paulj's Profile
New Bourdain Show on CNN
Funny how there was tread complaining about the Finish episode, but none about the latest on Baja (which featured more great food). We seem to be more interested in ranting than raving.
Dutch baby pancake?
OPH has both the plain Dutch Baby and an apple version.
What we are talking about is a sweet Yorkshire pudding, or a popover baked in a 10" skillet. So it puffs like a popover, but deflates as it cools. The apple version doesn't puff as much, due to the weight of the apples, but is richer.
Good Eats has a episode covering all of these. The same batter is used for crepes. Another savory version is the British Toad in a Hole - the 'toads' being sausages.
you can eat the skin!!!
I don't know what all you were talking about, but I agree ...
Which packaging scam annoys you the most
Isn't the 2L or Big Gulp or other mega size still available if you really need your sugar fix?
Which packaging scam annoys you the most
Maybe they'll go back to the original 6.5oz bottle
"1950s … Packaging innovations
For the first time, consumers had choices of Coca-Cola package size and type -- the traditional 6.5-ounce contour bottle, or larger servings including 10-, 12- and 26-ounce versions. Cans were also introduced, becoming generally available in 1960."
http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/ourcompany/historybottling.html
Which packaging scam annoys you the most
At the deli counter, if you ask for half a pound of sliced meat, would you rather it be a bit over, or a bit less? I lean toward 'over'. I think customer expectations are more important than the 'increased sales'.
Think of this way - if my recipe calls for 1lb, and all I can find are .9 lb packages, then I have to buy 2 packages to have enough. That increases their sales far more than selling 1.1 lb packages. When groceries advertise special meat prices, it is on the big packages; the family size with 4 mounds of ground meat, or enough pork chops to feed a frat house. They want you to buy more pounds of meat, not just an extra oz here and there.
Which packaging scam annoys you the most
What I hate more is when my recipe calls for 1.25 lbs of steak, and the closest I can find is only 1.2oz!
Seriously, if you want exactly 1lb packages of ground meat, look for sealed packages or chubs produced by distant factories. If you want meat that has been ground in house, and packaged by the butcher with the help of his mini-production line, accept some variation. There are only 2 ways of getting exact weights - automation or fiddly handwork.
Which packaging scam annoys you the most
This has been discussed before. 'serving size' on the nutritional label is not something that the manufacturer can arbitrarily choose. There are government guidelines.
It is not always in the manufacturer's interest to choose a smaller serving size (if they can). While some people want to reduce calories or sodium, others want more protein or vitamins.
It isn't that difficult to double the nutritional numbers if that gives you are more realistic serving. For example, a bread serving is usually 1 slice, but a sandwich is usually 2.
Plastic Barware - for the Pool
Besides camping shops like Campmor, marine shops carry unbreakable goblets and such.
Justin Wilson and other lost cooking show classics...
While there were a few things that I found annoying (like repeatedly scoffing at lemon concentrate), I enjoyed his shows more than Julia's. Except for a few 'baking with J' episodes, I don't think I have watched a JC episode all the way through.
I also have several JS cookbooks (though they aren't in current use), none from JC, and a couple each from JP and RB. Overall my TV chef cookbook collection is pretty small.
Homemade burgers just don't taste right.
"a bun with LOADS of salt and sugar in them so the bun is loaded with glutamates in and of itself. "
what do the salt and sugar have to do with glutamates?
Can you point to data confirming your claim that MD buns have more of these flavor ingredients than the ordinary grocery store bun?
I'm just finishing up a bag of Frantz sesame buns. One 74g bun has 340mg of sodium, 6g of sugars. How does that compare with a MD bun?
By way of comparison, my favorite 9grain bread has 80g in 2 slices, 360mg sodium, 2g sugar. Not as sweet, but just as salty.
Recommended pressure cooker?
In that case I'll have to try it myself. Do you recommend at time?
Speaking of times, Hip Pressure Cooking has an item about how different cooktops can affect the time. Taking a gas stove as the standard, they point out that an electric stove will take longer to heat up, and be slower adjusting to a simmer. And the faster reaction times of an induction burner might undercook your food if you use the 'gas' times.
Recommended pressure cooker?
The (European) sources that talk about using the pressure cooker for hard cooked eggs, recommend low pressure to reduce the chance of breaking the shell.
~ Main Difference Nurtionally of Whole Grain vs Whole Wheat Flour ~
I used to buy wheat germ, mainly the toasted kind in the jar. But the last jar I bought has been languishing in the back of the fridge for several years.
NYT: "A Mathematical Challenge to Obesity"
Here's a blog entry with links to a scientific paper dealing with one aspect of the obesity debate - is fructose really bad. I would have posted this on another thread, but that's been closed. Followup comments probably belong on that blog rather than here.
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2012/05/how-bad-is-fructose-david-despain.html
Bitchin' Kitchen - Are they kidding???
Yesterday CC had an Indian special pairing a movie actor with a famous cookbook author. That combo might work with Chinese food as well - but CC already has a San Francisco Chinese cooking show.
Aarti Party
He was a Next Iron Chef winner.
What's with this 'actual chef' stuff? Does that make someone special, or a better TV personality? How many of the Next FN Star winners or near winners have owned or been chief cook and bottle washer in a restaurant?
The Hearty Boys have a catering company
Guy has managed and owned restaurants
Amy Finley was a professional food writer
....
Jeff Mauro's restaurant jobs have included "line cook, caterer and chef instructor."
NYT: "A Mathematical Challenge to Obesity"
I wouldn't try pin too much on the upturn points of that ObesityGraph. The time scale is too coarse and too uneven to do that.
1971-74 1976-80 1988-94
3, 4 and 6 year intervals, with a 2 and 8 year gaps.
What is a good site to learn how to cook Indian food properly?
Try to catch a replay of
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/todays-special-ny-indian/todays-special-ny-indian/index.html
NYT: "A Mathematical Challenge to Obesity"
Does your son walk to school as you did?
I'm surprised by how many cars line up at neighborhood schools to pickup or drop off kids. In third grade in Minneapolis I walked the .6 miles to school 4 times a day (lunch at home). I suspect I got more exercise from that (and playing on the sidewalks at home) than I ever got from PE.
The city is reworking 4 blocks of a street near us, using funds (state or federal) intended to improve walkable access to schools - by adding a sidewalk on one side. This is in an area that developed in the 50s and 60s without strong infrastructure requirements.
Recommended pressure cooker?
"I just wonder if when it explodes will it do so at 7/15's of the explosion? (46%)
I'm not sure if this is meant as a weak joke, or reflects a misunderstanding of how or why a PC might malfunction.
One problem in the past was people tried to open the PC while there was still pressure. But everyone now has some sort of lid interlock to prevent that. Presto added that in the last 1970s. While not foolproof, you would have to make a concerted effort to get around it.
The other potential problem arises if the pressure regulating stem gets clogged, letting pressure build up beyond what the regulator is designed for. In that case the pressure release plug will 'blow'. That pressure is somewhat higher than the operating pressure. (and won't change if you lighten the weight).
In Presto's design the plug is in the lid, so when it releases, you get a stream of oatmeal shooting to the ceiling. In my Fagor, it is a gap in the rim of the lid, so the main gasket gets pushed into it, and excess pressure is released horizontally in a less spectacular manner. I've had more problems with that feature on my Fagor than I ever had with my Presto.
Paella Pan
But a wide pan (thin carbon steel or not) needs a matching heat source. Most home cooks have to improvise, unless they give The Spanish Table more business and buy a multiring gas burner. Even a 12" stretches the limits of my heat sources.
oops, I'm repeating myself
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/800520#6738590
Nonreactive cookware
http://www.ceramcor.com/aboutXtrema.aspx
describes the development of their ceramic line - using developments from Taiwan and Mainland China.
I've used Corningware in the past, and still have a few pieces. I think of it more as oven ware than stove top, though it will work there as well. On the stove it has a slow response, and if I recall correctly as prone to hot spots as any metal pan.
Nonreactive cookware
http://www.ceramcor.com/xtremaFlair.aspx
is the Flair nonstick product page
"Non-stick, PFOA Free, non-toxic, thermoplastic cooking surface makes clean-up extremely fast." - why don't they specify the thermoplastic?
Anyone else like to see some new innovative cook shows on Food Network?
While not a cooking show, Cooking Channel tonight has a show that tours Indian cooking in the NY neighborhoods. The guide is Madhur Jaffrey.
Best eats in Sitka, Alaska?
Hook Line and Dinner on Cooking Channel has a Sitka episode (playing for example May 27 evening). There may also be something on the show's page on CC .com
May 2012 COTM Spanish Month Companion Thread
I get the best crust on a salmon steak by frying in a nonstick skillet with some oil over fairly high heat. It left uncovered I get quite a bit of spatter. Covering is ok, especially with a thick steak. Thinner pieces might cook through before a crust develops.
Dusting with flour, especially Wondra, is supposed to promote a good crust, but I have don't have much experience with that.
But keeping with the Spanish theme, I'm happiest with marmitako, a simple stew of tuna, potato, onion, pepper, and tomato. Salmon also works well. The fish is cooked in bite size pieces.
http://www.spain-recipes.com/marmitako.html
fiddleheads at trader joe's [moved from Washington DC & Baltimore board]
The package says boil 7-9 minutes till tender. It also removes some bitterness and/or excess iron. I then finished them with a pesto sauce (also TJ) - olive oil, mince garlic, pesto, grated parm, mascarpone. Quite good.
