rmoskow's Profile
Two Weeks in Cincinnati
I lived in Cincinnati for four years, and the only food I miss are the potato pancakes at Izzy's Deli. Their sandwiches are good too, but the potato pancake is spectacular- almost like mashed potatoes with an incredibly crunchy caramelized exterior. I was just back in town for 3 days and got one every day I was there.
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Izzy Kadetz
610 Main St, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Why are stuffed peppers always made with green peppers?
I was just discussing this with a friend 2 nights ago! I suspect that the green peppers we get now may not taste as good as the green peppers of yore- that's the case for so many fruits and veg. But I don't see any good reason to use green peppers now, unless you are just barely cooking the stuffed entity so the pepper is heated but more raw than cooked. Plus, they're not easy to eat. I suggested that my buddy try cutting the peppers into wedges and mounding the filling on top then running them under the broiler. The filling will protect the pepper from the direct heat, and the whole deal could more easily be cut into bites that include pepper and filling.
Florida cheesemakers
A friend of mine will be spending some time in central FL where I understand water buffalo are a reasonably common animal, and I'm wondering if anyone knows of cheesemakers in the area who use water buffalo milk.
Watery gravy now
Things thickened with cornstarch can't be reheated and maintain their thickness. Some food-chem person could probably explain why, but I think it just has to do with how and when the starch molecules absorb liquid. This phenomenon also occurs with the sauces on chinese takeout/leftovers- a sauce that is thick and glossy when you get the food becomes watery as it sits in the fridge and doesn't rethicken if you bother to nuke the stuff before chowing down 2 hours later.
Solutions: add more cornstarch and thicken the gravy again; use instant flour instead of cornstarch if you are avoiding the roux step, or just take the extra 3 minutes to make it with flour in the first place.
