claire797
-
Posts
1,193 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Store
Help Articles
Posts posted by claire797
-
-
Finally made something worth posting. Inspired by an Andrea Immer recipe, we took boneless, skinless chicken breasts halves, sliced them cross-wise, brushed them with peach preserves, topped topped that with sage leaves, wrapped each breast piece in prosciutto then grilled them over charcoal and mesquite chips. No salt, no pepper. All of the flavor comes from the prosciutto, sage and mesquite smoke.
-
Scott discovered a conflict that weekend, but I have badgered him into going. Can you believe he was actually going to turn down the pig-pickin to attend the world Diplomacy championship here in DC? What a dweeb.
For those of you who don't know already, Diplomacy is a game. Here's a short description:
"The game of international intrigue.
May your wit be as sharp as your sword, because Avalon Hill's DIPLOMACY game has captured the true spirit of the legendary board game. You'll start as one of the seven pre-WWI superpowers, England, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Turkey, and Austria-Hungary. These political boundaries will become your prey as you negotiate your way to the top. Beg, threaten, plead and argue your way past nations where friends become pawns and enemies become allies. You'll have to be cunning, smooth, and deceitful. This is a game that can't be left to chance.
A detailed map takes you back to the dawn of the Twentieth Century!"
He plays over the internet.
I love him...but jeez.
Heather,
My husband used to play Diplomacy back in high school. Instead of Dungeons and Dragons, it was Diplomacy.
He never plays it anymore because 1) I am not geeky enough to enjoy it and 2) he never has time.
If DH accompanies me to this Pig Pickin' thing, I'll have him seek out Scott so they can discuss how they've clawed their way to world domination.
-
Cripes! When do you people shop at Whole Foods? Every time I go it's teeming with yuppies from the ad agency next door.
All the birkenstocks are over at Wheatsville now.
I go to the north store. And I'm almost CERTAIN I saw a couple of people wearing Birkenstocks the last time I was there!
Ah! Maybe they've migrated North. I go to the downtown store.
-
Prior to that, the self-righteous snootiness was palpable in the WF stores.
As a "woman of size," I always felt uncomfortable shopping in WF among the hairy, sandled set.
But in CM, I'm not the only fatty perusing the imported cheeses, I'll tell you that.
You mean "full-figured", don't you, Jaymes? Just more there to love...
One thing I find that helps when shopping at Whole Foods; I put on my Birkenstocks and go "incognito". They never suspect that I'm actually a member of the vast right-wing conspiracy.
Cripes! When do you people shop at Whole Foods? Every time I go it's teeming with yuppies from the ad agency next door.
All the birkenstocks are over at Wheatsville now.
-
Am I the only one who feels like they've been robbed after leaving Whole Foods? I like the store, but the prices are ridiculous. Central Market maybe be a few cents more on some things, but their prices aren't outrageous like WF.
CDH, I've never been in Fiesta before. Thanks for reminding me about it.
As to your query as to how WF and CM could not be in competition with each other, I think the answer lies in that they do indeed compete for some things, but they cater to two different crowds who could easily shop both stores.
I see CM as catering to everyone interested in good food, cooking, freshness and variety. Meanwhile, Whole Foods targets people with more of a "natural" foods bent. CM does carry a decent selection of natural foods, but Whole Foods carries a few more of the granola-head brands like Spectrum Naturals and a bunch of other ones I can't think of. If anything, I would think Whole Foods biggest competition would be Sun Harvest.
Edited to say: I think I just regurgitated what F52 said.
-
Hmmmm...remembering last Thursday night, I recall that David keeps up pretty well.
You are out of control.
-
I just HATE canola oil. I use it, but it always makes everything taste fishy to me.
How very, very odd. I've never noticed a fishy taste. Now that you've mentioned it, I probably will.
Elyse, your "burger-juiced" fries are yet another example that fries *need* some sort of animal-fat infusion to really taste good
-
-
Would it make that much of a difference, do you think, to make the lardsnaps with lard rendered from back fat rather than leaf fat?
Mamster, I doubt it. I'm using the grubby grocery store lard in my gingersnaps and they're still delicious.
The verdict is in on the lard fries. YUM! In a side-to-side taste test with fries cooked in Canola oil, the lard fries one for their fuller, rounded flavor.
My usual canola oil fries are good, but the lard fries had a very subtle bacony note to them -- not so much that one would think "bacon fries", but enough extra flavor to take you back to whatever divey place's fries haunt your memory.
We eat fries fairly often, so I don't think we'll be using lard on a regular basis. Maybe we'll make it a once every few months thing.
-
Xanthippe,
I am so happy that you liked the gingersnap recipe!! Glad the suggested amount of cayenne worked out for you.
Another thing I do with those gingersnaps is dab the tops in crystallized sugar before baking. I forgot to mention this.
BTW, tonight is lard fry night. I'll report back.
-
Really, I still dream about those lard fries.
COOOOoooooool.
BTW. When you're making the lardsnaps, you may want to cut the cayenne a bit.
Here's a picture of one of mine. Made a batch this morning.
(not such a great picture, sorry) -
I believe Mc Donnalds used to use pure lard for their fries.
I always thought they used to use beef tallow.
What's the differene between beef tallow and lard? Is lard from a pig and beef tallow expressly from cows?
Yes. Lard is pig fat and tallow is cow or sheep fat.
From the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary
Main Entry: lardFunction: noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Latin lardum, laridum; perhaps akin to Greek larinos fat
Date: 14th century
: a soft white solid or semisolid fat obtained by rendering fatty tissue of the hog
Main Entry: tallow
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English talgh, talow; akin to Middle Dutch talch tallow
Date: 14th century
: the white nearly tasteless solid rendered fat of cattle and sheep used chiefly in soap, candles, and lubricants
I don't know if I totally agree with the tallow definition, though.
Which part do you not agree with? That it is tasteless?
-
I believe Mc Donnalds used to use pure lard for their fries.
I always thought they used to use beef tallow.
What's the differene between beef tallow and lard? Is lard from a pig and beef tallow expressly from cows?
Xanthippe, I'm happy to hear you could really taste the difference in the lard fries. My plan is to try the fries on Friday night, so I'll report back.
Kristin, I am amazed that you can find tortillas in Japan. Flour or corn? Also, do you have to use a tortilla press?
-
Torakris, how do you plan to use your lard?
probaby in tortillas!
You mean, your corner store doesn't sell tortillas??? Shocking!
-
I have never made crackers, but I was wondering if I could roll them out with my pasta machine?
That sounds like a good idea. Not knowing the consistency of cracker dough (yet!), I couldn't tell you.
I think I'll try to make some tomorrow.
-
As it happens, I'm picking up another order of lard from the butcher today, claire. I intend to make the gingersnaps either this afternoon or tomorrow. And I will report back . . .
Cool. Can't wait to hear how they turn out. I think I may use the rest of my lard for french fries. Would pure lard work for french fries?
-
My favortie is Plain Wheat Thins - Nutty, Salty, Crunchy without a flavor that overpowers what you put on top.
But another holdover from my youth are Chicken in a Biskit. My dad would put port wine cheese, a slice of pickle and salami on them. I particularly remember this on New Year's Day watching Bowl games. To this day New Year's Day is not the same to me without this guilty pleasure.
-
Brilliant, claire797! You go!!!
Oh my, I don't think I've ever shot coffee from nose before.
s'kat, I don't know why you're laughing. I am dead serious.
Cakewalk, that is exactly my point. If you are following dietary restrictions, than you should ask what the ingredients are. Same thing applies to label reading. If you are trying to stay away from pork fat, your choice is to read the label or live in ignorant bliss.
Varmint, thanks to your input, I will be whipping up some lard biscuits in the very near future. Found a good recipe last night that calls for lard and White Lily flour.
Marlene, I've tried chocolate chip cookies with half butter, half lard. The cookies were good, but I don't think the lard made that much of a difference in the texture. Never thought about using it to roast potatoes.
Torakris, how do you plan to use your lard?
Xanthippe, you should make those gingersnaps and report back.
-
I just recently tried the Triscuit Cheddar, and thought it was quite good. Is it new?
I think Cheddar Triscuits are pretty new.
Kim, that's a good question. I can't say that I really have a favorite cracker as I am more of a Chex mix/Gardetto's/Chips girl when it comes to snacking. I rarely buy crackers, and when I do, it's either for a party or a recipe. On the other hand, I'm always amused by the cracker selection at parties -- it tells me something about the host.
Ritz -- very down home, no pretense
Bremner Assortment -- trying hard to impress
Wheat Thin -- likes sports, eats junk food
Triscuits -- wants to be liked
Vegetable Crackers -- repression
Ak Mak -- good taste, a sense of style
Saltines -- poor planner, passive aggressive
Come to think of it, why don't people bake their own crackers more often? Are they really that difficult to make?
-
Claire--the praise you are hearing is for "E. Guittard" not regular old "Guittard." HUGE difference. Guittard is a huge company, one of the larger chocolate manufacturers in the world; however, only their recently introduced, upscale line of couvertures--called E. Guittard--designed to compete head to head with Valrhona--is what I use and what I'm praising. The regular old crap you see in grocery stores is just that, regular old crap.
By the way, most chips taste funny and have a slick, waxy feel to them, that's because chips are formulated differently--formulated to hold their shape longer at baking temps. A "couverture" like E. Guittard, though, would melt readily.
Thanks for confirming.
I've read that chips have substances added to make them hold their shape and wouldn't use them in a recipe calling for melted semi-sweet chocolate. But in comparing "chips to chips" I found the Guittard to be worse than Nestle, Ghiradelli and our local grocery store brand.
-
Balthazar's chocolate bread is the only one I've had. Is there a point?
I get chocolate bread. It's unique -- chocolate + yeast bread. Central Market makes one with cherries in it and it's pretty good once you get used to the idea.
What I don't get is chocolate muffins. Why not call them cupcakes?
-
Also, I suspect that anyone following a kosher diet wouldn't bother with any food brought into the office by another co-worker.
You never know - there are lots of people who don't eat pork, and not just Jews. And there are lots of Jews who don't keep strictly kosher (and would eat cookies in the office) but definitely won't eat pork (e.g. me)
If I had eaten one of those cookies and you hadn't mentioned the lard, I would be really unhappy with you.
Morale of the story: always mention ingredients people might have a problem with, unless you know (for sure).
- S
Fish,
Again, had my co-workers (all 3 of them!) been vegans or Kosher, I would have mentioned it right away. That said, I would have no problem whatsoever putting any leftover cookies in the break room for anyone wandering by who was hungry for cookies. And NO! I would not put a sign saying "Warning: Cookies contain lard."
I believe that if you are trying to follow any sort of special diet, especially a kosher or vegan diet, then it is your responsibility to ask if the cookies have any sort of things you might not want.
For instance, if I were a vegan I might say this:
"Wow! Thanks for bringing cookies. I'd love to try one, but as you know I don't eat butter, eggs or milk. Are those vegan cookies? No? Well, thanks anyway."
If I were trying to keep Kosher I might say this:
"Wow! Thanks for bringing cookies. I'd love to try one, but as you know I don't eat anything unless it comes from a Kosher kitchen. Is your kitchen Kosher? No? Well, thanks anyway."
I guess what you're saying is that you (an, um "sort of" kosher) would not expect an innocent ginger cookie to be made with pork fat. Here's a script for you:
"Wow! Thanks for bringing cookies! Some chick on this food website I frequent made cookies with lard. I don't eat anything with lard since I avoid pork. I'm sure your cookies don't have lard, so I'm going to enjoy one. Thanks!
At that point, your co-workers script might be.
"Wow! What sort of demented person would cook with lard? Of course my cookies are made with Duncan Hines's finest cookie mix. Please help yourself."
At which point you could eat a cookie and lay any blame for your dietary indiscretions on either Duncan Hines (whose ingredients you didn't bother to question because no one could understand what they actually were) or your evil, horrible co-worker who tempted you with cookies.
-
I'm feeling much better about lard at the moment.
Bux, I wonder how much googling I'll have to do to find the minimum daily requirement for lard? I think I may have to google forever.
Nick, "easyfunschool.com" sounded very Japanese. I was disappointed to find that it was not loaded with Anime and other such wackiness. I didn't take the time to search for lard making tips as I am still very "Lard 101".
Torakris, lard in a tube is pure genius.
-
I didn't bother to mention the lard, and if I had, I wonder if anyone would have had second thoughts about eating the cookies.
Would you?
Oy vey.
Interesting reaction.
Note: None of my co-workers were vegetarians. Had that been the case, I would have said. BTW. These cookies contain lard.
I suspect none of them kept a kosher diet either.
Had that been the case, I am sure you would have said "BTW. These cookies contain lard" and they in turn would have replied "oy vey."Vegetarianism aside, I doubt lard is any worse for you healthwise than the hydrogenated oils that are in just about, oh, everything.I suspect it's really a much healthier choice.
No one in my group kept kosher. That's for sure.
Also, I suspect that anyone following a kosher diet wouldn't bother with any food brought into the office by another co-worker.
And now I'm off to research the health benefits of lard.....
Dinner! 2003
in Cooking
Posted
No. I don't know what I was thinking. I think we were so excited about eating them that I put the camera away.
The good news is that the prosciutto (which is prostitute in spellcheck by the way) worked marvelously on the grill. It kept the chicken moist and took on an even smokier, baconish texture.