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NewFoodie

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Everything posted by NewFoodie

  1. What's the best way to mix moist grains but keep them 'fluffy'?
  2. Can you give us a link to that page or tell us how to find it? Thanks.
  3. old: butternut squash ("intact", not mashed and made into a casserole) new: roasted cauliflower in melted extra sharp white cheddar cheese
  4. Here's a mushroom-hunting forum. A number of people there hunt mushrooms for the table. http://www.wildmushroomhunting.org/index.php/forum/1-general-mushroom-discussion/
  5. my Thanksgiving preferences: • duck (dark meat: thigh, drumstick, wing) • bread-type stuffing (not vegetable-type) • mashed potatoes with duck gravy • butternut squash (preferably whole, not a casserole with marshmallow) • green bean casserole with croutons • cauliflower with melted extra sharp white cheddar cheese • cranbury sauce (the "jellied" type, not the old fashioned whole-cranberry type) • flaky, hot dinner rolls • pumpkin pie
  6. I recall years ago reading on the internet about how, before the arrival of the whites, Native Americans near the Pacific coast made controlled burns of the forest floor in order to promote a "parkland"-like biome and thereby facilitate the growth of various nut-producing trees. But now I can't find anything about this on the net. Does anybody know anything about this?
  7. I thought that folks might find this interesting. "The Ark of Taste travels the world collecting small-scale quality productions that belong to the cultures, history and traditions of the entire planet: an extraordinary heritage of fruits, vegetables, animal breeds, cheeses, breads, sweets and cured meats... The Ark was created to point out the existence of these products, draw attention to the risk of their extinction within a few generations, invite everyone to take action to help protect them. In some cases this might be by buying and consuming them, in some by telling their story and supporting their producers, and in others, such as the case of endangered wild species, this might mean eating less or none of them in order to preserve them and favor their reproduction." http://www.slowfoodfoundation.com/ark
  8. SoftBrew is Sowden’s press pot without the need to actually press. Here's an article about it: http://caffezine.com/sowden-softbrew-review/2011 I'm using a burr grinder. I live between Trenton and Princeton, New Jersey. The quality of the tap water is fairly good, but I use a Brita filter. The drip method is fine with me - but I've been really happy using a French Press. But my friends swear by the SoftBrew. And cdh's recommendation of the Aeropress certainly sounds interesting.
  9. I categorically deny this. That is NOT the way I think. I don't know anything about the French or Belgian styles of chocolate, or the difference between them. What can you tell me about them?
  10. I just got a chocolate bar made by Amedei (in Italy). It cost about $9, not including shipping! But it was worth every penny of that. It was made from chocolate from Chuao in Venezuela. You can get it at Chocosphere or World Wide Chocolate. A half pound from Chocosphere costs about $50, with shipping.
  11. It's been my experience that dark roasts obscure the unique flavor profile of coffee beans from any particular point of origin. I'm surprised to hear that distilling water doesn't remove chemicals from tap water. I'll have to look into that. OK, you've piqued my interest - what is this technique all about? I'll check it out. Since I haven't been roasting the beans myself, I'm not really sure how recently they were roasted (although I thought it was within a couple days). I'll have to ask the vender. I hadn't heard about this product. I guess I'll get one and try it out. That's not what I'm doing? That's funny, I THOUGHT that was what I was doing. After all, the title of this thread is "The best coffee I ever had". And it WAS the best coffee I ever had, too.
  12. I don't know anything about this. What can you tell me about it?
  13. • Make sure your coffee making equipment is as clean as possible. • Use Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee beans (preferably from the Mavis Bank Coffee Factory). • Use a medium-light roast. (Preferably buy the beans green and roast them yourself.) • Use 2 tablespoons of unground beans per 6-ounce cup. • Use a rough grind. (Preferably grind the beans yourself, using a burr grinder, rather than a blade grinder.) • Make sure the beans are roasted, ground, brewed and consumed in as rapid succes- sion as possible. • Use distilled water heated to 205ºF. • Steep the grinds for 4 or 5 minutes. • Extract the coffee from the grinds using a French press or the SoftBrew method. • Stir the coffee, but leave it “black”. (Don’t add cream, sugar, or anything else to it.) • Serve immediately in a preheated glass or porcelain mug. I've been doing this for about two months (except roasting the beans myself), and in my experience, this is as good as it gets.
  14. NewFoodie

    Bone-in Steaks

    Oops, I meant to say "is there a preferred WAY to cook bone-in steaks?"
  15. I keep reading that steaks taste better when not deboned before cooking. Some say this has something to do with the marrow in the bones, but I don't see how that could be, because I'm pretty sure that bone is impermeable, so the flavor of the marrow couldn't "bleed through" the bones into the meat. So, what do you think? Do steaks taste better when cooked bone-in? And if so, why? And is there a preferred to cook bone-in steaks (e.g., broiling, etc.)
  16. Thanks for the tip, but I would like to taste the melon before I went to the time and effort of growing it myself. I'll keep Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds in mind for future use, but I'll apparently have to actually call them to learn about their products, because it seems that they haven't updated their website since 2009!
  17. Some friends and I are planning a trip to the Black Forest, the lavender country in Provence, and Tuscany. I see online that Modena is in Emilia-Romagna, which is right next to Tuscany. Maybe we should consider visiting there as well. As for my use of the product, I hadn't really thought that out in detail, as I'm still something of a novice in the culinary world. Unfortunately, out here in the suburban hinterlands, we don't have We Olive, or really just about any real specialty shops, but I'll phone around and see if I can get any balsamic vinegar taste samples. Why wouldn't you cook with balsamic vinegar? I'm sorry to hear the condimento balsamic vinegar might be disappointing to me... We'll see...
  18. We have an excellent local Farmers' Market (the Trenton Farmers' Market, which is actually in Ewing). I'll try there. I sincerely assure you that I am not in the least being ironic, sarcastic or facetious, but I don't understand a single word of this segment of your last sentence.
  19. I've called the 5 sushi restaurants within 10 miles of my house, and at all 5 I've just gotten underlings on the phone, and when I've left a message about wanting real wasabi, I've never gotten a call back from the owners. I'm not surprised; this isn't Manhatten. Do you know what KIND of wasabi you had? From what I'm reading online, I guess it was either Daruma or Mazuma. What did it look, smell and taste like? How hot was it? How long did the heat last in the mouth? And was it a rhizome that was freshly grated at the table? Or did it come as a paste in a tube?
  20. I also have a more basic question: has anyone actually tried the real wasabi? Before I order it, I'd like to hear from others about whether it really is superior to the western horseradish-Chinese mustard concoction - or is that just hype?
  21. Good idea - I'm midway between Princeton and Trenton, New Jersey. Can you tell me which cultivar is the one that's so common in American supermarkets? That would be good to know as a kind of "baseline" comparison. The honeydew melons that I'm familiar with have green flesh. Are the kind you're talking about marketed as "orange honeydews"? I'll look for them.
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