Shel_B

It would be interesting to see how well it holds up. Over the past few years there have been many reports of poor quality for enameled cast iron made in China. With that information in mind, and the good results I had with earlier LC, my latest "Dutch oven" purchase was LC. Staub also has a good reputation.

Hmmm ... I never thought of it before, but does shredded, dried coconut freeze well, or is it even necessary to freeze it?

Like others, I'm not a big user of prepared foods. That said, there's usually frozen blueberries, raspberries, sometimes mango chunks or halves in the freezer, as well as some vegetables like spinach, corn, peas, bell pepper pieces, and edamame and lima beans, sometimes green beans, and rarely, broccoli or cauliflower. Most of these are organic or pesticide-free items from Trader Joe. I also keep cooked rice in the freezer. I'll make up a large batch of brown rice and put it in a large zip lock bag, layed out flat, and then just break off a chunk whenever it's needed. Rice freezes very well, and since it takes a while to make brown rice, it's very handy to have around. And there's always room for leftovers ...

Judy Rodgers mentions using clean cloth napkins to filter stock and other liquids. I tried that technique and had good results. I imagine a t-shirt, or even a clean handkerchief, would work as well. FWIW, I don't use laundry detergents with dyes or fragrance. However, a coffee filter seems like a good idea for some liquids - others, those that are thicker or filled with solids, seem to clog the coffee filter, and a cloth works better since it can be squeezed to force the liquid through.

In a way this is more an academic question than anything, but curiosity has prompted me to ask. Toots makes a nice pot luck dish (eggs, spinach, corn, the ubiquitous cream of mushroom soup, etc) that we both enjoy for its ease of preparation and flexibility. She prepares it in an 11" x 7" Pyrex dish. I have a Corningware casserole with square dimensions, 8.25" x 8.25" approximately, which is slightly deeper than her Pyrex. The overall volume of the two dishes is about the same. Given similar volumes, how do the dimensions effect cooking time? Are there situations where dimensions are more critical than others? And what about shape, such as round v square, assuming similar volume? Just curious ... Thanks!

Wednesday I made my first cheesecake - a lemon goat cheese version - which came out pretty well and was liked by all who tried it. The crust, made mith Trader Joe's Meyer lemon flavored cookies, was very tasty. However, it was crumbly and pieces broke off leaving quite a few crumbs. Is this typical of traditional graham cracker crusts? If not, maybe the different texture and makeup of the lemon cookies contributed to the problem. In any case, how might I make the crust so it will be more likely to stay together? Thanks!

Is the upper rack hotter than the lower rack? Thanks!

Thanks for all the input thus far. Ideas abound ... off to the market tomorrow to get the eggplant and some other ingredients and play around with some recipes on Sunday.

Thanks for the pointer and your comments. Looking forward to playing with this new recipe idea. Kind regards,

Toots loves eggplant with black bean sauce, and has asked me to prepare it at home. I've never made it, and can't tell from recipes I've found on line what may be good or not. So, perhaps the mavens at eGullet can help. I'd appreciate any good, proven recipes and techniques, bearing in mind that we don't have a wok and Toots' apartment stove doesn't lend itself to wok cooking. It would be nice to get some suggestions for a prepared black bean sauce (I bought some Lee Kum Kee sauce yesterday, but perhaps there's a more interesting version out there) as well as a recipe or ideas for making my own. Toots does not care for green peppers so recipes that include an alternative, as opposed to just leaving them out, would be especially appreciated. In any case, any ideas would be welcome. None of the recipes I've looked at thus far have suggested salting and eliminating water from the eggplant which, I understand from other recipes, may be a good idea. Comments on this technique? FWIW, I'm not a big fan of eggplant so I've never prepared it - this is just for Toots. Thanks!

Thanks for the input. I've now a better idea of why my intended results have been erratic.

Sometimes I use a blender to puree,other times a food processor. Sometimesthe results are excellent,other times not so terrific. When do you use which tool? Any rules of thumb? Thanks!

Yes, after cooking the meat is shredded off the bone and goes into the sauce. Thanks!

There's a recipe that I'd like to make, a pork ragu, which calls for riblets: "Get three pounds of ribs and cut them into riblets," it says. I checked on line and the results seem to indicate a lot of wasted ribs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riblets So, what are riblets? Thanks!

Thanks gang! I discovered the companies noted by andiesenji but didn't know how good their product is or how reliable they are. I don't mind shelling some nuts myself although for certain situations shelled would be very handy to have. Emannths' suggestion seems like it may be worth a try. Have either of you tried the suppliers you referenced?

I've had some experience making both ice cream, sherbet, and sorbet, but don't know how to get a good swirl effect. I thought I'd do something as you suggested, but can't help but wonder if there's a way that may be more effective.

Years ago I used to get pinion pine nuts, and then they seemed to disappear in my local stores, replaced mostly with pine nuts from China. There is a difference in texture and flavor, and now I'd like to find a good, reliable source for pinion pine nuts, or even other types of pine nuts, from trees grown here in the US, especially in the western and southwestern parts of the country. Thanks!

I'd like to make a simple frozen confection - mix a fruit syrup (like blueberry, raspberry, etc.) with cream or half-and-half, in a swirl pattern. Any thoughts on how to get that result? Thanks!

Hi ... Thanks for the ideas. I like the chicken salad concept especially well. Adding it to soup will work just fine, too. If we had a dog, it would probably enjoy such a treat, however, neither GF nor I like to waste food, so it's nice to get some ideas from y'all.

My GF brought some leftover chicken home from a "rubber chicken" dinner. Last night we wanted to have it for dinner, but the chicken (breast meat) was a bit dry and hard. Is there a good way to make such chicken, and perhaps other meats and leftovers, more palatable. I cooked it in a sauce of lemon, garlic, wine, and some herbs, and it wasn't awful, but perhaps there's some other treatment that can be done to ot. Thanks!

Various nutritional guidelines suggest eating X-number of portions or servings of fruits, vegetables, grains, etc. What, or how much, is a portion or serving size? Are the portions diferent for different foods? Thanks!

Yes! I also tried adding some freshly-made salsa, and that was pretty good. Had to be sure to drain the salsa well, though ...

Yes, I found that there is a real defference between brands. I tried draining some through a sieve and it reduced the "soupiness" quite a bit. I prefer the 4% fat but some 2% gave me the results I like.

I just finished a half-loaf a few days ago. The bread is very flavorful and crisps up nicely. I'll get it again ....

That mango peeling and cutting trick is GREAT! It eliminates my biggest objections to trimming mangos and probably the need or desire for a gadget to do the job. Thanks!!!