Human Bean

I've seen it. Very graphic, nothing left to the imagination. Not for the squeamish. Awhile ago, wasn't someone talking about irradiated meat? Nothing I've read tells me that it causes any harmful changes to the meat, but like the other posters, I'm a bit concerned that it might be used as a band-aid to cover up contamination and other bad practices.

I just mentioned this book elsewhere, but it's certainly relevant here too. Most of you have probably heard of the book, but in case you haven't, see Fast Food Nation, by Eric Schlosser. It'll tell you more (MUCH more) than you ever wanted to know about the slaughterhouse and hamburger industry. [cliche] Be afraid. Be very afraid. [/cliche]

Oreo filling: Ugh. Crisco and powdered sugar. Oreos are for tourists. Cognoscenti eat Hydrox.

Its hideous. It tastes like Pledge. I've never actually drank Pledge before; maybe I'll have to try it.

Tillamook. Unsalted. Local, cheap, meets my needs for tasty saturated fat (well, and their cheese too). I'll have to look for the whey cream version.

We've just had our first few nights of sub-freezing weather, and all the usual suspects (basil, tomatoes, peppers, etc.) are gone. The persimmon tree managed to drop all it's leaves in a single night; an impressive feat, but it's done that before. Here's the surprising one: lemongrass. I'd meant to bring it inside before the first freeze, but didn't. I don't think it's considered hardy, but it appears to have survived several freezes, and is now safely indoors. Time will tell how much damage it's suffered. Maybe it helped that it was rather small; it only barely grows here at all, and would be much happier in a warmer climate.

I've done wontons but not ravioli (yet) using wonton skins. AFAIK (freezer should have some wonton skins, but too much other junk in the way to be sure), wonton skins are wheat, not rice. As with any other pasta, lots of water should help prevent sticking. If all else fails, drain then rinse. And overcooking would result in the skins splitting. If the filling isn't cooked enough by the time the skins split, use less filling. Or try a 'real' ravioli skin, maybe. HTH.

Suzanne F is correct about cassava being tapioca. It should be readily available in asian markets in a variety of shapes and sizes. The powdered form is called "bot nang" (Vietnamese, I think, and if so, should probably have a few accent marks in the name. I have it, but not in the original package to check). As with any starch, you should add the powder to cold water, then heat until thickened. I've heard that tapioca sauces lose their thickness when cooled. I've never really checked this out. Maybe the retention of thickness is what makes MICRI have it's magic powers. Personally, I'm sceptical.

I almost always buy the low-end, tourist-class birds, and, 'round here they're almost always pre-brined. You'll see a statement something along the lines of, "DEEP BASTED WITH UP TO 8% OF A SOLUTION of broth, salt, and a few other random chemicals we decided to throw in" on the label. They've been injected with this chemical gunk, so it isn't necessary to brine them. And they taste okay. I'd love to have one of those organic free-range line-caught kosher turkeys every year, but the expense isn't worth it. My objective is mass gluttony, not fine dining (the HORROR!) and the audience (family) isn't that critical anyway.

I'd concur with the previous replies. In my area of the Pacific Northwest, the following always or almost always survive the winter: Oregano (something of a pest; bought seeds ~10 years ago, the stuff is everywhere now), mint (peppermint, another pest; spearmint - new this year but probably hardy). Parsley - curly and flat; garlic chives (probably regular chives too, another new addition this year.) The most surprising one is cilantro; had one plant overwinter a couple of years ago; it survived multiple freezes and was almost 4 feet tall in the spring.

After posting a request about turducken in the Adventures forum, I thought I'd ask here about deep-fried turkey. Thanksgiving will be here in the US much more quickly than I'd like, and that's a time for eating turkey. Deep-frying a turkey is another thing (apart from turducken) that I've wondered about. People that do it say that it's wonderful, but of course, they'd say that. I have most of the equipment to deep-fry a turkey. I'm willing to try, but I have a firm rule, "Never serve a dish to guests that you haven't already tried." Obvious rule, right? I've never deep-fried a turkey, and I'm willing to give it a preliminary try, but only if it seems to be worth it before inflicting it on relatives and/or friends. Opinions?? [My personal method of cooking Thanksgiving turkey is in the Weber kettle (charcoal); it's never dissapointed, so I have some reluctance to change. Discussion of that (or other Thanksgiving turkey cooking methods) probably deserves it's own thread]. Turkey-cooking is a major source of food-porn in the US this time of year; all the glossy mags are compelled to have something about it; that may be yet another thread. edit: minor clarification and emphasis.

Turducken - a turkey, stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a chicken - something I heard about ages ago, but it seemed too difficult to achieve; how could you get the right sized birds to actually do this? This popped up in my mind recently, so, naturally, it's time to consult google: google - turducken It turns out that this is a sort of ballottine; the birds are boneless and also include several kinds of stuffing. It seems to be associated with Paul Prudhomme, but I have no idea if he originated it. One recipe, annotated with notes on a Prudhomme original, is here: turducken annotated - thanks google. This seems VERY labor intensive, as well as taking a long time to cook, but waiting for something to cook for a long time isn't inherently difficult (Mmmm, beer. ) So, has anyone ever made or eaten one of these? Is it worth the effort?? With Thanksgiving coming in the US, it seems more-or-less timely to ask.

I don't have any blocks, but I use a zero-cost method for storage of seldom-used knives that mostly live in a drawer with other junk. Take a piece of corrugated cardboard, and cut it to fit the shape of the blade, more-or-less. Then, slit it through the corrogations to make a sheath (One piece, don't cut it into two). Keep the knife in it, secured with a rubber band or two. It can then be kept in a drawer without worries. You can also do the same truc with regular cardboard folded, cut, and rubber-banded. The knives that actually get used around here (cleaver, slicer, and parer) live in the plastic dish drainer.

[i'm not a shill for MAC knives.] I have some MAC's that are almost 30 years old, and they're my favorites, but they're probably not for everybody. They're stamped, not forged, so they're thinner and much more flexible than the euro knives. They are also made from a rather hard steel (comparable to Global, I expect) so they keep their edge very well. Given that, they'd probably be 'hard to sharpen' - I've never had that problem (Edge Pro, if that means anything to you). Like the Globals, the edge is completely flat, so you can't rock them for chopping. I use my cleaver for that (cost ~8 dollars 20 years ago, stainless, and kicks butt for prep, but isn't ergonomic enough if I were a pro and had to spend many hours doing prep). Dunno why those 'name' chefs are pimping them, but they are very good knives, and recommended if they fit your needs.

About FG's mysterious item 26: Nobody's submitted a guess about this one lately, and FG hasn't said that anyone was correct (ring mold - naah, not even close, AFAIK). My guess is that it's a foil cutter (ie. for wine bottles). Now, why anyone would NEED a foil cutter in their toolkit, unless they were going for the wine-speed-opening championship is beyond me. Seems rather pointless, but it's proximity to the waiter's friend (bottle opener, number 25) is my only reason for picking this.