What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[turbo]

What are your favorite pots and pans?

I prefer stainless steel Revere Ware saucepans and stew-pots. You can get the stew-pots with a thin copper-clad bottom or with a heavy thick stainless bottom and we've got one of each. It's pretty durable stuff, and not as expensive as the stuff you see in cooking specialty shops. My favorite knife is the 6" Sabatier chef's knife that you can see in the images in the chili relish post. I have a stainless one, but they also make them out of forged steel, and I may pick up one of those someday, too, since there are times when my wife and I both want to use it. There are lots of businesses using the Sabatier name - my preference is the one using the stars and elephant in its logo. My fry pans and skillet are all cast iron - nothing but. We do not cook in copper or aluminum pots or pans and don't own a single non-stick pan.

 

[wolram]

Every where i look pots and pans have some special coating, thee knows it is all most impossible to find a proper pot about here, i will do search on the net for cast iron ones.

 

[scorpa]

I badly want to buy some new knives so I went to the store to look at some prices...and my good god are they ever expensive! It never occurred to me that they would be so much money! I think I will be waiting a year or two to finally get myself a nice set.

 

[wolram]

I badly want to buy some new knives so I went to the store to look at some prices...and my good god are they ever expensive! It never occurred to me that they would be so much money! I think I will be waiting a year or two to finally get myself a nice set.

I know what you mean, i bought a set that cost £30 in a fancy wooden holder, after 3 months the super serrated edged carving knife would not cut cheese.

 

[turbo]

Here they are, scorpa.

http://www.thebestthings.com/knives/sabatiercarbon.htm

I suggest you start out with a 6" chef's knife and get a 3" paring knife, too if you can swing it. Then buy others from open stock one at a time. The 6" chef's knife is the most versatile and most-used knife in our kitchen. It is never used anyplace except on a flexible plastic cutting board, and I hone it on a steel before every use so it stays razor sharp. Carbon steel will take a better edge than stainless (they make both), but you can rinse off stainless and put it in your knife block without having to dry it thoroughly. The carbon steel ones darken when you cut tomatoes, fruit, and other acidic things, but I don't mind that. We have quite a few stainless knives from Chicago Cutlery, but it's best to save your money and buy top quality once for a lifetime of use.

If you ever spend some time going to yard sales, estate sales, or moving sales, you can occasionally find these high-quality knives on the cheap. I have found a few nice carbon-steel chef's knives this way over the years. If you're having trouble deciding on a knife at such a sale, look at the tang (the metal extending through the handle. If the tang gets narrower from the bolster to the back end of the handle, it is a forged blade, and once it is properly sharpened, it will hold an edge wonderfully, as long as the previous owner didn't follow Alton Brown's advice and let some goof-ball sharpen it on a belt grinder and compromise the temper. What a maroon!

 

[Evo]

I've always used Wusthof Trident, but a single chef's knife can be $400-500, although some of the lighter ones run around $100 each.

http://www.wusthof.com/en/classic.asp

 

[scorpa]

Hmm those look like very nice knives Turbo. Maybe I will just buy one at a time as I can afford them and then in a few years I would have the whole set :)

 

[wolram]

I've always used Wusthof Trident, but a single chef's knife can be $400-500, although some of the lighter ones run around $100 each.

http://www.wusthof.com/en/classic.asp

That is a lot of money, for the price of 4 knives i could buy another bike.

 

[Evo]

That is a lot of money, for the price of 4 knives i could buy another bike.

But can you slice & dice with a motorcycle? These knives are the kind you hand down.

 

[wolram]

But can you slice & dice with a motorcycle? These knives are the kind you hand down.

Well i have been mashed by a motorbike, or my miss use of one, but why are these knives so expensive, i bet i could buy tungsten carbide machine bits for less.

 

[scorpa]

That is a lot of money, for the price of 4 knives i could buy another bike.

Hmmm that is true. In a temporary bout of insanity I forgot about my plan to buy a bike next summer (or if I'm unlucky the summer after that). Bike trumps knives.

 

[wolram]

Hmmm that is true. In a temporary bout of insanity I forgot about my plan to buy a bike next summer (or if I'm unlucky the summer after that). Bike trumps knives.

Well a bike can inflict as much damage and pain as a knife, on reflection i would say knives are the safer.

 

[scorpa]

Well a bike can inflict as much damage and pain as a knife, on reflection i would say knives are the safer.

Yes but bikes are funner. My poor bike got sold last summer to pay for school so I need a new one :) Life isn't the same without it.

 

[wolram]

Yes but bikes are funner. My poor bike got sold last summer to pay for school so I need a new one :) Life isn't the same without it.

Enjoy but please be safe.

 

[Moonbear]

Hmm those look like very nice knives Turbo. Maybe I will just buy one at a time as I can afford them and then in a few years I would have the whole set :)

That's exactly how I built up my set. Just as turbo suggested, I started out with just a 6" chef's knife, which is indeed the most versatile for a starter knife, then added the paring knife, and grew the collection from there. My set is Henckels...still a good quality knife, but nowhere near as expensive as the Wustoff ones Evo gets. They also have a range of grades (just beware that the really inexpensive ones sold "on the rack" at discount stores are NOT forged blades, and are inexpensive for a reason). The nice thing if you are just buying a knife or two a year is you can wait for sales that crop up every once in a while.

For my everyday cooking, I have Circulon pots...same deal, bought one at a time starting with just a 2 quart saucepan and a frying pan as the most commonly used pots in my house. Some I picked up really cheap at outlet stores (one came with a slightly dented lid, which has no effect on its use as a pot at all). The downside is that they are all nonstick, which is good for every day cooking and cleanup, but when you really want to brown meats and get a good glaze in the pan for sauces, you need something that's not nonstick. That's my next series of aquisitions. The most important thing when choosing pots and pans is to look for a heavy bottom to evenly distribute heat across the bottom of the pan. This is especially important if you have a gas stove, because you'll get "hot spots" where everything will burn if you don't. That doesn't mean you can't have a few cheap pots around for quickly bringing water to a boil. For example, if I'm just making pasta, I have some old, cheap pots that are perfect because they heat really quickly. For boiling pasta water, it's not a big deal if the heat distribution isn't too even.

 

[scorpa]

Yeah in the future when I graduate one of the things I will need to buy is a nice set of cookware...knives, utensils, pots, pans...the whole deal. All of my stuff is way older than I am and rather poor quality. I don't think I have a single thing in my kitchen that isn't second or third hand :P

 

[turbo]

Yeah in the future when I graduate one of the things I will need to buy is a nice set of cookware...knives, utensils, pots, pans...the whole deal. All of my stuff is way older than I am and rather poor quality. I don't think I have a single thing in my kitchen that isn't second or third hand :P

Don't do it wholesale, scorpa. The most important utensils are your knives, and you have to have decent ones if you want to be a good cook. You also want to have very basic reliable cutting surfaces (flexible hard plastic cutting boards) to protect your blades and give you flexibility to handle chopped foods and transfer them to pots. Lastly, you should have some stainless steel pots and pans to cook your food in. At a minimum, you need a skillet and a frying pan that is made of cast iron, so you can have fried potatoes, fried eggs, etc that are well-cooked and offer you a vital nutrient (iron) due to the means of preparation.

 

[scorpa]

Don't do it wholesale, scorpa. The most important utensils are your knives, and you have to have decent ones if you want to be a good cook. You also want to have very basic reliable cutting surfaces (flexible hard plastic cutting boards) to protect your blades and give you flexibility to handle chopped foods and transfer them to pots. Lastly, you should have some stainless steel pots and pans to cook your food in. At a minimum, you need a skillet and a frying pan that is made of cast iron, so you can have fried potatoes, fried eggs, etc that are well-cooked and offer you a vital nutrient (iron) due to the means of preparation.

I'm only keeping the stuff around until I can get better stuff. I actually hate the stuff I have right now, it is crap. I pretty much accumulated all of my families cast offs. But for now it works I guess. I should take a picture of my knives Turbo...you would get a good laugh. My plates are starting to sizzle and pop when I microwave them...that can't be right.

 

[Maria Porerro]

When I read about food I always want to eat something

 

[Maria Porerro]

What do you think about MacDonald's !

 

[turbo]

What do you think about MacDonald's !

 

[Maria Porerro]

hahahahahaha!

 

[Evo]

Be still my heart!

Oooh, I noticed that a Panda Express (aka The Screeching Panda) is opening around the corner from my new place! I can now get orange sesame chicken any time I want. And they're hiring! I can quit my job and go to work for the Panda. :!)

 

[jim mcnamara]

So you can "panda" to your wonts.

My wonts include Bob's Burgers. Sounds godawful, I know. However. This is New Mexico where green chile is an actual foodstuff, unlike most other places. Green chile tortilla burgers are great! If you ever in Albuquerque, check it out.

 

[Evo]

So you can "panda" to your wonts.

You betcha!

My wonts include Bob's Burgers. Sounds godawful, I know. However. This is New Mexico where green chile is an actual foodstuff, unlike most other places. Green chile tortilla burgers are great! If you ever in Albuquerque, check it out.

That sounds wonderful.

 

[turbo]

I hung out with a couple of neighbors today, cutting down a big white birch and an even bigger poplar this morning, cutting and welding some scrap pipe and iron donated by one neighbor and assembling them into boat racks for my pickup at the other guy's garage/shop. Then we spent the afternoon sawing those logs into boards on a portable band saw-mill. Why do I mention this in a food thread? The neighbor on the far side has spent most of his life in Mass, and has retired to a house that he built here. He is anxious to hunt the tasty white-tails this November, but has no idea how to gut, skin, and butcher a deer. He's got a great piece of property with lots of deer trails, so he and I will hunt together, and I'll expect to get some venison in exchange for teaching him how to process the critters (assuming that we shoot some). Mmmmmmm!

Edit: BTW, the guy in the middle (the one with the sawmill) is the guy who gardens organically, and supplies us with garlic (and some great horseradish root, too!). In return, I have been keeping that chili-head supplied with enough hot sauces and relishes to keep him happy and have worked out a deal to have him use his little greenhouse and containers to grow more plants to supplement our garden-grown habaneros so that I can make more sauce next year. This is a pretty nice little neighborhood. There are about 8 houses in this 1/2 mile stretch of road, and most of us have something to contribute and barter. The guy next to me is a cabinet-maker (and we'd like to re-do this tiny kitchen to make canning and pickling a bit easier), the guy across the road 100 yds west has a walk-in cooler and butcher facilities, three of the neighbors are heavy-equipment operators, and two own equipment that range from "I want one!" to "I can't afford to maintain that!" The organic gardener with the sawmill has some really nice industrial-grade saws, jointers, and planers in his barn (with comfortable wood heat) and has given me and the serious heavy-equipment guy from Mass free access to his equipment. I may by-pass the cabinet-maker and mill my own wood and re-do our kitchen myself. Except for counter-tops (and I'm not ruling out making a maple-laminate counter-top for the dry counter) I can pull off a lot of this by myself. I'd like to move the kitchen sink to another counter, but since my sister is living with a plumber and he and I get along great, I don't see much expense there. He's still trying to pay me back for spending most of a day with my Troy-Bilt Horse tilling a long-neglected garden spot at my sister's place so he could plant vegetables. Life is good. Do good things for others, and they'll come back to haunt (help) you. ;)

 

[Astronuc]

Here's an interesting recipe

Bacon Wrapped Shrimp with Mango Ginger Habanero Sauce

24 large raw shrimp
24 strips of thinly sliced bacon
1 large fresh lime
1 bottle Fischer & Wieser Mango Ginger Habanero Sauce
Fresh cilantro, finely chopped

Shell and devein shrimp, leaving tails on. Wrap each shrimp tightly with one strip of bacon. Arrange 3 shrimp on each skewer so that they lay flat on their sides on the grill. (If using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 30 minutes before placing on grill.) Grill on medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes per side until bacon is cooked and shrimp are pink. Spritz with half the lime while on the grill. Remove shrimp to serving platter and spritz with remaining lime. Brush with Fischer & Wieser Mango Ginger Habanero Sauce. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro to garnish. Makes 4 servings main course servings or 8 appetizer servings.

http://www.texashomeandliving.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=66&Itemid=57

Well that does it. They expect folks to go and buy Fischer & Wieser Mango Ginger Habanero Sauce.

Well I accept the challenge. Special culinary experiments this year will include Mango Ginger Habanero sauce.

I have a mango-plum jalapeño-thai pepper jelly but it's rather light on the pepper content.

 

[Maria Porerro]

Two years ago I worked at KFC:!)!
Have you heard about Garland Sanders and his original retsept? =))))

 

[Astronuc]

I did a quick and delicious dinner with Italian Sausage and Potatoes O'Brien.

I cooked the sausage separately in a toaster oven at 400°F (~200°C) while the potatoes (diced with chopped onion and green pepper (roasted pepper is also good)) cooked separately in a skillet. When the sausage was cooked, I sliced it and then added it to the potatoes in the skillet, mixed them and cooked to ready-to-serve.

I cooked some mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green and lima beans and corn) separately.

 

[turbo]

I did a quick and delicious dinner with Italian Sausage and Potatoes O'Brien.

I cooked the sausage separately in a toaster oven at 400°F (~200°C) while the potatoes (diced with chopped onion and green pepper (roasted pepper is also good)) cooked separately in a skillet. When the sausage was cooked, I sliced it and then added it to the potatoes in the skillet, mixed them and cooked to ready-to-serve.

I cooked some mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green and lima beans and corn) separately.

That sounds like a quick and easy meal, and I can relate to that, especially when there are other things going on and meal-preparation time is restricted.

 

[Astronuc]

That sounds like a quick and easy meal, and I can relate to that, especially when there are other things going on and meal-preparation time is restricted.

It is, and it's great for cold weather.

I did tortellini with meatballs tonight. That's another quick meal.

With leftovers, I like to take the tortellini and pour a tasty soup over it - and add plenty of hot sauce and/or curry.

We also do a beef soup when it gets cold.

And I need to dig out my pineapple-lamb curry recipe. It's great over rice.

 

[Astronuc]

The Silver Spoon (Hardcover) - Italy's bestselling culinary "bible," Il Cucchiaio d'argento - a classic!
by Phaidon Press (Author)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0714845310/?tag=pfamazon01-20


When I spent time on a project in Salamanca, Spain, we often did Tapas in the evening for dinner. It was great! This caught my eye while browsing on Amazon.

1080 Recipes (Hardcover)
by Simone Ortega (Author), Inés Ortega (Author)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0714848360/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Potatoes with chorizo and bacon (Courtesy of Amazon)
Patatas con chorizo y bacon
Serves 4

Ingredients
-- 3 tablespoons butter or 4 tablespoons lard
-- 5 tablespoons sunflower oil
-- 2 ounces chorizo sausage, peeled and thinly sliced
-- 3 ½ ounces thickly sliced bacon, cut into ½ inch wide strips
-- 3 ¼ pounds small potatoes, preferably new potatoes, unpeeled
-- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
-- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
-- salt

Melt the butter or lard with the oil in a pan or large skillet. (It needs to be big enough to hold the potatoes in a single layer.) Add the chorizo and bacon and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, for a few minutes then add the potatoes. Season with salt and cook covered over low heat, shaking the pan occasionally, for 45-60 minutes, until the potatoes are evenly browned. Just before serving, sprinkle with parsley and garlic and stir for a few minutes more. Transfer to a warm serving dish and serve immediately.

Note: Some types of chorizo become hard with prolonged cooking. To prevent this, cook the slices with the bacon, then remove and set aside. About 10 minutes before serving, return the slices of chorizo to the pan.

Alternative, start the bacon first or add a little water to the chorizo.

 

[scorpa]

I've been using my slow cooker quite a bit lately because I have been so busy and have made a beef and lentil stew type thing as well as a really good chicken stew. That slow cooker is darn handy.

 

[Astronuc]

Ham and scalloped potatoes with cheese are good when cooked in a slow cooker or crockpot.

The beef and lentils sounds good. Especially with curry and hot sauce.

 

[Evo]

The lentils with beef sounds good, I could see using short ribs, but nix on the curry and hot sauce. Lentils are so tasty on their own that it's a sin to cover their flavor up. My favorite way of preparing them is with a bit of salt and garlic, nothing else.

I find my taste in food returning to simple dishes that focus on the flavor of a main ingredient without a lot of spices. Like shrimp scampi - shrimp, butter, garlic and lemon. I think I could eat that every day and never tire of it. Of course Alaskan King crab legs with melted butter, lemon and garlic also artichokes the same way. <sigh>