Pierogi

As far as seeding, I'm with most people. If its something that I feel is going to get watered down by the excess juice from leaving the seeds/jelly in, then I seed. It's not that much of a PITA to do that. My raita, for example, uses both tomato and cucumber, and I seed both, since I feel that it gets too watery if I don't. Skinning, on the other hand, is a TOTAL PITA. The only time I skin is for cooked applications, where I don't want the chewy little curly pieces of peel floating around in the final dish. For most dishes, I frankly don't bother. My cooking isn't sophisticated or elegant enough for those pieces of peel to ruin a dish. When I *am* looking for a very specific, smooth, refined texture, though, then I peel with the blanch/ice bath method.

The next culinary bucket list project I want to tackle is Chicago-style deep dish pizza. I have no fear of the actual cooking process. Dough, sauce, assembly all seem straight forward enough. What's stopping me is the equipment, in particular, the pan. My kitchen is small, teeny-tiny even, and stuffed to the gills with equipment. While I fully subscribe to the theory that the right tools not only make the job easier, but are essential to success, I also subscribe to the "avoid the dreaded uni-tasker as much as possible" theory. The recipes for Chicago-style deep dish pizza all show dedicated pans in the tutorials. In my mind, it seems to me I could sub a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, or a layer cake pan. Would the cast-iron be too heat conductive and conversely, the aluminum cake pan too light weight? Must I commit to buying a dedicated pan? I sure hope not.... Thanks in advance, all !

Rhonda, I am with you on the smoked turkey. I've used the smoked drumsticks in both red beans and bean/pea soups if good ham hocks are not available (sadly enough, that's often the case, especially in the warmer months around here). Also, one of the local chains here (the least *up-scale* of the majors) sometimes carries smoked ham shanks which I MUCH prefer. More meat, less picky picking of the good stuff off the bones and out of the crevices and just as much flavor and good stuff as the hocks. But smoked turkey is a perfectly acceptable alternative.

Uhhhhh. Yeah. What he said....

Yep, last week I made a batch using John Besh's recipe from "My New Orleans". The Prudhomme had been my go-to for about a thousand years, but I think I liked Besh's better. Funny, there wasn't nearly the list of ingredients that Prudhomme uses, but I think they had more flavor. Or maybe the Red Beans God was smiling on me that day. Whatever, they were fabulous.

Lilija, it must be a Polish thing, because BOTH for me too, absolutely. That's the way my Polish mom always served latkes. Although the sugar/salt thing sounds intriguing, may have to do some field research on that....

That's just.......wrong. Really, really wrong. Especially with KFC "chicken". And they've *GOT* to be kidding about that calorie count, right? I mean, seriously, isn't one piece of KFC "chicken" like 1000 calories itself? No. Just no.

Ham with orange marmalade/horseradish glaze (ohhhh, yum) Potato Gratin with Gruyere and Crème Fraiche Roasted Asparagus Strawberries of some ilk Home-made brioche The ham is an old standby....you mix orange marmalade, brown sugar and prepared horseradish together and use that as a glaze for your ham that's been basted with orange juice while it's baking. The recipe said to use cloves to stud the ham, but it seemed to me that they clashed with the other flavors, and I'm not a huge fan of cloves anyway, so I ditch them. The potatoes sound dead easy....just found the recipe in an old magazine, I think maybe an old Bon Apetit. Slice potatoes on a mandoline, layer some in a greased gratin dish, S&P, smooth the creme fraiche over, scatter grated Gruyere and repeat. Bake until done. How could *that* be bad?? The ringer/challenge in this is the brioche. Never tried it before. On the list of "what I wanted to accomplish this year". We'll see..... Edit to add - And handfuls of jelly beans and malted milk robin's eggs while the cooking is progressing !

Kim, I've been looking forward to this post, and you did not disappoint ! Ohhhhh, NOLA. Some people leave their hearts in San Francisco, I left mine in N'Awlins. If I could only handle the weather (do NOT do heat and humidity, thankyouverymuch), I would live there in an instant. Even before Manhattan, this is my favorite place in the US, and I long for the day I can go back. I never had a bad meal when I was there, and I never met a native who wasn't friendly, and open, and welcoming, and gracious. Good job on capturing the essence and spirit of that magical, enveloping city.

Ersatzamalata.... I LOVE IT !!!!

There are truely not many ways I *don't* love a hot dog !! The brands of choice for me are either Nathan's all beef, Hebrew National or Trader Joe's house brand, which I think is also all beef. At home, I usually either grill them on the outdoor grill or on a grill pan, or broil them. Sometimes....rarely, but sometimes, I do steam them, or put them to warm in water that's boiled then pulled from the heat. Favy toppings are: chili/cheese/onions 'kraut/mustard/onions mustard/relish/onions Chicago style and a blast from my childhood....ketchup (I know...), mustard, onions and a whisper of relish On Monday, since its opening day for baseball season, I will probably have grilled Dodger Dogs (you can buy the dogs in the supermarkets here) with the mustard/relish/onions option and a cold beer. Maybe some peanuts in the shell for an amuse bouche !!!

Yes, I think there is. The koshering process, as you know, is salting the carcass/meat to draw out the blood. In essence, the chickens are "dry brined" in salt before they're packaged for sale. I find them more flavorful and more juicy and moist than non-kosher brands, even (or maybe especially) the national ones like Foster Farms or Zacky. The other brand I know a lot of people like is Bell & Evans, but they're not sold locally for me, at least not that I've seen. I get Empire Kosher chickens and chicken parts at Trader Joe's, and they're my go to, especially if I want just plain roasted, grilled or sauteed chicken. In stews/casseroles/heavily sauced things probably not so much of a difference. Just don't brine a kosher chicken or you'll have a salt lick !

I think I've heard/read somewhere recently that Scripps has already pulled back from the original "cooking" concept, and is now planning on more of the "watch me travel and eat" type shows than actual demonstration shows. I've thought about writing them and telling them that there's a whole lot of people out here who want to watch people COOK, not watch people EAT, but I figure that would be lost on the programming weenies, since they'll probably want to capture the same target audience as FN.... My guess is people who already cook, and want to learn more about the art, and science, and craft of it, aren't usually the ones buying prepared food in the freezer section at the grocery store. Jell-O probably doesn't sell a lot of refrigerated pudding cups to the people who frequent EG.

WHAT I LEARNED TODAY: By: Pierogi Dried chilies are, in fact, still chilies. They’re just dried. Not…de-chilied. Therefore, they still have capsaicin in them, and when you use your acrylic-faux nails to scrape out the ribs and seeds (the BEST, non-unitasker tool for this, btw) before you toast them for Rick Bayless’ red chile enchilada sauce (which is most excellent, btw), that capsaicin WILL stay under the acrylic-faux nails for a loooooong time. And, also therefore, you should *not* then rub your eyes with said fingers after said scraping, WHEN you’re wearing your CONTACTS, (or prolly even when you’re not wearing contacts) unless you want your eyes to be smarting like 5 hours later. I have done this experiment for you all, and am blearily reporting the consequences, so you don’t have to suffer in the name of science as I have. Thenkyew. Thenkyewvermush. Where are the eyedrops?

The inherant problem with this thesis (e.g. food stamp recipients *can* buy healthful stuff if they just wanted to....) is transportation. There are pitiful few Whole Foods markets in poor neighborhoods where most food stamp recipients are likely to live. There are pitiful few actual grocery stores (Ralphs', Von's, Albertson's, Stater Bros., etc.) in poor neighborhoods where most food stamp recipients are likely to live. There are even pitiful few discount grocers (Food-4-Less, Superior, etc.) in poor neighborhoods where most food stamp recipients are likely to live. There are pitiful few farmer's markets in poor neighborhoods where food stamp recipients are likely to live. Pitiful few residents in poor neighborhoods where food stamp recipients are likely to live are likely to have a) reliable transportation to the upscale, middle class neighborhoods where Whole Foods, mega-marts and farmer's markets are like to thrive or b) time to wend their way through mass transit to upscale, middle class neighborhoods with good sources of good food. Saying "they could, if they would" seems to me to be a rather simplistic response to a complex problem. Yeah, if they had access, which is easier in a small town, or in a compact urban area (i.e., Boston), maybe its easier. But in the typical urban sprawl, I think not so much. Here, it's literally front page news, or the lead story on TV when a "real" grocery store (like, say, not a liquor store that also sells hot wings) opens in an inner city area. It's all about access. If you can't get there, you can't buy it.

Uhhh, no. They're not. They're the Wonder Bread of the doughnut world.

Ohhhhhhhh, yes. A slight shower of fresh ground over a glass of buttermilk. My mother taught me that one when I was but a mere babe.....a hint of salt too.

Braised short ribs of any ilk...as a stew, shredded into a ragu over pasta, you name it. Braises of any sort in general, really. With good mashed potatoes, really good mashed potatoes and rustic bread. A nice glass of pinot and that's my idea of heaven. Meatloaf and gravy with the aforementioned really good mashed potatoes. Or a really messy, really drippy, really greasy hamburger or patty melt, with onion rings. Depends on what kind of hurt I'm comforting.

Hi Porthos, Don't know where in SoCal you are, but in the LA basin, DirectTV caries America's Test Kitchen on both KVCR (Channel 24), which is PBS out of the Riverside/Inland Empire area, and KLCS (Channel 58), which is the LAUSD/PBS channel. On KLCS it airs on Saturdays at 1:00 p.m. as the start of a 4&1/2 hour block (Yay !) of cooking shows. It appears its on a break right now on KVCR for special programming for fundraising. The next air time they list is Sunday, 3/28 at 11:30 a.m. They usually run a block of cooking shows from I think 10 a.m. to noon on Sundays when they're not doing a pledge drive. Unfortunately, both KCET and KOCE (LA and Orange county PBS stations) have apparently dropped any cooking shows from their line-ups. KOCE will run a block very randomly on the weekend, but it's hard to say when it will be on. ATK is, I think, usually part of their programming when they do. KCET seems to have abandoned cooking shows all together.

Interesting. I wonder if it's a regional thing? In SoCal, Carl's has always been outstanding. Yeah, like all fast-food burgers, they're cooked to well done, and yeah, that's not how I'd do it at home. But, then *I'm* not worried about 7 million suit-happy consumers thinking they got E. coli from my food. But dry and chewy, nah, not so much. At least the meat has a definative flavor from the live flame, which is more than can be said for the other national chains. Certainly, the regional chains, (Tommy's, Fatburger, In-N-Out) do a better job. And certainly the Mom & Pop one-ofs do an even better job (usually). But nationally, I'd pick a Carl's/Hardees any time.

Of the national chains, I'd choose Carl's/Hardee's hands down, although I hear they've just been sold, so I fear they'll get shoved into the BK/MickeyD model. Jack in the Box used to be good too, but lately they've moved more to the held-way-too-long-in-the-steam-table end of the spectrum. Carl's, at least out here on the Left Coast, still runs their burgers under a live flame, and you can taste the difference. Even if they sit for a few minutes, they still taste pretty good. Wendy's I think, uses a flat-top, which puts them above MickeyD's (well, that don't take much....) but I don't think in a class with Carl's. However, I do think they make them pretty much to order, which also gives Wendy's points. Of course, the best bet is move to where In-N-Out operates.

Where was that thread about the Hall of Shame... Frozen fish sticks make GREAT fish tacos when you either don't have the time to fry your own filets or don't have fresh (or good frozen) fish. Heat those babies up in the oven, toss them in a warm tortilla with some cabbage, cilantro and white sauce, squeeze the lime, oh yeah babe. As a matter of fact, that's dinner tomorrow. VanDeKamps are my grocery store brand of choice. Preferably the battered "halibut filets". Don't be impressed by the "filet" label. The pieces of fish are maybe 2x3 inches, but the quality is good, and the batter crisps up nicely. Same with their battered fish filets. The pack of dried tarter sauce mix they used to put in the box was pretty good too, when mixed with Best Foods mayo. I've never used the breaded-type VdeK products, always went for the faux batter. I've also never tried the Gorton's, and have never gone for a store brand. Other than Trader Joe's. No, I'm not on their payroll, although over the 30-plus years I've shopped there, I probably own a good piece of their operation. But as with most of their private-label products, their beer-battered white fish filets are very good, I think better than even VdeK. Again, the use of the term "filet" is a stretch, but they're good for what they are. And lacking a TJ's, or if TJ's isn't carrying the fish sticks at the moment, it's VdeK all the way. Cook in the oven, and if they need a little more crunching up, run under the broiler for the briefest bit of time, just to finish off.

I second this. I've had the VERY expensive mail-order ones from Wms-Sonoma and these are SO much less expensive and every bit as good. Kim (and Mark), they're as good as the ones from W/S because they're the SAME as the ones from W/S !! Same purveyor, different labels. Obviously, different price. TJ's does that a lot. Much of their private-label stuff is made by purveyors who also supply the big gourmet guns. The chocolate croissants are in my freezer at ALL times. They are just sublime.

I drank that Kool-aid about 2 years ago. I think I got a total of 10 tomatoes off the 3 plants I had in the contraption. And they weren't very good tomatoes at that. I've had friends grow small (i.e. hot, jalapenos and such) peppers in one, and they've had good luck with it. I think that there isn't enough soil in one of the bags to support a big root system, and certainly not more than one root system. The tomatoes also were very small...it was almost like they couldn't figure out what to do or how to grow, so they just didn't. After the first crop, the vines did flower, and even set some small fruit, but they never developed. And the vines stopped growing *very* prematurely. Like by the end of July they were done, and I live in SoCal. I should be (and used to be) harvesting tomatoes in November. I used cultivars I'd had success with before, and the baggie and stand were in placed in a location where I'd grown tomatoes in the ground before, so I have to blame the contraption for the dismal output. The baggie of soil went into the trash, and the stand went into the recycling bin. A VERY expensive little experiment.

You're compensating for not being able to eat yourself (see the Iodine Diet Thread). Feed the kid, if you can't feed yourself.....