jvalentino

Congrats eGullet! slkinsley-your recipe contribution sounds great BTW. Jeff

One of my Christmas presents which I have high hopes for. Thanks, Jeff

Also, I no longer automatically reach for the non-stick pan. I only use one if absolutely necessary - and would really prefer to eliminate the use of one altogether. ← I actually just purchased 2 carbon steel skillets for this exact reason. We'll see how the seasoning goes.

How would you rate the taste as opposed to freshly cooked? I have been anti-freezer for sometime, especially for meat. Nowadays though I'm trying to buy in a little more in bulk and get along with my freezer. We're taking it slow.

I do this when it's just for my family, but when I make multiple batches I've been using it as an excuse to tweak the baking process and not fry meatballs for hours on end.

Hi All, Tonight I find myself with a double batch of meatballs and can only use one. I usually cook them @425F to brown them, then braise them in the sauce. Since I have too many my question is- Should I freeze them raw, or bake then freeze, and reheat in the sauce? Thanks, Jeff

Very well said. This has been an area of relearning for me the past few years, but has made a world of difference. When I learned how great simple can be there wass no going back. Pizza and pasta are 2 of the best examples of this. Jeff

How do you differentiate yourself? Everyone talks about quality, but it is so often poorl executed. Slicing meats to order would be great. When I get a good sandwich it has 2 things in common-good bread, and meat that has not sat around. Jeff

Did you use kosher salt, and if so what kind? Diamond and Mortons weigh very different. Out of curiosity I just weighed 350g of Mortons Kosher salt, and it was almost exactly 1.5 C. Jeff

Darn! I heard about this sometime ago and totally forgot-thanks for the reminder. Too bad my stuffing is baking this minute. Merry Christmas!

Too much over indulging this holiday season? Sorry I couldn't help it-

Bingo. Michael Chiarello has a recipe in one of his cookboks called "Forever Roasted Pork" that works good and the technique also lends itself well to your own flavorings.

I have been off the pre-ground stuff for a few years now, and this is exactly what popped in my head. IMHO it would not even be close. Seriously if your not grinding your own meat-even meat from a regular grocery you should try it. It is that big of a difference. Jeff

I Googled "sun dried tomatoes sams club" and got Valley sun dried tomatoes. We get the Sun Lucci brand from Costco though. Jeff

Tough times? Two words...ramen noodles.

Thanks Dave and Peter. It's thawing now, and I'll roast it Sunday. Jeff

I have frineds coming over Sunday, and wanted to roast a chicken. I have a high quality bird in the freezer that unfortunatly I forgot about. It's about 4 mos old-is this too old? I don't see any visible freezer burn, but maybe I should experiment on myself only. What do you think? Thanks, Jeff

The bison tenderloin sous vide sounds like a great idea for this group, here's why- You get to use a food that's familiar, but prepare it in a way that is exciting and new. That's the way you should be thinking, because IMO this style/food is easy for conservative diners to approach yet appreciate as something special. Also adventurous eater's will like the creativity. I don't do too much SW style cooking but...you could do enchiladas w/ a twist. Stacked enchiladas "napolian style" w/ an ancho or some different sauce and cotijo cheese crumbles. Take something familiar and prepare it in a very different way than expected. conservative= same as everyone else. Jeff

Hmmm...No coconut oil poppers besides me?

I saw this blogpost- http://saltandchocolategirl.blogspot.com/ and being a flavored salt fan decided to try and make some. Other than lots of sweet salty combos the 2 other things that popped in my head were- topped on guacamole (probably because of mole sauce) and on top of a piece of buttered baguette.

Hi All, I'd like to make some chocolate salt and here's what I did- 4-5 parts kosher salt 1 part sugar 1 part cocoa powder (I only had unsweetened) sprinke water Mix all dry ingrdients together and sprinke w/ very little water to moisten. Mix til crumbly. It is in a low oven right now to dry. The other thing I was thinking was maybe to spritz w/ oil (I'm trying to get everything to stick to the salt) Any other ideas on how to create this? Thanks, Jeff

And Donald Trump just develops buildings, and Oprah just has a talk show, and so forth. Welcome to Saturationville, population...as many as we can fit. My high horse aside-I'd probaly take the money too.

Between this and the home cured olives ( http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=30051&st=30 ) you are now officially the envy of my house. Bravo! Jeff

ChefCrash, Those look great! A couple of questions if you don't mind- Where did you get the fresh olives? Are you still using the cure you mentioned previously in this thread? Do you have to change the cure after you jar them? Thanks so much, Jeff

These are what I have planned right now- margherita pepperoni, and green pepper sausage, carmelized onion, fontina, and mozz and maybe a greek inspired one-feta, red onion, kalamata olive, and oregano (no red sauce)