ElsieD

Interesting article. There is this quote "Many are sidelining famous chef's. ....". I wonder if Mark Bittman is one of them?

I want one.

That looks fantastic!

I'm guessing you're right.

It does sound a bit strange, doesn't it? I just checked the box to make sure I had typed it correctly and yes, the pasta will "restrain condiments".

I just had a look at the pasta I am currently using. The brand is Pasta Vera. It is produced with durum wheat seminola only grown in Puglia. On the box it says "Pasta Vera is real traditional pasta produced with only local grain and due to it's density and it's valuable bronze wire cutting, restrains condiments better than any other." I buy it at an Italian place. The people who own the place are from Puglia. It is tasty stuff. I also have some of the R D'A, it too is imported from Italy. I'm lucky here as I lot of Italians immigrated to this neck of the woods after WW II and set up shop here giving us access to some quality products.

First time in my life I have ever heard of a pickle press.

Yes, that cinnamon roll bread is some good. Rotuts, if you are into mango, you need some of what is pictured below. We brought 6 jars back with us. It's delicious, and has a bit of heat.

This ate better than it looks. I found a Molly Stevens recipe on-line for braised monkfish. The dish on the side is orzo with spinach and cherry tomatoes.

And here is the TJ's croissant I had this morning. I left it out overnight as per the instructions on the package and as you can see, it over-proofed. By a lot. I sure did like the taste of it though. I am going to try another one tonight although I will let it sit in the fridge overnight rather than on the counter.

We had the Panasonic microwave/convection combination when we lived in our house. It had inverter technology and I was very happy with it.

Yes, the bread was toasted and buttered with Trader Jacques cultured salted butter from Brittany, France. That butter to is sadly almost gone. It's delicious. The Churros were crunchy all the way through. So they are supposed to have a soft centre? These are mini Churros so it may not be possible to heat them through without them getting crunchy.

A couple more items to report on. We bought two bags of the Churros. My husband liked them, I thought they were okay. I have never had "real" ones so I don't know what they are supposed to be like, and maybe that is the problem. I thought they were very crunchy, I had, rightly or wrongly, expected a softer interior. On to the Cinnamon Roll Bread. That deserves all the capitals. It reminds me of the cinnamon buns you used to buy in the grocery stores years ago. It is superb. Sadly, I only bought one loaf. Since I don't recall seeing a picture of it on this thread, I have included one.

The biggest problem in all of this is the consumer. As long as the consumer is willing to buy and eat tasteless, out-of-season vegetables, producers are only too happy to provide them. I live in the eastern part of Canada and I do not buy out of season fruit that is shipped here from, say, California. Those huge oversized strawberries for example, have no flavour and yet, even when local strawberries come to market, I still see people buying imported strawberries in their clam shells. Peaches arrive hard as rocks and no, they don't ripen on the counter. They get mushy, but they do not ripen, and yet there is a market for them. So until there are enough consumers refusing to buy the tasteless stuff, it will continue to be offered for sale.

Chefmd, thank you so much for your blog. I just loved it. It is a part of the world I will never see and you made it seem as though I were there. One question - is the food in that part of China spicy?

Fascinating, thank you so much!

I finally cooked something interesting or at least tasty. Due to circumstances, I haven't cooked much the last while, and it was nice to put this together. Easy but good. Korean Stewed Chicken (Dak Bokkeum) with asparagus and bell peppers. Served over white rice.

Mine were about 1 1/2" thick. The claim being made is that with a quick release, it squeezes the moisture out which according to the same claim, won't happen with a natural release. I will try a one minute cook when next I do chops, but what do other eople do? I thought Weinstein and Scarborough were experts.

I normally cook pork chops sous vide but last night I decided to cook them in the IP. I followed the directions in The Great Big Pressure Cooker Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarborough. That is, after browning they were cooked on high for 10 with a quick release. Today I recieved an email from Pressure cooking Today also dealing with pork chops. Their recommendation was 1 minute on high followed by a natural release. Quite a difference. When we were eating the pork chops, the first few bites were nice and juicy but the more we ate of them, the drier they got. Any comments on the discrepancy between the two methods?

Reminds me of the time when I was a lowly student in a C.A. firm. I got sent out to work up some financial statements for a paving company. Their office was in their house. The wife of the owner sat across from me for the whole week or whatever it was, I guess to make sure they didn't get stiffed on my hourly rate. The only time she disappeared was one time towards the end when she showed up with a bowl of soup. It had a slick of oil on it that must have been an inch deep. Gag city. I had mercifully forgotten about that until your post. My sympathies.

There are four recipes for shrimp: deviled, cold; grilled scampi style; in mustard sauce; and shrimp and scallop seviche . The deviled shrimp has black olives and pimento in it, among other things. If you want any of these recipes let me know and I will send you a PM. I too got this book when it first came out and I have purchased many others over the years and gotten rid of many, but this one will have to be pried from my cold dead fingers. For some reason, I love this book. I especially liked some of the photography, do you remember the picture of the roast beef pictured in a wine glass? I still make the Cannelloni recipe from that book.

I just happen to have the book, Great Dinners from Life. I checked it when I got home tonight and the recipe is on page 29. You are right - there is no mention of a water bath. It is baked for 1 hour and ten minutes or until firm around the edges, the oven is turned off and it stays in the oven for two hours. Remove and cool for at least two hours, then refrigerate for three.

Norm, I love that window nook, if that is the right name for it. Is that a microwave stand your KA is on or some sort of kitchen portable cupboard?

Thank you all for your replies. I was away over the weekend and on the way back it became apparent that I was coming down with the flu. Today has been a tough day but as soon as I feel better, I will comment on your replies.

Has anyone baked using sugar substitutes? I looked to see if this had been covered before but I mainly found oldish threads and they mainly seemed to deal with beverages. When I went to the grocery store the other day there seemed to be a plethora of them, but the ingredient list (chemical make-up?) of them were different. I know zero about the ingredients that are used as sugar substitutes and wondered if anyone on this forum had any experience with them. My husband is trying to loose weight and if I can use a sugar substitute in baking and desserts with a reasonable assurance that what I produce won't taste like a chemical stew I would like to try it.