[Online recipes: what are some of your favorites?]

I subscribe to several email and Live Bookmark feeds.  My favorite is My Colombian Recipes by Erica Dinho.  http://www.mycolombianrecipes.com

I have subscribed for several years and a few of hers have become standards for us.  She gives a short history with each explaining where it comes from.  I've found unusual (for the NW Oregon coast) ingredients at Amazon with no problem

[First time Portland & Seattle]

In Portland  -  Apizza Scholls.  Better pizza than any I had when I lived in New Haven.  Pho Van on SE 82nd for Pho.  Jin Wah also on SE 82nd for salt and pepper fried squid and Vietnamese hot & sour soup.  Big breakfast?  Original Pancake House - just off I5 South - check google for best map.

[Seaside, OR Fish and Chips]

If you're on US 101 in Northwest Oregon, Grizzly's Tuna and Chips is hard to beat.  It's a drive through near the outlet mall.  If the weather is okay, there are two picnic tables there.  I like fish and chips and this is excellent. 

[Storing condiments]

On 5/8/2016 at 8:11 AM, Anna N said:

 I think the problem is that so many condiments now come with the warning/advice to refrigerate after opening that we have become intimidated.  My Heinz ketchup bottle certainly comes with this advice.  My lingonberry jam comes with the added note that it should be used within 30 days of opening even though it has been refrigerated!  I don't know but it seems to me a fine way to improve sales. 

As a kid, we never refrigerated ketchup or mustard.  I refrigerate both now once opened - except for a large ketchup that doesn't fit.  I refrigerate my vinaigrette  if I have fresh ingredients in it, but I usually make it with granulated garlic and onion so it stays out.  I make my own mayo, so it's refrigerated.  So far no problem with moldy maple syrup.  I frequently make syrup from Mapleine, but I don't refrigerate it.  We eat pancakes 2-3 times a month so syrup doesn't stay around long enough to mold.

[Need a heavier duty immersion blender]

I use Bamix.  Bamix has "commercial" models designed for restaurant use.

[Where do you store recipes?]

On 12/1/2015 at 2:20 PM, Porthos said:

Microsoft® Word Documents. I don't care to have pictures.  I have a specific format I like recipes in so I transcribe them into a Word document Typically, because I'm arrogant, I edit the instructions because I find many recipes have at best marginal wording for what the author is trying to communicate. I prefer to have figured them out and express them in my preferred style.

 

I do more or less the same.  I have an app that gets rid of most of the superfluous stuff - sorry I can't figure out the name of the app.  I then put the edited recipe in Dropbox so I have it both on my hard drive and in the cloud.  I made a file hierarchy that works for me.

[T-fal E9380263 Professional Fry Pan]

Yes, please elaborate on the issues.

There was always a spot that stuck.  CI said it had three layers of teflon, but moderate scrubbing (green pad) to remove grease took the finish down to nearly bare metal.  CI says they like it because one lasts six months in their kitchen and it is their go to pan for stir frying.  Directions for non-stick pans specify moderate heat.  I don't know how CI stir fries, but they are either getting the pan too hot for teflon or not hot enough to stir fry..

[New Edges on New Knives]

I do not expect a good factory edge.  I use paper wheels to sharpen my knives and always use a steel.

[Updating the Kitchen Essentials]

I did a search and was surprised to find Bamix only mentioned twice.  I make mayo weekly and my Bamix is indespensible.  I also puree sauces etc.  It's great for changing the texture.

[T-fal E9380263 Professional Fry Pan]

 I got it from Amazon a year of so ago.  Cooks Illustrated recommended the T-Fal professional.  It was never non-stick.  My spun steel pans work better.  I always used medium heat. 

[Organizing Recipes from Several Sources]

Anymore I mostly get recipes from the www.  I copy - paste (into Word) - edit - save under my own classifications/folders in

Word and Dropbox.  If I have a recipe that is appropriate for two classifcations, I do a "save as".

[Best Cookbooks for Beginners]

"The Theory and Practice of Good Cooking" by James Beard.  First published in 1977, it remains my favorite basic cookbook.  We've worn out our first copy and continue to use the second copy.  It's far superior to the plethora of "basic" cookbooks that came out 10-15 years ago.

["Cook's Illustrated"]

I was an original subscriber to the magazine and enjoyed it for several years.  I got tired of the format and had a big hassle with their subscription service.  I get the familiar Friday email as well as the inducements.  My email service (gmail) allows me to put in filters which send all the inducements directly to trash.  The Friday emails occasionally have something of interest.

[Cast Iron Skillets/Griddles/Pans]

If you see an ugly old cast iron pan at a garage sale, and you have access to a self cleaning oven you're in business.  If it's not warped, run it through a cleaning cycle and you're back to gray metal.  Start all over again.

[Convection Ovens]

Thanks for the update!  A couple of wall ovens are in our future plans.

[Dedicated Omelet Pan?]

I use carbon spun steel pans that I bought in Spain.  I treat them like cast iron and they work great.  I've used teflon pans and they work well also - but you have to follow the directions and use medium heat max - or they won't last.  I've tried one of the ceramic non-stick pans.  It stuck.

[Another new one.]

I am a retired pilot.  I worked/lived almost everywhere during my career.  I’ve been interested in cooking as long as I can remember.  In my travels I’ve found that the average person (outside of the U.S., England and Australia) has a deep understanding of their own “ethnic” food.

 

My wife calls me a “peasant cook.”  Generally I’m more interested it local home cooking or food served in workingman restaurants.  I seldom buy cookbooks anymore.  I check the www for a number of recipes and use them for a guide.  I am a lifelong knife collector.  I also collect “kitchenalia”.

 

I recently moved from Australia to the Northwest coast of Oregon.  Excellent seafood here - as there was there..

 

I use the name Bernoulli.  I was taught in the USAF that Bernoulli’s theorem is what makes airplanes fly.  It isn’t.  I find that funny, but I love the sound of the name.

 

[Best/Favorite Food Magazines]

I was an original subscriber to Fine Cooking.  I really liked it, but their format became too repetitive/predictable for me.  I then had a pissing contest with their subscription service over what I subscribed to and whether is was to be automatically renewed.  So long.  The www has pretty much made them obsolete if you have enough experience to evaluate recipes.

[Have you ever bought the same cookbook twice?]

I bought two books several times.  James Beard's "Theory and Practice of Good Cooking" to replace the one I wore out as well as for gifts.  I believe it's the best basic cookbook ever written.  I have bought several copies of Jennifer Brennan's "One Dish Meals of Asia" to give as gifts.  Both books are out of print but easy to find.

[Wok mon!]

You wouldn't be able to cook enough food to feed anyone and you wouldn't have enough hot surface area to keep the oil at its proper temperature once the food is added.

[Wok mon!]

I have my doubts - unless you're stir frying a very small amount.  I stir fry outside with a three ring (four ring cookers are available, but I'll wait until I start discada cooking) propane cooker designed to hold a traditional wok.  I believe it produces about 85,000 BTU.  It is not the same as professional wok stoves, but it's pretty good.  The cookers are available at most Asian markets and are relatively inexpensive.