fifi

EUREKA!!! I always wondered about that title. You are my hero. I have to agree that when someone says "food" and "movie" in the same sentence, the first thing that pops into my mind is "Tom Jones."

Yes . . . That web site is truly dangerous. Go there at the risk of your credit card. This model stuffer looks interesting. For an occasional sausage stuffer, that might fill the bill. I can't imagine making more than 5 pounds at a time for myself. What do you think?

I have to say that those sausage stuffers make a lot of sense design-wise. But . . . You have to be a pretty committed sausage maker to shell out for one. Back to rummaging in my sister's garage. That thing makes so much sense that I wouldn't be surprised if dad bought one. I checked jason's link and there is a Northern Tool place not far from me. I never heard of it. Looks dangerous.

Marlene . . . I have to agree about the converted rice. It tastes like it has been converted into something that isn't rice and isn't very good. Is your rice cooker working for you now? I did some brown rice in mine the other day. It was regular long grain Mahatma brand, not the short grain Thai type I usually have on hand. I used the brown rice setting and water lines. It came out perfectly. It does take quite a bit longer than white rice, though.

Just to emphasize my ignorance, what do you mean by a piston style? I am thinking that the one my dad had was the same screw conveyor type that was also a grinder. Am I remembering this wrong. (Note to self: must go rummaging in my sister's garage.)

I think stir fried asparagus would be lovely. I used to do that when I had the wok out for other purposes. I never used a recipe, though. I just kind of dumped in what seemed like a good idea at the time. It was always good as long as I didn't go too nuts with other ingredients and hid the asparagus.

Good question. I will not be a lot of help with this since I am a newbie at this. I have the Kitchen Aid attachment stored away somewhere and that is likely what I will eventually use. I inherited the KA from my mom & dad. Dad really got into sausage making for a time and I helped him with it some. He had bought the KA attachment and also had one of those that grinder/stuffers that clamps on a table or countertop. As I recall, he came to favor the hand cranked one. He said that he had more control over "fill rate" with the hand crank. I just told you everything I know on the subject and will be awaiting information from those with more experience.

I am having a hard time putting vermouth with chili but that is just in my mind. I have been known to add red wine to chili. It is actually in the Whacked-Out Chili recipe and I have been known to dump what is on hand or left over into an impromptu chili. That seems to work out. I would suggest that you take out a small portion of your chili, add a tad of vermouth and see what you think before adding it to the whole batch. I would be interested to hear how it comes out. I do like cooking with vermouth in general.

This is indeed disturbing. I am well aquainted with Koch's Postulates and the requirements for application for NIH etc. funding. It is disturbing that prions have not passed Koch's test. It is also disturbing that the scientific community has jumped on board without that test. It is even more disturbing that extensive funding has been skewed toward the "sexy new phenomenon" instead of a more moderate approach to search for a more conventional possible culprit. I guess that this confirms my long held belief that the media needs to stay out of real science. But, that will never happen.

Wow, andie. Those are cool links. I don't know which ones I want. Wait, that is easy. I want one of each. They are really elegant. Black ones, terra cotta ones . . . The shapes are wonderful.

Marlene . . . I think I am in love with your toaster. What is it, please?

Susan . . . That is a terrific recipe. The balance of flavors is just right to me. I have used it on skinless boneless chicken thighs and skinless boneless chicken breast and it is all good. I sent it to my kids and I was glad to find something that works with what they are likely to pick up at the market. It works with pork and fish, too. But the most terrific thing is that I learned fom you is how cool a microplane is for ginger and garlic.

Is it just me? Why do I have this mental image of Groucho Marx waggling his eyebrows and instead of the cigar, he is brandishing an asparagus? Ok. It is early yet. Lately I have been adding red pepper flakes along with whatever comes to mind for my roasted asaragus. It has been really cheap here so I have been roasting it a lot. About the only time I steam or blanch it anymore is to add to the marinade from Pickled Shrimp. When I make this recipe, I purposely get some asparagus. After eating the shrimp, which usually doesn't take long, the asparagus is blanched or barely steamed and put into the marinade. If I don't just eat it, the asparagus and the onions make a dynamite salad.

Black pots you say? I have been collecting Columbian La Chamba and it wouldn't hurt my feelings to find some more black pottery. Do you have any clue where one can buy them?

Beyond the weight thing (which I gave up on a long time ago), I found that in my admittedly half hearted attempts, I tended to lean on spicy food. I think I was hallucinating that the addition of capsaicins would help my endorphins or some such junk science. Well, maybe not junk. Who knows. Do you guys have a plan as to how your cooking and eating will try to work with this?

Well . . . I would agree to that! Actually, I am trying to remember when I did something assinine. I am sure I have. I am rather outspoken but also very attentive to the niceties. But we all know that the devil on the left shoulder must sometimes win. Maybe we blot out those memories. I will keep digging.

Well . . . Some of us need more practice than others. I am certainly in that camp.

Wowser, andiesenji. That good news link is really good news. And it is actually from a rather reputable source, National Geographic. Who knew that it had any relationship to Tamiflu? Is this a good excuse for me to make some clay pot pork and other goodies? I just added some to my mug of herbal tea.

You guys are an inspiration. I will be watching closely and will offer any encouragement whenever needed. You see . . . I am considering the same thing. I have to confess that I do not have any noble reasons. It is the money. I am a nototrious miser. (Well, except for books and my toy chest.) But . . . I think the kicker is that it is just getting too damned inconvenient. When I was working, long flights and long meetings were bad enough but I got through with the gums and lozenges. Now that I am retired, I am more attentive to my comfort. I am planning to do the Cross-Canadian train trip in the late spring. (I canceled last fall due to hurricanes.) Maybe that was a good thing. Now, I have had time to think about this. The train is non-smoking. I'll be in the cheering section for all of you. And, if you slip, don't feel too bad or give up. Your first attempts were practice.

Hey, chemprof. I had forgotten about the NaOH, grain alcohol mixture. You are absolutely right. But it is pretty dangerous. Even many many years ago when I had a lab and we weren't quite as careful as we should have been, I got out the face shield and chemical rubber gloves to mess with caustic solutions. Easy-Off might be a good try. You do have to be careful with caustic solutions like that and any heat as it might etch some glass. But, the short term to get a label off might not be a problem. Hey . . . 3M came up with sticky notes (actually a "failed" adhesive development project) then came out with super strong sticky notes but they still come off. Why can't the labeling dudes? gfron1 . . . You are so right. I have a whole shelf in the fridge of codiments.

Many thanks, Katie. Those are now enshrined in my collection . . . With proper credit, of course.

Katie . . . I am really interested in this one. Do you have a recipe? Is it in RecipeGullet? Sangria is a big favorite of my friends and family for big gatherings and we make a pretty good one. But I will bet that the addition of the star anise would knock it out of the ballpark. I could wing it on the syrup but am curious as to your proportions for the sangria.

Spreadsheets? Did someone say spreadsheets? When I was trying to get a gumbo teaching recipe written down, I came up with my Chicken & Sausage Gumbo. The measurements and ratios of oil/flour, trinity, liquid and meat is the result of, you guessed it, a spreadsheet. I surveyed about 40 gumbo recipes from trusted sources, entered the quantities for each component, looked at the statistics, plotted the bell curves and came out with what you see there. It was a slow week at the office.

Some things even Goo-Gone won't touch. I go through the usual tries. Hot water, soapy hot water, finger nail polish remover (acetone), cooking oil, Goo-Gone, WD-40, 91% isopropyl alcohol (works on the Le Creuset labels), machete. The problem is, there are a gazillion different adhesives out there, each one chemically different.

Oh . . . I agree with that one. Unless it is pre-arranged. Please do not dump any surprises into my kitchen. And my nephew has finally learned not to add anything or "adjust" anything without discussing it first. It took a few beatings with a wooden spoon but I think I finally trained him.