jsolomon

Has anyone tried making their own wine from a kit?

CG, I think it is very germane to eGullet when we talk about things like sustainability within our food production. I really appreciate you taking the time to show us how you are interested in this. I do have to admit that I was very perplexed for quite some time about the flash reflection from the toast on the tuna sandwich.

Drying will only help so much. You want the food either dry or wet enough that the back does not stick to the foods and can slide around to help the air evacuate. What temperature were you cooking your trotters at?

Zuke, When I was five I was very thin. I was very thin all through high school, and up until I hit 25 years old. Also, when I was five, I was going through a picky stage. I keep trying to figure out what my motivation was to be picky then, but I can't get a grasp of it. I really admire your efforts. Be patient. It may take time.

Finding the time to make pasta is my culinary challenge for 2006... especially if I make it into med school for the fall.

I'd like to extend the question to whether this decision making process is also extended to cooks with limited ability to procure a wide array of ingredients. Disclosure: this is from my experience growing up and living in a "flyover" a.k.a. food-producing state. Further disclosure: I was displeased with Gourmet before Ms. Reichl's tenure at Gourmet and never renewed my subscription

I know several machinists and welders who could probably manufacture you one, but I don't know about how soon. PM me if an emergency.

I tried cutting down calories by cutting out Mountain Dew from my diet. Problem was, that was right about the time I turned 21. Mountain Dew was cut out, but beer was cut in. Of course, I was also working miniscule time at a brewery that paid me in product... I never did lose that weight for a while.

I would tend to say the latter. What were you using as extra "moisteners"? If you added liquid, you may want to microwave it for a bit (2 min or so) to de-gas it. You may also want to attempt to pull suction with a straw (if possible) before using the Food-Saver to help remove some of the trapped gas in simple pockets.

cg, I've been following your foodblog and saw the pictures of the little cg's. I'm not quite sure where physician saw their bellies, but in the flesh is more telling than through the ether. I did come up with another idea. Hobble the hand-cart. Deliveries are not easy work. My mother used to drive for UPS, so I have some direct observation of this. If the hand cart goes down ill and he has to cart by hand, that would be very good exercise.

Now that I think more about it, you're right. I might to a lime/jalapeno in a small batch for a few people, though.

I'll go, too. How prevalent is it that sailors ask for "Food just like <insert fast-food chain restaurant name here"?

Hmm... by the time I was 10, I was fixing fence (digging post-holes is pretty good exercise). How's the goat fence?

mea culpa...

Ask and ye shall receive. Courtesy alibris.com

I am sad to report that I am the first in the thread who has less than stellar support. My fiance's usual response to anything is "it's okay". When I served fettucine and onion confit, her response was, "It's onions and spaghetti." She's definitely a meat and potatoes girl. I have yet to see a vegetable dish get seconds taken. *sigh*

One of the constants in my family is giving the gift of food. Usually it's hot stuff, but occasionally not. This year, I think I'm going to try to give orange jalapeno or orange habanero marmalade. Does anyone have experience putting orange and pepper together in a marmalade? Do you have any suggestions? I'm not sure my fiance will understand if I have to test more than two recipes before being satisfied with the finished product.

Eat goldfish?

I haven't seen the packing machines for sous vide. Are they really able to pull a vacuum, or can they just do the same effect as sticking a straw in and collapsing the bag?

That's really odd. Most places in the flyover states have wild game processors that do beef and pork during the rest of the year. They should be able to find some for you.

I'd like to invite that personal trainer who said to a cage match with me!Heh, all of those foods are what make the holidays great!

Cooking in a vacuum wouldn't work the way I think most of you are pondering. It is true that water will boil at a lower temperature in a vacuum, but that doesn't speak at all to the amount of kinetic (thermal) energy in that boiling water. Water that boils at 50C in a partial vacuum will cook like water at sea level that is... 50C. So, if you have a reaction that will only "go" at 60C or above, it won't "go" if you drop the pressure so water will boil at 50C and try it at 50C. The energetics just don't calculate up. The same thing works with cooking. So, it's not the partial (I'm with jackal10 on that being nominal) vacuum. What it is, is the time that the food is kept at this lower temperature. It cooks slowly and evenly, and the water bath provides even heat around the whole item (if it's submerged).

I've usually found them to be fairly similar. Pan is correct about the slight liver character in the flavor, but when poultry hearts are braised properly, they are quite lovely. On the other side of the coin, both poultry hearts and beef hearts take well to very high heat methods. Due to the specific nature of cardiac muscle, though, as well as having that delicious flavor of steaky-ness, they also have the unctuousness that a braised chuck or short-rib gets. They really are a lovely melding of two wonderful worlds. But, remember, when you purchase a whole beef heart, it's going to be 4-5 pounds. That was my problem. It did make great goulash, though. Yum!

Many of us care about the why's, also, Mr. Rogov. It is unkind to brush off our interests.

Not just New Englanders, though. Upthread you had someone hailing from underneath South Dakotan snowdrifts. I'm from Nebraska... I do have to say, for a lot of those convenience-canned products, they have gone through taste panels and marketing fruffery... and they passed. So, while they may not be the best, the people have spoken, and they're good enough. Sad as that may be. I think I'm going to have some Kraft Cheesy Mac to go with my braised heart goulash just to celebrate both sides. To drink: Bud Light and a QmP Riesling.