porkphat's Profile
Non-Indian uses for paneer?
I'd think you could swap a good fresh paneer for queso fresco in any Mexican dish -- they'll both have that fresh, milky taste.
Paneer is incredibly easy to make. I've done it many times, and even I can't manage to screw it up. ;-)
BACON OF THE MONTH CLUB: do you belong??
I belong to the one from The Pig Next Door (http://www.thepignextdoor.com) and it's spectacular. Pricing is on their site, and it's about the same for all the clubs. What sets them apart IMO is that they have an option where the bacon is all from heritage pork. Most of that bacon is from small family farms, and it's been incredible every time.
Like dct wrote, you don't get to choose your bacon varieties from month to month. But The Pig Next Door sent me a bacon one month that I really liked, so I wrote and asked them if I could get it again another month. They made it happen. Their customer service is first-rate.
Barbara's fishtrap in Half Moon Bay..
I'm happy to hear that you had a great experience there. I used to go to Barbara's Fish Trap all the time about 10-15 years ago, but I stopped about 5 years ago after three straight visits of getting what seemed like as much sand in the chowder as clams. Before that started happening, the chowder was easily the best I'd ever had.
cheap yet tasty/tender cuts of steak? possible?
There's a cut I see from time to time called a spencer steak. It's cut off the ends of the rib primals; think of them as "end-cut" ribeyes, so they're a bit fatty with excellent flavor. If you can find them, they're an excellent value -- they're normally around half the price of the ribeyes.
Steak "resting" done correctly??
Yeah, I mostly agree. I think if you're talking about a thick steak -- somewhere around 1.5" -- you can let it rest for 3-5 minutes on a warmed plate and it shouldn't get cold. The other option would be to cook it about 5 degrees cooler than you like it and then rest it in that 200 degree oven for 5 minutes or so.
