[Purge the Larder]

Wasn't there a thread a while ago about some website where you could put in several ingredients and they would give back a list of recipes that would work? I can't remember what it was called, altho I thought it was a Google product (I ccan't find it in Google stuff tho.)

ETA:

here it is!!!

http://www.grimmthething.com/other/cse/googlefood.html

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Awesome! I put in carrots, coconut milk & chciken and came up with several recipies for soups that sound great!

[Rhubarb...]

Has anyone been watching Jamie Oliver's newest series that has been showing on the Food Network? I think it is Jamie at Home, but I'm not sure - it is on Saturday mornings.

He just did a complete show on Rhubarb - both sweet & savory applications. The Crispy Pork & Noodles with Rhubarb looked AMAZING! Unfortunately, the recipie is not on the Food Network. Does anyone have this cookbook? Is it in there?

[Purge the Larder]

I love this topic - I've been contemplating my pantry for a while now; but, I had a really bad cold about three weeks ago and I haven't felt like cooking anything but pasta with a little butter and parmesan since then. Eating is not a problem - just cooking! Hopefully I will want to cook again soon...

Now, I am away from home for two weeks for work - They sent me with very short notice so it was a good thing that I didn't have a lot of fresh ingredients around since there is no one there to eat them. If I remember correctly here is what I have to get through...

Fridge:

Shredded mozz, about 1 cup

Parmesan, about 1/2 cup block

shredded cheddar, about 1 cup

coconut milk - 1/2 a can (may need to be thrown out?)

sake - 3/4 of a bottle - does this go bad?

Rhubarb-ginger preserves, 1/4 jar

tamarind concentrate

spicy mustard

sour cream, 1/2 cup - if still good

Tamari, 1/2 bottle

3 carrots

2 baby bok choy (probably spoiled)

1/2 package of celery (probably spoiled)

3 limes

fresh ginger

walnuts, 1 1/2 cups

peanuts, 1 cup

sund dried tomatoes, 1/2 cup

capers, 3/4 jar

Freezer:

Cooked Chicken thigh meat, shredded, 1 pound

Homemade chicken broth, 2 quarts

boneless, skinless chicken breast, 1/2 pound

pizza dough - for one 12" pizza

homemade pesto - about 1 cup

lemongrass, 2 stalks

paneer, 1/4 pound

homemade tomato sauce, 1 quart

peas

corn

Pantry:

thin rice noodles

thick rice noodles

rice paper wrappers

sticky rice - 1 quart

Basmati Rice, 1 pint

Pasta - 4 pounds, various shapes

Golden lentils, 1 quart

green lentils, 1 cup

dried, unsweetened coconut

black beans, 1 pint

black beans, 1 can

Coconut milk, 1 can

baby corn, 1 can

Chipotles in adobo, 1 can

Oils / Vinegars / Condiments:

Light Olive Oil

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Corn Oil

Fish Sauce

Oyster Sauce

Rice Wine Vinegar

Cider Vinegar

Balsamic Vinegar

Worcestershire Sauce

Soy Sauce

Now - shouldn't there be a master program out there that can tell me what all I can make with this stuff? In all sorts of cuisines and also tell me what one or two ingredients I need to add or substitute to complete a recipie?

[Columbus, OH]

Hi All,

I'm being sent to Columbus for two weeks for work. I work for one of the contract foodservice companies so breakfast & lunch will be taken care of at work - hopefully it s a good cafe - but I will be on my own for dinners and on the weekend. I'll be working downtown and staying on the north side of town - in Worthington. I don't mind driving around a little though since I expect I'll have plenty of time on my hands.

I have already checked out several other threads and I have the North Market on my list, as well as a few other restaurants. I am will probably try to only do one, maybe two, "high-end" type places since that really isn't my day-to-day style. I am looking for good ethnic restaurants - mostly casual, but that do home made food. I love Mexican, Thai, Indian, Sushi, Middle Eastern and maybe Eastern European too. Also - I love Brew Pubs. I have a few places that I have seen on the internet that I'd like opinions on too...

Banana Leaf and Dosa Corner: Love the idea of Southern Indian / Vegetarian since you usually only see North Indian with the same standard menu.

Barley's Brewpub & Smokehouse

Lemongrass Asian Bistro

Pad Thai 05

Elevator Brewing Co

Further suggestions welcome!

[cake decorating/repetitive motion injury]

Yet another approach related to loosening the muscles is yoga. One particular pose, Half Locust: http://www.bikram-yoga-noosa-australia.com...Salabhasana.htm is performed by rotating your arms so that the palms are facing out and then lying on top of them. OUCH. BUT, it really, really does help loosen up all of the muscles in the arms and shoulders. Of course, this is just one of hundreds of poses that may help.

[Country-Style Pork Ribs]

Wow! All of these ideas sound great! Keep 'em coming!

[Country-Style Pork Ribs]

I have a package of countrystyle pork ribs in my refridgerator and I am trying to determine the best way to treat them...Shouldn't be too hard a prospect, but I want to make sure I make the best of them.

My question is: What is the best way to cook this cut? I can't remember at the moment if it is on the bone or off, but it is cut up into four good size (4-6oz) "fingers" that might be good to brown and then give it a quick braise. Would it be too tough if I grilled it? I also have a stove-top smoker that I usually just use for chicken, but that might be fun too. I have actually done spareribs in there for three hours (they came out awesome).

I have lots of different herbs & spices that I can use, as well as various either asian ingredients or bbq sauce to do some sort of glaze, perhaps...

Any ideas?

Help!

[Cooking for 50 Senior Citizens]

Randi - we love ramen salad. We gourmet it all up and use Napa cabbage  , but our favorite part is the crunchy ramen noodles.  I actually like the looks of that eclair cake - could you give us basic amounts (scaled down for home use  )?  And what an awesome slicing job.  Perfect cuts!

Kim

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I think one box of cook and serve pudding( the bigger box) would work for home use. You could also make a batch of your favorite choc. pudding I reduced the milk slightly so I'd have a firmer pudding. I used 2% milk too.

Line a rectangle or 9 inch square tupperware with graham crackers and then dollop on some pudding. I think I did 3 layers of crackers. Make sure it sits overnight so the crackers soften up. The original recipe says to pour microwaved canned frosting on the top layer of graham crackers, but that is vile to me. I just topped it with pudding and some whipped cream.

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That Eclair Cake is very similar to the Icebox Cake that is a traditional at every holiday in my family. Instead of pudding we use just chocolate flavored whipped cream (only real whipped cream, Cool Whip doesn't work right). We also do a lot more layers of graham crackers & whipped cream. Actually we layer them on edge like this: |||||||||||||

It's really important to use plenty of whipped cream (or pudding) and let it sit overnight so that the graham crackers soften and become more like a cake consistancy.

Yum... I'm thinking of home now...

[eG Foodblog: Ninetofive - January in New England]

Oliver and I hit the road around 12:00 yesterday so that we could arrive in Concord, NH, around 1. Here, half a boule cut up into small pieces and a banana for Oliver's snack. When we were in the car, he said, "Mom, you're the best bread baker I've ever met." Awwww.

Pop quiz: Why do visitors from TAXachusetts love shopping at the NH State liquor stores?

NH Liqour Stores Rock! Hee! My brother & I stopped at that very store on our way home for Christmas and loaded up on wine for our family's Christmas dinner celebration. A couple of my favorite wines were being sold for about $5 less than I see them locally in Delaware.

We pick up Linda and Eric and head to a local Indian restaurant they like. I'm sorry, but again, I was so hungry, Linda had to remind me to take pictures:

Pooris and garlic naan.

This was a shrimp korma. Oliver picked at his poori. He used to love Indian food, but in the past year won't touch it.

Where is this restaurant located in Concord? I knew of a place on the East side about a dozen years ago, but my Mom thought it had closed the last time she was in the area. I wonder if it is the same one. Those pooris and naan look fantastic!

[Homemade Marshmallows: Recipes & Tips (Part 2)]

WOW!!

Desiderio: those look like something out of my dreams

Lior: I love your s'mores!

Tri2Cook: Your flavors sound amazing - do you sell commercially?

I first looked at this thread over a year ago and made my first batch of marshmallows then. I've only made one other since and I think I really need to get working on more! I fact, I think I have strawberries and gelatin in the house right now...

[The sneaky tricks professional cooks use]

I agree that the article seems extreamely obvious and the idea that consuming food that is fat free pretty much leads to completly dry, tasteless food as a result.

But the biggest problem is that a lot of the people that these articles are aimed at also don't know how to cook. They don't cook at home, nevermind know what kind of shortcuts may be taken in restaurant kitchens - like asking a saute chef to go easy on the amount of oil s\he uses when s\he's got 4-5 pans going at once. Or to take the time to actually steam your vegetables for you if they aren't already a normal item on the menu.

It also doesn't help that a lot of the weight-loss programs advocate using low-fat substitutes (like frozen fat free cool whip as the basis for an "ice cream" sandwich ) instead of learing to cook and eating a higher proportion of healthier foods and smaller amounts of less healthy foods. Even Weight Watchers, which is pretty good, offers a lot of options for those who don't know how or want to actually cook thier food.

Ok, rant over. But I really want to just see a lot more people learing to cook and enjoy a variety of foods instead of relying on frozen dinners and cool whip and thinking that real cooking is evil!

[Worst meal at someone's home - Part 2]

My Grandmother can be a decent cook... when she sticks to a few tried & true dishes. But she also grew up in a relatively low-income factory town when canned foods and convenience products were the latest & greatest and raised 8 kids while working full-time - she wasn't out there tending her garden and spending all her time in the kitchen. Plus, it doesn't help that my Grandfather likes all his meat cooked to shoeleather and hates cheese.

BUT... sometimes I really have to wonder how she does it. At Thanksgiving about 5 years ago one of my aunts provided a spiral sliced ham. She brought it in that morning and handed it to my Grandmother telling her that it just needed to be heated and the glaze that was provided needed to be poured over it.

Either Memere did not hear her, or has her own ideas about how food should be cooked because she proceeded to put it in the downstairs oven (where no one could check on it unless they went down to the basement) at 350 for at least two hours!!! She still wasn't sure it was done enough when we brought it upstairs! We put the glaze on and served it alongside the canned corn and canned peas, homemade (thank goodness) mashed potatoes, sliced white bread and cranberry sauce with the ridges from the can still visable. My aunt was fuming that she spent all that money on ham to feed 30+ people only to have it come out like sugared ham jerky! Actually, except for the ham, it was a relatively good (if bland to my tastes) meal!

[Food Resolutions for 2008]

First Post! I figure that after years of reading these boards, this is an appropriate topic to dive into...

I will EAT smaller portions

I will MAKE at least one completely new dish every month

I will FIND the willpower to exercise more!

I will LEARN how to apply heat properly in the kitchen (i.e. to cook better)

I will TEACH myself to cook rather than rely on recipies

I will READ recipies all the way through for theory and technique rather than rely on them step-by-step