jvalentino

Im going to be very stereotypical and make Buffalo wings(the fried kind that my wife thinks stink up the house ), nachos, chips, and dips... oh and beer.

Not if done correctly. Too much fat will make the sauce greasy. Your usually skimming quite a bit of fat off and finishing with a couple Tbs of cold butter. I skim the fat, then wisk in some cold butter. Be careful not to heat the sauce too high when adding the butter, or it could break, or "rise to the top", like what you just skimmed off.

A Potbelly with live lunchtime music?! Cool. Where's it at? What kind of music? ← I'm in SE Wisconsin, and it is typically an acoustic set from a local artist. Jeff

Baking soda is alkaline, not acidic. So if it's acidic foods that are supposed to cause these off tastes, baking soda would have no effect. ← I asked a similar question because he mentioned both leafy greens and tomatoes causing this reaction, and to my knowledge leafy greens are not acidic. I cannot recall the answer I was given.

Now your just being rude-today in WI we had a "warm up" to 19 from the below zero over the past few days, and it came with 10" of snow for free too!

knew I liked you! We need a secret handshake or password !!! ← Since I've purchased at least one more bag since the start of this thread can I be a member? How about a thumb then forefinger lick followed by a snap then "mmm salty horns"? Jeff

Mmm definately one of the better chain sandwich shops. Skinny wreck on wheat, no oil, plus hot giardiniera. The one by me usually has some live lunchtime music too. Jeff

Years ago my mother had someone over showing her some stainless pans and they set up this baking soda test. Each pot tasted worse than the one before making the demo'd stainless pans seem the best. But mom suggested they retry the stainless again after the others - it was even more bitter. Conclusion - the bitterness was a cumulative effect on your tongue, not anything to do with the cookware. She felt really bad that the lady quit selling these pots because she felt she had been suckered into misleading people. ← Sounds just like what I saw-I did not however have the foresight to try theirs again though.

The new Gourmet.com laucnched on the 16th. It has a ton of content that I have just begun to browse, but my favorite part so far is the videos including complete episodes for season 1 of "Diary of a Foodie" which is very cool. What do you guys/gals think? Jeff

I have some 304 stainless that is capable. I have also seen 18/10 that is induction compatible-to my understanding it has to do with a layer of ferritic steel(which has more carbon) in the bottom layer. It's not the 304 stainless that is magnetic but, as you say, a layer of a different (series 400) magnetic steel that makes this possible. Meh. I don't believe this is true. Perhaps 18/0 steel? ← If you Google "baking soda test" you can read more about it. While I'm not claiming to understand all of the science behind it the test is basically this- Take whichever pans you'd like put equal amounts of water in them, add a teaspoon of baking soda allow them to boil for 3-5 min then taste the water. Each type of pan -non-stick, 18/8, 18/10, copper will taste different and you will be able to taste metal in the stainless pans, and chemicals from the non-stick. We were told that these tastes/metals leech from our pans when we cook acidic foods, but the food taste covers them up. That's why baking soda was used for the test, it gets the same reaction, but doesn't cover mask the metallic taste. I personally don't understand what type/quantity of food has to be cooked to equal a tsp of sodium bicarbonate in my pan, which made me raise an eyebrow- see disclaimer. **Disclaimer** I saw this test performed at an in home presentation for some very expensive cookware. The point was their expensive cookware did not produce these foul tastes because of their super high grade stainless. It was interesting, but may have been some sales puffery. I stil have my same pans.

I have some 304 stainless that is capable. I have also seen 18/10 that is induction compatible-to my understanding it has to do with a layer of ferritic steel(which has more carbon) in the bottom layer. The higher grades of stainless can make a difference when cooking acidic foods-some say that lower grades of stainless can leech into foods while cooking.

Bon Appetit magazine declared the gnudi "the dish of the year" for 2007. Now that it's '08 have we dumped this dumpling? Is there any new exciting recipes out there? Jeff

Definately. I quit about 2 years ago, and have noticed a big difference in taste, which I feel is at least partialy to blame for my newfound addition to my midsection.

For something sweet how 'bout Amaretto, or coconut w/ lime zest?

I really have to second this one! A handful thrown in pesto is good too. Parsley garlic butter is great on...just about anything. Jeff

These are some combinations I like, but I usually eyeball the amounts so you'll have to experiment there. My go to favorite lemon zest chopped rosemary salt thyme lavender honey orange zest salt-optional roasted garlic anchovy paste ground dried porcini to taste I tend to go litely on this one as the ancho, and paprika can really take over. smoked salt smoked paprika ancho chili powder I haven't made it, but a ornage zest and red chili sounds pretty good too. Jeff

Good one!

I'm going to add "The Frugal Gourmet" Jeff Smith. That guy taught me so much about cooking, it's a shame the way things ended up for him. Jeff

Alton is one of the few reasons left to watch IMO. I came across a clip of him on The Big Idea with Donny D on youtube earlier today, it was pretty interesting. It's an interview where he talked about the how/why he got started in the food industry. Here- Jeff

Cracked pepper and olive oil Triscuits with a piece of provolone on top. Mmm.

My most recent after dinner, or lunch, or snack obsession- limoncello. Ice cold in a small cordial glass. Jeff

Now THAT'S brunch! Mmmm...I wish I was eating it right nowww... arrgghhllll. *in my best Homer Simpson voice*

This recipe is a great find for crispy rice fans! My stepfather's parents moved here from Iran a few years ago, and while she visited she made this rice a few times, and it was truly awesome. My mom "apprenticed" under her, and got the recipe down pretty good, and this recipe looks like basically what she does. The tadiq is amazing, and like others I really like it with stir fry. FWIW we were told you need a teflon pot, or a very well seasoned cast iron dutch oven for it to come out correctly. Best, Jeff

I went to my moms house to visit right before Christmas, and she was making "Christmas Mix"(basically trail mix with Bugles). I picked up the bag of Bugles and before I realized it it was nearly half gone. I totally forgot how good these corny, salty things tasted! They are sold in what looks like a 5lb bag, and if you squeeze them you can feel the oil between your fingers. I'm going to get another bag. Any other fans of these salty little horns o' plenty? Jeff

First off congrats!! I know we're waiting for an update, but I've just read this fascinating thread straight through, and have some questions. Please don't take them the wrong way-they're not meant to be wisecracks. What do you attribute your burgers success to? Your using frozen meat, regular buns, and griddling them until well done. These are all counter intuative to what I consider a great burger yet people rave. I can think of 3 variables that you may or may not want to touch on that I'd be interested to hear about- 1. Your using a higher grade or other "boutique" beef. I don't think this is the case based on what I've read. 2. Your blend of cuts. You haven't spoke of this much. 3. You. Is the customer's expierience what you first envisioned? It doesn't seem like you'd have the time to create the atmosphere you spoke of in this current setting. Very interesting stuff! Thanks, Jeff