Shel_B

I watched a few episodes and found the show to be boring and predictable in content. Yeah, it was somewhat interesting trying to guess the winner, but after watching a couple of episodes the entire process became repetitive and I lost interest in the process. The show is over-amped and not very entertaining past a few episodes. A Big Yawn!

You might like this idea for Stuffed Piquillo Peppers

Penzeys sells glass jars in various sizes with screw caps and labels. The jars come in two styles, one with a "shaker" cap and the other wide-mouth so you can dip a small scoop into them. Capacities are 4oz, 8oz, 16oz, and 32oz.

Is there a half way decent chain restaurant that serves fish & chips? I'm not looking for, nor do I expect to find, excellent quality, (although that would be nice), rather, some place that offers reasonably acceptable fare for the times the mood strikes when I'm traveling and other options are unappealing.

Yes, it's Israeli. I think it's the same brand that the local TJ's have been carrying for the past few years.

Quick question: How long can black and white peppercorns be stored before losing potency and flavor? Thanks!

I bought some of the Talamanca recently and absolutely LOVE it. I took some into a place where I often eat lunch and shared it with some people, and they all thought it was great as well. Highly recommended!

I bought a couple of boxes of Holyland Matzo (http://estouest.blog.lemonde.fr/files/2007/03/holylandmatzos.1174436055.jpg) that Trader Joe's was carrying. The price was about 1/3 the price of Streits or Manischwitz, and the matzo was nice and crispy. It held up very well to making matzo brie, which was the intended purpose of the purchase. It was also pretty strong, holding up well to spreading with butter or cream cheese - it didn't break as easily as some other matzohs I've tried. I really like the crisp, firm texture.

Just because you only use the pan for omelets doesn't make the non-stick pan a unitasker. After all, it can be used for making sauces, frying and sautéing meat or vegetables ...

Recently the local TJ's has started carrying Trader Joe's Whole Grain Dijon Mustard. It's a fairly strong, deep flavored mustard. We like it quite a bit - much better and more interesting than the earlier TJ's Dijon that we tried. Anyone else try it and like it?

I'll look into the book. There are plenty available on line for as little as 99-cents. Frontier products has been the subject of a major recall in March. I usually don't use Frontier products. http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm204072.htm

I'll take a look at Ripert's books. I've looked through Johnson's book a few times (it is a good one) and finally broke down and ordered it a few days ago. I buy my fresh fish from him - been doing so for years - as I live near the market and his product is first rate. FWIW, he co-wrote the California Seafood Cookbook, another excellent book. I got my copy directly from Paul as he sold them at the market.

For a variety of reasons, I'll be eating a lot more fish and cutting back on red meat and some dairy products. Although I've cooked a fair amount of fish in my day, a lot of it has been very simple, like poaching salmon or baking and grilling. This was fine as I didn't eat fish often and my limited cooking methods were adequate. Now I'd like to get some more exciting ideas for cooking fish and sea food, but at the same time I'd like to keep the cooking methods low in saturated fat. Using olive oil and other flavored oils is fine, and calories are not an issue. Learning more about what herbs go best with what fish would be helpful. And recommendations for fish cookbooks would be appreciated.

I know how to brew coffee, I sometimes roast my own at home with a coffee roaster, and I understand about old coffe, under roasted coffee, and the like. This was not old coffee, nor was it under roasted. It was just not roasted the way I prefer my beans to be roasted. I bought a dark roast that was not to my satisfaction. The same beans from the same roaster, roasted darker, are more to my liking. Therefore my question. The answer, it seems, is that I can't re-roast the coffee beans. Although, in another venue, a fellow mentioned an article in coffeegeek.com that said the Swiss often do it, although the coffee takes on a different character. I've not read the article yet. Thanks for jumping in.

Recently I bought some dark roasted coffee, but it turned out the roast wasn't dark enpough for my taste. While sipping the insipid brew, I asked myself, "Why can't I take these beans and roast them some more?" Now I'm asking you, the coffee mavens. Can this be done? And how might be the best way to do it? Thanks!

Yesterday I bought some chorizo sausage for the first time. From the package information it was Mexican style. I believe there's a Spanish style, and maybe some other types as well. Since I bought the sausage to pill a dog, I didn't care much about taste or quality. Actually, I bought it because it was the cheapest sausage in the meat case. However, I did fry up a small piece just to give it a taste. It was incredibly greasy - there was a big puddle of grease in the skillet - and that allowed the meat, such as it was, to crisp up nicely. But there's more to sausage than crispy meat. So, what should this chorizo novice look for in good chorizo? Is it usually so greasy? What meats and spices would be considered for a good quality, traditional chorizo? What are the differences between Mexican, Spanish, and other types of chorizo? Thanks!

So, has anyone got a few good ideas for these delicious and sometimes all-too-seasonal little jewels? I'm running out of ideas and my recipe computer is in the shop. I've got chicken broth and plenty of schmaltz, and of course, matzoh.

Does the percentage of butter to water matter much, if ast all? In any case, about how much butter would be needed for how many grams of pot? Any rough ideas based on experience or from articles? Thanks!

Thanks!

Try a Bocca di Dama, a traditional Italian almond cake.

I am a medical marijuana user, and I don't really care for smoking pot. However, it's sometimes the only relief I can get from my back pain. Maybe pot brownies will help. Does anyone have any ideas on how best to incorporate marijuana into brownies or other baked goods?

Assuming approximately equal capacities, is there any practical difference between the Staub Coq au Vin pot and the Staub Oval Cocotte? Dimensions? Interior color or design? Thanks!

A friend has recently developed a problem digesting cow's milk dairy products. What would be a good substitute for heavy cream? Hopefully something that's not loaded with sugar and strange sounding chemical names.

Le Creuset suggests that their pots be preheated in the oven before being put on the stove top. At least that's what I was told by someone who claimed to know such things. Perhaps bringing the pot slowly up to temp on the stove top would accomplish much the same thing.

It may have been mentioned here that browning and searing is better done on raw cast iron than on enameled cast iron. If that's the case, and one wants to braise in an enameled pot like a Le Creuset, how would one get the most flavor from browning on raw cast iron into the enameled pot? Would the raw cast iron fond be deglazed and then the liquid transfered to the enameled pot? Or might therfe be another, perhaps better, method? Thamks!