Toliver

Sounds like you will really enjoy his new show coming up on TVFN "Bobby Flay: Chef Mentor", where he has a group of young chef-wannabes and he plucks his new protegé from their midsts. Apparently he was plucked (mentored) when he was a wannabe and now he wants to return the karmic favor...with the cameras rolling.

From what I've seen on the web there are a couple theories of origination. First Theory: "Chow" (actually "chou") is Chinese Pigden English meaning "miscellaneous cargo". Second Theory: "Chow" is Chinese Pigden English for "food". If the first theory is true, then it's easy to see the natural transition from it to the second theory. Given that there isn't just one recipe for "chow chow" but that it can be made from a variety of ingredients, seems to go hand in hand with the "miscellaneous" aspect of the word derivation.

My mom keeps completely "American traditional" with our Thanksgiving dinner, but my aunt always makes the traditional Bohemian family dish Pork Roast and Sauerkraut in addition to the turkey and all the trimmings for her Thanksgiving dinner. It's like having dinner with dinner.

What if you cooked it covered or in a foil bag for most of the time (with some sort of liquid) and then uncovered it, glazed it and cooked it on a rack for the last hour? I'm thinking that might provide you with the best of both cooking methods.

Ditto on the crockpot. I use pickling spices in the water. I come home from work to fork-tender corned beef and sometimes will remove the corned beef and then use the water to boil some potatoes and carrots (I have a West Bend Slow Cooker that sits on a base and the metal pot can be taken off the base and be put directly on the stove). Delicious. edited to add link

I am sure Marsha will weigh in on this subject, but from what I've learned is that when slicing anything that is round you first need to create a flat base. This means slicing the side of the carrot off and turning the carrot so it will rest on this flat base which will help provide stability when cutting. Once the carrot is on its flat base, slice each side again so you now have three flat sides. Rotate the carrot so the round top is now on either of the sides and slice it flat, as well. Chop off both ends of the carrot. If you're frugal or ambitious, you can use the trimmings for stock, soup or stew. Once you have this carrot "rectangle", slicing juliennes or matchsticks should be easy and from there you'll get your fine dice. Make sure you also master the "claw"....turning the fingers of your non-slicing hand under so the only the flat of your knuckles are exposed. When slicing, your knife should never be raised higher than your knuckles so they won't be cut. Use the "claw" to guide and move what you're cutting. edited for clarification and spellling

You're on the right track. According to Merriam-Webster, "deviled" means to highly spice, which makes perfect sense given what deviled eggs are.

Congratulations on your future "BBQ" king or queen! You might want to PM Seth G for suggestions. He had a leave of absence from work after the birth of his second(?) child and blogged about it here. Towards the end of the blog he got into freezing mode since he had to go back to work. He'll should be able to tell you what worked well and what didn't.

Thought I would channel Marlene here: Please use eGullet-friendly links when directing people to Amazon for specific titles - Monica Bhide's "The Everything Indian Cookbook"

I attended a "Hot Pepper Party" a couple years ago. One dish (purported to be a Wolfgang Puck recipe) was diced mangos, diced red onion and diced jalepeños in a sort of vinaigrette. The mango pieces were actually chunkier than a dice and I can't really recall any other ingredients. It was a wonderful balance of hot & sweet & sour (from the vinaigrette). Simple but hot. They also had an Artichoke Jalapeño cheese dip (also purported to be from Wolfgang Puck) that was the hit of the party. It's just like all those recipes for Artichoke Cheese dip you find on the web except you add diced jalapeños. When I bring this to parties I also make a batch with just diced green chiles for those who don't like the heat of the jalapeños (wimps). Serve with tortilla chips. I can post the recipe if you're interested.

Here were some previous discussions on make-ahead appetizers: "Hors d'oeuvres, what can I make ahead of time?" "Freezable Finger Foods" Lots of good ideas!

It won't properly fly on Fox. They have to be able to show nudity, fornication and allow cussing like a sailor. Perhaps it'll debut on HBO or Showtime, if we're lucky.

I use a timer for all recipes and non-recipe dishes. Except for my Sunday morning "omlettes" (in quotes because it's not made in the normal omlette manner). For some reason, I always know when it's time to check on the pan. Works without fail...

No, I don't believe so. I wouldn't be surprised if QVC makes it part of their sales-agreement with some of their celebrity shills. I remember seeing a brief segment on "Entertainment Tonight" (all their sgements are "brief" ) about a NASCAR driver who was signing a room full of model cars modelled after his own car to be sold on QVC. I think Rocco commented to: 1) make him look like he cared about the people who would end up buying the book. He said something to the effect of "I wanted to make sure that if you were going to buy my book, you were going to get an autographed copy. So I personally autographed two thousand copies of my cookbook." 2) make it look like it was his idea.

Anyone catch Rocco on QVC yesterday hawking his 10-piece line of cookware & Mama's meatballs? Yes, Mama was there, too, eventually. "Rocco Items on QVC" His cookware is oven-safe to only 400°f. He mentioned that he had personally autographed QVC's entire supply of his cookbook (he said a couple thousand or so).

jo-mel, See the quotes above your quote for some answers to your question (which I found by scrolling back a couple pages in this discussion). I'd consider Fuschia an expert and according to her, the loss in flavor & "zip" is minimal.

There are some ideas in this discussion: "Honoring Julia, What We Cooked:

Adriana's Caravan has a little blurb in the product description fo Szechuan Peppercorns that as of September 2004 they were allowed to legally sell them online. It looks like, yes, the ban is kinda sorta lifted. The price you paid for them at Buffalo Creek Spices seems to be the best I've seen online though I'm sure they're cheaper in your local Asian Market. Sorry about that!

Are you sure that the black scum wasn't something that you could ignore? Afterall, you dump the brine anyway and rinse the olives. I wouldn't think it would have been mold since I don't think it can exist in a brine solution.

Not a professional baker, no. Never said he was. However, baking is chemistry and chemistry is chemistry no matter who uses it. He discusses, in the show mentioned, the chemistry of ingredient interaction and the "why" of why cookies turn out like they do (see the transcript). Doesn't matter whether they're chocolate chip cookies or oatmeal...ingredient interaction will behave the same way for either recipe. And as you pointed out, there are also external factors that can influence how a recipe will turn out. Regarding "hotspots", I'm wondering if a flat "pizza" stone (as discussed in other threads) would help even things out inside an oven with hotspots.

Or as a previous fast food commercial noted, "tenders".

Yes, dark pans will lend themselves towards a crisper cookie. The air-cushioned pans won't crisp a cookie as much or as quickly. Re: Alton Brown Click Here for the transcript of his cookie show "Three Chips for Sister Marsha". In it he explains the chemistry behind why different ingredients or combination of ingredients create different cookies. Or re-read simdelish's post for a lot of the same info. Scroll down in the transcript to "The Chewy"/Scene 11 for info about chewy cookies. The key, says Alton, is to start with melted butter, use dark brown sugar and also molasses in the recipe.

In another current discussion ("A hunger for food television in the land ...., Food is an antidote to modern life?" Gifted Gourmet posted a quote from the FoodNetwork stating And last week, while (ironically) eating out with my 73 year old mother, she was amazed at the number of people in the crowded restaurant. She said "Thirty years ago you would never see this. People didn't go out to eat very often back then." Given that her assumption is correct, that a generation ago people didn't go out to eat as often as they do today, what's changed between then and now? Do we have more comparative income so we can afford it now? Or has the cost of eating out come down enough that eating out is more economically feasible for the average family? Or is it just that there are more restaurants now so we have more options? Do we really want to "get out of the job of cooking" and so we eat out more? Or have we been "culturally trained" (through advertising and the media) to eat out more? What's changed? And what will this mean for the next generation? Is cooking at home an art that's becoming extinct?

They had no imagination. Picture "A Yank in Oxford" or "A Yankee at the Round Table". Are there other Americans on British television doing cooking shows? Probably not. You'd be a stand out, you'd be unique and would probably be a success. Girl, you need a better agent!

I know this has been discussed before but I wasn't successful in my search. Some have suggested a short blind baking, brushing on an egg wash then baking until just dry. This will act as a sealant on the crust. Others have suggested mixing a thickner (arrowroot, corn starch, flour, etc) with the fruit so the juice won't soak in. I do remember someone (Malawry? Zilla?) who mentioned (about a year or so ago?) they had passed their pie-baking class with flying colors due to a an intended "trick". They had mixed the fruit, sugar and spices together at the last minute, spooned it into the pie shell and put it in the oven right away. The fruit didn't sit very long before it was baked so there wasn't a lot of juice when the pie went in the oven but there was just enough when the pie came out of the oven. The instructor was very pleased with the outcome. I am sure other will chime in with suggestions.