Katie Meadow

Ewww, I admit I watched the whole thing, but couldn't help cringing at any number of things, including the Skype with the parents, who really turned up the schmaltz factor, the shrimp that continued to wiggle after something Game of Thrones-like was done to it and the general non-stop worship at the altar of food in the stratospheric price category. I would have liked to see Phil Skype with his kids, presumably old enough to say, "Ewww, Dad that's disgusting." Also, if it was my show, I would Skype with my dead parents and add a spiritual dimension that appeals to a broader section of the American audience.

Between the toxin issue and the deteriorating coral reef issue you have a couple of good reasons to hesitate. A third reason might be high levels of pollution in the Gulf of Tonkin, although clearly a lot of people eat the fish that are farmed or caught there. I'm always a sucker for the "what is this?" threads; I'm amazed at what can be learned in two minutes.

Horse of a different color, you betcha.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2014/03/spanish-style-garlic-shrimp-gambas-al-ajillo.html Thanks, Huiray, the shrimp w/baking soda led me to this article, which has some very surprising things to say about head on shrimp vs beheaded. The whole discussion of crunchy Chinese shrimp is also very interesting. The truth is I don't like messing with raw shrimp, and when it ends up being mushy it's not worth the effort. Thanks to all who responded. I am becoming convinced that the issue really seems to be that traditional pickled shrimp are, by nature, as Tri2Cook notes, kind of rubbery; that it comes with the territory. I feel better already! I might try one more time, doing an even briefer pre-cook and a shorter time in the lemon/vinegar solution. Although if that means buying them the morning of, that could be a deal-breaker.

All I can say is thank god my daughter was in school before peanut butter was outlawed. For 13 years she mostly alternated between PB&J, turkey+lettuce and cream cheese+olive sandwiches. Hey, kid, you want a bento box with sushi and hard boiled eggs with kitty faces? Get a mother who is Japanese, or at least one who is awake. In elementary school she had a friend whose mother was so discombobulated when it came to lunches that every once in a while she would call me at 7am and ask me to maker her daughter a sandwich, because she was out of bread. Me, who could barely get it together to make one lunch for one kid. Now that takes nerve. I don't believe we were eating a lot of edamame in the 90's, but if I had to do it again, that would be a major food group. Anything that takes no last-minute prep. My daughter is now 27 and always eats her vegetables!

I can deal with inexact ingredients such as a pinch of this, a stalk of that, or even a recipe that suggests "one or two eggs," (assuming that the author is trustworthy enough and you feel confident assuming that he/she tried making it at least twice, using different amounts of egg and determining it was okay either way.) Of course the egg thing is complicated by the fact that eggs are generally much larger than they used to be. What I find annoying is when the ingredients are buried in the text so deep that you either miss one of them when you make your shopping list. That said, the historic or nostalgic value of a handed-down prose-like recipe has its own reason for being. However, that NYT article for the pickled shrimp, which I did in fact make, all but admitted that the editorial staff went out of their way to make the recipe seem....old. That's kind of stretching the charm factor.

I love the idea of pickled shrimp. You can buy it and make it a day ahead of serving. It seems like a great addition to many appetizer menus (especially if cheese sticks are present!) People like shrimp. I've tried quite a few recipes, but the shrimp always ends up dense and rubbery. All recipes start by pre-cooking the shrimp if only for a couple of minutes below a simmer. Then the shrimp take an acidic bath that seems to cook them further. Is there a way to make pickled shrimp that renders them tender and fresh tasting? Can you NOT pre-cook them and just let the lemon juice cook them as with ceviche? Last night I tried the recipe in last Sunday's NYT magazine. My husband and a friend ate them all up and claimed to like them very much. I thought they were tough and disappointing. It's not like I don't like shrimp, and I am buying wild caught good quality critters. Maybe I simply don't like them pickled?

PB + cheddar doesn't sound quite as horrid as PB + mayo on wonderbread. That's what my husband got for lunch.

After you replied I too googled the Peacotum. Indeed, we are getting them only from The Blossom Bluff stands at various farmers' markets. The article suggesting that it tastes like fruit punch is way off base and seems like a terrible insult; it is somewhat tart and mysterious tasting. The shifting color is other-wordly. I don't think the skin is fuzzy but maybe it is more velvety. I'm buying vast quantities every weekend, and as they get too ripe I throw them into smoothies. I may just go for broke (the stone fruits from most vendors in the Bay Area are hardly cheap) and try cooking up a peacotum compote. I wouldn't want to say that multiple times quickly.

This summer a new fruit arrived at the Berkeley Farmers' Market. Only one vendor seems to have it. It's called a Peacotum, and yes it is what you are guessing, but they could have come up with more appetizing name. I don't know the percentage of peach, apricot and plum. It could be a nectarine crossed with an apricot, in which case it should be called an Aptarine. They are beautiful, with a very smooth distinct pearly skin and very delicious, but also pretty fragile. They bruise easily and get overripe quickly, but when they are unblemished and just ripe they are fabulous. Far, far superior to most of the pluots we are getting regularly, although I know it isn't fair to compare them. Is any one else seeing these?

Mmm black currant sounds fantastic. I made a plum shrub this year, and it seemed pretty good, although truthfully I don't know how to judge it. I couldn't decide how best I liked it. Ultimately I threw it into a rhubarb compote for a little extra liquid, and that seemed pretty good, but how could rhubarb be bad? What are you planning?

A modest eww to your proposal. And thank you both so much for yet another vicarious island vacation for your readers. I don't know how you manage to cook and bake so much stuff in any given day, what with shopping expeditions (that include a relaxed lunch out), hospital hours and entertaining Kira. How much square footage of cabinet space does the liquor require? And do you drag the supply back home with you? Please don't tell me you use it all up the night before you leave. But that's the kind of genius and determination I have come to expect from the two of you.

The label on my Adams crunchy salted pb says that it is 100 percent natural, whatever that means. It contains only peanuts and salt. I believe it comes 4 ways: salted smooth, salted crunchy, unsalted smooth and unsalted crunchy. I prefer Adams over Laura Scudder, but that's my personal taste. It's been so many years since I bought anything besides Adams that I couldn't begin to describe the difference, except to guess that it isn't a deal breaker if you don't have a choice. Stirring is a bit of a drag, but not really a hardship. Oh yeah, I grew up on Jif and Skippy, etc. But now they just taste to me like plastic candy; not that that's necessarily a bad thing; maybe just right on a desert island, since it could be dinner and dessert in one jar. But they do taste pretty strange if you have not been eating sweetened peanut butter for many years.

So our schedule has become more wacky as we get older. I am retired, my husband works from home and we stay up late at night. We eat breakfast on the late side: a slice or two of toast for me, more slices for Eric and he also eats cold cereal with fruit (Hollow leg, and all that.) Sometimes in the winter we will cook steel cut oats. I might have a smoothie (at other peoples' lunchtime), or nibble on some fruit. We usually don't eat our main meal of the day until mid-afternoon (unless we have real dinner plans with friends or family) and we call it Linner. That happens around 3pm or 4pm, whenever I get it together to cook. Our third meal of the day is a snack, often for cocktail hour. A drink, maybe popcorn, crackers, small stuff. Or maybe dessert instead if we have anything that qualifies. I think that bears a close resemblance to dessert for dinner. Eric will occasionally need more food and he might make a sandwich afterwards, or polish off some leftovers.

[quote name="Anna N" post="2023333" timestamp="1436470329" So I am looking at the original recipe in the book The Last Course. It calls simply for a 9 x 5 loaf pan or a 6 cup Bundt pan. No questions at all about the size of the loaf pan. This leaves me thinking it was never tested in a loaf pan and it is illustrated with a cake made in a Bundt pan. I am not making excuses because if I had read the recipe I had linked to then I would have poured the batter into two 8 x 4 loaf pans. But still.... About that Stout Cake. It seems that it has filtered through several sites, and may have originally been the Grammercy Tavern Stout Cake which was attributed to Claudia Fleming. It has also been tweaked by Melissa Clark and Smitten Kitchen. The source I have credits it to "The Last Supper" instead of the "Last Course." If inconsistency can be a consistent flaw, that appears to be the size of the pan. My recipe calls for one 7 x 5 loaf pan or a 6 cup bundt pan. The 7 x 5 size seemed suspiciously small, so I used the biggest loaf pan on hand, which was approximately 9 x 5. The cake rose just a bit over the top but did not drip or spill out. A good thing, given the possibilities.

One of my favorite go-to quick pickles is Lisa Fain's (Homesick Texan) Escabeche: cauliflower, carrots and jalapeños. She adds onion and I don't. Sometimes I throw in fennel if I have some. So easy. My friend who is an Italianphile always refers to it as Giardiniera; I always make an extra jar for her and don't mention it's from Texas. It's ready in 24 hrs or less if you want to rob the cradle. I've taken to tasting every jalapeño before using it, as the last batch of jalapeño pickles was so hot even my husband couldn't each more than a bite or two. Weinoo, your pickles look lovely even if they were too mild. Trade in the yellow squash for a jalapeño. I love the way the beets look, with their rings. To pickle beets I assume one needs to pre-roast or pre-boil the beets. Is that so? Can it be done without? The escabeche recipe above calls for a very short saute of the veggies in olive oil before pickling, and the texture turns out great.

Last week I made the Claudia Fleming Guiness Stout Ginger Cake. Is that the one you made? I cut back on the powdered ginger by 25 percent, used Steens Cane Syrup instead of Molasses ('cause I always have Steens on hand) and threw in a tablespoon of espresso powder for the hell of it. Very nice recipe. Husband slathered it with creme fraiche. Would be excellent with ice cream of course or a lemony sauce or a lemon sorbet....

If I could have a hot dog that's as nice as that one (and with the proper condiments such as mustard and sauerkraut) PLUS a large papaya juice from Papaya King I would be awfully happy.

We don't eat in the car. Maybe a cold drink if the weather is really hot. On car-trips, where most of the driving is freeway driving, we stop at rest-stops that have shady tables. We find a table that is farther away from the bathrooms and the parking lot, and we pack the best food we can manage in a cooler, plastic utensils and plates that are washable and reusable. We rinse them best we can at the water fountain and wash them once we get to our hotel, motel, whatever. Lots of zip-lock bags and napkins. And if we had a dog with us, that was far easier than trying to stop at a restaurant. We take fruit, hard cheese, crackers, peanut butter, whatever is moderately durable on the road and whatever can hopefully last through the night. It isn't as if we have some shiny new vehicle, although I really don't want to add crumbs to my daytime environment. Part of it may be I just don't really enjoy my food if I'm trying to do something else at the same time. And I hate spending money on lousy fast food. If we go through an old main street and see a promising diner or cafe we might stop there, but how often is that really a great experience? When we were in France traveling by car we bought a great set of light-weight colorful plastic plates along with a serrated tomato knife w/plastic handle that has proven invaluable for traveling. And I always have a Swiss Army knife along for the ride. I'm going to keep those plates forever. I can't remember what I used to do to pacify my daughter when she was little in the car. I must have carried along something that wasn't too messy so she could get her carbs, juice boxes and the like.

So......no one thinks I can lessen the heat of these jalapeños by changing to a fresh vinegar solution? My experience with pickled peppers is that if you eat them slowly, over a period of months, they don't lose heat in the refrigerator, but that would be if they were sitting in the same solution the whole time.

After assuming a level of blandness in store-bought jalapeños for many years, I got a nasty surprise. The other day I made some pickled jalapeños and carrots. I tasted one or two of the peppers before using them, but they seemed mild. Well, one or two that I didn't taste must have packed a major punch. Even my husband, who can handle his hot peppers, found a couple of slices of pepper or carrot more than enough heat in a sandwich with other stuff. Basically what I made is inedible for my own uses. So, the question is, if I were to pour out all the pickling liquid which has absorbed a lot of heat and put in fresh vinegar and water solution, would any of the heat still in the vegetables be drawn out into the liquid, making them more palatable? Or is this a dopey waste of time and vinegar? I notice that post #2 suggests the liquid absorbs some heat, but my peppers remain blisteringly hot regardless.

An interesting pho fact: we've been having the pho at our favorite place for years now. Even when it is crowded there are often only one or two other caucasians in there. Last year I noticed a couple (Asian, probably Vietnamese) next to our table. Their pho came with a plate of lovely perfectly thin sliced raw beef. Obviously this was the "rare beef" part of their soup. Indeed when I asked them about it they confirmed that they always ask for the beef on the side. And that is what we have been doing ever since. If your pho place doesn't serve their soup piping hot I suspect this might not work so well. The waiters never blink when we order it this way, so I assume plenty of customers do the same.

Received my Nutri Ninja yesterday and made the mango drink today. I subbed in a small amount of coconut cream for some of the water, cut back maybe just a tad on the lime juice, but basically it was the Bayless Licuado recipe. Started with a very good mango, so that didn't hurt. Oh, I blended it up with a little crushed ice to make it really cold instead of pouring it over ice cubes. Delicious. Chris, I so love your trial system for cookbooks. I wish I had the patience and focus to make such good use of a new cookbook, but after a few dishes I start wanting some other kind of food entirely. Your system really justifies the purchase of these books.

Sorry, but mini hot dogs with bbq sauce and grape jelly sounds like something only a Klingon would love. On what planet is that a favorite app? I grew up in NYC, lived for several years in New Mexico and for many years now in CA and this is the first I ever heard of that. Is it a Philly specialty? I think by definition any one who eats sausages with bbq sauce and grape jelly would not be considered a picky eater. Unless, of course, that was all they ate. Forgive me, you who are not picky eaters (and my husband is included here), we picky ones definitely owe you a debt of gratitude for letting us get away with outrageous and tiresome behavior for years on end, to say nothing of snobbery and crankiness.

The truth is that I have never seen myself as a picky eater, since I eat a wide variety of most foods, but I believe that many of my friends think of me that way. When I look at all the restrictions on my diet due to health issues (work in progress) I wouldn't really see it as "picky," since I associate these dietary variables with something other than "pickiness," which connotes capricious behavior. But when I add up all the dietary restrictions plus things I just don't like, combinations I don't favor and food that is poorly cooked and unappetizing or simply tastes lousy (most fast foods, with some exceptions) I would have a hard time not calling my habits picky. Health modifications include (and I am NOT allergic to anything as far as I know): reduced dairy consumption, modest amounts of wheat products but no other carb restrictions, food generally associated with cholesterol build-up (egg yolk, animal fat, cheese, etc), and excessive amounts of acidic foods. Most of these things I absolutely love, but have chosen to limit greatly. I gave my dog ice cream for her last meal, and that will work for me too, but only coffee ice cream. I eat most vegetables, but I really detest broccoli and brussels sprouts and raw kale. I eat almost all fruits, except I am quirky about bananas. I will eat banana plain sometimes, but I hate them used as "filler" for smoothies--they make everything taste like banana. Banana and peanut butter is one of the most awful combinations I can think of, along with celery and peanut butter. But PB and raspberry jam in a sandwich is perfect. I can't stand commercial peanut butter that has sugar in it such as Jif, but I do like a simple peanut butter cookie made with sugar. I don't like meat and cheese together and I don't like meat on my pizza (yep, pizza is a huge treat for me.) but I will make an exception for clam pizza. I am not fond of organ meats, but like liver pate if it is well-made. I like most all seafood and shellfish, but not scallops. When I look at restaurant menus I eliminate most of the items pretty quickly, and I admit that often the descriptions sound unappealing. No need to go on, right? I'm picky. By the way, I do not consider a distaste for ketchup on a hot dog to be picky. No reasonable person puts ketchup on a hot dog. My daughter did that when she was little, so my solution was to not give her hot dogs so I didn't have to watch her do it. Not only picky, but a bad mom!