Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

I used to have a Ronco rotisserie. I used it quite often, and I thought it worked well on a limited basis. Anything hollow, like a chicken, it did fine. Anything small, like sausages or hot dogs, it did fine (* provided you like them overdone, like I do.) Anything dense, like a roast beef, forget it. The heating coil doesn't get hot enough to penetrate.

That said, if you have a rotisserie, then by all means, roast the bird yourself. You'll have more control over the seasoning, and the freshness.

Ok, maybe the tuna is really tuna. But I know that the cold cuts are almost all made from turkey. I also know that the seafood salad is made from mostly surimi ... which is fine if that's what you like.

It's the same reason why marinating something for longer than 30 minutes has a greater impact. The flavors mingle, and the harsher tones mellow. Whats more, some of the liquid in a finished dish might evaporate a little and intensify the flavors.

I actually do exactly the opposite of what others are professing -- I don't plan menus. I shop for what's on sale and looks good. I usually go shopping early on a weekday morning, and get to go through the meat case after the manager has gone through, marking all the things with close sell-by dates down, and I choose whatever looks best, and then plan my menu around that. Granted, good food is one place I don't really try to economize, so ... I'd rather do without a premium cable channel for a month and get that good cut of beef steak. (Luckily, it hasn't come to that in recent years.)

But, yeah. Meat is one of the most expensive things they sell in the grocery store, so if you're trying to economize, plan a meal or two a week around rice and beans (preferably dried, which you soak and reconstitute).

If I had more than I could eat, I would take a bunch of them, slice them in half, put them on a roasting pan with a little balsamic vinegar, and roast them in a low oven. Then I'd jar them up and use them like I'd use sun-dried tomatoes.

You could also try making ketchup, though I've learned from personal experience that it's an exercise in futility, because no matter what you do, it won't taste right in the end. (Curse you, Mr. Heinz.)

After tasting this cheese, I can't begin to comprehend how people could actually like that ammonia flavor, even if it were more mild. The mind boggles. O.o

So, aside from Ed, only women produce SE?

Yeah. I'm serious. You moderate yourself. We'll moderate ourselves. Cooks are notorious control freaks, but you're not the only one here.

Yeah. I was sort of bothered by the in-show Chase ads. Bit too much of a sell-out, if you ask me. But I imagine the show isn't cheap to produce, and dvr's being able to skip commercials and all, I guess it's pretty much par for the course.

No one has mentioned his Les Halles Cookbook yet. It's entertaining and informative. If you're a fan, you should definitely check it out.

(And Kitchenista -- are you a moderator here?)

I was tempted to buy this several times over the years, but the high pricetag always put me off.

I sometimes eat them. If they sold the little meatballs in sauce without the spaghetti, I'd be happier with them. I'm pretty sure those little bits of "beef" in the beefaroni sauce are actually TVP.

I would have liked to see "molecular gastronomy" on that list.

Rosemary ham and muenster on pumpernickle with lots of spicy-sweet honey mustard.