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The Ten Most Recent Posts By Jeana

From Talk

Enhanced chicken?

I do a roast chicken at least once a week. It's a foolproof meal that we never get tired of; I just vary the side dishes and everyone's happy. At Sam's last week they had whole roasting chickens (Pilgrim's Pride) that could be purchased in bulk at reduced prices. I bought a pack of four, thinking I could freeze them and not have to buy another chicken for a month! It wasn't until I got home that I noticed on the packaging: "Enhanced with up to 12% chicken broth." What does this mean? I've never seen this notation before. Does this enhancement affect the taste of the bird? Will it be somewhat saltier than normal and should I hold back on my seasoning? Or are most roasters "enhanced" in this manner and I just never knew it?

From Talk

Great food in Annapolis

My husband and I will be visiting my in-laws in D.C. over Christmas/New Year and will also spend a couple of days in Annapolis. I'm looking for some great food & restaurant suggestions for our weekend stay!

From Talk

Fennel help: What to do with the stalks and fronds?

I love fennel and I have some great recipes, but all of them call for using only the bulb and sometimes the fronds as garnish. What can I do with the stalks and the rest of the fronds? I feel bad buying the whole plant and throwing so much of it away!

From Talk

"Sopranos" Finale Party?

Is anyone having (or attending) a "Sopranos" finale party this Sunday? We plan to have a few friends over (the ones that are totally caught up to the last episode) and plan to have baked rigatoni and homemade pizzas. What's on your menu?

The Ten Most Recent Comments By Jeana

From Talk

brussel sprout smell

Really good question! We love cooking brussels sprouts at home but the smell does seem to linger. When it's just the two of us, who cares, but I feel your anxiousness about the school/work microwave situation. I am going to try lighting a match and/or burning a candle next time to see if it helps.

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: Wine Bar Food

An omelette!

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: Lidia's Italy

Steak au poivre - who wouldn't swoon over a perfectly cooked filet with a cognac cream sauce?

From Talk

Where is the best place to get BBQ in Dallas/Forth Worth?

You can't beat Austin or the Hill Country as far as Texas BBQ goes, and if you've been to Kreuz's then you've had the best. But if you really want to try BBQ in Dallas I would go to Peggy Sue's in Snider Plaza. I've lived in Dallas practically my whole life and never thought Sonny Bryan's was all that, but the original Inwood location is something of a historical landmark.

From Talk

Enhanced chicken?

Well, the chicken turned out last night with no ill effects. It was pretty much the same as my usual roast chicken and, in fact, I probably could have seasoned it a bit more, so my unscientific opinion would be that the added broth solution does little, if anything, to the flavor. It was, I think, a little moister than my usual, which could be due to the enhancements OR my ever-improving culinary skills ;)

Since I have three more in my freezer it's comforting to have completed a test run! By the way, these were purchased at about $3.50 per 4-lb bird so you can understand my desire that these taste as good as they are a value.

From Talk

Enhanced chicken?

Thanks, everyone. The back of the packaging says the solution ingredients are chicken broth, salt and carrageenan, whatever that is. Interestingly enough, it also claims to be "minimally processed." I'll definitely be more careful in the future, as I like to control the amount of flavor "enhancements" myself, thank you very much.

I am roasting one as we speak; I didn't brine it (I usually don't) and I salted it overall a little less than normal, so I'll let everyone know how it turns out!

From Talk

Gordon Ramsay

I agree, Gordon Ramsay is totally different on the BBC version. We don't even watch Kitchen Nightmares on Fox anymore because it is such a huge contrast to the tough but ultimately loveable personality on BBC. And I never liked Hell's Kitchen, in the past it seemd like Fox would cast a cartoonish, circus-like group of characters who can't cook just so Gordon can get frustrated with them and yell at them. It made me sad.

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: The Sweet Melissa Baking Book

Strawberry shortcake!

From Required Eating

Top Chef: Block Rockin' Eats

I thought Zoi should have packed her knives and left. The texture of the corndogs may not have survived the holding and transport process, but other than the sogginess it was never said by the judges that they didn't have overall good flavor. Not so, it seems, for the pasta salad. Whether she wanted to do it or not, pasta salad is pretty simple AND is also a classic dish that normally can hold and be transported for picnics, block parties, etc. How do you screw that up? In my mind, a chef that failed to anticipate the challenges of adapting a dish he knows well to how it would hold up making it hours in advance is not nearly as bad as a chef who can't make something as simple as a pasta salad taste decent.

In comparison with last week, isn't that what Valerie went home for? Stephanie dressed her salad too far in advance and it got soggy (poor planning), but Valerie's dish simply didn't taste good, so she got the boot. The judging is often inconsistent in this regard; I think poor taste should always be the deciding factor over poor planning, poor texture, poor presentation, etc. If a chef can't taste how bad his/her own dish is when it's made, why would we ever want to eat their food?

From Required Eating

Cook the Book: Nigella Express

I would love to get into the habit of cooking extra large portions like many others here, creating leftovers and freezable portions. I do try to make stock when I can as well as a basic red sauce (Mario Batali's) and I freeze portions of that. But when I am cooking it is all about the mise! I try to always have my mise en place done before getting started, it saves time and my sanity!

Responses to Comments by Jeana