scubadoo97
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Posts posted by scubadoo97
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skirt steak is readily available at our local Publixs grocery store, but they ask a high price for it. $5.99/lb now a days. I remember when you couldn't give this away.
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I have done SOOO many of these things!
Brown steak on the stove, pop it in the oven to finish, remove pan, set steak aside to rest and grab handle without a mitt to start the pan sauce. OW! SOLUTION: (It only took a dozen times to figure this one out folks...hehe) Put the oven mitt over the handle once the pan comes out of the oven. Its my reminder that the damn thing is HOT.
I have done this twice. It doesn't happen with my cast iron which I associate with hot but when I have use a stainless pan and removed it from the oven I have grabed the pan without thinking. I also have used the oven mitt or towel over the handle to remind me. Once was enough but twice? OUCH
One thing I will never do again is to try to make boiled peanuts after partying late at night. We had a picnic to go to years ago and wanted to make some boiled peanuts to take. Came home late after way too many drinds and put a big pot of peanuts on the stove to boil. Woke up with a layer of thick smoke just above my face. The peanuts were ashes and we were luck to be alive. Oh college days.
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The only problem I have with a fridge and frezzer in my garage is the increase in electric cost. They have to work harder in our tropic heat.
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Here in Florida we have a long history with crackers
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What so you look for in a tv food show?
Sara, let me first say I really enjoyed your shows on the Food Network. I look for someone who can teach me something which you were very good at. I want to not only see recipes but advanced technique and even learn more about kitchen essentials like pans, knifes, knife skills and how to do classic cooking techniques. One of my favorite cooking shows is Great Chefs because I get to see short clips of technique and plating. I look for interesting recipes that are easy, delicious and don't take all day to prepare. I look at recipes for ideas and not to follow to the letter unless it's baking. I cook for the family when I get home from work and it has to be good and interesting and done in a hour or less start to finish. I do get to spend more time in the kitchen when entertaining for friends and family on the weekends. I am not into the entertainment aspect of TFN. One of my favorite shows still on the FN is Good Eats. Alton's shtick is a bit much but I learn something about food science and what he feels is the best way to prepare a dish. One of my old favorites on TFN was David Rosengarden's show. He made you feel like there was only one way to do it right, his way. I even liked the Frugal Gourmet on PBS which was one of the first cooking shows I use to watch. More and more I find myself moving away from TFN to PBS or Discover for cooking shows that are not just entertainment although I still wonder how Martin Yan has all his fingers. I wish you great success on your new shows.
Alan
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Heres a rather obvious thing to do: skim the scum off the top of stock, deposit it into a bowl. Add 1/2 cup of stock to it and swirl it around a bit. Guess what? It tastes like stock! Then add the scum back in guilt free.
I recently made tortilla soup and put cut up pieces of chicken breast to put in it. The scum came up and was hard to remove with the other ingredients that were already in the soup. The scum resembled egg that is drizzled into hot liquid. I was able to pick out some of it and for the record even tasted it to see if it had any off taste because I knew I was not going to be able to skim it off well. It really had no taste so I agree if you remove it and add stock to it, it would taste like stock. It is not bringing anything to the table to speak and not enhancing the stock. My tortilla soup came out great and with the addition of corn tortillas the little bits of scum were indistinguishable from the tortillas bits.
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The scum can certainly cloud a stock or soup. I use to keep salt water fish tanks and part of the water maintenance was a protein skimmer. Small air bubbles up through a column of water and removes organic protein waste products which collects as a foam scum. Same thing you see at the oceans edge. I think scum from cooking meats is basically the same kind of thing. Fond is a different animal as has been mentioned. The Malliard reaction caramelizing those bits really create a flavorful by product. Scum adds nothing good so I remove it.
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I always start flesh side down whether in a pan or the grill. When it's finished I like to have the flesh side up. For me I get a better looking end product. Hot pan/dry fish is the secret. Butter will add more color than oil but I add it later so it doesn't burn
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I use a KA grinder often to grind my own beef. Nothing like hamburgers right off the grinder. I clean meat well of silver skin so that's never a problem. I use to get blood on my tee shirts while standing in front of it as it spat out a little liquid. I solved that problem by using a piece of plastic wrap which I screwed onto the grinder with the retaining ring. It drapes over the grinder providing a splash shield. I find it works better to grind with the meat semi frozen. The fat stays hard and grinds through. Some sinew will get caught up in the grinder but over all it works okay if you don't want to buy a dedicated grinder. I clean it with hot water until the fat melts away and then I stick it in the dish washer. Cleans well.
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From my local oriental market I get these ramen like noodle soups in a bowl. I like to add fish sauce and sometimes Thai chili paste or shriracha. A few drops of sesame oil is nice too.
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Thanks Toliver. Those little planks of potato were exactly what I was talking about with the carrot. I hadn't seen that post before but it was a good pictorial of basic skills.
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dicing carrots is really easy with a good sharp chef knife. First cut the carrots into manageable pieces like 1-2". Then cut a small amount off length wise to create a flat surface. Now flip the carrot on to the new flat side and repeat for all four sides. Now slice thin flat strips. Lay flat strips out, you can even layer them and cut into little sticks or julienne. Gather the match stick pieces together and cut across to make a very fine dice. With a little practice you can do this quickly with all fingers intact and have little to wash. Why pull out a madoline for one or two carrots. With better knife skills I find I use my madoline less and less unless I'm making a tub of shredded cabbage or unless I want very uniform slices.
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I have both the Bron and the Benriner. The Bron is a little wider and allows for cross cuts that the Benriner won't do. The Benriner is lighter, smaller and easier to clean. I more often use a chef knife and board but there are times a mandoline works very well for even slices.
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I second the recommendation of the Appleton Extra. Better rum and better price IMO.
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Thanks for the heads up Ed. I'm in the Tampa bay area and would love to attend. Hope to see you there.
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The family and I do a week in the Keys almost every year for the last 10+ years to dive and relax. I've been from Key Largo to Key West and everywhere in between. My experience is that the food is mediocre to my taste and we usually stay in condos with kitchens. I bring a cast iron skillet, a cutting board and a chef's knife. With that basic equipment and some good local fare I can whip up better meals than most of the restaurants we have been to. Now back to you need for recommendations. This is by no means a complete list but a few I can remember. By far Key West has better restaurants than most areas in the Keys. There are so many restaurants that I'm sure I've passed up some very good ones and can only comment on ones I've been to.
Key Largo- The Fish House for conch style dinning, Harriet's Hideout and Hobos are also popluar. A note, service in the Keys can be real hit or miss. Mostly miss.
Islamorada-Stay far away from the Islamorada seafood co. unless you are there to buy fish from the counter. They cater to the tourist and the food poor and the service is terrible the worst I've ever had anywhere. They use to be good when they first opened and were small. Now the place is big and with a mega water sports and apparel store next store, the lines are long and the food and service certainly not worth the wait or the price.
Marathon-For a great fish sandwich try a little place called Fish Tales Seafood Market and Eatery. It's under new hands but still good. We stopped in years ago to buy fish and got the know the owner. He would be standing at the stainless cutting table in high white rubber boots while the fisherman were unloading the days catch just behind him. Now that's fresh and turn over was very fast so fish didn't sit in the cases long. Fantastic Yellow Tail Snapper at a very good price. We made eating and picking up fresh fish at Fish Tails a tradition.
The Barracuda Grill is a nice place with a more upscale menu. Recommended!
Key West-Our favorite place it The Turtle Krawl. There is a place next to it that serves traditional Florida cracker style seafood. Along the board walk in the same area are several restaurants that are okay.
Mangoes, Louie's Back Yard, Bahama Mama's Kitchen, Blue Heaven are all popular and I've had good meals there. El Siboney Restaurant for inexpensive standard Cuban fare. Too many good restaurants in Key West. A lot of mediocre ones as well.
Have fun!
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I have family in Mexico City. When we go for major celebrations the parties start at 11 PM and go till 4-5 in the morning. Breakfast is served and usually includes chilaquiles. Man that taste great after all that drinking. After hitting the sack I usually wake with a headache, a bad case of indigestion but had a great time.
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I enjoy the drunken guests.
My husband's ex came to dinner, drank half a bottle of vodka and passed out in our bed before the meal was served. She came out a while later and remarked that the dog had been humping her. I told her she could have pick of the litter.
OMG, I'm laughing so hard. That was funny
I can't think of any home dinner nightmares but on the eve of my son's Bar Mitzvah weekend we had a large Shabbat dinner at our synagogue with many family and friends. My wife's uncle who is orthodox arrived half way through the dinner from out of town with his large family and made a big fuss over not being able to make kiddish because the wine was blackberry which isn't the fruit of the vine and so not kosher for kiddush. Hey it was Mogen David wine??
The only thing that gets me is when you have several guests who are on many different diets. This one doesn't eat red meat, no carbs for this one, no fish for this one. Please.......I try to be considerate to the needs of my guests but sometimes it can get out of hand.
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I drink my rum neat.
Some I like
Zacapa Centenario 23yr old
Appleton Extra
Barbancourt 8 yr old 5 star
Pyrat XO
El Dorato 12 yr old
Matusalem Gran Reserva
Pampero Anniversario
Bacardi 8
Bacardi Anejo
Mount Gay Extra Old
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I have used a banana in mole. It gives it a very rich smooth texture.
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Yep, I don't know if it's recommended by your manufacturer but this is a technique I've used sporadically for years. In addition to the surface cleaning you're already doing, just run plain, distilled white vinegar through a brewing cycle and dispose. Follow this with a plain water cycle to clean out the residual vinegar aromas and flavors. Then you're ready to dirty up the works again with your favorite ground beans.
A better way to descale your coffee maker is to use citric acid powder. You can find it in the spice area as sour salt but can find it at a better price if bought in bulk. It doesn't leave that vinegar smell, will not taint your coffee is rinsed well and does a great job of descaling. Most commercial coffee/espresso descalers are citric acid based. A product called Cleancaf has both descalers and chemicals that not only descale but desolve coffee oils. Is food safe and non-toxic.
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Dough scrapers (either stainless or plastic) also come in handy. I use them to pick diced vegetables off the cutting board when I have large quantities.
I have the stainless one but also picked up a pack of 3 plastic ones in 3 sizes from Home Depot. They are scrapers for working with fiberglass. I like them better than my SS one since food doesn't get caught in the round handle.
I love my OVE glove and use it a lot when roasting coffee.
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I'm partial to our local fish. Groupers, many types of snapper, pompano, permit mahi, trout, snook, red fish and Spanish mackerel. I've even had barracuda which was excellent white, mild and delicious. Not been too keen on cobia, shark or king fish. Also love salmon
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I'm in the market for a new cutting board. I have been using a std. long grain farberware board which is starting to seperate. I've been looking at the John Boos boards and wonder what people here recommend and currently use. I would love the end grain boards but they are typically very thick and heavy. Are they worth the difference in price?
The incredible amazing Chefmate saucepan and more
in Kitchen Consumer
Posted
I just picked up the 8 pc copper bottom set of Chefmate cookware. I thought this was tri-ply but I guess not. It was $79.99 and included an 8" and 10" skillet, 1.6qt and 2 qt sauce pan with lid and a 5 qt dutch oven with lid. I was disappointed that it didn't come with the 12" skillet so got one and a 3 qt sauce pan to add to the set. Still not bad for the price. I didn't see anything that said tri-ply on the other Chefmate pans without the copper and they seemed less sturdy and lighter in weight. The handle did not have the big rivets that the copper one has. I may first play with the extra sauce pan and skillet to see how they work before opening the set. I am cooking on LP gas for the first time. Always had an electric range and now have a 36" Viking range top.
A question for those that got the $99 set from Target or Amazon. Are the sizes of the items the same as the copper set? I may end up taking this set back and getting the tri-ply on line if it is that much better. Advice from those with experience?