Mjx

Heh. I think those of us who replied before you edited to clarify understood the initial question a bit differently than you intended... I'm looking at my initial post, and it looks kind of off-base, although I could swear it made sense when I wrote it I think stress levels may feed into breakfast conservatism. I'm not a particularly adventurous person, possibly because my life tends to be way more exciting than I'd like, so to move into something approximating an adventurous mindset requires intellectual activity of the sort that I'm not usually up for, first thing in the morning: too many other decisions to deal with at that time, I'm not really even in the mood for food at all. My brain says 'Coffee', my gut says 'Yep', and that's pretty much it. When I'm on holiday, though, and don't have to deal with anyone apart form my boyfriend, I'm capable of eating virtually anything I'd eat at any other time of the day (chili/bag of salty licorice wine gums/Jaegermeister and peanuts? no problem!)

I just made a beautiful roux using rice starch (50/50 starch/butter, by weight), which is readily available at any shop that sells Asian cooking ingredients (even here, amazingly). For the first couple of minutes it looked as though it was going to be grainy, but it ended up being very well-behaved.

I'm amazed that this item exists. It sort of changes the premise of my inquiry. Apart from the steam, I had the impression that most of these features are now standard for mid-range and better ovens; is this only in the EU?

I've had some good results with carefully pressing down the crust with a pan of the same size (or slightly smaller) as that in which you've made your crust. I do this as the last step.

Since a couple of beers isn't exactly boozing it up, you might want to keep in mind that liver function deteriorates over time (I don't mean 'down-the toilet' deteriorating, but it's just not as responsive), so it processes alcohols less efficiently, and the effects of breakdown products can be more pronounced. (I learned about this when a pathologist I knew told me how, after doing his US residency--he's German--he tested positive for TB, but since he was was thirty-nine and the disease was inactive, it was not treated, since the drugs used to treat TB cause liver damage, which does not readily self-repair once you pass your mid-thirties.)

Alas, a Ritter sport and some iffy port, while trying to staring into my laptop and trying to politely phrase a marginal comment that explained that 'mundane' is not synonymous with 'daily.' Everybody else's lunch looks so good...

Given the discussion going on over at 'The data on cooking more, less, differently, etc.' post, it seemed like it might be a good time to bump this post. If I'm pressed for time, I go for either a one-pot deal, based on pasta, or rice, or a pared down version of 'meat-starch-veg'. Shopping is key: I make a point of having quickly prepped vegetables, quickly cooked cuts of meat, rice, pasta, tinned tomatoes, and chicken broth on hand. Anchovies and fish sauce come in handy, as do tomato paste, soy sauce, dried mushrooms, and some port and whiskey you don't mind sacrificing to the cooking pot. Oh, and jars of single-ingredient baby food can be really useful (e.g. pureed squash added to rice and beans with tomato give the dish a lot of extra depth). The one-pot deals start with pasta or rice; while that's cooking (in these cases, I use broth as a cooking liquid) I rummage through the kitchen for whatever I have on hand that looks tasty, and can easily be added in (beans, the baby shrimp that are moving towards their bin date, shredded leftover chicken, etc.). The condensed meat-starch-veg. protocol goes something like this: Start heating skillet, and water for rice or pasta (an electric kettle means the water is good to go in about two minutes). If it's rice, I may use broth. Cutlets or filets come out of the fridge, are blotted, salted, and rubbed with oil on both sides (this makes a lot less mess to clean off the glass stovetop, afterwards; pepper and herbs get added at the end, since I don't love the flavour of incinerated seasonings) Start rice or pasta. If it's rice, I may toss in a thread or two of saffron. When the amount of time left on the rice or pasta is that which it will take to cook the meat, the meat goes into the now-heated skillet. Prep fresh vegetable: this means slicing some tomatoes or peppers, washing some carrots, or removing some baby greens (prewashed) from their bag. Alternatively, I may quickly blanch some peas or the like, which then get a small dab of butter, some fresh herbs, a little pepper. Flip meat. Rice off heat, fluff/drain pasta. Meat off heat; quickly deglaze pan, if the cooking temperature did not incinerate the juices. Spend a minute or two seasoning; I have some fresh herbs in pots on the window sill, and usually snip in one of those, and some tomato product may be involved. Plate. Serve. Sometimes, though, when time is really tight, and everyone is tired and snarly, the best bet is to just make some really good, substantial sandwiches, accompanied by some carrots or sliced peppers, rather than try to cook something, when you've just got nothing left to give.

There must be an array of units priced between $900 and $4500. Get full spec. sheets, look at the warranty and service information, talk to people, read reviews, look at and handle the units in the showrooms. You can certainly get something that works for you without going into the four-figure range, but research is a must.

I keep hearing about the lack of time, but seriously, I can put together a good dozen cheap, from-scratch meals in a half hour or less each, from prep. start to serving. I'm not talking about the more elaborate things I make when I have the time, but the stuff I put together when I've been working all day, have no desire to do another thing, and my boyfriend comes in the door, beams, and says 'So, what's for dinner?' Really? Something that's actually cooked. Like what, for example? I mean, I can do something like spaghetti cacio e pepe in around 30 minutes, but that's hardly something I should be eating 4 nights a week. Roughly, the short programme goes like this: Start heating skillet, and water for rice or pasta (the electric kettle means the water is good to go in about two minutes). Hoik some cutlets or filets out of the fridge, blot, salt, rub with oil on both sides (this makes a lot less mess to clean off the glass stovetop, afterwards; pepper and herbs get added at the end, since I don't love the flavour of incinerated seasonings) Start rice or pasta. When the amount of time left on the rice or pasta is that which it will take to cook the meat, the meat goes in. Prep fresh vegetable: this means slicing some tomatoes or peppers, washing some carrots, or removing some baby greens (prewashed) from their bag. Alternatively, I may quickly blanch some peas or the like, which then get a small dab of butter, some fresh herbs, a little pepper. Flip meat. Rice off heat/drain pasta. Meat off heat; quickly deglaze pan if temp. used did not incinerate juices. Spend a minute or two seasoning; I have some fresh herbs in pots on the window sill, and usually snip in one of those, and some tomato product may be involved. Plate. Serve. Sometimes, I also just do something pasta- or rice-based (add-ins may be beans, the baby shrimp that are moving towards their bin date, shredded, leftover chicken, etc.); there's always a fresh or very briefly cooked vegetable as a side or component. I keep broth ready to go in the refrigerator, which comes in handy for deglazing a pan. Cheap-o port and whiskey are useful too.

I wondered about that, but clearly the prices reported by andiesenji and rickster indicate that tariffs are not as significant a factor as what the market will bear (or at least put up with) I guess people are just remarkably trusting when it comes to marketing, regardless of nationality. That, and the fact that Scandinavian goods have a certain cachet (frankly, mostly off the mark when it comes to anything food-related, but you do have to admire a country that produces bread chocolate).

I keep hearing about the lack of time, but seriously, I can put together a good dozen cheap, from-scratch meals in a half hour or less each, from prep. start to serving. I'm not talking about the more elaborate things I make when I have the time, but the stuff I put together when I've been working all day, have no desire to do another thing, and my boyfriend comes in the door, beams, and says 'So, what's for dinner?' I honestly believe that a lot of the time/effort that is supposed to be saved by many prepared foods is pure fiction, promulgated by marketing firms (which, to be fair, is their job).

Your guess is as good as mine, but I imagine that breakfast habits evolved around some conjunction of available ingredients, and fashion. If I have much more than coffee for breakfast, all I can do afterwards is take a long and unrefreshing nap. I grew up in Italy (where the popular breakfast in cities is still coffee and a croissant), and that might explain it, if it weren't for the fact that we moved back to the US before my parents even permitted me to drink coffee, and I was routinely required to force a bowl's worth of granola into my still-sleeping stomach before heading off to school each morning. The Italians I know who are health conscious (which is, to some extent, fashion) may swap their croissant for a yogurt/fruit, perhaps even some muesli. I had several German boyfriends, most of whom were old enough to feel that the only breakfast robust enough to get one going had to involve at least one species of sausage, a cereal (muesli in the summer, oatmeal in the winter), much bread, much coffee, juice of some sort, a pastry or two to fill up any remaining gaps, and, at weekends, perhaps a glass of beer. When I feebly asked whether this programme was usual, I was assured that this was the city version. The farmer's version typically took place several hours earlier, and was much more substantial. That was as much information as I was able to extract regarding the history of traditonal German breakfasts (visiting a friend in Berlin, however, I was relieved to find that she regarded such spreads as old-fashioned, and stuck to a coffee and a croissant). In Denmark, old-school is similar to the traditional German breakfast (again, availability), modern is something by Kellogs, usually (fashion). The willingness (or lack of it) to breakfast differently than usual probably varies a good deal from person to person (and perhaps how much of a morning person he or she is). Although the people I know (all of whom are at least partly Westernized) seem to go for something fairly close to their accustomed breakfasts when travelling, I don't recall ever seeing any of them minding very much about the absence of a particular breakfast food. Perhaps certain cultures set more store than others on the importance of breakfast?

Presumably it goes for less at a lower-end, non-Manhattan market? It seems to be fairly widely available around here, but I've never paid much attention to it or the price. In the US, I'm very rarely outside of NYC, so I have no idea. If you do happen to notice the price of Lurpak in your area (please don't go out of your way for this!), would you mind letting me know? It's idle curiosity, I have to admit, but I find this sort of kind of intriguing.

A quick online search didn't suggest suggest any reliable, formal statistics. I'm not even certain whether/how such a study might be done. The impression I get (from discreetly looking over people's selections at Bed Bath & Beyond and Shoprite, and the crowds at Sur La Table, Broadway Panhandler, and the cooking wares shop at Chelsea Market) is that there's been a split: A minority seems to be taking cooking more seriously, and the majority seems to be cooking less, and relying increasingly on prepared elements. I think many people have a sense of such a dichotomy, and that it is likely to perpetuate itself, as those who cook less may allow themselves to be convinced that there really is something esoteric about being able to create even a decent meal, and that, lacking the requisite expertise, they are better off relying on prepared or partially prepared items to make their meals.

Recently, I saw Lurpak butter priced at USD 8 in a higher-end, Manhattan supermarket. I blinked, and did the math. In Denmark, Lurpak is the basic supermarket offering, the Danish equivalent of Land O'Lakes in the US; good, but ordinary butter. It retails for about DKK 16/250g (about USD 3/close to 9 oz), of which 20% is Danish sales tax. It's good, and there are differences between European and American butter production processes, but there are European-style (i.e. cultured, higher fat) butters produced in the US that are every bit as good, which don't cost nearly as much. On the other hand, in Denmark you can pay nearly USD 50 for a Microplane grater. Many members seem to travel quite a bit: What have you found to be inexplicably marked up, when it is retailed outside its country of origin, and what do you make a point of buying when you travel, for this very reason?

Minor detail, but Viking is a US company, so getting service shouldn't be a huge deal.

It may have to do with the group of people I know (I'm not claiming it to be a representative sample, by any means, but it runs to several dozen people), but the ones with the nicest kitchens freak over the idea of anyone wanting to do something more elaborate than slice bread or make a cup of coffee (this may change dramatically, once they have children). Our kitchen is nice, as far as appliances go, but can get a little gnarly, since we use it heavily (so, we are considered rather eccentric).

You and Katie have a point, but when the expression on the cook's face during the meal is one of mingled embarrassment and stoic endurance (and the ample leftovers are thrown away, because she can't bring herself to face eating them again), it is sad, particularly since this sort of thing is almost inevitably the result of believing bad information, and far better results would have been obtained with less effort. I should note that I offer to stand in as cook for her on every possible occasion, for which she is very grateful (and knits me the most beautiful sweaters); some people just don't like to cook!

This thought crossed my mind, but I assumed I was being needlessly cynical. I'd add that many of those I know who do have state-of-the-art/luxury kitchens wouldn't dream of soiling them (or the adjacent living room, since these are often open-plan kitchens) with anything as messy as cooking. The crusty interior of our 'fancy' Gaggenau oven (I have this irrational fear of setting fire to our kitchen if I use the self-clean mode, and the deposits have resisted every available chemical oven cleaner) is an unending source of horror to certain friends, who treat kitchen appliances as collectible items.

The US is huge, and I know this complicates things, and unfortunately, a lot of standard EU brands (e.g. Miele) are marketed as luxury brands in the US. In Denmark, everything comes with a 2-year guarantee, so service is reasonably good. I believe a number of other EU countries have similar guarantee/service arrangements. I have a hunch that the costs and issues related to purchasing and servicing units from EU countries have more to do with the natural desire to protect US economic interests, than anything else. Miele is an okay brand, but if you're going to spend the extra dollars, anyway, I'd recommend looking at Gaggenau units, which are built really solidly. We have have one of their stovetops and one of their ovens, and neither has diappointed yet. If we hadn't been able to get the Gaggenau appliances at a reasonable price, we would have gone with Miele, which is pretty reliable. Siemens units aren't bad, but can feel a little chintzy. http://www.gaggenau.com/change-country.do http://www.miele.com/international/enint/home.htm There are plenty more, these are simply the ones I know best.

As I noted upthread, I mentioned the possibility of omitting corn syrup only because it can be a source of the sorts of off-flavours she described. Inverted sugars certainly do make recipes that include them much easier to work with than those that rely on sugar alone, but it is possible to make most, if not all sweets without them (you do need to be more careful, with regard to crystallization).

If 'tips' actually stands for 'to insure proper service', nothing. I suspect that's a back-construction, though. If tipping is what pays most of someone's earnings, as is the cases with a lot of waitstaff, it's actual tipping; everywhere else, it's bribery/security money, or an outpouring of unusual gratitude.

My first thought was 'What?', because I do the data entry for a company that arranges bids on home appliances, and all the big, middle-ground, industry leaders (Siemens, Miele, Electrolux, etc.) offer combi-ovens, steam units designed to be paired with standard convection ovens, and so on. Getting something like a salamander means installing it separately from the rest of the stovetop, but a couple of companies offer them. But this is in Northern Europe. In Italy, not much has changed since I was a kid, and in the US, that also seems to hold true. My guess is that some cultural tendency determines whether or not cutting edge technology shows up in a nation's kitchens. cbread is probably right about getting most home cooks to try new things, but manufacturers in Northern European countries work around that, by simply discontinuing things (glass stovetops are now standard, and each year more of the models on offer are induction).

Your mention of Mongolian barbecue reminded me that one Mongolian technique for preparing a whole sheep involves the use of a flamethrower: I'd say that this is clearly just waiting to happen, especially for anyone seeking a good, 'manly' concept for a restaurant chain (waitstaff could be sourced from Hooters/Spearmint Rhino).

Yeah, I had been thinking of that discussion, but many (most?) of the meals described there were spectacular disasters from the word go (if I remember correctly), whereas I was thinking of meals that could have been good, but the ingredients were maltreated: the meal equivalent of the nice-to-gorgeous fabric that is turned into a really ugly garment or outfit.