NeroW

Those are great crackers. You are re-inspiring me to get a pasta crank.

Last night for dinner, I made beer. No, it was already made when I got there. Now I'm confused. I'm going back to bed. I think tonight, I shall have pizza.

Gloves, dude. Gloves.

Margaritas from Frontera Grill! The limoncello shots from Club Lago! Road Rash Mary's from the Twisted Spoke! For eating--who's going to do the fries?

Hmmm...there was 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup water, 3 Tbsp sherry, 2 tsp sugar, and 2 Tbsp cornstarch. It was all nicely mixed when I poured it in, a tan color. It didn't stay that way! RSincere-- How long did you let it cook out once you added the cornstarch? Cornstarch needs to cook out (at at least a near-boil) for about a minute.

Almost all of my friends think I'm insane. Except for my food friends. They *know* I'm insane.

And some of their blood sausage, their olives, their pickled garlic, their smoked salmon with green peppercorn sauce, their . . .

How much wine is 10 cl? BEAUTIFUL pasta, by the way. Goodness! There are 75cl (750ml) in a typical bottle of wine. If it helps, 10cl is the same as 3.3814023 fluid ounces. It may be more graphic to understand that if you share one bottle among 7 or 8 diners, it's about what you'd get as your share. Got it. 3.3814023 fluid ounces. Thanks.

*grabs coat, runs to cafe bolero* Seriously. He--I mean, the mojito--is SOMETHING ELSE.

A whole bunch of good Mexican food, with carnitas from Lazo's and tortillas from Nuevo Leon, with Dean's strawberry tequila and somehow the entire beer supply moved from the Map Room to Grant Park.

Took myself out to dinner tonight to Cafe Bolero, to commemorate my graduation from c. school and my unfortunate leaving of this wonderful neighborhood and city. Dined "al fresco," of course. Their roasted pork as always is fantastic, comes with congri, rice, and beans. And their mojitos , mixed by one of the most disconcertingly beautiful men in this city . . . , also fantastic.

I was going to suggest this earlier. I just finished it last month.

Might we presume that in the NeroW household most meals are now based on simmering? Actually, no. I can have a beer while I saute too, if I am so inclined.

With real mescaline?

Rachel, These are all good tips! Thanks for starting this thread. BURGERS: As far as the burgers go, I only add a little egg if the meat seems especially crumbly or dry. Otherwise, I don't add egg to it. My dad adds egg everytime he puts a burger on the grill, but not for the stovetop. I've seen a lot of people do that, but I am not sure why. This applies to beef--when I am making lamb-burgers, I always add egg. It's just one of those things. I have not used breadcrumbs. At school we learned to let the un-pattied meat sit out on the counter until it comes to room temperature--we actually learned to do this with all meat, as meat at room temp cooks more evenly. Then we season the meat (I use just salt, pepper, and Worcestershire), form the ball and flatten slightly as stated upthread. I stick my thumb into the middle of the patty to make an indentation. This makes it a little easier to get the spatula underneath it when it comes time to flip. As balmagowry said, it is important to make sure that your pan or grill is hot enough when you put the burgers on. A good way to test the heat is to hold the palm of your hand just a few inches above the grill. If you can't keep it there for more than a few seconds, you're hot enough. Learning to better control your heat alone may help you with the overcooked outside/raw middle problem. Once you get a nice sear on the outside, as said upthread, there's no reason you can't turn your flame down. Start with a thinner patty until you become more comfortable with heat control and degree of doneness. Eventually, you only want to flip meat once, but at first, you will flip it a lot--we all do SIMMERING: As said upthread, if you are bringing to a boil first and covering the pan, just turn the heat down as low as possible. It takes a little time to get used to your stove's particular quirks. Some stoves keep a simmer well, some stoves (like mine at home) have only two settings: Off and Inferno. When I first starting learning to cook at home, I tried to use recipes that didn't call for covering the pot. I was so nervous about the simmer that I wanted to keep my eye on the bubbles at all times! Now I use simmering as an excuse to go out on the porch, have a cigarette, and a beer. SANITATION: I would only worry about this particular situation if you had left the fork fermenting in the chicken juice all day, licked it, and then used it to stir the base. Otherwise, unless you or someone in your home is immuno-compromised (i.e. HIV or cancer), elderly, or very young--I wouldn't worry about it.

How much wine is 10 cl? BEAUTIFUL pasta, by the way. Goodness!

RSincere-- Like you, I came onto eGullet as I was just learning how to cook. I went through Julia Child's books (oh, it was awful) and bumbled my way into culinary school a few years later. I love to read about your new adventures in the kitchen, and I hope you keep posting!

The cardinal rule for cooking with wine especially fortified wine is: Use good wine. Cheap stuff will ruin your dish. An excellent rule. I've usually heard it expressed this way: if you wouldn't drink it, don't cook with it. Hmm. I tend in the opposite direction: if I'm going to drink it, I'm not going to cook with it.

I don't know. My dad is not a big wine drinker.

For Father's Day: Shrimp and cocktail sauce Grilled porterhouse with Worcestershire-chive butter "Fauxtatoes," cauliflower pureed with chives, bacon, cream, cream cheese, butter Grilled asparagus tossed with EVOO and cherry tomatoes Low-carb bourbon cheesecake Beer

Rachel, welcome to eGullet. Don't feel bad about posting anything to this thread (or to any other thread here, really). Sometimes, I just post: Beer. Actually, that's what I had for dinner tonight, so I'll post it again: Beer. Pabst Blue Ribbon. In a can.

Chicago, my friend.

Hey everybody! Go bug NeroW in the kitchen -- she'll give you a fat joint! Bugger. I wanted wine. I'll be in hathor's kitchen. Well, I've got that too. Took an informal poll on this topic at school today: most of the people I asked said to stay away from them in the professional kitchen, but to go ahead and jabber in the home kitchen unless: 1. Plating 2. Standing in front of oven or sink 3. An idiot in the first place.

tommy, I've found that giving guests a fat joint shuts them up, too. Especially since there's no smoking in my kitchen.