Shel_B

And here's what might be a perfect example of preference making a particular pizza "the best." Cheese Board pizza is beloved by many, attested to by the long lines of people waiting for a slice or a pie. And I don't like it at all. However, a shop somewhat further south on Shattuck puts out slices that I love. Is it great pizza? Probably not by many contemporary standards, yet I love it because it's truly the closest to a NYC neighborhood "slice joint," which, since I'm from NY, makes the Arinell pie one of my favorites. I'll have to try Benchmark in Kensington.

Layered Flag Fruit Salad http://npascackvalley.macaronikid.com/article/294209/macaroni-menu-layered-flag-fruit-salad Ballot Box Brownies https://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipe-details.aspx?id=6363 Voter Vegetables http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/11204433/Ukraine-rebels-lure-voters-to-polls-with-root-vegetables.html

Your comment made me think of choucroute garnie, definitely casserole-like and a one dish meal.

While gathering my ingredients to make a batch of baked beans, I could only find Ranch Gordo Tarbais beans in the larder. Will they work pretty well or would I be better off with a more traditional bean? It would be nice if I could save a trip to the market ...

And Pot-au-feu ....

A few nights ago I was dicing potatoes for a batch of potato leek soup. I was using, as I often do, Yukon Gold potatoes. Whenever I cut into the potatoes, especially when cutting a whole potato in half, the potato would stick to the knife blade. Not a big deal, but somewhat annoying. Why does this happen, and how can the problem be eliminated or mitigated? I generally use a standard-style chef's knife (8-inch Victorinox), but the problem is the same for any similar knife I use. Might the knife blade have something to do with the problem? Could the problem be solved with a different blade design? I have heard that using a blade with dimples or ridges will make the problem go away, but have not found anything (yet) to substantiate that idea.

If you enjoy kugel, you might enjoy a Jerusalem Kugel. There are some recipes for such on line, but, if you're interested, I'll be happy to shoot you the one I use when I get home after the weekend.

I always pan fry my salmon croquettes. There are four basic recipes I use, one includes mayo, another smoked salmon, a third with fresh, not canned, salmon, and, of course, amore "traditional" version made with canned salmon. They all turn out just fine - the last batch I made, with fresh and smoked salmon and mayo, were exceptional - nice crispy crust and creamy flavorful interior.

Hi, I have a large (5 quart) stoneware bowl that I bought about 20-years ago. It's specifically for the purpose of letting bread dough rise. Roseville bowls are thick and heavy, and come in a variety of sizes, from 2-quart to about 12-quart. Made in USA. They're spendy new, but they can be found used on line (ebay, etsy) or perhaps found in thrift and second hand stores. I now use an 8-cup Pyrex bowl for my much smaller bread and baking needs these days. It's like the one in the link below, although I don't have the lid. Didn't see a need for it in my situation. http://www.target.com/p/pyrex-8-cup-measuring-cup-with-lid/-/A-10322004

You can give them something besides junk. There are lots of options ... http://www.listotic.com/64-non-candy-halloween-snack-ideas/7/ http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/food/nutrition/nutrition/life_stages/hgic4112.html No need to be a "crotchety cantankerous terse curmudgeon" for a holiday that's designed to give kids some pleasure.

I bought medium-sized bags of mixed Hershey's candies and mixed Mars candies. Something for everyone, including me. I doubt if I'll see any kids this year - haven't for the last three years - and Toots hasn't had trick-or-treaters at her place for the last four Halloweens.

There are many recipes that say to heat oil until smoking. I don't know if that's a particularly good instruction - I've never heated my oil to that point - and I don't really know how important that is, but those are the recipe instructions.

For Christmas, I want to give someone a non-stick skillet. I checked reviews at CI and looked at the Calphalon site. CI mentioned that the winner of their non-stick skillet test has five layers of coating. Calphalon mentions that their Unison model has three layers of coating. Usually the top layer of a non-stick pan is PTFE. Is any other material used for the top layer? What material might the undercoat layers be? Would all undercoat layers be of the same material? How important is it to have multiple undercoat layers? Any other comments on the construction of non-stick coatings would be appreciated. Thanks!

The Local Butcher sent out an email describing their holiday turkeys and prices. They are offering "pastured-raised, Non-GMO project verified, tasty turkeys." The White Broad Breasted Turkeys are $9.00/lb. and the Heritage Breed Turkeys are $12.50/lb. Both of these breeds will be "fresh (never frozen), flavorful and free of hormones and antibiotics." These prices seem a little high to me, but I am comparing them to supermarket birds, and I haven't purchased a turkey in decades. The Local Butcher is a high-end shop selling only local meats and poultry, all of which is pastured, organic, or grass fed. They are a "nose-to-tail" shop, and the quality of their products is excellent. What kind of birds do you get and what do you pay for your them?

Actually, it answers my questions pretty well. I like the recipe and technique described in your link. I was making another batch of tomato sauce when I started reading the article at Serious Eats, and I incorporated some of the ideas put forth in the article. Thanks!

While I've made numerous meat sauces over the years, all with ground meats (beef, pork, turkey mostly), I've not attempted long simmering times - more than an hour or two. The meat has always had some texture and offered a little bit of tooth. Would a long simmer, say five or more hours, really get to a point that's similar to baby food?

I made a simple meat sauce last night, and while I was enjoying it over some spaghetti, I started thinking of how the sauce could be improved. I remembered that sauces like Bolognese and Sunday Gravy tend to be cooked for a long time, sometimes hours. What does long simmering bring to the table? More tender meat? Melding of flavors (although it would seem to me that some items may be overcooked)? Anything else that long simmering may contribute? Thanks!

Thanks, Katie ... we'll see what happens. I can't finish the project for Toots ... my schedule and location prevents me from getting to her house until Friday afternoon.

Toots started to make a soup this morning, and peeled a bunch of vegetables and put them into a pot with some water. She then got called away and now won't be able to start the soup until Friday. She'd like to know the best way to store these vegetables. I suggested keeping them in the pot with the water, covered, in the fridge. Is there a better way?

Contrary to everything I've read, so I welcome the other POV. I'll read some of the articles.

I've just started playing around with safflower oil. In fact, I'll be using it for the first time this afternoon.

Most canola oil is processed with hexane, a known carcinogen. I'd not consider that to be healthier than (extra virgin) olive oil. According to several sources, the smoke point of Canola oil is lower than that of olive oil (except evoo), i.e., it doesn't withstand heat better than olive oil.

I've been making toasted 'kraut for years, since around 1979 or so. I use it as a bit of crunchy topping when I make my Choucroute Garnie.

I'm curious - what do you consider "veg" oil to be? In what way is it different than canola oil? Oh, what veg oils do you use?

I've been eating baked potatoes about once a week for several weeks, and have been experimenting more with time, temp, and prep. An article on the CI web site suggested baking @ 350-degrees for about 75 minutes, and didn't mention oiling the skin. I tried that approach a few times in the past two weeks, and am now convinced that the CI suggestions are excellent suggestions. I cooked two potatoes of the same size at the same time, oiling the skin of one and not the other. I pricked the skins with a fork (same approximate location on each potato), and at the end of baking for75 minutes, the non-oiled skin was noticeably crisper. CI also suggests splitting the potato almost immediately after being removed from the oven, saying that the skin will be crisper. It seems to help. This is how I'll bake potatoes from now on.