OB

Steven <Fat-Guy>.... You are truly amazing...I don't read every post on here, but the posts I do read by you are great...you have a knack for getting to the heart of the matter and articulating it perfectly...at least to my brain... One question though....what's you blind spot? Surely you have something in the cooking/dining/etc...universe that you don't have an educated opinoin on? I've said it before and I'll say it again...this site is awesome...the information and personalities are incredible...I look forward to reading this board everyday...and I would like to thank everyone for their input... Tom

== Shiva: (Helped Mike with some of the transcripts at goodeatsfanpage.com) == Thanks for the info on "W'...not sure where I heard that rumor.... When you say you "helped" with the transcripts...what do you mean exactly? How did you transcribe the shows? I for one can say that I truly appreciated the effort...I've refered to a number of them when refreshing my memory for something or another...

I agree Alton has the best show on FTV... A pretty good website devoted to the show is at They'>http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/ They are REALLY into Alton and co....transcripts for every show etc...Is it true that the gadget expert "W" is his wife? As far as cooking shows go...I love some Chicago Productions that are on PBS...I'm not sure if they're nationwide..I'd assume so... Charlie Trotter show is excellent along with Rick Bayless' show... Any Iron Chef fans? I'm not sure if I like it or hate it...I am guilty of watching occasionally...

Thanks for your insight Steven...that's exactly what I was curious about...I also agree, results are better when starting to cook at those temps as opposed to right out of the frig... 85 degrees in your apartment? Really? Yikes, that's h.o.t. My house is low 70's in the winter...I guess with forced air it's a little different...even with a humidifier on my furnace, it still would be dry if it were to go any higher... Tom

I think that's about what I do more or less...I think the results are better when the meat isn't chilled from the frig and then inserted directly into the oven... I appreciate your comments and my mistake was taking "room temp" concept literally...

I know this may be a *rookie* question....but here it goes... When bringing something to room temp before roasting or whatever...is there an amount of time that should be avoided....I mean...too long...sitting out on the counter before it goes bad? This Christmas I made a 6.5 lb. tenderloin....I let it sit out on my counter for 2 hours...when I stuck my thermometer in, it registered 50 degrees...hardly room temp. On thanksgiving, my 22 lb. bird sat out for 3 hours and was 58 degrees.... I understand most recipes aren't going to tell you to let such and such a cut of meat sit out for more than x hours ...probably because of liability..but .... How long should larger birds and/or cuts of meat sit out to reach room temp before cooking? without going "bad" (if that's possible in these time limits) When I grill or broil filets, I have no problem...they come up to room temp fairly easily.....and cook marvelously... I do have a lot more *rookie* questions, but I may compile them in the bio section...I'm gonna try hard to be a good egullet citizen :) thanks Tom

Thanks for the info Rosie...I didn't know that... As a side note... Was egullet.com down for most of the day? I couldn't access it all day from the office or at home.... If there is a notice of some sort on here, I'm sure I'll find it soon enough...

Also, on another side note...I've been told that the dishwasher can adequately sterilize most stuff...we have twin boys <8 mos. old> and if we had to hand wash or boil all the nipples bottles etc...ugh...that would be unpleasant...the pediatrician absolutely said dishwasher is the most sanitary way to go

Well, I didn't think of that ...probably because I don't use a sponge for that.... The countertops I use a rag that gets tossed into the laundry every night along with multiple towels that I've managed to get dirty... I probably end up rinsing the rag numerous times throughout the prep and cleanup... I use the sponge on a stick for the sink...works well for me...although my sink is porcelain on cast iron...it might not work so good on St. Steel.... I never really thought about it, but I don't think we own a regular sponge ... we may not be the norm

Either my wife and I are very old fashioned or very new age...I'm not sure.... I don't have a use for a "real" sponge...I do dishes with a sponge on a handle...and the handle is filled with dishsoap...*anti-bacterial* dishsoap... I also have a brush contraption that fits in the palm of my hand with ... yep ... a resevoir for soap in the top and a little squeeze button to dispense soap...the same anti bacterial soap...It's not the best scouring tool, but pretty darn good for most pans I usually replace the sponge when my knives slice it to shreds or just gets old looking...The brush doesn't retain any water at all... I think the antibacterial dishsoap keeps me sleeping good at night :) Tom (Edited by OB at 3:07 pm on Jan. 3, 2002)

Winner of the California Restauran Association INNOVATOR AWARD in the Healthy Foods category Too funny if you ask me... Tom

I agree that making everyday dishes spectacular is one of the treats of cooking...for this amateur at least...My wife thinks I'm turning into an obsessive compulsive person since I've been seriously learning how to cook...She saw me whipping egg whites to fold into a pancake batter for our daughter and just scratched her head...by the way that is another way to make everyday pancakes into something great...talk about light and fluffy..if that's what you like ... I've played with scrambled eggs 50 different ways...I always liked restaurant scrambled eggs, they always seemed more yellow than what I achieved at home and always a smoother texture...so I cooked them a bunch of ways...high heat is the killer of good eggs...here's what I like the best... Nonstick Pan....with melted butter over very very low heat... I *whisk* the eggs ALOT...I mean for 2-3 minutes aggressively whisking....I only add salt and a touch of pepper...I would have thought that over whisking would do something weird, but it didn't I then cook over that low low heat...it's takes a while...usually 7 to 10 minutes...maybe longer...it takes patience for me not to crank up the heat to finish them I take the eggs out of the pan when the eggs are set and still *wet*... The result I've found and that I like is a very rich taste and smooth smooth texture...I made eggs like this for my wife and she was confused while eating them....She thought for sure I added a ton of cream and/or butter....which I hadn't...although melting in some butter at the very end is also an excellent way to finish ... Long time lurker and someone who truly enjoys this site...thanks to all the posters...Hopefully I'll overcome my shyness and attempt to make some more contributions.... Tom

My Favorite is Bombay Saphire... Also love it with 7-up for some reason...

Pardon my spelling, but Spirit - Toos... something like that Just about grain alcohol...190+ proof I think...the polish population in Chicago drinks it...when I was younger and braver, we used to also. You actually felt like you were going blind.... Worst tasting stuff is probably Ginger Brandy Extra Sharp or Vermox ( there was a weed in the bottle for flavor) ...I went to college in Wisc. and those were the standby initiation drinks... Relatively newbie lurker who truly enjoys all these boards..thanks to all Tom