IndyRob

How about Noilly Prat? I've never even attempted pronouncing it since I was pretty sure that with my pidgeon French I'd be wrong in any event. A quick search seems to reveal some disagreement.

Okay, I'll play the math guy and back you up. The difference between the (top and bottom) surface areas is 77 sq. in. (11x7) vs. ~68 sq. in. (8.25x8.25) We don't know the thickness of the dish in either case, but because the depth is directly proportional to the area (assuming you're using the same recipe), we know that the smaller pan will be piled about 13% thicker. As you say, the smaller one should take a little longer. Because the heat transfer will most likely be quicker from bottom to top/top to bottom (much thinner) than from the sides. Then again, a square pan will conduct heat more quickly to the center from the sides than an oblong one (a circular one would be most even as heat from the sides goes). So with the square pan we have a quicker sideways heat transfer, but slower up and down. We also have a ton of other variables we haven't accounted for (insulation of the oven... just a bottom heating element or top and bottom...gas vs. electric...Is the spinach fresh or thawed from frozen and squeezed?) So the math can guide us, but we still have to be cooks. And as Shalmanese suggests, the eggs seem to be the things to watch here. But all-in-all, a little more time for the smaller, thicker dish seems right.

I think ribeye is used for Philly Cheessteaks. I've heard using the chain of a tenderloin for this as well. But I've wondered if Arbys might be using top round for their beef. I've had decent results roasting it in a slow oven or sous vide to med-rare. But you have to slice it as thin as you can get it (God I wish I had room for a proper deli slicer). But it's usually not cheap enough for me to want to spend a lot of time to end up with an 'okay' result.

I think with the sort of roasting we're talking about here, we never really enter the stall. But that's not to say that moisture isn't evaporating from the surface of a turkey from the beginning of its stay in the oven. By basting frequently, we could be slowing the cooking and allowing for a more even result. Of course, I would probably just lower the oven temp and save some work. But I can see why basting might improve the result for someone operating at a fixed temp.

I've been thinking about this and considering what has already been discovered about The Stall. There we learned that the internal temperature of the meat stalls at ~160F for a while until the outside of the meat dries out enough that the evaporation isn't preventing it from getting hotter. This is when we're trying to get the meat to higher temps (180+) to break down connective tissues. So it seems possible that by basting with pan juices we may be providing some sacrificial evaporative moisture. Moisture that might otherwise have evaporated from the meat itself. As suggested above, this would lengthen the roasting time since we're effectively lowering the temperature. But that could be a good thing, since we know that lower, longer roasting results in a better distribution of "doneness".

A demonstration. An old co-worker who used to be a waiter showed us a ketchup trick at lunch one day when it became needed. If you're having problems getting ketchup out of the bottle, hold your left hand as though you're about to karate chop the table. Then rap the neck of the bottle on your index finger right at the top level of the ketchup. I imagine this is an example of them shear thingies at work.

I was just passing on what Alton said in his book. I'm not qualified to argue the point, but I will post this link where the same debates have been had about the accuracy of Wikipedia's Brining article. Interestingly, the same Cook's Illustrated experiment referenced by the AmazingRibs link is used as both a refutation and confirmation of the omosis effects. The last post is interesting as it seems to be someone with some relevant experience thinking through both sides. But by a stroke of circular kismet, on the AmazingRibs page, if you click through the sidebar to get to 'Blonder's article', he does an interesting experiment which speaks to the original topic (how fast and far does the salt penetrate).

I found it on 'on demand' (Xfinity, aka Comcast) a couple of months ago. I just checked and it's still there, but 'until 11/21'.

I wish they'd go back to the 'signature dish' challenge for the first elimination. I think it would serve as a better introduction of the chefs and a no-excuse first elimination.

Alton Brown is pretty adamant about how brines can bring other (water soluble) flavors into the meat and anecdotally I know this to be true for thinner cuts (an experimental brining of a piece of beef with a lot of coriander produced a vaguely pastrami-ish result). My big question with larger cuts is how much time is needed for the osmosis to reach the center - and whether some of the flavorings might be left behind at some point on the brine's journey towards the center. The salt level should eventually reach an equilibrium, but is there a reason for other flavors to make the whole trip? From looking at Alton's book, it appears that it will happen, but my gut feeling is that it isn't so simple. This almost begs an experiment where we put too much of an agressive flavor into a brine and then judge various parts of the resulting meat.

You might think about less than free, but a good deal for a good reason. Currently, I'm working in an office that is flyer friendly. Stacks of flyers often appear in the break rooms. Some have gotten my attention. We've also had a couple of food trucks show up. Again, their presence was announced over the company e-mail. I think that companies (especially HR folks) view these types of things as contributing to the overall quality of life for their employees. You might try to learn about the companies based around you and offer specials catered to them. (e.g. Acme Sprocket Tuesday). Again, the HR folks will be keen to 'improve the quality of work life' if they just have to send out an e-mail. And if that's a success, see if you can cater their charity golf outing.

You might be able to preserve your investment with the purchase of a couple of 'Ove' Gloves. Long ago I used welding gloves for their intended purpose and they're about keeping external, airborne slag from hitting your skin. Not for holding hot things. The Nomex Ove' Gloves are no good at protecting against hot liquids, but are good with dry ambient heat. Together, they could be a good pairing.

A super-slippery material that causes water, oil and even jam to slide off without leaving any residue could mean an end to fighting to get sauce out of ketchup bottles. The article talks about the age old (okay, decades old) problem of getting ketchup out of a bottle. This material would allow to glide out of the bottle - perhaps too well.... But my mind went to the implications on dish washing. Could I turn a plate vertically over a trash can and immediately have a clean plate? Would servers have to develop new skills to prevent a chef's meticulous presentation from meeting an ignomious end? But if this pans out, and is proven safe, I wonder what sort of novel applications it might find.

The riblets (or sometimes labeled 'rib tips') I've been buying are pork and quite cheap. I've been buying these at my local grocery for around $1 to $1.50/lb. A package will usually contain a considerable variety of cuts. Some (the good ones) will have a thick layer of fat on one end and will taper off towards the other end. Other pieces will be more like strips of randomly selected pork meat (sometimes even without the bone-lets). I don't think they're proper pieces of rib since they don't resemble anything I've seen when breaking down a whole sparerib. So Paul is probably correct in that it's probably some nearby trimming. By the looks of the end of the bones, it looks like a bandsaw is involved. Also, there are the occasional bone fragments, so watch out for those if you're shredding. Interestingly, a WalMart about a mile away sells riblets that are similar in nature, but immaculately chosen for consistancy and fastidiously arranged in their packaging - but for a price that rivals that of the best pork cuts.

I think you're right on the equilibrium, but you'd get involved in a guessing game concerning the amount of salt that's already in the bird. A pre-brined bird is likely the result of a decent amount of thought and testing. A weak brine could pull flavors out of the bird. A stronger brine risks an equilibrium point that is too salty. In theory, you are correct, but in practice I'd start with a known quantity (an unbrined bird). Or just trust the corporate briners. If I had Activa, I'd be sorely tempted to remove the skin whole, break down the turkey and debone it, then then try to artfully put it back together to get a boneless whole turkey. Ideally, it would look traditional when brought to the table, but then you could slice it in half right through the backbone area revealing a stuffing. But a similar idea that I've actually done, is to remove all the meat and cut it into strips. Brine these and then lay them out on plastic wrap so you end up with a 'sheet' of turkey. Then apply some stuffing and roll it up. It didn't require Activa, but Activa could only give you a bunch more options. Mine was done sous vide, but it could be ideal for roasting since you can arrange it so that the dark meat (that can handle more heat) is on the outside while the white meat is protected within.

Absolutely. But, IMHO, there are reasons we do these things discretely. Without the other side of the story we don't know the whole story. Perhaps he was waiting for an opportunity to brag to your husband about his conquest of a lithesome young karate-ette. Perhaps he wanted to ask your husband for a loan. Maybe he just isn't a morning person. Or, perhaps he feels uncomfortable being catered to. Here's a link to a seminar speaker who prefers to stay in peoples houses (rather than a hotel), but comes with a particularly long set of care instructions (scroll down to the end to get to the food stuff).

All this makes me wonder if toxic mushrooms share certain chemical markers that could be detected by a device. Are toxic mushrooms all toxic in the same way? Something that could be tested by something like the various consumer blood testing devices we now have? As tragic as mushroom poisoning may be, a close second may be unknowingly walking past a patch of free Morels .

I don't think this bodes well. 'All Stars' was great because we didn't have to learn about all the contestants in an hour. With 29 contestants, we'll have about two minutes with each - less commercial time, and announcer/promotional time. Let's call it 42 seconds unless they do a 2 hour premier or something.

I had one today for lunch. It seems like they changed the bread from what I recall (your typical supermarket hoagie bun). Now it's more like the bread Arby's uses for their French Dip. A dry (but not crispy) exterior with cornmeal residue. This made the whole thing seem a bit too dry, despite the potentially messy slathering of BBQ sauce. I think that if they added some coleslaw (or something) and returned to the softer bun they might have something. For me, a Big Mac works because the just-average meat only has to play a supporting role to other layers/flavors/textures. But here we have only molded pork, BBQ sauce, some grated onions, and a couple of pickle slices, and dryish bread. Meh.

Call me a Philistine, but I support freedom of ingredients based on the inequality of the concepts 'Creamy' (textural) and 'With Cream' (taste and texture). And if adding cream can cover up a fault, where is the fault (other than perhaps more fat than is necessary)? If I can choose to put fresh peas in my risotto, why not cream? This sentiment leaves me very skeptical of the traditional dogma. Previously, I had only suspicions. But having never had a risotto not made by me, I can't be a judge. So I'll also be curious as to whether it passes muster with risotto afficianados.

Thanks, all. Some good ideas. I had planned volume to weight conversions. My only question there is how comprehensive I try to be with an ingredient density database. With my current plan I should be able to trump KichenCalculator in at least a couple of different ways. But I'll remain a bit cagey for now. Substitutions are something I thought of originally but forgot, so thanks for that. Baker's formulas are a great idea and I can already see how it can fit in. I'm also thinking about links to eGullet, pizzamaking.com, The Fresh Loaf, etc. I'm not exactly sure why, other than wanting to promote good sites. I'm still trying to figure out what my criteria would be and why. I don't really see a need to link to say, foodnetwork.com or epicurious, but then again, why wouldn't I? Maybe if I come up with a categorization scheme....

I've decided to try my hand at developing an app for Windows Phone 7. It will be a Kitchen Reference app targeted at intermediate home cooks, with a battery of kitchen timers, a page for unit conversion and scaling, and some other features. I'm in the process of deciding what else it will do, and perhaps more importantly, what it won't. What I'd like to specifically avoid are recipe collections. I already have, for instance, a free Epicurious app that can serve up better content than I could ever come up with. I don't think I want it to manage one's personal recipe collections (perhaps that's a separate app). I would however, like to include a number of quasi-standard recipe ingredient proportions for American kitchen staples. For instance, I don't make crepes often enough to have memorized the ingredients and proportions. But when I do make crepes, I don't need full instructions, I just need the proportions. Another feature will most likely be time & temps. A list of charts showing rare, medium, well temps, along with rule of thumb roasting times. Perhaps a list of meat cuts and recommended cooking methods (roast, braise, etc.) And what about an Ad supported free app versus a $0.99 or $1.99 app? For me, a free app is much more likely to get installed, but I know I'm not a typical consumer. Does anyone have any other ideas and/or opinions?

This is kind of interesting but doesn't seem to address fish and is, I think, at least partially flawed. Because, IMHO, it seems to oversimplify 'Conservative' and 'Liberal'. I started a thread once here about the Meyers Briggs Personality Inventory and how it might relate to our food preferences. But it turned out that the respondents to the thread were all of a few certain personality types like my own that liked that sort analysis. Apart from this, I was curious as to how one's personality preferences might shape political views and found some web pages that had done some polling. I expected to find that liberals would favor feeling over thinking and that conservatives would be the opposite. Instead, I found that it wasn't quite so simple. In general, with some (of the 16) types there seemed to be a clear correlation, but not so with other types. I looked deeper and at least two models of conservatism seemed to emerge: Rules-based feeling conservatives ("My momma always said..."), and thought-based conservatives ("These levels of spending are not sustainable..."). I suspect that an inclusion of these divisions on the conservative and liberal side might've muddied the results. It also raises questions about whther the questions that were asked to identify affiliation were biased based on assumptions. But I think that regionality is looking like a better predictor of fish preference than anything else so far.

This matter appears to be well settled, but I just ran across what appears to be an independent confirmation using slightly different methods. So, just place this in the record.... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-goldwyn/physicist-cracks-bbq-mystery_b_987719.html

I think it's a familiarity thing. My hypothesis is that you develop a sense of 'normal' early on in your life. This is why we have fierce supporters of, say, New York Pizza vs. Chicago Pizza vs. Detroit Pizza, etc., etc.. In my case, I grew up in Detroit at a time when it wasn't generally wise to eat anything out of the lakes. Meanwhile, an uncle in the UP was fishing Lake Superior nearly every day of his life. It was there that I had my first experience eating truly fresh fish. So while I haven't had a lot of seafood, I'm definitely seafood curious (lobster, crab and shrimp are my favorites). My wife, however, grew up in western Illinois. Other than the annual catfish fry, there wasn't much happening fish-wise. She now has a one shrimp per year rule. I think for people who grow up eating beef and pork and chicken, the texture of seafood just doesn't seem right. That said, I think there's a huge seafood culture in America on the east, west, and gulf coasts, no?