dcarch

Slice b. melon in bite size pieces. Boil them first in a big pot of water. Throw away the water. At this point the b. melon bitterness is like a fine beer. Also, ripe melons are less bitter. dcarch

Have you been in the first class section on a plane? You are being served by the attendants/stewardesses better than you are served in a restaurant . "Can I get you some wine? Here is the wine list", "Would you you like to have a blanket?", "Can I warn up your coffee?", "What have you selected for dinner on the menu?", "Here are your slippers" --------------------------------------. Do you tip them? dcarch

Where can you buy goat in the USA? Do stores have to tell buyers if they are selling goat, mutton, sheep, lamb or ram? dcarch

What should we call English muffins? dcarch

Two great uses for the microwave: 1. Old computer storage DVDs, CDs with personal and financial information, before throwing them out, just put a whole stack of them and zap for 15 seconds. Total wipe out. 2. Kitchen towels, before they get totally filthy, just a little wetting, and zap for 1 minute, they will be completely sanitized. dcarch

Very true. At the end of all forms of heating, they all fall into the theory of Kinetic Particle Theory, But back to microwave oven, this form of heating limits the usefulness of microwave ovens to only heating and not browning (no caramelization, except bacon type) unless your microwave incorporates resistance heating. I used to have one, but it was much more expensive. 3 to 4 times more $ and much bigger in size. dcarch

Sure. I said, "--microwave oven is not an oven-" then "--The food itself is the heating element.--" So the food heats itself with microwave energy, then, I said, "--- I don't use the microwave for cooking, just for heating or reheating." I did not say "microwave oven", just the microwave. Every single cooking appliance uses radiant heat (as ovens, the BGE, etc.) or conduction heat (sous vide water oven), microwave is the one appliance that is totally unique. Actually there are two other very unique ways, not very common ways of cooking: 1. electric resistance cooking, 2. using the energy of friction. Can you guest what it is? dcarch

First, microwave oven is not an oven. An oven heats up food. A microwave oven cannot heat up the food, it generates no heat, there is no heating element, instead, the food heats itself up. The food itself is the heating element. I don't use the microwave for cooking, just for heating or reheating. dcarch

Yes, expensive, here in NYC $0.75 each. $1.25 farmers market. (July 4th sale, $0.16 each!!!). I do it two ways, I Apologize the background music on one of the videos, "Chaka Khan" sounds like "Shuck A Corn" LOL! dcarch

To me that is a big waste of expensive good sweet corn that you have to cut off so much for the method to work. Also in a microwave oven, the ears of corn will not be cooked evenly the way it is shown. dcarch.

"Expensive" is because of the natural dynamics of supply and demand (truffles, for instance) in a free economy. "Over priced" is a product artificially controlled (like diamonds) and promoted to allow for unreasonable profit margin to be imposed on consumers. Kobe beef is "Over priced", IMHO. dcarch

Thank you all! Squash, fish; it can get very boring. So I decided to have a little fun with them, even though I typically do not like food carving for plating. dcarch

Me too. Although I think it can be made into very interesting kind of bacon, with all the fat. $300 a lb beef bacon? :-) dcarch

That is a type of natural casing. In the picture linked, you see the whitish film that is attached. After it is cut, it leaves a seam. dcarch

Mm84321 – another masterpiece. FrogPrincesse – Great way to celebrate Bastille Day. Kim – Love everything that comes out from your kitchen. A big Wow for the burger! Shelby – A perfect pizza is a home made pizza, like yours. SobaAddit – consistently beautiful pictures. Huiray – That is one amazing Linguine alle zucchine e fiori di zucca.. Patrickamory – I always admire your pasta dishes. Liuzhou – A perfect summer dinner. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Went to the farmers market, Yellow squash looked nice, and rainbow trout smelled fresh. So it was Rainbow trout on squash. Compatible food pairing? Who cares. I was hungry. dcarch

It seems to me that "Foodie" is used mostly in the written form. I have never been called, nor called myself a foodie, I have never heard anyone calls him/herself a foodie. I have never asked anyone "Are you a foodie?" "Foodie" communicates effectively to most people the meaning of one whose eating interest goes beyond the mere satiation of hunger. dcarch

Cronuts? Oh rats! http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Mouse-Video-Floor-Cronut-Dominique-Ansel-Bakery-Spring-Street-Video-253917201.html dcarch

Supermoon tonight. http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/science/2014/07/11/saturday-supermoon-first-three-this-summer/Awwake5E7PSgPtOhFqP9uL/story.html Going to a Chinese store and get some moon cakes and stay up to view the moon. I hope it's not going to be cloudy. dcarch

Details, please? dcarch

Thanks Rotuts. I like finddlehead fern. I have some in the freezer so I can have some when the craving strikes. Shelby, thanks. The wings were stuffed with love. Shiitake mushrooms, some leftover turkey stuffing, finely chopped fresh water chestnuts, some spinach (the kind that is not too spinachy) dcarch [Moderator note: This topic continues here, Dinner! 2014 (Part 4)]

Ninagluck – nice plating. Shelby – July 4th first date, and there was fireworks. Ha! Kim – you may not know this. Those fungi are potent aphrodisiacs. Huiray – in general, people are careful with cooking temperature when it comes to meat, but you are a master when it comes to vegetables. SobaAddit – and you are the masta of pasta. Ann_t – whole chicken’s posture don’t look very good on a plate, but yours somehow look beautiful. Mm84321 – once again, you are showing how much presentation can enhance the eating experience. Rotus – one word for both your recent dishes; just delicious. OK, that’s two words. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A few recent dishes: dcarch shrimps, fiddlehead fern, chanterelle mushroom suace Stuffed boneless wings Snapper, chanterelle mushroom fish roe sauce.

Plastic twist type for normal situations. Vintage aluminum pull handle type for parties when I need ice made fast. 1/3 more ice in the same space, in 1/2 the time. Even faster if I chill the water first. dcarch

I think this is an on-topic question: Is smoking banned in shopping areas or eating areas? It is here in the USA. dcarch

Once we have isolated cultural/religious biases, elitism, and personal preferences, the discussion can be less "passionate". I was with a client in a Kosher restaurant, I thought the food was delicious, and was certainly gourmet food. I was talking food with with a Filipino friend, I would agree that balut, an unusual street food there, qualifies as gourmet food. dcarch

The point is what is gourmet to one culture may not be to another, as have been said a few times by others. For instance, I consider tofu gourmet. On a thread posted by Luizhou, I was very interested in a dish called Men See Tofu Potage. It was a tofu dish enjoyed by one of the emperors as well as now by many. dcarch