fifi

Uh . . . I have to disagree that the quality of the tuna should determine how it is cooked. I have been fortunate enough to be on a sportfishing boat that, from time to time, lands a yellow fin. AND, we often had a sushi chef aboard. (The guy was a fishing freak.) Tuna steaks often hit the fry pan to be cooked to perfection. (We had a rather complete galley.) I would not trade that experience for anything. I will say that of the various gourmands aboard, there were two preferences: the belly meat raw and the steaks "just done."

highchef . . . My big Asian market regularly sells raw chicken bones, possibly from the deboning operation for chicken breasts etc. (They have a real live butcher shop.) They sell the stuff for about 50 cents per pound and it makes great chicken stock, though I usually add some leg parts. One odd thing that has happened to me . . . One batch of chicken stock made with chicken parts from this Asian market, the fat would not harden. And I keep my fridge really cold. Are the chickens fed differently? Polyunsaturated chickens?

Actually, I was wondering the same thing, Daddy-A. There are some coastal areas that require plywood but as outside sheathing for windstorm code reasons but I am sure that doesn't apply to pantries. Maybe he thinks it will burn quicker if it catches on fire.

Sheesh. After I just read the recipe, I had to go lay down and rest. I am having a hard time visualizing the finished product. Is it really like a tamale on steroids? Maybe I got too tired reading and missed something. How is it served?

OK . . . That triggered a total incapacitation event. Marlene, I have lost track. Do you have a link to this marvelous range? I have a friend that might have an interest. (Sorry, I am too lazy to try to figure out the one you are talking about.)

I had that problem until I started lining the pan with the non-stick foil. I think the non-stick doesn't allow the stuff to, well, stick, so that it browns on the bottom side about the same. I also think the sheet of foil gives just a bit of insulation that evens things out. Then again, all oven/pan/temperature combinations will probably differ.

Sheet pans are a great idea, andie, for a lot of things. I have been buying very heavy aluminum half sheets for $5.98 at my restaurant supply place, Ace Mart in Texas. If I know my designer, he will slip in under the cover of darkness and put wheels on the Intermetro shelves.

Please do report back. (Hey folks . . . We may have snagged another one. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!) The most I have flipped is once. I think that with my pans and non-stick foil it isn't necessary. I have certainly forgotten to flip and it was fine.

Your pantry looks a little wider than the one I had. The shelves I had on one side were deeper than those bookshelves, for instance. I am thinking that they were 18". That is fine for storing appliances, like a KA mixer, and larger stockpots and serving trays. However, the shallower shelves, like the book shelves, are more convenient for canned goods, condiments, etc. Stuff doesn't get lost being pushed to the back. It looks like you have enough space for the best of both worlds, deeper shelves on one side and shallower on another. For my pantry, I am considering the Intermetro wire shelving. It is infinitely adjustable and there are nifty accessories available as well. Some shelves would have to be solid stainless though, for sliding in heavy appliances like the KA mixer and food processor. I haven't decided yet, but I am considering it. My housekeeper is also a restaurant/catering manager for a retreat house and she is the one plumping for the wire shelves. One other thought. If you paint the ceilings especially and maybe the walls with a semi-gloss bright white, you will not believe how much brighter the available light will be. Once, I lived in a condo where we had parking underneath the buildings, the first living floor one story up. Lighting was by bare light bulbs and quite dim. We were using 60 watt bulbs as I remember. After painting with the fairly glossy white, we were able to drop the wattage to 40 and it was still much brighter than before. (That caused quite a drop in the association's energy costs. We had several hundred bulbs under there.) That pantry is going to be heaven.

That is quite a story. It is pretty hard to see where the cocktail merges into a serving of food. Kinda puts a whole new spin on "liquid lunch." I suppose that, other than the ubiquitous Margarita (which I love when well made with fresh squeezed lime), I really don't drink cocktails with my food. Actually, I don't drink them much at all, preferring wine or beer with food. So, I suppose I am stuck in the tradition of the cocktail being a before or after. I may need to rethink that.

Heh . . . I have thought the same thing about the sausage. And the other stuff for that matter. We do have what I think is a good sized Central Market here. I have only been a handful of times because it is a special trip for me. A looooong special trip. I look at all of those gorgeous premade food selections and how much there is of it and I worry. How on earth will they ever sell all of this stuff? I would bet that they have their market figured out and know pretty well how much to make of different things. But I still worry. I actually find the place pretty overwhelming so I am sure that I would be in the same fix in the Really Big Whole Foods as well, or maybe worse. I suppose that if I get there, or even in the case of our local CM, I need to do it sometime that I am not on a clock so I can just mosey at my leisure.

True. But it works for things like dumplings and gumbos. Using previously roasted bird is just a way of using something that would otherwise be thrown away. Most of my chicken stock is actually made using the eGCI method, the chicken depending upon what is on sale. A lot of times, the whole bird is the way to go. I then rob some breast and thigh meat to use for other things, like in the course. I guess I have never been after a "white" broth. I really don't like clear soups or light flavors. I have had some soups in very high end restaurants where I am sure the chef went to great pains to make that crystal clear broth. I taste it and go . . . eh!

He will be calling, now. Thanks for the tip. Eyes alert out there. The little buggers seem to be collecting in the Chicago area.

I am in the market for a rolling pin. I had no idea there was such a thing. What a cool idea!

My pantry was about the same width. But not quite that deep. Anyway, there were shelves along one side and at the end. That left a wall. Since there was plenty of walking room, I put up some wire racks like these. They were terrific for my gazillions of bottles of vinegar, syrups, all those weird condiments I get everytime I go to an Asian market, the larger containers of spices, you name it. My new pantry won't have that wall so I am putting in a double door so that I have more room for these.

I got a not so satisfactory reply from TJM:

I just read through this thread and found the part about not using roasted chickens pretty interesting. I actually make "stock," or whatever, from roasted chickens all the time. Here is the scene: Roast chicken. Eat. Dump all leftovers, bones, meat that clings to the bones, skin, into a pot and make a "stock," or whatever. That, along with the leftover meat makes one heck of a pot of chicken and dumplings. There is also a long standing tradition in Louisiana. The day after Thanksgiving, turkey carcasses are collected, turned into "stock," or whatever, and made into Turkey Bone Gumbo.

You are absolutely going to love the pantry. I can't decide if that is what I miss the most or is it the big sink? Ah well . . . One of these days. I can't remember if the pantry was included in the floor plan you posted. If you give some dimensions, I may have some tips for you.

That is just weird. But then, it took me the better part of a half hour to find barley at my store. It was next to the canned soup.

Actually, I cooked the pozole that I got from rancho_gordo last night. It was an experiment. I wanted to try the crock pot and the "Parson's method" that we have been discussing ad infinitum in the dried bean thread. On suggestions from RG, I used more water than for beans. I didn't soak the pozole. I put 1 cup in the little Le Creuset with 4 cups of water, a teaspoon of salt and some onion. Into the oven at 250 degrees F. 3 1/2 hours later, I had lovely bloomin' pozole. If I had remembered to bring it to a boil before putting it into the oven it probably wouldn't have taken that long. I was thinking that I didn't need that much water but, after an overnight sojourn in the fridge, it bloomed even more and is just about perfect. The crock pot took about an hour and a half longer. I started on high and turned it to low after an hour when it had started a good simmer. More on the Parson's method here and here. (We do go on about beans on that thread. ) The carnitas pozole sounds a lot like what I do with leftover BBQ.

As a person that is sensitive to things like that, some research into where those compounds occur naturally might be in order. Plants are the most amazing chemical plants on earth (pun intended?) and make that Dupont or whosever tangle of pipes and big round things look like a rank amateur. Mimicking hormones is one of their tricks to affect the development of the insects that bite 'em.

Huh? There are some compounds derived from petroleum that can mimic estrogen but the jury is still out on that. Those compounds also occur in plants. And, you can make the same thing from plant products, as in cellulose. It doesn't matter where it comes from, the carbon atoms and hydrogen atoms hook up the same way. For a layman's take on the issue that Patrick S referenced, check out Jeffrey Steingarten's essay "Salad the Silent Killer" in his book The Man Who Ate Everything. It is quite entertaining. If you were to believe every hyped story out there, you would expect to see bodies littering the streets. Actually, I saw a story recently that the life expectancy in the developed world has gone up again. So I buy what is fresh and delicious looking and don't really care where it came from. I do pay particular attention to washing something that is labeled "organic" though. Who knows what it was fertilized with.

Um. . . that is likely the Coconut Water that is sold by Goya for instance. You also need to be wary of the really sweet coconut cream products that are sold for making Pina Coladas. Coco Loco is a likely brand of that. The product used in these recipes is coconut milk like this. You can usually find it in the "ethnic foods" aisle of your grocery. This is actually the brand I get at my Asian market but even my smallest grocery now carries Taste of Thai.

This is the one I got. I didn't bother shopping it. I was in SLT for them to straighten out an order screw up from the holidays. It was there. I was there. And they gave me a discount so I don't know what I paid for it. Just a note on the Bamix and soup. I made a small pot of tomato basil soup the other night. It all started when I found a forlorn little jar of basil puree lurking in the freezer. I immediately thought of the tomato soup. It must be a yearning for spring. (Now that is something of a joke. I don't think we ever had winter.) Anyway, The only tomatoes I had in the house was a can of chunks. I dumped them in the pot with some garlic and stewed them up. I added about a tablespoon of paste to kick up the tomato flavor. At the end, I whizzed it all up, added the basil and some cream. It worked great.

That is odd. The fresh galangal that I get here, when it shows up, is much "juicier" than even the freshest ginger. It certainly isn't ever woody. If I don't use it up in a week or so, I need to get it sliced and into rice wine vinegar and the refrigerator before it goes moldy. Pork chunks, here I come. There have been some noteable "boneless pork country ribs" on sale here that look pretty good. (I am thinking that they are cuts of pork butt put into less intimidating portions.)