What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[turbo]

I love fried okra as well as rice and tapioca puddings.

I'll bet you ate the paste in kindergarten, too.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I'll bet you ate the paste in kindergarten, too.

Yep!

 

[stevo101]

So when i was in Prague last year, I went to the "Titanic Steakhouse" and I have to say that was it very quite possible the best meal I have ever had the pleasure of eating. I was a... I think 300 gram filet with this peppercorn sauce, these oven roasted potatos with some type of cheese on them, and broccoli (I don't think I spelled that right). and a couple of czech beers to wash it down. It may sound some what plain but its almost to the point where words can't describe it. Could go for it right now to bad I am in Iraq :-( Sorry for rambling I'm a huge foodie so I had to comment on this post.

 

[turbo]

It may sound some what plain but its almost to the point where words can't describe it.

That's something that many "chefs" don't seem to get, or they think their customers don't get. Food can be very simple and still taste fantastic. Complexity in preparation and elaborate sauces can be warning signs that you are expected to be "impressed" by the presentation, and not expect to be blown away by the wonderful tastes and textures of the food.

One example is the proliferation of dishes like "baked stuffed haddock" with cream sauces. The more elaborate the stuffings (mushrooms, spinach, feta, etc) and the sauces, the worse the offense. It should be readily apparent that the dish is not made with rich, fragrant, sweet fresh haddock fillets which could stand on their own, but flat-tasting frozen fillets that have to be "dressed up" before people will eat them.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

That's something that many "chefs" don't seem to get, or they think their customers don't get. Food can be very simple and still taste fantastic. Complexity in preparation and elaborate sauces can be warning signs that you are expected to be "impressed" by the presentation, and not expect to be blown away by the wonderful tastes and textures of the food.

On Top Chef Tom Colicchio always says that the way he tests a new chef to see if they know how to cook is to have them cook an egg. In one episode they asked the chefs from what is apparently the worlds foremost french culinary institute to present the contestant chefs with the ingredients they believed would show a good chef's true skill. These turned out to be a chicken, potatoes, and an onion.

I generally enjoy simple. I've never even learned to do much of anything difficult or complex. It always makes me wonder why people have such a hard time cooking and think I do such wonderful things with food when I hardly know what I am doing.

 

[LowlyPion]

On Top Chef Tom Colicchio always says that the way he tests a new chef to see if they know how to cook is to have them cook an egg. In one episode they asked the chefs from what is apparently the worlds foremost french culinary institute to present the contestant chefs with the ingredients they believed would show a good chef's true skill. These turned out to be a chicken, potatoes, and an onion.

I generally enjoy simple. I've never even learned to do much of anything difficult or complex. It always makes me wonder why people have such a hard time cooking and think I do such wonderful things with food when I hardly know what I am doing.

I think you are right. I enjoy simple preparations, and I tend to steer away from these recipes that involve exotic combinations. Good ingredients prepared simply that give the ingredients a chance to be tasted, and of course eaten at a moment that you are hungry is the real secret to good eating I think. I tend to like Alton Brown's shows because understanding what changes are essential to proper preparation in the food I think are far more important that worrying about whether you got a level teaspoon of salt.

 

[turbo]

In one episode they asked the chefs from what is apparently the worlds foremost french culinary institute to present the contestant chefs with the ingredients they believed would show a good chef's true skill. These turned out to be a chicken, potatoes, and an onion.

Not a bad choice, though I would want to have a few more staples at hand. If my wife calls and tells me that she has to work late and wants me to have supper ready, and I have these things at hand, supper is drop-dead easy. Scramble an egg, dip the chicken parts in the egg and then roll them in a mix of crumbs, salt, pepper, and whatever other seasonings appeal to me (I am fond of Javin-brand curry powder) and bake the chicken in a preheated oven (375F) in a covered dish until done, then uncover the dish and brown the breading. I prefer Panko bread crumbs, but Saltines work quite well (just cut back on the salt). In the meantime, I'd either throw some baking potatoes in the oven (while fixing the chicken) or cut up the potatoes with the skins on and boil them with onions and a few cloves of garlic and mash them all together with a little butter, salt and pepper. No milk, no over-mashing to "smooth" the potatoes. If I baked potatoes, I would saute the onion and garlic in butter, take the potatoes out of the oven, split them and spoon in the onion, garlic, and butter, season with salt and pepper, and perhaps add some sharp cheese before returning the potatoes to the oven for a bit.

Simple and tasty. No rules!

College students with limited resources and crappy kitchens, please try this. You'll get a reputation for culinary skills that far exceeds your experience and efforts. You don't need a lot of money, equipment, or skill to produce gourmet-grade foods. Tinker with these basic plans, apply spices with a light hand, and concentrate on getting the food done well, not well-done. Over-cooking and over-processing foods wrecks them, so pay attention.

 

[turbo]

Evo CLOSE YOUR EYES!
I just had a small handful of Nestle Dark Raisinettes, and they weren't too bad. The dark chocolate plays against the sweetness of the raisins pretty well.

 

[TheStatutoryApe]

If you want light, cheap, easily-sharped knives, Acuto is not real bad. They are very lightweight and have small handles (even for my stubby hands) so they are risky for folks that tend to "drift off" and cause self-injuries. The Chinese-made Kuhn Rikon knives are far superior (if you can call a $5 chef's knife at TJ Maxx "superior"). I love the Thiers Issard (4-star elephant logo) hand-forged knives, but they are incredibly expensive. A carbon-steel 6" chef's knife will run you $75+ and a small set of SS knives (4 small knives and a steel) will easily run you close to $400.

My friend is selling CutCo knives. What do you think?

 

[turbo]

My friend is selling CutCo knives. What do you think?

Google on Vector Marketing and decide for yourself. When you visit the Cutco web-site and they don't even list prices for their knives, you can be pretty sure that they are WAY overpriced and they rely on friends and family (pity factor) of their sales force to pay the price.

 

[Astronuc]

We have some CutCo knives, which we bought from the daughter of a couple we know. I don't believe they are necessarily overpriced, but I'll have to fine the receipt. But I think the prices were less than those turbo quoted for the 6" chef's knife and SS set.

They are definitely good quality. I managed to slice through my thumbnail and into my thumb with little effort - not intentionally though.

We have at least one Sabatier, which is very good.

 

[turbo]

If you want to make crab-cakes, consider trying Culinary Reserve brand canned swimming blue crab. A 1# can is about $10 - worth every penny. We had crab-cakes for supper tonight and there are 3 more left-over for breakfasts and lunches - Mmmm.

 

[turbo]

BTW, knife update. Acuto knives are light, flexible, and easy to sharpen - high marks for cheap knives. Kuhn Rikon knives are a bit stiffer with thicker blades, and about as easy to sharpen. Both are supplied with colored non-stick coatings with matching plastic handles and plastic sheaths, and neither brand is well-balanced in the hand. If you are a student, or just starting to outfit a kitchen and can't afford a lot for cutlery, knives from both of these brands will get you by on the cheap. Pay enough to get a good steel, so you can sharpen them - they take an edge easily.

When I bought a Sabatier 4-star elephant 6" chef's knife a couple of years back to replace my (lost somehow in moving) 30+ year old carbon steel version, I chose a stainless steel blade because I cut a LOT of tomatoes and fruit, and the acids erode edges on carbon-steel knives. I would like to have another chef's knife from that brand, but this time a carbon-steel version - perhaps an 8".

 

[Evo]

evo close your eyes!









I just had a small handful of nestle dark raisinettes, and they weren't too bad. The dark chocolate plays against the sweetness of the raisins pretty well.

aaarrrghh!

Chicken, potatoes, onion = soup

 

[Borek]

The dark chocolate plays against the sweetness of the raisins pretty well.

Correct combination of chocolate and raisins is what matters. Too sweet chocolate and sweet raisins, and they are inedible. Those I like most are slightly sour raisins, combined with chocolate sweet enough to make a good contrast.

 

[Ben Niehoff]

A few days ago I made an amazing salad with baby greens, cucumber, mango, and red grapefruit. It was a hit at my birthday party.

 

[vorcil]

i'm quite fond of chocolate chip and anzac biscuits =]

 

[physics girl phd]

A few days ago I made an amazing salad with baby greens, cucumber, mango, and red grapefruit. It was a hit at my birthday party.

Making me hungry!

I had a great salad for lunch yesterday at our favorite restaurant. It was called "strawberry fields" and had EVERYTHING -- carrots, cukes, cherry tomatoes at the height of ripeness, fresh strawberries, a nice salad base (including arugula), topped off by blue cheese, walnuts and a big dollop of chicken salad.

Mmm... and we usually save that restaurant for weekend breakfasts. Going there is like our form of going to church every weekend -- the staff has completely adopted our family (even throwing our oldest a birthday party), and we'd have a guilt complex if we didn't go.

 

[turbo]

My wife and I needed a new gas range. We live out in the country, so electricity is not always reliable, and we prefer cooking with gas anyway. We ended up with an Electrolux 30" free-standing Perfect Set gas range with a convection oven, continuous cast-iron cook-top, and 5 top burners. It is a joy! My wife baked zucchini bread, apple bread, and muffins today, and they all came out perfect. I insisted on the continuous cook-top because I do the bulk of the canning and pickling and salsa-making and have to deal with very large canners and stock-pots full of very hot stuff. When I saw that range with the convection oven, I said "there goes the diet", but knew that my wife would love it, so I ordered it. She raves about that range, even about the micro-adjustability of the top burners so that she can make me a pan of home-fried potatoes that are perfectly browned with no scorched/crispy ones.

My niece's husband is a finish carpenter and he is making us a set of plain white pine cabinets with countertops (and a stove back-splash) of black slate recycled from old black-boards, trimmed with Maine hardwoods. Our house is a rustic-looking log cabin, so it will be nice to get the kitchen "in tune" with the rest of the place. With the rearrangement of the refrigerator, and the new cabinet lay-out, we will gain a LOT of counter-top space and lots of storage capacity. The added counter-top area will help me a lot when the cucumbers and chilies come into season and I have to get into full-on canning mode. This little kitchen is pretty tight-feeling when you're trying to work up 12-15 qts of hot stuff at one go.

 

[Evo]

Sounds wonderful turbo! How nice to get the added counter space!

 

[Ivan Seeking]

In the news

Marinate your steak for a healthier meal If you are frying steak and worried about your health, then marinate it in either beer or red wine. This is according to food scientists who measured the amounts of a family of carcinogens found in fried steak after soaking them in booze.

Cooking food increases the levels of cancer-causing compounds called heterocyclic amines (HAs). Fried and grilled meat are particularly high in these compounds because the high temperatures convert the sugars and amino acids in muscle tissue into HAs. Various substances can reduce the HA content: an olive oil, lemon juice and garlic marinade cut HAs in grilled chicken by 90% and red wine reduced HAs in fried chicken.
Now Isabel Ferreira and colleagues at the University of Porto in Portugal have looked at the effects of beer and red wine marinades on fried steak. Six hours of marinating in beer or red wine cut levels of two types of HAs by up to 90% compared with unmarinated steak.

For a third type of HA, beer was more efficient at reducing its levels than wine, cutting its levels in 4 hours, while wine took 6. Beer contains more water-retaining sugars than wine and Ferreira says that may hinder the transport of water-soluble molecules to the steak’s surface, where high heat converts them into HAs. The marinades also apparently improve the flavour and texture of the meat.
New Scientist, 3 January 2009:13.Nature, DOI:10.1038/nature07239

http://www.cmej.org.za/index.php/cmej/article/view/1448/1184
http://www.cmej.org.za/index.php/cmej/article/download/1448/1184

 

[hypatia]

A nice flank steak, soaked over night in dark beer and black pepper, is one of my favorites. For pork, I tend to use red wines.

 

[physics girl phd]

Cooking food increases the levels of cancer-causing compounds called heterocyclic amines (HAs)...

... must be why I like my steaks still fresh and bleeding.

 

[ViewsofMars]

I canned 12 jars of peach jam today. The counter and floor are sticky. The kitchen is a mess. The fun part was sharing my experiment with some neighborhood kids. {We kind of played with the recipe.} The kids were still alive after tasting it. . At least they were when I sent them home. (tee hee)

Does anyone have a good recipe for canning tomatoes whole and tomatoe sauce?

 

[turbo]

OK, we have a LOT of posts on food, and precious little on the kitchens that we prepare the food in. My wife and I cook all our own meals and we can and pickle a lot of stuff every year. The little cramped kitchen was a pain in the butt, with insufficient counter space and poorly laid-out cupboards. Acting on the "life is too short" philosophy, we decided to change the lay-out of the kitchen and get new cabinets and countertops.

Here is the shot of the longer set of uppers and lowers. There is a new Swanstone extra-deep double-bowl sink big enough to fit our big stock-pots and canners, and a new Electrolux gas range with gas convection oven, with a Broan hood. The countertop and backsplash are slate recycled from old blackboards. The sink is equipped with a Kohler single-handle faucet, and the faucet head can be pulled out and switched to a sprayer with the push of a button. That will be a great help when washing big batches of produce from the garden. The lower cabinets on either side of the stove contain slide out vertical storage spaces where we keep our cutting boards, pizza pan, cooling racks, pots and pans. Very handy.

Here is the corner-unit, which we were able to enlarge greatly by relocating the refrigerator. The lower cabinets on this end have no shelving, so we can store tall items like the Kitchenaid Mixer, stock pots, etc in those. If you notice, there are firring strips between the logs on areas of the walls. I have since replaced the strips between the uppers and lowers to trim out those walls.

And here is my favorite countertop and backsplash. They were made from slabs of stone given to me by a friend about 20 years ago. The stone is chock full of fossils.

The cabinets and countertops were built and installed by my niece's husband. Since we live in a log house, and we wanted to brighten up that little kitchen, we elected to use white pine and keep the design simple and traditional so the kitchen would fit in the appearance of the house. The stone was all recycled from other uses. The trim around the counters and backsplashes is raw cherry-wood oiled with food-grade mineral oil.

I am looking forward to canning and pickling this year, now that I have a lot more space to work with.

 

[LowlyPion]

Very nice.

Congrats.

 

[turbo]

Very nice.

Congrats.

Thanks. My wife and I decided that dipping into our savings to make cooking and canning more pleasurable and easier was a good investment. It was very difficult to find the space to make and process large batches of salsas, pickles, etc with the previous lay-out. The current set-up allows lots of stuff to happen more efficiently. We have had cramped and/or poorly laid-out kitchens about all our married life (going on 35 years) and it was time for a little self-indulgence.

 

[Moonbear]

That's a nice looking kitchen arrangement, turbo. Good amounts of working space!

Amazing how moving the fridge can make such a difference, huh? That's one of my planned remodels too. I have a nice sized kitchen, but the space is used completely inefficiently, so there isn't much of anyone good working surface, and not nearly enough cabinet space! I'm going to move the fridge to an open, and currently useless wall, along with the overfridge cabinets that are generally useless for me as well other than for storing things I almost never use...a good place for things like vases for flowers. I'm also going to move with it the little 18" cabinet next to it (the drawer on it is mostly useful as a junk drawer, which everyone needs). Then fill in the gaps with new cabinets that are better suited to holding things like pots and pans, and drawers for cooking utensils, since it's all next to the stove. Plus the additional overhead cabinets that would fit in the space. All together, I can get myself about 52" more working counterspace, which is pretty impressive for what's mostly just moving a refrigerator to an empty wall. And, since the kitchen is located over the unfinished utility room in the basement, it's very easy access to move the water line for the ice maker in the freezer (though if I ever replace the fridge, that feature is not going to be included...too much wasted space for the few ice cubes I use).

The only hang-up (other than having to pay for it, of course), is I have to see if I can find a reasonably close match to the finish on the existing counter tops (it's a laminate finish made to look like granite), or something to contrast in a way that makes it look like they're intentionally different (one friend of mine has one countertop done with butcher block, which is wonderful for a functional kitchen, and I might borrow that idea), or if I'm going to have to refinish all of them to match. I can match the cabinets themselves fairly easily, since that style is still made. Though, it's those pesky knobs that get expensive if I can't find those to match!

 

[turbo]

Though, it's those pesky knobs that get expensive if I can't find those to match!

Google on Woodworker's Hardware, Moonie. That's where I ordered all the knobs and cup handles. The knobs dropped in price from $1.29 to $1.00 in quantities of 25, and the cup handles were inexpensive, too. If you can match the cabinets, and don't mind plain-looking knobs and handles like mine, you can replace all the knobs very cheaply. Forget the places that sell knobs for $3-5 or more each. They must rely on pricey decorators for their clients.

If we had not had the lovely fossil-stone available, our "backup" would have been to use butcher-block to top that little cabinet. Butcher-blocking the tops of your new base cabinets will be the cheapest option of adding contrasting counters.

Here's the page where I found the knobs and pulls:
http://wwhardware.com/catalog.cfm/GroupID/Cabinet%20Knobs,%20Pulls%20%26%20Handles/CatID/Amerock%26%230174;%20Basic%20Metals%20Cabinet%20Knobs,%20Pulls%20%26%20Backplates/SubCatID/Black

Here's a more general page in which you might be able to find matches for your current hardware:
http://wwhardware.com/catalog.cfm/GroupID/Cabinet%20Knobs,%20Pulls%20%26%20Handles/CatID/Amerock%26%230174;%20Basic%20Metals%20Cabinet%20Knobs,%20Pulls%20%26%20Backplates

My knobs and pulls were all made by Amerock, and the quality is great.

 

[Moonbear]

Thanks for the links! Yeah, I don't need fancy knobs. I prefer the clean look of simple knobs like you have.

 

[turbo]

Thanks for the links! Yeah, I don't need fancy knobs. I prefer the clean look of simple knobs like you have.

If you have drawer pulls to replace, the main thing you have to pay attention to is the screw spacing. There are a couple of standard spacings that are commonly used, and Amerock produces many styles in both so that you can replace pulls without re-drilling.

 

[Moonbear]

Yes, that's going to be an issue. I looked at that site, and there are lots of what I would consider fancy knobs and pulls that are still very affordable. I've bookmarked it so I can find it when I get around to doing that project. I think it'll be a good winter project, just not sure if it'll be this winter or next winter. It might be a bit much to juggle remodeling my kitchen with my teaching load this winter (developing a brand new course, so much more work than it will be to just teach it in future years).

 

[turbo]

BTW, in regard to butcher-block. That type of material has been banned from commercial food-prep for decades because of the high risk of bacterial contamination. I would have no qualms about using butcher-block oiled with food grade mineral oil, because my wife and I have gotten accustomed to using the very thin flexible cutting boards and would not cut food on the butcher-block. Those flexible sheets are much more cut-resistant than the softer thick poly cutting boards and so they are less likely to retain contaminants (deep cuts in soft boards=great places for salmonella from poultry etc to hide). The flexible cutting boards are handy in part because they are very cheap, so we have a lot of them, and we have marked one with a Sharpie "poultry" which we don't use with any other foods. When I'm making chili relishes, I can chop ingredients on a chopping board, roll it up, and use it as a makeshift funnel to transfer the ingredients into the food processor. This is a LOT handier than you might think, and it becomes second-nature very quickly. They are also great for cleaning and sorting wild berries, and using that same feature to transfer the berries into freezer bags. No kitchen should be without a number of these tough, thin, cutting surfaces.

Edit: I have hijacked the Food thread into a kitchen thread - sorry. If somebody wants to split this off into a different thread, I'm all for it. Food-prep, tools, cooking, etc, all runs together for me.

 

[Moonbear]

I wouldn't actually use a butcher block counter top as a cutting board. I wouldn't want to mar it all up and stain it. More it's that it's something I could put a hot pot onto without the expense and hassle of things like granite. I have a bunch of cutting boards already, and several sizes. That way, if I just want to slice up some cheese to put on crackers, I have small ones, and when prepping meals, I can pull out different ones for vegetables or meats. They're all made from the kind of plastic that is dishwasher safe, so they can get fully sanitized in the dishwasher.

Though, somehow I survived as a kid with nothing but the one wooden cutting board that slid into the cabinet that us kids would just wipe down with a dirty sponge after using it. It's no wonder I have such a good immune system...I probably gave it quite a work out back then.

 

[LowlyPion]

... (going on 35 years) and it was time for a little self-indulgence.

Very practical and no doubt well deserved. My attitude on cooking is that if you are doing it a lot, you can afford to bank some of the food savings in equipment and kitchens and stuff. After 35 years, of saving into the account, nothing wrong with pulling a little back to go forward in style.

It looks very serviceable. May you enjoy it in pleasure for years to come.