optimal forager's Profile
MacGourmet and MacGourmet Deluxe discounted on Mac App Store
Thanks for correcting and clarifying, rasputina. It didn't even occur to me to check their website before posting.
MacGourmet and MacGourmet Deluxe discounted on Mac App Store
Whoa, this is a little weird because I haven't been on Chowhound for such a long time. Anyway, I've been wanting to get MacGourmet since I bought my MacBook Pro in June, but I haven't been able to decide whether to get the basic MacGourmet (usually $25) or MacGourmet Deluxe (usually $50) (I'm cheap). I've kept an eye on them for sales, and it looks like they're both discounted because a new version was released on Sept. 7. The basic is now $10 and the Deluxe $25, presumably for a limited time, although the page doesn't actually say that.
Where to find pastry flour in Chicago or western suburbs?
Thanks for all the replies. Yeah, I have a couple of bags of the Arrowhead Mills Whole Wheat stuff, because I didn't see the whole wheat part of the label. I'll use it for other stuff. But the regular pastry flour is for a friend who has been looking for it for a while for a specific recipe, so I'll probably order from King Arthur.
Where to find pastry flour in Chicago or western suburbs?
I can't seem to find non-whole wheat pastry flour anywhere, including Whole Foods, Jewel, Dominick's, Ultra, Trader Joe's, Valli, Village Market and even Fox and Obel. Is there someplace I'm missing, or should I hit up my local bakery or wait for free shipping at King Arthur? Many thanks.
Need Asian Grilling Recipes
I found this book by Corinne Trang, the Asian Grill, at my local Tuesday Morning for maybe six bucks, and it's been really great so far. Maybe get it through your library to check it out?
http://www.amazon.com/Asian-Grill-Great-Recipes-Flavors/dp/B002QGSZ26/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1276022991&sr=8-1
Muslim houseguest - kitchen/dining room etiquette and rules? - [moved from Home Cooking board]
Ha! My sister is moving back to the US from Dublin in two days after seven years there. I think this and other food matters (i.e., spicy=a little black pepper) are one upside to leaving.
Le Creuset Skillet issues - hoping for tips or help...
I think a lot of people have similar issues with the LC skillets and grills...
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/481257?tag=search_results;results_list
Since that thread, I asked about it at a LC outlet store, and the guy said he's heard similar complaints but he uses the LC cleaner and never had a problem. I tried it, but maybe I'd let it go too long, because there was no difference.
NYT article about HFCS....
...seems to calmly sum up current evidence and trends. I don't think the author, however, addresses the idea that a possible role for HFCS in the obesity/T2D crisis may be that it is used as a cheap filler in foods that were not sweetened before. She discusses it mainly in the context of HFCS vs. sugar.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/02/business/02syrup.html?8dpc
Boneless chicken breasts bore me to tears
When I started cooking, I loved 'em. Now? Not so much. But I found this chicken and waterchestnut patty recipe when I first got my Cuisinart, and I really like it. Inexpensive, easy, quick, healthy and just the right amount of heat.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Asian-Chicken-and-Water-Chestnut-Patties-106518
"Rustic Fruit Desserts" anyone?
I made the upside-down pear chocolate cake. Absolutely delicious. I used King Arthur's Black Cocoa, so that might have been part of it, but I think it would be delicious regardless.
HELP: I love to bake, but my waistline doesnt!
There's a cookbook called Small-Batch Baking that addresses this issue. I've made a few things from it, and they've worked well for me.
http://www.amazon.com/Small-Batch-Baking-Debby-Maugans-Nakos/dp/0761130357/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1265481703&sr=8-1
Creams
Have you checked out David Lebovitz's site? I couldn't easily locate a post specifically about creams, French equivalents, and/or where to find them in Paris, but I bet that information is somewhere on the site, in a post or in the comments. Or you could ask in a comment yourself. He comes back to posts to answer many of the questions asked in the comments, and he's amazingly nice about it and patient.
This is an example link, showing a post about ingredients used in American baking, some French equivalents, and where to find them in Paris.
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2006/02/american_baking.html
guests not offering to do dishes, is it rude?
I don't think there's a single answer. It will always depend on the dynamics of that particular group of people: age, income (i.e. students versus out in the working world), family and old friends versus new aquaintances versus business colleagues, formality of the occasion, formality of the setting, all mixed in with the backgrounds and prior experience of every individual present. It's often going to be a guessing game on the part of the well-meaning guest.
The one thing I cannot stand, however: when it is a sufficiently casual affair, such a potluck you've agreed to host for fellow students and friends, that people automatically start helping to pack away leftovers and clear dishes, but a few people just sit there like it's beneath them. I cannot tell you how many times this happened in grad school, and I gotta say, it was often the women clearing up and the guys sitting on their hands. So much for the liberalizing effect of higher education.
Season a pizza stone?
You know, I've come across this discrepancy again and again, on Chowhound and elsewhere. It was always my understanding that you use a hot, porous surface for pizza, bread, etc. because it evaporates, then whisks away, the water on the surface of the dough. This is what gives you the nice crisp crust. Seasoning would fill in the tiny 'pores' in the stone, so the water wouldn't have anywhere to go and your crust would steam, right?
I've had some unglazed tiles for baking for a few years, but recently found a Williams-Sonoma pizza stone in a thrift shop for a couple of bucks. The W-S stone seems to be some sort of composite material, very unlike the tiles. Could the difference in recommendations for care be due to a difference in materials?
ISO chocolate-gram type service [Dublin]
My sister is taking the USMLEs (United States Medical Liscensing Exams) in Dublin on Tuesday, and I'm in Chicago. I'm looking for some sort of food gift delivery service that I can order online today, Sunday, and get delivered, ideally before the exam but even soon after. A Google search didn't yield much. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
PS Yes, I'm a rotten sister for not thinking of this earlier and sending a real care package from home.
Slate: Don't Buy Julia Child's MtAoFC: You Will Never Cook From It
Chowser-
I was just thinking that I'm looking forward to MtAoFC showing up in great quantities in secondhand shops and library book sales in a year or so. I think I'll start tracking it on half.com.
Tomato Flowers Keep Falling Off
I had that problem, read that it could be that the nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium balance in the soil was off, tried the Miracle-Gro TOMATO Food, and haven't had the problem again. I'm having other tomato problems now, of course, but not this one, even with the crazy weather we've had in Chicago this year. Good luck!
Better cheddar?
Has anyone else come across the Cabot Cloth Bound Cheddar, caved-aged at Jasper Hill Farms for a year, I think? We're definitely fans. Actually, just thinking about it, I can kinda taste it.
ice cream recipe favorites?
Creme Fraiche Ice Cream, from the Perfect Scoop. It's wonderful. You may think, oh, bland, fatty, too rich, but no! You would be wrong. The tang from the creme fraiche is lovely. Also, it has that nice creamy consistency which is sometimes missing from homemade ice cream AND it retains it, even after a day or so in the freezer.
Also, the fresh mint ice cream, also from the Perfect Scoop. Oh, and the fresh peach ice cream, although that's definitely best eaten right away, because it gets a little icy in the freezer. Oh, and the chocolate-coconut milk sorbet. The zabligione ice cream with Marsala, which really added to the taste and texture, went over really well with my labmates (Chinese, Italian, Indian and American). Can you tell I'm a fan?
If you had $300 to spend on a gadget
A CUISINART ICE-50BC SUPREME ICE CREAM MAKER, FULLY AUTOMATIC WITH COMMERCIAL-STYLE COMPRESSOR FREEZER, STAINLESS STEEL BRUSHED HOUSING, NO PREFREEZING REQUIRED!!! Ahem. Sorry. Let me collect myself. Since you asked, I've heard a bit about these and if I happened to have $300 burning a hole in my pocket, I probably wouldn't mind having one too much.
Yuck...I'm being waited on by a sick server!
And *I* have no economic choice but to work- if *I* don't work, *I* don't get paid. Not every restaurant patron is well-to-do. On the rare occasions that I eat out, I don't need a souvenir microbe to remind me of my visit, and I need to be able to go to work the next day.
But if the server doesn't work, she doesn't get paid, but if I get sick I can't work...but then.. but... That's what makes it a dilemma, right?
Hostess gift idea
Cassoulady-
What a great idea! It avoids all the pitfalls mentioned on the host/ess gift threads that I can recall, i.e. don't have to be put in water, or heated, or refrigerated, or fretted over regarding to serve or not, can be tossed without the giver knowing if no one likes it, etc. Thanks very much for sharing.
The Most Atrocious Casserole EVER!
I just read the bit about smtucker's negative and MplsMary's positive associations with tuna casserole to my dad (born 1934, Brooklyn, Irish-Catholic). His response: tuna noodle casserole was a hell of a lot better than the dry fried cod cakes that were the alternative on Fridays. Context is everything...
The Most Atrocious Casserole EVER!
Mawrter-
Do you mean the Gallery of Regrettable Food?
http://www.lileks.com/institute/gallery/
It's national doughnut day!
I still dream about the doughnuts at Washtenaw Dairy in Ann Arbor, MI. Fresh out of the fryer, and still with that slight crispiness. Some people don't seem to know that doughnuts are supposed to be a little crispy! They're fried! They should have that slight crunch as you bite into it, followed by the contrast of the sweet fluffy interior.
Barack Obama Is A Chowhound, Who Knew?
Thanks, trentyzan. This got erased from my DVR before I got a chance to watch it. Unfortunately, the restaurant in question is closing, before I even tried it!
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chicago/chi-dixie-kitchen-city-zone-29-may29,0,7963473.story
Not much of a baker, so.....
This Alton Brown carrot cake recipe is almost all in the food processor, and is extremely tasty. Oddly, he doesn't suggest grating the carrots in the processor, but obviously that speeds things up even further.
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/carrot-cake-recipe/index.html
Are personal tastes learned or inherent?
It appears that the answer is both of the above, and that the learning part starts VERY early. An extremely quick look through PubMed seems to indicate that maternal diet affects the flavor of amniotic fluid and of breast milk, and that those affect the taste preferences of infants. Also, taste genes like TAS2R38 are being discovered and their pathways worked out. It looks like there's a ton of very interesting science on this.
Examples:
PEDIATRICS Vol. 107 No. 6 June 2001, p. e88
Prenatal and Postnatal Flavor Learning by Human Infants
Julie A. Mennella, Coren P. Jagnow, and Gary K. Beauchamp
J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr. 2009 Mar;48 Suppl 1:S25-30.
Early flavor learning and its impact on later feeding behavior.
Beauchamp GK, Mennella JA.
Fat Parisians?
Here's a cute story by Eleanor Beardsley, the NPR correspondent in Paris. In it, she's taking her 2-year-old to the public day care, and describes the lovely meals the kids get and why.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=100746963
What is calorie a measure of?
CK-Whenever I teach or TA Intro Bio, the students taking it to fulfill a requirement whine, "why do we have to learn this, we're never going to use this". I tell them they need to know some basic bio and have some basic knowledge of the scientific process so they don't get taken in by poor science reporting and pseudoscientific fads, often related to food and diet. That mcf rejects so vehemently the word of someone who works in the field is bizarre and a terrible reflection on science eduation in the US. I think you explained everything quite well, so I'm sure someone else will benefit from the time you took to post.
--a PhD in anthropological genetics, studying Type 2 Diabetes in Native Americans
