General Topics Digest 
Overheard on the General Topics Boards
Wine for Thanksgiving
“In my opinion, Thanksgiving dinners are perfect for Chardonnay, German Riesling, and Pinot Noir,” says njfoodies. TonyO votes for Zinfandel. “I like Zin because you can drink it alone or with savory dishes like sausage stuffing,” he says. “There are many Zins under $20 that are really excellent including Neyers and the Seghesio Sonoma Zin.”
Pairing a wine with Thanksgiving desserts can be a challenge, says carswell, but a late-harvest Muscat or a tawny port is a good compromise to pair with apple pie, pumpkin pie, and even, perhaps, chocolate mousse.
Politeness likes white wines from the extreme northwest corner of Spain, especially Galicia. “One criterion for selecting a wine from that region—one that we have advocated in the past and still advocate—is to count the number of X’s on the label (looking especially at the spelling of the town of origin) and purchase the wine with the most X’s,” says Politeness. “You rarely will go wrong … however arbitrary it may sound.” On the other hand, Politeness likes wines made under the Naia label, so instead of counting specific letters, you could just go with that.
Board Link: Tgiving wine selection help please!
Keep the Holidays Under Budget
How are you economizing this holiday season? Sharing the financial burden of a big holiday meal with fellow cooks is the approach HillJ takes. Food shopping with friends who will “share the cost and bounty of, say, a beef tenderloin, a large produce buy, or bulk spices” makes for better holiday value for everyone. “It hurts a lot less financially to have partners in food-crime,” says HillJ.
“I make my own stock and that saves a bundle,” says miki. “For veggie broth, I just save the ends and pieces, and for chicken, I save the bones from my weekend suppers. Also, if you troll the meat aisle in the grocery stores, you can find great bones for broth, extremely cheap.”
Finally, some Chowhounds are not afraid to buck tradition in order to serve a high-quality but inexpensive meal. “We buy what is on sale and it is not always turkey!” says bermudagourmetgoddess. “Last year’s dinner was a pork roast with pan gravy, Brussels sprouts sautéed with bacon and garlic, rosemary roasted potatoes, and when they come out of the oven hit them with some Parmesan cheese. For dessert we had individual pecan pies … it pleased the family and it was not over the top and we did not spend a bundle.”
Board Link: How are you economizing this holiday season? Please share your tips.
The Best Cocoa Powder
What’s the best cocoa powder to use for chocolaty holiday baked goods? mels loves the Double-Dutch Dark Cocoa made by King Arthur (the flour maker). Cakegirl always uses the Dutch-process cocoa from Penzeys. “It’s very high quality and reasonably priced, especially compared to Valrhona. I order several pounds at a time from Penzeys and it works perfectly in everything. Give it a try!” she says. scuzzo likes Droste brand cocoa powder. It’s a Dutch-process cocoa powder that’s not too hard to find in supermarkets. It comes in a red box, and it’s a lot better than Hershey’s, says scuzzo.
Speaking of Hershey’s Cocoa, the jury’s still out. The Professor thinks there is nothing wrong with Hershey’s, especially the Special Dark version that is a blend of natural and Dutched cocoas. “I’ve used it with great results … and results equal to what I’ve made with the more expensive brands,” says The Professor. cheesemaestro, on the other hand, isn’t a fan. “I’ve made hot chocolate with both, and the beverage made with Scharffen Berger is far superior.” Scharffen Berger is a natural coca powder and not a Dutch-process, adds DallasDude. “Although recently purchased by the Hershey Company, the bean-to-bar artisan goodness is still intact.”
Board Link: Good Cocoa Powder??
Overheard on the General Topics Boards
Mussels for the Novice
In flavor, mussels are comparable to other bivalves (clams, oysters), “but maybe taste a little more of the sea,” says dmd_kc. thew agrees: Mussels are “soft, briny, creamier in flavor than other bivalves, and perhaps slightly fishier.” Unlike other bivalves, mussels are pretty much always served cooked, says gordeaux. One thing about mussels: Freezing completely ruins them, says gordeaux. “They are one bivalve that turn into garbage once frozen. I can spot a frozen mussel after one bite. They get really firm, almost rigid. I just can’t do frozen mussels. Not worth it in my book,” he says.
How to try them? The classic preparation is the exquisitely simple moules marinière, mussels steamed or simmered in white wine and garlic. Using a simple marinara sauce for a simmer will work well—especially “with a good french bread to sop up the yummy sauce with,” says gordeaux. And “if you want to drift away from all these tomato/wine sauce advocates, if you want to run at the edge of the pack, then lightly batter, coat with a few bread crumbs and deep fry,” suggests Paulustrious. “Drizzle with a little garlic butter. The sea washes all the calories away.”
Board Link: What are mussels like?
What Makes Great Seaweed Salad
Eating prepared seaweed salad is, unfortunately, “so often like eating sweetened strands of plastic,” says tatamagouche. What makes seaweed salad great? It’s a balance of flavors, and the right texture. “It’s gotta be just the right balance of sour (rice vinegar), sweet (sugar) and salty (dashi),” says soypower. “To me, it has to have a good mix of different kinds of seaweed, plenty of sesame seeds, the bite of chili pepper, and that great saltiness you get with good seaweed,” says kubasd. “And it must be tender.”
“Good seaweed salad needs to have sweet and savory, and have a nice smokiness from the sesame oil and seeds,” says ipsedixit. “And the seaweed needs to be a bit chewy, but soft and never rubbery.” ipsedixit’s recipe includes garlic, chile flakes, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar. The seaweed is marinated overnight and garnished with toasted sesame seeds just before eating.
Board Link: Define really good seaweed salad.
Don’t Drink Bad Eggnog
Eggnog’s not local. It’s not organic. It has high-fructose corn syrup, carrageenan, and guar gum in it. “Maybe it’s bad, but it tastes OH SO GOOD,” says kattyeyes.
Hood is the best brand, says foodsnob14. “Thankfully we cannot get it year round, I would be 20 lbs heavier!” alkapal particularly appreciates Hood’s pumpkin eggnog: “This stuff is phenomenal. Just the right amount of pumpkin-y goodness, and only a hint of spices.” And it makes killer French toast, says HillJ. Just dip and pan-fry. It’s also delicious processed through an ice cream maker. Cherylptw likes cooking with eggnog; “think crème brûlée, cheesecake, bread pudding, ice cream, pancakes, etc.,” she says.
For Chowhounds in the Los Angeles area, Broguiere’s eggnog is the stuff, says monku. It’s the one that comes in old-fashioned glass bottles. Truly divine, says latindancer.
Of course, dedicated hounds can always make their own.
Board Link: What brand of eggnog is your favorite?
Quick Homemade Indian Food
Spice mixes, wet and dry, are what make Indian dishes special—but they take time to make fresh. Store-bought sauces and spice mixes are ho-hum. Is there any middle ground? One approach is to make your favorite spice mix or paste fresh in bulk, portion it out ,and freeze it, suggests LauraGrace. Then, weekday after happy weekday, you’re only minutes away from fresh, special, homemade Indian food. It works well with any sauce that doesn’t have dairy, she says. “I’ve done it with korma too — just make the sauce up to the ‘add vegetables’ point and before the ‘add cream’ point, then freeze in Ziploc bags or ice cube trays,” says LauraGrace.
If you do use a packaged mix, doctoring it up with fresh ingredients can give it more of a homemade feel. “Whenever I use the dry mix, it’s just as a flavor enhancer, not following the recipe completely on the packet,” says foodwich. “Play around with it to suit your taste and that will be the best way to use them.”
Board Link: Indian cooking/simmer sauces
Nuts Are Not Shelf-Stable
Is your all-natural organic granola rancid? How about your nuts? “Rancidity is a huge problem all over, especially with natural foods containing no preservatives,” says Jim Leff. “And, worse, there’s so much rancidity out there that consumers don’t perceive mild rancidity as an ‘off’ flavor; it’s one they’re used to.” comestible agrees, and has seen the problem in his local health food stores. Any product containing nuts is vulnerable to rancidity, since nut oils degrade rapidly when they’re not vacuum-packed, irradiated, or otherwise preserved. Nuts just aren’t shelf-stable.
“I taste/smell rancidity all over,” says Jim Leff. “I think most consumers are actually well-acquainted with that aroma, but just don’t identify it correctly (same with skunky beer….for many people, that’s ‘the great imported taste’ of Heineken, in those green bottles that let in the frequency of light that interacts badly with the hops).”
Board Link: Really Great Granolas?
