Russellkhan's Profile
Human genes in rice
From the consumerist, who got it from boingboing:
For the first time, the USDA has granted preliminary approval for large-scale planting of an engineered food crop that contains human genes.
Sounds pretty icky to me. The consumerist article includes a link and instructions for those who would like to participate in the public comments.
Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2lfjbk (links to the Consumerist, whose URL was 99 characters long and would have wrapped, possibly breaking)
http://www.boingboing.net/2007/03/09/rice_containing_huma.html
Fish Sauce
If it were me, I would probably avoid that brand in the future. I also tend to avoid brands that contain preservatives - fermented products are already preserved.
Meal on Card/Tip in cash. Do you do this?
From my experience, this type of thing is pretty much limited to the catering/banquet business. I don't think I've ever worked in a restaurant where regular dining tips were not received same day.
Meal on Card/Tip in cash. Do you do this?
As someone who works as waitstaff, I'd like to say that the combination of your behaviors is worse for the waitstaff than if you were to just put the tip on the card.
The reason for this is that in cases when there is no tip on the card, if the server should ever be audited (which is becoming more common from all I've been hearing lately) the IRS tends to assume that a cash tip is given and that it is similar to the average credit card tip. If you are tipping less than the tip that the house includes, when you do it in cash, the server has no record to prove it.
Personally, when I go out, I always try to put some tip on the card and some in cash. This gives the server more freedom in how to declare for tax purposes. And I tend to be pretty generous about it.
Fish Sauce
It should be fine. In fact, it's best to not refrigerate fish sauce, as refrigeration will sometimes cause some crystals to form inside (also not something to worry about if it happened to yours)
Garlic Press - Why the Hate?
I stopped using a garlic press when I discovered the Garlic Twist. It works better (though it always struck me that the design could easily be improved to be friendlier to those who don't have very strong hands (not a problem for me)) cleans up much easier and doesn't waste garlic.
http://www.garlictwist.com/
I stopped using my Garlic Twist after taking some Thai cooking classes where I learned that for just a clove or two, a whack with the flat of a knife does the job more quickly, and for large amounts, the mortar & pestle does a much better job.
Once and for all -- rice in a burrito -- Yay or nay?
Yay rice! Nay lettuce!
Disclaimer: I have no delusions of an idea of authenticity. I just know what tastes good! (Oh, and I have some sort of genetic pedisposition to liking rice and hating warm soggy lettuce)
New feature: style picker
That's a help, thanks.
Also, thanks for fixing the Chowhound-logo-links-to-Chow.com problem. I had feared that that was intentional at first.
You've given me enough to hang in and see how things come together around here at this point. Keep it up!
Henckels Twin Select, Wusthof Grand Prix, Global, MAC or Shun Stainless?
Just a small correction to make your link work:
http://www.epicedge.com
Nice site, a lot of my money would disappear if I spent too much time surfing it, I think.
Storing cast iron skillets
I keep 2 out of 3 of mine in the oven at all times, the other hangs from the pot rack. I'm not a serious baker, but I do make brownies & bread puddings and stuff like that pretty often. I find that keeping the cast iron on the top rack and lowering the middle rack by one extra slot, I don't have to remove the cast iron most of the time. About the only time I've had to remove the skillets & top rack I when roasting a pork picnic shoulder (i'd imagine I'd also have to do it for a ham or turkey, but I haven't done either of those (probably never will for the turkey - not that big a fan of the bird).
I also figure that the skillets have a somewhat similar effect to a baking stone, in that they help to steady the temperature of the oven.
2 to 2 1/2 quart saucepan
Calphalon's Tri-Ply Stainless is nice. In the 2 1/2 quart size saucepans they have a normal, which I think hase reasonable width, definitely wider than the All-Clad 2Q, and they also have a wider one, which I think they call a 'shallow saucepan'. The triply is clad aluminum, as the name implies, and it has nice rolled rims for pouring - an advantage over most All-Clad.
How can I get a good cup of coffee at Starbucks?
Can't be done. Starbucks stopped using good coffee when they expanded out of Seattle. You may as well ask how you can get a good cup of coffee out of Yuban.
Thai papaya salad dressing recipe
Sounds like just the way she'd recommend doing it. Try it out, use the measurements given as a guideline and work from there to figure out how you like the flavor.
I have seen a bit of a range of prices on fish sauce, and I believe Golden Boy is at or near the top of that range at my favorite Thai market, but IIRC that only puts it at about $2 for a bottle that lasts me a couple or few months, I don't really regard it as a significant price difference.
Newbie here
Thanks guys!
Yes, I've been watching mainly the topical boards, home cooking, cookware (or whatever the name is, the one on that topic), and occasionally just dropping in on active threads. I'll probably stay in semi-lurk mode for awhile until I get a better feel for the place, but so far I like it a lot.
Thai papaya salad dressing recipe
I took Thai cooking classes from the author of that recipe. I can tell you that she is not really one for measuring. Measurements are all approximations, everything is done to taste - When adding fish sauce to something it's a few shakes of the bottle, then taste the effect, then possibly a another shake or few.
Also worth noting is that different brands of fish sauce have very different flavors. Some are saltier than others, and most contain some sugar, which will affect the sweetness of the dish. Kasma (the author of that recipe) recommends Golden Boy or Tra Chang brands of fish sauce. I use Golden Boy and recommend it highly. I haven't used Tra Chang in my own cooking so can't speak for it.
Oh, and keeping my first paragraph in mind regarding measurements, I do highly recommend any recipe from Kasma (any recipe on thaifoodandtravel.com is hers, unless otherwise noted).
Newbie here
Hello, I just registered here, and thought I'd put up a post to say hi. I'm a refugee from the Craigslist food forum, known there as PCRepair (a nick I chose while I was running a business doing that type of work). I think I've just about given up on that forum, much as I once liked it, the troll/griefer population has continually gotten worse over time.
Anyways, I've been lurking the Chowhound boards for round about a week now and I think I like the feel of the place. Seems like there are a lot of helpful and knowledgeable food lovers here. I look forward to learning more from you all.
