Crouton

And his wife in a bikini... dear lord.

I thought, what he just did there... was like so 1998. I mean do people really still act that way, in public?

I'd think that one bite would be sufficient to dispel (or confirm) any such concern. I agree with the OP on the shrimp: if the restaurant feels the need to leave the tail on as "proof" that the shrimp is fresh, it's probably not. For me it just makes for a better presentation... And looks, well, more substantial. Plus I like to squeeze the little bit of meat out that gets left in the tail end.

She's repulsively hot... I can't even make it through a 15 second clip of her next episode. And that David Rocco guy, it's like all style with no substance. Oh Molto Mario, how do I miss the.

This pisses my wife off so much because she's a slow drinker... Most waiters top me off endlessly until the bottles empty regardless of how much she's had

Because some of us eat the tail? If the tail was removed I would most definitely assume the shrimp was at least frozen or at worse from a can... Tailless shrimp is tantamount to jello salad and parm from a green can.

If you're new to achiote, definitely try the puerco pibil recipe from the movie One Upon a time in Mexico. It's easily found on YouTube and is shown being made by the director whose name escapes me. Absolutely fantastic dish and really opened my eyes to mexican cuisine. Thank you, Crouton, for that tip. Just loved the video. What a hoot! Will try making the achiote past next and using it for the dish. I follow the recipe verbatim except I brown the pork in a Dutch oven first and use that as my cooking vessel... And I don't bother with the banana leaves. Everyone I serve it to has most likely never tasted anything quite like it and raves... The leftovers make great filling for tacos.

If you're new to achiote, definitely try the puerco pibil recipe from the movie One Upon a time in Mexico. It's easily found on YouTube and is shown being made by the director whose name escapes me. Absolutely fantastic dish and really opened my eyes to mexican cuisine.

Limoncello, homemade Rutabagas... Makes a great gratin or mash

For the home cook (enthusiast) yes... But for the average joe, id have to say no, it's gotten worse. Most of my friends' ideas of good food is doritos, velveeta and olive garden. Cooking ones own meal is such a foreign concept to them and mostly considered a waste of time...

I dare you to try Hunts side-by-side, blindfolded...

Wendy's chili sauce packets....the kind that come in the little gold packets. Love it.

Check out Cooks Illustrated's terimisu... Absolutely fantastic.

Whatever that brand of San Marzano tomatoes Costco stocks... They come in the huge 50+ ounce cans. I dread the day they stop carrying them. Off topic here, but why the heck did they switch their coupon on Dove body wash to that nasty shae butter OIl of Ollay. Drives me crazy when I find a product I like and they go and change it on me.

Le Crueset makes casseroles and gratins that are non-cast iron but more like the Emile Henry stuff... They feel solid without being overly heavy. They're made in china so they are much cheaper than their cast iron pieces and can usually be picked up at TJ Max for under $20. I've got at least 5 in various colors and sizes and they all produce beautiful crusty edges.

This was in the latest issue of Cook's Illustrated as well.... Unfortunately flaxseed oil is pretty expensive

I don't think it's racist either, but think about it this way... if an old white couple in Babbo were overheard saying "African Spaghetti" about a black chef while making an "Ewww-Face" there'd be a shit storm...

Make a marinade of Olive Oil, lemon juice, rosemary, lots of crushed garlic, red pepper flakes & plenty of salt and pepper. Place chuck roast in plastic bag, pour in marinade and let it sit in the fridge for a day or two. Get a cast iron pan piping hot, wipe off marinade with a paper towel, dust with additional salt and pepper and sear in the cast iron pan until a nice dark crust forms, flip, add a few tablespoons of butter to pan along with whole lightly crushed garlic cloves, rosemary sprig and a slice or two of lemon and baste meat continuously with butter while 2nd side browns. Cover meat with the garlic, lemon slice(s) and rosemary sprig and pop in the oven at a low temp until medium rare - tending towards the medium side basting occasionally. You don't want rare chuck, it's too chewy. You want a nice medium to medium-rare pink. Remove from oven, let rest and slice against the grain very thinly. Serve... Poor man's prime-rib.

Interesting... I do love rice. Do you have an Amazon link to the model you own?

Just curious why you say this? I don't own a rice cooker of this caliber, just a cheap Wallyword $25 non-stick version. Since I'm assuming it's just for cooking rice, what makes the Zojirushi so "life changing"?

CI, despite the formulaic repetitiveness, I genuinely love that magazine. I'm headed to Publix after work to pick up ingredients for their "Ultimate Chili" recipe from the same issue. As for pizza, I've always had great success with the venerable No-Knead Bread recipe... in fact, I think I use that for every "bread stuff" I make - loafs, rolls, pizza, grilled flat-bread, focaccia, you name it. No food processor, something which I refuse to buy, needed.

I've have several pounds of chicken scraps/bones in the deep freeze dated 2/2009... Can these still be used to make stock or are they past their prime?

Opening that square box of Kosher Salt... I always manage to get the metal pour spout jammed up under finger nail while trying to pry it open. Ouch.

"it's better to burn out than to fade away"

I ended up throwing it out... and I'm the type of person to eat pizza that's been left out all night, but when it comes to an actual carcass...well, I was a little hesitant. It may have been fine but I just wasn't up for the risk. I think I'm going to pick up some turkey wings and make stock over the weekend. It's much more flavorful than chicken stock in my opinion.