mgaretz

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).

Last night I made an experimental pureed Yellow Curry Soup. Background: I have never cooked with curry before and I'm not a huge fan of highly curried dishes, but I have had some very tasty, mild curry dishes at some Thai restaurants recently, so I decided to buy some curry paste at the Asian grocery last time I was there. Anyway, we wanted a fairly light dinner so I grilled up some chicken apple sausages and served them with the following soup: One medium carrot - cut into 2" pieces One stalk of celery with leaves if there - cut into 2" pieces 1 slice of medium yellow onion, 1/4" thick 1 tsp chicken bullion (I use Better Than Bullion Organic) 1/2 tsp sea salt (omit if using high sodium bullion) 1 tsp Mae Ploy Yellow Curry Paste about 5 tortilla chips Put the above in your blender and fill to the 16 oz mark with hot water. Blend on the soup setting or until well pureed. (I use a Blendtec.) Came out very smooth and creamy, even though there was no coconut milk in it. Medium spicy.

I used to own a homebrew store (HopTech) and a commercial brewery (HopTown) (sold them both some time ago). The brewery was small enough that we didn't worry about using foam control, but for the homebrewer it's great for helping to prevent blowoff clogs that can be messy at the best and extremely dangerous at worst. (I am a big opponent of doing a primary fermentation in glass - I have seen the injuries it can cause.) It's also good for preventing boil-overs.

Yes "honey wheat" does sound good, and as you suggest, in the right hands, it is. We made one at my brewery (which I don't own any more) and it was very nice (if I do say so myself! ). Key ingredient besides two-row and wheat malts was Gambrinus Honey Malt. Is Gambrinus still around? The other one in a similar vein was "pumpkin ale" - customers could never figure out why, after putting lots of raw (or cooked) pumpkin in their beer they ended up with a hazy beer that tasted nothing like pumpkin. Of course if they had ever bothered to taste pumpkin, they would have known that what they were after was the taste of pumpkin pie, not pumpkin! So my advice was to forget the pumpkin, use some 10-20 degree crystal malt for an orange color and use pumpkin pie spice. Less often you'd get people who used rye malt and couldn't figure out why the beer didn't taste like rye bread. Of course the flavor they were after was caraway, not rye.

I am fairly new to eGullet and just discovered this thread and I have only read the last few posts, but I am not new to homebrewing! Just a few quick comments: Honey beer: I have never understood why homebrewers use honey. It doesn't impart a honey flavor to beer. Ever tasted mead? Doesn't taste like honey and it's almost all honey. Honey malt is the key! (A crystal malt with a honey flavor.) Commerical brewers will put some honey in a "honey beer" but that is not for flavor, it's only so they can call it "honey beer" without getting in trouble. Foam Control: I was the first to bring this type of product to the homebrew market. It is used by large commercial breweries all the time. It works.

Melissa beat me to it, but dry malt extract (DME) is pure malt sugar (well it should be anyway). You want the lightest you can find (it typically comes in light, medium and dark - which isn't the same as medium or dark sugar - medium is for amber beers, dark for dark beers). A homebrew supply store is the place to get it. Be aware that it's very hygroscopic (easily absorbs water - and once it does, it's toast) so be sure to keep it very tightly sealed. You should be able to buy as little as a pound.

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I used tapioca flour (which I get at the Asian grocery) one-for-one with the amount in the CI recipe. All the pies set perfectly.

Interesting - mine have all been made with frozen berries - also from Costco - though once I did use a package of TJ's wild blueberries when I didn't have enough of the Coscto berries left. Mine have all set up fine.

Last night my SO's step daughter and new boyfriend came to dinner. By request I made my Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodles) with shrimp, salad with my homemade balsamic raspberry vinaigrette and my zero carb, low fat, dairy free chocolate mousse for dessert. Eclectic, I know, but it's what they wanted!

It was July/August 2008. It's not open face and not closed either - uses a top crust with round holes cut in it to give the effect of lattice without the work. (When I make cherry pie I make it open top but sprinkle the top with shredded coconut. It gets nicely toasted and I really like the combo.) The first time I made it, I left the egg wash off the top crust. The second time I used the wash and it was much nicer that way. They also call for butter on top of the filling. Third time I made the pie I forgot to put it on - couldn't tell any difference. They also tell you to use a box grater on the apple - I used the chopping blade on the food processor - came out fine. I am wondering if apple sauce would also work?

Sorry no pictures, but we had london broil with a balsamic vinegar/cherry glaze, braised fennel and homemade chocolate ravioli filled with cherry preserves.

I have made the Cook's Illustrated blueberry pie recipe three times (well not their crust, use a different recipe for that) and it has been wonderful. This is the one that uses the granny smith apple and tapicoa as thickeners. I used tapioca flour from the Asian market and it works fine.

I used to start with a brand that I haven't seen in a long time - Chris and Pitts - as a base and add onion and garlic powders, brown sugar, black pepper, soy sauce and golden cream sherry. The sherry is the key! Now I use Bullseye regular and find it's close enough to what I used to make that I don't bother any more. If I'm cooking for my son - who likes his sauce fiery, I will add some cayenne and sriracha sauce.

BKF works great on the inside. What do folks recommend for the outside that won't dull or scratch the polish? I especially have a problem with water spotting on the lids primarily - not white hardwater spots but what looks like slight discoloration. (Someone a couple of years back in this thread recommended Brillo. That's a no-no on stainless. The iron in the pad can migrate into the stainless and then it will start to rust.)

Thanks! Looks good if pricey!

I did look but a lot of the links are to French-only sites and they seem very dated. Ritz and LCB classes seem the best fit, but Ritz has nothing during that time frame and LCB has only the one class where they're making Osso Bucco Monkfish??? Maybe there is a comma missing?

I will be in Europe with my family this summer (July 19-31) and my son and I would like to take a short (2 hours to one day) cooking class. We'll be based in Brussels but will be making day trips to Paris, etc. I have looked at Le Cordon Bleu but they only have one class during that time frame and it frankly doesn't sound that interesting. Any other suggestions?

Range with a downdraft hood? An outside venting hood might be your only option (but that's a slim chance). All the self-contained ones I have ever seen have the motor and fan tucked forward of the vent - they are designed to be used with cooktops (which are shallow so the fan assembly sits underneath the cooktop). When used with a range the fan would be in the same place as the oven so it won't work. (I used to sell appliances and this came up reasonably often.) I have never seen a reciprocating downdraft hood. I also seem to recall that (at least here in California) that it was against code to have a rear downdraft hood in anything but an island installation. This may not apply to you but keep it in mind.

We too had bbq pork that I stir-fried with Chinese mustard cabbage (gai choy), mushrooms and a touch of red pepper flakes. Finished with a sauce that consisted of hoisin sauce, cream sherry, sesame oil and cornstarch.

Grilled salmon with an orange zinfandel mustard sauce, basamati rice with some leftover mushroom sauce from the previous night (see previous post back a few).

Sirloin steak with homemade whole durum wheat pasta with a porcini-cremini mushroom sauce. The sauce recipe: 1/2 shallot - diced 1 oz dried porcini mushrooms 4 ozs sliced fresh cremini mushrooms 3/4 cup warm water 1/4 cup cream sherry 1/2 tsp soy sauce 1 tsp sea salt fresh ground pepper to taste 2 tbs butter 2 tsp cornstarch Rehyrdate the porcini in the warm water for 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the liquid. Add the salt, soy sauce and cornstarch to the mushroom water, stir well and set aside. If necessary, chop the porcini into smaller pieces. Heat the butter in a small sauce pan over medium heat and then add the mushrooms. Saute for about 5 minutes and then add the shallots. Continue to saute for another 5 minutes. Add the pepper. Deglaze the pan with the cream sherry and cook another minute or two. Stir the mushroom water to redistribute the cornstarch and add to the pan while stiring. Continue to stir until the sauce turns brown and thickens, about 2 minutes. Serve.

Kitchen Bouquet is primarily caramel coloring with some vegetable stock. Most of time you can just substitute caramel coloring. Caramel coloring is much, much cheaper than Kitchen Bouquet - you can get it at Smart and Final or at a restaurant supply store.

We went to an Italian-themed potluck, so here's what I made. I called it "Rissoto con Ortaggi Marinara" but it's actually my Chicken Ratatouille recipe sans chicken (it was a vegetarian potluck) and with rice added. I made the name up and I'm not sure if I have the Italian correct. Can anyone name this dish? Anyway it came out great and got rave reviews. Rissoto con Ortaggi Marinara Ingredients 1 14.5 oz Can Stewed Tomatoes 2 medium Zucchini, sliced 1 large Chinese Eggplant (the long thin light purple kind), sliced 1 Green Pepper, cored and sliced into 1×1″ pieces 1 cup Mushrooms, whole or sliced 1 medium Yellow Onion, chopped 2 medium Garlic Cloves, minced 1 tsp Italian Herb blend 1/2 tsp Black Pepper 1 tsp sea salt 1/4 cup Sweet Marsala 1 tbs olive oil 1 tsp Balsamic Vinegar 1 cup uncooked white rice Start by preparing the vegetables. (There is no need to go through the “salt the eggplant” dance if you use the Chinese eggplant.) Put the oil and onions into a large skillet on medium-high heat and saute until the onions are starting to become translucent. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir well. Next add the green pepper and continue to cook for another few minutes. Add the rest of the veggies, then the stewed tomatoes and stir well. Next add the marsala and the herb blend, garlic, salt and pepper and stir until well mixed. Let it come to a hard simmer and then reduce the heat to low and cover. After about 10 minutes stir in the rice. Stir every couple of minutes for the next 10 minutes (replacing the cover in between) to make the sure the rice doesn't stick to the pan and then cover and continue to simmer on low for another 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow it to rest for another 15 minutes. Serve! I used medium grain rice which gave it a nice starchy "rissoto" feel.

This is my recipe for Sweet and Sour Cabbage Borscht, aka Cabbage Soup. It’s my most requested recipe. Even though it’s called “borscht” there are no beets in it. It is based on my mother’s recipe which I’ve modified. I make it in the slow cooker, my mother made it on the stovetop. It can be a side dish or a full one-pot meal. Sweet and Sour Cabbage Borscht 1 Small to Med head of green cabbage - cored and sliced into 12ths or so. 1 14.5 oz Can Stewed Tomatoes 1 14.5 oz Can Tomato Sauce 1 Cup Beef Broth (or 1 cup water if adding beef) 1 Medium Yellow Onion - halved and then sliced into 8ths or so and split apart 1 tsp sour salt 1 tsp pepper 1 tsp sea salt (use 2 tsp if no beef broth) 2 tbs sugar (Splenda works fine if you don’t want the carbs from the sugar) 1-1.5 lbs lean stew meat (optional) Mix all the ingredients except the cabbage in the crockpot - then add the cabbage. The cabbage will be sticking up out of the liquid but it will cook down. Cook for 8-10 hours on medium heat - if possible, stir the cabbage about half way through the cooking, otherwise stir when you get home. If you use beef, this becomes a one-pot meal. There is no need to pre-cook or brown the meat. If you’re making the standard version without beef, use beef broth. If you’re using beef then you don’t need the broth, just use water and up the salt to 2 tsp. If making a vegetarian version, use 1 cup of water instead of the beef broth and 2 tsp of salt instead of one. I use Better than Bullion brand of beef broth concentrate to make the beef broth. Sour salt is citric acid crystals. You can get this in the kosher food section of a good market. Look for Rokeach brand in a 5 oz glass jar. Some health food stores carry it in bulk as will a winemaking or homebrew shop. Can be made up and put in the crockpot the night before. Put the pot in the fridge - take out in the morning and start heating. You can optionally add in carrots and/or potatoes. For the beef I usually use cross-rib roast but any cut will come out fork-tender. I use "fine grind" sea salt, but you can also use table salt (use less) or kosher salt (use more).