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Look Who's Talkin': Comments, Quips, and Tips We Have Known and Loved

Posted by Adam Kuban, September 4, 2009 at 1:15 PM

There's so much going on in Talk week to week that we almost can't keep up. If you're in the same boat, here's a small selection of topics and responses that have piqued our interest this week.

Foods From Your Childhood You Don't Miss?

[Photograph: Tick Tock Toys]

"Hungry Man Salisbury steak in the old tin foil like TV dinner tray. Not the salisbury steak itself, who doesn't like 15,000,000 mg. of sodium in a mystery meat patty?! But rather, the little chocolate "hockey puck" cake that came with the meal... BLECH!" —Pavlov

Befriending Chefs/Restaurant Staff [aka 'I Can See Into Alinea's Kitchen from My New Home']

"HAHA! Can't believe the response! I move in September 30th and will be waving to you guys constantly from my kitchen window :) Let me know if you want anything from Buffalo (real chicken wings, perhaps?)" —Laurs87

Teen Foodies in Philadelphia?

"I'm a 16 year old foodie too! Although I don't live near you I feel your pain with your friends not realizing the greatness that food can be." —Lfoodie

Cold Pizza

"In my bachelor days, I used to consider ordering pizza the basic equivalent of going grocery shopping. Order two large, eat the rest the next day, for breakfast, lunch and dinner. You are allowed to micro the dinner slices, to keep them soft. My wife now frowns on this behaviour." —NotAmerican

Sourdough Starter Lost Mojo

"Got my mojo workin', but it just won't work on you." Sing it, Muddy!

"If it started that strong, it may just have run out of available food at the moment. Stirring the starter (like kneading dough) redistributes the yeast and the food so that it can eat again once they've chowed down on what's close by. And for a yeast, "close" is really close. Adding more flour (or flour and water, if keeping the right hydration is important) will also perk them up again. I've never used anything but flour and water for my starters, and I've never had a problem with them. And some of the ones in my fridge now are over 10 years old." —dbcurrie

Article on Serious Eats Writer Hawk Krall

"So, Hawk, what are your favorite toppings on which brand/kind of hot dog? Maybe someone should find out and put it on the menu: The Hawk Dog." —betteirene

[I second that motion. —AK]

Beef Tongue: Help Me Out

"You are so right. It just looks like a giant tongue, and I too had to just kinda suck it up and get past it the first couple of times I cooked one. But here's the great part: it doesn't have to look ANYTHING like that when you eat it. I simmer the whole tongue for an hour or so in water seasoned well with salt, peppercorns and onion, then remove the skin- this is the gross part, for sure. You'll have to use a knife to get some of it off, but if it's all still firmly attached, simmer longer. Then slice or chop the meat -at which point it no longer resembles tongue- and simmer the meat in a spicy tomato sauce (tomato, garlic, chilis of your choice, maybe a little orange) until super tender and eat awesome tacos." —thatgrrl

I Wish I May, I Wish I Might...

"You know that nasty metallic smell of a cookie sheet that needs to be thrown away? That's what cilantro tastes like to me. Metallic. Gross. But I love all Mexican and most Thai food! Just have to get it without cilantro...." —Editmom

Cooking for Someone on Medical Marijuana?

"I agree with the sweet potato and squash recommendations above. Here in Amsterdam you see many attempts to cook with THC butter, but I've never tasted anything successful that wasn't sweet. I haven't experimented much with it myself, but I have a feeling if I did, I'd start with recipes from equatorial regions, specifically India and Southeast Asia. There is actually a recipe in James Oseland's Cradle of Flavor that mentions marijuana as an authentic ingredient...the other main flavors are lemon basil, turmeric, garlic, and lime....hope this helps." —markemorse

Saving Bacon Fat

"@Yukiyummy — straining out solids is good for a number of reasons. One, those solids will end up in your pan the next time you use the fat, and since they are already partly or most of the way cooked, the likelihood they will burn and add bitter tastes and crumbly textures to your food is very high. Two (of less concern), the solids, being composed of proteins, will spoil at some point. It will take a long time since they are encased in fat and therefore not exposed to oxygen, but it's something to think about. The first reason is really the most important one." —simon

RIP Sheila Lukins

"Very sad! Her Silver Palate Cookbook was my bible when I first began to entertain. I used her recipes for brunch, cocktail, and many a dinner party. I spent way too much on incredible ingredients and loved every minute of it. Her cookbooks helped make me a confident cook and hostess." —lakeloverhh

Sneaking Food Into Movies

"I almost always bring a few beers.. my favorite theater and beer store in brooklyn are right across the street from eachother! I've also brought Chipotle Bol's, burgers, sandwiches.. you name it. I don't make a mess, and it's not like I'd eat candy or popcorn or soda anyways, so I don't think of it as cheating the system, just multitasking. I really do wish movie theaters had better food options.. at least some sort of healthy snacks and alcoholic beverages." —cheflaura

Julia Child's House

Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian. [Flickr: krossbow]

"If you actually want to see Julia's kitchen visit her wonderful exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History, part of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. They brought her entire original kitchen there gadget by gadget and it is a real charmer...along with the other memorabilia and videos surrounding her life. When we visited 'foodies' of every age were gathered to pay homage... I believe they filmed the final scenes of the 'Julie/Julia' movie there." —gutreactions

Favorite Food Fiction

"Wow—are you in for a treat. Rex Stout wrote Nero Wolfe mysteries in the '30s into the '70s. Nero Wolfe is large and likes his food, and sometimes this figures in the mystery, complete with recipes. There's even a Nero Wolfe Cookbook. One of his best mysteries (and one of the best mysteries ever by anyone) is The Doorbell Rang, and food is involved in that. It would sort of be a pity to read it without having read some of the others along the way, but it will surely hook you. They are period pieces now, of course, but I reread them from time to time anyway." —lemonfair

Do You Go Simple or Complicated for Your Tailgate?

"We always do a low country boil for one game and a catfish fry for another. We do soups, stews and chili for a game late in the season. Some of the best are when people bring whatever they feel like and we just have a smorgasbord." —chip71

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