mgaretz

I have the book, but haven't made anything from it. Can you describe the curry? Hot, spicy, flavorful, etc?

I used to keep apples out of the fridge, but now I refrigerate them. They last significantly longer. After all, apples don't get harvested year round, just once a year, and they have to keep them stored somehow.

Sorry if you misunderstood. They will likely have the seeds that you can pop yourself, but they always seem to have a bag of pre-popped. That would be a way of seeing if you like the flavor without having to track down the seeds.

Go to an Indian grocery. They will most likely have the seeds but undoubtedly will have a package of pre-popped sorghum.

Made ribs for diner last night on the smoker. Served with fresh corn and snap peas. The ribs were just done with rub and no sauce as an experiment. I'm going back to sauce about 30 minutes before the end of the cook.

I think he means the liquid in the meat, not the marinade. So if liquid is lost during cooking, there'll be less of it transport the flavor.

Burlingame has the only decent Jewish deli in the bay area - Brothers Deli.

Make the pies like an empanada and you don't need the tin. Pulled pork (or beef) freezes and reheats well. Ditto pastrami and corned beef. Split pea soup with big chunks of ham and carrots is more stew like than soup like and freezes/reheats well. Hope you have a vacuum sealer and I assume that if you do, you know some tricks for sealing liquids.

Kim, it looks great. Can we get the recipe?

The small kernel, so called "hull-less" types, are the only ones my wife can eat. Funny, I was just in Iowa and didn't see any for sale. But I don't look that hard because the week before I bought a 2lb bag in Wisconsin. I have looked for it in my local Whole Foods, but they don't carry it, so it appears not all stores have it.

I have a feeling that Pepperidge Farm cookies wasn't on their radar, but upstarts like this: http://www.foodshouldtastegood.com/products/tortilla probably were.

Reverse sear means you cook it low to temp, then sear and serve. I guess a regular sear would be when you sear it first and then bring it slowly to temp. 120F because the searing will raise the temp some more. Who said there were no leftovers?

Last night I made tri-tip sous vide. SV'd from frozen for 3.5 hours at 120F, applied a small amount of rub and then reverse seared on the gas BBQ. Served with chopped spinach and salad.

Been on the road a lot, so haven't been doing much, if any, cooking. Made split pea soup with ham and carrots last night - it will last a few more.

Costco sells the Cuisinart stick blender that comes with a mini chopper/processor attachment, and it's usually about $29. I have one, but I've never used it.

+2 for Mae Ploy

I use softserve mix in my home ice cream maker all the time. I have the Kitchenaid attachment. When it comes out of the bowl, it is soft and it hardens up like regular ice cream once it's in the freezer. I think the only reason to have a "real" soft serve machine is if you need to dispense it soft over a long period.

The wife has been in a casserole mood, so I freelanced a tuna casserole. Made with spiral colored pasta, tuna, mayo, onions, celery, peas and topped with panko. Came out a bit too dry, but it was yummy. Served with a salad.

I realized that right after I posted, so I added them in already, look back at it. For the full notes see here: http://markiscooking.com/?p=14

Nice, Anna. How did you prepare the "scallops"?

What I learned when I took cooking classes is the basic formula is 3 parts oil to one part vinegar, with variations built on that foundation. Mustard is used as an emulsifier as an alternative to the gums. This is my recipe for a raspberry balsamic vinaigrette: 2 ozs vegetable oil 4 ozs olive oil 2 ozs balsamic vinegar 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning blend – or herbs to taste (I use TJ's 21 Seasoning Salute) 1 tbs cream sherry 1/4 tsp sea or kosher salt 1 clove of garlic – medium sized, minced 1 tbs Raspberry Syrup (sugar free or regular) or 1 tsp strawberry jam (or raspberry) 1 tbs honey 2 tbs mustard (I use stoneground Dijon, one with whole mustard seeds still in it) Never fails to please.

I'd try the broiler, but I'd do an experiment by using the frozen kernels without thawing. That way they can char a bit without overcooking, but it may not work due to evaporation.

Last night's dinner was St. Louis style ribs, smoked for 6 hours. Served with salad and steamed cauliflower mixed with butter and crushed cashews (not pictured).

It was just me for dinner last night, so I thought I'd try smoking a small sirloin steak. Rubbed with McCormick's Montreal Steak Rub and smoked at 225F to an IT of 120F, then a reverse sear on the gasser. Came out very smokey, maybe even a little too much smoke. I think I prefer steaks done sous vide, then reverse seared.

Used some of the leftover meatloaf to make a meatloaf casserole. This was invented by my wife and realized by me. It was meatloaf, colored spiral pasta and a little more chopped celery, mixed with a sauce similar to the meatloaf glaze (ketchup, sugar, soy and molasses) and topped with panko. Baked at 375 for 30 minutes. Served with salad.