Shel_B

Toots is from Argentina, and she enjoys a great steak every now and then. We have a special day coming up in a couple of months, and I'd like to take her to San Francisco for a great steak dinner. Even though we live in the area, it's been years since we've crossed the bridge for dinner in SF. I last ate meat in SF at the House of Prime Rib several years ago. So, which steak house would you recommend. We are not impressed by huge portions, and drinks are of minimal interest. We'd like great service, a quiet atmosphere, and a good choice of excellent steaks. What would you "steak mavens" suggest? Thanks!

Costco Chicken Ingredients: Decide for yourself if this is what you want to eat. http://www.google.com/search?q=costco+roasted+chicken&hl=en&biw=1086&bih=484&tbm=isch&tbs=simg:CAQSEgnPoQhIgMEo9CH7ujr6iGkyQA&dur=5717#imgrc=z6EISIDBKPRu3M%3A%3Bheyl5GUaqmjueM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252F4.bp.blogspot.com%252F-O6TtA7c3xmk%252FT5CuBKNLUFI%252FAAAAAAAAAMs%252FXzBLjPcrEXc%252Fs1600%252Fcostco_rotisserie_chicken.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fkaukautime.blogspot.com%252F2012%252F04%252Fcostco-rotisserie-chicken.html%3B1600%3B1200

Thanks for the link. I made a quick stop at BB&B and purchased a set of Anchor Hocking ramekins foe less than $5.00 as I want to make some flan today. I've been happy with both the Anchor products and the Duralex products. I like the shape of the Duralex better than the Anchor shape, so I'll look around to see if I can get a better price somewhere.

I'd like to get some ramekins. My preferences are: Not made in China, totally non-porous, smooth interior, durable, 5-oz +/- capacity, capable of refrigerator to oven, good quality.

I generally prefer curly leaf parsley ... flavor profile seems more appropriate for tabouleh.

I don't bake much (in fact, very little), but when I do, I bake from scratch using proven recipes. However, while looking for some new ideas, I've seen some recipes that call for oil, like canola or vegetable, instead of butter. I've never baked with oil ... So, can I replace oil with butter, and how would I make the conversion? Equal parts butter for oil, or some proportion? What else would I have to consider when making the change? Butter contains water, so would that be a consideration, and in what way? Thanks! .... Shel

That looks more like an omelet with matzo than matzo brei. The matzo pieces are too big and too regular in shape, and don't seem to be well-coated with the egg. I have strong opinions about using WW matzo - I'm a staunch advocate of plain matzo, and the idea of toasting the matzo is alien to me. Never heard of doing that until I read this thread. Was the toasting an experiment, or have you tried it before? What specifically made it "Feh?" .... Shel

And this brings me to ask, "What's a good oven thermometer?" It would be great if I could find one with a large, readable dial. .... Shel

Toots buys these chickens and makes stock from the remains. I've never cared for the results, finding it too salty for my taste and too intense, and somewhat muddy in the flavor profile. However, she'll sometimes make the stock and I'll add water to it, and it's not too bad - more acceptable. However, I much prefer making stock from fresh chicken.

Have you tried rehydrating the bulghur in the dressing, and eliminating the water? How about oven-dried tomatoes? What do you put in your dressing? Thanks! .... Shel

I couldn't find a topic on this subject ... What are your preferences for preparing and for ingredients for tabouleh? .... Shel

Probably ... I'll ask her when I next see her, or perhaps I'll drop her an email later today. .... Shel

My GF is from Argentina, and she makes flan frequently. She's been making it for decades. The friends and associates that she makes it for rave about it, and it's always requested that she bring it to their pot lucks, luncheons, and other social gatherings. She never uses condensed or evaporated milk. I watched her make a flan just last night. She measured some milk, added vanilla and sugar, beat some eggs and added that to the milk, and put it into her regular flan tray (which already contained her "burnt sugar"), stuck it in a hot water bath and put everything into the preheated oven. Another fine flan ... .... Shel

Huge portions. Example: there's a bagel place near me that, when asked for a schmear of cream cheese, piles, literally, about 1/4-inch of cream cheese on the bagel, more than enough for two bagels and some to take home. Pizza with so much cheese on it that it runs off the slice to the point that I can take the excess home and make a cheese sandwich with it. Salads so over dressed that I now only order dressing on the side. Food that's not hot: soup that's luke warm to the point I send it back to be heated. Hamburgers piled so high with garnish (lettuce, tomato, pickles, avocado, bacon, and what not) that one cannot easily take a bite out of the sandwich and the thing has to be held together with a huge toothpick. Remove the toothpick and the stack can't even support itself. Leave the toothpick in, and it impales you. .... Shel

What you suggest would work, and Panaderia's suggestions are good as well. You could also put some garlic cloves in oil (lightly crushed or not) and heat it on the stove. You'd get a somewhat similar result as the sunlight extraction, but a lot quicker. Hope this helps. .... Shel

I've been moving to water instead of stock for some soups for a while, and often I'll use a very "thin" stock for a subtle background note. I generally like the results. However, sometimes I find that water from the tap has an off taste ... maybe you've experienced that as well ... chemicals from water treatment, old pipes are a couple of issues that detract from the taste of pure, clean water. If you've experienced these problems, how do you deal with it? Ignore it? Bottled water? Filtering? What kind of filter? .... Shel

At one time I always used stock of some sort when making soup. Recently I've started reducing the amount of stock I use, and using a greater proportion of water in my soups. I sometimes thin chicken stock with water when making chicken soup, and that allows the actual chicken and vegetables to shine a little more brightly. There are some recipes that I recently came across that suggest using water instead of stock altogether. So, when do you use water, when do you use stock or a "thin" stock? Have you found that certain recipes that call for stock give better, or more satisfactory, results with water or a lesser proportion of stock? Thanks! ....Shel

I have made my own sauces in the past, in fact, I had a small business selling some locally. Very familiar with the NC sauces - have created a few recipes that I like and still use. Wanting a commercial sauce that suits the taste of Toots and me is just another option. ...Shel

I prefer the plain matzoh - always have. Over the years I've become accustomed to matzoh imported from Israel. The ones I've tried seem to be a little more crunchy than the more typical US made matzohs, like Streits and Manischewitz. And, if I recall correctly, one of the US made matzoh brands contains ingredients other than the traditional flour and water. In addition, they're more expensive than the imported brands I've tried, and contain fewer matzohs. Plain matzoh seems to be a better choice for making matzoh brei (did I spell that correctly?), which I love making for Toots a couple of times a year. ...Shel

I mostly buy TJ's Greek style yogurt, and prefer the fat free style. The full fat style is too heavy for my taste. I like TJ's because it's easy to come by, there are no additives or fillers, and the price is reasonable. TJ's is now carrying an organic Greek style yogurt, which I've not tried yet. Straus Family Farms produces some nice organic yogurts, although it's probably not available nationally. I just bought a tub of their Greek style non-fat and I like the fullness of the flavor. I think it'll be nice in my panna cotta recipe. I'll have to do a side-by-side comparison with TJ's yogurt. Nancy's has some satisfactory yogurt products as well, but I'venot purchased any for quite a while as TJ's has a good selection and their store is very convenient to me. ...Shel

Which one do you have? There seem to be several models. ...Shel

I'm using a "Betty Crocker" brand vegetable peeler that was given to me by my GF. It's OK, but I'm not very pleased with the way it works. However, I've not tried other brands, so I really don't have a point of comparison. Are all vegetable peelers pretty much the same? Are there some designs (are there other designs?) that work better? What do you use, why do you use it or like it, and have you made any comparisons? Thanks! ...Shel

There's nothing wrong with olive oil, however, it's nice to have options. Cooking with a lot of oil adds calories, calories add body fat. So, as has been posted in this forum many times, "everything in moderation," and let me add "even good things." ...Shel

Plantes Vertes ... Thanks for some great ideas! For health reasons I must cut back on my fat intake, and it's been difficult for me to find low fat or fat free vegetarian recipes and ideas ...Shel

No to GMO, but the apple callus hairs seem like a very real possibility. The apples had a somewhat brownish flesh, which is, according to the articles I read, typical of the problem. The hairs also frequently contain small starch granules. I'd guess that, when heated and cooked, the starch firms up, and prevents the apple pieces from breaking down. ...Shel