access to coastal fish markets. I'm craving sushi now i have yet to visit a 'real' sushi place here in Charlotte, as the experience has always intimidated me a bit, and I don't know anyone who knows their way around the etiquette and so forth to help me along.

Granite mortar and pestle of about 3 cups capacity (finally!) digital thermometer with a 2 meter probe two hand thrown noodle bowls (with a thumb-hole no less) and chopstick sets a set of small thermometers for use on the grill (cheap looking, but should prove useful if they're accurate)

So I'm finally getting an apartment to myself (Thank GOODNESS) and i've been going over in my head what i have and what i need to be at least comfortably equipped to cook for 2-3 at the most. I'm operating on what may be considered a small budget initially, but I intend to do this a few items at a time so I'd like to get the best quality I can reasonably afford. Not necessarily looking for brands or anything that specific, but at least ideas of things that i may be overlooking, some general direction. Also, I'm going by memory on my admittedly scanty equipment so apologies if this is a bit vague. I have: Block of harris teeter knives (badly wanting replacing, my last roommates abused these and I don't think they were that great to start) A few odd, worn pots along the lines of 4 cups, 12 cups, 12 quarts capacity, all coated aluminum i think Roasting pan w/ rack & lid granite mortar & pestle baking/pizza stone crock pot digital probe thermometer The way I see it, I need: an oven-safe skillet, and dutch oven (cast iron?) a few high quality knives (sizes?) digital kitchen scale assorted gadgets (microplane, grater, can opener, etc) glass or metal casserole/baking pans in a few sizes and am considering: an additional smaller frypan a straight sided saucepan to replace/supplement the smaller pots a proper stockpot (need one of these for brewing anyway ) Now, I'm in the process of wading through the course on stovetop cookware, but that is, to me, a rather intimidating amount of info to assimilate all in one go, between the course and the Q&A, so I'm hoping to process that alongside suggestions in hopes that it all gels for me. I think i have a pretty good handle on materials and so forth, but I'm accustomed to making do with just a bare few things, so the variety of sizes, styles, etc is a bit bewildering. I'll edit/update this as I go through those eG courses and come up with more questions, but in the meantime feedback is as always appreciated

I've been kinda keeping up with my former LHBS employer via a guy i know that still works there, his hop situation is pretty dire. Has me wishing i pulled in more cascade and sterling off my bines (got basically zilch due to the drought) so i could make a few bucks selling flower hops I have a stock of some cascade and a bunch of target pellets, but that's bout it. Just as well really taht I haven't done any brewing in ages. Was amazed the other day to have my dad show me a "beer ingredient kit" that one of his buddies (who works for a beer distributor) gave him--about a pound and a half of uncracked malts of various kinds, and a good ounce of some kind of noble hop flowers (I've lost my nose for those, but I'd guess hallertauer) that looked very nice.

My first thought would be that perhaps the unit has to be totally sealed to meet some guideline. But, there are plenty of membrane type switches that could be used...it's a curious design decision to be sure--from an electronics standpoint.

Fantastic! I was lucky enough to have an apartment off campus rather than having to make do in a dorm, but I've spent quite some time talking with friends about how to manage decent meals with only a microwave and a crockpot (or similar)

I brought up maybe doing prime rib or a tenderloin next year and was met with some of the strangest looks by my family. Our thanksgiving menu has been damnnear static for the past 10 years save for some minor experimenting on myself and my mother's part. My family is largely very food conservative, that may contribute to the highly "traditional" nature of the meal. Mom always does (dry, crumbly, but that's how dad likes it apparently) turkey and a spiral ham. Grandma always brings marinated carrots, broccoli crown, stuffing with the density of concrete, and some kind of fruit dessert. Thou Shalt Have Canned Cranberry Sauce. Thou Shalt Have Mom's Delicious Angel Biscuits. I now bring oyster dressing, and next year I think i'm going to try to work turkey and stuffing into spring rolls somehow just to throw the family for a loop. Mom made sweet potato and cranberry salad that was a big hit (We always have some sweet potato dish, and that's where i've been helping her experiment the last few years) and instead of grandma's pumpkin pie, mom put together a pumpkin cheesecake with pecans on top.

Usually we go out, since mom has the kitchen tied up doing prep work. Noplace in particular, maybe chinese, or to the pub or whatever.

That's an interesting point about cosmetic grading; Seems to me like a chicken-and-egg problem maybe? I mean--I don't recall ever seeing it said or advertised in so many words, but lots of people seem to think a cosmetically flawed item is "bad" ...Maybe it just gets equated with bruising or something? Luckily I don't think like that, ever since reading a particular Berenstain Bears book many many years ago.

The only good fruit wines I've had that come to mind were made from: stone fruit (apples or plums particularly) and blackberries. To my mind a proper blend of apples (ie sharp, bittersharp and etc, just as in cidermaking) fermented skillfully is a wonderful thing. Ditto blackberries, as they are tart and flavorful enough to be made into a wine that doesn't need sweetness to be palatable. Complexity seems to be the key. Not to say those necessarily demonstrated the complexities or aging potential of grape wines, but they could certainly be a far cut above typical fruit wines i see (which tend towards sweet berries and wild grapes) Each has its place, I would say.

I think, I just think that rings a bell from my years at UNC-Charlotte (the mall is probably a 5 minute drive from campus) I'll have to make a swing by and make sure I have the right place in mind before I comment further, but I do distinctly remember thinking it was mostly nonfunctional, up till i headed there as a destination, not merely passing by.

That is the best news I've heard all summer My impression at the time was it was either one off brew or something Brawley's couldn't get in consistently. Glad to hear that's changed.

I favor Cottonwood's pumpkin brew personally. Many many others taste too much just of spice (blue moon's pumpkin, ugh) for my palate

My mom's always cooked like that due to time constraints (family of 5) doing all the prep work saturday and sunday evening, then assembling meals through the week. I've gotten into a similar habit, but mostly with long-cook time items like smoked meats.

That's a good point I hadn't thought of. The event here in Charlotte is an oktoberfest, once a year, and pulled 5 thousand or so (as I recall) in 2006. Having even twice yearly or seasonally would doubtlessly make an individual event easier to manage in terms of crowds.

Bekki, how exactly does one extract the termites? I imagine sticking a reed or stick down a hole and swizzling it around, then pulling it out?

Perhaps my palate just isn't as sophisticated, as I've had homemade wine from concentrate kits and "country" wines from fruit that I thought quite good (OTOH I've choked down plenty of crap as well, from people going from various fruits or kits) I wouldn't suggest that homemade wine consistently surpasses top notch commercial offerings, but there is a price point where you can make just as good as you can buy, IMHO, especially for casual dining. I think an important key is to make sure you're getting a brand new kit. When I was in that line of business we had some kits (usually the "off" varietals that were less popular/mainstream) sit on shelves for a LONG time (about a year) before they got marked down to get rid of them. Sure, the bags are supposedly not O2 permeable, but I hesitate to believe that nothing at all changes in that time, oxygen or not. Most kits do have a production date somewhere on them, so look carefully. For the record though, I much prefer making beers, meads and ciders for reasons that are probably mostly off-topic. Feedbag-- powder? You mean like dehydrated grape juice?

Given the choice i keep rolled and quick oats on hand so i can get oatmeal even if i don't have a lot of time (when i had morning classes many were the times I took quick oats on campus with me) Preferred method of serving is with cinnamon and/or nutmeg, and a splash of Da Vinci sugarfree irish cream syrup. I tried doing rolled oats overnight in a crockpot per some recipe or other, but the result was horrible (the only saving grace was that it came out of the pot in one piece, relatively easy to clean up.)

While i agree that KFC is subpar at best, it's strange that I sitll go there; think it's a comfort food thing (memories of childhood with the g'parents and all that) Bojangles here is hit and miss in my experience, some are great, some seem badly managed/run and it shows in the food and the look of the restaurant.