snowangel

Hanging head, I will admit that I am a power tool junkie. I confess. I have white corelle dishes. And a arather odd assortment of serving pieces. Some from friends, a few were wedding presents. Some from my grandmothers' homes. They suit me fine, and I'm happier lusting after power tools or sitting and knitting dish rags or embroidering day-of-the-week dishtowels. I'd love to love dishes more than drills, drill presses, router bits, but..

I must admit that while most of the time I love my much tinier kitchen, I hate this cupboard. I absolutely hated that step spice unit. I don't buy a specific brand of empty jar, but get my spices in quantities I want from Penzey's or Holy Land or the co-op and jar them as appropriate, using stuff like old spice jars and baby food jars, etc. But, what I hated was that stuff was stuffed behind other stuff, and there was so much wasted space. I wondered what to do. I thought about those spice racks that affix to the cupboard doors, but all of the were expensive and had three shelves on them, and their idea of three shelves didn't match up with the placement that I wanted. So, the other night, I was killing time while Diana had a volleyball practice and stopped at my local Ace Hardware. Low and behold, they had individual door-mounted racks for $1.99 each. Yes, it looks much better. I know that I would be happier with square canisters, but my grandmother (now deceased) gave these to me as a wedding present. ANd, yes, I did toss a bunch of stuff. I actually had an old McCormick's tin (just about empty) of cream of tartar that had a PRICE STICKER on it. $.10. And, three bags of raisins (which I hate) which each had four raisins in them. I'm happy. I will no longer have a tumbling mass of stuff when I try and grab one spice. Nor will I have to re-pack this cupboard like I was packing for a hike for two months every time I want to grab something. It took us all of 1/2 hour to get the racks in (best gift ever was the Ryobi cordless drill with the level built in and the magnetic thingie for the screws) and another 1/2 hour do get things right.

Rachel, how much cheese do you think you used? I agree, probably not cheesey enough. Time to remind everyone of the pasta that Daniel mentioned above -- Barilla Pipettes. They come in 12 oz boxes which is just the right amount, and it is even a more perfect pasta for mac and cheese than regular elbows.

This is a very Thai style preparation. In my experience in THailand, it is served with the accompaniments you mention, and unlike what is served in most "Chinese" restaurants in the US is pretty white in color, not soy sauce brown. It can also be a great vehicle for leftovers. Not just rice, but odd meat and veg bits.

Corinna, I cooked the beans last night using the method advocated by Russ Parsons (if I can find the link, I'll edit this post). Basically, put in a heavy casserole (I used a LeCreuset type), add about 5 cups of water (for 1 pound of beans). Bring to a boil on top of the stove, cover and stick in a 250 degree oven. Check for water level after an hour. I think I left them in the oven for almost 3 hours (quite frankly, I forgot about them). They were beautifully done and the skins just slid right off when I ran my hands through the beans. If I hadn't been planning to whiz them into a puree, they would have been considered overdone. Give this method a try next time!

Over in RecipeGullet, there are several recipes for Pie Crust.

Tim, what was on the hummus plate for the Mrs.? Did you make your own hummus?

So, I haven't cleaned this thing (other than keeping it wiped down and visibly on the outside clean). So, vinegar or the citric acid? If I use vinegar, do I need to run a full pot through? Half a pot?

Chef: Thanks for all of the time you have spent with us, especially during the planning phases of Alinea. Your restaurant has been open for a few months now. I'd love to hear what has surprised you, what you would have done differently, and has worked beyond your expectations. How is it working in the space you have, with the staff and equipment you have had? Has the design of the physical space and the accoutrements (dishes, equipment, etc.) had any bearing on the menu?

Thursday, January 12, 2006 From todays Star Tribine Eat+Drink section: Restaurant Review: Masa, D'Amico's foray into the world of Mexican. It is a so-so review. Sounds like they are high on atmosphere and plating and only so-so on flavor. In the most odd thing, the Counter Intelligence column which appears on-line is completely different than the one that appears in the paper which the boy thumped against the front door today. The on-line edition focuses on the changes in St. Anthony now that Apache Plaza is gone and has been replaced. But, in my in-print edition, I got my first laugh of the day. You can forget about the review of Purple People Eatery that was in last weeks edition. It has closed. The blurb states that "Carl Eller...says that he expects the restaurant to reopen, but no further details were available at press time. In Now Open (which I can't find on-line), Jeremy Iggers visits Hong Kong Star and notes that this typically non-descript Chinese restaurant in a non-descript strip mall in St. Louis Park has a nice selection of Cantonese items on the menu, which is a nice surprise. Over in the Taste section: All-American Comfort recycles an article from the New York Times a week ago yesterday. But, there is a nice twist -- a little Historic Introduction to Mac -- a mini-interview of Marlena Spieler (frequent eGullet contributer) by Lee Svitak Dean. One really neat article -- Neighborhood cook's children help in kitchen. A guy who is sort of running an un-official cooking school in his house for really little kids. Lynne Rosetto Kasper talks about What is a gram. Over in yesterday's regional South section, Schneier and Cooper review the Grand City Buffet. Sometime for everyone. This remains a very frustrating web site, and I am puzzled why sometimes the on-line and print editions are so different. Finally, in What's Cooking news that it is once again Girl Scout cookie time. Including what's different between what the Minneapolis and St. Paul Girl Scout's sell. Over at the Pioneer Press's Restaurant section: Kathy Jenkins reveals Everything I Ate For a Week. A very fun read. There is Restaurant News which reveals that Mitch is once again trying to sell is supper club. Over in the City Pages Restaurant section, Elizabeth Noll does hash browns in an article titled The Oily Grail. Time to head to Al's Diner. But, many of us have known that all along. <><><><><> Media Digest Notes... Updates from some Twin Cities media outlets, which do not 'go to press' by Friday each week, may be edited into each week's post as they become available. Please do not reply on this thread. For discussion of any stories which are linked here, please feel free to start a new thread or contact the forum host or the "digester" who will be happy to do it for you.

Larb

Hummus is a fridge staple in our house. I just cooked up two pounds of dried chickpeas, so I can make a batch of hummus. Since this will make far more hummus than I want in the fridge now, I wonder -- is it better to freeze the remaining cooked chickpeas or make it all into hummus and freeze some of that?

It looks beautiful! Be sure and let us know how you like it once you've broken it in.

I have not made it, but a close friend had us over for dinner and served it. It is indeed wonderful. She served it with rice, the tomato relish (recipe in the book) and sauteed broccoli. Definitely yummy and something I will make soon.

Food shelves are running really low. Think about donating some of it. Depending on where you live, there could be quite a demand for the coconut milk.

I have a drip coffee maker. It's a Phillips I got at Target many years ago. Long enough ago that it was made in the Netherlands. I run the pot, gold filter and the thingamabob that the filter goes in through the dishwasher periodically. Other than that and wiping it out, I haven't cleaned it. I recall women at church talking about running vinegar through the thing to keep it clean. ????

I have a chest freezer; mine is in the basement close to the washing machine. I only defrost it about every three years, but then again, mine is very organized with milk crates and I do know what's in there and make sure and rotate the milk crates so that stuff comes to the top. And, because of where I live, a mid-January defrost is no problem! The other bonus is that I can use it as a surface for sorting clothes, blocking hand-knit sweaters. I've even covered the top with a piece of plastic and used it to finish wood trim! But, the big thing to remember with any freezer is that it is not a safe deposit box. I'll never forget my MIL showing up at our house with the top of our wedding cake -- we'd been married close to 20 years and she'd found it at the bottom. But that's another story...

Ask eGullet members for advice.

Add two. James Beard's American Cookery (my reason was stated as "I need this for the game recipes" -- ha!) and a second copy of Barbara Tropp's Modern Art of Chinene Cooking. The latter is the original hard-cover edition, in pristine condition (including the dust cover). I just felt so sad that this copy of a masterpiece was languishing on a shelf at Half Price Books, and had been languishing for so long that it was down to $3.98. I wonder how many people passed up this treasure in favor of a flashier book?

These are being discontinued in Canada, maybe not the US. If it interests you, you might want to look into it sooner than later just in case. ← Wow, never saw one of those. Not so pretty, but clever. Unfortunately, not on their website anymore... ← Still available here which is where I got it. You are right. Not pretty. But indestructable and sensible. Since I have the magnetic knife strip behind the sink, and high faucet was not an option.

Try straining the gunk out and post of picture of it, please!

Sandy, I'm feeling to lazy to scroll through the Dinner! posts, but had this turkey been stuffed with anything?

I never thought anything about an IB until I saw the Braun Multiquick with the poly shaft at Costco for $9.99 (one of the last two they had) so I figured, "why not?" I can't imagine not having one, and the regular blender is now on a shelf in the laundry room (limited kitchen space). And yes, you can use them to make hummus.

I've had stainless sinks and I've had enameled cast iron. I prefer the latter. The big thing is to have a deep sink. When we moved into this house, the sink was only 6" deep. It did not last long under our tenure. But, what I really love is my faucet -- a Moen Legend Hi-Rise. You can see a picture of it in action here. The faucer can either be low or high, and the spray feature is built in. This is the second one of these I've had, and the only reason I have had two is we did leave the one in the former house when we moved. I have a friend who has had this same faucet for almost 15 years with nary a problem.

Way back when I was in college, there was a chain -- Zantigo's. I think they eventually bacame part of Zapata's which became Taco Hell (I mean Taco Bell). They are back, with a few Twin Cities locations, and still serving up that killer Green Chili they used to serve -- solo or in chilito's. This is a chain I love to adore. The food is better than average fast food, the food is cheap. To echo what Ronnie said, I have eaten in several local joints that either stunk or the food was not good. Politically, I'd choose local over chain every day, but I look at what my local Zantigo is churning out, and what the local diner is churning out, and I'm not sure. So, in the meantime, if it's not a bowl of green chili at the Zantigo, I'll save my bucks for a really good restaurant. If not, I'm happier whipping up a 20 minute frittata at home.