What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[turbo]

Tonight, I have a thick fresh yellowfin tuna steak to grill. I hope the rain holds off, because I hate pan-frying tuna steaks when I could have grilled them.

BTW, if you find tuna steaks on sale at the market at a good price, buy extras. That fatty meat survives freezing quite well, unlike most fish.

 

[Evo]

I smoked a pork boston butt the other day. I took some pieces and made a broth, then I cooked diced potatoes, then added queso blanco cheese and had a delicious smoked cheese and potato chowder.

 

[turbo]

Thunder in the distance. I hope the rain holds off (or passes over quickly) so I can grill that tuna when my wife gets home. When you have fresh wild-caught tuna, it's a shame to pan-fry it.

 

[turbo]

The worst of the T-storms passed around us and the rains died down. The grilled tuna steak was wonderful, with a side of baby-spinach salad. Sprinkle black pepper and salt on the tuna steak, rub with peanut oil and sear it on the grill (high heat), then move to medium heat for a couple of minutes. Put the steak on a plate and cover it with foil for a few minutes to let it continue cooking from its own heat, and relax the meat.

It was fantastic. Grilled tuna and a simple salad...

Tuna steaks are no more expensive than sea scallops, so we'll be having them more often. Duke will love that. He got a couple of bites tonight and he was in ecstasy!

 

[mrcheeses]

Ice Cream is my favorite kind of food. Especially mint! :)

 

[Astronuc]

I smoked a pork boston butt the other day. I took some pieces and made a broth, then I cooked diced potatoes, then added queso blanco cheese and had a delicious smoked cheese and potato chowder.

That sounds so good! What kind of smoked cheese? Queso blanco cheese was smoked? A particular brand to recommend?

 

[Evo]

That sounds so good! What kind of smoked cheese? Queso blanco cheese was smoked? A particular brand to recommend?

The pork was smoked in my smoker, it gave the broth an incredible smoky flavor.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Ice Cream is my favorite kind of food. Especially mint! :)

I would have guessed cheese.

 

[Borek]

Bean soup here is traditionally made with a smoked bacon. Actually it doesn't have to be a real bacon, just a smoked skin left after the meat and fat were cut off is enough for a flavor.

 

[lisab]

Nice article about wooden spoons .

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/...ve_a_rich_history_and_they_last_forever_.html

 

[turbo]

Nice article about wooden spoons .

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/...ve_a_rich_history_and_they_last_forever_.html

My wife and I have a wide variety of wooden spoons (regular, slotted, sporks, spatulas) and we use them preferentially, instead of metal/plastic utensils. I'll bet we have had many of them since we got married about 35 years ago. I was a big fan of wooden utensils before I met my wife. My mother and grandmother were, too (both great cooks!)

 

[drizzle]

Nice indeed lisab, I enjoyed reading it.

 

[Evo]

I threw away all of my wooden spoons years ago after I found out that not only do they carry foul odors/flavors, they are teaming with bacteria. I only use stanless steel and special plastic utensils that can be sterilized.

The experts' rules for beating household bugs that can trigger heart disease, allergies and strokes

WOODEN SPOONS
Wood is more porous than plastic or metal, making it more susceptible to carrying germs and bacteria, explains John Oxford, Professor of Virology at Barts and the London Hospital. The bacteria particularly prevalent in the kitchen is E. coli, usually from raw meat or children with poor hygiene habits. This can lead to severe food poisoning.

Don’t put wooden spoons in the dishwasher, especially not on a regular basis, as they may crack and therefore provide a haven for bacteria. Instead, soak in *disinfectant for about half an hour and then wash with boiling soapy water.

REPLACE: After five years, but earlier if the wood cracks, or if any part becomes soft or dark, as this could mean the wood is rotting and retaining bacteria.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...-disease-allergies-strokes.html#ixzz1yCO6tPb6

 

[lisab]

I threw away all of my wooden spoons years ago after I found out that not only do they carry foul odors/flavors, they are teaming with bacteria. I only use stanless steel and special plastic utensils that can be sterilized.



http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...-disease-allergies-strokes.html#ixzz1yCO6tPb6

We get this question sometimes at my work from people asking about bacterial growth on wood. Turns out wood is really lousy as a breeding ground for bacteria - UC Davis did some work on wooden cutting boards:

Our safety concern was that bacteria such as Escherichia coli O1577 and Salmonella, which might contaminate a work surface when raw meat was being prepared, ought not remain on the surface to contaminate other foods that might be eaten without further cooking. We soon found that disease bacteria such as these were not recoverable from wooden surfaces in a short time after they were applied, unless very large numbers were used. New plastic surfaces allowed the bacteria to persist, but were easily cleaned and disinfected. However, wooden boards that had been used and had many knife cuts acted almost the same as new wood, whereas plastic surfaces that were knife-scarred were impossible to clean and disinfect manually, especially when food residues such as chicken fat were present. Scanning electron micrographs revealed highly significant damage to plastic surfaces from knife cuts.

http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/docliver/Research/cuttingboard.htm

Even when the wood surface is no longer smooth, bacteria don't grow well on it. Of course it's assumed the wood is clean of food which the bacteria could "eat".

 

[Astronuc]

My mom had a set of wooden spoons that we used for preparing cakes and pastries. I never remember a problem with them. We didn't use them for meats. But then, that was back when we didn't have a dishwashing machine, and I often did the dishes by hand.

 

[Evo]

I just couldn't get over the fact that my wooden spoons "smelled" and had a weird "soft' feel to the outside after a period of use.

With my stomach problems, no need to tempt fate.

 

[drizzle]

I personally use wooden spoons for cooking. Never the less, I never keep them for more than a year-more or less depends on its status.

 

[turbo]

Thanks, Lisab. Decades ago (here in Maine) the health-department nuts banned wooden spoons, wooden-handled utensils and wooden cutting boards and butcher-blocks. It cost the restaurants and food-processors a ton of money to comply. People still get food-poisoning.

A good (younger) friend of mine has an island in his kitchen that was taken out of a local restaurant, complete with a laminated maple butcher-block top that must be 2" thick. It was in his parents' kitchen until they split up and he inherited the place.

My wife and I use wooden spoons, wood-handled knives and utensils (forbidden here, commercially) and wooden cutting boards. We are doing OK and haven't killed (or sickened) anybody with food poisoning. Sometimes the old ways are OK.

 

[lisab]

I just couldn't get over the fact that my wooden spoons "smelled" and had a weird "soft' feel to the outside after a period of use.

With my stomach problems, no need to tempt fate.

Wood will definitely pick up smells. I haven't noticed it with bamboo, though...although I really don't know how bacteria will grow on bamboo. It's not wood, it's in the grass family.

 

[Evo]

Thanks, Lisab. Decades ago (here in Maine) the health-department nuts banned wooden spoons, wooden-handled utensils and wooden cutting boards and butcher-blocks. It cost the restaurants and food-processors a ton of money to comply. People still get food-poisoning.

A good (younger) friend of mine has an island in his kitchen that was taken out of a local restaurant, complete with a laminated maple butcher-block top that must be 2" thick. It was in his parents' kitchen until they split up and he inherited the place.

My wife and I use wooden spoons, wood-handled knives and utensils (forbidden here, commercially) and wooden cutting boards. We are doing OK and haven't killed (or sickened) anybody with food poisoning. Sometimes the old ways are OK.

If you're perfectly healthy, I'm sure there is not much risk, but for people like me with compromised systems, I can't take chances.

 

[lisab]

If you're pefectly healthy, I'm sure there is not much risk, but for people like me with compromised systems, I can't take chances.

In that case, stainless is the way to go. After all, we don't see wood used much in operating rooms, haha.

But in the article I linked to, they find that plastic cutting boards harbor lots of bacteria once the surface has been scored by knives. Typical cleaning can't get into the gouges to really kill the germs.

Are stainless cutting boards available? Seems they might dull knives, though.

 

[Evo]

Wood will definitely pick up smells. I haven't noticed it with bamboo, though...although I really don't know how bacteria will grow on bamboo. It's not wood, it's in the grass family.

Don't get me wrong, I grew up using wooden spoons, but I have to be very careful now. And wood is just an unnecessary risk. I love wood though, I had a set of wood bowls that went from small enough for a few eggs to large enough to hold two turkeys. Of course the disappeared in a move.

 

[Evo]

In that case, stainless is the way to go. After all, we don't see wood used much in operating rooms, haha.

But in the article I linked to, they find that plastic cutting boards harbor lots of bacteria once the surface has been scored by knives. Typical cleaning can't get into the gouges to really kill the germs.

I throw those out, they're cheap enough to replace regularly. i use the thin, cheap ones.

Are stainless cutting boards available? Seems they might dull knives, though.

As does glass. Not good for cutting boards.

I can't do anything normal anymore.

 

[Borek]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/a...-disease-allergies-strokes.html#ixzz1yCO6tPb6

I was always under impression that Daily Mail is not what we call a reliable source, more of a tabloid, but I am not sure. I don't read British papers.

We use wooden spoons that Marzena got as a gift from her class for her 18th birthday. So far, so good.

 

[Evo]

We get this question sometimes at my work from people asking about bacterial growth on wood. Turns out wood is really lousy as a breeding ground for bacteria - UC Davis did some work on wooden cutting boards:



http://faculty.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/faculty/docliver/Research/cuttingboard.htm

Even when the wood surface is no longer smooth, bacteria don't grow well on it. Of course it's assumed the wood is clean of food which the bacteria could "eat".

Ah, I missed your link and had just found it myself and was going to say you're correct about the wood not harboring bacteria. I stand corrected.

I still think I'm going to avoid wooden spoons, they start to smell funny.

 

[dlgoff]

I still think I'm going to avoid wooden spoons, they start to smell funny.

Smoke wood maybe?

 

[rollcast]

I was always under impression that Daily Mail is not what we call a reliable source, more of a tabloid, but I am not sure. I don't read British papers.

We use wooden spoons that Marzena got as a gift from her class for her 18th birthday. So far, so good.

The Daily Mail is prone to exaggerating their stories quite often, especially science or technology stories, though they aren't as bad as the Sun.

 

[Jimmy Snyder]

Depression Chicken Soup

1. Leftover chicken stock from the last time I made chicken soup.
2. Leftover roast chicken from tonight's dinner that could not be beat.
3. Leftover veggies from tonight's dinner.

Thaw out the chicken stock, cube the chicken, dice the veggies, Put it all together and bring it all to a boil. Let it cool a little and then serve. Cost: $0. Besides, I've caught cold and this will help with my depression.

 

[drizzle]

Depression Chicken Soup

1. Leftover chicken stock from the last time I made chicken soup.
2. Leftover roast chicken from tonight's dinner that could not be beat.
3. Leftover veggies from tonight's dinner.

Thaw out the chicken stock, cube the chicken, dice the veggies, Put it all together and bring it all to a boil. Let it cool a little and then serve. Cost: $0. Besides, I've caught cold and this will help with my depression.

I hope you get well soon Jimmy :)

 

[Evo]

Depression Chicken Soup

1. Leftover chicken stock from the last time I made chicken soup.
2. Leftover roast chicken from tonight's dinner that could not be beat.
3. Leftover veggies from tonight's dinner.

Thaw out the chicken stock, cube the chicken, dice the veggies, Put it all together and bring it all to a boil. Let it cool a little and then serve. Cost: $0. Besides, I've caught cold and this will help with my depression.

Awww, get well soon, the soup sounds yummy!

 

[lisab]

Depression Chicken Soup

1. Leftover chicken stock from the last time I made chicken soup.
2. Leftover roast chicken from tonight's dinner that could not be beat.
3. Leftover veggies from tonight's dinner.

Thaw out the chicken stock, cube the chicken, dice the veggies, Put it all together and bring it all to a boil. Let it cool a little and then serve. Cost: $0. Besides, I've caught cold and this will help with my depression.

Sounds great. I'd add egg noodles or maybe rice. Wait...no, definitely egg noodles.

 

[Astronuc]

Depression Chicken Soup

1. Leftover chicken stock from the last time I made chicken soup.
2. Leftover roast chicken from tonight's dinner that could not be beat.
3. Leftover veggies from tonight's dinner.

Thaw out the chicken stock, cube the chicken, dice the veggies, Put it all together and bring it all to a boil. Let it cool a little and then serve. Cost: $0. Besides, I've caught cold and this will help with my depression.

Add habaneros or one of Dave's or Blair's Hot Sauces.

 

[Astronuc]

'Fermentation': When Food Goes Bad But Stays Good
http://www.npr.org/2012/06/13/154914381/fermentation-when-food-goes-bad-but-stays-good

Edible Fermentables: Wine, Beer, Cheese, Meat
http://www.npr.org/2012/06/19/155305533/edible-fermentables-wine-beer-cheese-meat

 

[Borek]

Edible Fermentables: Wine, Beer, Cheese, Meat

And many pickled (without vinegar) things - like cabbage, cucumbers, apples. I am sure there is more.

 

[Pkruse]

I cleaned out my refrigerator last night. Threw a bunch of leftovers and out of date food into a pot to see what the result would be. Got 5 pints of the most excellent bean dip that I've ever tasted, so I canned it in one of my pressure cookers.

Ingredients:

Ground beef prepared for tacos
Pinto beans, mashed
Very ripe tomatoes & green onions
Hot red peppers
Jalapenos
Scotch bonnet peppers
Habanero peppers
Dressing made with malted vinegar, cheri wine, garlic, Italian spices.
Quite a lot of old Sharp cheddar
Sour cream
A bit of olive oil.
Hot dried mustard powder.