JAZ

Ever since I first read Kenji's original article, I've been a convert to steamed eggs, but I disagree with his assertion that chilling the eggs for 15 minutes results in "no air space indentation on their fat end." My experience is just the opposite. I just steamed a dozen eggs, and to test his hypothesis, I divided them into two groups after steaming. I placed them all in ice water, then immediately moved half to a bowl of cool tap water and immediately started peeling them. I left the other six eggs in the ice water bath for 15 minutes, then peeled. While none of the eggs had huge indentations, the chilled ones had larger indentations than the ones I took out immediately. Granted, a dozen eggs isn't a huge sample, but this fits in my previous experience. I haven't tested steamed eggs that never touch ice water at all, but I guess that's my next step.

I've never had consistent results pressure cooking eggs. I really wanted it to work, since I wrote a book on pressure cooking, but I found that although Laura's times and pressure levels were better than other pressure cooking books, they were still unreliable. I reverted to regular steaming (no pressure) and never looked back.

We got the ones in the middle and have been pretty pleased with them. They're durable; we're very hard on kitchen towels. They're not terribly absorbent, though, so if that's your first criterion, you'd probably do better with another choice.

In my experience, the times in Scarbrough and Weinstein's book are not very reliable. When I was researching my book, I found very few instances where the pressure difference between stovetop and electric cookers required different cooking times. In some cases (very short cooking times) I found that the extra time required for my electric cooker to come up to pressure actually meant that a shorter cooking time was required than for my stovetop model. For stocks, I found the pressure level made a small difference; I cook stocks a bit longer in the electric cooker than in my stovetop mode. In the one case where I wanted caramelization (my only example is onions), the electric cooker took 55 as opposed to 45 minutes, and I still didn't get quite as much browning. I should note that I don't have an Instant Pot; my electric cooker is by Cuisinart.

I like mashed sweet potatoes with finely minced fresh rosemary and parmigiano cheese, or with a pinch each of allspice and cayenne.

How about a Presbyterian? Depending on the source, it's a highball with either Scotch or rye, topped with half ginger ale and half club soda. I first came across it made with rye, but from a quick search, it seems that Scotch is more traditional.

I used to love Mystic Mints, so I like this Oreo version. They have to be frozen, though.

Having recently pressure-cooked a meatloaf in the course of research for a pressure cooking book, I can answer some of your questions. If what you're looking for is a loaf-shaped meatloaf, you can come pretty close by shaping the meat in a loaf pan, removing it and then placing it on a piece of oiled aluminum foil to move it into and out of the pressure cooker. It'll be small because of the size of the cooker, and it will spread a little, but it will be loaf-shaped. If what you're looking for is a browned exterior, your only choices are to sear it before or after pressure cooking. I wouldn't bother covering the meatloaf with bacon, because in the steamy interior of the pressure cooker the bacon will get soggy. Glazes tend to work better if you wait until after the food is pressure cooked, then add the glaze and run the food under the broiler, or sear it with a torch.

If you like Indian food, how about Classic Indian Cooking by Julie Sahni? I assisted at one of her cooking classes ages ago, and was so impressed I bought the book. I haven't used it a lot, but everything I've tried worked well.

I know I'm late to the party, but if by "stale" you mean "hard as rock," I've found that increasing the amount of butter helps keep the usual treats (made with commercial marshmallows) pliable longer.

Here's one: Keuh Pie Tee Shells.

Rusty Nail.

Here's a pretty decent explanation of different canned tomato products.

I've always liked shrimp salad with lots of celery; I think the flavors go together and the crunch of celery is a good textural contrast to the shrimp. It might be kind of old school, but how about a shrimp salad that holds together well (maybe some cream cheese along with mayonnaise) scooped into celery "boats"?

Having just steamed several dozen eggs in batches over a couple of weeks for an article, I can say that from my experience, if you're talking about supermarket eggs, an extra week or so makes absolutely no difference in ease of peeling. I steamed eggs that were two weeks apart in their sell-by date and couldn't tell the difference. In peeling, that is. The older eggs didn't look nearly as nice -- the yolks weren't as well centered and they often had divots or flat spots at the bottom (I'm assuming from the air pocket.) Since I have no experience with truly fresh eggs (like straight from the hen or farmer), I can't speak to how well they peel.

In one case, the hard potato slice was from one of the ends. Is there something in the stem end that keeps potatoes from softening? As for the ideas about blight or improper storage, would either of those affect different parts of a single potato differently? What was strange about these incidents is that only a few of the slices were hard -- all the rest were fine.

The first time it happened, that's what I figured. But the other two times (with potatoes cooked in water), the slices were moving around with the boiling water, so I doubt that was a factor.

No, not really. As I understand, it's the breast half with the (bone-in) wing attached. One advantage it has is that the wing helps keep the skin attached, which is pretty much impossible with a plain boneless breast half.

Several times recently when I've cooked Yukon gold potatoes, something odd has happened. In all three cases, the potatoes were peeled and sliced fairly thin -- about 1/4 inch -- then cooked in liquid. In all cases, I tested a potato slice to make sure they were done and then used the potatoes in dishes that were cooked further. But in every dish, there was at least one potato slice that was hard and seemingly way undercooked, although all the rest were fine. Two of the dishes called for boiling the slices in water (unsalted) and one was a gratin where I cooked the potato slices in seasoned cream. The first time it happened I just thought it was a fluke, but after three times, I'm wondering if it's the potatoes (purchased from two different stores) or something I'm doing wrong. Has this every happened to anyone else, or does anyone have an idea why it's happening?

I use a slotted spatula to transfer them from the batter to the skillet and from the skillet to the rack. It's not ideal, but i prefer it to dealing with the stems.

I'm probably the only one who doesn't care about leaving the stem in my chiles, so I just cut out the stem and seed core underneath it and move on. Not authentic, but easy and reliable. I've also switched to Rick Bayless' method of frying the poblanos in really hot oil to remove the skin, rather than charring over a flame or under the broiler, which leaves the flesh much more resilient.

I think there is a difference between "mix" and "stir" but I wouldn't say it has to do with the motion of the spoon. I think of "stir" as an action with a spoon (or paddle) that's not dependent on what's being stirred. That is, you can stir a single ingredient like cream (to keep it from scorching, for instance) or a homogeneous mixture like soup or stew whose ingredients are already mixed together. "Mix," on the other hand, is only used to describe situations where you have two or more unlike ingredients that you want to get together. You can do that with a spoon or paddle or fork, but you can also do it with your hands (like meatloaf). Sometimes you can use the terms interchangeably, as in "stir the cream into the coffee" or "mix the cream into the coffee," but often you can't.

Here's a look at self-publishing by a cookbook author (from Dianne Jacob's site): I self-published a cookbook You might find it worth reading.

That's not usually true -- tater tots are small chunks of potatoes stuck together, but as far as I know most frozen fries are cut from whole potatoes, then blanched in oil. Kenji Alt actually suggests freezing homemade fries after cooking most of the way (here), although he freely admits that he's after McDonalds-style fries.

You've probably already considered this, but what's the size of your burner compared with the size of your pan? Some paella pans are huge -- way too big for most home ranges. If the pan is too large, or if your heat source isn't even from middle to edges, that could be the cause.