Shel_B

I made a pan-fried burger for lunch today. It's something I rarely do, maybe three times a year, although I truly enjoy such a treat. I rarely make such a burger because my apartment gets smokey and smells somewhat greasy afterwards, and the smell lingers for a day or two. Is there any way to minimize or, better yet, eliminate the grease in the air? I use the vent over the stove but it does a poor job, and I open the windows and the apartment door to get better air flow through the place. These things help, but the results are only marginally better. Might there be a cut of meat that minimizes smoke and grease? Cooking at a lower temp (I still would like a nice crust)?

I was equating corn tortillas with cornbread or corn muffins in which there's usually ample fat. After comments here, I checked some corn tortilla recipes and none of them had added fat. Never having made tortillas, this was a learning experience. Thanks!

To me, the term "more forgiving" means flexible, soft, bendable. Might it be the gluten in flour tortillas that gives them those properties?

There's a woman in Vancouver who has a successful and well-regarded Thai cooking site. I was referencing something on her site today and came across her video about making Thai-style tacos using easy-to-find supermarket ingredient. I immediately thought of you @ElsieD https://hot-thai-kitchen.com/thai-taco/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EyElhNgsG4

There's a Salvadoran restaurant near me and they make their tortillas by hand. They just toss the dough back and forth between their hands. Sweetie and I got friendly with the ladies there, and they showed us how to do it. It's easy, but it takes some practice. Here's a woman making tortillas without a press, but using a rolling pin instead of just tossing the dough between her hands. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fA68XXQJN4Y Unless you have a physical problem that prevents you from making tortillas without a press, you might want to consider one of these techniques. And here's a review of presses from ATK that might be useful should you decide to go that route: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hG_Wrm-qYyI

@Red Owl ... Your old post came up for me while reading a current message. Maybe this will be helpful. Perhaps you can make a Dutch Baby as a shell for your fillings. The recipe is very similar to that of popovers, and for your purpose they might be a better choice. I make 'em in a small (five or six inch) cast iron skillet which fits easily into my Breville countertop oven. Actually, two of the small skillets will fit into the oven. Examples: https://www.lodgecastiron.com/recipe/basic-dutch-baby https://butfirstwebrunch.com/mini-cast-iron-dutch-babies/

Take a look at Tacos Quesabirria. Here's one idea for it:

I've been collecting and experimenting with this noodle dish since just before leaving NYC for Cali., in 1967, when I first sampled the dish at Shorty Tang's place. There are about thirty variations in the collection and roughly one third to one half of them have both peanut butter and sesame paste. The dish goes by a variety of names and descriptions: Take-out Noodles, Dan Dan Noodles, Tan Tan Noodles, Sesame Noodles, and more. It's never seemed strange to me having both sesame paste and peanut butter in the dish.

Thanks for the tip. I'll see if it's on the shelf at BB when next I visit. It would be nice to have a fallback. I usually make my own peanut sauce based on Shorty Tang's version. He was the chef/owner of Hwa Yuan Szechuan Inn, one of NYC Chinatown’s first Szechuan restaurants, back in the 1960s. If you care to know more about Shorty Tang and his noodle creation, here's a link to more information, including Sam Sifton's version which is considered to be a fairly accurate rendition of Shorty's: https://ny.eater.com/2011/11/2/6639857/a-family-history-of-shorty-tangs-cold-sesame-noodles

Yes, a press can be a PITA, but sometimes it's the right tool for the job, as is every other way of dealing with garlic. Have you considered the shark skin and ray skin graters. I saw one in use recently and have become intrigued.

+1, although it is a bit of a PITA to clean and I sometimes wish the hopper was bigger. But the results are quite good. I remember when ATK/CI did their review and commented that the holes and their placement were excellent, which waswhat motivated me to purchase it. It's also well-built and sturdy.

Not recommended because the number and size of the holes makes it difficult to easily control the result. The hopper is somewhat small. I bought one and gave it away. YMMV

It can result in too strong, or intense, a flavor, but there are plenty of ways to control that. Likewise, the garlic being easily burnt. For example, we know that adding a small amount of water to the oil in which the garlic is cooking can eliminate the chance of the garlic burning. Or adding the garlic after other ingredients. There are times when I want the garlic to be as fine as that which comes from the press as it blends into sauces more smoothly and innocuously, almost disappearing. Other times I'll throw an entire clove or more into a dish only to remove it/them when the subtle flavor has been given up, other times I'll grate it, or make a paste, or add large pieces to a dish. Removing the core from the clove will temper its intensity. The flavor and intensity of garlic is easily controlled.

After discovering the product, I did some poking around, and came across this discussion about its health benefits. In short, to my understanding, they are somewhat mixed. I think you'd have to consider which aspects of the product are most important to you, how you'll be using it, and which version of the product you'd be using. You can read this and make up your own mind ... https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/pb2-powdered-peanut-butter

Thanks for all the suggestions for using this product. I never thought about adding it to oatmeal ... sounds like a great idea. I'll be picking up some of this product shortly and am looking forward to trying it. I love spicy peanut noodles, and this certainly seems like it can somehow be used in such a dish.

This morning I discovered this product. Just add water. Has anyone tried it? For what have you used it? It might be nice in some spreads or sauces ... There's also a version without added sugar or salt, although there's very little added sugar in this version and salt s considerably less than in a comparable amount of typical peanut butter.

Momofuku Says It Will No Longer Enforce ‘Chile Crunch’ Trademark On April 12, Chang released an episode of his podcast The Dave Chang Show apologizing and responding to the chile crunch debacle — by announcing that Momofuku will no longer enforce the trademark https://www.eater.com/24128813/dave-chang-momofuku-trademark-enforcement-chile-crunch-debacle-response-explained

Here's an 15yo 5.5 quart Le Creuset pot that has not seen bleach, BKF, or had a particularly easy (nor a particularly difficult) life. Just cleaned with Dawn dish detergent, hot water, and a simple scrubber sponge. It's clearly not pristine, but not even close to the condition of the pot shown in my original post, and the many other pots that I/we have seen. What am I doing wrong <LOL>?

I always carry a small package of tapioca starch in my Go-Bag for those unexpected thickening emergencies that happen when on the road.

Badly stained cookware is often seen on cooking videos. Here's a pot used in a recent video from a well-known cook and food writer: I will admit to being ignorant about such things, but it seems to me that cooking in such a pot might have some drawbacks. It's harder to see fond develop, maybe food will stick more easily, perhaps it will contribute to adding more and deeper staining, and it might affect heat transfer and overall cooking quality. Could continually cooking in such a pot ultimately damage the cooking surface? Is the surface already damaged? Am I being overly concerned? Are my concerns unfounded? Essentially, I don't really care that much about how other people treat and use their cookware, and I somewhat like the patina that comes with age and use, but I am curious about the downside to treating and using cookware in such a manner. What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks to everyone for their input. Very helpful ... 👍

I've always used corn starch as a thickener. Over the last number of months, potato starch has shown up with greater frequency in recipes to use as a thickener. Is potato starch gaining in popularity, or am I just becoming more aware of its use? More to the point, what are the advantages/disadvantages of these two thickeners? When do you use one or the other?

Boiled/steamed/poached eggs? Pretty unpretentious, low fat, good protein percentage, simple, easy, inexpensive. Chicken breasts can be prepared in numerous low-fat ways. Sunset magazine's pepper steamed chicken is a favorite here and a nicely poached piece of chicken can be something very nice. There are many recipes and techniques for poached chicken. Apple cider braised turkey thighs? I've had good results with that and my guests have liked the dish. Over the years I've been making variations of turkey/bean chili, sometime with little or no oil. Pretty simple, add herbs and spices to taste. Variations of the Native Americans' Three Sisters Stew might be worth considering. I'd be happy to send you these and other similar recipes.

This is the nut milk bag I've been using since 2017. The same bag has been used frequently for carrot and other vegetable juices, apple and other fruit juices, coconut, almond, cashew, and other nut milks. Highly, highly recommended: https://www.amazon.com/Pro-Quality-Nut-Milk-Bag/dp/B00KLT6X9W/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?(eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

@AAQuesadaAre you suggesting just corn silk or in combination with cobs and perhaps remnant kernels?