JAZ

The Hellman's/Best Foods in the squeeze bottle is definitely different, at least in texture; it's smoother and a little thinner. I much prefer the Hellman's jar to the squeeze bottle for that reason. I've never tasted them side by side, so I'm not sure how they compare on that front. Kraft, as I recall, has the same eerily smooth texture as Hellman's in the squeeze bottle. I'm not a fan, but I still prefer it to Duke's.

In this topic on sweet potato salad, Jaymes said (about mayonnaise): I have to disagree: while some cooks here in Atlanta use it, most that I know prefer Hellman's. I certainly do. Duke's is oddly sweet -- halfway to Miracle Whip, in my opinion -- and I can pick it out immediately in things like tuna or potato salad when it's used. If I were faced with the choice of Duke's or nothing on a sandwich, I think I'd have to choose the latter. Am I missing something? Do people really like Duke's? Are there other brands worth trying?

I tried Fatburger once, and nothing about the experience inclined me to give it even one more try. First, the service was very slow. We didn't go during peak hours (in fact as I recall, only a other customers were in the place besides us) but it took a good 15 minutes to get our food. While that's not too long in regular time, for a "fast food" place, it's forever. Second, the burger was okay, but for the price, a disappointment. We could have spent the same amount at a local non-fast food place and gotten a much better burger, or spent half as much at Burger King and gotten something almost as good.

My guess is that it might be the level of glutamates. We do an experiment with salt and glutamate (we use MSG) with our beginning cooking students in which we give them plain water, then water with a pinch of MSG so they can experience the difference. One time I over-measured the amount of MSG, which resulted in a very odd mouthfeel.

Actually, as I learned in this topic, there are at least two results that people call "caramelized" onions -- the ones that brown on the outside, which I think you're describing, and the ones that slowly brown all the way through and break down into a paste, which is what I always thought of as "caramelized." The latter type actually rely on simmering slowly in the water thrown off by the onions. The liquid itself turns a golden brown, as do the onions. If you want them to turn a darker brown you can achieve that result by cooking off the water at the end, but they certainly will brown in the liquid. I do it all the time -- crowd the pan, salt the onions, cover the pan and cook very slowly. I end up with a great result, although I'm sure it's different from yours.

I haven't heard many positive reviews of the extruder.

A couple of years ago, I saw Ina Garten pour oil into water for macaroni and cheese, saying that it would keep the macaroni from sticking. So it does still happen.

So I know that mirepoix -- the mix of onion, celery and carrots typical in French cooking -- is supposed to be the backbone or starting point of stocks, broths, soups and sauces. Having learned much of my cooking from traditional texts like Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I absorbed that lesson. For years I made my stock with the trio and then used that for soups and sauces. Then I started making my stock without anything but meat and bones and decided it made for a much better result -- if I want the taste of vegetables I add them later. I gradually stopped automatically using mirepoix and found that in most cases, it made an improvement in my cooking. I was reminded of this recently when I made tomato soup using a recipe I found that called for the usual mix of onion, carrot and celery. I figured I'd give it a try again, but sure enough, it wasn't great. Not only was the tomato flavor severely muted, but since the soup was only partially blended, it also left little bits of carrot and celery in the soup, which were offputting. I'm glad I gave it a try, because now I know I was right. No more mirepoix for me (at least not automatic mirepoix). Am I the only one?

Not a TV show, but in a blog post on chicken curry, Michael Ruhlman says that his kids "are getting their veg from the chicken stock." When a reader points out that the chicken stock in a serving of curry contains virtually none of the nutrients of the vegetables used to make it, he steps in it even deeper with his reply: "really? then why does stock made with onion carrot and celery taste so much better?"

I tried this Food & Wine recipe for braised chicken with mushrooms and artichokes and will definitely make it again. I did make a couple of changes -- I used dry sherry because I was out of white wine; I degreased the sauce; and I thought the cream was overkill (I served it with fairly rich mashed potatoes; maybe with a leaner side the cream would have worked). To serve, I garnished with gremolata. It was great.

You might find some possibilities in this topic.

After many tries, I finally came up with a carrot soup that reminds me of the best soup I ever had (at Cortez in San Francisco). It had a hint of vanilla and was drizzled with chive oil. I haven't tried the carrot soup recipe from Modernist Cuisine, but I did borrow a trick -- adding carrot juice after the soup is blended. There's a photo and complete recipe here (scroll down).

So you feel that bagged ice, from unknown water sources, is better to make cocktails with than ice made from high-quality filtered municipal water or spring water? I'm not sure what I said that would cause you to infer that, Mitch. I wasn't talking about the quality of the ice; I was making a suggestion about the easiest ice option for someone with severe arthritis.

I guess I don't see how this is an improvement -- she'd still need to get the ice out of the trays. If you're suggesting letting the cubes melt enough that they'll fall out of the tray without twisting, then you get another problem: the half-melted ice will refreeze into a giant lump. As I recall, that style was awful. When the tray was full, it was virtually impossible to move the handle. In any case, I think it would take as much hand strength as the newer plastic trays. Although bagged ice isn't ideal (irregular shapes and sizes of ice chunks, plus if the ice isn't stored correctly, you can get the melting/refreezing problem with bags), it might be your best bet. I've tried a number of ice cube tray options over the years, including the OXO, and I don't think any of them are easy for someone with arthritis. Depending on how much ice you use, your budget, and kitchen space, maybe something like this portable ice maker would be a good option.

This is, to my mind, the best single piece of advice in the bunch. While it's true that there are many poorly written recipes out there, that's exactly why it's important to read through the recipe before you start. That way you'll know if there are any potential problems or screwy instructions. It's not about deciding if the recipe is good; it's about figuring out everything you need to do before you start. That being said, there are several tips that are either incorrect or incomplete, which could prove problematic for beginning cooks. For instance: 19. For best results when you're baking, leave butter and eggs at room temperature overnight. (Ina Garten) -- True for some baked goods, but certainly not for pastry dough. In that case, you want the butter as cold as possible. 64. When you grill, pull your steaks out of the refrigerator one hour ahead of time so they can come to room temperature. (Geoffrey Zakarian) -- If you have a really thin steak, an hour might be enough, but for a thick steak, it'll take several hours.

Before I had a food processor I used a potato masher with good luck. I used the kind where the business end is a plastic plate with circular holes in it. Not as easy as the food processor, but not that bad. I wonder if a potato ricer or food mill would work.

Not that this is practical for a bar, but you really should try a Clover Club made with either fresh raspberries muddled, or at least homemade raspberry syrup instead of the grenadine. It's an entirely different drink -- not that the one with grenadine is bad, but raspberry makes the drink, in my opinion.

We recently tried the "classic" potato chips and were favorably impressed. They're a little thicker than Lay's so they have more potato flavor, but they're still thin and crisp, a style I prefer to kettle-style chips. And you can't beat the price -- $2.00 for a 10-oz. bag. I'm not sure if that's a promotional price, but it's about half the price of Lay's.

As we found out a while back, there are many names for this dish.

While your menu sounds great, all your choices are pretty big. It might make sense -- depending on your client base -- to have either a "small plate" section or "a la carte" options. I'm thinking of people like my parents -- they used to love to go out to breakfast, but never wanted anything quite that large. When given the option, they chose a couple of single items instead of a full breakfast, like one pancake and an order of bacon, or a single egg and toast.

Mitch, I'm confused -- if the avocado was in the fridge for 10 days and then it spent 4 days at room temp, isn't it likely that the fruit ripened during the days on the counter, and not in the fridge?

Andie, while it's certainly true that refrigerating onions slows the release of the volatile compounds that cause tears, it's my understanding that this is a temporary change -- that is, as soon as the onions warm up, they're just the same. I've not found any objective information that supports the theory about the compounds moving or concentrating in either end of the onion. Where did you come across this?

We saw these in a market last year and tried a couple. We found them virtually useless, but then we were trying to use them in cocktails. Maybe reducing would help with the flavor.

Not really a punch, but this can be mixed up in batches: 2 parts grapefruit juice, 1 part tonic, hefty dose of Angostura bitters (or Fee Brothers if you have to be completely non-alcoholic). It's very refreshing and doesn't seem like a "kid's drink." I make it for non-drinkers all the time.

New York Magazine (nymag.com) recently ran this short piece on the resurgence of the Reuben.