Shel_B

Coincidentally, I was looking at This Recipe on Serious Eats earlier, and they showed making the spaghetti in a skillet, with, obviously, very little water. A comment was that the extra starchy water contributed to making an excellent sauce. So, there you have it ... less water than even I was using. Interesting how things have changed. It was always important to use lots of water, now we are using a minimal amount of water.

I usually cook a single serving of pasta in one quart (or less) of water ... I don't measure precisely, but, in any case, I sometimes want starchier H2O than I get.

I understand the dynamics of using the pasta cooking water to add starch and substance to various pasta sauces. However, I often use this whole wheat pasta which doesn't put as much starch into the water as more conventional pasta. What might be a good way to add some starch to the water? Thanks!

Chris Kimball presents a 12 course dinner based on Fannie Farmer's 1896 cookbook, the Boston Cooking-School Cookbook. Dishes were prepared in Kimball's Victoria-style kitchen over a huge wood-burning stove. Watch how recipes were tested and prepared, with everything made from scratch, including making gelatin, working with calves' heads, and recreating recipes using 100+ year old tools. This is a fascinating look back to an exciting time in the United States ... hope you've got a Netflix subscription. Click Here

This afternoon I threw together a little vegetable soup. I added 1 tsp of Diamond Crystal kosher salt while sautéing the mirepoix. A quick taste suggested that would be enough salt. Well, when the soup was finished, it tasted too salty. The extra salty taste may have come from the chicken stock I used (I'll have to check that later). However, I'm wondering if there's a way to reduce the saltiness - maybe drain some liquid and replace with water or some other less salty liquid. That would probably require adding some additional herbs and spices, but that's doable. Can you think of another way to accomplish the task?.

Yes, I, too, would love it if you'd share the recipe. The soup looks to be quite hearty ... yumm!

I don't know why I didn't think of some of our excellent local bakeries. Sheesh! http://www.acmebread.com/bread/rolls

For our annual holiday dinner, I've been requested to bring some dinner rolls. I am not going to bake them, rather, I want to use some frozen or otherwise prepared rolls. What brands should I look for? I think Cook's Illustrated recommended frozen Peperidge Farm rolls, but I'm not sure they are available here in the San Francisco area.

That may be, however, I have tried the peppers from various (not all) sources, including Penzys and Spice House, and have found there to be differences, some subtle and some not-so-subtle. I much prefer the Aleppo pepper I got a couple of years ago. In any case, here's a pepper that seems to be worth trying.

We're all aware of the tragedy in Aleppo, but this is not the place to discuss it. Another (albeit smaller and less important) victim has been Aleppo pepper. I was lucky in that I was able to get a couple of bags of vacuum packed Aleppo pepper before the situation in the area became untenable. However, these bags shall not last forever. I'll be ordering this pepper very soon. Check out the recipe for the Aleppo pepper roasted pork with shallot vinaigrette too. http://www.bonappetit.com/story/red-chile-flakes-bukovo-daphnis-and-chloe These Mellow, Smoky Chile Flakes Are Your Red Pepper Flake Replacement www.bonappetit.com A mildly spicy chile flake that we sprinkle on pizza, pasta, popcorn—okay, everything.

Ranch 99 is a smallish chain with a few stores in several western states. Here's their recent flyer for our area:

Don't you have a recycling program in your area?

A short while ago, I requested a free sample of their current issue, and it arrived yesterday. This evening I got comfortable on the couch, put my feet up, and looked forward to enjoying a pleasant peruse of the content. It was a disappointing experience. The entire content was in black and white, with a complete absence of color for the images and illustrations. There was really nothing to distinguish one page from another, nothing to grab the eye and lead it to an article or a recipe. The bland and monotonous nature of the magazine was quite the soporific. This is not a publication to which I'd care to subscribe. Do they have an art director? The content was similar to the layout - boring and uninteresting. The recipes were not at all inspiring, not a one made me want to check my cupboards, grab some ingredients, and start cooking. To be fair, there were a couple of techniques that looked to be worth trying, but most of the techniques (never mind their presentation) were nothing new even though they seemed to be hailed as a "new discovery." I think they wanted $24.95 for a six issue subscription. Not worth the $$$ IMO. Oh, one other minor annoyance. In order to subscribe or cancel the order, I'd have had to supply my own postage - no prepaid envelope. FEH!

Nice and convenient ...

Do you refrigerate or freeze the garlic? In any case, how long does the garlic keep? Sounds like it may be a solution to my problem. Thanks!

This spatula has been mentioned several times on eGullet. I suspect it's quite popular. Thanks for the reminder. I've been meaning to put it into my cart for some time. The white and the green spats are about $2.00 less expensive.

I like to make an avocado dressing, especially for spinach leaves. I use one just barely ripe avocado (i.e., not to soft, no brown spots), some fresh squeezed orange juice (Valencia when possible), a little bit of pressed garlic, and a smattering of Diamond Crystal salt. I mix it all together until I get the consistency I want, taste and adjust seasoning, and then pour it on the leaves.

Thanks for posting the link. I'm listening to the show as I type.

Can you provide a link? More details?

There are times when I like soft, soggy nachos, just like there are times I like my morning bowl of hot farina lumpy, etc. That said, I do like this Alton Brown recipe.

What are "Texas style" nachos?

Mine were about $13.00 for ten beans. Bought them a few months ago - maybe six months back.

I purchased these a few months ago and am just now posting a review. I was impressed with the packaging - beans in a sealed glass tube promised something fresh and flavorful. However, when used in a flan and in a pudding, there was more disappointment than flavor. While the price was good (not great), the value was lacking. These were the weakest beans I've ever used. Not recommended at all.

CLICK HERE to watch a PBS video on these ten groundbreaking restaurants from an earlier era. Have you been to any of them? I've been to about half, but then I'm also from an earlier era.

Overview of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) most recent meeting on the subject: Click Here