Shel_B

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?

I have and use Microplane and similar graters. Still, there are times when it would be nice to have the option of the Cuisinart grater disc available. I have other discs available that rarely get used, but there are times that they have come in handy.

Nami, at Just One Cookbook, has a very detailed description and recipes for the egg salad and the bread on her site. I make the egg salad mixture just a bit differently, separating the white from the yolks, then finely chopping the whites and adding the desired amount to the yolks. For the bread: https://www.justonecookbook.com/japanese-milk-bread-shokupan/ For the tamago sando: https://www.justonecookbook.com/japanese-egg-sandwich-tamago-sando/

If you enjoy egg salad, have you tried the Japanese"7-Eleven" egg salad sando. There are a few variations floating around. Ideally, it's made with Japanese milk bread (Shokupan), but I can't easily find good samples and so have taken to using challah. The egg-y challah seems to go very well with the egg salad mixture.

I wanted to share this with you. Years ago, I had this book - Jim Lee's Chinese Cookbook - and after a divorce and a major move, the book somehow vanished from my collection. I hadn't thought much about it over the years, but recently I was looking for a recipe and came across one of Jim's, and that got me to thinking about the book. With the internet now matured, it wasn't hard to find, and here it is: Jim's food is neither fancy nor complex, rather, it's straight-forward cooking with an emphasis on technique and ingredients. I love it, and am so glad I found another copy. That he lived in a converted matzo factory is a real bonus. It adds another dimension to his character.

I didn't know that until I saw it posted here. I don't need to grate much Parm., etc, but it would be nice to have that option. When my chopping blade issue is resolved, I may get the hard cheese blade.

I've not seen it in my TJ's. Allrecipes did a review of this pasta ... https://www.allrecipes.com/new-favorite-trader-joes-lemon-torchietti-pasta-7550002

I've an older (but not old) 5½ quart Dutch oven. It came with a stainless steel handle for the lid. The space between the lid and the handle is rather narrow, and I'd like to extend the handle a bit to allow more space. Is there a handle available that will provide that extra distance. I couldn't find one. I've an idea to add a spacer and get an extended bolt to hold the whole shebang together should a handle not be available off the shelf. Any thoughts on whether that is a good idea.

It seems that a number of cognoscenti believe (and can at least somewhat substantiate) that the older machines were better engineered and better built. That's in great part why I want a blade rather than a new machine. Even if the blade is of less than stellar quality, I can buy a couple-three for less than the cost of a new machine and keep my baby on the road another decade or more. I'm going to get one of the blades that was mentioned in this thread. It's already in my shopping cart. Turns out that my machine is from the '80s, so it's about forty years old.

@TdeV, are you referring to the quality of replacement bowls or all bowls, including the ones that come with new machines? While I'm toying with the idea of getting a new machine, every time I use my current machine (20+ years old?) I take great pleasure in the quality feel that it has. I'd hate to lose that. A minor correction to your comment: my blade hasn't broken but it seems to have dulled over time.

What risk is there in replacing the whole machine?

Hmm ... it's not a Cuisinart blade but it looks to have the appropriate features. I'll look further into the matter. Thank you!

Very helpful. Thank you @TdeV

Could you post a pic of your machine, or post a link to an online image?

Would you be kind enough to explain the infamous recall? I know nothing about it and, until this moment, never heard of it. Added: I did a Google search and found the information. Thanks for the heads up.

Yes, I checked eBay, and thus far all I could find were used blades. Cuisinart doesn't show them on their site, either.

I agree on both points. There's usually at least one type of polenta in the cabinet.

I have an old Cuisinart Classic processor and the blade is kind of dull. I've been looking for a replacement (DLC 10) and can't seem to find a new one. There are some that claim to be that model, but they don't look like mine. Hence, the subject question.