SQHD's Profile
Good N.O. Restaurant with Bar Seating
Hmm - you may have convinced me. No menus online for Clancy's though that's not a huge deal. Is is cheaper than some of the others like MiLa?
electric knives
For bread they might be OK. Overall I find them pretty useless. They can be beneficial on something like a turkey for instance but I find that the edges of the meat get pretty ragged and mangled even on a brand new knife. But like I said, for something as straightforward as bread slicing, it might work just fine.
I wouldn't go for anything super-expensive or fancy. Walmart or Target or Bed, Bath & Beyond are where I would go look.
Does rice have to go in the fridge?
Now I'm a firm believer of "don't believe everything you read on the internet but how do you explain the following quote from the New Zealand Food Safety Authority. Frankly, I trust New Zealand before I trust USDA...
"There is no way of telling that cooked rice is contaminated. Cooked rice that contains toxin produced by Bacillus cereus will not look, taste or smell off or any different to normal rice.."
I was a likely victim of this kind of food poisoning at a restaurant in the Pacific Northwest. It was a low-end Indian restaurant and the dish was biryani - a stereotypical Indian dish of course. The symptoms were nothing out of this world; I was vomiting once or twice and was actually nearly fine by the morning which coincides exactly with the N.Z. descriptions in the link I posted above. If something gets to the point where it visibly turns color, it is far, far, far, far gone.
The real question here is risk versus reward and/or laziness. The risk is you could get sick. You're gonna bo OK but who wants to throw up and feel bad for 12+ hours? The reward would be non-refrigerated rice. I can understand someone leaving rice out for an afternoon - I'm not that severe of a safety nazi - but there are people here talking 3 to 5 days. Can you really not ration out your rice and cook a fresh pot in the event you eat it everyday? Hence, the laziness comment.
Good N.O. Restaurant with Bar Seating
MiLa looks interesting. I do see that they have a "bar menu" available, do they also have a full dinner menu available at the bar?
Does rice have to go in the fridge?
No one is arguing the fact that rice doesn't get hard or "do well" in the fridge. If you want 2 day old room temperature rice so bad that you are willing to get sick over it, no one will stop you.
The question was essentially can you leave rice out without food safety concerns. The answer is no.
Taco Pizza with Guac
Don't cook it - at least I wouldn't. I would drop guacamole on top after its out of the oven, so not cooked, not on the side, just simply on top. Refried beans are a common "sauce" base for Mexican pizza so you might think about that as well.
I like to high-heat grill avocados on occasion but I think the heat of the oven would turn the guacamole mushy-gray.
Pork tenderloin and grapes - inspire me!
I think what you've go is a fine idea actually! My only other thought would be to toss some grapes in a braise but this time of year isn't really braising weather and tenderloin shouldn't be braised anyway.
Does rice have to go in the fridge?
Another link describing what can happen...
http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/consumers/food-safety-topics/foodborne-illnesses/safe-cooling-of-cooked-rice/index.htm
Why won't some people use a meat thermometer?
Sounds like a lofty and elite club where they don't even employ great chefs OR supply them with the proper tools.
The only problem with buying everyone a Thermapen is that they run about $80 to $90.
Help w/ a "Pink Meat Sauce"
"Good Eats" just did a long simmered meat sauce on the newest episode if you're interested. It goes over all the aspects from meat choice to grind, to cooking technique.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/meat-sauce-and-spaghetti-recipe/index.html
Combine some of these ideas with a vodka sauce recipe and you should do fine.
Help w/ a "Pink Meat Sauce"
Pre-cooking pasta is not a good idea if your only way to heat it up is to drop it back into boiling water. Seriously who would do that?!!?! The inconveneice is staggering. You're wasting so much time, energy, water, and quality.
If you have to boil more water to reheat the pasta, how about you just bring uncooked pasta and boil it fresh when you're there. We're talking about a difference of maybe 4-6 minutes to boil "fresh" as opposed to reheating.
The inconvenience of having to boil the water, toss in the pasta, drain it, cool it, pack it, boil more water when you get there, toss in the pasta, drain it, then dress it is ridiculous.
As it is, this post doesn't have much guidance from the original poster.
Safe Mushroom Foraging...?
There are probably mushroom forager groups around you somewhere. You can certainly join one of those and learn along the way. As far as any specific rules... there are none. You really have to have some knowledge of what you're doing or go with someone who does. There are countless numbers of books out there and websites, etc. that you can lean bits and pieces from.
Help w/ a "Pink Meat Sauce"
No kidding - sounds like a wonderful night. And how exactly are you cooking the pasta? Mmm... nothing like 2+ hour old pasta with cold meat sauce. Sounds like my college days.
How many people? Are you just going to toss the whole pre-cooked thing in the microwave? I think it would be quite difficult to transport a vat of cooked spaghetti and meat sauce in a bus for 2 hours, and then to have pre-cooked side dishes to carry along as well?
Help w/ a "Pink Meat Sauce"
Anything is portable. Just get a cooler, or shop when you get there, or cook when you get there.
Need to find great food in Atlanta to deliver to sick friend - help with suggestions??
While I can't give any great suggestions, I do know that the area is changing almost daily so there may be new things out there. You can look/ask at Midtown restaurants or delivery services. That is the area of town where your friend lives.
While this is a nice idea, I just don't see how practical it can be. Food delivery is quite often a work week lunch time thing and is meant to be quick and tasty but not necessarily on top of the healthy scale.
Good luck, I think you'll need it.
Can't add a hood: which stove/range?
You do understand that vent hoods are not only about venting CO, but they also vent smells and smoke?
Good N.O. Restaurant with Bar Seating
I'm looking for restaurants that have bar seating available with a full dinner menu and is still a worthy restaurant to visit. Tourist traps are frowned upon. Dressy-casual at most, nothing too fancy. I'm traveling by myself on business and I would rather sit at a bar as opposed to by myself at a table. I've been to Cochon (I guess thatcould be considered a tourist trap of sorts!) and loved it but I'm just looking for something else to vary my experience. Even Herbsaint is an option if I were to stay with the same chef, but places like Stella would probably not be an option... Any suggestions?
Can't add a hood: which stove/range?
Even if a real vent hood isn't going above the stove, I just really hate the look of a microwave over a stove. It is done ALL the time but that doesn't excuse it. It's kind of like putting a flat screen TV over your fireplace. Ergonomically its a horrible, horrible place for a TV but everyone thinks its great simply because everyone else does it. Nobody thinks practically. As you mentioned RGC, it will become a grease magnet and the inconvenience of placing a microwave over the stove is not worth it.
Wedding wine
4 wines? Seems like overkill to me. I'd go with just 2, one red & one white. A crisp white (Sauvignon blanc) with the tuna and a spicy red (Syrah/Shiraz) with the chicken (?).
At a reception, people aren't going to be picky and on top of that 95% of the people aren't going to be knowledgeable enough about wine to distinguish anything extraordinary versus average. If I were you, I would go to your local liquor store and talk with the manager or wine manager... probably best if you go to a store with a knowledgeable wine manager. Ask them what they would recommend considering your dishes and what kind of deal they can give you for a large purchase. They should also be able to help with estimating bottle count as well.
Frankly, you're probably going to get lots and lots of responses that won't really help you here - different wines are available in different parts of the country for far different prices.
No beer or liquor? Definitely get some beer if nothing else, not everyone is a wine drinker and the beer isn't going to be any more expensive than the wine. Good luck!
Can't add a hood: which stove/range?
You can't put up a hood but you're putting a microwave in its place? Ditch the microwave in any situation. It needs to go somewhere else, not above the stove.
Help! Pizza on the grill
Exactly. A pizza stone is not required to grill pizza. Commonly, people think that the dough will fall through the grates of the grill but that's just not the case.
decisions, decisions... pan buying.
You do know that anodized is not non-stick, correct?
If you buy non-stick anodized, you're pretty much wasting your money. There's no need for an anodized surface on the exterior of your non-stick pan. Why not just buy a carbon steel or cast iron pan for non-stick duties? If not that, just go buy a simple, cheap non-stick pan that you don't care too much about so that it is easily replaced every now and then (3-4 years) when it gets scratched to the point of no return.
If you have a dishwasher, seriously consider something like plain old All-Clad. It is so incredibly durable you can put it through just about anything... freezer, 600 degree oven, dishwasher, stove top, table top, these pans can handle almost ANYTHING.
Anodized will last for a long while but you do have to be more careful with it. Anodized cannot go in the dishwasher. It is also quite prone to scratching especially if you pile pots and pans on top of each other. Anodized = limited use of metal utensils also, for that reason.
Sets of pots and pans that come in pre-packed boxes tend to give you things you don't need. Buying a few pans that serve your purposes well are your best bet. I always gravitate toward my stainless, straight-sided saute pan. It can fry, braise, saute (obviously), steam, roast, cook rice (pilaf or risotto), etc.
lots of fresh dill
You can dry it. Just hang it from a coat hanger and make sure there's enough air flow so you encourage drying, not rotting. You could potentially freeze it, but frozen, fresh herbs are often far to delicate to be of any use later after you freeze them - they turn to goo. Alternatively, you could make a soup with them and then freeze the soup. Potato leek soup with dill comes to mind first. And it's super easy if you use a pre-boxed chicken stock.
Need Clay Pot Help
That sounds like the best option. I certainly wouldn't have used any kind of bleach product or any chemical of any sort. Even if the chemical ended up being completely harmless you'd have to worry about off flavors, etc. and it just wouldn't be worth it. Glad to hear it turned out so well.
I have lobster meat! I need some Hound-help!
Be VERY aware that some people might be forgetting one obvious fact here; the lobster is already "semi-cooked" so whatever you do to it, don't cook (steam, poach, fry, boil, etc.) it until it's tough and rubbery.
Need Clay Pot Help
You've basically created a cabinet chia-pet. Obviously the water didn't dry out of the pot walls completely and it was a good dark, cool environment for mold. Because of the porous nature of the pot I'm not sure if you can really clean it very effectively, with chemicals or product. Perhaps a good scrub in soap and water and then pop it in the oven?
If you're so fast to throw it in the trash though, I'm not sure how much work you're willing to put into it. I'm not a huge fan of the pots myself.
Bad All-Clad?
You will be able to see the aluminum sandwiched in between the 2 layers of stainless. That is 110% normal. As for the weight, well I'm just not sure how much it weighs, of course. But aside from the staining you should be fine. After a good soak you can very safely throw these pans in the dishwasher. The dishwasher detergents usually do a pretty good job on stains especially if the pan has been soaking for a while.
Atlanta -- hip / trendy but good?
Holeman & Finch has a pretty good bar scene. Great food and great, inventive drinks.
www.holeman-finch.com/
