fifi

LC had matte black as a color option for a while. Clicking through the product line, I am not finding it as being currently available. I now remember having this discussion with the cookware lady at Sur Le Table or W-S when they came out with it. She said it was not selling well because of the "seeing the browning" problem.

Hmmm . . . LC sizes for oval ovens. LC sizes for round ovens. I dunno.

I am one of those that doesn't like the dark interior color of Staub. A friend has Staub and I like all other aspects of it but I darn near burned my roux in it because I couldn't see what I was doing. I think it also makes it harder to clean. You can't see the stuck on bits. But I may still get one, assuming that the "self-basting" concept works. The new Lodge stuff looks pretty interesting. I love Lodge and was glad to see that they expanded into enameled cast iron. They also wisely chose to start with 5 and 7 quart sizes. I also see that they have the gratins. I'm not at all sure what they were thinking with that apple green, though. From an aesthetic standpoint, I wish that they hadn't gone with the funny looking ss handle and the kitschy little buttons on the handles, but that is just a personal opinion. That gratin appears to be about the same size at what was the medium one in LC. The LC gratins that I have are like this one. The size isn't indicated here but I have the large one that is 16 1/4 " and the individual ones are 9 1/4 " when measured handle to handle. I see that I didn't answer snowangel's question. (Or at least, I answered the wrong one.) About the size of gratins . . . I bought the larger LC because, for the thin gratins like the single layer Steingarten does for the potatoes, you need one that big to serve four or five. It certainly makes plenty for even more when doing something like my eggplant that just about fills it. If you can find one, that is the way I would go. Staub has these. They are certainly attractive but I am back to my problem of being able to see how much browning you are getting. And it appears that the largest one is also the same size as the medium LC. I think I am back to the wisdom of a cast iron roasting pan if you need to do large scale gratins. I can't seem to find one the size of the large LC.

Ah ha! A check of the LC website does reveal that they do have the rectangular roasting pans in the cast iron. I always thought that enameled cast iron was a stupid idea for a roasting pan but I can appreciate the wisdom of it being a larger gratin, or maybe even lasagna. The tatin dish looks pretty small. I don't know what the deal is but I am not finding my gratins on the LC web site. They are so lovely. I certainly hope they have not been discontinued.

Now that is a fascinating idea. My sister is a radish freak. I may call and wake her up for this one.

I think that the oval ones are the only type they make in the enameled cast iron. Le Creuset also makes a pottery type of cookware. For a gratin, this is not what you want. I got into the cast iron after reading Jeffrey Steingarten's essay on Potatoes Dauphinoise. He is absolutely right. Enameled cast iron for gratins that you want to get some caramelization absolutely rocks. I have the largest one and four of the individual sized. I can't find the individual sized ones any more. I have four and wish I had six. I use them in the De Longhi convection oven for an individual serving for just me. I love those things. If you find a second in an outlet store for a good price, grab it. A couple of mine have a pinhole or two in the porcelain enamel. This is a common problem because cast iron is the devil to get a baked on coating defect free because the metal itself is kinda porous. Outgassing during the bake process is a big problem. I know I have a very few of those defects in some of my LC and it has never made a bit of difference in performance. Go for price, not perfection.

For a family of five, that 6 3/4 quart will fill the bill for just about everything. It makes a big enough batch of stew, soup, gumbo, jambalaya or whatever. And the right size roasts fit just fine. I think that is why it is so popular. I think that for what this size range does, I prefer the oval because of the better fit for single hunk of meat type food products.

Probably. I just remembered that I have about two cups of turkey/onion/paprika juice in the fridge from the paprika turkey thighs that I did. I have just about eaten all of the turkey but might have enough to add to the soup. (Damn, that was a good way to do turkey thighs.) Now I am thinking of how to turn that into a small pot of soup over the weekend. Any ideas? For some stupid reason, potato cubes and peas popped into my head. I'm not sure about that.

One word for cabinet hardware . . . Ikea. I have looked at the selection of pulls that they have, in person, and I am really impressed. I will probably go that way even if my cabinets are job built. The quality and price are just awesome. I checked the web site for ordering information but I am coming up empty. Sorry I don't have a link to the selections.

Wait until you try one of the cast iron gratins, my children. Andie . . . Why am I not surprised that you have actually used the goose cooker?

*reels in another one* I think that the most popular oval is what I have. It seems that everyone I know with more than one or two to feed has the 6 3/4 quart. I would hazard a guess that that size is about the most versatile. That one seems to fit a chicken or your typical roast really well. The oval shape helps with that too. Another friend has the 5 quart oval and wishes he had the one size bigger as it is a little cramped for the chicken, pork or beef roast that he wants to do to provide leftovers. As I keep proclaiming, I am also in love with my little 2 1/2 quart oval for when I am just cooking for myself. It will do a half pound of beans nicely but will also hold a pound. It is great for four chicken thighs and a small roast as well. I have to say that those are the two that I use the most often.

eGads. I just checked out the Le Creuset site. A friend of mine has this huge round one and it says it is 13 1/4 quart. He bought it because he and cooking buddies will sometimes volunteer to cook a Sunday dinner for the local Ronald McDonald house. He uses it to make big batches of jambalaya and such. It takes two guys to handle it full. Then I saw that they have this oval "Goose Pot" that comes in at 15 1/2 quarts. YOIKS!!!

It might. But probably not. If you have Listeria in your sponge, you have bigger problems. Also, the issue is not just the pathogens. I don't even like to think about just the general populations. The common spore bearing bacteria are hard to kill. They certainly don't go bye-bye at 160 F. Maybe that is why bakerboy's sponge smells funny. I can't find it now, but there was a study some months ago that showed that your toilet seat surface was likely cleaner than many of the surfaces in your kitchen. We discussed it here . . . somewhere. There was also some good kitchen cleanliness discussion on this thread. Pay particular attention to the discussion of plastic cutting boards. They are evil from a microbiologist's point of view. But back to sponges. What I can't figure out is why anyone would have one in a kitchen. They aren't nearly as efficient at mopping up as a lightweight dishcloth or a Handiwipe and they are the devil to keep clean. I keep a spray bottle of Consan disinfectant strength solution handy. I will spray down my counters, sinks and other surfaces with that, using my dishcloth to wipe up so it gets treated at the same time. That might be a good approach for those of you that have to have a sponge. I also make a point of wiping anything else I might have touched such as the refrigerator handles, faucets, etc. I don't do this all of the time because I am not obsessive about it but I always do after handling anything risky. Well, I do have a friend that is a recent transplant recipient and is currently severely immune system compromised. Then, my aseptic technique training and microbiology knowledge kicks in. edit to add since I didn't really answer Walt's question: The problem with data is that a huge percentage of it is not reported. I used to deal with the CDC morbidity and mortality reports all the time and know how they are compiled. (That is the US clearing house for this kind of information.) Even local and state health departments probably don't have a clue. Unless you take out a whole bunch of people or send a few to the hospital it isn't even on the radar. Most times, food poisoning out of home kitchens is usually not severe enough to go to a hospital. (Though it certainly can be.) That temporary "discomfort" is usually chalked up to that "stomach flu that is going around," suffered through in solitude, and the victim moves on. So, in answer to your question . . . Who knows?

*Whacking forehead with heal of hand.* How could I have forgotten about the eGCI course? Thanks for the book tip, Susan. Just what I need. Another book. I would like to learn a lot more about noodles. I am a noodle newby.

I had never heard that story about the origins of the term "pico de gallo" before. Makes sense. Hmmm . . . chunking the onions. The idea makes sense if you are going to stab them and eat them like a rooster. I am wondering though if you shouldn't maybe increase the amount of onion since the chunks won't have as much surface area as the thinly sliced and therefore won't give off as much flavor to the mix. But then, this is a pretty flexible recipe and you can vary all you want and it will still be good. Like I said, I tend to go a bit nutsy with the cloves, capers and bay.

You are in for a flavor adventure. I do some Thai cooking but I certainly wouldn't call myself an expert. My beginning book was True Thai by Victor Sodsook on the recommendation of a friend that learned from a Thai couple that owned a well known restaurant in North Carolina I believe. In retrospect, that was excellent advice for a beginner. There is also an interesting section on applying a Thai twist to American staples. That is a lot of fun. I bought David Thompson's Thai Food last year and have to say that I haven't cooked anything from it yet. It is quite a tome and very "authentic," so much so that it can be a bit intimidating. However, there is a lot of cultural background and discussion in there and I am enjoying reading it from time to time. Hot Sour Salty Sweet is definitely on my list. It has gotten great reviews here. In my experience, I had a lot of luck chosing a particular dish and doing it several times to get the hang of the balance of flavor that is key to this cuisine. I chose Sodsook's Tom Kha Kai, chicken coconut soup. It is a basically simple soup, has most of the flavor notes, and it happens to be my favorite soup in the world. I always get it in restaurants and like comparing the various preparations. I also got one of the stacked steamers and I love it. The sticky rice with coconut and mango is a favorite dessert at the big Thai dinners that my friend would have. But I do have a guilty secret that my friend discovered. She was running out of time, and cook top burners, for one of her dinners. We have the same rice cookers, one of those fancy fuzzy logic things, and she had borrowed mine. She dumped the sticky rice in those, chose the sticky rice setting, and it came out perfect. My other guilty secret is Mae Ploy brand curry pastes. Yes, you should make the pastes yourself at least once. But, frankly, if I forced myself to do that all the time I would rarely cook Thai. I love a "project" but not everyday. With that stuff on hand and cans of coconut milk (I like Chaudoc brand) in the pantry, I have the makings of a really good Thai curry for fast everyday meals. They are a great way to use up leftover meat and otherwise clean out the fridge. I am fortunate that we have some great Asian markets here and they are a good source for ingredients. You should check out what is in your area. You might be surprised.

I am so glad you tried it. I am in total sympathy about the shrimp peeling. I use one of these things and peel and devein them raw. It is still a pain in the butt and I have been known to cheat and use the preprepared shrimp, especially if I need a really big batch. They aren't as tender as when you carefully cook your own but it still gets gobbled up.

I made this classic in the classical way . . . one time. It is the all time favorite dish of my kids and most of their friends so I invited a batch of them over. After slaving over this thing for hours and hours, the verdict of the bourguignon critics was "Really good mom, but [don't you hate that word?] we all voted and we want you to go back to doing it your way." And this verdict was from rather sophisticated young adults that have had the dish in some of the best bistros in France. Overheard . . . Son to friend: "So, did you eat anything really memorable on your trip?" Friend: "I had the boeuf bourguignon that Le [Whatever] is so famous for. We went out of the way to go there. Frankly, I like your mom's stuff better." *happy dance going on in the kitchen* So what is it, you ask? It is a rif on Emeril's Beef Fricassee. Basically, you marinate one to two inch cubes of nicely marbled chuck in some red wine and garlic. Drain and pat dry. Season with salt and pepper. Prepare a dark roux using maybe half bacon fat if you have it. When the roux is ready, dump in the beef cubes, quenching the roux so it doesn't burn. Add the onions while it is still screaching hot. (This is the same concept as for a dark gumbo.) Add whatever your favorite red drinking wine is at the moment because that is what you have in the house. Add the mushrooms and simmer until the meat is succulent. If I have it, I add some glace de viande. I used a zinfandel once and we really liked that. No, we don't call it boeuf bourguignon.

He doesn't look healthy. ← Um . . . Maybe it is the green spots. Ick!

I found this site through the magic of google.

WOW! That looks like a great price for that big momma. Did it come with its own crane? I actually have a 9 quart round one that was purchased for double batches of gumbo but I have actually used it more often for larger pieces of pig.

I hate to tell you this, but 140-160F water isn't going to do much. And there is no such thing as a biological vacuum being a problem in the case of a sponge. Once you use the sponge the first time, you are back in the soup. The environment of a sponge is too dependent on what you wiped up last to depend upon a benevolent bacterial population like exists in your gut or on your skin. It is just not the same thing at all. On the time issue, bacteria multiply at a rate at room temperature that you would have to throw out your sponges daily, at least. The key advantage that the cloths, mes scrubbers and 3M thingies have is that they dry relatively quickly. I am also not sure I understand your aversion to dishwasher detergent. With the exception of fine glassware, it all goes in the dishwasher in my house. The cheap glasses will get etched in a few years and I just throw them out. Metal won't be affected, with the possible exception of hard anodized aluminum like Calphalon. I have some stainless flatware that I have had for 30 years, in the dishwasher every week, looks fine. I have recently switched to the "Shine Shield" Cascade but I have no idea how that is supposed to work.

I think the alcohol based hand sanitizers are probably a good idea. They work mainly by dehydration which is a physical process rather than a biological process. We used to use alcohol to sanitize the lab benches when I worked at FDA. Clorine bleach is a similar thing. I guess that my point is that, yes, you can sanitize sponges in the microwave or whatever. But, you have to go to a lot of effort to get it right because of their structure. A Handiwipe or microfiber cloth is a lot easier to deal with and does a better job of wiping up, is easier to rinse out, so why deal with sponges in the kitchen in the first place?

Check out the deli containers at your restaurant supply. The ones that I get seal really tightly. You can drop kick the darn things and they don't leak.

Again, from a microbiologist's point of view, I really don't think that the antibacterial compound that is being put into everything is a good idea. The compound is Triclosan, whatever that is. It is supposed to dissrupt cell wall development and the bugs can't develop populations that are immune. I don't believe it. The buggers have been able to outsmart us at every turn. Also, you run the risk of upsetting the balance of natural populations. I recall falling into that trap when the various antibacterial shower gels came out. Well, I was using that and I ended up with some rather nasty yeast infections until I figured out what was going on. I quit doing that and all is well. There is enough concern about the proliferation about the "antibacterials" that there have been studies done that say that you should just stick with good old soap and hot water. Oh . . . and get rid of sponges. Structurally they are just a bad idea and the alternatives work just as well.