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SLB

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    Sources for High-Quality Peppercorns

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted · Edited by SLB (log)

    I was in Maine this past weekend and wandered into a store called "Skordo", https://skordo.com/collections/salts-peppers

     

    They were a touch twee, but nonetheless delightful. 

     

    They had something I'd like to incorporate -- although I admit I didn't buy anything -- I was on the road and my suitcase space was already filled with Maine liquor) -- but anyway, they had this thing, dehydrated apple cider vinegar.  I have never encountered it, but think it could be very interesting.  They were so nice I'm inclined to order from them the next time I'm in need of stuff.  

     

    Anyway, just FYI.  Skordo.  

     

    ETA:  I hit up La Boite in March when I was hunting up pink nitrite.  They were nice, too.  

    • Like 2

    Farewell to the Incredible Leah Chase

    in Food Media & Arts

    Posted

    The bean of the week this week is gonna be red.  Red beans n rice n sausages.

     

    Note:  Leah Chase's recipe for red beans involves a pound of smoked ham  AND a pound of smoked sausage.  For a pound of beans.

     

    That girl did not play.  

     

    And they saw her off well:  https://expo.nola.com/life-and-culture/g66l-2019/06/08353ff3d11110/celebrating-the-life-of-leah-chase-with-a-popup-secondline-in-new-orleans.html?fbclid=IwAR0WzrFgYuKYM-WkVW0ztBLQDQroJgWtKYmuUc_aIU98Te-wiis6jTRSpoA

    • Like 3
    • Thanks 1

    Rescuing MSG’s Unsavory Reputation - WSJ article

    in Food Media & Arts

    Posted · Edited by SLB (log)

    I am someone who has a negative reaction to it.  It's possible that if I ate seaweed in the volumes that equalled the concentrations of disembodied MSG, I would have the same reaction.  

     

    I have a negative reaction to a few foods, actually, and some wines, and most indoor pets.  I'm not saying that it's the same mechanism in effect -- just noting that bodies do have genuine reality-based reactions to entirely "natural" foods. 

     

    That said, I wish I'd known that @chromedome tip in my 30s, a time when I invested a whole lot of stress in getting elderly ailing people to eat enough to survive their medicine.  My technique was LARGE PINCHES of sugar.  

    • Like 1

    Do clay pots really add "flavor" to a dish or is it a myth?

    in Cooking

    Posted · Edited by SLB (log)

    There are far more technical experts on this board than me, but I think that the clay pot thing is about the rate of evaporation that occurs in those vessels, which in turn can affect the flavor of the item cooked (positively).

     

    Now.  I have also had a clay pot add a wet-clay favor to the food cooked in it.  Which was not positive at all, in fact it was downright nasty.  

     

    Similar with cast iron.  When I get an actual flavor added to the foods cooked in my cast iron, it is an awfulsome metal flavor.  

     

     

    • Like 2

    Best Seafood Cookbooks

    in Cookbooks & References

    Posted

    Any updates on this topic?  I've decided to up my fish game, and while I have a number of good seafood recipes, I realize that I don't own a central reference book on the topic besides Bittman's "Fish", which even he has distanced himself from.  

     

    On the Peterson book that several folks have noted, the phrase upthread "I keep it in my car", from @memesuze twelve years ago -- well, that might be the most powerful commendation I've ever seen for a cookbook.  

     

     

    • Like 1

    Aprons: Do you use one?

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I like aprons, and have several (including that Rough Linen pinafore, I like it for summertime and it's super comfortable, but am anxious that it's just not durable and also, sigh, the staining in non-bleachable pale is more than I can take.).   I actually recently decided that I just couldn't buy anymore until a couple get so stained they're ready for the rag pile.

     

    My main thing is that they be lightweight, I feel like heavier cottons feel like real weight on my neck after awhile.  Those cross-back aprons are supposed to mitigate this, but with the exception of the pinafore which just slips on, I can't deal with cross-back straps that have to be tied.  

     

    I like the saturated colors at Hedley & Bennett, and they make nice gifts; but the price point can start to feel crazy for workhorse aprons.  That said, they do list the weights of their aprons, which I find valuable.

     

    Someone was looking for a longer apron, I have one by "AOSbySosa" that was on clearance at "Kitchen Art & Letters".  It's made of tablecloth material and is very stain resistant, but since it looks kind of fancy I ended up cutting off some of the length to make into more of a dress apron.  

     

    I totally understand the negative association with our moms and grandmas in the aprons.  For whatever reason my mom and grandma wore housecoats instead of aprons, which I guess are conceptually like chef's jackets except longer and more flouncy and just awful, especially the plaid ones, and which I found relentlessly hideous and somehow connected (at least on my mom's part) to this incomprehensible refusal to use the dishwasher, and also the unmistakable mark of general domestic misery.  I would never go near a housecoat if my life depended on it. 

     

    But I put on an apron almost as soon as I walk in the house in the evening, every single day.  Funny.  

    • Like 8

    The People Who Eat the Same Lunch Every Day

    in Food Traditions & Culture

    Posted

    Here's a followup from The Atlantic:  https://www.theatlantic.com/letters/archive/2019/03/readers-share-their-lunch-routines/584815/?utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_term=2019-03-18T18%3A08%3A48&utm_content=edit-promo&fbclid=IwAR13SbgJ39hoqboY4UpeVlSKt-QN725UCIUqBgWLa0SiFaee5BOreckUr3k&fbclid=IwAR2N06bUhjjl8eToHdHL_0A7NrO2_oWDCy7phbUYSh97Ty90tzvupn3IXHI

     

    I think what's most striking to me is just how little people seem to be eating for lunch.  I am one of these people who needs a big lunch.  And a pretty big breakfast, honestly. 

     

    I do enjoy a comparatively light dinner (at home), but a small lunch would demolish my whole possibility for the afternoon.  

    • Like 1

    Corned Beef At Home: Recipes, Tips, etc.

    in Cooking

    Posted · Edited by SLB (log)

    I found a 3 lb "boneless shoulder roast" in my freezer, and I think I'm going to corn it.  It's late, but I've been out of town and, what the heck, better late than never.  I've never corned beef before; always bought it prepared.  

     

    When I'm brining pork or turkey, I will usually put the meat into the brine frozen, and let it thaw in the brine.  But no one would consider my brines technically correct by any measure . . .

     

    I'm planning to use a real corn recipe; but is there any reason not to start with frozen meat when corning beef? 

     

    Assuming it's ok -- maybe add a day or two?

     

    On Edit:  Nevermind.  I'm just going to thaw it.  

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