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Shamanjoe

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Everything posted by Shamanjoe

  1. I have used gas ranges almost exclusively throughout my life, and I've always just felt by looking at the flame that, "Yeah, that's medium." or something similar. As far as explaining it to a newbie, I think I'd be hopelessly lost.
  2. I make this sauce a lot. About fifty-fifty on adding the crushed red peppers. I do make a version of it though where I add equal parts butter and olive oil. It isn't technically Aglio e Olio anymore, but it's still very good. I do this when I feel like a richer sauce.
  3. I used to have this problem. I took a heavy-duty belt sander to my wall and gummed it up completely in under 10 minutes. I finally ended up putting some stainless steel as a backsplash. It looks great and is a breeze to clean (in that it doesn't corrode like the paint did with some of the more effective cleansers).
  4. I prefer to watch cooking shows when I have the time. Sometimes I will try a recipe from one, but usually it is to get inspiration and techniques more than the actual recipes. For instance, I saw a show where they made roasted potatos, quartered, with just some olive oil, salt and pepper, in a 400 degree oven. I took that technique and was soon applying it to most other root vegetables, as well as brussel sprouts, julienned bell peppers, etc. I have never actually made the potatos on their own as shown on the program. On a side note though, the show I have made the most recipes (as well as the most successful recipes) from is Alton Brown's Good Eats. He makes more things I want to eat than most other chefs on television, and all of his recipes, while somewhat eclectic in technique, are tailored to the home cook.
  5. That's very similar to the way I do it, sans the cheese. So very tasty!
  6. Add another two for me, courtesy of suzilightning over in the Free Cookbooks thread: Libations of Life: a Girl's Guide to Life One Cocktail at a Time - Brun, Dee The New Vegetarian Cookbook - Abensur, Nadine Anybody who has extra cookbooks, please go to the thread and list them. It's a great way to introduce new cookbooks to people that might not otherwise get them, and a great way to cut down on a little clutter.
  7. I've never found a decent pluot in the stores. They can be so very good if they're fresh off the tree, but not from the store.
  8. Shamanjoe

    Freezing Bacon

    Pam, Good Lord, that mushroom is huge! I love the setup though. I just wish the wife would let me try that (AND get a fridge like that). Blether, You can buy bacon like that at Costco, but it's not frozen, its vacuum-packed and the bacon is paper thin. They put the same piddly crap on most fast food burgers these days. Not that I eat fast food. No, never..
  9. I almost exclusively buy asparagus at the farmer's market near my house, and rarely have I seen asparagus thicker than a Sharpie. It is usually the pencil-thin type, and it always tastes delicious.
  10. The spot on the watermelon should be yellow like Doodad says. In addition to that little sign, I've almost always had good luck with the tapping method. If it feels heavy for its size, and sounds nice and hollow, it's usually ripe. As far as cantaloupe, make sure the netting is raised. If its flat or thinning, it usually isn't as ripe. And ditto on the smell. Just remember to smell the blossom end.
  11. I don't mind the peeling, I just don't like the flavour as much on the thicker ones. I generally prefer mine grilled, with just a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. I've never had results with the thicker stalks compare to the skinny ones when I do them on the grill. As far as the texture or stringiness goes, I've never noticed that with the thinner asparagus. They always seem nice and tender to me when I cook them, except for the very ends (and that's probably because I don't bother trimming the ends half the time.).
  12. I have to agree with the tomatos. Even the most pathetic ones from my garden taste far superior to any store-bought ones. I don't even use fresh tomatos to make pasta sauce anymore unless I grow them myself, because the canned ones are much fresher.
  13. Paul, you took the words right out of my mouth. I was thinking of the Parsons book as soon as ElsieD mentioned peaches. Its a wonderful resource for choosing a whole variety of fruits and vegetables. JAZ, I like the smaller asparagus because they tend to be much more tender and I think they taste more like asparagus. They also work well with my preferred cooking method. I toss them with olive oil, salt and pepper, and toss them on the grill until they start to shrivel up a bit. They get a wonderful smokey taste in addition to the asparagus flavour. I think if I were using them in some other manner, I might prefer the larger size as well, but I rarely cook asparagus anywhere but on the grill.
  14. With the Ataulfo (or Phillipine) mango, I always look for ones that have a few black spots on the skin, and the skin is slightly wrinkled. That means its going to be very sweet.
  15. I think part of this comes down to personal preference, because I happen to love the pencil thin asparagus much more than the thicker, second growth stalks. With any asparagus though, make sure it is standing in CLEAN water, and that there is no sign of decay on the heads. Cloudy water and soft heads are a good sign of old asparagus. For oranges, I agree that going with the condition of the skin, and the weight in the hand are good indicators, though sometimes I can't help judging by the colour. It's never the only consideration though.
  16. I just picked up the Emeril Stainless Steel 10 piece Cookware Set from Macy's and I was wondering if anybody had used it before. The main reason we picked it up was for the pots. We just moved, and both of us have a number of frying/sauteé pans, but the only pot I have is a gigantic stock pot that is about a foot tall. In addition it came with a free Emerilware cast-iron grill pan. I haven't used any Emerilware pieces before, but they looked very nice in the store, especially the built-in strainers on the pots. Being an avid grill enthusiast and living in Southern California where it's almost never too cold to grill, I also haven't used grill pans much before. If anyone has thoughts or has used these, please let me know. And of course, I will update as I use the actual set. edited: to fix the link
  17. Breakfast yesterday was a few half-rashers of bacon, eggs scrambled in the bacon fat, and some pan-toast with butter, all done in my new 10" cast-iron skillet. Dr. Pepper on ice (something I'm really starting to enjoy) to top it off, and we had it made.
  18. Chris, I'm not sure how an aged South American and a white Caribbean would be similar, except that South American rums tend to be on the harsher side (in my experience anyway, somebody more well-versed in rums please let us know if it's different), and a little age on one might smooth it out some. As far as my stocks go, I have the usual swill left over from parties, mainly Bacardi Silver and Myers Silver. I also have some Rhum Agricole I haven't used, as well as a Flor de Caña white that I haven't even cracked open yet. I think that's all the clear rums I have that aren't flavoured. edited: to expand on a thought
  19. Chris, I have everything but the Don Q. What would sub well so I can make it before I find some Don Q?
  20. When you make it this way, do you start with cold water and just put everything in, pop the lid on and let it go? This seems a wonderful way to do it, and if I'm making dashi, I always set aside plenty of time for it.
  21. I bought my Misto originally to make Jeffrey Morgenthaler's Angostura-Scorched Pisco Sours. It worked wonderfully for that purpose, but I didn't make them often enough to justify the $20 to myself, so I started using it with oil for the month or two between sours. I've had the same problem other posters have described. It mists fine at first, then converts to a little stream after a while. Cleaning makes the Angostura spray fine, but the oil always seems to have the same problem. Now I use Trader Joe's EVOO spray like Pierogi and keep the Misto in the bar. edited: to correct font and size
  22. That's an awesome deal. I just wonder if they'll ship it over to us here in SoCal..
  23. Congrats Chris, how did the move go? We moved into a new house one week ago today. I'm a little embarassed to say that the first thing I did was go out and spend $50 at Fresh N Easy. It was 90% refridgerated items though, some frozen veg and fruits, fresh mushrooms, scallions, etc. During the move I packed up my whole pantry and was astounded to see how much I actually had stuffed all over the house. When I went shopping, I made it a point to buy what would compliment all of the dry and canned goods that I had. The pantry basically fell into three categories: Condiments/Sauces/Other Liquids, Pastas/Grains/Beans, Baking items. The pasta/grains/beans items were all still good, though not exactly freshly made. I've been making a lot of pasta meals lately. The baking items are all faily fresh, and now that I've had the time to hook up the stove (which would have been a simple matter had it not required the rerouting of a gas line) many cookies and quick breads are in the near future. As far as the condiments/sauces/other liquids category, I have to admit some failure. There were quite a few things that went into the trash/recycle bins due to excessive age (a can of peppers from 2004), a funky appearance (one rusted can of chipotles that somehow managed to get stuck underneath a cabinet) or indecipherable markings (some asian condiments whose dates were not readily apparent to this English speaker). On the whole, however, my pantry came through the move pretty well. Now that I've gone through everything, and have a kitchen that has roughly 50% more cabinet space than the old one, I'm hoping to whittle away at the pantry until it is a more manageable size, and focus my efforts on eating what I have instead of saving it for some "future project" that never seems to come. I'm afraid I'll have to stick to supplementary shopping though instead of eating exclusively from the pantry/freezer since my freezer at the moment is 80% ice, and my pantry consists of mostly pasta/beans and sauces. Tasty to be sure, but hardly enough for nutritionally balanced meals, I'm sorry to say. edited: to add congrats to Chris on the move
  24. I'll have to look at those bowls when I get home. I'm not too sure about using the pennies. Even after disinfecting, sterilising, etc, I'm not sure I would trust them. I know the raw egg whites themselves probably have a better chance of contamination than properly disinfected pennies, but it still doesn't sit well with me. Thanks all!
  25. Wow, I didn't know there was a copper insert. I'd love to whip up egg whites in my stand mixer instead of by hand. Where did you get yours?
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