Toliver

I wouldn't think it would be intended for something you're going to put on the grill anyway. It makes more sense to use it to add that smokey flavor to something that you've put in the oven or braised on the stove or cooked in the crockpot, instances where you can't really get a smokey flavor otherwise (indoor smokers aside).

I saw an ad for this oven in a recent issue of Bon Appetit magazine and was intrigued by its claims. You can find more info on their website: www.turbochef.com Apparently, this type of oven has been used in professional kitchens for some time and is now available for the home cook. Charlie Trotter endorses the oven. From the info on the site, it sounds like a super-duper convection oven, cooking 20 spears of asparugus in 45 seconds and a 12 lb. turkey in 42 minutes. Its mix of digital features juxtaposed with analogue features is a little odd (why have an analogue clock?...unless they're going for a "retro" feel). The top TurboChef oven has only one rack (with two positions) and looks a little small but they state a 26 lb. turkey will fit inside of it. The optional bottom oven sounds like just a regular convection oven and doesn't have the speedy/cooking features of the top oven. I'm assuming the TurboOven Residential is too new to ask if anyone has one in their home. Has anyone used these ovens in a professional capacity? I imagine the price for the residential version of the oven will be quite high. From the specs, it looks like you don't have to have any special construction in the kitchen like you would with professional ovens in a residential home. The construction for the oven housing looks like it just has to be strong enough to hold the weight of the oven. edited to add: It looks like the oven also has microwave capabilities. There's this from the "How it Works" page: That's interesting phrasing.

I can't recall specifically if Martin Yan called them croquettes but the finished product certainly looked like croquettes. He used two large spoons to create the football shape (tournage?) before breading. I found it a little humorous because as he was finishing making the football shape, it fell off the spoon and into the bowl of mashed potatoes. He quickly fished it out of the bowl and moved onto the breading portion of the recipe as if nothing had happened. Such a pro! After more Googling, I'm also finding references about Indian/Thai influences in Macanese cuisine since it sometimes uses curries and coconut/coconut milk as an ingredient. On this specific episode, Martin was in Macau where he featured a guest chef who used coconut in the recipe he was preparing (I think it was used as a breading for fish before deep frying in the wok).

Adding texture may hide the flour dust but it'll also hold onto it, wouldn't it? At least a non-textured ceiling would be easier to clean if you had to do that. Too bad they don't make flour dust-colored paint.

Instead of starting a new discussion, I thought I would bump this one back up. This weekend on PBS, "Martin's Yan's Chinatown Cooking" featured Macanese cooking which has been heavily influenced by the Portuguese. He said it's one of the few chinese cuisines where bread is served with each meal. On the show he made two dishes which featured potatoes. One dish had deep fried potato quarters (I believe) and the other involved making mashed potatoes "footballs" (I apologize for not knowing the correct cooking term for this), dipping them in an egg mixture, breading them and then deep frying them. I was intrigued because potatoes aren't really an ingredient I think of when I think of chinese cuisine. Does anyone have anymore Macanese recipes? Or experiences with the cuisine? edited to add: I did a little bit of online research and wasn't able to find out what the main differences were between Macanese cooking and other chinese cuisines. Wikipedia mentioned seafood is quite often featured in Macanese dishes but then other chinese cuisines also feature seafood. So what makes Macanese cooking different? edited once again to add: They also use balachu(sp?), salted cod (a dried salted fish used in many European cuisines). On this episode, Martin Yan cooked a dish with the cod which I, again, found intriguing since I hadn't seen it in other chinese cuisines.

I use a pastry blender to chop up the cooked egg yolks for deviled eggs. Makes quick work of it.

You'll find a lot of Asian families have ceramic bowls (like rice bowls) in their cupboards that are used for this same purpose. You can always tell by the skuffed bottoms of the bowls. A Vietnamese friend says they don't treat their good china that way. It's usually just an everyday bowl that the family uses.

New Doritos Collisions. "2 flavors - 1 bag" This combination was "Zesty Taco" and "Chipotle Ranch". To quibble, that's more than two flavors in one bag but I digress. They have another Collision flavor combination of "Blue Cheese and Hot Wings" which is bogus, IMHO, since neither of those flavors exist as stand-alone flavors of Dorito Torilla Chips. I've got to admit that these days, with the prevalence of Ranch-flavored everything, I don't think I could pick "Ranch flavor" out of a police lineup anymore. These were okay tortilla chips (which is another way of saying "At least they didn't suck."). There was a small kick provided by the Chipotle flavoring and you do taste the taco flavoring. I'm sure the Ranch flavoring is in there somewhere...I just couldn't taste it specifically. I'll see if I can get a hold of the other Collisions flavor combo (though I'm not a fan of blue cheese) this weekend and report back.

They do this on purpose. You can find out more from this MSNBC article on "15 ways stores trick you into spending". And there's also this tactic:

We were a test market for them back in March of this year and now they're a regular menu item. I agree, the commercials leave a lot to be desired ("We're lucky to be a test market so we just gotta try one"). The burgers are just okay and not really worth their price. Apparently, the Angus Burgers (and chicken wraps) are a success for McDonald's (I believe I linked to an aritcle about this in a subsequent post on the above-linked discussion). It's funny but they couldn't have picked a worse sounding name for a burger. Jack-in-the-Box has commercials making fun of "angus"... In a bussiness meeting at Jack-in-the-Box corporate headquarters. Jack is standing in front of a map showing the cuts of beef on a cow. One of the employees in the meeting asks: "Jack, can you point out the angus?" Jack is shown standing near the rear end of the map/cow and replies "Uh, no, not really". The rest of the room erupts in laughter. Thinking like a 10 year old...Angus Third = Anus Turd. It's too easy of a target.

I'd like to add that not only does it have to taste better, but it has to be cost effective, as well. Sometimes it's cheaper to outsource it and it doesn't taste half bad so it'll do.

Thanks for the info, andie. You are one of eGullet's best resources!

Von's, which is owned by "Safeday" , has been doing this "I'm-your-friend" schtick for about two years and I also find it annoying. I love it when they ask me while checking out "Did you find everything you were looking for?" Never mind that it's a little late to ask me that question while you're checking me out. My favorite response is "I found everything I was looking for except for low prices". Needless to say, I don't do much of my shopping there anymore.

It looks like a glue spreader for floor and tile work. A perfect multi-tasking device.

It's not a rare commodity. Our local grocery stores carry a couple different brands. Here's a sample of brands: Liquid Smoke on Amazon.com Liquid smoke adds a smokey flavor but it doesn't make meat "succulent". It's the cooking process (as others have posted) that makes the meat succulent.

Marlene, the recipe doesn't mention what kind of flour to use. Did you use AP? As for the problem mentioned in another post about cookies spreading too thin, you can also try refrigerating the dough before baking.

'Cane' Push Blends Content, Commerce While the first push seems relegated to a magazine, there's also a web site for the fake rum company in the TV show and a real contest that will be incorporated into the storyline on the show. As for the mojito-flavored strip in the magazine, I think it's step above perfume strips. Will someone take one for the team and try the flavor strip to see if it really does taste like a mojito?

Frito Lay has debuted a new flavor: Tangy Roasted Corn What it says on the back of the bag: The chips themselves do have a little bit of a "corn nuts" aftertaste which isn't too surprising since they are corn chips afterall. They have a pinkish-hued powdery coating on them. You can't taste the lime at all. You really can't taste any "mexican spices" in particular. I certainly wouldn't call them "tangy", either. Feh. The ingredients list "cheddar cheese" and "romano cheese" which isn't mentioned in the overall description of the chip so it was a surprise to see those two items. As for spices, they specifically mention chili pepper and red pepper. These corn chips need to be sent back to the lab for reworking. They're nothing special. To my chagrin, I just noticed that there are four servings of chips in the bag. I guess I need to find three other people to share them with if I buy these chips again.

I thought about getting them, as well, but I don't see how they could be very good. The measuring line is below the rim of the cup. How do you level off a cup of flour? Do a Google Image search for the cups to see what I'm talking about.

I've seen no-sugar added pickle relish in my local grocery stores. They also sell dill pickle relish which isn't sweet at all.

Some swear by those reuseable produce bags. I swear by these disks: ExtraLife disks The produce in my crispers seem to last a heckuva lot longer with the disks. I used to get mine at Bed, Bath & Beyond. edited to add a hot link to the produce bags.

Well, I am perplexed. While I just saw their grilled pizza episode on "ATK", the recipe isn't in the 7th season cookbook or DVD set. Unless that episode is part of the new season I can't explain why it's MIA. edited to add: I just discovered why it's MIA. The episode and recipe is from season 6, not season 7 (the current season).

Milky Way Dark Chocolate Mint Overall, a good candy bar. It's actually two small bars (this candy bar is noticeably skinnier than a regular Milky Way candy bar). The outer wrapping is the regular Milky Way silver foil but with a green tinge on the bottom half. I wish the dark chocolate coating had been thicker to make this candy bar really stand out. At first bite, I didn't think the mint was very strong (compared to the strong mint presence in a York Peppermint Patty). But it got stronger with each bite. After a while it did remind me of the flavor of a York Peppermint Patty. But where a York PP is dense and almost crisp, the Milky Way Dark Chocolate Mint candy bar is soft and fluffy, which was a little odd in the beginning because my head kept thinking "York Peppermint Patty" in flavor but not in chewing sensation. If a York Peppermint Patty isn't available, this candy bar will do for that mint kick. The label also says it's 150 calories for both bars that make up the candy bar. I also saw these next to the 6-packs of Buzz Cola at my local 7-Eleven: Limited Edition Razzberry M&M's (it's their spelling, not mine). I can't stand the flavor combination of chocolate and raspberry so I won't bother reviewing the candy here to be fair. I am posting this so others will know it's currently available as a limited edition candy. As you can see by the scan, the candy itself is pudgier than a regular M&M. If anyone likes that flavor combination and tries the candy, feel free to post a review.

The Boll Weevil in Santee closed some time ago and is now a BBQ joint. There is one (or at least there used to be) in the Souplantation strip mall on Fletcher Parkway. I'll have to ask my family to check it out if they're in the neighborhood to see if it's still there. I Googled the restaurant and it says there are still some locations though I'm not sure if that information is current. According to listings on Sandiegobizmart.com they had up to 10 locations. It's the end of an era. They were like Fuddruckers before Fuddruckers existed. When your burgers came, you were given your own condiment tray so you could dress the burger the way you liked it. I think the Longhorn in the Von's shopping center on Mission Gorge (by Kaiser) has a condiment tray, too. I read in Wikipedia that the first location on Midway (the one we always went to when we were kids) was next door to the Cotton Patch which is how the owner came up with the name "The Boll Weevil".

On the PBS series "America's Test Kitchen", they just did a grilled pizza. As you can read by the episode synopsis in the link provided, they changed the dough recipe for better grilling. They also discussed the coal situation. I have the cookbook at home and could post more tomorrow if you're interested in what they had to say (anyone else who has this season's cookbook, feel free to chime in).