Dave the Cook

Personally, I don't think it's worth the trouble, but maybe you should do it once and decide for yourself. Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

In the spirit of supporting all things eGullet, here's an eG/Amazon link for the KitchenAid pasta accessory that mixmaster b and Varmint mentioned. It qualifies for free shipping, and the site gets a cut. KitchenAid KPRA Pasta Roller Attachment for Stand Mixers

Would you be willing to carry back a pile of bones, then? In addition to Minor's, a few people have mentioned "Better Than Bouillion." Here's a link to where you can buy it in the States. I haven't tried it.

...and they probably include the feet and heads.

Well, it's easy to claim purity when no one can actually see into your freezer. Seriously, in my brief time on eGullet, I have found that, among ingredients, only chocolate will bring out more fundamentalists than stock. But I don't think anybody's trying to be sanctimonious. You asked a good question. We answered it, based on our knowledge, experience and testimonial. Note that you got a unanimous response: homemade is superior to not-homemade. What did you expect? (Please also note that no one criticized you. We're trying to encourage you! ) I'm willing to bet that few eGulleters are sin-free. If you check around other threads, you'll find that many (most? all?) use shortcuts and canned, bottled or otherwise preserved ingredients. An embarrasing number admit to junk food addictions. (And anyone who has cooked professionally and hasn't used Minor's is either fibbing, hasn't paid their dues, or has never emerged from the pastry kitchen.) I use canned stocks--I might be between batches, or running short on supply and want to save it for a dish where it will really make a difference, or as at this time of year, I don't have space for it--my freezer is full of holiday prep work--including turkey stock.

Now I remember! Threads like this are why I came to eGullet. Thanks for the memory check.

I third this plea. I suspect that part of the problem is that we don't have pizza ovens. I base this on the qualitative difference between pizza that has been baked in a real pizza oven and pizza that has been baked on one of those conveyor belts. The latter work at higher, more stable temperatures.

As is often the case, SA is correct. Using a base (or bouillion cubes), you relinquish control of the most important flavor enhancer in your arsenal. By employing your own stock or canned broths, you can evaluate salt content independently. Another factor is availability. Cook's Illustrated in particular (and most other foodie publications to a lesser degree) is very sensitive to the ability of the home cook to acquire the ingredients they use. While nearly every grocery store stocks sodium-reduced broths, most do not carry soup bases. In the interest of providing a recipe that will produce consistent results, they opt for the most widely available alternative.

Good luck, NSM. Please keep us posted.

Safety tip or evocative sexual euphemism? Please discuss.

Sorry if I was presumptuous in my preaching, Trillium--didn't realize we were in the same choir.

It's 40-50 miles east of I-95, but great Q (and great atmosphere; if you're lucky, you'll cross paths with the circus people) is worth it: the Skylight Inn in Ayden. Best in the state. PM me for directions if you're interested. If you can't manage the side trip, check out the Smoke Ring site for recommendations: smoke me

Those eggs are very pretty. I hear you can get awesome temperatures out of them, and I like the way they can focus flame and smoke. I have a friend with a big egg, and he swears by it. But I need more grilling area for swim meets (usually 250-300 burgers/dogs/chicken breasts in a few hours). An egg that big is way out of my league. But I can grill vicariously, too. If you do get one, I want to hear about it. I did turkey in a Weber last year and it turned out fine, but I never really felt in control. Even on the 22-1/2" grill, with only a 14-pounder, it seemed crowded. The fire was very close, and if something had gotten out of control, I'm not sure how I would have handled it. Klink says it's no problem, but he lives and breathes this stuff. With everything else going on come Thanksgiving, I have to have more margin for error. So this year, I'll have this guy. As for science, and particularly double-blind testing and the like: I've been doing a series of tests to check some things that have been brought up here. Let me tell you, double-blind protocols are a b***h. When ther are just two or three people involved, it means lots of secret tables and copious note-taking and much misplacing of ingredients and double-checking and labeling. Not sure it's worth it, considering the knowledge likely to be gained from this particular experiment. But since I went in with certain expectations, I didn't want to be fooling myself, and had to eliminate the potential for personal prejudice to affect the results. And as for science in general, the job of the cook is made easier by the assurance that certain things are true, or that they work in certain predictable ways. I don't understand why some people reject the freedom that science represents for the intelligent and resourceful cook. We ought to welcome science into the kitchen. It leaves more room for experimentation and creativity. But science can only take you so far, at least with the tools we have now. You can cook a turkey to a certain temperature, but a thermometer can't tell you when the skin will be perfectly crisp, or even that it will taste good. Or, to take an example from this site: someone wanted to know an easy way to measure a liquid as it reduced. There are a few ways to do that "scientifically," but eventually, someone came up with a more correct answer, which is that you have to learn when a liquid has been reduced a proper amount by looking, listening, smelling, swishing, swirling and tasting. There's no scientific method that can do that. (climbs down from soapbox) Oh yeah, the sig--it's kind of stale, isn't it? Guess I need to come up with something else. Besides, I'm getting tired of paying tommy license fees.

Trillium--this sounds very promising. I will have to make some modifications, since I'll be grill-roasting it, but I might try it this way. Thanks! BTW, I think most of us are on board with brining. If you haven't seen this thread, it's where we tried to teach awbrig and tommy about brine. There are some interesting contributions. click me In the meantime, I think we're all waiting for more details on Toby's cornbread-buttermik biscuit stuffing...

What was your family food culture when you were growing up? Dad was Indiana Quaker, one generation off the farm. His mother did all the cooking. Mom lost her mother when she was 12 (but wasn't told until she was 13), and since she was a girl, her father wasn't much interested in her. So she was raised by rich relatives and servants in Westchester. The result was that neither of my parents knew their way around the kitchen, except what little Dad picked up in the Army. (For many years, I thought that "corporal" was the Army word for "cook.") Mom resorted to Better Homes and Gardens (I still have the 1951 edition she used), Joy of Cooking, phone calls to her MIL, and the girlhood memory of lonely Sunday roast beef dinners. Was meal time important? Not particularly when I was younger. Dad was always travelling during the week, so Mom didn't feel the pressure to live up to her MIL's cooking, and would either let us go for take-out (usually burgers or sandwiches; I don't remember pizza until I was 11 or 12), or she would make something quick and easy. Later on, we were one of those families that watched the Vietnam nightmare splash across our dinner table, and it became a setting for political and religious discussions, up to and including preliminary planning for a long stay in Canada circa 1973. Luckily, my lottery number was 263 or thereabouts, and nothing ever came of it. But Mrs. Dave (and her pre-matrimonial predecessors) tell me that dinner at our house was intimidating, due to the relatively high level of discourse. Holidays were special. My Dad had three brothers, and from 1953 to 1968 (excepting one year), two of them were within 100 miles of us, so there were big family gatherings, and food was one of the drawing cards. Was cooking important? Not by itself. What were the penalties for putting elbows on the table? I guess nothing, since I don't recall. Or maybe they were so horrible that I.... Who cooked in the family? Mom. Dad prepared Sunday morning brunch (bacon, scrambled eggs, pancakes) while we were at church, and occasionally he would burn something on the grill. Around the time I was seven or eight, Mom got a job that required her to be out of town once in a while, too. So me and my brothers fended for ourselves. Were restaurant meals common, or for special occassions? Inexpensive take out fairly often. Real dinner out maybe once a month; more as we got older. I don't think it was our age, I think it had to do with money. Did children have a "kiddy table" when guests were over? Yes for big family holiday dinners--there were usually upwards of 30 people, so there was a grown-up table, a teenager table, a kid table, a toddler table... I don't remember having people over for dinner in any other sense. Mom and Dad must have gone out instead. When did you get that first sip of wine? Probably at 12 or 13. I remember asking Mom one late Saturday morning why Dad wasn't up yet. "Too much Cold Duck," she said. The bird? Did it make him sick? "Not the bird. Here," she said, pouring a short glass (Flintstones, I believe) of the leftover, still slightly fizzy stuff. "See for yourself." Oh my. Was there a pre-meal prayer? Only when Grandma and Grandpa were present. Was there a rotating menu (e.g., meatloaf every Thursday)? Probably, since Mom's repertoire was limited. But I only remember fish on Friday, in keeping with our mostly Catholic neighbors. How much of your family culture is being replicated in your present-day family life? Not much. Mrs. Dave doesn't cook--she can, but considers it a chore, except for holiday baking. Her sister also married a cook-husband. Their mother was Pennsylvania Dutch, but grew up in an Irish-Italian neighborhood. She was a strict gray meat cook, per my FIL's wishes (second-generation Irish Catholic), and kept her kids out of the kitchen. When I met the woman who would become my wife, she had never had: chili, lamb, pork loin, duck, spare ribs, barbecue, any fish but fried (previously frozen) perch, asparagus, artichokes, or beef cooked medium rare, let alone any cut of beef besides eye of round or hamburger. OTOH, she introduced me to: Philly cheesesteaks, hoagies and grinders, scrapple, Italian sausage, marinara (by way of her brother's best friend), old-man bars and Lancaster County turkeys. Our kids are adventurous when it comes to food. I was driving Thing 2 (11-year-old boy) and a friend to the skateboard park the other day, and his buddy mentioned how weird he thought asparagus was, and that they had had it for dinner. Thing 2 asked if there had been a sauce with it. Receiving an affirmative reply, he ventured, "Hollandaise, Polonaise or Beurre Blanc?" Sometimes you just want to hug 'em..

I know that I am of the minority opinion here: I like my stuffing stuffed into the cavity. Lord, the arguments every Thanksgiving! His Handsomeness is firmly in the "Baked outside the cavity" school. Dressing's o.k. I have eaten enormous quantities of it! But no matter how often you baste dressing with stock or juices, it just isn't as tasty as stuffing. Does Stuffing sometimes get soggy? Or dry? Yeah. It's still good! I am a dedicated Alton Brown fan, but for God's sake, the man won't stuff a pork chop without putting on latex gloves! AB's "stuffing is evil" argument goes like this: a) stuffing robs the meat of moisture; b) since the stuffing is in significant contact with raw meat juices, it needs to be cooked to the same temperature as the meat (160 F). This means the meat will be way overdone by the time the stuffing reaches the proper temperature. To (a), I say: of course it does--that's the point, isn't it? But I also think that brining will mitigate this, as will a suficiently moist stuffing. To (b), I say: OK, but should be subject to the common sense rule. As maggie suggests, people are not dying by the thousands because stuffing gets cooked inside the bird. Still... I've gone the outside route the past few years, but it's not the same. Stuffing cooked outside the bird is fancy baked starch. It can be interesting, but it's not stuffing. So this year I'm going a third way. I'll stuff the bird and cook until the meat is done. Then I'll remove the stuffing to a deep casserole and put it back in the oven while the bird rests, and heat it to 160 F internal, then broil for a minute. I hope to get safe, bird-basted stuffing, plus a crispy top, which has been the single saving grace of out-of-the-turkey method. (I will find out that everyone wears latex gloves to stuff pork chops except me. )

I just this minute walked through our break room. Someone had left a Dunkin Donuts box (the dozen size), presumably with a few leftovers from a morning meeting in it. By the time I came upon it, all that was left in the box was a knife and 1/8 (yes, one eighth) of a lemon-filled donut. In the spirit of this thread, I swallowed it whole.

Who Kpurvis? Oh...yeah...

I hate both you guys.

No brine?

Actually, no. They have to be a pound. So a chicken is one to 1-1/8 #. There are also legal restrictions on size of the carapace, among other things. Sorry for the misremembering. I finally found the resource I was using last year. Snap here for a quick read.

Maine lobster > stone crab > spiny lobster Actually, many things are > spiny lobster. If you like the taste of spiny lobster, crawfish is the refined version and much >. pjs, I think chickens are less than a pound. 1-1/4 are quarters, then halves; 2# are deuces and over 2-1/2 are jumbos. It's so much easier to be smug if you know the lingo. Please correct me if I'm wrong, Nick. I learned all this in a hurry doing a lobster bake for my niece's rehearsal dinner last summer.

First of all, who are you--and what have to done with tommy? The tommy we know and lo--the tommy we know would never string together that many words without a single smiley, expletive or snarky aside. Second, I think Ivan is referring to the aseptic packaging that juice and milk sometimes come in. This packaging, which is primarily laminated aluminum foil and plastic film, is at least as airtight as a screwtop--the contents, which are subjected to UHT pasteurization, will keep almost indefinitely. Being aluminum and very thin plastic, they are quite responsive to temperature changes. Wine has been sold in boxes (which enclose a plastic bladder full of wine) for a number of years. Not good wine, mind you, but wine nevertheless. Having noted all of this, I agree with you, not-tommy. This will not fly, with the possible exception of bulk-purchased house wines, where the customer never sees the container.

I did this for the office Thanksgiving party last year. It's pretty easy, but just sophisticated enough to ensure your continued reputation as the office food geek. You can roast the peppers two days ahead, then assemble and bake the night before, using pre-made pie shells. It makes ten servings as a side dish; I would think you could get 15 app-sized portions, and it works at any temperature. I think the original recipe came from Joy of Cooking, but I wouldn't swear to it. Roasted Pepper and Onion Tart 2 small red bell peppers 2 small yellow bell peppers 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 cups chopped red onion pie crust 1 teaspoon all purpose flour 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil scant cup whipping cream 3 large eggs 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste 1/8 teaspoon pepper, or to taste 1. Char peppers over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Wrap in paper bag and seal, or place in a large glass bowl and cover with plate. Let stand 10 minutes. Peel and seed peppers. Cut into 1/3-inch-wide strips and set aside. 2. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and season with salt, pepper and half of thyme. Sauté until just beginning to color, about 12 minutes. Transfer to bowl and cool. (Bell peppers and onion can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover separately and refrigerate.) 3. Preheat oven to 425°F. 4. Roll out crust to about 12–1/2 inches in diameter. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon flour over surface of crust. 5. Place crust, floured side down, in 11–inch–diameter tart pan with removable bottom. Fold crust edge in, forming double-thick sides. Pierce dough all over with fork. Bake until light golden, about 10 minutes. Cool crust about 15 minutes. 6. Reduce oven temperature to 400°F. 7. Arrange onion in crust. Top with bell pepper strips in spaced rows or in a criss-cross pattern. Sprinkle with basil. Whisk cream, eggs, salt and pepper in medium bowl to blend. Gently pour custard over vegetables. 8. Bake tart until custard sets, about 20 minutes. Cool tart 5 minutes in pan on rack. Remove pan sides. Cut tart into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature. Serves 10.

What she said.* For maximum smoke flavor, there's no getting around low and slow. Having said that, I kind of agree with Jeff that, depending on the cut, a little smoke goes a long way with beef. *Cathy, I'm out of virgins. Verbal worship alone will have to do from now on...