Pierogi
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Posts posted by Pierogi
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Just thought of another one:
"aromatize"....as in "I'm going to aromatize this stock with a bay leaf and some star anise".
Ummmmmmm, flavor the stock? Maybe. Fragrance the stock? Probably. Aromatize???? Nope. Made up words do not convey any more meaning than ones that already, legitimately exist.
Aromatize sounds like a bad Richard Simmons excersize plan, or an evil spell cast by a wizard. KA-POW, you've been AROMATIZED !
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One of the things that annoys me most is smelling last night's dinner when I get up in the morning. Or worse yet, smelling it in the middle of the night. I have a pretty decent exhaust hood (vented to the outside) and use it, and live in So Cal, so honestly, I'm cooking with the kitchen windows open 350-plus days a year. But there are some cooking odors that just seem to permeate the house, no matter what I do or spray in their wake.
Particularly offensive are high-heat techniques....sear-roasting meat or poultry or the stove-top cast iron grill pan. Fish, oily fish especially, is right up there. That smell of overly-heated oil seems to get into everything and linger. Last night I made chicken that started out in a screamin' hot cast iron pan on top of the stove, then went into an equally hot oven. Even after cooking bacon (
:wub: NOT an offensive smell...) tonight, I can still smell that over-heated oil.I've tried using all the spray air fresheners on the market. The scented ones are just gross, flowers on top of the old food smell is just really puke-worthy. Lysol and NeutraAir are slightly better, but they don't seem to completely kill the residual odor either. I really hate artificial citrus and vanilla smells, so those are out.
Has anyone found anything, even "home remedies" like leaving a small bowl of white vinegar open near the stove, that works? Other than just time and copious amounts of fresh air? Thanks !
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I seem to be a vinegar magnet. I have just about every type of vinegar marketed. Rice wine, balsamic, white balsamic, sherry, Champagne, red wine, white wine, cider, I could go on but I won't. Apparently, I've never met a vinegar I won't buy. Some of them I've purchased for a specific recipe. Some of them because they're...*quote*...staples...*unquote*. Some I bought just 'cause they seemed interesting (anyone for some Mango-Chili flavored vinegar from Trader Joe's?).
The problem is I buy them and they sit on the counter, or in the fridge, or in the pantry, and when I do think to use them, or need to use them for a specific recipe, they've gone musty-tasting, or have a slime plug in them.
I do make salad dressing pretty regularly, and that's what I use the vinegars in most. I'll also drizzle some of the more interesting ones over plain steamed or roasted veggies. But other than that, unless a recipe says HEY, USE VINEGAR ! I never seem to think of them.
What do you all use vinegars for other than the obvious salad dressings?
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On second thought, there's a good side to repeats.
I would never have become a fan of Sarah Moulton without the endless repeats of her amazing "Cooking Live" show on the Food Network. The same with Mario Batali and the endless repeats of his "Molto Mario".
Yeah, but that was back in the day when there was actual CONTENT on the original FN programing.
Now they just repeat the Catering Dudes, or Guy's Diners and Dives, or Giada's weekends, or Rachel's travels, or Auntie Sandy's (Insert Holiday Here) In A Can ad nauseum. I could watch a Sarah or Mario episode 475 times over to one of any of the above. As a matter of fact, I'd choose the 476th repeat of a Sarah or Mario show over ANY of the above on its first run, any time. God forbid I might actually *learn* something............
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Count me in as a fan as well. If for no other reason than HELLO, actual cooking on FN after 5:00 p.m.
I like watching the process, and watching Chef Irvine pull a rabbit out of his hat in each situation. He seems like a good leader and motivator as well, and I enjoy watching someone pull together a team and inspire them, by leadership and example, instead of haranguing, to do their best.
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These guys might be glad they got the food network gig as the writer's strike is going to shut down their day gig. Caterers all over LA are crying the blues, and I bet these guys aren't on the A-list.
Word that.
I watched once, and half of another time. I couldn't help feeling that the whole "I'm too cool for the room" act was just that.......an act. Like the nerdy kids trying way too hard to act cool.
I realize I'm *way* out of their target demographic, but I wouldn't let the Dudes cook dinner for my dogs. And not just because of their looks or....erm, food sampling habits. Because their food strikes me as well, yuck.
And weren't they on ICA and lost to Cat Cora???? Some sorta skanky lookin' skateboarder dudes were, I think it was them......
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Once you've got the little SOBs under control, freezing/chilling is the way to go for grains, nuts and dried fruit. Luckily I go through pasta/rice/cous cous fast enough that they don't seem to linger long enough to attract them, so that hasn't been much of an issue. Even so, bulk packages of rice and other "attractive" goodies go into air-tight containers.
But I'm not much of a baker, and I prefer unbleached flour, which seems to be more susceptible to the beasts. Into the freezer it goes, in a plastic canister with a good seal, as soon as it comes home. The plastic canister & air-tight seal protects it from absorbing moisture and/or odors from the freezer. Corn meal, Bisquik, polenta, grits and cake flour get put into zip-top bags and into the fridge. I've got 2 "crisper" drawers with humidity controls. One gets the grain products, and the humidity control is set to low. Nuts and dried fruit go in there as well, also in zip bags, or in their original plastic bags with a clickie seal.
Just remember, if you're baking, to pull the flour out early enough to let it come to room temperature before you want to use it. The stuff in the fridge doesn't seem to matter as much, I'd guess because the temperature isn't as low.
*crossing fingers* this, and the pheremone traps have worked for me for a good long while (spitting over my left shoulder, turning 3 times and shouting beetlejuicebeetlejuicebeetlejuice for good measure........)
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You should be here in the upper part of Georgia, according to reports and the gov. we will be out of water in 3 months! No successful rainfall all year.
I know, I've been watching the Southeast's drought as well, since its so very out of the norm for your area. We're sort of used to the cycle of dry years/wet years, but this is so atypical for you guys.
And, BTW, get your fill of California avocados now. The fires last week wiped out a significant amount of the avocado crop around San Diego. Cut flowers and flowers for seed as well.
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I think Minute Rice is one of the reasons many North Americans think they don't like rice...
Oh. My. God.
I was like, 25 before I realized I actually liked rice, and it was because the only rice my mother ever served was Minute Rice. The BOX tastes better, I'm sure.
NASTY stuff. Bleech. Insert "pukie" icon here..........
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Chili/cheese fries with onions, fries well done. The world's most perfect junk food......nutritionally balanced, you have protein, starch, dairy, veg (from the onions) and God knows your RDA of grease for the next 30 years or so.
Nachos. Really good nachos. Where the chips are crispy all the way through, but still sorta soft and chewey in spots. With frijoles, jalapenos, tomatoes, scallions, guac and really bad black olives. And cheese. Lots and LOTS of cheese. No meat/chicken/misc. protein please. Oh sour cream on top, after it all comes out from the broiler, is a must.
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Oh Lord.
I fear, that, like the "Mythical Munchos", these might be an East Coast/Midwest/Southeast phenomenum too, and therefore, unatainable to us on the Left Coast.
We miss out on so much out here in the Wild, Wild West.
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There is NOTHING like walking into a cold house (OK, realistically, I live in Southern California, and *my* cold house is nothing like a cold house in Wisconsin in January, but still..........) after a day at work, when you're dead to the world, and chilled to the bone, and in need of significant comfort, and smelling DINNER in the crockpot.
And knowing its warm and cozy and comforting, like stew or chili or soup or pulled pork or braised brisket or curried chicken or whatever.
And even more importantly knowing you really don't have to do anything in order to be able to sink into dinner and have the day be all right.
Crockpots are a good thing. I only use mine maybe 4 or 5 times a year, but each time I do, I think they are worthy of a Nobel Prize.
They're also a Godsend for when you're up to your eyebrows in STUFF and you still need dinner. I make a crockpot veggie soup each year the day I do the bulk of my Christmas cookie baking. Smelling it all day, with the smell of the cookies baking and the Christmas carols blasting on the stereo is one of the things I look forward to each year.
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I guess it sort of depends........
If I were inviting one or two people over for dinner, and I knew that they didn't care for an ingredient or cuisine, I wouldn't serve it, or even think of serving it. That to me is just common courtesy. I mean, really, extend an invitation to someone to eat at my table and only offer them something they don't care for? That's not only rude, its offensive. It says you have no respect or appreciation for your guests and their tastes and preferences.
If I were throwing a "traditional holiday meal" (you pick the holiday......Easter/Thanksgiving/Christmas) where certain dishes are culturally "expected", and a guest showed up at the time of the meal, and declared *ahem.........*I* don't eat onions in my stuffing*, I'd say "so sorry, enjoy the cranberry sauce." If it were a legitimate allergy, I'd hope they'd have the courtesy to tell me in advance, so I could either prepare an alternative, or warn them about what to avoid. Same with vegetarians. I'd try to prepare sufficient alternatives so they'd be satisfied.
One on one, or small groups, I'd make the effort to accomodate. Large groups, with advance notice, I'd provide alternatives, and expect them to cope. Unexpected, "ewwwwwwwwww, *I* don't eat whatever", get over it.
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I think Grandma called them something like "gah-WUMP-key",
YES !!!!!!!!!!!
That is *exactly* how it's pronounced. Spellings vary, but "gah-WUMP-key" is what you say.
*sigh* STILL need to make some, soon.
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Now those candies look amazing ! And I had forgotten dulce de leche/cajeta, which IMO is the absolute best use for milk. EVER. I can eat dulce de leche/cajeta by the spoonfull, straight from the bottle/can/whatever. No adornments needed nor wanted.
Thank you for sharing Doggie with us ! He/she is beautiful. We need a kissie-face icon for pet photos........
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Could not agree more FG. There is but the slightest window of time when a banana is actually edible to my taste. Too green and it's like chewing on balsa wood. To ripe, even by an hour, and the texture is so disgusting that the taste no longer matters. At that point, they're only worthy of banana bread.
Or compost.
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OK, see........
Most of these (well, maybe with the exception of passing off the Stouffer's lasagna as your own......) are not fraudulent so much as they are expeditious.
Honestly. When you're working 40-plus hours a week, and commuting on top of that, and you have other obligations (kids, pets, friends, community, you name it) sometimes, just sometimes you've gotta go for the quick and easy, even if it isn't quite *authentic*.
Add in the fact that not everyone is equally skilled in all things (a pastry chef I will never be, my pie crusts/puff pastry/choux and even some cakes are pretty darn sad) and it just makes sense to use quality (key word that !) substitutes to "from scratch".
If its a choice between using Better than Bouillion or not making a dish because I have no chicken stock, and as a result settling for Mickey D's, well, Better than Bouillion is a no brainer.
Not fraudulent.......expeditious. That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.
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I have the general opinion that sweets and sweet dishes translate much less well from one country to another than savory dishes. What do you think?
Rachel, I completely agree. Much as I love and crave and admire the cuisines of Asia, Latin America and India, I cannot wrap my tastebuds around any of their sweets and desserts. Far too different from what my experience says is "dessert". Perhaps its because sweets and desserts are so closely associated with childhood memories, and our own cultures and history?
At any rate, thank you for your gracious answer to my dopey question about the water, and I am TOTALLY loving your blog. Your writing style is a joy.
P.S. Any chance of doggie pictures?? Always a winner in my book
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Rachel, forgive me if this question is naive, it very well may be.....but I'm going to ask it anyway, because I'm curious and simply don't have the experience to even guess at the answer.
Do you use purified water to wash dishes (I'd guess yes) and wipe down counters and table tops as well? How did you make that a habit? I would think it would be extremely hard to break yourself of wetting the sponge/dish rag under the tap and mopping up the crud on the counter and then moving on to the next prep task.
How about hand washing? I run my hands under the tap about a billion times each time I cook, it would be a huge mental leap to train myself not to.
Again, apologies if this is a silly question. TIA........
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Nothing sweet. No raisins, no gingersnaps. Nope. Not an option.
My Polish mom's golabkis recipe uses ground beef (not lean, you need the fat......), some rice, sauteed diced onions and bell peppers (in butter, a LOT of butter) and hint of dry bread crumbs for the stuffing. Some Worcestershire sauce in there for seasoning, maybe an egg. (I'm trying to dredge it up from memory, I will check tomorrow and post it.) The sauce is just canned tomato sauce, poured over the rolls in a skillet. A pat of butter on top of each, and a long, slow simmer for about an hour or so. The meat is not cooked before stuffing, the rice is. Cabbage blanched whole head, and the leaves peeled off. Toothpicks if needed to hold the rolls closed, but putting them seam-side down is usually sufficient. When the rolls are done, pull them out, keep them warm, and add some sour cream (a LOT of sour cream) to the sauce.
Serve with wide egg noodles, tossed with poppy seeds and croutons that have been sauteed in butter (a LOT of butter).
Polish soul food, baby. I need to make some of these, soon.
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We are hearing out here in California that produce prices are going to skyrocket due to the extended drought, and the fact that the State Water Board (or some other governmental body which I don't remember right off the top of my head...sorry) ruled that the amount of water that can be moved to the rest of the State from the Sacramento Delta has to be slashed to protect an endangered fish.
My city has already seen restrictions on lawn & home garden watering. The Central Valley and Imperial Valley could be very hard hit, since most of the irrigation water for those agricultural areas comes from the Sacramento River Delta area.
And the weather weenies are forecasting another very dry winter for Califormia. Yipeeeee.
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Let's not forget or ignore the role human genetics plays in this. My dad (actually my step-dad, no blood relation) was skinny as a rail his whole life. My mom and I, well, Rubenesque, zaftig, *healthy* come to mind as adjectives for our build. Pretty much we ate the same things, if anything, Mom tried to slip extra fats into Daddy's snacks and lunches because he was so thin. Never worked. Mom & I, we'd gain weight just looking at the stuff. She'd make Daddy a milk shake with whole CREAM for dessert, he'd love it, and never gain an ounce. We got it by osmosis from being in the same room.
All of Daddy's family were tall and thin. All of Mom's were tall and stout. Her mother, father, sister and brother all qualified as heavy. I don't know much about my birth father's family, but the pictures I have of him show a body type pretty similar to Mom's.
I'm certainly not saying that if I ate less sweets and carbs, drank less wine, and exercised more I wouldn't be a thinner person. Not at all. But I do believe I have a genetic predisposition to be heavier than average, based on my familial history.
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Much as I hate to admit it, because I was not a Hung fan throughout the course of this season, he totally deserved to win based on the dishes presented in the finale.
Casey imploded, which was unfortunate. After so many stellar presentations, she just broke under the pressure, I guess. Her dishes didn't sound at all appetizing to me.
Dale did very well, but showed his inconsistency yet again, unfortunately. I was pulling for him when it became clear that Casey was sinking. I think if his lobster dish hadn't tanked SO badly, he might have pulled it out.
Hung did it. His dishes looked good, sounded good and were well received. Maybe we did see the "real" Hung as well, because he could work without artificial constraints. That may very well be what gave him the win.
But I agree with Mayhaw Man totally that Dale's restaurant would be my first choice (great quote too !), with Casey's a close second. Overall, their food spoke to me more.
All in all, a great finish. LOVED the twist on the sous chefs. Really good comments too, by Rocco on the blogs on the Bravo site.
edit because last time I checked there is only ONE "h" in with......
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Just thought of another one, widely, all TOO widely disseminated on the network everyone loves to hate, Food Network:
And I quote many FN hosts........."ewwie-goooey".
Not sure on the spelling, but that's roughly how they pronounce it. Usually in reference to melted cheese, or dripping chocolate or caramel.
"Ewwwwwwww" is usually what I say when something's truely disgusting. (where's that puke icon when you need it??). As in, "ewwwwwwwww, WHAT did you step in???
"Gooey" is not an adjective that sounds appetizing to me.
Put 'em together and it really is not something I want to put in my mouth.
And in comment to previous responses, what the hell is "toothsome" anyway? My teeth generally don't provide many sensations, unless I bite into something too cold. Its a phrase I've never understood, and yet one which makes me slightly grossed out.
Spray Air Fresheners
in Kitchen Consumer
Posted
Really???? Plain water, huh? Who knew?
I will give it a try.....makes sense, actually.
Thanks all, I'll give all the "natural" remedies a try, like the water, bleach, the herbs simmering all sound like winners.
As I said, I loathe the smell of fragranced sprays, and the unscented ones don't work too well, and still leave a lingering perfume-y scent that doesn't go well with the stale salmon aroma !