Toliver

Your timing is amazing. The PBS series "America's Test Kitchen" episode that aired this weekend in my area featured this recipe. It seems like it shouldn't work but it does.

Thanks for taking the time to post an update! I appreciate it.

I grew up in San Diego and had never heard of this dish until about 10 years ago. I'm curious if it's a regional thing, as well.

eGullet member BryanZ started one and received some well deserved publicity. I'm not sure if his "underground" restaurant is still up and running. Hopefully, he'll weigh in. I'd be interested to hear how he did and what he thought of the concept.

A while back there was a similar discussion on eGullet: Cooking classes for disadvantaged folks eGullet member chefzadi ended up giving cooking lessons to lower income inner city kids to teach them that good food could be made both economically and nutritionally.

Locally, it's La Rosa Fruit Bars & Ice Cream. The vendors sell the treats out of little carts with bells that they'll ring to announce they're in your neighborhood. They're a perfect treat for the summer heat.

That's likely. The cashier or bagger opens every carton of eggs and checks for cracks. ← Playing the pessimist for a moment, they're not checking to see if the eggs are cracked. They're checking to make sure it contains only eggs, a la the Five Finger discount. It's the same reason why sales people/checkers always open a purse when you buy it...to make sure it doesn't contain any hidden items.

Just beautiful! I hope it tasted as good as it looked.

No. You're correct. There's a chemical reaction that takes place between the milk and the bread that, when blended into the meat, helps to keep it soft when cooked. I'm sure an SSB will pop in with the proper name for the reaction. ← It used to be that you couldn't walk the halls of eGullet without bumping into an SSB ready with an eager answer but times change, I guess. I stumbled upon the correct name for the mixture (not for the reaction itself) in the March-April 2008 issue of Cook's Illustrated (such a deal!...buy the 2008 annual and get the 2007 annual for free). The answer was in a sidebar for their recipe titled Simple Italian-Style Meat Sauce. The milk-bread combo is called a panade. According to the CI SSB's ( ), here's why it works: They go on to say that mixing the meat and panade in a food processor helps to make sure that the starch is well dispersed into the meat. It seems counter-intuitive because you would think mixing the meat in the food processor would make the meat tough but because of the panade, it doesn't. Of course, this makes me wonder why use milk? Why not use just water or another liquid of your choice? Or is there something (fat, perhaps?) in the milk that helps make the meat tender? edited to clarify

I thought I would bump this back to ask if anyone has eaten there lately and how is Willa Mae doing?

My mom would usually make more pizza than we could eat (though raising 4 always growing always hungry boys gave her a run for her money ) so she always froze some for future dinners. She baked it first, though, then froze it. It was never frozen unbaked. Her dough was always Apian Way bread/roll mix. Reheated pizza that had been frozen was, of course, nothing like the fresh-out-of-the-oven pizza but it was edible.

They're supposed to be bland so they don't interfere with the taste/flavor of whatever you're putting on top of them. Just think of them as a non-partisan boring delivery system. As for Triscuits, I go through phases liking them and not wanting to go near them. I had a box of Roasted Garlic flavor Triscuits and and found them to be texturally greasy, which I thought was odd. I tossed them which is heresy for me since I don't throw anything out.

Kim, everything looks great. What is the name/recipe title of this salad? Thanks!

No. You're correct. There's a chemical reaction that takes place between the milk and the bread that, when blended into the meat, helps to keep it soft when cooked. I'm sure an SSB will pop in with the proper name for the reaction. ← Hmmmm. I'm no SSB, but I think it's called... what's an SSB? ← SSB is a term that's been bandied about on this board for ages. Smug Scientific Bastard = SSB Of course, it's said with love. edited to add that this reaction may have been discussed in the May 2003 issue of Cook's Illustrated. By Googling I've found it's posted on their web site but since I'm not a member I'm not privvy to the information.

Yes. I believe Oxo has. The handle is larger so you can get a better grip (which greatly improves stirring) and the bowl is just a wee bit deeper than a regular wooden spoon.

On the PBS series "Everyday Baking" (from Martha Stewart's company), the host made a very simple blueberry tart (click here) that looked quite good and also used a mixture of cooked blueberries and fresh. I was thinking you could use the same filling for a pie but with this recipe you don't bake the tart (the crust is blind baked and some of the filling is cooked on the stovetop so it'd be different than a pie).

No. You're correct. There's a chemical reaction that takes place between the milk and the bread that, when blended into the meat, helps to keep it soft when cooked. I'm sure an SSB will pop in with the proper name for the reaction.

← From what I've understood about them, because of their structure bones diffuse the heat rather than concentrate it. I think the "hive mind" assumes the bone is a solid so it will capture, store and radiate heat into the meat which is incorrect. Which is one of the reasons why you're not supposed to take a temp reading near the bone (in birds or otherwise)...you may get a lower reading. The bone does, however, impart flavor into the meat.

I'm with Pam. I use the whole kit and kaboodle. In salads, when sauténg, whatever. My mom used to finely chop up the green part as a poor man's substitute for chives to use on our baked potatoes. Now that we can finally find chives in our grocery stores, we still use the tops of the green onion for our baked potatoes. Go figure.

My first guess would also be that it's a mother forming. Though why it would have a rotten smell is beyond me.

Hats off to the maker of the simple little chopper thingy of which there are so many clones. Here's one currently making the rounds on TV: The Slap Chop I like to think I have adequate knife skills but I use a similar chopper when cutting up veggies for my green salads. It's quick..I don't mind the pieces ending up too small. Slap. Chop Chop. Done.

I have a chinese cookbook that has a recipe for purposely browned garlic and spinach greens with a dressing. It's an acquired taste to say the least. A lot of recipes bypass the charred diced garlic by having you smash the garlic clove and leaving it as one large piece that can be easily removed once it's flavored the cooking oil.

Yes! Do you refrigerate it? I've noticed that bad pizza will be really bad when it's been refrigerated and eaten cold. Amen on that. I adore leftover chinese food, although I am sometimes loathe to reheat it. Is it heresy to eat it cold? You, my good poster, are a genius and I thought it should be pointed out to one and all. It reminds me of a friend who, at Thanksgiving, was searching for some leftover turkey for a sandwich only to find the carcass stripped bare. Thus he invented the stuffing sandwich, one of mankind's most redundant meals. Monuments have been erected for lesser inventions. edited to clarify, like buttah

Why not? Have you tried freezing thin onion slices as an experiment? I know you can buy bags of frozen pre-diced white onion in the grocery stores so fresh onion slices may survive being frozen for a short time. I think the caveat against freezing fresh vegetables has to do with their water content more than anything else. The water in the veggies freezes which damages the cells which causes the veggies to become mushy when thawed. It's worth a try with onions...

If it tasted fine but just looked bad, you could also try the hot knife trick to see if it could smooth it out. Frost the cake and then dip your spatula/knife in very hot water. Dry it off and run it slowly across the surface of the frosting. The heat from the knife should melt/smooth the frosting.