BadRabbit

Living in the South, it is nearly impossible to get a good cheese steak. I have taken to making them at home but still I am unable to get to the quality that you get in Philly. For those of you that make them at home, what are the secrets? What cut of beef do you use? Seasonings? Do you roast or cook on the stove top\flat top? The main reason I think that cheesesteaks are not good anywhere else is that finding appropriate rolls is nearly impossible. Does anyone have a good recipe that I can whip up at home?

If bacon is a trend, then my family must have been VERY early adopters. My grandfather ate bacon at every meal and my father followed in his footsteps until the doctors made him stop.

I've spent the last month looking at a lot of these websites and I was surprised at home many contemporary books are available. It seems to vary by author but there seem to be huge numbers of well respected authors who allow pretty generous previews. For example, Google Books has most of James Peterson (except for Sauces) available in preview. The number of pages available in preview is really astounding. Almost all of the instructional pages are there and a great deal of the recipes. http://books.google.com/books?id=N1wssR1cU-cC&printsec=frontcover&dq=cooking&hl=en&ei=yvKATYitJIHBtgfK2OTOCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CE0Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=true The entire meat section from Keller's Ad Hoc at Home is also available in preview. http://books.google.com/books?id=yMZn936MHLcC&printsec=frontcover&dq=ad+hoc&hl=en&ei=ngGBTeCWGJO3tgeWk-TOCA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=book-preview-link&resnum=4&ved=0CD4QuwUwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false

That's what I figured. Thanks.

I was thinking more of just adding commercial yeast and incorporating it into a non-sourdough bread. If there is no flavor development though, this wouldn't do any good. I don't mind the chunking of flour and water. I just want to make sure I'm not throwing out flavor that I could incorporate elsewhere.

If I decide to start over, is there anything I can do with the failed seed culture? Would there be any flavor development absent yeast activity or is it just worthless paste?

I am working on the sourdough seed culture from Reinhart's "American Pie" and nothing seems to be happening. It's now been over a week. I started with whole wheat from a local mill (so i know it hasn't been treated with anything) and fresh squeezed pineapple juice. I've then been using KA Bread flour to feed with tap water (though after the 3rd day I thought better of it and started using bottled spring water). So far it not only has failed to double, it hasn't risen at all. Any ideas on what to do next and where my problem lies? What should the consistency of the culture be right after I feed? Following Reinhart's measurements gives me a stiff batter while his descriptions seem to describe a rather dry dough consistency.

I can't find it right now but there was a study done recently indicating that on average customers overpay by 5-15% every time they go to a grocery store because of mispriced items (this was true in almost every store they tested from Piggly Wiggly up to Whole Foods). If that is true, I'd say that may be an indication that part of the industry business model includes purposely mispricing items. It's why most stores don't give you much argument when you tell them the price is wrong. They largely get away with it because most people buy too many items at a time to keep up with the prices. If you catch a couple of mispriced items, chances are you missed a couple more. Caveat: I just read the popular press rundown of the study. It's possible that it was a poorly done study or that the popular press misinterpreted the results. However, since the study's findings back up my experience, I have given it some credence.

Cilantro and parsley.

I really think some people are ignoring the benefits of one handed opening (besides looking cool). When you open with one hand, you put pressure on the egg at the ends (i.e. away from the cracked area). Though it can be done when opening with two hands most people instinctively grab at the cracked area with their thumbs. One handed means less shells in your food.

If only an egg or two, I crack on a flat surface and then separate the shells with one hand. I virtually never have shells I have to fish out. I attribute this to the flat surface cracking and the fact that one hand opening does not apply much pressure to the cracked area (unlike the two handed style which generally has people putting their thumbs into the cracked area). If I have lots of eggs to crack, I do them two at a time (one in each hand) and load the empty shells into the old carton as I go.

I don't have a wood-fired oven. That's a problem I've had good results without a real wood fired oven. I've used a pizza stone on a charcoal grill with lump charcoal.

It definitely has coriander and cumin but I've been having a tough time picking out more than that. It seems to be more floral spices. There's definitely not turmeric or ginger. One spice looks like dried thyme but thyme didn't seem very likely to me in an Indian dish.

I sometimes make a breakfast sandwich with my bagels in which case I toast them because the egg makes it soggy if I don't (I like a runny egg on my sandwich). If I've made them that day and I'm just spreading with cream cheese, I don't toast. Bagels are pretty easy to make. If you don't like what you can get out there, why not make them yourself?

A little additional info: These wings are definitely not typical Tandoori chicken style. They seem to just have a dry rub on them and are pretty spicy.

My local Indian place has wings that that they call Mirchiwalla wings. The wings are obviously cooked in a Tandoor but I can't seem to figure out the spice mix on the outside. Anybody have a recipe or an idea of what spices to try (I have a clay oven)? P.S. I understand that this might actually just be a name given by the restaurant that doesn't relate to a specific traditional dish.

Bonus question: When you grind whole chiles, do you grind them whole or do you seed them? EDIT: Spelling

Pizza is my go to cheap dish. I can feed 10-15 people with a bag of flour a can of crushed tomatoes and a couple pounds of mozz.

I have bags and bags of dried chiles but I have no idea when I should throw them out and get new ones. I usually buy them in large bags and I regularly use 5-6 varieties. Where that leaves me is with some bags of chiles that are probably 2-3 years old. Some seem to have lost flavor but I'm not sure if I'm imagining it or if they have. When do you chunk yours out?

An owner of a business should be able to do whatever he wants that is legal. If his decisions are bad, he won't survive. The diner also has rights. He can refuse to go somewhere that won't meet his wants. The number of people with true medical dietary restrictions is pretty low. Unfortunately they are largely treated poorly because so many people lie about having restrictions just because it's the easiest way to force someone to change to a more preferred menu. I had a friend that claimed to be allergic to red wine but often drank Cold Duck. I explained to her that her claim of being allergic to one and not the other was absurd but to no avail. If she didn't feel like seafood, she would tell the server that she was allergic to shellfish and would they please make the risotto with chicken. The next day, I'd see her eating a shrimp po-boy. It got to where I wouldn't go anywhere with her because her order would be so convoluted and full of falsehoods. From my experience, the number of people who fall into the "fake" restrictions category FAR outweigh the ones with real problems. As for the vegetarian thing, I'd suggest you stick to cuisines and restaurants that cater to that sort of thing. If you are not picking the place, either don't go or go and be prepared to be less than thrilled with your choices but don't show up to Bobby Van's and expect that they'll trot out a vegan cornucopia just because they have the ingredients and you feel you have the right to tell them how to run their restaurant.

I have no problem with it. If you want it your way, go to Burger King. I imagine the only people that this will really anger are the authors of "princess tickets" and they are really more trouble than they are worth anyway.

I eat at Highlands Bar and Grill every other week. http://www.highlandsbarandgrill.com/

I've never seen a Naan that wasn't odd shaped.

Update: The recipe above was pretty good with the addition of 1 tbs tomato paste and leaving out the greens. I'll probably try it with the greens some time when my wife is out of town.

I know this is a little away from the intent of the thread but there are several that I prefer soggy. I think Raisin Bran is better once it's mush, ditto for frosted flakes. I realize that I am in the very small minority here.