What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[turbo]

Ok, Evo is going to attempt making sushi with RAW TUNA! They had "supposedly" sashimi grade yellowfin tuna on sale for cheap today, so I bought a small piece. It did have a disclaimer that it was previosly frozen, well this IS Kansas, so I would expect that, but why the hell did they thaw it to sell it? If it's frozen, leave it frozen. I will thaw it when I make the sushi. Thawing it and letting it sit on ice exposed to air just dries it out. Fools. I'm assuming that's why they cut the price, sell it or chuck it.

Where is ~christina~ when I need her? I want to know if this has worms, without looking it up. Where is that worm woman?

If you're going to eat tuna raw, it should have been previously flash-frozen to kill parasites, so "previously frozen" is not a real problem. Fatty fish like tuna actually re-freeze really well, so when "fresh" tuna steaks go on sale here, my wife will buy them up and re-freeze them. It's not like haddock, hake, etc, that lose all their light sweetness when frozen. Previously-frozen haddock isn't worth the expense unless you are going to stuff it and bake it because the sweetness just isn't there. Same with Atlantic scallops. If they're not fresh don't waste the money.

Have you ever seen the show in which tuna hits the seafood markets in Japan in the wee hours, and buyers stick hollow probes into the tuna to evaluate fat-content? Those fish were all flash-frozen and can command tens of thousands of dollars EACH at the auction, only to be parted out to sushi restaurants for even more bucks by early morning for the days' meals.

 

[Evo]

For these prices, the pans should replicate the food, cook, clean and store themselves. I saw the "crepe pan" for $250 in the Food Network store.

$765.00 for an 11 inch pan?

http://www.mauvielusa.com/Dutch-Oven.html?parentId=2&pushParent

 

[turbo]

For these prices, the pans should replicate the food, cook, clean and store themselves. I saw the "crepe pan" for $250 in the Food Network store.

$765.00 for an 11 inch pan?

http://www.mauvielusa.com/Dutch-Oven.html?parentId=2&pushParent

It's beyond ridiculous. Do people actually believe that these pots and pans can improve their cooking? Or is it just a matter of status, letting your friends see a fortune in ridiculously expensive cookware displayed in your kitchen? And who wants to polish all that copper?

I have several female cousins with very expensive tastes, and they buy $$$$ gear for their kitchens; partly, it seems, in competition with one another, as they have each built and stocked new homes over the past 15 years or so. None of them can cook above-average, but they sure have shiny kitchens. Hardly any decent cast-iron to be found in any of their homes, but plenty of copper, bright enamel, and stainless, and enough crystal stemware to stock a restaurant. The Food Network, food magazines, and celebrity chefs like Emeril have created a population of glassy-eyed zombies who just have to own the next best thing.

The eldest daughter of the youngest cousin has worked in the restaurant trade all through college and she married a restaurant manager. When they visit, I cook for them and have to spend time explaining the recipes, preparation tips, etc. Both of them are good cooks, but they rave about my food and do their best to replicate it for themselves. Disclaimer: I do not own a single pot or pan that cost over $40, unless you count the eBay values of antique Griswold cast-iron that my wife and I snapped up dirt-cheap at estate sales and lawn sales. I have spent more on decent cutlery, but that's a function of quality, not celebrity endorsement.

 

[Andre]

For these prices, the pans should replicate the food, cook, clean and store themselves. I saw the "crepe pan" for $250 in the Food Network store.

$765.00 for an 11 inch pan?

http://www.mauvielusa.com/Dutch-Oven.html?parentId=2&pushParent

Happen to have ikea around?

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/categories/departments/kitchen/15925/

 

[turbo]

Some of those laminated Ikea pans SS/Aluminim/SS look pretty good. Do they hold up OK? We have some nice old Revere-ware (copper-clad SS) that works well, but are open for alternates.

 

[Evo]

Meringue pies, like lemon meringue.

Who else scrapes the meringue off and just eats the pie?

I mean, meringue is a pile of egg whites. EWWWWWW.

Put whipped cream on it if you want to top it with something.

 

[turbo]

Meringue pies, like lemon meringue.

Who else scrapes the meringue off and just eats the pie?

I mean, meringue is a pile of egg whites. EWWWWWW.

Put whipped cream on it if you want to top it with something.

That was my grandmother's philosophy. Instead of a smooth lemony filling, she made a light filling loaded with lemon zest (she called it lemon chiffon pie) and topped it with fresh whipped cream. That was my father's favorite pie, so we got some every Thanksgiving. Heaven!

 

[turbo]

Evo, you'll be happy to hear that my wife is making eggplant Parmesan today. Twisted Edge would be glad to hear that I don't have to eat it. She's making it to take to her mother's place tonight. Yay! I have left-over shepherd's pie, hot-dogs, and other tasty stuff to eat.

 

[Evo]

Evo, you'll be happy to hear that my wife is making eggplant Parmesan today. Twisted Edge would be glad to hear that I don't have to eat it. She's making it to take to her mother's place tonight. Yay! I have left-over shepherd's pie, hot-dogs, and other tasty stuff to eat.

You and Twisting Edge, I swear I've never known two people that both said that eggplant tasted like cardboard coasters.

Mmmmmm, the only thing better than eggplant parmesan is Moussaka, it's eggplant parmesan with bechemel sauce. :!)

I am having a Philadelphia Steak Pizza for dinner tonight. Only a few minutes until it's ready.

 

[turbo]

You and Twisting Edge, I swear I've never known two people that both said that eggplant tasted like cardboard coasters.

If you are looking at an on-line system for marking possible matches, you might want to ignore my lack of structure, and consider the possible benefits of marketing food that is otherwise unpalatable and devoid of taste and attraction.

 

[Evo]

Mmmm, mmrmmph, snork, chomp.

This is a very good pizza. I don't normally eat pizza that isn't loaded, this has only Philly steak, caramalized onions, and cheese. YUM!

 

[rewebster]

If you are looking at an on-line system for marking possible matches, you might want to ignore my lack of structure, and consider the possible benefits of marketing food that is otherwise unpalatable and devoid of taste and attraction.

they do make nice ornamental plants

 

[turbo]

I have convinced my wife that in consideration for the stuff I do around here, she will stop watching Pat and Gina Neely every day at 5:30. They are the two most over-the-top smarmy, saccharine, insincere, people on the Food Network, and I can't even stand to listen to them in the background.

Of course, I made her a batch of extra-spicy rye croutons today, and she kept crunching them like popcorn. That might have softened her up, so I'll have to test her resolve if she tries to sneak a peek. Frankly, the Neely's recipes are more hype and "cuteness" than substance.

My cousin's daughter and her husband both work in the food-service trade (though she is getting more and more steady work as a speech therapist) and though they spent years in the deep south, they get BBQ/smoker recipes from me. (A back-woods Maineiac) Last winter was the mildest on record for years and years, and her husband still thought it was too cold. Durn rebels! Gotta teach him about the joys of BBQing in fleece and down jackets.

 

[turbo]

they do make nice ornamental plants

One of my neighbors grows eggplant in 5-gallon buckets. Of course he also grows more zucchini than any normal couple could eat.

Both "filler" vegetables that are not edible without a lot of camouflage and misdirection. His wife grinds them up and freezes them, only to make "breads" to "thrill" the neighbors. It's really awful.

 

[Evo]

One of my neighbors grows eggplant in 5-gallon buckets. Of course he also grows more zucchini than any normal couple could eat.

Both "filler" vegetables that are not edible without a lot of camouflage and misdirection. His wife grinds them up and freezes them, only to make "breads" to "thrill" the neighbors. It's really awful.

My co-worker made a chocolate zucchini cake and you would not know it had zucchini in it. It was to die for. She also made the only rice pudding that not only I could eat, but it was delicious.

 

[turbo]

My co-worker made a chocolate zucchini cake and you would not know it had zucchini in it.

Of course not! It is a filler meant to add moisture and structure to heavy cakes. It has no flavor of its own. My wife can make nice zucchini cakes or breads, though she generally relies on apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, some citrus (often lemon) to give them character. The neighbors' breads and cakes are inedible. They have no flavor, but if they would hold together, I could use them as counterweights for my tractor or perhaps a block to tether my dog to.

My wife makes an apple bread that is to die for. It's called raw-apple bread because the dough is cool and the apple is blended in in fairly large chunks with no preparation. It's a soft, meaty, moist bread that never lasts long enough to spoil. Wonderful stuff for breakfast or dessert.

I'm surprised that there isn't a Food Network show that concentrates on simple Depression-Era foods that are affordable, don't require lots of specialized equipment to prepare, and are hearty enough to feed a family of working folks. I could open a restaurant with recipes handed down from my Anglo-German grandmother and my French-Canadian grandmother (both with strong native-American heritages). Good simple food done well.

Not so much of that on the FN. When the Neelys or Deen starts out with a deep-fryer ready to crisp some concoctions made of heavy cream, butter, etc, it turns me off. My grandmothers used animal fats (lard) to transfer heat to food very quickly, and crisp it so fast that fat penetration was minimized. My Anglo-German grandmother made doughnuts that were very light, sweet, and crispy, with NO greasy taste/texture. The lard puffed and crisped them very quickly, and she added them to the frying-pan very slowly, so that the lard always got back up to operating temperature before another couple of doughnuts got laid in. Heavy cast iron pan and a hot gas flame made that possible.

 

[turbo]

Supper was pretty nice. Leftover sage risotto with carrots, mushrooms, onions, garlic, etc. Plus a suicidal partridge. The bird killed itself by flying into my storm-door window. I thin-slided the breast meat, dredged it in flour, salt, pepper and onion powder and fried it in butter in a really hot cast-iron skillet.

Maybe a deer will suicide by running headlong into my house. I could use some venison.

 

[Evo]

Supper was pretty nice. Leftover sage risotto with carrots, mushrooms, onions, garlic, etc. Plus a suicidal partridge. The bird killed itself by flying into my storm-door window. I thin-slided the breast meat, dredged it in flour, salt, pepper and onion powder and fried it in butter in a really hot cast-iron skillet.

Maybe a deer will suicide by running headlong into my house. I could use some venison.

Awww, poor partridge. At least he didn't go to waste.

I love rabbit, but I was against my first husband shooting them. So whenever he went hunting on his friend's ranch and brought home rabbits, he'd always tell me that they accidently ran over them with the jeep. When I would ask him why there were bullet holes in the bunnies, he'd tell me that they were suffering and had to be humanely put down.

It worked every time, I'd cook up those bunnies so they would be honored for the tasty morsels they are.

 

[turbo]

It worked every time, I'd cook up those bunnies so they would be honored for the tasty morsels they are.

Sorry about the deception, but happy about the cooking. Rabbits make the nicest stew...

 

[Evo]

Some woman on the Food Channel said "your guests will be so impressed when you serve this cheese on your haricots vert, what's next, bâtons de poisson?

Lady, you're American and you're in America, they're green beans, stop being pretentious. Ack!

 

[rewebster]

It worked every time, I'd cook up those bunnies so they would be honored for the tasty morsels they are.

I didn't realize your love for nature

 

[Evo]

I didn't realize your love for nature

Nature can be mighty tasty.

 

[Monique]

Some woman on the Food Channel said "your guests will be so impressed when you serve this cheese on your haricots vert, what's next, bâtons de poisson?

Lady, you're American and you're in America, they're green beans, stop being pretentious. Ack!

Don't haricot verts have different properties than typical American green beans? Here the haricot verts are longer and thinner than the general green beans. The crop has either been selected to generate this type of beans, or the harvest is selected and placed in different quality groups. There is a show on television here that investigates these types of questions, it would be interesting to get to the bottom of it.

I agree that in general the chefs like to inflate the dish by using fancy names. I've been to restaurants where the chef would explain the menu of the day and that I wouldn't understand a word he just said.

 

[Evo]

Don't haricot verts have different properties than typical American green beans? Here the haricot verts are longer and thinner than the general green beans. The crop has either been selected to generate this type of beans, or the harvest is selected and placed in different quality groups. There is a show on television here that investigates these types of questions, it would be interesting to get to the bottom of it.

I agree that in general the chefs like to inflate the dish by using fancy names. I've been to restaurants where the chef would explain the menu of the day and that I wouldn't understand a word he just said.

These were definitely plain old green beans. Not long at all.

Yes, haricots vert are supposed to be longer and thinner. She was just clueless. Watching these shows are masochistic.

 

[rewebster]

I agree that in general the chefs like to inflate the dish by using fancy names. I've been to restaurants where the chef would explain the menu of the day and that I wouldn't understand a word he just said.

for some reason that seems to be the case with a lot of fields in the more 'extensive' regions to be explained---art, derivatives (business), physics, etc.

 

[Monique]

for some reason that seems to be the case with a lot of fields in the more 'extensive' regions to be explained---art, derivatives (business), physics, etc.

Yes, you can call french fries "Pommes de terre frites à cru, en petites tranches", but is that really necessary? When you communicate with people, you should be clear what you're talking about.

 

[Evo]

What I hate the most is when they can't pronounce the names of the food. Emeril Lagasse pronounces jalapeño (ha la peh nyo) as HA LA pee na

He pronounces poblano (pō blah no) as puh bleh no

AAAARGH

 

[rewebster]

What I hate the most is when they can't pronounce the names of the food. Emeril Lagasse pronounces jalapeño (ha la peh nyo) as HA LA pee na

He pronounces poblano (pō blah no) as puh bleh no

AAAARGH

ohh, those pooghm-pause people!

 

[Evo]

ohh, those pooghm-pause people!

Seriously, if you're going to be on tv, learn how to pronounce the ingredients.

Some of the food show hosts pronounce voila as walla. And vichyssoise as vichyswa. This "chef" was even having the group of kids he was teaching say it over and over and he couldn't pronounce it himself. It's like dragging fingernails across a chalk board.

I know, I'm anal when it comes to pronouncing things. I wonder if these people know what a dictionary is.

 

[rewebster]

Yes, you can call french fries "Pommes de terre frites à cru, en petites tranches", but is that really necessary? When you communicate with people, you should be clear what you're talking about.

no wonder then why the English just call them 'chips'

 

[rewebster]

Seriously, if you're going to be on tv, learn how to pronounce the ingredients.

Some of the food show hosts pronounce voila as walla. And vichyssoise as vichyswa. This "chef" was even having the group of kids he was teaching say it over and over and he couldn't pronounce it himself. It's like dragging fingernails across a chalk board.

I know, I'm anal when it comes to pronouncing things. I wonder if these people know what a dictionary is.

oh, boy----and we're all glad that's the only thing you're anal about!


edit:
<Runs and hides>

 

[Evo]

no wonder then why the English just call them 'chips'

The English are crazy, they call fries "chips" and chips "crisps".

<Runs and hides>

 

[turbo]

The Food Network is such a joke. Their "stars" spend so much of their time convincing you of how perfect every dish is... Ina and the Neelys in particular are top offenders. The Neelys are sooo lovey-dovey with the baby-talk, it's sickening. My wife has agreed to shut off the Food Network when their show comes on because I just can't stand listening to them.

 

[Evo]

oh, boy----and we're all glad that's the only thing you're anal about!

 

[turbo]

The English are crazy, they call fries "chips" and chips "crisps".

<Runs and hides>

And the old gents who are members of the order of the garter wear suspenders, right?