mcdowell

Over the weekend I made a porcini risotto with red bell pepper and touch of fresh mint, bound with eggs and baked in layers of butter brushed phyllo. It was heavenly saturday. Phyllo doesn't reheat well in the microwave (and my boss refuses to subsidize a toaster oven for my office), so I'm sort of picking around it now. On deck is some of my girlfriend's world famous bananna pudding. No reheating required.

Interesting article from Washington Monthly on how American's bad taste in coffee is hurting the growers, and insight into the economics of it all. A good read.

Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes, both smothered with a milk gravy; fried okra on the side. Back home soul food.

Absolutely nothing wrong with butter (use it in my roux almost exclusively). Agree that her roux sounds burned. Keep stirring, that's the key. And don't aim for a dark roux the first time out. The big argument where I come from, concerning gumbo, is okra or file'? I'm a die hard okra man, myself.

Oh, yes they do. See an example here from MIT's graduate program of economics. It's the same competitive environment for same basic end result. As for the cooking school thread, I think it simply comes down to this: An environment that strives for excellence, and accepts no less (as an MIT would do in the engineering world), allows the environment itself to weed out those without the proper passion and drive. Serious programs are going to demand serious commitment. If someone's up for that, then they should be allowed to pursue it to the best of their abilities. If they don't meet the demands and live up to the desired metrics, then the schools should be ruthless in dropping them, or repositioning them to their continuing ed side of the house. People gravitate towards what they're comfortable with, no matter what fantasies they might harbor, and odds are that culinary schools are not overrun with bored housewifes on family expense account. If they are, then the schools need some help marketing programs that might be better suited for this client base. Questioning motives up front should maybe trigger a flag to a counseler that a heart-to-heart is in order to ensure that the "amateur" knows what she's getting herself in for, but ultimately, if all other qualifications are met, it should be left up to the consumer, er, student. -edited to fix an english problem (though my 1st language, I still struggle)

We used to do the same thing with a rabbit, too poor for a hog, but the pit didn't need to be nearly as big.

What's "Iranian lemon" ?

Eggs scrambled up with left over taco meat from last night's 'kids choice' supper, a bit of salsa, black beans on the side, corn tortillas nicely warmed.

But, brother, that's the charm. Place is an institution (though you're a braver man than I to actually try and stay there)... it's like stopping to see the Thing when driving I-10 through the desert... just something you've got to do.

You have to add five hours because a trip south from DC ain't a trip unless you hit South of the Border for greasy food...

They roused him with muffins—they roused him with ice— They roused him with mustard and cress— They roused him with jam and judicious advice— They set him conundrums to guess. -lewis carol

Two cans of loose leaf tea, black & green, a half-jar of nut-heavy trail mix, a jar of grainy mustard, a small bottle of tobasco, and two packages of that yummy Burger King onion ring sauce. Oh, and turning my keyboard upside down and banging shows crumbs for a half-dozen lunches eaten over looming deadlines... can't really tell which crumbs come from which meals.

Oh, my. One of my favorite subjects. I like a mix of collards and cabbage. Saute up onion and a pepper, maybe a little bit of your favorite pork fat, then fill the pot with stock and a touch of vinegar... bring it to a boil, then add the collards. Bring down the heat and simmer the greens for about a half hour, till they're tender, then add the cabbage and cook for another twenty minutes. That's some good eating. And yet here I sit with nothing more than a stale bagel in the house.

I had to look up prandial. Thanks X Right now eating gravlax made with the usual mix of sugar/salt/pepper/lemon juice, but it was brushed with Tequila and coated in crushed cilantro before being wrapped and put up to cure. Very southwestern (and inspired by a suggestion in the CIA Garde Manger book). Wild salmon was on sale at Whole Foods last week, and I can't resist a sale

That would be Alaska. Everything I have ever read says that New England has the highest per capita ice cream consumption in the US. I've always heard Elyse's version. According to the USDA (I'm playing Mr. Fact Checker today): Alaska consumes 16.6 lbs per capita of ice cream yearly, while New Hampshire squeaks by with 16.9 lbs. That seems close enough that different years may have different leaders. Unfortunately, they don't seem to have a comprehensive summary report to easily verify total ranking.. In total consumption, California leads, followed by Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Texas.

This is where we're breaking down, I think. It doesn't make a "phase shift" from liquid to gas, it just looks like it did!! What's really happening is that extremely tiny (2-20 micron) water droplets are binding with molecules in the air creating a haze. It's not any more "steam" than that cloud floating overhead (weather permitting).

According to my reading of this, the visible vapor rising from a hot faucet is, indeed, "steam" -- as is the breath that comes our of your mouth at cold temperatures. Popular usage of the word "steam" does include the vapor coming off your head or the hot asphalt street in the cold, etc. I'll grant you that. When we're talking about the science of cooking, however, we're talking about science. Definitions need to be more precise than than the popular usage. In that universe, steam has an extremely simple definition, and it's as described before. You're not going to use the "steam" coming off your head, no matter how hard you try, to cook broccoli.

Now That sounds like fun, sign me up

No, bubba, it doesn't steam, it condenses. It makes fog. The cold air around the hot water stream becomes saturated and condensation is produced. Put your hand in this "steam" and you'll see that it's not hot at all. You see the same effect on water just before it boils. This is the same "steam" that comes out of your mouth in cold temperatures, or floats over marsh on a warm morning after a cool night.

Steam is produced by the transformation of water from liquid to gaseous state. At sea level, this only happens at 212F/100C. It doesn't happen at any lower temperature, unless you reduce the atmosphere (head in to the mountains). You're not making steam (at least steam from water) at 135F. Sorry. What you're seeing in your sealed pouch is an environment that's heated much higher than the water around it, system under pressure, molecules colliding at high rate, that sort of thing. By definition, steam is always hotter than water. If it weren't, it wouldn't be steam, but rather water! Pressure does have an effect on the temperature of steam. The temperature of produced steam under no pressure is 212F. It then increases 3 degrees F per additional pound of pressure (sorry, can't do the metric conversions in my head), so at 3psi, steam is 218F. Steam coming out of an espresso/cappucino machine is going to be hotter than 212, though I'm skeptical that you can tell the difference between 212F and 225F with your hand. As for steam having "flavor", I think what you're smelling are the chemicals released by the cooking food being mixed in and carried with the steam.

Cold mango. And it is bloody hot.

Nope, not secret at all, since everybody's mustard is derived from a few basic forms. Here's my favorite Dijon: cold water 1 c cider vinegar 1 c dry white wine (I usually use a Sauvignon Blanc) 1/2 c minced yellow onion (interesting results w/ sweet, such as vidalia, but first time out use "standard") 1/4 c minced shallot 3 Tbl minced garlic 1 bay leaf 1 tsp gin (or 2 tsp juniper berries - I prefer the gin, gives me something to do while I wait) 1/4 c ground yellow mustard seed 1/2 c ground brown mustard seed (I buy my mustard in bulk section @ whole foods) 2 tsp black peppercorns 2 Tbl chilled lemon juice 2 tsp kosher salt 2 tsp sugar 1) Make a paste with mustard powders and water. 2) Reduce by 2/3 combination of wine, vinegar, onion, shallot, garlic, peppercorn, gin, and bay leaf over medium heat. 3) Strain/Cover/Chill reduction 4) Combine in the pan the reduction, mustard paste, sugar, salt, and lemon juice; mix and let stand for 30 minutes 5) Simmer for 15 minutes. 6) Jar it and put it on a shelf in a cool out-of-the-way place. Optimum results occur after about a month of aging. Of course, my idea of optimum and yours may be different, so check it every two weeks or so. If it's too wet, mix in some additional dry mustard; too dry, then add in some vinegar; too tangy, give it some more aging time. Once it's where you want it flavor wise, refridgerate it to stop the mellowing process. It'll keep for a long while.

Prepared mustard is essentially a paste of ground mustard seed (mustard powder) and an acidic liquid, such as wine or vinegar, some number of spices or other flavor enhancers (such as horseradish, possibly), and salt and sugar. Hot-dog style yellow mustard, for example, is a simple blend of 1/3 vinegar, 1/3 water, just under 1/3 yellow mustard powder, along with a helping of salt and sugar, tumeric, pepper, cloves, etc., and beaten into homogeny. One of my favorite 'Dijon' recipes combines a paste of brown mustard and water with a white wine and cider vinegar reduction, seasoned with onion, shallot, garlic, and juniper berries; the resulting combination is then salted and sugared and left to mellow. I have in the neighborhood of 62 mustard recipes that I'm working my way through. It's a secret passion. Don't tell mom.

Dijon Mustard Here's my favorite Dijon Style Mustard: 2 tsp sugar 2 tsp kosher salt 2 T chilled lemon juice 2 tsp black peppercorns 1/2 c ground brown mustard 1/4 c ground yellow mustard 1 tsp gin (or 2 tsp juniper berries) 1 Bay Leaf 3 T minced garlic 1/4 c minced shallot 1/2 c minced yellow onion 1 c Dry white wine (I usually use a Sauvignon Blanc) 1 c Cider Vinegar 1/4 c Cold Water 1) Make a paste with mustard powders and water. 2) Reduce by 2/3 combination of wine, vinegar, onion, shallot, garlic, peppercorn, gin, and bay leaf over medium heat. 3) Strain/Cover/Chill reduction 4) Combine in the pan the reduction, mustard paste, sugar, salt, and lemon juice; mix and let stand for 30 minutes 5) Simmer for 15 minutes. 6) Jar it and put it on a shelf in a cool out-of-the-way place. Optimum results occur after about a month of aging. Of course, my idea of optimum and yours may be different, so check it every two weeks or so. If it's too wet, mix in some additional dry mustard; too dry, then add in some vinegar; too tangy, give it some more aging time. Once it's where you want it flavor wise, refridgerate it to stop the mellowing process. It'll keep for a long while. Keywords: Intermediate, Condiment ( RG557 )

"Chicken Fajitas" "Vegitarian Fajitas" Fajita is skirt steak, from an animal swathed in leather, not feathers, and certainly not growing out of the ground.