Kerosena’s Profile
Recent Comments
marinara separating?
Are you draining your pasta thoroughly? Are you rinsing it with water? If you are rinsing, stop. My mom does it this way and it drives me nuts. Worse than fingernails on a blackboard. And hers always comes out watery.
I also second the rec for tossing just-before-al-dente pasta with your sauce for a quick simmer before serving.
What's your spice aversion?
I have several:
White pepper-smells/tastes like rotting flesh to me
Saffron- overpowers everything, and I prefer my food to have it's own natural color.
Turmeric-see "saffron"
What to serve the night before Thanksgiving?
Pizza. It's traditional on one of the busiest nights of the year for both bars and pizza parlors.
See more comments by Kerosena »
Recent Posts
In response to feriorrenna, what was the last INTERESTING thing?
Posted by Kerosena, December 19, 2008 at 5:12 PM
See more posts by Kerosena »
Recent Favorites
Kerosena hasn't favorited a post yet.
Recent Polls
Kerosena hasn't answered any polls yet.
Recent Quizzes
Kerosena hasn't taken any quizzes yet.
Recent Comments | Response to Comments
Instant Noodles/Ramen
Most asian markets sell packaged steamed ramen (rather than fried). If I don't feel like using the spice packet, I mix up some chili oil, soy sauce, and maybe some furikake for the broth.
marinara separating?
Are you draining your pasta thoroughly? Are you rinsing it with water? If you are rinsing, stop. My mom does it this way and it drives me nuts. Worse than fingernails on a blackboard. And hers always comes out watery.
I also second the rec for tossing just-before-al-dente pasta with your sauce for a quick simmer before serving.
What's your spice aversion?
I have several:
White pepper-smells/tastes like rotting flesh to me
Saffron- overpowers everything, and I prefer my food to have it's own natural color.
Turmeric-see "saffron"
What to serve the night before Thanksgiving?
Pizza. It's traditional on one of the busiest nights of the year for both bars and pizza parlors.
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
Insulin for the cat.
Book Giveaway: Mike Colameco's Food Lover's Guide to NYC
I don't know any off the radar places as I only visit NYC 2-3 times per year, but I love Penelope Cafe for breakfast. Great food, and I really enjoyed eating breakfast at the bar.
Cereal with Water and Other Cereal Compulsions
I like my cereal soggy and with milk. If there's no skim milk available, I'll use a little bit of whole milk mixed with water. But it MUST be soggy. And never for breakfast.
Cook the Book: 'The Pioneer Woman Cooks'
Far and away, Serious Eats is my favorite.
Saturday Night.... in Albany...
This is a good dining guide:
http://www.metroland.net/guides/2009_fwdg/ssdg04_contents.htm
It has lots of great suggestions based on what type of food you're looking for.
If you're in the downtown area (Pearl St, Broadway), dp American Brasserie is great. Nice menu and lovely drinks. A step up from "low key," though. Also check out Wolff's Biergarten, which is fun, cheap, and delicious. And really the only reasonable place to go if you like to drink in the morning (just kidding, sort of). wolffsbiergarten.com
Hill Street Cafe is verrry laid back with an awesome neighborhood vibe and cheap prices for good bar food.
Capital Q is good bbq, but really more of a take out place.
Moldy Spoon Revisited. (Now with more EW!)
Two people in my household, same DW rules (no pots, pans or knives). I suppose we run it 1-2 times per week.
The Most Unhealthy Thing You've Ever Made
BTW, I've made unhealthier things, it's just that this particular meal was at the forefront of my mind. I seem to remember some type of alfredo sauce with cream, butter and cream cheese (?). That was pretty bad, and also pretty good.
The Most Unhealthy Thing You've Ever Made
Last night I ate 2 packages of ramen with 2 eggs, some broccoli, and 3 squares of tofu tempura. And then, just in case that wasn't enough, i had 4 pieces of cinnamon toast.
Is Locavorism For Rich Folks Only?
"Off the cuff: you could consider part of the cost of local vegetables (particularly heirloom) to be the seeds that you'll get that are proven to work in your local ecosystem. So, if you've got the time to invest, the higher cost will amortize over the successive generations of food that you can raise from the first purchase."
Nice theory. I buy into it every spring. This year was the worst ever. I got two heirloom tomato plants for $1.00 each at my local farmers market. And dirt. And pots. And some seedlings- squash, parsley, jalapenos, cucumbers. I ended up with 3/4 of a tomato (1/4 was buggy or rotted). Granted, it was the sweetest, most delicious tomato I ever tasted, but criminy. 4 months of careful tending, and i ended up with almost nothing.
I'll surely be romanced again next spring. I'm an incurable optimist when it comes to this sort of thing.
Moldy Spoon Revisited. (Now with more EW!)
Nothing to add, except that I love the title of your post. Best of luck to you and your moldy dishwasher situation.
hamburger contents?
Oh dear. It sounds like you might not be able to return it since you repackaged it and discarded the original packaging. I'd say you should call or write a letter (not an email) to WalMart headquarters. Explain the situation and ask them if they'd be willing to give you a refund, even without the package.
Good luck. Don't feed the beef to your family. Feed it to the dog or your garden. Let us know what happens.
Your Clever SE Name
Mine isn't food-related, it's just a nickname my grandparents had for me when I was little.
Does one need a microwave?
I've lived with and without a microwave. I prefer to have one, and like many others, I use it for reheating leftovers and the occasional Amy's frozen meal. The model I have is probably almost as old as I am and a hand-me-down x2. It meets my needs, but is far from being a must-have in the kitchen.
When did you know you were...
I'd say these events happened between age 5 and age 12.
*Great question, Chiff!
When did you know you were...
There were so many moments that reinforced my foodiness. Some of my earliest memories were of helping my mom dip and dredge eggplant, and helping my grandmother grind venison.
When I decided to stop eating meat (but not fish), my parents told me to prepare my own meals. There were many times they'd be eating pan fried hamburgers while I'd tuck in to shrimp scampi.
I can remember begging my mom to buy cornmeal so I could make a fish and chips recipe I'd seen on PBS. I had so much fun cutting the chips, soaking in cold water, and double frying.
Gadgets: Rival Crock Pot
I have the same crock pot that's pictured above, and it also came with the little dipper. I just used it yesterday for the first time in (???) to make a pork roast. I cut up an onion, a carrot and 2 ribs of celery the night before, and put everything in the crock pot with 1/2 packet of "oriental seasoning mix" from ramen and about a cup of water.
Sooo good and so easy.
Selenium: What it is and why it's good for you.
Or you know, you could just eat some beef, chicken, tuna, nuts, cottage cheese, rice or pasta instead.
Thanks for playing. Try again.
What Did You Eat Today?
Toast with laughing cow cheese
shells with very plain tomato sauce
Chicken chow mai fun
Do You Have a Favorite Frozen Apple Pie?
Nana's pies were always so...uniform. But she swears that they're home made. Nana lies a lot.
What Did You Eat Today?
For 10/11:
"breakfast ramen" with an egg, broccoli, soy, sambal paste, thin slices of onion and zucchini
A bite of SO's chicken sandwich
Spaghetti with home made sauce and hot italian sausage- I made it, but it did not come out very wll. I thought I had a can of whole peeled tomatoes in the pantry, but I was wrong. Sauce was kind of smooth and one-dimensional, and I really don't care for italian sausage, but hey, it needed to be used, and SO will eat it.
The day in food started off pretty well, and just went down hill.
A bit too many Asian-themed articles on this site?
Skip things that don't hold your interest. I don't bake, but I find it pretty easy to click pass those posts.
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
@nightowl, are you suppossed to refrigerate tapioca? i have it in my pantry.
What's your spice aversion?
CUMIN... after 3 weeks in India a few years ago, i developed an aversion to cumin after a whole week straight of eating food seasoned with cumin. Everything tasted the same.
Now, I can't even smell it at the supermarket.
marinara separating?
I'm with @dvchurch. Don't cook it too long. Marinara is my go to I have no time to make dinner dinner because it cooks in a half hour.
I use a tablespoon and a half or so of olive oil, a good pile of minced garlic, hot pepper seeds and salt to two big cans of peeled plum tomatoes that I squish in a bowl by hand before adding them to the pan. Cook until just thickened about a half hour then add some fresh basil.
I don't think marinara is supposed to be really thick like a "Sunday gravy" it should be light.
marinara separating?
I didn't read all the responses but have you ever added tomato paste? I usually add one 7-ounce can of tomato paste and one tomato-paste-can of water to every 28 oz. can of whole peeled tomatoes I use. It tastes great and does not separate.
What makes marinara "marinara" is the fact that it's meatless. It's "in the style of the mariner" who needed a product that would not turn rancid when brought out to sea for long periods of time.
marinara separating?
Use 2-3 TBS and saute it with the onion in the olive oil.
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
Fridge door inventory:
Butter saver shelf: carton of eggs, half a lime
Shelf 1: butter, ketchup, small cans of pineapple juice, a pineapple fruit cup, a bottle of fruit smoothie drink, 8 oz glass bottle of Dr Pepper
Shelf 2: spray margarine, peanut butter, sugar free strawberry preserves, bottled bbq sauce, tabasco, cream cheese, box of baking soda in a ziploc, cold brew coffee concentrate
Shelf 3: bottle of aloe vera infused lotion, bottle of sriracha, bottle of balsamic viniagrette, bottle of ranch dressing, bottle of Cristalino, sour mix
Shelf 4: chocolate syrup, sugar free chocolate syrup, hazelnut flavored syrup, 2 kinds of homemade bbq sauce, white vinegar, hummus, maraschino cherries, tapioca pearls
Some of this is undoubtedly completely weird.
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
I also have Dianas Spicy Southwest in my refrigerator! I brought it back from a trip to Nova Scotia.
When it comes to strange, hmmmm...strawberry vodka? Habanero Peach Preserves, szechuan salad dressing from the chinese market (I still have no idea what to do with it), yellow curry sauce, tandoor marinade, garlic scape pesto.
I also have a jar of Baconaise, not the stuff you have on the website, the packaged stuff not made with bacon.
Wasabi dressing from my trip to Vermont. I could go on and on...
marinara separating?
@ all ya'll
I drain the spaghetti well after it is boiled in plain old salt water. I do not rinse the pasta. If the bf is in the kitchen, he'll throw a little olive oil on it back in the dry pan. The only oil involved is at the start of the sauce when I cook the onions. Also, I'm only using about a T of tomato paste (frozen, since I never use the whole can, I freeze it in ~1T chunks, usually tossing one into a pot of sauce). Does that sound about right? Would more help?
This is part of the reason I loved the SE baked ziti so much, where you cook the noodles in the sauce and then bake it - never have that problem when using that technique.
marinara separating?
Ok no cornstarch! Use more tomato paste and saute it with the onions which makes a tomato paste/rouxish thing which will thicken your sauce. A lot of chuncked up tomatoes need a home to live in, so add some water or wine or stock to the party to thin out the tomato paste once it has sauteed.
Here is my question are you pouring oil in the pasta water. Some genius one thought this was a great idea. The starch is needed so the sauce will adhere to it. Do not rinse pasta and do not put oil in the pasta water.
marinara separating?
First I take out all the seeds,then take out as many stems as possible......oh shit....wait a minute....i THOUGHT the post was marijuana separating.....sorry......
Num Pang Sandwich Shop: What's in a Name? A Lot, As It Turns Out
Times must be touch; they're cutting back on the amount of grated carrots, cucumbers and cilantro they put on the sandwiches. I think I got 5 strips of grated carrot on the Veal Meatball Sandwich .. none of th emeatballs were sliced in half ... it looked like the guy just threw the stuff on the bread, flipped over the top half of the sandwich, stuck it in a styrofoam box and handed it to me. I was pleased with the taste of the meatballs but the sandwich I got was nothing like the one pictured above!
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
organic plain yogurt
butter
mozzarella cheese
2 types of soy sauce
oyster sauce
ketchup
dried up tahini
strawberry jam
Miracle Whip
Diana's Spicy Southwest marinade
stale Japanese vinaigrette
spare rib sauce
hoisin sauce
General Tao sauce
Italian dressing
Cesar salad dressing
molasses
sweet & sour sauce
yeast
canned cat & dog food
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
@angelfood thanks for the sorghum ideas!
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
Here's what to do with that sorghum: drizzle it over cornmeal pancakes
CORNMEAL PANCAKES FOR 2 ( recipe can be doubled )
3/4 cups cornmeal
3/4 cups boiling water
1/2 teaspoon salt
generous 1/3 cup unbleached flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1 egg
1 tablespoon light brown sugar or honey
1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup milk
Mix cornmeal with salt. Pour boiling water over and set aside.
Sift together flour and baking powder. Set aside.
Beat egg with oil and brown sugar. Stir in milk till well combined, then add to cornmeal. Mix well.
Stir in flour till just combined.
Cook on hot griddle. Serve with lashings of butter and sorghum. Sausage on the side goes well, as do fried apples. I don't eat meat so use Morningstar Farms links instead.
Now that frosty mornings are here, these should go down pretty good.
The best way to eat sorghum is fried grits but I can't find good white grits anymore....
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
All the usual things plus a jar of Garlic Jelly that I got at the Farmer's Market where my son sells the beef & pork from his ranch.
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
just about everything i thought was odd has been listed! i have evian spray
for my hot flashes, but peppermint is a great idea. i live in arizona, so
i keep my lipsticks there, and, i'm embarrassed to say, cigarettes, too...
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
@ jerzee-- how about doing some pineapple in light rum and apricots in the eau di vie?
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
Butter section:
-Butter
-baking yeast
-2 soup spoons (for when I have puffy eyes)
1st shelf:
-Brita pitcher
-sm bottle water
-toasted sesame oil
-maple syrup
-aging bottle of blueberry preserves
-Thai red curry paste that I don't know what to do with but it sounded good when I bought it
-aging bottle of horseradish (I keep forgetting to get some more)
-tabasco
-porcini powder (I LOVE this stuff!)
-Joy perfume
-Origins eye depuffer (which I keep forgetting about)
2nd shelf
-club soda
-big bottle of pelegino
-vermouth
-a beer (which will be gone shortly after I get home)
-almond oil
-low-sodium soy sauce (which I hate but I can't quite bring myself to throw it out)
-Pearl River Mushroom soy sauce (THIS is the stuff that I do use)
-HP sauce (fell for an englishman a couple years ago and I thought he'd like it... he's ancient history but the sauce lives on forever)
-A1 sauce
-the everpresent ketchup
-4 kinds of mustard
-taco sauce
-chili sauce
So all in all nothing too terribly odd.
@wasliche-- I didn't know abut storing your birth control in the fridge (was never a problem... still isn't... Viva la Menopause!!!!)
@jerzee-- I have got to try those cherries, they sound wonderful!
Cook the Book: 'The Pioneer Woman Cooks'
Hard to choose. I started out in food blog land with I Was Just Hungry.
Cook the Book: 'The Pioneer Woman Cooks'
Thank you for participating, and congratulations to our winners:
nmallory
RossS
merckurybubbles
Sharon H.
wwe11
Winners have been notified by email and also appear on our Contest Winners page.
Cook the Book: 'The Pioneer Woman Cooks'
Divine Caroline is one of my favs
What strange things are in the door of your fridge?
Great topic!
@Twistie - I too have tonkatsu sauce, aloe vera gel and ponzu sauce in my fridge door! Are we fridge twins?
In addition I have:
-flax oil
-yuzu citrus dressing
-mirin
-hon tsuyu (a soup and sauce base)
-red curry paste
-anko (Japanese red bean paste)
-Patagonian dulce de leche (from a friend who visited Argentina)
-wasabi
Cook the Book: 'The Pioneer Woman Cooks'
Serious Eats and The Wicked Noodle. Looks like a lot of people like Smitten Kitchen, so I'm going to have to check that out!
Cook the Book: 'The Pioneer Woman Cooks'
Serious Eats & Chocolate & Zucchini.
Recent Posts
In response to feriorrenna, what was the last INTERESTING thing?
Posted by Kerosena, December 19, 2008 at 5:12 PM
Lay down the boogie and play that funky music til ya die
Posted by Kerosena, April 16, 2008 at 10:27 PM
I must confess...I had a naughty dream about Mario Batali.
Posted by Kerosena, April 11, 2008 at 11:09 AM
Are you sick of winter? What is your ideal summertime meal?
Posted by Kerosena, February 12, 2008 at 10:41 AM
Recent Favorites
Kerosena hasn't favorited a post yet.
Polls
Kerosena hasn't answered any polls yet.
Quizzes
Kerosena hasn't taken any quizzes yet.
Most asian markets sell packaged steamed ramen (rather than fried). If I don't feel like using the spice packet, I mix up some chili oil, soy sauce, and maybe some furikake for the broth.