fifi

Update... Just got back from a Spec's (Houston) wine run for dinner tomorrow. They have a full range of Texas wines, including Messina Hoff. However, I did not see the private reserve stuff. I did buy a bottle of the port for $12+. They also had a "double barrel aged" port for $20+. Any other Texas wine recommendations out there? I would love to feature them when I have friends from out of state over. Like I said, I am not very knowledgeable and have to go with recommendations from those who are.

I went to the wine festival at Messina Hoff a couple of weeks ago and got some of the port. I was really impressed! It was developed with the folks at Texas A&M in that they developed some sort of enzymatic process to achieve the flavor without the classic fortification with distilled spirits. I also tasted some of their merlot, private reserve I think. It was REALLY good. I am not a wine maven so I can't offer any arcane descriptions ("Evokes the essence of a field of bluebonnets on a sunny day!") but I wouldn't hesitate to serve it to some of my more sophisticated friends.

lukepiatt... I write up a lot of recipes for my kids, family and friends. I am the archivist for very old family recipes, new favorites, you name it. At this point in my career, I do a lot of supervision of technical writing and I have applied a lot of those principles to recipes. First rule is to REALLY know your audience. Suzanne has it right-on there. My audience runs the gamut from experienced cooks to absolute novices (think giving lessons on boiling water). Here are some rules I use... Use an introductory paragraph. Include things such as where the recipe originated, its history. What it is used for? Any hints on using the recipe: Is it to be followed to the letter? Is it a basic starting point for innovation? Add some suggested innovations if applicable. List ingredients in order of use. Include quantities as precisely as possible. If the ingredient is obscure, give some hints on how to find it. This is sometimes a challenge if you are starting from something that you (or a great-aunt) cooked with a "pinch of this, a bunch of that". What I do is cook the recipe, knowing from experience what is "right", and notice (or measure) what the quantities are. Notice technique that you might take for granted and describe in detail. Aim for the clueless. Don't just say "chop". Say how big. Address geometry in relation to the ingredient... across grain, with grain, vertically, horizontally, whatever. Give instructions in order and include the time required. Give hints as to what you can do simultaneously. (e.g. "While the shallots are sweating, chop the parsley." I am amazed at how many recipes ignore this.) If you have places in the recipe that you can "stop here" and continue later or the next day even, be specific about that. "Stop points" are very helpful if planning a fairly complex meal. Include number of servings for various uses: appetizer, main course, etc. Include information on make ahead, freezing for later, how to store, etc. Include notes on how to serve. With what? Suggest how the recipe might fit into a menu. Yeah... It is more complicated than you thought.

I am in Suzanne's camp. Depends upon my mood and what I have available. It does have to be chunky, though. Well... That is not entirely true. I have gone the pureed route for plating something else. Fresh squeezed lime is essential but from there, anything goes. That is not entirely true either. For some reason, my kids and I are raw tomato haters, (must be genetic) so when they are here we leave that out. I do have a shameless trick that I passed on to my non-cooking larva (my daughter, ironically)... She wanted help on fixing guac for a party. I went to the Bayless books and proceeded to expound. then I noticed that all of the ingredients that you add to the avocado could generally be found in the better salsas. She is in DC near Fresh Fields so I sent her off there. She got a good salsa, mixed it with avocado and had party goers raving. That is my new "quicky" approach. (Ummmmm... the only one lately. But that is another story.) I wonder when we will get a better selection of avocados here. Yes, I won't use anything but Haas but, having traveled in Mexico, I know that there is a whole 'nother world of avocados. However, about the most amazing thing I have seen was in Hawaii. A few years ago, I was on the Haleakala downhill bicycle ride and we stopped at Kola Lodge for breakfast. I was laying on the lawn looking up into this huge tree and noticed these green things, about the size of CANTALOPES, hanging there. I asked the proprietor what it was and was told that it was an avocado tree!!!! I asked about the qualities of the avocados and was told that they have small seeds and more oil than a Haas. Too bad I was too early for them to be ripe yet. She said that one avocado makes buckets of fabulous guac. I WANT ONE OF THOSE!

One thing they don't say in this recipe is how you julienne the ginger. Do you cut across the "grain" and then julienne? I would think that if you don't cut across the fiber it would be difficult to chew so I am going to assume that is what you do. This recipe looks fascinating and I intend to try it. I might try it with pork. Our local asian markets often have wonderful fresh ginger and galangal so that would be an excuse for buying a lot of it. I have done a long braise of fresh picnic ham, shank portion, that has it sitting on a bed of ginger slices, like about a pound, that is wonderful. Therefore, the ginger overload doesn't intimidate me. The browning of the ginger is new to me though.

Rhubarb leaves are very high in oxalic acid and soluble oxalates. They are quite toxic. I haven't looked it up but I think the soluble oxalates can lead to kidney problems and other systemic toxicity. The oxalic acid can cause localized problems such as swelling of tissues. (Not a good thing to happen to a tongue.)

I ressurected this thread to announce a personal discovery: After browsing through the Mexico forum I got hungry for the quicky chilequiles with Fritos. I saw this new (to me) brand of bottled salsa verde next to my usual Herdez that I use when I am too lazy to make my own. It is La Victoria, packed in California. I used the Thick 'n' Chunky. WOW! It is ALMOST as good as my own. Has anyone tried any of their other salsas?

Yum, Spencer. I have never tried making it with the pork shoulder. I am going to try that next time I have a crowd to feed. I think I can guess at how to make the roasted tomato "stuff". Does she start off with the pork shoulder raw? Do you have any hints on details of the technique? That cook in Queretaro seemed to think if it didn't have the Mexican oregano that the heavens would fall in and the gods would desert us!

Posole refers to the corn preparation (hominy to us) as well as a stew like preparation that contains posole so I am not sure of the question. I posted a recipe for one preparation done with leftover BBQ that I had in Queretaro on the recipe archive. You can take that technique as somewhat typical. I don't know how to put a link here but you can search on "posole". There are some posole recipes in some of the better Mexican cookbooks. Think... Bayless, Kennedy, Martinez.

Microwave Fudge I am not a candy maker and even I can do this. I have had folks that don’t like fudge all that much develop a sudden addiction. This is probably the only thing I use a microwave for besides thawing stuff and making popcorn. The microwave doesn't really save time very much. You will see that it gets a little tedious for a few minutes. However, there is something about the way the microwave heats the ingredients that makes this work. I have tried it on the top of the stove and it just isn't the same. 2 c miniature marshmallows 2-3/4 c semi-sweet Ghirardelli chocolate chips (buy 2 bags) 1 can sweetened condensed milk 1-1/2 tsp vanilla dash of salt 1 c chopped nuts (optional) In a large glass bowl, pour in the marshmallows. Put the chocolate chips on top of the marshmallows. Pour on the sweetened condensed milk. (It seems to melt better when stacked up like this.) Microwave on 50% power for about a minute at a time, stirring between each minute, until all is melted and blended. This will take about 7 to 10 minutes total depending upon your microwave. (Hint: When I used a silicone spatula, the goo didn’t seem to stick to it as badly.) Stir in vanilla, salt and nuts. Pour into an 8” x 8” pan that is lined with wax paper. Don’t fuss with any cut and fit business with the wax paper. Just put an oversized piece of wax paper on the pan, plop the mass in the middle, and spread the fudge out. You can garnish the surface with nuts, coconut or whatever at this point by pressing into the surface. Let it sit in the refrigerator for about 2 hours or until firm. Cut into squares. Keywords: Chocolate, Candy, Easy ( RG363 )

I was walking a friend through a gumbo recipe over the telephone. I specifically told him to start with the dark roux using flour and peanut oil or fresh lard. He called back saying his roux didn't smell good like mine. In fact, it smelled vile. He had used EVOO and whole wheat flour to make it "healthier".

At a restaurant known for their jumbo butterflied coconut shrimp, my plate arrived. Nice presentation with the shrimp arranged on some colorful greens drizzled with a sauce. One problem... One of the shrimp had a big bite out of it. (Whovever did it had nice dentition, though.)

I have used yellow onions a lot, before I found out the whites were better, and have never had them turn bitter. And I REALLY caramelize the onions. (Maybe Wells was using French yellow onions. Errr... I will resist going there.) They just don't have the flavor that the whites do. The Texas 1015 sweets are a yellow onion. So are the ones I have gotten in Maui. Years ago, my mother grew something called Egyptian onions. They looked like green onions on steroids and you used the white part. Boy! Were they strong! You had to cut them up under the hood or outside. When they were slowly cooked in butter they made about the most delicious onion dish I ever had. I have always wanted to make onion soup out of those puppies. Does anyone know what I am talking about? Better yet, where I can get some?

Why not just consider the 2 skillets in the set an extra that you may or may not use much? The ChefMate set is still a bargain if you used the skillets for a saucer under a pot plant.

I decided on the all stainless for the sets I sent to my kids. The aluminum core is all the way up the sides, supposedly. They are reporting to me that their pots cook like their friends' All-Clad. I saw the multi-pot on the shelf at my Target but not on the web site. My Target is in Kemah TX. You might ask someone at Target if they have any in the back or if they are out and expecting to get more. I find that their stocking practices don't always keep up. The multi-pot is really cool. If I didn't alredy have one almost like it I would have bought it.

FG... I don't know if I am the "genius" you refer to but I will take a crack at this... First, a definition of "denature" as regards protein: "To cause the tertiary structure of (a protein) to unfold, as with heat, alkali, or acid, so that some of its original properties, especially its biological activity, are diminished or eliminated." (The molecules unwind.) That being said, meat curing has several things going on. If salt is involved, you have dehydration and some attendent denaturing of the protein. If smoking is involved, you have some conversion of the myoglobin (the stuff that makes muscle tissue red in the presence of oxygen and bluish without) to nitrosomyoglobin. That is the pink stuff. Smoking also contributes other chemicals to the mix (you probably don't want to know) that contributes to preservation. Curing with nitrates does the same thing as the nitrite component in smoke. I consider cured to be cooked. PS: I'm single but not Jewish.

I am not sure why anyone thinks this is wierd. I have a group of friends (and one couple in particular) that like to cook together or go to each other's place and sometimes contribute to the effort. I am building the first of the group's houses that is built around the kitchen just for this purpose. We intend to have a good time. A group of the guys get together every 2 oe 3 months to plan a Sunday dinner at the Ronald McDonald house. We are planning on doing the trial runs at my place. I guess we look at cooking more as a group effort and fun thing than a host/guest thing.

the stronger the onion the better. I use big old nasty white ones. Then slowly caramelize. The stronger onions don't end up strong if they are slowly cooked. They gain a sweetness and flavor that is unmatched IMHO. If you add in some red onion, it seems to add a little different flavor note. I have tried the sweets (Maui, 1015s) and the flavor was weak.

Mine have vent holes.

Suzanne, I agree on time spent. The only thing is, when I am making a mug of tea, I just put it in there, hit the 2 minute button and go do something else. I don't have to watch the stove and worry about forgetting and having the kettle boil dry. I do that a lot. I am easily distracted. I just thought of one recipe that I make that can't be done anywhere else but a microwave. It is a microwave fudge. I don't do it often because I am not big on sweets but around the holidays, even my non-candy-eating friends always ask if I will make some. It is somewhat tedious in that you nuke a couple of minutes, stir, repeat ad nauseum. But there is something about the way the microwave does it that I can't duplicate on the stove top or in the oven. If anyone is interested, I will post the recipe if i can confirm that there is no copyright problem.

I second the convection toaster oven. It is, without a doubt, the best thing I have bought in years. I have a DeLonghi and it now gets more use than the microwave because it is so versatile. For some reason, meat thawed and reheated in the microwave has a "funny" taste to me. I have taken to freezing single portions of meat and meat dishes in foil so I can throw it in the DeLonghi. It also does other frozen "microwave" products better (e.g. individual pizzas) and, thanks to the convection, it doesn't take a whole lot longer. The microwave is now relegated to some defrosting, heating a cup of water for tea, popcorn, the usual suspects. I don't plan to spend a lot of money on one in the new kitchen.

I can see why he won a Pulitzer. Great writing. I also happen to agree with his assessment.

Having been a foods microbiologist many moons ago, I long since decided that sponges are gross. I don't use them. I find that a Handi-Wipe (or my new favorite, the 3M microfiber dish rag) is good for one kind of cleaning, a 3M scrubber (green thing) with no sponge attached, and one of those plastic mesh Tuffy type scrubbers will take care of any kind of stuck on stuff I may come across. The key thing is that all of those dry pretty quickly and can go in the dishwasher. My re-read of the CI response about nuking sponges is that the concern is both effectiveness and ignition. They still say microwaving is the most effective but given that it is unpredictable as to potential for combustion, they now recommend boiling them!!! RIIIIIIIGHT! Like I am really going to boil a sponge. How often? It only takes a few hours for bacteria to multiply to very high numbers. Does that mean you boil them every few hours? I don't think so. Boiling them, dishwashing them, whatever, once a week is pointless. It is easier just to get rid of the damn things. I have seen some that seem to have some anti-bacterial chemical incorporated into the sponge material. I am opposed to that also since it kind of creeps me out and most scientists say that our over use of the material (Triclosan I believe) is not a good thing... leading to mutants and all. Has anyone seen any updated real data on the plastic versus wood cutting board issue. (I am in the wood camp.)

Pappasitos has great food. However, I don't go there anymore. It is way too loud. I leave with my ears ringing. They have excellent fajitas but those are so common now, I am not sure I would put them in the "authentic" category. Some of there other dishes are really good. I had a wonderful shrimp dish several months ago that was sort of Yucatan style. I don't remember the name. I ate too fast to really study it since I was in a hurry to get out of the noise. (I was captive with a group so I didn't have a say in the choice of restaurant.)

Jin... I have to disagree. That beautiful, 10 minute dead, tuna had some of what the others were eating raw, cut off of it, taken to the galley (this was a 65 foot boat) and poached in olive oil. I have never yet tasted anything like that. Prime whatever makes prime cooked as well as raw. It was NOT wasted by cooking it. Some of us who were there still dream about it. (We even call the tuna "Charlie" when discussing it.)