Kerouac1964

Small curd / high fat Usually just Tidman's Sea Salt [fine] but lately I've taken to using either soy sauce, or better yet fish sauce... Love that salty/creamy thing going on....

From one cat to another: snatcherally.

Chef/Writer Spencer ~ I have another idea for you to consider. This may harken back to your chef skills and your frustration at not getting to use the finer/fancier latest techniques etc. Why not teach groups of foodies the latest and greatest things? In your spare time? There are so many ways to try this. You could do workshops based on your favorite cuisines and charge attendees for reimbursement of costs on materials etc....demos or small group hands on sessions. Then donate the food to charities and nursing homes. All those places eating yucky institutional food. This idea would go down well in general with potential participants, surely. I was in a nursing home for physical rehab. Those poor folks could stand a good meal. Food is life. Just an odd ball idea thrown out for you like a spare catnip mouse!

Hi ~ I while back I posted a really good loose-meat recipe that can do double duty. It has a really good spice base using horseradish for heat. Click here for recipe Enjoy!

Regarding the mystery of Hawaiiians love of SPAM. It was a big, big food staple back during WWII, and I suspect long before. I suspect that tough times, poverty made it a huge hit. It was probably a top seller on the black market food list, back when things were rationed. It may have to due with limited hog farming as well? Lack of refridgeration? I was watching a documentary on the the city of Chicago and they had the first packing plants that canned pork. I was an instant international #1 seller, back before the days of refridgeration.

Hi gang! I've recently purchased preserved duck eggs, and I'm unsure on how to prepare them. I did find some information that preserved eggs should be steamed for 10 min, and salted eggs (soft) should be hard-boiled for 15 min. Are these guidlines correct? Also, any recipe ideas would be appreciated!

My recipe for a good malted milk: Whole milk in a large sized insulated mug 6 heaping teaspoons of Carnation malted milk powder [either original or chocolate] adjust sweetness to taste - I use about 2 tsp of splenda. One of my favorite latenight snacks.

You have to admit, though. The thin strips fit well over a hot dog.

You can always cheat, and purchase canned broth !! I've tried this product, and it's not bad!! It's a clearish broth and has that hint of the exotic seasonings that make Pho ... um, Pho.

A similar effect could be had by marinading in you choice of liquids, spices and then steaming. Steaming will keep things tender forever. I've done hamhocks for hours and hours and have been able to actually eat the grisly parts, as they tenderize over time. Also the marrow comes out and makes a great little dipping sauce for the meat.

Yes. Yes we do!

LOL! I just saw a new item being advertised. STACKS: the art of vertical Food. Found at: www.stackitup.com

The magic spatula thingy...is the Chef Wizard. Can be ordered at www.chefwizard.com. I almost ordered one. They almost can hook me after 3:30am and I've just watched an old jolly Galloping Gourmet rerun!

So...your sex life was so disrupted, you temporarily didn't give a rat's ass?

{angry supervisor} "HOW did the projector get broken?" {adventurous foodie} "Well..... I was frying bacon over the motor....I think some greese spattered...." - insert uncomfortable pause here -

What's wrong with Keller wanting to better the LV cuisine scene? Like he wants to do in NY? I'd admire him for trying. And that fact he helps is brother is really a family issue. Blood is blood, right? I wouldn't fault him for that either. I for one can't wait to get out to LV and partake of all the food, sites, girls, and gambling.

Hmm....chicken stock. Now imagine what a homemade stock would do for such cooked rice!! It must have been wonderful to get the chance to visit with an ol' friend that many years later. I envy you greatly. Not everyone is granted such a wonderful opportunity. I bet the "good vibes" were flowing during that time of your life.

SteveW -- I've seen that hair hawking too. I think Emeril uses it. Popiel (or some other competitor) would talk about how incredible it was then he'd shake the can, and get volunteers from the audience to come down, and he'd "Spray on" their new-found hair right on the spot. Then, that Blonde, and quasi-sexual object lady-sidekick (the one who mouths incredibly insightful comments ) would tell the painted on subject they were all sexy and wonderful looking with their new hairdo. 20 yrs later and some poor terrified-to-be-bald-in-public guy has probably been sending in his money every 30 days to that clown to get that hair paint.

Ron Popeil is a genius as a "good hearted"snake oil salesman. I think the first product of his I saw was the POCKET FISHERMAN. It looked like a flattened small bleach bottle, and had a little fold out plastic pole end, with the tackle fitting in compartments in the handle. A couple of other thoughts. Is it just me or does he sort of look like an over the hill '70s porn star? It's his dress, demeanor....his So. "Californianess". Lastly, I've always noticed a bad scar on his upper lip. I've often wondered if either a pocket fisherman hooked him real bad, or perhaps one of his inventions got the worst of him??

I think I could pass that test. I've recently attuned my palate to MSG. I've immersed myself in a wash of different fish sauces, and seaweed seasonings. I've always perceived it as a "piggyback effect" to salt - the salt flavors of a dish are more lingering, richer and deeper. Hence the nicknames / accent/enhancer of MSG. Has anyone seen any studies regarding MSG and its effect on blood pressure? Would it be to good to be true that it doesn't share Salts bad side?

I'm with you EatingwithEddie. I love the taste of my foods with it. But, my ankles have been known to puff up quite pronouncedly directly afterwards. I still wouldn't think of not eating my favorite dishes, or cooking without it. I wonder if that is why my Japanese rice seasoning - which has big seaweed flakes in it - make my plain rice taste so wonderful??

You're kidding, right? No, Jin -- Completely serious. Due to disability I'm very, very frugal at times. Plus, its literally a meal I can prepare from either a night stand, or chair. My arthritus doesn't let me cook standing. I have a mini-kitchen at chair level. I've learned alot about canned foods. When I have a bit more to spend, I stock a big Asian pantry of dry goods. Very inexpensive, yet many opportunities for new dishes and recipes to be made. To really cook hot dogs and condensed soup right, place good ol' oscar meyer hot dogs in the bottom tray of a bamboo steamer, put the soup in a plastic casserole tray and in the top steamer container. Set the over the hot pot and steam for about 1 1/2 hrs. The hot dogs will steam in their own juices turning a lovely golden dark tannish brown and will taste as good as a steamed stadium dog. The soup will be flavored with the franks and will also be darker and very rich. I just dip the doggies in the soup and then eat the leftover soup with a spoon. Very, very good. Warm and filling. Try it some time! I have yet to find a better brand of hot dog (for steaming), and I've been trying all the different store brands. Later, I was able to afford a nice professional model, stainless steel tabletop ceramic grille, a two burner range, and a Fabeware 3 n' 1 oven/breadmachine. So, my dream of a mini-kitchen is pretty much complete.

Wonderful advice, Blackduff !! - I think all new rice cooker owners go thru this step. I know I did. Even my instruction booklet assumes this problem. It says to add approx. 1/2 cup more raw rice than needed [assuming it would be the stuck kernels at the bottom.] I think this mainly happens to those families who have to go away to work. For us lucker few, who can babysit the cooker, your wife's method sounds perfect. I just discovered the frequent stirring oiling part the last batch I did. I put that new-found knowledge together with my next breakthru - shutting off the machine just as it hits a rolling boil. I made my best tasting batch, ever last time out. I only needed to put a splash of dark soy, and some Fukimo [sp?] rice seasoning on to eat it straight out of the cooker! Yummy! I used the leftovers in a chinese fried rice with some pork luncheon meat. It was divine.

Rice cookers are neat. I've steamed 2 cornish game hens in my steamer tray. Lots of different meats, veggies. Plus, you get a great broth in the bottom. I made a my very first shrimp stock that way. I steamed my dinner using a tsp of crab boil in the cooking water. Then afterwards tossed in the shells into the cooking water with a splash of chicken stock. An hour later and I had 2 quarts of very good shrimp stock. At the end, I heated back to maximum heat, then quickly poured the stock into a sterile Planters peanut jar with the vaccum screw top. left a 1/2 inch of space and tightened the lid just firmly. The heat did a good job or resealling. I kept the jar in my fridge for about a full week before eating. Tasted great!

I've done many a hobo meal with my hotpot at home. There is a metal disk in the bottom of my pot that is the same size as a soup can. Here is a fast very big meal.... 5 hot dogs 1 can nacho cheese soup 1 can chicken broth - Open can of cheese soup [leave an 1/2 inch uncut - bend lid back, fold lid sides down to make a handle], and using 1 dog (room temp) eat as much of the soup as you can. You should be able to get it down a 1/3 or so of the way. cut up two hot dogs or less, depending on space and place in with the cheese soup. Open the can of chicken broth, and pour into cheese soup can but not all the way full. Simmer for 1 hour for a really rich concentrated soup mixure. The hot dogs will become a nice brown and release their juices into the soup. Taking a wash cloth, grab the handle very carefully, and run cool water on the outside of the soup can. Consume your first meal. Leave soup cheesy soup at the bottom. When full, and can is fully room temp, add the remaining dogs and chicken broth. Cover with plastic baggie and place rubber band over to seal out air. Put in ice bucket for cold storage. Breakfast awaits you in the morning. Add the various dry soups /noodles out there....other canned meats, you can do this and not eat the same meal for a year easy. And talk about cheap eats. High in sodium, etc.....but nutricious none the less.