scubadoo97

I recently saw an article that listed the calories at chain restaurants like Fridays, Outback and many others and chain fast food like McDonalds and Wendys. The fast food calories looked very small but so were the portions by comparison. I too was surprised that the upscale restaurant meal wasn't higher in calories. Now would I rather eat torchon of foie gras or 2/3 of a Big Mac. mmmm? I know that when I go out for dinner at a restaurant that I can expect higher calories and fat. Ever take home part of your meal and look at it the next day. Yuck! No surprise there. I don't think restaurants should have to post their dietary values. Unlike a chain restaurant the menu of a restaurant may change often which would make it difficult to maintain this information accurately. What the public needs to be watchful of is restaurants and chains that advertise something as healthy or diet that isn't. When a salad which is advertised as healthy but contains more fat and calories than a double burger is where this information is helpful. Also fast food is eaten more often. Some people may eat 2 meals a day at a fast food joint.

When in Coral Gables a couple of months ago I found myself in a little Spanish Tapas, Deli restaurant called Xixon before noon and was eating stuffed baby squid in blank ink for breakfast and sopping the juice up with a nice crusty baguette.

I made a pea puree not long ago. Thawed peas in a blender with saueted shallots, a little cream and mint. S & P to taste. The color was awesome and it taste great. Would work well as a side to chicken, fish or beef.

I was looking for gorgonzola and went to the 3 big chain grocers in my area. No wedges, only crumbles

I can eat most anything for breakfast. I like cold leftovers. Meats, veggies, doesn't matter. I don't eat these things as a routine but it would not bother me.

Steven I agree completely. At my local supermarket they are pretty good about asking you how you want it sliced and giving you the first slice to sample. My obervation has been people are much more concerned when you ask them how they want it. The extra time it takes can often lead to longer lines at the deli counter. My only peeve is with turkey breast that is sliced thin. I hate it when it falls apart and shreds as you try to separate the layers to make a sandwich.

Tough choices Bob. I remember when redoing the kitchen and waffling on the propane option. No natural gas in our neighborhood. We had these discussion on the type of electric should we continue with this mode. There are a lot of options in electric as you are aware. I personally didn't want a smooth top since It would limit my use of heavier pans like cast iron and my brute methods of moving food around in the pan. I would not only look for the most output but the configuration of the burners. Some can be combined for larger pans or have two burners in one so you can size it to the pan size. It seems some are faster at reaching maximum heat than others. All the high end models indicate they use a ribbon element which can reach max heat in a few seconds. Some I remember using halogen lamps. Not sure what's really best and that may sure depend on your cooking style. I'm sure you've been here but we used this site a lot for information and specifications of ranges http://www.universal-akb.com/ranges.html

Well this is my first post on the Pastry and Baking forum since I am not a baker. After reading a lot about the no knead bread technique and finding a video that showed the basics, I decided to give this a shot. I used Harvest King flour and just followed the recipe but dug deep in the bag for my 3 cups of flour. My water had to be adjusted since 1.5 cups yielded a very dry dough. I just kept adding until I had a very wet dough. I felt certain that it was too wet and after reading some of the failures on the no knead thread was bracing for the worst. Since the consensus was that this bread was lacking in taste I added a couple of tbs of dried rosemary and I was pairing it with a roast chicken so it sounded right. I let it sit for 16 hrs then flopped it out and did the fold but but it back into a stainless bowl covered with a towel for the second rise. In the oven at 500 F for 30 min and then 18 min uncovered at 450. When I lifted the lid for the second part of the bake I was rewarded with a well rounded loaf that was nicely golden in color. Taste wise it was very good. Better than any bread from any of our local bakeries and stellar for a non baker like me. I will definitely do this again but maybe add olives and roasted garlic to the mix. So simple, I am amazed at the results.

Steven, I have the same collapsible metal steamer as you do. For most vegetables it works as well as a bamboo steamer but the bamboo works well for fish or similar protein because it's flat and you can do multiple steaming when you stack. I prefer the collapsible one for ease of use, the fact that it can accommodate different size vessels and it takes up little room when stored. BTW steamed Brussels sprouts are a personal favorite. Love them cold the next day too.

Tonight I made Chiles Rellenos stuff with ground meat and cheese with a side of blistered corn, red cubanella peppers and cilantro

I agree. We have polished granite and I took a scrap of our granite and tried to scratch it with steel wool, a razor and a screw driver and did very little if anythng to the surface. The few scratches I created polished right out with some 3000 grit polishing tapes.

For the most part I really like eating my own food. I think I do a better job than a lot of our friends and family mostly because I don't finding cooking a chore or an obligation. It's a love and means of self expression.

Ditto. Cooking is fun and expression of creativity. The other chores well I would pan those off any day.

To bring kids to restaurants really depends on the kid and the restaurant. When my son was an infant, he was the best. We would put him in his bouncy seat and he would bounce and stay happy during an entire meal which was a joy for us. When he was 2 1/2 and older, he would slip under the table and just take off. I would be constantly chasing after him. At that point we quit taking him out if we could and just did beach vacations where we could rent a room or condo with a kitchen. The experience of constantly being on top of him when we were out just took away all the enjoyment of going out. No doubt this behavior was disruptive to people around us. Just like anything else they grow out of it and at age 20, I can take him to a restaurant again.

Wow, fascinating site.

I don't know if they make one that narrow but I have a GE Monogram and they have gotten good reviews overall.

I make a "firecracker" shrimp that my daughter loves. After searing the shrimp in a little butter/oil mixture I added Tabasco and finish with a little cream and butter. I made a similar dish with shrimp but I had some homemade salsa that I fried and also finished with a little cream. This came out better than anticipated

Try not cooking for very long. I toast my steel cut oats in the dry pot first to bring out a nutty roasted flavor then add the water. I often cook oats for no more than 30 minutes. Water adjusted to 2:1 for the short cooking. Cook like rice, covered and simmer. They still have some chew but are not hard.

I don't find the orange flesh sweet potatoes oxidize and discolor quickly but do watch them closely on the grill. The burn easy. I do these often when grilling a steak or burgers. White potatoes or sweet both work well on the grill wilth little prep but slicing, seasoning and a light coat of oil.

I have some heavy non-stick pans that have a silicone cover that slides over the flat metal handle. Unlike the universal silicone covers which are big and bulky these are well fitted to the handle. I rarely use non-stick in the oven but the covers would slide off easily and remind you that the handle is HOT.

Okay for a few extra boxes but 900lbs One meal I make that uses a lot of matzo is matzo lasagna. Just use sheets of matzo in place of lasagna noodles. I think I can use a full box in one small lasagna. My kids even eat it. After cooking and absorbing the sauce the matzo even taste like noodles. One of my cousins has made this the last couple of years and it is excellent. One of my favorite matzo related desserts.

misinformation is not limited to FN. While scanning the channels the other night I saw one segment of Everyday Food. The host John Barricelli was preparing a skirt steak and says correctly, you have to slice this across the grain or else it will be tough while he slices it definitely with the grain into short 2" sections. Maybe it looked better that way and they told him to do it for the visual effect but anyone who was watching to learn would end doing it wrong.

When we have people over my wife goes into a cleaning mode to make sure her house is clean. I do all the shopping, cooking and most of the kitchen clean up so it's not something she has to deal with but she gets so worked up about cleaning the house just prior to having people over that she is exhausted and hates to entertain. I tell her, don't worry so much, everything doesn't have to be perfect. I just get a joy from cooking for my family and friends. The shoe thing really intrigues me. Unless one has white carpet or antique oriental carpets I don't see where shoes are a problem. Life's too short to worry about such things.

I appears to me, I could be wrong, that the knife used to skin the fillet and to cut into sashimi is a longer thinner blade than what he started with.

I like my PX chilled so I keep my bottles in the wine cooler. PX sherry pretty much boards on being cloying but I love it. Like a mouth full of raisins and dates.