chuff's Profile
Alternative to Vitamix blender
If you have a local restaurant supply shop that sells used equipment you might check there. I just bought a used Vitamix at a local shop for $100. That included my pick of all the jars he had in stock, a new gear on the motor base, and a new power cord. Buying new the jar alone is over $100. It's worth a shot.
I need a food scale.
I use the myweigh kd8000 as well. It's fantastic. The blue backlight makes the screen show up extremely well, it's accurate and very sensitive, and it feels substantial. The oxo is a good scale by all accounts, but it looks and feels fragile to me.
Which hand held immersion blender should i buy?
I have a kitchenaid that I've been very happy with.
8" Chef's knife - $30 Henckel or $130 Shun?
So, which of those other makers would you pick out of curiosity?
8" Chef's knife - $30 Henckel or $130 Shun?
I love my Shun. It prompted me to give my Wusthoff away. Then again, I don't own a Hattori - yet.
recs for a new food processor?
I picked up my Cuisinart at Costco and got a great deal on it with a second bowl and some other goodies. It has never failed me yet. The newest model looks even better.
Deep Lasagna Pan Shopping
I do not own one nor have I used one, but I've heard very good things about the Mario Batali lasagna pan. It's very heavy, reasonably priced, and you can get it at Amazon with free shipping. Like I said, I don't own it yet, but I've heard enough good things about it that I intend to buy one.
Cast iron help, please!
If you're looking for an "ice rink" inside of a modern lodge pan prepare to cook in it daily for many years. It will happen eventually, but there isn't a magic button. When people talk about ice rinks and oil slicks they're almost always talking about vintage cast iron like Griswold. It was cast better and cast from higher quality ore and handled differently after casting. An 80 year old CI skillet will have a perfectly smooth bottom even when stripped down to bare metal, not the rough sandy texture you find in a modern lodge. It isn't an exaggeration to say that if you season well you can take a raw stripped Griswold and cook eggs in it with no sticking immediately after the initial seasoning. I've done it. A lodge will get there, but it takes longer and it will never look as pretty.
Also, I would skip the salt unless there's something stubborn on the pan that you're trying to scour away. Try just very hot water and a stiff brush. If that takes everything off then call it good. If it doesn't take everything off, next time don't let your pan cool completely before you clean it. That should help a lot as well.
Cast iron help, please!
I'm not trying to argue with you, but many many people who put more thought into reconditioning and seasoning cast iron than they do into raising their children season in a 250 degree oven with excellent results. I've done it and it works just fine. I prefer to bump up to the higher temps at the end because it makes a much darker initial seasoning, but with a nice thin coat of your seasoning compound of choice 60 or 90 minutes at 250 degrees will put a perfectly good season on any pan. The biggest thing that most people do wrong in seasoning is applying way too much oil, lard, Pam, or whatever they're using which then turns into a sticky, gummy mess at pretty much any temperature. Apply your season then wipe off as much of it as you possibly can until you think there's none left at all, then wipe it again. After it cooks for 15 minutes take it out and wipe it yet again, and one more time at 30 minutes. Doing it this way either 250, 400, 450, or some combination of those three starting low and ramping up will work just fine.
What do you have in your collection?
No, it is not a myth. If you cook something long cooking like a tomato sauce in a reactive pan you're sauce will have a tinny "off" taste. You might be able to get away with something like a quick deglaze with wine, but anything that cooks for more than a couple of minutes will not produce a happy result. JMOYMMV
(Yet another) Wok Seasoning Question
They say not to use it for cooking, and they're right. It won't work to cook with in place of oil. It's perfect for storage, though. They're not suggesting that the Pam is going to hurt your wok, they're just telling you that it won't be effective to cook with. Actually, you could've seasoned the wok with Pam if you wanted to. It makes a beautiful seasoning.
(Yet another) Wok Seasoning Question
Yes, dust will stick to it. And the longer you go between uses the nastier it will get. I don't personally oil mine before I put it away for just that reason. If anything with a newly seasoned wok if I was concerned there wasn't enough seasoning on it to prevent rust during storage (which is why you're oiling it) I would heat it up and while it's warm (not hot) I would spray it with plain Pam inside and out. Wipe off as much of the Pam as possible so that it looks like there's none left, but trust me there is. That should be enough to protect it from rust, but it won't get nasty like a film of oil would.
(Yet another) Wok Seasoning Question
I should probably also mention that I almost always do the whole seasoning, but particularly the boiling outdoors on a turkey fryer burner. This way I can boil right up to the edges without worrying about it. I tilt the wok around periodically so I've boiled right up to the rim all the way around.
(Yet another) Wok Seasoning Question
Eat the potatoes, toss them away, whichever. It doesn't matter. I always eat them. By the time I get to that point the wok is well cleaned and getting pretty well seasoned. I think the only reason to toss them would be an off taste from the new wok, but I've never had that problem. Either way potatoes are cheap, so if you want to toss them toss them.
As far as the boiling it's just another cleaning step.The protective film may not be water soluble, but the hot boiling water burns it and helps the remaining little bits of it that you can't see flake off. There's ALWAYS lots of nasty little brown bits floating in the water after the boiling step, as well as a film on the water.
I've had very good luck with the salt seasoning method. I think it works extremely well, and it really helps to give the wok a nice dark patina. Following it up with an oil season give great results. One thing, though - after I posted I watched the youtube videos that were linked. I personally would never allow a single paper towel to burn into the wok that much during an oil seasoning. Brown is okay, but when my paper towel starts to get too brown I switch to a different one.
(Yet another) Wok Seasoning Question
Personally I like to clean the wok really really well, fill it as full of water as I dare, boil that water in the wok for a while, clean it again, stir fry a large amount of salt in the wok (like close to a pound) over very high heat until the salt is very dark, then season as others have described on the stovetop with oil. After all of that is done I like to put a large amount of oil in and deep fry a good sized batch of fried potatoes or french fries. It sounds like a lot, but the whole thing doesn't take much more than an hour, and after it's done the wok is seasoned surprisingly well. In my experience it shortcuts quite a bit of time trying to cook in a wok that's still developing its season.
What do you have in your collection?
I wouldn't say teflon is a must for eggs. I use well seasoned cast iron for all of my eggs and it's just as good as any foo foo non-stick surface if not better. In fact, I use cast iron far more than I use anything else, although I do also own a lot of stainless and some enamel coated CI. I do not, however, own even a single piece of non-stick anything unless you count the bowl in my rice cooker.
what's my perfect Griswold skillet?
Well I'm sorry to say it, but it really isn't the pan. It could be the seasoning or your care and cleaning practices, but it definitely is NOT the pan.
As for the perfect Griswold? That's a slippery slope if I've ever seen one. If I could only have one size I guess maybe it would be a number 10? I don't know. I personally don't care either way about the heat ring - at least not from a usability standpoint.
Making Cheese at home/ Mozzarella
Depending on where you're located with a little research you might be able to find raw (unpasteurized) milk, which is far superior for cheese making. Raw milk is illegal to sell in most states for absurd reasons, but it is perfectly legal to own a personal dairy cow and consume that milk raw. Therefore the way many many people get around the ban is to form a co-op. You have to buy a share (usually not much money) and that makes you part owner of the cow or cows, and then your membership entitles you to x number of gallons over x period of time or whatever.
If you can't find a way to get raw milk locally just make sure that the milk you get is not ultra-pasteurized, which is terrible for cheese making.
anyone else crazy for cast iron?
Just moments ago I walked into an antique store and walked out with a nice little stack of 3 Griswold skillets of varying sizes and a large mystery skillet whose bottom is so caked with gunk that no branding or logo is visible. I can't wait to get the mystery pan into the electro tank and find out whether or not I scored.
anyone else crazy for cast iron?
I was once just in time to catch a "helpful" houseguest putting a cherished cast iron pan of mine in the dishwasher. I might have overreacted......
Crunchy chicken wings?
When I make wings I give them a good wash and dry them very very thoroughly, then I simply dredge them quickly in a little flour as I drop them into the oil. Fifteen minutes at about 365 - 370 and they turn out perfect every time. They're always nice and crispy. My theory is that all the flour really does is help to dry them out that last little bit, but it's the skin cooking well that truly gives them that great crispiness. I've used corn starch in the past and it works just as well, but it does have a slightly different taste and texture.
Upcoming kitchen remodel: what to eat for 3 weeks?
When I was doing our kitchen remodel I left an old base cabinet in the vicinity with a piece of plywood screwed to the top. I bought two hot plates and a decent (but cheap) countertop convection oven at Target. We already had an electric griddle and a crock pot. With that combination we were able to eat almost normally throughout the chaos. The convection oven turned out very good roasts and baked chickens, and although the hotplates were short on BTUs we made it through. My only caution would be to echo what others have said and cook with an eye toward cleanup. Cleaning up after the cooking is the worst part in that situation so just be aware of that before you set out to make something that's going to leave you with a real mess.
Rock Cornish Turkeys
I can't believe this hasn't been suggested yet, but you might look around and see if you can still find a heritage turkey somewhere. Heritage breeds are naturally much smaller since they haven't been bread for thousands of generations to be these giant meaty birds with huge breasts. They will also have a slightly darker and much more flavorful breast since they actually use their wings. Wild turkeys and many heritage breeds are flighted birds, and you might find the taste of the breast meat much more to your liking.
If it's too late and you can't find a heritage bird (which is very likely) most good supermarkets these days and definitely something like whole foods will either stock or at least be able to order you a free range organic bird. Again these will be naturally smaller since they're much more active rather than sitting in a tiny coop being pumped full of grains, hormones, and antibiotics.
If neither of those work out for you have you considered roasting ducks instead of turkeys? Yum.
