anthrochick's Profile
Best recs for boiled crawfish dinner w/o car in NOLA?
There should be quite a few seafood places in the Quater and off the streetcar line. Frankie and Johnnie's uptown, off the street car line, used to serve the best,...I don't know if they are open after Katrina. I'll look at what is open and post back.....
Do you add salt to boiled water for pasta?
ah, that is interesting cooking information! Thanks for the tip!
What do you do when you make a sauce with plum tomatoes?
Do you add salt to boiled water for pasta?
Sorry - to clarify, these are people that I verbally spoke with; of those who knew to add salt, they added it to "make it boil faster" not for taste. So the people I spoke with, who cooked frequently - only 1/3 knew to add salt , and this was for faster boiling not taste. I was just adding commments that there are people out here, in non CH-land that like me, were mis-informed. I think the CH on this post have set me straight...lots of salt - for taste!
Bringing wine on airplanes
You can bring some (?) in your carry on luggage from the duty free shop....but if you do not arrive straightaway at your airport destination and have to go thru a US connection airport first ( say, Philly, then Columbus)...you have to take the wine out at Philly airport and put it into your checked luggage, that you have just picked up at Customs. Then your luggage goes back into the plane, with the wine in it.. to be picked up by you at final destination. This happened to me last summer with last minute purchase in Rome, where we were assured it was ok to carry on all the way home. I would follow other posters' suggestions. And pack bubble wrap..it is very hard to come by in Europe. Another current website to check is www.slowtravel.com
Do you add salt to boiled water for pasta?
yea, I get what you are saying...and that is another funny thing....of the people who do put salt in..they say it is to make it boil faster (no mentioning of better taste). So they put the salt in, but not for taste! More puzzlement!
Do you add salt to boiled water for pasta?
Where do ya all think this oil-in-the-water thing got started?? I was at a party last night with several good cooks....they all put oil in the water...except for the English guy, who knew to put salt in to make it boil faster. No one knew about the salt for better taste. The hostess was a foodie too...with a chef brother. I quizzed them, then told them about the answers about this blog. How could so many people be on the "oil' thing? Did it used to be taught this way ? It seems that the only people that I have (unscientifically) met that use the salt method...are Italian-American or English. Puzzling.
Do you add salt to boiled water for pasta?
Alton Brown has a great show on the Food Network called GOOD EATS. He gets into the nuts and bolts of making a dish. History of the food item, why it acts the way it does. He also does a few other shows..Iron chef in America and a road trip one.
Do you add salt to boiled water for pasta?
Thanks CHs...this has been very enlightning! I will be doing it the right and better-tasting way from now on!! Many thanks.
Do you add salt to boiled water for pasta?
no, I am not rinsing the pasta post-cooking. That part I got right, LOL!
Do you add salt to boiled water for pasta?
I did try to tell this to my mother tonight,,,but to no avail. Sometimes you can't teach your mom new tricks. I even told her about this website, and she just ignored my advice.
Do you add salt to boiled water for pasta?
well, I just asked my mother, and she adds oil to the water , so I guess that is where I learned it. Then she said that she really didn't like pasta, so she rarely makes it. But she adds salt to the boiling water for brown rice!
Do you add salt to boiled water for pasta?
Yes I have been missing the boat all these years, haven't I?!
I emailed my cousin, who lived next door to me growing up and had similar food training. She is a much better cook than I am -so I asked her what she did. Guess what..When she makes pasta ( which is not often) , she said she knew to put salt in to make it boil faster from her Italian friends but she didn't do that. She prefered to add olive oil to keep it from not sticking together, then she only uses olive oil and seasonings as a sauce. ( no other type of sauce). So maybe we learned this from our mothers, both of whom are wonderful but older "traditional midwestern" cooks...( midwesterners, please don't take offense at this!). I will have to ask my mother what she does re: this issue.
Anyhow, there are 2 of us who missed the boat....but since my cousin does not even like pasta, it only affects me! Thanks for clueing me in!!!
Do you add salt to boiled water for pasta?
I am getting a real cooking lesson here!
glad I asked about the amount of salt...i would have put in waayy too little.. I use my grandma's big stockpot, so I am sure the amounts you all are suggesting would be right.
And sea salt is the consensus?
Saltwater, you bring up another smallpoint I would have over looked til I was in the midst of cooking....I add the salt AFTER the un-salted water has boiled? You don't add the salt in the beginning? Is there a chemical or culinary reason for this? I just want to cover all the bases here.....
Do you add salt to boiled water for pasta?
Dmnkly, your point is so good. I am saying DUHHH to myself; why didn't I see that before....if the pasta is coated with oil, of course it won't absorb the sauce so well. . Sometimes the obvious has to be said to me before I Get It.
I am a better eater of Chowfood than a cooker of it, but this board is helping me be a better cook. Thanks for the help!
"lots of salt"...for the cooking-impared, can you be more specific please?
Do you add salt to boiled water for pasta?
Shazam, oh my gosh, I have been making pasta wrong for 30 yrs!!! How did I get so wrong?? I am not a great cook, but I never thought that I was so wrong. Somehow I got the idea that one was to put olive oil in the water to keep the pasta from sticking together. And no one ever told me about the salt thing til I heard it on the cooking show. How did I miss this??? THANKS for clueing me in!
Now that I know to salt..how much? 1/4 t or so?
One of my colleagues is the Food Anthropologist character ( and in real life) on Good Eats...maybe she can find out about the oil in the water. I love his show, but he talks so fast that I can't remember all that he says!
Do you add salt to boiled water for pasta?
Survey of CHs please: Do you add salt to the water when you cook pasta?
I was casually watching a cooking show last month (maybe Giada or R Ray, can't remember who it was ) and she made the off-the-cuff comment of saying she always salts her boiling water for pasta, as the pasta tastes better. Have I been missing the boat all these years? Is this a common thing for tasty pasta? Skipping the low-sodium-in-your-diet talk, how many of you do this? Does it really taste better? And do you still add olive oil? Basic question for many, but I really don't know. Maybe the Bitterman book might have the answer, but I don't have it....so can you all give me your feedback and comments?
Old school table manners... what were you taught?
Xorlonston, your lipsmacking tale reminded me something I had forgotten... my parent's constant nagging about my "clanking my teeth' on the drinking glass. It was constant nag, nag, nag..every meal. I hated to drink anything. They said I was "clanking" my upper and lower teeth on the glass when I drank. I had no idea what they were talking about! I felt like a horse with big ol teeth trying to drink from a glass. I practiced drinking with my lips curved inwards; I tried drinking with my mouth open. ..neither worked of course. This went on from about age 8 to 16. At age 16, I got contacts ..and the clanking stopped! About 6 mo later, my parents figured out that the "teeth clanking" had actually been the drinking glass clinking on my eyeglasses as I drank! I don't remember them apologizing very much; they thought it was funny; I was scarred for life, LOL!
More CH demographics
Aspiring Foodie, I am relieved at your words. I thought I might be the only CH that didn't like to cook. I am the shame of my mother and cousins, as they remind me all the time...even tho I can make bread from scratch, caramel icing, jambalaya, and a few other good items. My mother, who is a great cook says, "if you like people, you have to be a good cook." She is right, but it just doesn't come naturally to me. But I sure like to pick out recipes and have others cook for me! And I love to eat. Oh, I am 51, grew up in Ohio, and then escaped to new orleans for college (present owner of Commanders Palace was in my class, and I did a stint for K-Paul). I am a cultural anthropologist and i teach health / nutrition/food to immigrants and refugees.
Old school table manners... what were you taught?
xorlonston, I think you have it worse than I! Wow! I feel YOUR pain now. My SO doesn't slurp or farmer -clutch or cough on food. To your point, I have tried a few times to be "helpful" to my SO, but I must have done a pitiful job...it came off badly. He felt condescended to and said I had a moral superioriority. He didnt see it as helpful or necessary. I don't know if he doesn't see his manners as poor/needing improvement, or he just doesn't see good manners as important. Hmm... I actually think it is both. He eschews many "civilized" things as unimportant /frivolous...yet he takes his sons to task for their poor table manners. I almost wish I could be so rude myself and say, "what happened to the good manners your parents taught you? You have lapsed into oafdom!"...but that would be unkind, rude, and mean ( but i sure would like to be so straightforward).
Maybe I should take SoupKitten's tip to video him , under the guise of some other occasion? He might Get It. ( After all, he does criticicize his 2 sons' poor manners....including their dog-bowling...and blames it on his ex-wife's refusal to give any training to them, of course.) If he doesn't Get it, I would be loath to point out any ill manners in said video...and would have to come up with another CH plan.
Old school table manners... what were you taught?
xorlonston, An interesting thing happened last night over dinner, as i was trying to use your advice and think about something pleasant while overlooking the super-quick dog -bowling of said SO. In the minute that we had together before he scarfed down his food and burbed, I told him of this thread. We then had this very interesting conversation of our parents' table manners & rules....they were identical! Identical! All the same nice manners! I was purposely subtle in the telling of my family's etiquette, and of the many posts on this thread....trying to be kind....as I have raised this topic with him before and he has gotten hurt feelings and has said I acted morally superior ( that is true). It was very interesting to see that he had been raised with the exact same rules. But somewhere along the adulthood route, he dropped them. I don't think he realizes how rude/crass his habits are to people, my family or me. He is very educated and worldy, but these eating habits make him look like a gross, inconsiderate oaf. And I am left eating alone with no conversation. When we are with other people, it is even more akward. Just wondered how anyone else dealt with this issue????
Old school table manners... what were you taught?
This is a very interesting post, I love reading all the threads. I was raised with with the same rules as most of the US-born posters - And I am grateful that my parents gave my brother and me such good lessons- I can go anywhere and feel comfortable with all the appropriate table manners.
My question is how do other posters (nicely) deal with hubands/SO's who have manners that just grate on your nerves? I hate to be a nag to mine, but my 60 yr old, very educated SO has manners that make me shudder and cringe! And yet, he thinks his sons' manners are terrible ( they are!) but not his! He uses his elbow as a resting post, eats soooo fast (wolfs it down before others are even served), shovels it in, takes part in ablsolutely no conversation, and then takes his napkin off his lap and puts it on his empty plate...and moves the whole thing to the edge of the table. This happens at home, at relatives' homes, and in restaurants. I think his colleagues and English boss may notice this lack of manners. Since many of the posters on this thread seem to have the standard strict manners I have, do you all have partners that have the same?? If not, how ( or did) you cope/grow accustomed to? I don't want to be a nag, BUT.....it grates on my Emily Post nerve! Any suggestions from other Mannered CHs?
Trying to go BYOB with the groceries
These are very cool. Do you prefer them over regular canvas totes? We have a nice accumulation of canvas and cotton totes, from various free sources, that we could also use....but none are mesh and none have a solid bottom in them. Do you find that you would prefer the mesh and/or solid bottom ones to some nice freebie bags that you might already have? Are there some nice features to these that the good ol free ones might not have ( such as not being able to squnch up into a little stuff sack)??
Trying to go BYOB with the groceries
oh, thanks! these would be perfect for meat and other perishable items. Thanks for the link.
Trying to go BYOB with the groceries
In Mexico, where we worked for many yrs, they use these nice plastic mesh/woven bags with handles. They come in all sizes; from tiny to med to large gusseted with a zippered top. They are inexpensive, maybe a few dollars for the big ones. Everyone there uses them for groceries and shopping. I wonder if there is a place in the States to get these, like CA or Arizona or Tx??
Trying to go BYOB with the groceries
What do you all do with meat, poultry, and other cross-contamination items? Do you put them into seperate plastic bags as normal and then put them into your BYOB bags?
Black napkins offered
yea, I didn't know about this either til this thread.Love the Not About the Food posts!
Black napkins offered
I like the idea of a black napkin being offered...lovely attention to detail if a waiter noticed that I had on a dark color and offered me a black napkin. There is a certain upscale restaurant in Atlanta, located in a lovely river setting, that I avoid because of the white lint thing and the hassle of de-linting afterwards. If only they knew of the black napkins!
I was asking about the restautant's side of things because it seemed that they were getting some slamming for a seemingly helpful gesture, IMHO. I was wondering about Caroline's comment re: damask vs lint-y linen. ( I have damask and lint-free linen at home, but don't know how damask would hold up for daily laundering), and wondered about linen quality , lint-free napkins etc. Obviously, The French Laundry managed to do it, - wonder what type of linens they use and who they use for laundry service!
Black napkins offered
I would like to hear from a restaurant OWNER /manager, as to to the quality of white linen napkins available, laundry services, problems etc. We the customers would do well to inquire as to what is possible,what are the types and $ ranges of white linens available these days, what are the possible laundry options. etc. Can you even purchase white damask linen in large quantities anymore? What would be the cost of purchasing, seperate laundering and ironing these napkins? What is cost of nice cotton or linen ones? What is cost of in-house laundering vs out-sourcing? We should do some research and ASK a few owners of restaurants what the various linens and services are, before we make statements and judgements interpreting their actions.
Any owners/managers have their side to tell here?
