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Mixed Review: Ad Hoc's Fried Chicken Mix
I love me my fried chicken as much as anybody, but given the cost in money and time here, I think I'll stick with cruising through the drive-up window at Popeye's, or one of a couple of local independent restaurants for those times I crave it pan-fried as opposed to deep-fried. It's difficult to imagine anything better.
How Do You Use Foods Past Their Prime?
Regarding out-of-date bacon, I've occasionally stretched food safety rules for most of my 60 years and don't know of a single instance when I went too far. Given all the preservatives in most bacon, It's pretty easy to tell if it's actually spoiled or not--it gets a horrible sticky/slimy texture and an odor that says "you're insane to even think about eating this." In my experience, that doesn't usually happen for a week or two after the use-by date. Take this commentary with a grain of salt, though :)
How Do You Use Foods Past Their Prime?
I mix up leftover spaghetti and sauce, then layer it with shredded cheese and bake it. I like it better than the original.
Here's another vote for chopping up the leftover french fries into a breakfast omelet; I also reheat theme in the oven topped with chili and cheese. So many restaurants automatically serve a big pile of fries that I don't want at the time, but I've gotten over feeling silly bringing them home because they can be so handy.
Veering off topic, I also bring home and freeze leftover rice from Chinese restaurants. It's more a convenience issue than one of cost.
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Favorite SE recipe?
This is a miracle right here:
http://www.seriouseats.com/cgi-bin/mte/mt-search.cgi?search=puff pastry cinnamon rolls&limit=20&IncludeBlogs=31,26,36,39,34,30,38,16,33,25,32,35
I'll be making these as my holiday gifts for the neighbors this year.
Mixed Review: Ad Hoc's Fried Chicken Mix
I love me my fried chicken as much as anybody, but given the cost in money and time here, I think I'll stick with cruising through the drive-up window at Popeye's, or one of a couple of local independent restaurants for those times I crave it pan-fried as opposed to deep-fried. It's difficult to imagine anything better.
How Do You Use Foods Past Their Prime?
Regarding out-of-date bacon, I've occasionally stretched food safety rules for most of my 60 years and don't know of a single instance when I went too far. Given all the preservatives in most bacon, It's pretty easy to tell if it's actually spoiled or not--it gets a horrible sticky/slimy texture and an odor that says "you're insane to even think about eating this." In my experience, that doesn't usually happen for a week or two after the use-by date. Take this commentary with a grain of salt, though :)
How Do You Use Foods Past Their Prime?
I mix up leftover spaghetti and sauce, then layer it with shredded cheese and bake it. I like it better than the original.
Here's another vote for chopping up the leftover french fries into a breakfast omelet; I also reheat theme in the oven topped with chili and cheese. So many restaurants automatically serve a big pile of fries that I don't want at the time, but I've gotten over feeling silly bringing them home because they can be so handy.
Veering off topic, I also bring home and freeze leftover rice from Chinese restaurants. It's more a convenience issue than one of cost.
What Was Your Favorite School Cafeteria Food?
We had similar "pizzas," served on hamburger buns. I never did figure out how they got the meat to the consistency of paste, but for some reason I loved it. As for the grilled cheese sandwiches mentioned in the article, I distinctly remember (from 50 years ago!!) seeing the sandwiches literally lying saturated in an inch or so of margerine in big institutional size stainless steel pans. I wonder if that's where I acquired my life-long obsessive love of grease.
Dinner Tonight: Fried Egg Sandwich
I love it, too, although to tweak the health quotient I use a whole grain muffin and a few of those micro-thin ham slices that come in the little rectangular plastic box and are the same perfect round shape as the muffin. I even have a tiny skillet that makes the egg the exact size.
And it's gotta have ketchup, or as my husband DISRESPECTFULLY calls it, trailer sauce.
Paula Deen Is Trying to Kill Us 2: Bacon-Wrapped Fried Mac
I wish people would lighten up on Paula. She's more an entertainer than anything else, and a darn good one for people who enjoy and appreciate Southern culture and cooking. As I once heard her comment, followed by that charming cackle of hers, "Honey, I'm your cook, not your doctor."
For those who want a healthful emphasis, there's certainly no shortage of personalities, ideas and resources out there (so let's enjoy Paula for what she is). Personal favorite on the healthy side:
How long to pan fry boneless center cut pork chops?
Good advice here, but I've pretty much given up on boneless, very low-fat pork. The caloric savings just isn't worth it, as compared to cooking a nicely trimmed, bone-in chop and being careful to trim off any remaining fat after cooking.
Off on a tangent, and something I mentioned recently on another thread, but lately I'm loving ground pork burgers. I buy 80/20 pork, cook it quickly in a skillet to medium-well, and season it with a sprinkling of brown sugar at the end of cooking, just long enough for the sugar to melt.
Foods from you childhood you don't miss.
Mine is topped only by runnereater's. My mom boiled turnips until they turned kind of pinkish-brown, then doused them with vinegar. I hated it so much that It was actually the only food I was allowed to eat only a couple bites of.
How long does wine "keep?"
Happy I came across this discussion. I don't drink, and just this week I divided up the remains of a bottle of white wine (which I'd used only 1/3 cup from) and put them in the freezer. I felt pretty silly doing that, but I also hate to waste food, or buy a fresh bottle when I need some cooking wine about once every couple weeks.
Sugar Rush: Whoopie Pie From Milk & Cookies
Where I live (not whoopie pie territory) it's popular for bakeries and grocery stores to offer sandwiches made of two enormous crunchy cookies with a frosting-like filling. Disgusting, but potentially delicious--except for the obvious fact that when you bite into the cookies all the filling gooshes out. That's just one thing that makes a soft whoopie pie so wonderful.
I used to know a wonderful web site that sent them by mail order, but I've lost the URL.
Frozen Shrimp: To Use or Not to Use?
Hope the moderators forgive me for straying off topic here, but can one buy pine nuts in the US that don't come from China? I know I can't avoid food with Chinese ingredients, but at least I can avoid things that are clearly labeled.
Actually, topics surrounding food origins, safety and/or sustainability might be an interesting idea for their own thread.
Frozen Shrimp: To Use or Not to Use?
I only have access to frozen shrimp, and I seldom buy cooked ones. However, Aldi's cooked shrimp isn't half bad and it's quite inexpensive. I don't much like trying to cook with it, but I'm trying to watch what I eat and it sure does make a healthy snack dipped in a little cocktail sauce.
An Overcooked Burger Is Saved by Good Seasoning at Erwin in Chicago
I'm with you, pooch. That's why I've pretty much taken to either preparing my own at home (and now I usually use ground pork), or going to places like Steak and Shake, where I can expect to get a cheap but tasty thin burger cooked (hopefully) to the point of caramelizing on the flat top. Either way, I don't have to chew...and chew...and chew...that relatively tasteless, textureless dry ground meat.
An Overcooked Burger Is Saved by Good Seasoning at Erwin in Chicago
NotAmerican, I'm understanding if a restaurant says they can't cook a burger to order. My gripe is that they so often say they can and then don't--and it's always on the overdone side.
However, speaking about the U.S. (which I take from your moniker might not apply to you) I must respectfully disagree that there's no universal code for doneness. In my experience, rare is generally understood to be basically warm but raw in the middle. Medium rare is slightly more cooked but still very juicy. Medium is pink all the way through. Medium-well is pink only in the center. At well-done, the pink is history.
Even if one quibbles a little from one step to the next, there's no way a burger with no pink fits anyone's definition of medium rare. That happens to me all to often these days.
An Overcooked Burger Is Saved by Good Seasoning at Erwin in Chicago
I always wonder what the deal is with restaurants which offer to cook a burger to order and then EVERY SINGLE TIME cook it medium-well to well-done. You'd think common sense would tell them that raising a customer's expectations and then letting them down is a less customer-friendly way to do business than just saying (as many chains do) that they don't offer burgers cooked less than medium-well.
Juustoleipä, an Excuse to Dip Cheese in Coffee
Is this similar to the "frying cheese" Trader Joe's just sent out an email ad about?
Funeral Food
@lemons: I also automatically head for the kitchen and start making food as soon as I hear about a death in the family of a friend or neighbor. I'm in the Midwest, too, but came from a family of Southerners. I think it might be more of a generational custom that's fading from the scene more than a regional or urban/rural thing.
My favorite thing to take is a simple, chunky chicken salad with chopped onion, celery and pecans, plus red grapes, dressed with mayo. Haven't found anyone yet who doesn't like it.
Taste Test: Gluten-Free, Vegan-Friendly Shirataki Noodles
I tried cooking with them only once, and I wasn't sure whether I should try to build on that experience and cook them again. Thanks for the thorough suggestions and review!
Although it would raise the caloric content, I wonder what would happen if (after thorough microwaving, rinsing and drying) you tried pan-frying them, then putting on some pretty strongly flavored "Asian" type sauce.
Home Ground Beef
I remember the old metal hand-powered grinders from my childhood--but my mom only ground cooked meat. I'm tempted to buy one to grind raw meat, but I'd appreciate some comments on how difficult it is to get through the grinder. Anyone else using the Luddite technology?
Omitting Soda Pop
I was mildly disgusted to hear a network news story last week about a proposed tax on sodas containing sugar. Not so much by the idea of the tax, but by the implication in the report that the government would be taxing an ESSENTIAL FOOD PRODUCT and thus possibly depriving people of a god-given right. I drink a carbonated beverage maybe twice a year, although I drink coffee and tea daily. I gave up sodas because they're just empty calories, but mostly because I'd prefer to spend the money on something else. I think at least some people would be appalled how much they spend, especially on ones consumed in restaurants. The whole thing is a real triumph of marketing over common sense.
Weekend Cook and Tell: Anchovies
I just kicked up @kira's concoction by adding a chopped tomato and a bit of bacon. I like it. Thanks. I'd never have dreamed that recipe up on my own.
Would You Go to a Chain Restaurant on a First Date?
"But completely discounting someone for picking a chain just seems like a crap judgmental thing to do."
Yeah. And a stupid, shoot-yourself-in-the-foot thing to do. Again from my 40-year perspective, when people have a relationship that works, they have an influence on each other. Whatever your areas of interest, it's more important to find someone who's eager to learn about the things you like (and vice versa) than it is to find someone who meets some kind of pre-approved checklist.
Would You Go to a Chain Restaurant on a First Date?
For some historical perspective, my husband took me to a Dairy Queen (one with burgers and other real food) on our first date (he was a starving grad student and I think it blew his food budget for the week). That was in 1969. We're still married. And we still eat fast food sometimes. Enuf said.
City Flavor Guide: Cincinnati
Cincinnati is a tradition-bound place and may have more restaurants that are simply "resting on their laurels" than other cities of its size and demographics. It's not unusual to encounter people who admit to patronizing mediocre restaurants solely because they remember them as the place they took their high school prom date, or where the family ate on Sundays back in the 1960s when great-grandma was still alive.
To bareneed, I know the bad restaurant you're talking about, and am puzzled how it remains in business. It's particularly ironic that in this ethnically German community, the best German food--which you also happened upon--is from a chain: see
http://www.hofbrauhausnewport.com/about.html
Mixed Review: Ad Hoc's Fried Chicken Mix
Funny, I made this myself back in September and blogged about it. I have Ad Hoc at Home now, so I imagine in the future I'll use the recipe, but holy crap was it ever stellar!
http://thefoodieblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/finger-lickin-good.html
Favorite SE recipe?
I made the Bayless tacuba style enchiladas tonight because of this thread.
Thanks for the tip. They were great! Green, flavorful, and creamy.
I added a jalapeno to the poblanos, and sprinkled on some green Tabasco Jalapeno sauce for a kick. AWESOME.
I did a 1.5 recipe, so we have plenty of leftovers.
Favorite SE recipe?
[+1 for Leo Maya's Chicken with Green Sauce]
Mixed Review: Ad Hoc's Fried Chicken Mix
I'd personally save the money and buy the cookbook, because it is fantastic and has a bunch of other great recipes and beautiful photos too.
However: It actually looks like the mix IS STILL AVAILABLE ONLINE.
Mixed Review: Ad Hoc's Fried Chicken Mix
The one time I ate at Ad Hoc it happened to be fried chicken night, and at first I was a little annoyed that I would be paying well over $100 for my wife and I to eat fried chicken with some fancy sides. However, it was definitely the best fried chicken I'd ever had in my life. I ate several pieces, and it didn't give me that heavy, full feeling that normally comes with any large amount of deep fried food. On the way out, I spotted Thomas Keller himself sitting at the bar eating some chicken.
The mix is expensive, but if it tastes anything like it does at the restaurant, then it might be worth it. I suppose the same money could be used to buy the cookbook, but buying the mix at SW would be kind of a fun treat.
Mixed Review: Ad Hoc's Fried Chicken Mix
I just tried the Ad Hoc recipe myself. And it was delicious. This from a girl who grew up eating fried chicken at least once a week. That brine is righteous. When I feel like scrubbing the entire kitchen again, I'm gonna fry some more chicken.
Mixed Review: Ad Hoc's Fried Chicken Mix
this is obviously not about saving time, it's about replicating something by thomas keller.
Mixed Review: Ad Hoc's Fried Chicken Mix
Am I the only one wondering if it's safe to let uncooked chicken sit out for 2 hours? www.satisfiedsole.com
Mixed Review: Ad Hoc's Fried Chicken Mix
Cultural heritage days are tricky, since kids aren't the most adventurous eaters. When I had to do that in high school I brought German potato pancakes. I was smart enough to choose the least intimidating dish I could find in the German cookbook. They went over quite well, once people figured out they were "a lot like hash browns" and were good with ketchup.
One guy brought something that he wouldn't admit what it was until some people had eaten it. I don't remember exactly, but it turned out to contain donkey meat or horse meat or something like that. I do remember that I ate some and didn't think it was that good.
Don't understand why cold fried chicken didn't go over well. I LOVE leftover fried chicken! This mix doesn't seem to actually save any time though, or at least not very much. It amounts to a package of seasoned salt and a package of seasoned flour, with instructions, right?
Arbeck, I seriously doubt that bag contains fresh lemons, fresh flat leaf parsley, a head of garlic, etc. That mix contains dried seasoning powder. Compare it in price to a can of old bay or cajun seasoning instead.
It sounds like just as much work as making it from scratch, and that's a bit too much work for me most of the time. I've made fried chicken from scratch about twice in my life, but Popeye's is just down the street. (And now I'm on a diet anyway, so oh well.)
This mix sounds like mainly a fun novelty, like those cookie kit jars people sometimes give people for Xmas if they can't think of something you might have actually wanted.
Mixed Review: Ad Hoc's Fried Chicken Mix
I must admit I was taken in with Keller's name so I tried the mix, there are two bags of mix and I actually threw the other one away. I didn't like the end result as all, a lot of time and effort for nothing. Short cuts are not the way to go when dealing with fried chicken. Never again. Next time it's old bay and flour-that's it!
Mixed Review: Ad Hoc's Fried Chicken Mix
@KB, i was invited to my friend's church social where we were invited to bring something from our cultural heritage. i'm jewish, so i brought my grandmother's chopped chicken livers. i was not a popular guest that evening. i will NEVER forget the look on the face of the host when i told him what was in the bowl.
Mixed Review: Ad Hoc's Fried Chicken Mix
Ugh I hate when you cannot find the products written about. Just checked in my area and WS doesn't have it. Who wants to be nice to me and send me some?
Mixed Review: Ad Hoc's Fried Chicken Mix
@LucyBaker- You had me laughing. We had an international day at elementary school once and were supposed to bring a dish from our heritage. Being Irish, I badly wanted to bring a green frosted cake! My mother insisted on making this grayish potato dish that no one ate. I remember being mortified. Thanks for making me recall that.
Frozen Shrimp: To Use or Not to Use?
A little fun fact: Sushi grade fish is always previously frozen to kill any potential harmful parasites. There really is no such thing as fresh seafood when you buy it in stores. And many of us have never tasted fresh shrimp since we don't catch and cook it ourselves on the same day.
What Was Your Favorite School Cafeteria Food?
in my high school we had 4 stations and a decent amount of options, yet i would only get 5 things - ever! friday was pizza day and i would always dip my pizza in the mini salad and dressing it came with.
wed was chicken ranchero day - chicken patty topped with bacon, american cheese and the obligatory lettuce and tomato slice and you top it yourself with ranch dressing on a kaiser roll and it usually came with baked mac and cheese - the line on wed was always rediculously long!
the other days i had a bagel with cream cheese, fries and an arizona iced tea. or cheese nachos loaded with toppings (i don't eat beef) or a cheese sandwich on a kaiser as i have always been adverse to lunch meat.
i am very surprised i have normal cholesterol these days - i can't imagine what it was back then...although growing up in a vegetarian household my other meals must have cancelled out the cholesterol loaded fest during the school week.
How Do You Use Foods Past Their Prime?
@shoneyjoe, Carey isn't redefining either the phrase "past its prime" or the term "prime." The prime for any food is when it is at the peak of its deliciousness; as a general rule of thumb, you just want to eat it out of hand (not for raw meats, obviously).
These foods are past their peak eating condition in that they're a little softer when they were once crisp, stale when they were once toothsome, etc. However, none of these foods have gone so far down the spectrum to be truly inedible or unsafe. It's a bit of a sliding scale for everyone between "past prime" and "dangerously high bacteria levels," and where to draw the line of what can be salvaged.
To answer the question, I've been making a lot of jams and steeped fruit with my excess CSA goodies. Another popular trick is using trimmed greens on pizza. The high heat renders the prime and post-prime greens equal.
Dinner Tonight: Fried Egg Sandwich
Breakfast for dinner is always right!
I'm with senorjames. I just made one of these by tossing the prosciutto in the pan then cracking the egg on top of it. I prefer "over medium" eggs with that hot yellow jelly oozing out rather than a runny yolk all over the plate.
How Do You Use Foods Past Their Prime?
Fruit with spots gets chopped up and put in my freezer for later mead making adventures.
I use leftover fried foods to make migas instead of using tortillas.
Stale bread pretty much always becomes pomodoro.
What Was Your Favorite School Cafeteria Food?
in both HS & college (Tokyo), noodle stations (ramen, udon and soba) were pretty good. but in HS I rarely had time to eat lunch at the cafeteria, so I'd buy chicken karaage and yukari onigiri combo if I didn't bring bento.
My favorite dish from the college cafeteria was Bang bang ji tofu.
What Was Your Favorite School Cafeteria Food?
In elementary school i loved the cold triple decker PB&J's... Also i loved the taste of the sloppy joes with melted kraft cheese but i didnt like the chunkiness of it so i would scrape it all out and eat what became a sloppy joe flavored cheese sandwich mmmmm.....i've tried to recreate it but to no avail.
In H.S. we had open campus so i always left for lunch. lucky me
What Was Your Favorite School Cafeteria Food?
Ooh - someone reminded me of the chili and chicken noodle soup my elementary school used to serve. I don't know what it was, but both were fabulous. As I got older & I was able to participate in my church hosted blood drives, I always looked forward to the half a peanut butter sandwich & the bowl of chicken noodle soup they'd serve to anyone that donated. MUCH better than the Ritz crackers & Lorna Doones I make do with now.
And yes - totally looked forward to the Thanksgiving & Christmas lunches, mostly because in addition to actual pumpkin pie, we got to choose a little container (paper peel-off lid) of ice cream: vanilla, chocolate swirl, or strawberry swirl. I always went with chocolate. Always.
What Was Your Favorite School Cafeteria Food?
Growing up in Singapore it was Szechuan Chicken, Beef Kway Teow, with fat rice noodles, beef and greens, and Mee Goreng, Malay style curry noodles. All made fresh while we sat there patiently waiting, watching the woks sizzle and Mr. Ho flip in bits of this and that. Mmmm.
What Was Your Favorite School Cafeteria Food?
After graduating I really missed cafeteria food. I loved drinking carton milk over ice and eating halved kiwis. The turkey a la king was so good back then and students would actually run to the lunch room for it. I also miss enchiladas on Wednesday, Mexican food day. Oh, and the lunch ladies used to offer Frito Pie on the side. Chili and cheese served from separate crock pots would be ladled into a bag of chips of your choice. I chose Hot Cheetos! It was so gross and delicious and would leave you with heart burn afterwards.
What Was Your Favorite School Cafeteria Food?
This one is pretty simple. Number one is the rectangle pizza served on top of fries. I would take the cheese off the pizza, put it on the fries, eat the pizza dough, then mix the cheese and fries together and eat them. Very healthy.
Second was pita bread pizza. I would always get cold and wet in the middle, so it was much preferred to have a fresh one.
What Was Your Favorite School Cafeteria Food?
1955-1958. Lawrence High School, Lawrence, L.I., N.Y.
Sausages on top of mashed potatoes with gravy.
I still think about it after all these years.
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This is a miracle right here:
http://www.seriouseats.com/cgi-bin/mte/mt-search.cgi?search=puff pastry cinnamon rolls&limit=20&IncludeBlogs=31,26,36,39,34,30,38,16,33,25,32,35
I'll be making these as my holiday gifts for the neighbors this year.