Grillncook's Profile
Kitchen Aid Meat Grinder also Past aExtruder?
That's high for the grinder attachment. Bed Bath and Beyond sells it for $49.95 last time I checked. Which mixer do you own ? The grinder requires all the power that you can muster from your mixer. If you have a lower wattage unit like a 325 or 400 watt unit, while the grinder will work on your mixer, there have been instances of a shortened life on the lessor mixers. All the pasta extruder is, is a tube with interchangeable plates that allow you to run dough through the grinder and push it through the plates as pasta. Again it works the machine hard. I love my grinder and use it often but I have a 600 watt machine and it does tax it to a small amount.
Authentic Mexican Salsa Recipe
Try doing a google search for "Ninfa's Red Sauce" It's one of the better tomato based sauces out there. It's a simple recipe and your search will pop up several recipes all claiming to be Ninfa's sauce. I like this one http://www.recipelink.com/mf/14/21086. You can serve it hot or chilled.
Ways to Heat a Meal On the Road?
You have several options available on the market. You probably aren't looking in the right places. Here's a couple of ideas, look for options in Camping stores especially stores that cater to RV users. Camping World is one that pops right up and they have several 12 volt options available. One of the problems you'll run up against, is that in a car you have limited power options. Automobile electrical systems just aren't designed to power appliances that heat. They just don't have the wattage output required to run regular household appliances. You could get an inverter and use 110 volt normal appliances but again you don't have enough output to do it for long and be able to start the car again. We have a very low wattage "Crock Pot" that we use in the motorhome, but it still pulls 220 watts and we are running it off of a bank of 4 batteries. You can power anything if you have enough batteries and the right stuff to charge them. We have many friends that have solar charging systems on their RV's that can and do live completely off the grid for months at a time. It's called "boondocking" in the RV world and is quite actually one of the more popular sides of RVing.
Go to www.escapees.com and go to the discussion forum, look for a topic named "RV Housekeeping" search that topic for "thermal cookers" We've never used one but they do seem to have quite a following. You should find quite a lot of information and get most of your questions asked. You might also dig around in the "Boondocking" topic and find a few more ideas.
What rice goes with gumbo
Emirl's recommendation is "medium grain enriched rice" for true cajun authenticity. It's hard to find and there is a difference in taste over long grain, it's got a nuttier flavor and it's got a bit more crunch to it. I use "Cajun Country" produced by Falcon Rice Mill, Inc. in Crowley, Louisiana, 70526.
Any brands of ice cream similar to Blue Bell that can be found in the Northeast?
I'd be really surprised to expand northward. Blue Bell is very strict in their ingredients and their quality control. Each truck of milk is tested for butterfat content before it's unloaded and only 2 in 4 are accepted, They own all of the creameries and won't farm out making of their ice cream. Their ingredient list is a very closely held secret, most of the people that mix and package the ice cream don't know what's in it. It's quite fascinating to watch them produce ice cream. It's still packed by hand, because it's the only way that the "Flip Seal" can be accomplished. Each container is filled with ice cream , a lid placed on it, then immediately flipped onto it's lid to seal the container from intrusion of outside elements that could give the ice cream an off taste, and then flash frozen in large freezers kept at around 30 degrees below zero.
According to the guide when we took the tour of the creamery in Brenham, their limited distribution area is as large as they can have and still be able to control the supply chain to ensure the quality of the ingredients in the ice cream.
Any brands of ice cream similar to Blue Bell that can be found in the Northeast?
About once a month most of the convenience stores in our area run Ice Cream Sandwiches on sale 2 for a buck. It's 8 miles from town to our place, just enough time to eat one. I love going to town. Cookies and Cream all the way home OH YEAH!
To our meat experts-- a ? re meat cuts & flavor pairings
It is possible that the pairing is in the new book from Page and Dorenberg "The Flavor Bible". In both books, but more so in CA, the flavor pairings were arrived at by taking notes during conversations with chefs around the world and making a list of items when they popped up in certain combinations. Since CA was written over 10 years ago, it is, in some cases quite dated. "The Flavor Bible" is much more complete and almost 4 times larger than CA. Normally I would just look it up for you, but we recently moved and my "Flavor Bible" is still hiding in a box, somewhere.
Any brands of ice cream similar to Blue Bell that can be found in the Northeast?
Since we now live about 70 miles from "The Little Creamery" in Brenham I don't worry about it anymore. When we lived in Virginia we either went to Outback or if we really needed a fix we ordered from Bluebell. Bluebell is as expensive as the dickens if you order it from the creamery but it does come overnight. It's $119 for 4 1/2 gallon containers shipped to your door. I've never found any brand that comes close to BB whether it's a store brand or a stand alone ice cream store, Bruesters is close but it still isn't Bluebell.
Mordacity-If you travel to western North Carolina you can purchase Bluebell confections once you get to Hickory. That area is serviced by the Bluebell creamery in Alabama, No ice cream yet, but BB does make a great ice cream sandwich.
Kitchenaid 12-C Food Processor and Bread Doughs
KA 12 cup comes with a dough blade in the accessory box. I do prefer my KA Pro 6 stand mixer for making dough, but the FP makes great biscuit and pie crust dough.
How to de-slime okra dish
Sauté the okra until it de-slimes itself. It usually takes about 10 to 12 minutes.
??? re how much a BLENDER can do
LOL, I AM the hubby. My lovely Bride knows better than to mess in MY kitchen. As a guy, I love gadgets, and I have just about every attachment KA makes for a stand mixer. I don't know of any that will do what my 12 cup KA food processor does. I love good knives and I use them for slicing and dicing, to me it's easier and faster just to use a knife. For some stuff, like I mentioned, a big honking FP has no match. I own two of the mini's and there is no comparison. They are under powered and don't have enough room to mix a cup of coffee. I've got just about every electrical appliance known to mankind, got cabinets strictly devoted to their storage, some I use more than others.
Not to sound like a KitchenAid commercial, but if I had to pare it down to 3, in no particular order, they would be my KA Pro 6 stand mixer, my KA 12 cup FP, and my KA Immersion blender.
??? re how much a BLENDER can do
The blades of a blender are designed to mix and stir by creating a vortex in the center. The blender mixing vessel is usually not round to add to the mixing ability. Most blender jars are specially shaped with either ribs or other add ons to help with the mixing. The only thing I use my blender for is frozen adult beverages, it's real good at making those. For just about all other things it stinks. I use an immersion blender much more than I use the stand one.
For pesto, chopping garlic etc. a food processor is just about the best tool if you want to do it mechanically. My FP handles making pie crust and biscuit dough better than I can do it by hand and it's great for combining and mixing dry ingredients, like flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and getting a good well blended mix. I use it to chop chocolate for melting, for grating cheese.
If I had to choose 2 out of the three, the blender would be history.
Did I break my KitchenAid?
I would recommend that you purchase an extension cord made of at least 12 gauge wire. That will handle almost all household tasks. You probably won't be able to find one less than 25' but they are worth it. Most of my cords are 10 gauge but I usually run with 100' cords outdoors. If the cord you were using was made from that little black or white flat wire, it was at best 16 gauge, and couldn't supply the demands of your KA.
Mandoline recomendation?
I have the OXO V Blade and I've been quite pleased with it. It's easy to use and clean. It's one of the cooks tools like it that I have felt comfortable using. Yes it can cut you, but any sharp object can, I have more nicks and cuts from my paring knife than the slicer. I've owned it about a year and use it once or twice a week and the blades are still as sharp as the day I bought it. Bed Bath & Beyond sells it for $39.95 and if you use one of their 20% coupons it's only $32.00 plus tax. Most CI recommended are usually pretty good and this one is.
Pan Sizes for Registry, pretty serious cook
The only thing I think I would change would be, personally I would go with the 12" 6 qt All Clad Saute with lid. You can cook less in a big pan but you can't cook more in a small pan. It seems I'm always using 12" pans and there is just two of us.
On your smaller pans, yes upgrade and keep them. We've moved 5 times in the last 8 years, and I'm still unpacking boxes from two moves ago. In one of those boxes is an All Clad 1 qt sauce pan and a 3 qt sauce pan. I really miss those pots, 1 qt. is great if you need to throw together a quick sauce for some steamed veggies, 3 qt. is great for a can of soup and various other things when you don't want or need to bring out something bigger.
Lobster stock - whole bodies needed?
I've had decent results using Penzey's Seafood Base as a supplement when I need to make stock and didn't have "raw material".
Lot's of frozen boudin- what to do with it?
Personally, I don't think that boudin would hold together in a soup. it's hard enough just frying it in link. The stuffing a bell pepper sounds great and using it in stuffing is a fantastic idea. I usually just grill it and use a good cajun mustard on a baguette sliced like a hot dog roll, ah, the simple pleasures.
Meat Slicers
How thin do you want your slices ? I'll second the commercial recommendation, but owning one of those $100 "Toys" is not as bad as it is made out to be. They lack the precision and the power of the commercial units but they do the job. It's hard to get a consistent slice, they vary in thickness slightly, and you have to take your time with them because the motor isn't as powerful as a commercial slicer. I purchase cheese and deli meats in bulk, and slice it myself on my cheapo. About as thin as I can slice is just over a 1/16 of an inch, cheese about the size of a sandwich is the most I ever cut, and the motor bogs, but doesn't overheat and it does slice at a slower pace. I've owned it for about 6 years and at a $100 cost that's about $16.50 a year for ownership. It shows no signs of wearing out, so in the grand scheme of things, it's more than paid for itself, in the utility I've gotten out of it.
Why is all bakewear non-stick?
Retailers stock and sell what they can turn over quickly. Many consumers don't share your viewpoint of teflon and will purchase non-stick items without hesitation, that's why retailers stock and sell them. I own both and prefer carbon steel, but when my options are limited, I will buy non-stick. Restaurant supply stores are much less expensive than your perceptions indicate and WS does offer some carbon steel options. I have purchased 1/2 sheet steel pans from Sam's for $10 for a package of 2. If you shop around you can find just about whatever you want at the price you want to pay, all it takes is time. How much time do you want to spend ?
Can you just use lumber for a "custom" cutting board?
If you live in a climate that requires you use A/C a lot, that could be part of your problem. A/C by it's nature is a dehumidifier and if you run it a lot, the air in your specific micro climate (house) could be very dry in relationship to the out side air. The more efficient your A/C is the more moisture it will pull out of the air.
Penzey's New Peppermill
My brother has both the old style and the new style and he told me that the older one is the better. It grinds finer than the newer one.
Help w/ New Kitchenaid Meat Grinder
I've used my grinder attachment quite a bit and I've never had this happen. I do meticulously clean it after every use. There are areas where crud can build up and you have to watch them closely. The square shoulder where the cutting blade locks to the shaft almost always has junk in the bottoms of the shoulder and I use a dental pick to clean it out. It can build up over time and go un-noticed. It also helps in operation if you wipe both the cutting blade and the plate with a food grade mineral oil. With the exception of the square drive shaft at the rear of the unit, I put a coat of mineral oil on all the metal parts. It seems to help with operation of the unit as a whole.
best immersion blender?
Another KA owner here, I love it and use it all the time. It's great for pureeing sauces and making salad dressings.
I also love my 12 cup KA food processor, great for making pie and biscuit dough. slicing, grating, grinding small amounts of meat. It comes with a small 4 cup bowl and blade which is great for small jobs, great for clean up.
I want an instant read thermometer for Christmas
My next thermometer will be from Thermoworks. One of the reasons their units are so quick reacting is the small diameter of the probe. Their products have a high degree of precision built in with very low levels of of accuracy variance. They do offer a very full line of thermometer products INCLUDING probe thermometers with cords up to 2 meters.
Check out their full line here www.thermoworks.com
I particularly like their fridge/freezer dual thermometer and I think I'm going to go with one of their replaceable probe models so I can have an instant read and a probe unit in one.
best charcoal grill
How close do you need to get ? Closer than 2 inches ? Depending upon how you build your fire in a Weber you can get that close. If you learn how to bank your fire in a Weber you can make your coals do anything you want. I routinely run grill temperatures of over 600 degrees on the hot part of my fire, anything hotter that that pretty much incinerates anything you place over it. You can run higher temperatures, just by using a hair dryer to fan the fire, say if you are doing "Tuscan Steak" where you need a higher sear temperature. A Weber doesn't have all the bells and whistles that some grills do but if you understand it and learn how to use it you can cook anything you want on it.
Stand Mixer - Which One?
What are your home uses going to be ? You really need to decide what you are going to use it for before you can pick a specific model. Are you going to bake bread ? or cake mixes ? cookies ? or use it with the attachments KA offers ? All these are issues that you need to address. I own a Pro 6 that was purchased as a refurb several years ago, so I familiar with the Pro series and not the Artisan. I understand that the Artisan has a narrower bowl which would be a minus in my eyes. It's already tough enough to scrape the bowl on a Pro so anything smaller and harder to get at would be difficult to deal with. I use the accessories quite a bit, so I went with more power. I use the grinder almost weekly, ground 4 pounds of round yesterday for chili. I have the small bowl (3 qt.) for doing up whip cream, can do up a cup of whipped cream in a couple of minutes. If you are really going to use a KA as the workhorse that it is, a 6 qt. with it's higher power is the way to go.
I think we paid $250 for mine about 8 years ago, and it's still works like the day I took it out of the box.
Essential cookbooks
It came up early in the conversation but I'll second "The Flavor Bible" by Page and Dorenburg. One of the things you list is how ingredients work to together, and books that teach. If you want to learn about flavors and how they interact, this is your book. In 40 some odd years of cooking, I can't think of another book that has increased and advanced my cooking as much as this book has. It gives you a through understanding of why flavors work with other flavors and starts your thinking outside the box and explains why combos of flavors work. It's the book that anyone on my Christmas list is getting.
rust on cast iron pan
For cleaning I use a wadded up piece of aluminum foil, to "scrub" the pan, and then a wipe down with oil before I store it. It works for me.
Help--how do you store chipotles once the can has been opened?
I just throw them in a ziploc bag and put them in the fridge. They don't last long around my kitchen so I''ve never had a spoilage issue.
costco rebranded shuns? -link inside-
Could you please list your source of information on the Shun Knives being stamped?
