HowardLi

Looks like vodka is the way to go, but does anybody know what its principle of crispening is? Increasing the pH speeds up the Maillard reaction: http://blog.khymos.org/2008/09/26/speeding-up-the-maillard-reaction/ but what and how does the vodka do, exactly? And has anybody tried vodka with a higher pH, say with some baking soda added? Has anybody tried brining their pork belly? Is it contribute any additional juiciness? What do the results of all these tests mean for brined turkey? The brined turkey that I roast usually comes out with very little colour, but if all it takes to make it beautiful is some vodka...

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/city-ham-recipe/index.html

Should I go with a spiral-cut or plain ham this time? What say you?

http://g.imagehost.org/0457/IMG_1202.jpg Thanks HungryC for the filé powder! No pics yet of it as served.

Are they one and the same? Or is there a fundamental difference between pie crusts and tart crusts?

Whatever can be done ahead of time is definitely preferable. I don't mind heating any items up, either, as long as there aren't too many. Items I'm considering doing: egg nog cookies cheesecake pecan pie pound cake chocolate cake biscotti something fruity (oranges are in season now, right?)

In what order should a reader new to CI/ATK get their books? I'm reasonably sure The New Best Recipe is a great one to start with, but what next? The Best 30-Minute Recipe? More Best Recipes? EDIT: Sorry, I put this in the wrong forum. Can somebody move this please?

Does anybody know where I can get this? It's a rather elusive item around my neighbourhood, I'm afraid.

I've got all the ingredients ready for this dish with the exception of the filé powder. Seeing as this stuff is difficult to obtain locally, what are my options for thickening the stew? http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/shrimp-gumbo-recipe/index.html

This is dangerous.

It's OK if you slide your fingers off perpendicular to the edge. Did you go parallel?

I would've kicked them in the stomach instantly. I hope you didn't suffer any complications from that (e.g. infection).

Re: refrigeration - yes, I have it, and I prefer not to use the microwaves available. Thanks for all the suggestions.

I'm looking for something to start taking for lunch. Requirements: - easy and quick to make - can be eaten cold - lots of calories or nutritious Egg salad isn't bad, but I can't eat that every day. Suggestions?

Which store was this?

I'm trying to get some quick foods prepared for "emergencies", and I'd like to know if I can freeze egg salad. Can it be done without adversely affected the taste or texture?

The PTFE (teflon) in non-stick coatings breaks down under high heat plus it's susceptible to mechanical damage, so it probably wouldn't last long. Plus super-heated teflon releases stuff into the air that you're probably better off not breathing. ← "High heat" as in what we're cooking with? So you're saying it breaks down in our pots and pans, as well, using this same heat to cook with. What about an anodized coated stove top? Is that any better? ← No. Food contains water, which boils at 100 degrees C (will vary because of impurities). It will not allow temperatures above that until water boils away, at which point some local areas without water will heat above the boiling point. This is the reason why you should not use high heat on empty pans. There is a small temperature gradient (variation) between the heated bottom of the vessel and the inside of the vessel where the food is, but where it counts (the inside surface), the temperature matches that of the food. Anodized surfaces are very safe; they are simply strengthened oxide coatings of aluminum. Beware that they can still be susceptible to acid attack just as regular aluminum is.

I had always thought you could season at 250-300F, but believe me, it will take months to get the seasoning going if you never exceed that temperature. If you want to season on any sort of reasonable timespan, you will need to heat the iron until it SMOKES. A LOT. Best to do it upside down on an outdoor grill. I generally use lard, but I wouldn't hesitate to use any corn oil lying around.

I have this scale: http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.3390 It's not designed perfectly. One example of this is the fact that you can easily open the latching display/control panel when you only want to remove the protective cover. It is, however, quite cheap, handles up to 2 kg, and displays tenths of a gram. I do not know how well they calibrate each scale before shipping it out (they do claim to calibrate at the factory), nor have I calibrated my scale myself.

I wonder how many of the cuts reported in this thread could have been avoided if the victims were using Chinese cleavers. You can put your fingers pretty much anywhere and still keep them away from the edge.

Meat and potatoes, haha (reference to the other thread)

Wouldn't that just be peanut brittle?

The first and only time I made it, it came out tasting horrendously eggy. What ratios of dairy to egg do you all use?

I can't believe tiramisu has not yet been mentioned.

Has anybody ever experimented with using both brining and marinading (with buttermilk) for their chicken? I imagine it would have to be done in two separate steps, as salt does not dissolve well in cold liquids and I don't think it's a good idea to heat up buttermilk. Perhaps pickling salt would do the job, but I don't have any of that. Does anybody think that the additional moisture uptake makes a difference?