Shel_B

Some years ago I made a recipe for an excellent meat stock, and over the years have made it several times. Lately, however, it's becoming more difficult to get the veal bones that the technique calls for (the recipe calls for both beef and veal bones), and I was wsondering just what the veal bones brings to the pot. What do I gain when using veal bones that beef bones won't give me? Thanks!

This thread got me to order a few items from Pepper Passion, and I was quite pleased with the service and prompt delivery. One of the peppers that I ordered was the Tellicherry, and it was wonderful: not as much heat as some previous Tellicherry pepper that I bought, but lots of great flavor. Highly recommended! Pepper on cheese is another wonderful combination. I like to take a favorite cheese, melt it, and grind some black pepper over it. I love the gooey, pepper texture and flavor of peppered, melted cheese. With the increasing number of pepper varieties available, and the almost endless varieties of cheese, matching pepper and cheese can be a fun experiment.

It's time to get one or two new sheet pans, actually, half sheet pans. Over the years I've used them irregularly, and used whatever was handy - good pans, poor quality pans, non-stick, and those made from various materials. However, these pans will be the first that I've actually purchased. So, what do I look for? What materials are out there besides aluminum in its various incarnations: non-stick, anodized, plain? Are stainless steel pans available? How well/poorly might they make? Is the material really important? After all, the pans will often pre-heat in the oven, or remain in the oven a fair amount of time, so they'll have ample time to reach temperature, and often times the pan really isn't used for cooking so much as to just hold the food tems. Am I missing something here? The most frequent use will be for roasting vegetables and bones, rarely, if ever, for making cookies and baked goods, but that's always a possibility. Does any one material excel at these tasks?

I've been using Full Belly Farm for more than a year. They deliver fresah produce weekly to several local drop off spots and, for a few extra dollars, will deliver directly to the house. Apart from produce, which, because of its unique nature sometimes, Full Belly provides a few recipes along with the box of goodies. Lamb is also available at certain times of the year and comes butchered and packed. Sometimes local organic wine is also available (although I've not tried it) as well as fresh pressed apple juic e and cider. The lamb is some of the best I've tasted, and the pressed juice and cider is quite good as well. Sincde I moved, getting to the local CSA dropoff point has been a little difficult and I may have the produce delivered if it will continue being difficult to pick up the produce easily.

I seem to recall reading that peppers develop their heat in reaction to stress. Lack of water and high ambient and ground temperatures stress the plant and the plant, therefore, produces hotter peppers. Perhaps because there's a greater demand for peppers these days, more commercial growing techniques are used, providing more water to quicken the pepper plants growth and, as a consequence, the peppers produced are less stressed and less hot. In addition, there are peppers that are bred to be milder. Like you, I've found the jalapeños and serranos (especially those used in some commercial products like canned chipotles and the peppers used in some salsa) to be lacking in heat and flavor. Article discussing the thread subject

There's something I noticed about anchovies in tins and in jars: the ones in the tins always seem to be harder or firmer and somewhat less flavorful. The jarred anchovies, like Ortiz (and every other brand I've tried), are always softer and more pliable, and have a fresher flavor. Might this just be because of the brands I buy, or is this difference the situation across the board, perhaps because of the processing or packing techniques or perhaps the quality of anchovies?

Eggs and cheese are protein, and heat cooks or bakes the protein to the surface of the dish. Cold water doesn't have that effect. I recall reading this bit of information many years ago.

I thought someone here might be interested in this color Dutch oven. It's on eBay. Le Creuset Purple Lilac Mist Dutch Oven Link to Auction Link to Picture

Hi, I'll post these questions here as well: Hello, David ... Thanks for jumping in. Your post was very helpful but it does give me a few more questions. How much difference in hardness is there between hard maple at 1450 and purpler heart at 2000-something? How close on the scale is considered similar hardness, or, how close is close enough. Based on your comments, I may not want to use the "interwoven" pattern similar to the one I first saw in this clip: Cutting Board Video but I do want something more than just a broad expanse of solid maple. My current thinking would be to use a darker wood as a border around the main work surface. Would that eliminate the warping/waviness you described? How would such a design effect the longevity of the board? If the dark wood border was not done in end grain, but the long way (I forget what that's called) and framed the working space of the cutting board, would that result in a strogner or less strong board? I once had a dark walnut block and liked the way it flt to the knife and also liked the dark color. However, it seems that walnut is softer than hard maple. Would walnut be a good material choice fo a board? What about using it as the border material? Considering that the border would see very little use, if any, does it matter much what the border material would be? I think that's it for now. Thanks!

A friend, who is a skilled woodworker, has offered to make an end grain cutting board for me. Wow! That's exciting. How thick should the board be - I've seen good quality boards from 1 1/4-inch all the way to 2 1/4-inch? What factors enter ito deciding the thickness. The board will have a pattern, and one thought is to use hard maple with purple heart. Besides purple heart, what other wood might work well? What about walnut? Thanks!

Uhhh, no. They're not. They're the Wonder Bread of the doughnut world. Bingo! That's a good description. But then, I like my donuts firm and heavy, with a tall glass of cold milk.

I don't find them too small, although they are smaller than the donuts at my favorite donut joint, but I don't like them for the same reasons quoted above. In addition, they have a flacid texture. They are greatly overrated.

What is the best way to store safflower and sunflower oil. They are in covered glass containers that have been recently opened. Both are refined, organic oils produced by Spectrum. Is either one "healthier" than the other - different fat profiles, for example? Tks!

Ice cream. Vanilla ice cream. Some years ago I was in a Napa restaurant and was served a dish of vanilla ice cream in which a small amount of black papper was incorporated. Yummy! Now I'll sometimes grind a little pepper on good vanilla ace cream. Not quite as good as having the pepper incorporated into home made ice cream, but very good nonetheless.

I'll look into the breed and the quality of their meat. I can never remember the breed names and their general qualities. I appreciate your help. Thanks!

Broken Arrow Ranch in TX has some boar recipes and cooking suggestions. I've only skimmed the information, so your comments are most welcome. Thanks!

Hi, I'm looking to make some chile verde using pork, and would like to know the group's suggestions for a rich, flavorful pork. I've tried Niman Ranch but am not that satisfied with it. It's OK, but the depth of flavor is not as good as some other pork I've tried at some restaurants and foodie places. Unfortunately, I didn't ask what they were serving and it's going to be hard recalling just which places had the tasty pork. Also, what about using wild boar? I can get boar meat in several forms and was thinking that, if boar is acceptable, perhaps the stew meat would be a good choice. Comments. Thanks for any help, Shel

I didn't know that black came standard with the SS knobs. Nice to know ... Thanks!

Yesterday I picked up my new LC, the 5 1/2 quart French oven in Black Onyx What a nice looking piece. It has an almond interior which was something of a surprise as I was expecting white. The almond looks good with the black exterior and is still light enough to be able to see food brown and see any stuck on bits. But the biggest surprise is that the pot came with the stainless steel knob on the lid instead of the expected phenolic one. Has LC changed to SS or did I somehow get lucky? Can't wait to clean it up and start using it. There are a few dishes I want to try real soon.

Being a cat owner, I'm quite familiar with the clipper and have a few in the house. I'm sure my cat won't mind if one of his clippers gets "lost>" Good tip. I generally just break 'em up with something heavy and grind the (coarsely) in one of those cheap grinders that pepper comes in at the supermarket or Trader Joe's.

While it's a small thing, it's probably useful to many people who eat in their car and while driving and talking on their cell phone. They are not doing enough to get into an accident.

Interesting ideas for using the pepper. Tks! I found Salt Traders last night but haven't ordered yet. Want to see their full line first. Looks like a nice site in any case.

Thanks. I'm pretty content with the results I'm getting. I'm mostly interested in seeing if they can be improved and what others are doing and think about the CI method. While in some ways I'm pretty fussy about my first cup of the day, after that I can be pretty cavalier about how the coffee is brewed.

Yep! That's one of the things that troubled/puzzled me since couscous comes in several grinds. Considering how "detailed and precise" CI tries to be, this instruction seems somewhat vague. It seems that no matter how coarse I make the grind, there's always some residue or grounds to be found. Here's the video

I've been buying their Pajaro blend and it's pretty darned good, especially considering price and convenience. It's about $8.00/lb and Peets (at the Peet's stores) is quite a bit more. The Pajaro blend is organic, fair trade, and one of the darkest, richest blends TJ's carries. http://www.viewpoints.com/Trader-Joes-Winter-Blend-Coffee-reviews