fifi

I have a cleaning question. I was in Sur La Table and picked up their brand of cleaner. It is supposed to be the same thing as the Le Creuset cleaner. My favorite "little white pot" had some metal marks from using ss utensils (bad fifi) and a curious yellowish stain from the braised chicken with olives. The cleaner did a great job on the metal marks but it didn't touch the stain. I am not too surprised as I understand that the cleaner something like an acidic base with very fine abrasive, sort of like jeweler's rouge. So I guess it is back to the clorox for the stain. Has anyone had a similar experience with the actual Le Creuset brand?

My son was in town and we went to the Barnaby's on West Gray instead of our usual Fairview for some reason. I ordered the bleu cheese burger. It was all fine . . . except for the patty. I was shocked. It was overcooked and dry as a hockey puck. Another in the party ordered the hickory thing and had the same problem. Maybe the regular grill guy had that Sunday off.

I have a confession to make. I was in west Houston on that nasty rainy day this past week and I made a tamale run. I then proceeded to make the same stupid mistake. Except it was raining too hard to open the windows. I never realized how long it takes to drive the South Belt. Some of us are slow learners. Also, I have now decided that the chicken and pork are at the top of my list for this place.

Heh, heh . . . I thought Patti had found Barstools 'r' Us (cool site) and then I did a bit more googling and found The Barstool Superstore. For some reason, I find the concept of a barstool "superstore" hilarious. I know nothing about this place. I just found it interesting.

If you don't have a power attachment of some kind, I think these simple presses are about as good as they get. (And I have tried just about everything.) The yellow one is what you want for normal lemons. The green one is great for the little key limes, those annoying little creatures that taste so good. Now that I have these, I am prone to make lemon or limeade on a whim. It would take some effort to do that many lemons but if it is a one time deal, it might be a better solution than investing in a juicer or attachment. You can also find them a lot cheaper in a Latin American market. (BTW, you put the lemon in the bottom cup cut side down. It seems backwards but that is how it works.)

Hmmm . . . I am suspecting a typo. As we found with onion confit, really strong white onions should cook up really sweet if caramelized. I used some really strong white onions to make the confit once and actually didn't like the excessive sweetness.

I am on a similar hunt for bar stools. Actually, I think I will be looking for "counter" stools as they are for the island. I don't need as many as you so I am not quite as price sensitive but I am a notorious cheapskate. I also have the same criteria as you described. I don't have kids but friends can get rowdy over roasted cauliflower. I was actually not all that impressed with what Ikea had. (Surprise!) I found more selection at Crate and Barrel. I haven't started a comprehensive search yet, just noting in passing. Cost Plus World Market usually has an impressive variety of chairs and stools but I haven't been in there in a while.

How could anyone forget that the Safeway equivalent to Tater Tots® are better than the Ore-Ida® original. (BTW, I see from the Tot Spot that they are now 50 years old. Who knew.)

That is definitely a good one. I will have to remember that as I have been guilty of doing the same thing. I did something similar some time ago while making a fritata. I was cracking the 10th egg or so into the pan when someone stepped on the dog's tail, she yelped and I jumped crushing a whole egg shell in my hand and dropped it into the fritata. It was an exceptionally brittle shell and I had to get the tweezers to get it all out. Note to self: Crack the egg into a bowl you nincompoop!

Since the weather seems to continue to be perverse, I thought I would bump this up and see what folks are up to so I can continue my vicarious gardening. I am planning my herb pots for the balconey. Here is what I am going to do . . . I am going to get some big pots made of that urethane foam that looks like pottery. I figure that they will provide some insulation for the roots. Now I am thinking that I will need to consider individual needs of the plants when grouping them together. I am thinking that basil would be happy with sage and . . . what? I may get a little bay to put in with the rosemary. Thyme and parsely? Oh . . . I don't know. Do any of you have suggestions on what will absolutely NOT work well in the same pot? Also, I found this post by winesonoma interesting. I got a truckload of mushroom compost one year at the house. It was enough to spread about two inches thick on my beds. It was like steroids for plants! I had the most gorgeous red and white chard that year. I also saw some interesting mushrooms. That was curious because I am pretty sure that the compost came from the farms up around Madisonville and I think they only grow the common button mushrooms. Maybe it just provided an optimum growing spot for all sorts of drifting spores. But . . . morels? Sheesh.

Welcome to the Society and to the Texas forum DeVeaux. So sorry you had to leave Houston. The food scene gets better and better. Please check in often. Actually, in my neck of the woods, the Hummers are taking over as the preferred dining venue.

This link is now in my favorites. Very informative. Thanks.

An average cauliflower usually fits just fine on one half sheet. I think the critical part of getting the product that we all lust after is cutting it thin enough (< 1/4) and letting it get brown enough. Yes, you get some lacy looking pieces and lots of what I call "gibbles." They are my favorite part.

Actually, there is such a thing as plasma applied diamond. If I remember right, it was developed by a little company just north of Houston. It's first applications were in industrial equipment. I always wondered how it would work on cookware. I was wondering what the other coating in the composite was when I saw that it was the ceramic material. That makes me wonder why they limit the use temperature. Perhaps differential expansion causes it to let go of the surface. I am still wondering what the diamond does for you, though. I think I am with Sam on this one. Get that Calphalon pan for $20-25(US) and replace it every few years.

I have finally settled on 375 degrees F, heavy aluminum half sheet pan lined with non-stick foil, 50 minutes. The cauliflower is sliced 1/4 inch thick or less, tossed with 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. I think bookluvinbabe is correct. There is some variation from flower to flower. I really go by looks more than time but it seems to center around 50 minutes.

Skate (k)nobs do look a bit like scallops (white, somewhat circular) and are sweet-tasting. I've never heard of them being used fraudulently as a scallop stand-in, but they are very tasty and (at least here in the UK) good value for money. I think I like them more than skate in fact. On the skate/ray debate: the fish that I call skate my (British) grandmother calls ray. Not sure if this is a peculiarly British usage, but it does suggest that ray and skate may be synonymous. ← I just bumbled in here and caught this post. Back in the late 60s, I was working at the FDA foods lab. In the arcane world of US regulatory agencies, fish and shellfish "belonged to" FDA, not USDA. Anyway, we also handled imports. There was a rash of cut-out ray or skate being sold as scallops. I actually developed a method of analysing the juice by electrophoresis. The protein profile told us if it was ray or scallops. I have no idea if that substitution is still a problem. About this time, I recall one of our fishing party catching a really huge ray. We sliced out some filets and cooked them over the camp fire. Now you are expecting me to go into rhapsodies about the "really fresh" fish, the campfire and all of that. Actually, it was only so-so.

I went by the Epicurious recipe. I don't have the book, yet. Actually, I am pretty sure you could cut back on the butter without harming the recipe. I am just now sipping on a cup of it for my lunch and I am not tasting a lot of butter. I am beginning to think that the "secret" of the recipe is that sweating of the mushrooms. That is what I did when I developed my recipe many moons ago (by accident, I didn't know what I was doing at the time) and folks often made the same kind of comments . . . "I can't believe this tastes so mushroomy." Cutting back the butter is certainly worth a try. I would suggest not adding the additional 4 tablespoons of butter with the mushrooms and go from there. I am willing to bet it will still be great.

It doesn't bother me a bit. I like butter. Actually, it is 2 tablespoons shy of a stick, but who is quibbling at that point. I am trying to mentally compare that to the ridiculously rich mushroom soup with the cream and cheese that I posted earlier. I am not sure it is any more butterlicious (I refuse to say "worse") than that. The way I figure it, it all balances out. I go through a pound of butter in maybe 6 weeks, sometimes longer. And some of that gets left in the pot. So, that delicious cup of soup isn't going to kill me, and if it did, I would die happy.

Mine are plain white porcelain "Diner" from Crate and Barrel. Sorry Susan, the excuse isn't flying.

I made the Bourdain mushroom soup tonight. I went by the book with one exception, I added a bit of dried porcini since I had the plain button mushrooms. The baby bellas were a bit pricy. Also, I used my home made stock and it was on the dark side. I liked it. For as simple as it is, this soup is astonishing. I am also now in love with my new toy, the Bamix. (It was my Christmas present to myself.) One question, how smooth have you guys blended it? I could have gotten it smooth but I liked leaving a bit of texture to it. This is such a basic recipe (but sooooo good) that I can see using it to explore different mushroom flavors. I can also see it served in big sippy cups on a fishing boat. And, serving with a plop of sour cream wouldn't hurt my feelings. I will be repeating this one.

My sister did some big lima beans and they seemed to take about the same amount of time and water. I would just do what I do when trying a new bean, I check on them in an hour or so and add water if needed. My thinking is that the only thing the size of the bean may do is cause it to take a bit longer. In fact, I would be more concerned about them falling apart when soaked. From watching beans with the non-soak method, they don't seem to go through that wrinkled skin stage as much. My experience with garbanzos is that I get less loose skins without soaking. But, I know nothing about Corona beans. Please enlighten.

Granted, I haven't used the parchment paper so I can't speak to that. I have rarely been able to braise at much above 275 degrees F and I have a separate oven themometer. My most common temp is 250. I pretty much stick to that since I know how things work out generally. Yes, it takes a bit longer but I like the results better.

Ok . . . Parchment paper has been added to the shopping list.

Oooooo . . . The arrival of the inspectors. Be careful, inspectors are really tricky to work with. They sometimes let their powers go to their heads. We have an expression that we use at work: "Never argue with an inspector. It is sort of like wrestling with a hog in a mud wallow. You never win and the pig actually enjoys it."

Try looking for pancetta at the grocery that has a deli counter with good stuff. I was surprised to find it there and took note for when I get around to trying that recipe. I think what I saw was Boar's Head brand. Of course, not being a big user of panchetta and certainly not an expert, I have no idea how good that is.