Porthos

This weekend at a gathering where we were cooking al fresco I put eggs boiling. A friend asked if I had salted the water. I said no. I mentioned it to my wife and she said she always salts her egg water. I've been boiling up multiple batches of 5 dozen eggs for years, and since I insist on aging the eggs, get easy-to-peel eggs that taste just the same as when my wife boils eggs. So my (rather obvious) question is: Who in eGulletland salts their egg water and who doesn't and can you tell me why?

Kick around 2 buck chuck if you want. I know why a BV Georges de Latour is worth the money and that for my money Grgich Hills Zinfandel is a quality wine but I don't care for the mouth feel compared to other good Zins. I drink 2 buck chuck Shiraz as a simple week-day table wine and I enjoy it. That being said i went through a phase many years ago of trying to find a "real find" in the wines that pic'n'sav used to sell off. I think all the the money I wasted and the schlock that I ended up pouring down the drain finally convinced me to quit experimenting in that fashion and spend my money on wines of which I know who the producers are. I do have a geographical advantage in that I am a California native and can actually visit wineries without having to go broke travelling. I also get to try a lot of different Cabs and Zins courtesy of my FIL who is a long-time member of the Orange County Wine Society.

My experience with the "plug-in" coolers is that they keep the interior of the cooler about 40 degrees colder that the ambient temperature. If your driving and have the air conditioner running then the internal temp of the cooler is just fine. But if the vehicle is parked mid-day and the interior of the car gets up to, say, 130 degreees, then the internal temperature of the cooler is now 90 degrees. Several years ago a friend of mine brought one along on a trip to the desert to keep the beer cold. It wasn't even cool. It was lukewarm. Personally, for something that will probably be in a car for the day, I would go with a regular Coleman/Igloo/Rubbermaid et al cooler and use dry ice.

This has happened at 3 different "name-brand" chains here in southern california, including eastern LA county, northern Orange County and western San Bernardino county. Every time I ask if there has been a substitution I am told that "no, it is diet coke." I'd actually like to challenge them and ask to see the syrup racks - but I'm a bit to cowardly to do that.

My initial post was probably not quite as clear as I would have hoped. The issue I'm trying to see if others have noticed, or if I'm dead wrong, is whether there are fast food places that are replacing diet coke syrup with coke zero syrup but still saying that it's diet coke on the menus and on the fountain dispensers. Think fraud. Selling something that is not the product advertised. I know that diet coke tastes different than real coke but that in of itself doesn't bother me. I haven't consumed sugared coke in over 30 years (except the very occasional Coke bottled in Mexico and made with real sugar). I just like the taste of diet coke. Also, I seem to get an upset stomach when I do drink coke zero.

Also, the more uneducated the viewer, the easier it is to convince them some $15 plastic doohickey and a $5000 gourmet stove is all that stands between them and gourmet chef status. Educated cooks are harder to sell to. That's why you can find Racheal Ray's Garbage Bowl for about 20.00 USD. An old Tupperware bowl would do the same job.

My wife and I are Diet Coke fans. Coke Zero, on the other hand, is a beverage we do not care for. We noticed a few months ago at our church, which has a soda fountain, that they had substituted Coke Zero for Diet Coke. When I asked the person in charge she said yes they had switched over but didn't have the new product tag to put on the fountain yet. Fair enough. I have on several occasions n the last few months ordered Diet Coke at major chain fast food places and the taste was wrong - it was obviously Coke Zero. When I asked about it a few times I was told "No, it's Diet Coke." The specific places that have done this, and on more than one occasion each, have lost me as a customer. My question is this: Has anyone else noticed this or am I just slowly losing my cola taste buds?

I'm grateful for the alert that this thread raised for me. Last night while at my local Bed, Bath and Beyond I found both the old and new style Pyrex measures. I don't think much of the new design. Since they did have both the old and the new, I took the opportunity to pick up a one cup and a 1 quart measure, old style of course, my my daughter and her fiance.

I've never returned produce. I have taken meat and poultry back less than a handfull of times. I have voted with my wallet when I've experienced "DOA" produce multiple times. I hate confromtation.

Well, from the posts here I'm abviously a Cretan - but - I still enjoy Round Table Pizza. I gave up on Papa Johns a few years ago. I mostly patronize a local place that makes good, but not fantasic, pizza.

Chicken stock. I tried for years and finally decided that the Trder Joe's chicken broth that comes in cartons is better than any stock I made at home.

That is why I stopped buying them.

That show was f****** awesome. The FG was one of the first cooking shows to highlight ethnic foods and regional American cuisine and is still better than every show that currently resides on the Food Network. I watched it. I enjoyed it. I learned from it. I have his cookbooks. Remember that the show was about cooking - not his personal issues (which according to my MIL were allegations).

My take is that home cooking is not dead - just not nearly as prevalent we would like to see. Both my wife and I cook real meals and both of our adult daughters cook real meals. Instead of looking for a culprit, let us celebrate what we do have here at eGullet. Just my 2 cents ...

I do make home-made mayo. FWIW I do cook almost all meals from scratch and have for 45 years. Notable exception: Costco sells ready-made carnitas and carne asada that is very tasty.

That assumes that everyone likes vinaigrette. I see this statement from time to time here at eGullet. The problem is I detest vinaigrette. I like blue cheese and ranch.

My initial known contact with practicing vegetarians and vegans was somewhat different. They were long-time veg and vegan folk and were so militant and nasty in some of their comments that I wanted nothing to do with any other such person and was grateful when our paths diverged. I have met respectful veg and vegan people since then, some whom I call friends now, but it took quite awhile before the poison from before disappated and I was able to not feel defensive around them. In my Renaissance Faire volunteer cooking I now happily prepare several vegan as well as vegetarian dishes for our group. I, however, am and always will be a carnivore. I had an unknown-to-me co-worker, when I worked at a very large enterprise, whose bumper sticker did nothing to help their cause. The "Beef - it's what's for dinner" ad campaign was in full swing. The bumper sticker: "Beef - it's what's rotting in your colon." It did not persuade me, it offended me. Something about catching more bees with honey ...

FWIW I never put my Corning Ware or Pyrex over an open flame, just in the oven.

Here's a picture of the utensil basket in my dishwasher (it's in the door of the machine) showing how my knives don't bang against other things. The 10" chef's knife is 29 years old and going strong.

Please, when you can find some time...

In my kitchen only one knife goes into a single compartment in the dishwasher and then I will also put 1 or 2 wooden or plastic spoons in that compartment positioned by the spine of the knife. Part of my decision to hand wash or put the knife into the dishwasher is based upon what has been cut. If I've just prepped some veggies I may choose to hand-wash the knife and put it away but if meat of any ilk is involved then I want the much deeper cleaning action of the dishwasher. Just me in my kitchen. For me knifes, bowls, pots and pans, etc. are tools to be used and I don't expect I will ever purchase anything that I would be afraid of damaging because of the cost of acquisition. But that's me and I leave lots of room for others to run their kitchen differently.

I buy the 12-roll packs of Costco's jumbo rolls and use them for cleaning, blotting, you name it.

I've only used pepper out of a grinder for so long I didn't even think about this one. But definitely a non-negotiable. I even have an extra grinder that goes on vacation with us since we rent a house-keeping cabin for our trips and cook our own food then.

Also for me: no wooden bowls. My best chef's knife is 29 years old and the steel still holds a great edge, the rivets are intact, and the wooden handle just needs a bit of oiling once a year or so. I so rarely (years between uses) use our good crystal that putting it into the dishwasher doesn't phase me one bit - and they are heirloom pieces.

I tried making my own stocks for over 20 years and finally cried uncle. I don't use stocks that often and the stuff Trader Joes sells tastes better than my best effort so I just don't bother anymore. I have, however, no quibble with those who can make good homemade stock. I just suck at it.