Toliver

"The Froman" is a nice reference to a scene from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". Thank for the report. Now if only Gilbert's had a greatly expanded distribution area.

The "quart of water boiling in 101 seconds" (from the GE web site) would be a selling point for me. I have a decent microwave oven and it takes about 7 to 8 minutes to bring 3 cups of water to a boil. On my electric stove it's about 5 minutes to boil 3 cups of water. I would imagine it would be even faster if I had an induction burner. So time and clean up would be the determining factors for me.

I thought of this, as well. Here's a link to Daisy's web site and the recipe "Spicy Pineapple Vinegar "(click). You could easily omit the habeñeros or substitute a milder chile pepper.

My dad would eat them mashed up with diced white onion and a splash of cider vinegar on saltines. My brothers and I would scarf them down. I think my dad got a kick out of seeing us eat them because I think most kids probably wouldn't.

Bumping up this old topic... GE has launched a web site to try and explain (and promote) Induction cooking to the American consumer: Induction 101 I'm not a shill for GE. But I've heard that induction cooking is commonplace in Asia and Europe but hasn't gained a foothold here in the US. Is the difference cultural? Is it due to poor PR work by Induction cooker manufacturers here in the US? Or do we blame the American consumer who refuses to give up their aluminum (or other non-magnetic) cookware?

Much to my chagrin, I discovered I'm a regular at my local Von's grocery store. This past weekend a checker there called me by my name even though I hadn't swiped my membership card, yet. Of course, the checker has been there since rocks first cooled and I guess I have been a customer there since then, too.

As a general rule, I tend not to intentionally put anything at all down my Insinkerator disposal. I will rinse my meal dishes and pots and pans on the disposal side of the sink and the disposal will grind the bits and pieces all up and send them on their merry way. When I wash dishes by hand, the dishwater gets dumped down the disposal side of the sink. But why risk grinding up all those peels (and bones? ) and possibly clogging up your pipes? My mom used to dump her coffee grounds down the disposal but when a plumber had to be called he said you may as well dump sand into your pipes. So my garbage disposal is rarely put through its paces. It gets light duty and that's it.

Here's some past eGullet info on rendering that may help you. You may be able to adapt some of the methods though they deal with lard and not schmaltz: Rendering Lard - The Topic (merged) Lard (two methods)

I have a good friend who uses his George Foreman grill every morning to make the bacon for his bacon and eggs. It has a timer on it and when it goes off, he knows he has perfect bacon for breakfast. edited to add: On the other hand, frying bacon in a cast iron skillet achieves two things: 1) glorious cooked bacon and 2) a seasoned cast iron skillet which is a good thing. [/Martha]

By Steve Ells, are you talking about "And I'm Steve Ells, owner of Chipotle?". THAT Steve Ells? Because you don't want to get him confused with any other Steve Ells who is NOT the owner/creator/founder of Chipotle. I don't think he's annoying, just really, really considerate in identifying himself as THE Steve Ells who owns Chipotle every single damn time he ever has to say his name.... Steve Ellis is like Toby in that episode of "The West Wing" where he lost a bet with Josh and had to introduce himself to everyone he met with "I'm Toby Ziegler...I work at the White House." Exactly this. So, Bobby Flay, if the winning restaurant is supposed to be one of those "take it and go and eat it on the run" type place (the judges keep telling the contestants to "make it hand held, like a taco or like Steve Ellis' Chipotle burritos"), just how am I supposed to carry and use those dipping sauces you keep harping on the contestants to start making in every episode? So yes, the judges seem to be sending out mixed signals to the contestants.

Another team bites the dust. The only surprise to me is how they lasted this long given how they didn't seem to have a consistent fare/menu until the investors forced them into it just a few episodes ago. Which leads me to ask is how did these teams get this far having so many problems? You would think anyone lasting this long would have their stuff together, to put it politely, and that the investors would be splitting hairs at this point to find faults with the top teams. But these are some major team FUBARS. Who screened these teams? The Brooklyn Meatball Company (?) guy scares me. He has been clueless from Day One and has made it this far with major help from others (new restaurant name and theme, menu focus, etc). What if he wins and he's on his own to launch his three locations? Who will be there helping him to make it a success?

I'm on Lipitor so I don't eat them anymore. When I did, I used the Citrus Express quite a bit. Slice the grapefruit in half. Press the grapefruit half cut-side down onto the white arches (see the picture of the Citrus Express at the link). Once pressed down, turn the grapefruit using your hand for one complete revolution. You can see in the linked picture that there's a thin arched serrated blade that that slices the fruit from the rind as you rotate it. A tip: When you first press the grapefruit down, align the white arches so that the curved metal blade is behind one of the arches. Press the fruit down hard so that you can almost feel the white arches against the rind. This will help get the cutting blade as close to the rind edge as possible. I don't mind the membranes between the segments (it's fiber) so I don't worry about prying just the segments out of the fruit.

Perhaps "Griddled Cheese Sandwich" would be more appropriate. I prefer the classic version: Just generously buttered white bread and cheese, heated in a skillet on the stove until brown and toasted on one side, then flipped to brown the other side of the sandwich. By the time the second side is done, the cheese should be melted and gooey. If you're using Velvetta (which we had when I was growing up), you were guaranteed it would be melted and gooey by the time side one was browned. Once plated, I pry open the sandwich and insert lengthy slices of dill pickle all the way across the inner cheese. Close up the sandwich and enjoy. When I was a wee lad, a cousin once bought me lunch at a Woolworth's-type lunch counter. Whoever was behind the counter made the grilled cheese sandwich with mustard. Boo hiss. I just couldn't eat it.

The cynic in me would say "yes" except for the fact that if there were connection between the two , it certainly would have been trumpted from the rooftops since Day One of the show. Why else keep it quiet? Any publicity is good publicity. Of course, having said that, watch it pop up in the next episode.

You think that's bad...at least the eggs are eggs (or look like one). Try any Burger King breakfast sandwich that has egg in it. The eggs look like they're cut from a giant egg cloth... and taste like it, too.

Here's a link to an online store that sells the black & orange "Peanut Butter Kisses"(click). There's also a local ice cream & candy store here where I live called Dewar's that sells taffy chews. They have peanut butter chews (click here) that are wonderfully peanut butter-y. It's like a strip of peanut butter inside the oblong taffy chew. They have some new flavors that rock, too (the Pistachio and the Caramel Pistachio are my new fav's).

I think Bobby was probably referring to dried chick peas, which would then be ground to make the falafel balls. Thank you for that. I checked my local Von's and they don't carry them. My guess is they'll be found in the local Indian grocery store. The restaurantuer-wannabe's were given $300 and then they shopped at what looked to be like a Costco/Sam's Club-type store. I know my Costco doesn't carry dried chickpeas. I don't think the contestants had the option to do their shopping at an Indian/Ethnic store. So if your main dish requires ground chickpeas, what's a person to do? I think Stephanie made the best decision based upon what I saw in the editing/show and she shouldn't have been taken to task by the judges for it. Unless the contestants did have the option to shop where they wanted to shop to better source their ingredients, then the judges critique would be correct.

Instead of swiping a card, you can sometimes just enter a phone number in the device at checkout to receive the store's member benefits. The trick is not to use your own phone number. That way they can't track your purchases. You will find that usually someone will have already created a dummy membership phone number of XXX (the area code of your area) 867-5309. That phone number was the title of a Top 40 song "867-5309/Jenny" by Tommy Tutone in 1982. It works in my area code at my local grocery store. edited for clarity

Another one bites the dust. Not surprising to me, though. I liked Sandra's concept but it seems as though she just never had the food to back up the idea. I think the "Saints and Sinners" menu is a great idea. Most of the fast food chains have dabbled in the idea. For example, at Carl's Jr/Hardee's you can order a chicken sandwich where the chicken is battered and deep fried, or you can have the chicken just grilled for a healthier option. I could easily see that idea expanded to an entire restaurant menu. Why she couldn't execute that idea left me scratching my head. I would assume that someone who wishes to start a restaurant would have some basic core recipes that they want to build a restaurant around. Where were her recipes? How much blame can you place on the hired chef? Are the recipes generated out of thin air? And then when the chef makes the food, aren't you tasting it and testing it to make sure it's what you want to serve to the public/judges? Or am I just being a control freak here? Another contestant who raised one of my eyebrows in last night's episode was Stephanie Park/Harvest Sōl. They practically had to drag her kicking and screaming into the food truck competition. Of course, the judges railed on her food because it wasn't convenient to eat. What was she thinking? All she had to do was make a healthy falafel wrap or stuffed whole wheat pita and she could have walked away with it while being faithful to her restaurant vision. (Mini rant: The judges gave her negative comments about her using canned chickpeas for her falafel. Excuse me, Bobby Flay, but where in the hell do you buy fresh chickpeas? You can't find them in the grocery stores where I shop.) Stephanie was also the same contestant who, a couple episodes ago, when asked by the judges to make a sandwich said "No". No? I would bet good money that she'll be the next to go.

I had stumbled across my 2008 Cooking Illustrated Annual yesterday and saw they had a Baking Pantry 101. Here are their suggestions for baking pantry items to have on hand: Granulated sugar - Superfine sugar - Confectioner's sugar - Molasses - Brown sugar - Maple syrup - Honey AP flour - Cake flour - Bread flour Baking powder - Baking soda - Yeast (instant or rapid rise) Salt (table) Chocolate - Vanilla extract Canola or vegetable oil - Shortening - Baking spray (like PAM)

Yes, this. I was with a group of 10 waiting for Emeril's in the MGM Grand. I'd been before but many in our group hadn't been before. We had reservations for 7pm. We still hadn't been seated by 8pm. It turned out that the people who were at "our" table were just not leaving. They kept ordering wine and drinks and talking. It wasn't until 8:30 that management finally seated us...in the smoking section. Most of the people in our group were from California where there is no such thing as a smoking section anymore. Of the 10 of us only one was a smoker who never smoked in front of us out of consideration. The management/staff didn't seem to give a rat's behind that they weren't seating us and said nothing to us the entire wait. I think they were hoping we would just leave which I is what I wanted to do (you can throw a poker chip in any direction in Las Vegas and practically hit a restaurant everytime). But because others in the group wanted the Emeril-less Emeril's experience, we couldn't leave. I doubly ticked off because of the wait and then being seated in the smoking section. It definitely was not worth the wait, time and trouble.

Ruffle Queso Jalapeño potato chips This is a scan of a bag I consumed myself. I'm not sure if these are a new flavor. They may have been around for a while. We have a winner! Not only are these cheesey, they have a nice tang to them almost like a sharp cheddar. They may even be extra cheesey when compared to the regular Ruffles Cheddar Cheese chips. I could swear I even tasted a little jalapeño flavor, too. Normally when a chip/snack maker slaps the word "jalapeño" on something, it will just be spicey. These do have a little kick to them but, like I said, I swear I think I can taste a little jalapeño flavoring. I recommend these chips!

I agree with the "B) ...kicking it up a notch". I would order it precisely becuase I wouldn't make it at home or have the generous resources to do so. And C) is dead on because people like comfort food and will pay good money for it. Comfort food is exactly what his cuisine was all about. Too bad it wasn't comforting enough (or well made enough) for him to stay.

I know...dipping sauces...whatta maroon. [/bugs Bunny] Granted, the contestant never really made what his theme was supposed to be about...the melted grilled gooey cheesey sandwich...until this most recent episode. But Bobby kept harping on the dipping sauces, week after week after week. I don't know about anyone else, but I would never use a dipping sauce for my grilled cheese sandwich. Call me an inflexible purist, if you will. Now if you were talking about dipping sauces for my french fries, then I'll listen to ya (and they'd better be damn good fries, too). But, Bobby, please...let the freakin' dipping sauces go.

Another grey area: And what if you use these prepared ingredients as ingredients instead of just as a meal? For example, using the meat from a rotisserie chicken to make chicken enchilads or burritos. Or using the already prepared veggies from a grocery store salad bar as ingredients for a stir fry or soup? I'm still cooking...I'm just not cooking like the generation or two before me who would cook everything from scratch.