Shel_B

It's no big deal, but toasting seeds and spices before grinding has been surprising, and a useful technique, to some people. Saving Parmesan rinds to flavor soups, stocks, and stews, and to make Parmesan broth, has been adopted by a few people I know. Gelatinizing wine to use in certain desserts, such as making Chardonnay jelly. Adding dried coconut flakes into my homemade almond milk to make a coconut-almond milk. Great on some cereals, and I like to drink it very cold and straight from the fridge.

Nice article about popcorn ... http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/01/dining/heirloom-popcorn-helps-a-snack-reinvent-itself.html?_r=1

I can easily ruin a batch of dinner rolls whether I use Crisco or the finest quality butter.

I'm unsure of what you're describing. Are you suggesting that the potato chip package reminds you of Pepperidge Farm cookies? If so, I don't see it ... just looks like a pkg of chips to me. And if it does remind you of PF cookies, might that just be your perception rather than Lays manipulating you/us? In what way do you see this as being manipulative? I'm just not getting it ....

Indeed, you are correct. But that might be the same situation with other $10.00 meals, like Rachael Ray, etc. BTW, I don't know just what decent hamburger costs around here today (it's been about 2-years since making my hamburger soup recipe), but one can use alternative meat, like ground turkey or chicken, pork, etc. for that hamburger soup. I'm off to the big Asian market in a while, and I'll check what prices are at their meat counter.

http://www.cookinglight.com/food/everyday-menus/healthy-budget-recipes as an alternative to Food Network and Rachael Ray.

We do a fair amount of soup and salad meals and the cost is readily controlled by the soup's ingredient list. Since you're thinking of a budget meal, how about hamburger soup? Here's my go to recipe for that ... Shel's Hamburger Soup 1-lb lean ground beef 2 large onions 3 cloves chopped garlic 1 diced potato 2 diced large carrot 1 1/2 stalks diced celery 1 large diced parsnip 1 large diced turnip 3 cups shredded cabbage 3 15 oz cans diced fire roasted tomatoes (with jalapeno optional) 2 qts water 1 quart chicken stock 12 peppercorns in cheesecloth 2 tsp oregano 2 tsp dried basil 3 bay leaves 1 tsp thyme salt and pepper to taste brown meat and onion, remove excess fat. Add and sauté garlic. Add remaining ingredients, simmer until done. Remove bay leaves.

Do you use "bad" wine? I pretty much agree with you (considering I don't know what you mean by "good" wine) as I generally use some acceptable table wine when wanting wine in a dish. Often I'll use a wine that a guest has brought to dinner that I didn't want to serve with the meal and which has been sitting in my wine cellar (bottom drawer of the filing cabinet) waiting to be used. I've had good results with TJ's 2-buck Chuck merlot in some spaghetti sauces. Not going to use the 84 Martha's Vineyard for that <LOL>

Indeed! A couple of years ago I was drafted to make deviled eggs for a family get together. It was Toots' family, and I wanted to make something nice. I dug into my deviled egg recipe collection and chose smoked salmon deviled eggs. Toots told me not to get fancy, although I didn't consider that recipe to be particularly fancy. One of Toots' sons has owned restaurants and has been involved in one aspect or another of the food business for 30+ years, and I was sure he'd like them. His wife loves salmon, so that seemed like another hit. As it turned out, there were a lot of deviled eggs left over - I should mention that when Toots makes the eggs they are gone in a heartbeat. When we were leaving, Toots' daughter whispered in my ear, "Don't get so fancy again." Some time later I was in charge of making a potato dish, and I had lots of great ideas, but daughter's words kept echoing in my mind. So I made Funeral Potatoes, used cheap, generic, frozen hash browns, some store brand potato chips for the topping, a can of store-brand cream-of-something soup, and some Safeway brand grated cheddar cheese. Oh my, what a hit that dish was. Gone in a heartbeat and with ingredients I'd generally never look twice at. So there you have it, my little story about using ingredients that are too good, if not for the dish than at least for guests.

While I sometimes use Bay Laurel leaves, I am comparing the leaves I received to the Mediterranean leaves I've purchased from various sources, including ethnic markets, commercially packaged from several sources and suppliers, bulk bins and jarred. I don't buy California leaves. I harvest them from nearby trees.

Yesterday I was gifted with a package of organic Greek oregano. Compared to the oregano I've been using these past years, this stuff is amazing. The fragrance and taste is outstanding, and I can't wait to try it in some pasta sauce that I'll be making tonight or tomorrow. In addition, I received some outstanding organic Turkish bay leaves, also superior in fragrance (and, I assume, taste) compared to what I've been buying locally. I've purchased bay leaves from many sources over the years, but nothing has come close to the wonderful fragrance of these leaves. Just leaving a few on the dining-area table has infused the apartment with a wonderful, outdoorsy smell. Also included in the gift package was a bag of Szechuan peppers. I'm not sure if these are the best and most flavorful that I've had, but the timing of their arrival is perfect as I've been experimenting with, and developing a recipe for, peanut-sesame sauce. Lastly was a bag of Urfa Biber chile flakes. I've not opened the package yet, so I cannot speak to their fragrance, flavor, or freshness, but if they compare well with the other spices and herbs, I'm going to be a happy camper and be motivated to experiment a little more in the kitchen.

And just today I received a package of exquisitely aromatic organic Greek oregano. I see Greek Roasted Potatoes in our future!

That sounds very nice ... thanks!

Yes! Once I read the article, I called Toots to see if she had a waffle iron. I also found this link in the article: http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2011/03/best-way-to-reheat-pizza-science-griddle-method-how-to-reheat-a-slice-of-pizza.html which is, IMO, a worthwhile read. It's good to Understand a bit of why things happen when pizza is reheated.

We once made that recipe, which was found on a box of Ritz crackers, back around 1977 or so. It would be nice to see it again. BTW, does anyone here still eat Ritz crackers? Perhaps they're a little "unfashionable" themselves, these days.

Here's a pastry I never heard of: Kouign Amann which, it seems, TJ's is carrying in their frozen case. I've not tried them yet, nor have I seen them at our local TJ's, but I'll definitely look for them on my next visit. Has anyone tried them? http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/04/trader-joes-kouign-amann-is-almost-as-good-as.html

<LOL> Your comment brought back a memory of my childhood. In grade school, we had to wear dog tags due, of course, to the perceived threats of attack by our cold war enemies. I used my tags as you did yours - it was as much for identification as it was a simple tool. http://paleofuture.gizmodo.com/that-time-american-school-kids-were-given-dog-tags-beca-508802138

I have been using the same technique for decades. Sometimes, if a knife isn't handy, I may use a coin. Also, gently tapping the rim of a jar against the counter can help break the seal. As noted, it's helpful to really clean the lids well.

I use them in peanut sauce and in sesame sauce, both of which I use frequently on cold noodle dishes. I sometimes use them in lieu of cayenne pepper, and have used them mixed with black, green, and white peppercorns to give an added dimensionality to a number of dishes.

I just had to Google leftover pizza ... http://slice.seriouseats.com/archives/2014/01/leftover-pizza-waffle-iron-delicious-crispy-gooey-cheese-stuffed-snack.html http://allrecipes.com/recipe/leftover-pizza-breakfast-casserole/

Chocolate coated Havanna alfajores from Argentina. Mmmmm!

Found this thread while looking for something else ginger related. I've been making peanut sauce with fresh ginger. I buy it fresh and keep it in a sealed zip bag in the fridge. I don't keep it a very long time before it gets used up. I grate it with one of two Microplanes that I have, and the results are just perfect. First, I peel the skin exposing as much ginger as needed and then just grate away. I cannot image grating frozen ginger and getting a better result. Rotuts, and others, what do you experience when grating fresh ginger that makes it inferior to frozen?

Agreed. Much prefer the HTML page, for several reasons ...

I don't mind seeing pics of the restaurant - it's sometimes helpful if you've not been to the place before. And it's definitely helpful to have a page for the address, phone, hours of operation, and maybe directions or a map. The directions and map came in handy when Toots and I went to a new place up in Lake Tahoe last month on our vacation. Pictures of the place were also welcome as I was looking for a certain atmosphere and setting, as well as good food and service.

I agree with your comments about this site. Irritating ... the music is distracting as are the images moving around the page. I like a simple, direct site, easy to read, and with nice sized, contrasty type. However, there is a direct link to the dinner menu: www.morimotorestaurant.com/dinner.pdf