The Professor's Profile
Did I ruin my wok trying to season it?
I agree...it looks fine.
If you treat it right, it will eventually turn almost black on the inside.
The outside isn't important.
After 40 years of use, mine is black as night on the inside and a mess on the outside.
And it's still my favorite and most important pan in the house.
Cork or screw cap ?
I agree. It's really too bad that the screw cap has a 'cheap wine' association in the US.
The screw cap is by far the _ideal_ closure for a wine bottle. Just because the cork is traditional doesn't make it better.
Fortunately, some makers of quality wines are seeing the light (albeit slowly) and switching to screw caps, and saying 'screw it' to using corks.
Say what?? Cooking comments that baffle you
re: "Eating 'fresh food only' for one is very expensive"
That simply isn't true.
Especially if one knows how to shop, and how to cook.
I found Mexican Coke in NJ! (No HFCS!)
There's no doubt that Coke in the USA has been made sweeter over the years. Probably even before they started using HFCS in it.
Two Fat Ladies
Many of the dishes they cooked are quite good (I know because I tried making them after seeing the shows). The unusual combinations in many of the old, traditional recipes are what piqued my interest.
Frankly, I'd take many of the things they cooked on the show over the last few restaurant meals I've eaten.
Which cuisine is the most frugal in which to cook/eat by?
I found most of the assessments in the original post rather misguided, but the first one...characterizing Chinese food as potentially expensive just made me chuckle.
Those jars of pastes and sauces are not all that expensive and besides that, those jars of bean paste, hoisin, etc. last through literally dozens of meals (if you use them correctly). Same with the dried fungus products and pickled items. And Shaoxing wine for cooking (with 1% salt added) sells for well under $3 for a 750ml bottle in most Asian stores...and as someone pointed out, if you can't get regular Shaoxing or Shaoxing cooking wine, then a $5 bottle of Gallo dry sherry is a perfect substitute (in fact, even some Asian cooks prefer and use it instead of Shaoxing; regular Shaoxing wine and dry sherry are practically identical in taste).
Bottom line is that ANY of the cuisines listed in the original post can lend themselves to frugality, even though Chinese and Indian are probably the clear winners. Most of the special ingredients for these cuisines are ones that are not expensive, last a long time, and require infrequent purchase.
I found Mexican Coke in NJ! (No HFCS!)
What else would cause a difference?
The primary extract is standardized, and from what I understand, the water in the various Coke packaging plants around the world is even treated in much the same way as breweries routinely adjust their water source for mineral content, pH, etc.
In any case, Coke which is made with sugar rather than the demonized HFCS (which is demonized for very good and valid reasons) does indeed taste different.
The difference is fairly subtle...to the point where some less developed palates may not perceive it... but there is a difference.
Why should I buy tilapia?
Thanks for clarifying "brackish". I had that part totally wrong.
I guess I was absent the day that was covered. ;-)
I'll still pass on the Tilapia though...objectively tried it several times, really _wanting_ to like it (especially given the usual cheap price); I tried it different ways, at home and eating out, and have finally given up on it.
No problem though...it just means that there'll be more for everyone else.
Why should I buy tilapia?
Definitely not a fan of Tilapia, even though a friend of mine was a pioneer and early proponent (more than 3 decades ago) of methods for farm raising tilapia to help teach poor and starving populations in 3rd world countries a means of providing an inexpensive source of protein; apparently Tilapia is _very_ easy to farm, reproduces rapidly, and even thrives in brackish water. Yum.
Even putting that last little tidbit aside, I just find it to be bland and virtually flavorless.
There are _so_ many better options available in the markets these days.
Family foods I thought was normal
The crust was the only redeeming part of Sunbeam Bread. LOL.
Family foods I thought was normal
Absolutely right...it has to be good cheese. But it has to be good apple pie as well, properly made with some tart apples in the mix.
With these components, the apple pie+cheese thing becomes transcendent.
Cooked chicken bones for stock
I'v e done that and it's great. After the poach, I add any chicken bones I have in the freezer (raw, roasted, or both) as well as pork bones: using all of these makes a very tasty stock that can be used for a lot of other dishes (besides soup).
My creamy Italian dressing is OK, but could be better....
The pesto-mayo idea looks _really_good but lacks an acid component to liven it up a bit. Maybe a bit of vinegar? Lemon? Buttermilk?
I think it needs a touch more than the mild acidity the mayo provides.
Foods you dislike buying—but sometimes need to
My grandmother used to do the vinegar/milk trick and it always worked for her. She used to use un-reconstituted evaporated milk.
New thread for discontinued products
I used to use Spatini years ago until I discovered the joy of making sauce from scratch...BUT you _can_ still get SPATINI (which is evidently still being made by McCormack) here :
http://www.spiceplace.com/spatini-spaghetti-sauce-mix-bulk.php
New thread for discontinued products
+1
Hydrox were superior in every way...taste, texture, etc.
They were the original. Oreos are merely bad imitations.
Things kids think are "normal" these days...
Can't blame him.
I have to sheepishly admit that I love Cheez Doodles...a real guilty pleasure...but I HATE getting that fake orange 'cheese' coloring on my hands.
Homemade BBQ Sauce without using Sugar.
Granted...any kind of fruit juice (without the pulp of the whole fruit) is one of the worst things you can consume. Especially drinking it by the tumbler full.
But realistically...if it's used in a BBQ sauce to add a sweet compnent, it does less harm because if you are using the BBQ sauce properly, you are not consuming the equivalent of a glassful of juice. And if you are using that much BBQ sauce, you're just disguising what is probably very bad BBQ. LOL.
My other suggestion...using Stevia... is probably the better option.
No fructose, sucrose, etc...and it's still plenty sweet, and it is a natural product unlike the very suspect chemical sweeteners on the market these days.
Foods you dislike buying—but sometimes need to
Keep the opened bottle of sesame oil in the fridge...it will last in good condition a LOT longer.
Where is Goose Island Prevalent?
I get it. Just because a company is successful and has the chance to expand, it's no good any more? Lost some of it's "snob appeal"?
Just because it is going to be "mass produced" (as you say) doesn't automatically mean they are or will be "watering it down". That's just silly.
Besides, there are plenty of "mass produced" beers that exhibit as much character as the the beers from smaller brewers...and there are a few mass produced beers that may even do it better. Many of the new small breweries coming on line are proving quite adequately that smaller is _not_ always automatically better.
Nice thing is, now I can get the G.I. brews here in NJ. And the ones I've tasted were pretty darned good.
As far as the Goose Island brewmasters, I doubt very highly that they had ANY 'master brewers' to begin with. The irony is that with the acquisition, they may actually have some now. LOL.
vacuum food saver
I have a FoodSaver brand sealer that I bought 20 years ago (it's still going strong) and it handles all of the foods you mention. For soups, it is best to freeze them first in a container, then pop the frozen soup out and vacuum seal the frozen block.
No regrets buying this machine... vacuum packed frozen foods keep perfectly well for a LONG time...
Make ahead bacon?
You absolutely can make it ahead of time. Even a week ahead of time.
I always make bacon ahead of time for use on salad and routinely keep it for a week or more, no problem no worries. Even if it's chopped.
Uses for fig jam
oh boy...I've been taking notes on this thread. That one is another winner, laliz!
re-heating sliced pastrami?
If it's real pastrami from a Jewish deli, it has already been steamed to tenderness so you can actually microwave it with good results.
BUT (and it is a big but) ...if it is sliced pastrami from the supermarket, wrap it in foil, and steam it in a _covered_ pot (OVER the water as has been pointed out) for a good hour or more if you want the tenderness like you'd get from a Jewish deli.
Why do foodies like the McD's Filet o' Fish?
GOTTA have the pickle on there.
It provides the flavor that the fish lacks. ;-)
New thread for discontinued products
They've been made in Canada for a number of years now. The USA plants stopped making these two varieties years ago.
They were two of my favorites as well.
What discontinued products do you miss?
I know what you mean.
TheAB-InBb connection is a bit perverse.
I only wish they'd bring back the Maerzen style Oktoberfest brew that was once imported into the US back in the 60's & & 70's. Haven't seen it here since then, and the O'Fest brew they import now is basically a slightly stronger Helles.
