gulfporter

I just remembered that for my Dad's birthday, his cake was a scratch Red Velvet with a Crisco-based fluffy frosting (that started with a sort of roux).

CNN reporting this now. Apparent suicide. In France filming and found in hotel room by his friend Chef Eric Ripert. RIP.

I sometimes buy Diet Squirt here in MX, but mostly we 'brew' decaf iced tea in the sun and drink it unsweetened. Or agua mineral which is cheap and everywhere. I prefer agua mineral with lunches when I am not having a wine. While wine pairs well with foods and IMO enhances the dining experience, I never drink a flavored beverage (not even iced tea) with meals when not having wine (or beer which I drink with spicy meals, nothing else).

The birthday cakes of my siblings and all my cousins in the 1950s to early 1960s was always a Duncan Hines white layer cake mix with homemade peanut butter frosting. No idea how that evolved considering neither my mother nor aunt were cooks who went outside the norms of the day. Was it the norm for other families of that era??? BTW, when my mother made the Duncan Hines white cake mix at other times during the year, she always used the whole egg. Only separated the egg whites for birthday cakes.

It's the analog thermometer that I want to replace....want a digital thermometer for inside the oven. Because the digital need a battery, it would require a heat-proof casing. IMO the technology is there, but for whatever reason (cost, lack of perceived demand) no one is making one.

I just figured the new technology would be instant read and all of it inside the oven....evidently that is non-existent. I don't like the look of the wires coming out of the oven on the ones available. I will bide my time until technology catches up with my pipedream.

Rotus, Thx for links, but am looking for a thermometer that stays in the oven at all times, not point and shoot. I remain surprised that the only ones out there seem to be such old technology, but will continue to look. I chatted a few minutes ago with rep at Thermoworks about DOT....the unit stays outside the oven, only the probe goes inside, would have to buy a grate clip and figure out how to mount it and where to put outside unit, etc.

How do you mount it...will it hook onto rack and face forward? Can you remove the probe? I went to site but no pics of it hanging inside of oven that I could see.

I have and use Thermopen and Thermopop. But what I really need is an instant read digital oven thermometer. Mexican ovens are not known for their heat calibration; most do not even have a thermostat. The oven knob on mine is Celsius and the markings are very close together. Most of my recipes are in Fahrenheit. I have tried a few oven thermometers and all are slow in registering temps and have small dials making them difficult to read without opening the oven door. I have searched for a instant read digital oven thermometer and have not found one....most of my searches take me to meat-type thermometers for oven use (the kind with probes). Anyone ever seen what I am in need of?

DId I miss it....what are you paying FOH?

This is only exciting to an expat who despises shredding whole cabbage. It goes EVERYWHERE when I do it, plus the heads here are the size of small planets. A grocer here who tries to cater to expats is now shredding a cole slaw mix. I picked up some fresh mahi this morning, too. Easy summer meal in the offing.

Looking for cold plates for summer. Thinking cold grilled shrimp with dill seasoning may work with feta??? I may do some experimenting.

Here's a more specific question. I get really good fresh large shrimp here, peeled and deveined by the local pescatoria. I often serve them to guests as 'grilled and chilled' which allows me to make-ahead. I either do a dry rub (Cajunesque but of my own making) or slather with a jarred chimmichurri sauce before hitting the grill. Would any cheese "go" with cold shrimp that is nearly naked?

TIme got away from us today and all my fridge and pantry yielded for lunch was locally smoked salmon (hot smoked with wood) and goat cheese. Accompanied by cornichons, sliced hard-boiled egg, black olive/thyme bread and diced red onion. At first I was reluctant to plate the cheese with the fish, but hunger overcame my hesitancy. We both liked the cold plate very much and since I never served cheese with fish before, I was wondering if there are other pairings you have tried and liked.

I used this one, more or less. Stayed with it for the amounts of mango, tomato, onion and red bell pepper. Subbed a serrano for the jalapeno (we like heat). Skipped the OJ and lime juice and subbed a bit of cider vinegar (to taste)....the mango added a lot of sweetness and vinegar seemed a better acid. Instead of cilantro, I used fresh basil and mint, mostly because I didn't want it to be too similar to a standard red gazpacho. https://www.mygourmetconnection.com/mango-gazpacho-soup/ Edit: Made it early in morning to let flavor meld all day. Took it out of fridge 10 minutes before serving to take a bit of the chill off and loosen a bit.