mgaretz

I wouldn't stress too much about keeping the freezer side full. Yes it will make the freezer run more efficiently, but the difference isn't going to be huge. Keeping it full won't affect the fridge side temperature. The unit should have temperature adjustment for both sides. Just set them where you want them and don't stress. Be aware that they will interact. The freezer control sets the temperature in the freezer, the fridge control controls how much frozen air from the freezer is moved into the fridge side. I like my FoodSaver brand vacuum sealer, but get one of the higher end units. I got a low-end FoodSaver and it didn't last.

Ok here's my 2 cents: I have owned both chest freezers and uprights, frost-free and manual defrost, and I used to sell them for a living. I would never own another chest freezer or manual defrost. 1. As someone else mentioned, manual defrosting is a pain, and unless you do it often (and no one does) any energy saving is wasted. 2. The big detractor for me with a chest freezer is that stuff gets buried and forgotten on the bottom. Then you end up throwing it out when you discover it years later. This negates any cost savings of the chest freezer vs. an upright very quickly. 3. The chest freezer is a large horizontal space. In a garage, that's where you put stuff. Which of course means it has to be removed to access the freezer. Plus it's space lost. An upright saves valuable garage floor space, plus you can stack stuff on top without affecting access to the freezer. 4. Get a frost-free upright. The shelves may be (depending on the model) adjustable. Not the case with a manual defrost upright. You can also get glass shelves which I highly recommend. Soft food can "droop" around the wires in the shelves and then freeze, locking the food to the shelf. Doesn't happen often, but a pain when it does. 5. Get a good vacuum sealer. Food will last much longer in the freezer.

I'm not using any banana. If I was using banana, I wouldn't even bother with the xanthan. My goal was to substitute xanthan for the banana.

I use xanthan gum regularly in frozen things I make in my Blendtec blender (smoothies to frozen desserts). I make them all dairy-free (since I'm lactose intolerant). Most of the smoothie and soft serve recipes call for banana which acts as an emulsifier and smoothing agent. But bananas are very high in carbs so I use the xanthan to replace the banana. A typical smoothie will be 1 cup of frozen fruit, 1 cup of liquid (usually non-dairy, sugar-free creamer, or a mix with water) and 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum. A typical soft serve will be 2 cups of frozen fruit, 1 cup of liquid and 1 tsp of xanthan gum. It's important to get the xanthan dispersed before the heavy blending takes place. Usually I put the liquid in the blender, gently sprinkle the xanthan on the surface (along with any other powdered ingredients - like cocoa powder) and pulse a few times. Then add the frozen fruit and blend.

Would you tell us a little bit more about this? ← Here is the short version: I took my basic latke recipe (which uses shredded potatoes similar to hash browns - in fact I actually use frozen hash browns) and added some more potato flour/starch as extra binder (in addition to the normal eggs). Then I formed the latkes into patties on a non-stick sheet pan and froze them. Once they're frozen, remove from the sheet pan, bag and keep frozen until ready to use. To use, deep fry at 375F or so, straight from the freezer, until they are deep golden brown. From memory, the latke recipe was: 1 bag frozen hash browns (just under 3 lbs if I recall) 1 egg 2 medium yellow onions, minced in the food processor 1 tsp pepper 2 tsp sea salt 1-2 tbs potato flour Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and toss until thoroughly mixed. No need to defrost the hash browns. Proceed as above.

Probably my best deep-fry moment was when I got latkes to work in the deep-fryer. FWIW, I love the Emeril/T-Fal deep fryer that automatically drains and filters the oil into it's own container you can refrigerate until next time you fry. Expensive but worth every penny.

I believe they all show these specials online - at least WS and Macys do. Just look in the All-Clad section and watch for "Exclusive" or some such wording. Here's an example: http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/c3...re%2Dall%2Dclad They are also available in-store of course.

For the pans, if you decide on All-Clad, look for each retailer's "special deals" - they almost all have them and will save you a ton. Williams Sonoma has some of the best selection (4 qt sauce/soup pot with ladle, non-stick skillets with lids, 4qt saute pan with lid and splatter screen, and more). Macy's has some deals like this too (1 qt sautesse with wisk). I'd add a decent slow cooker to the list. I like the West Bend "Versacooker" - stainless pot with a non-stick interior and continuous heat adjustment. About $69.

I'm just curious why the eggs were on the list? They have no milk or casein in them. (A common mistake is to lump them together, even by doctors, since they are in the same department in the market and eggs can often be sold by a dairy.) The exception would be commerically prepared scrambled eggs and the occasional omlette, which can have milk mixed in.

I also like Alice's recipe except I use the "Classic Semi-Sweet" variation which omits the ice bath. The recipes are found in her book Bittersweet.

I'm not a pasta expert or connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination, but since getting my pasta attachments for the Kitchenaid a few months ago, I have tried a lot of combinations. What we've settled on is a 50/50 mix of unbleached white flour and whole wheat durum. 50 grams of each and one extra large egg (and a pinch of sea salt). So far I haven't needed to add any water or flour. The whole wheat durum is a relatively fine grind (but not as fine as normal flour) and this gives the pasta just the right amount of surface texture even with the metal rollers. I add the flours and the salt to the bowl of the stand mixer and run for a minute with the normal blade to mix. Then I add the eggs and mix on low until all the flour at the bottom of the bowl is mixed in and the motor starts to work a bit harder. I knead by hand just for 30 seconds or so, make a ball and roll it into a log. Then I cut the log into equal sections (3 sections per egg) before processing through the rollers. I get the durum at the Indian grocers. It's Golden Temple brand in the beige bag with orange side stripes. Be sure to get the right bag - they have many different kinds, most of which are blends of normal flour and durum. This is called Whole Wheat Durum Atta Flour. Sells for $4-5 for 5.5 lbs. Golden Temple is a Pillsbury brand and the flour is from Canada.

I've been trying to read Peterson's Sauces. So far I find it very, hmmm, how do I say this, close minded/intolerant. His opinions, presented as facts, seem to be all based on very old school beliefs. For me, it's a hard read.

Tap water can contain chlorine which will create off flavors in the beer. I don't think the issue of distilled water "dissolving" things is much of a problem (actually I never heard this and doubt it's veracity). After all, it comes in plastic containers! Alcohol (which we're making) is a much better solvent than water and plastic isn't an issue for it.

I would never leave hops, bags or anything "chunky" like that in the primary fermenter. You don't want to risk it clogging the blow-off or airlock. "Dry hopping" is the process of adding hops very late in the fermentation stage (or ideally during conditioning) when activity is low or ceased.

One thing about buying fresh corn a farmer's market vendor taught me - always look at the base. If it's moist the corn is fresh. If it's dry the corn is old.

Tonight I made fried chicken, not only for dinner, but so we could have leftovers tomorrow for our picnic lunch (going winetasting in Livermore). I used the recipe from the latest issue of Cook's Country, except I modified the batter to 1 part corn flour, 1 part regular flour and 2 parts cornstarch. (Original was 1-1 flour to cornstarch.) The batter came out excellent. The original called for brining the chicken. I brined part of it and left part of it unbrined. The brined chicken was way too salty, I wouldn't bother again with the brining. The unbrined chicken was very juicy and tad under-salted to my taste, but that would easily be remedied by either doubling the salt in the batter or just salting it to taste after cooking.

I prefer tapioca, but I use tapioca flour which avoids the problem of the little lumps. Tapioca flour is available at Asian groceries.

If you are looking for something with no sugar, no carbs, no milk products, no soy and very low fat (it all comes from the chocolate) try my chocolate mousse recipe: This recipe makes a very rich tasting but light textured chocolate mousse that is almost sin free. People can’t believe it’s zero carb, has no milk products, zero cholesterol and very low in fat (about 10 grams per serving). This recipe was adapted from several of Alice Medritch’s excellent chocolate mousse recipes. If you’re a fan of chocolate desserts, you need to get her books Bittersweet and Chocolate and the Art of Low Fat Desserts. I combined the basic mousse recipes from Bittersweet with some of the low fat ideas from the other book. I modified the basic mousse recipes to make them easier to make and to eliminate the carbs (they were already lactose-free). Ingredients: 1 Bar (3.6 ozs) Carb Safe Dark Chocolate (from Trader Joe’s) 4 squares (2 ozs) of Trader Joe’s 100% Belgian Baking Chocolate ¼ cup Splenda (or sugar) 1 tsp Instant Espresso powder 8 ozs of liquid egg substitute (see notes) 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 pkg (approx 3 tsp) plain unflavored gelatin 1/3 cup of cold water Put the cold water in a pyrex measuring cup or similar heat-proof container. Gently sprinkle the gelatin over the water and let sit for 4 minutes. Do not stir. Place the cup in the microwave and heat for 1 minute on 50% power. Stir the gelatin and check to see if it is fully dissolved – check carefully. If not, heat the water for 30 seconds at time on 50% power and stir and check again. Repeat until it is dissolved but it’s important not to overheat or boil the gelatin. Once the gelatin is dissolved, stir in the espresso powder until dissolved and the vanilla. Set aside. Put the chocolate into a large pyrex or similar heatproof bowl. I use the large pyrex mixing or batter bowl since I will use the spout later. Heat in the microwave for about three minutes at 50% power – the chocolate will start to soften considerably. Add the gelatin mix to the chocolate and heat for one more minute on 50% power. (You may have to adjust these times based on your microwave.) The idea is to get the chocolate pretty well melted without overheating it. Stir with a spatula until you have a nice, homogeneous mixture – this is critical – there can’t be any small lumps of chocolate. While you are heating the chocolate, put the egg substitute and Splenda into the bowl of your stand mixer with a whisk attachment and beat on high until medium firm peaks form. This usually takes two to three minutes. Take about 1/3 of the eggs and fold them into the bowl with chocolate until fairly well mixed. Fold in the rest of the eggs until you have a nice even color. Pour the mixture into six 6 oz ramekins or any other dessert containers you wish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 4 hours. These will last about 4-5 days in the fridge. With judicious overlapping of the steps, I can make this dessert from start to cleanup in about 20 minutes. Notes: Alice’s recipes call for using real eggs, but you have to slowly bring them up to 160 degrees (in order to pasteurize them) while constantly stirring to keep the eggs from scrambling. This was too much effort. First I discovered that you can buy pasteurized eggs, but they are very expensive. Now I use egg substitute as it’s much cheaper (at least when you get it at Costco), it’s already pasteurized and it’s fat and cholesterol free. Important: Egg Beaters brand doesn’t whip up (at least not without adding 1-2 tsp of xanthan gum). You’ll have to try various brands until you find one that whips – the Costco brand whips up like a champ! Variations: I like the taste of peanuts with chocolate so I have made this with 1 bar of the Carb Safe chocolate and 1/4 cup of creamy peanut butter eliminating the baking chocolate. I also like to add in 1/2 tsp of banana flavor for a chocolate-peanut butter-banana mousse – yummy! I’ve also experimented with adding about 1/2 tsp of Chinese 5 Spice Powder or 1/2 tsp of cardamom powder – also tasty. I’ve also substituted bourbon for the vanilla. Alice’s recipes also use real chocolate – which I would recommend if you are not on a diet. (However, if I don’t tell people, they never suspect there’s no sugar in this.) You can play with the amount of chocolate vs. sugar – what you end up with depends on what percent cacao you buy and how sweet you like your dessert. Personally I’ve made this with about 7 ozs of 74% cacao content chocolate and not added any extra sweetener (or used the baking chocolate). Some people think that’s too intense, but not me. I used the 100% chocolate to intensify the chocolate flavor (and to lower the fat content).

Some of the higher end refers do have temperature alarms. These are ones that also have a digital temperature readout, which means they have temperature sensor (a thermometer). The vast majority of refrigerators don't actually have a temperature sensor/thermometer. Instead you set the freezer "temperature" to an arbitrary number representing the amount of coldness (but not an actual temperature) and then you set the cool side by adjusting the amount of freezer air that gets passed into that side. It's literally a ratio of the freezer air to "fridge" side air. Electrolux and Frigidaire are the same company. I have not been too impressed by anything of theirs. We had more repair/DOA issues with Frigidaire than any other brand.

That sounds so cool! It also sounds kind of big-brother-esque (big brother is watching, he even knows where I am shopping). The phone that is on its way to our house will belong to my SO, who is very graciously offering to share it's gadgetry, but I really have ienvy. This app will go in the "pro" column for my eventual smartphone purchase. ← With only one iPhone, the other person can log into their web version and add to the list or view it.

All the time.

We both have iPhones ands one of the coolest apps is "I Need Stuff" - it's a shopping list app that also allows you to input recipes for reference in the store or automatic addition to your list. But the coolest feature is that you can set it up to sync between iPhones. So if Ellen (my SO) adds something to the list I will see it when I go to the store or vice versa. It uses GPS to know which store you're at and will organize the list by what you've previosuly bought at that store.

And... is there any way to keep rice from sticking to stainless pot (when made with the basic absorption method)?

I have been using a variation of a Bobby Flay chile/coffee rub: 2 tbs ground coffee (very fine) 2 tbs ancho chile powder 1/2 tsp chile de arbol powder (or more if you like it hotter) 1 tsp sea salt 1 tsp ground black pepper 1 tbs dark brown sugar I use it on London Broil and chicken. I didn't like it on ribs. For ribs (and chops) I my own recipe: Dry rub: 2 tbs five spice powder 1/2 tsp star anise powder 1/2 tsp ground black pepper 1/2 tsp sea or kosher salt And baste with this sauce: 4 tbs hoisin sauce 1/2 tbs sesame oil 1/2 tbs low sodium soy sauce And when I'm feeling lazy I actually quite like McCormick's Montreal Steak Rub (for steaks and London Broil).

Aluminum oxidizes almost instantaneously upon exposure to oxygen (air) forming a surface layer of aluminum oxide. This layer is microscopic but it's very hard and pretty tough. (Aluminum oxide is what sapphires and rubies are "made of" and is used as a commericial abrasive. The "ceramic" knives and "steels", synthetic sharpening stones, etc. all all primarily aluminum oxide with binders.) When the layer forms it protects the rest of the aluminum from further oxidation by forming a barrier between the aluminum and the air. The good news is that this barrier also keeps food from interacting with the aluminum. No chemical process in the ordinary scope of cooking will have any effect on the barrier. The bad news is that this barrier, while hard and tough, is very thin. It can be abraded away by being scraped with a knife or utensil or with very harsh cleaning chemicals. "Anodized" aluminum is aluminum that has been chemically and electrically treated to grow this layer of oxide considerably thicker than happens naturally. The result is that it now becomes almost impossible to penetrate, resulting in a very durable piece of cookware. In the process they can also add color (pure aluminum oxide is clear).