Profile

AcaciaWildwood

I work for myself from home as a Logistics / Freight Audit Specialist and fill my down time with special moments in the kitchen creating, improving, discovering and fulfilling.

  • Location: Oregon
  • Favorite foods: I love Polynesian food and a good steak, as well as shellfish and other goodies from the sea, rivers and lakes.
  • Last bite on earth: The roast pork and everything from the fresh poke counter at Alicia's Market on Oahu. Pure. Bliss.

AHT Giveaway: Case of Pat LaFrieda Burgers

It would be mid-Summer on my back deck because by that time of year all my vegetables and herbs in the container garden will be in full bloom. It'd make the perfect setting to enjoy a delicious meal and look over the fruits of my hard work putting up produce for my family and friends. I can't wait for the harvest!!

The Food Lab: How To Preserve Fresh Spring and Summer Produce

I've got so much being planted in my container garden on my deck this year that come harvest time, this info is going to be very handy - thank you!!

This Week at Serious Eats World Headquarters

The picture of Yuba trying to get away from Mr. Bear reminds me of photos I have of my youngest trying to get away from Santa Claus. Can't wait for the post about that prime rib!!

The Napoli Panda Burger, a Spaghetti-topped Burger from Lotteria Japan

Noooooooo thank you.

Serious Entertaining: A New England Seafood Dinner

@Kenji: The write-up you did about the clam bake on the beach (loved it and have it saved), you mentioned having "oyster hash" the next day for brunch using some of the leftovers. Do you have a recipe for that you can share? I was just talking to family last weekend about when we're going to do our next seafood feast on my deck and would love to be prepared for making this the day after.

AHT Giveaway: Case of Pat LaFrieda Burgers

I hate it when the person in charge of the grilling turns beautifully formed and seasoned patties with so much potential....into rock hard, blackened hockey pucks, the kind that are good for nothing but breaking a tooth on. It's even more infuriating when the person who cooked them doesn't see the problem - the burgers are perfect as far as they're concerned. UGH!!!

Pork Blood Popsicles?

I consider myself pretty adventurous and having grown up in a Polynesian / Japanese home, have eaten my share of things that truly shocked the kids from my Midwestern home town - but the one thing that always comes to mind insofar as "Not even going to try it" is a sea cucumber. The slime and goo those things rely on for defense just grosses me the ef out and I've seen enough of them at the fish markets in Hawaii to convince me it'd just be a bad idea for me. Blargh.....

How do you like your potato salad?

I like mine best when it's purchased at the Deli because I absolutely SUCK SUCK SUCK at making potato salad. Kenji can't cook rice without a cooker and I can't cook potatoes for a salad to save my LIFE. I've given up. It's far less stressful to just buy it.

AHT Giveaway: Case of Pat LaFrieda Burgers

Has to be the Royal BBQ burger that I had at W&M Bar-B-Q Burgers in Honolulu. They flame grill their patty, then soak it - SOAK IT - in this special secret sauce for a few minutes before it gets assembled with your choice of toppings into the final product. I've never had one prepared this way or since and it was DIVINE.

Any must-do places in Portland, OR?

...I think I worded that poorly. I meant in addition to all the places Maggie suggested, which are rock solid recommendations, also try....

Any must-do places in Portland, OR?

Pine State Biscuits on top of all the other places Maggie suggested. Voodoo Doughnuts for the bacon maple bar and Olympic Provisions for any of their salamis or the Viking Mary they serve during brunch. Lincoln Restaurant is also one that won't disappoint and the Pulehu Pizza food cart is making a name for themselves too. Have fun!

This Week at Serious Eats World Headquarters

Doggy Drool!! LOL!! Ew.

Good luck on your new adventure, Carey - I hope it's everything you imagine it will be and more.

What Gross Food Stuff Did You Do as a Kid?

*My Youngest Son: Makes cinnamon toast, pours milk into a bowl, sits at the table dipping the toast into the milk until it's soggy, then sucking the milk out of the bread before eating it. Grosses me out listening to it so I go in the other room.

**My Two Youngest Sisters: The youngest would stand in the kitchen with her head back and her mouth open while the other sister would pour Morton table salt straight from the canister into her gaping maw to see how much she could handle before barfing it all up in the sink. ....da hell?

***Me: I'd take a single strand of spaghetti, hold onto one end of it and put the rest in my mouth....swallow....then slooooooooooowly pull it back up my throat and out of my mouth...then repeat a few more times before finally just eating the pasta. ....no idea where I got that sick idea from.

Save Your Recipes With Our New Recipe Box Feature!

I started using it last night - loving it....makes it so much easier to sort and locate the recipes I've got saved as links in a Chrome folder. Now I can consolidate them all here and cut down on the lists I've got that take forever to scroll through. Thanks!

In Our Community Corner: Meet Devany Lister Aley (aka: MissMochi)

I love these Community Corner write-ups because I get to see how closely my mental image of a Commentator matches the real deal in pictures. MissMochi your comments are always so bubbly, upbeat and fun - they fit your beautiful and energetic smile perfectly! I'm Polynesian with a little poi dog thrown in here and there myself, so Hawaii is also my #1 Spot for eating when I'm there a few times a year visiting family. Team Spam!

This Week at Serious Eats World Headquarters

@Red Ran - those owl pics are awesome! He looks pissed.

Serious Entertaining: Brunch Party Menu

Thanks for the link, Super - I was looking for that specific recipe in this article too. Looks delicious...

This Week at Serious Eats World Headquarters

Sweet picnic basket!! I need to get one. I see it says "Pure Leaf" on the tag - is there a model number? And will mine come with a Yuba?

Small Batch Sweets: Kopali Organic Chocolates

These look good! (typo in the title, btw)

I made taco shells out of cheese.

I'm going over to Thinking's place for brunch!

Over the river and through the woods... How'd you get here?

Like a few others, I followed Kenji here after an internet search for something related to Thanksgiving in 2010 brought up a link to the Food Lab. After spending most of that day reading through his column, I started poking around more on the site and before I knew it I was coming here multiple times a day. Love this site!

This Week at Serious Eats World Headquarters

@Kenji - do you have a broken finger in that adorable pic of you and Hambone snuggling on the rug? Ouch!

Steakcraft: Quality Meats' 'Butcher's Cut,' a 64 oz. Dry Aged Double Rib Steak

While I thought it looked delicious and I'd certainly be game for trying it, I actually have a question that is a little off on a tangent: Why did the carving board get oiled prior to the finished steak and accompaniments being place atop it? I admit I've never seen that done before.

Cook the Book: 'The Chinese Takeout Cookbook'

Oh I have this saved on my Wish List! I tend to go overboard when I'm ordering take-out and order with my eyes, but I always always always have to include beef and broccoli. I've been ordering this way for YEARS.

What's with ice water after eating ice cream?

I suspect I may have a slight lactose intolerance issue because after eating ice cream, my throat gets a tickle in it that makes me cough so I have to drink some water afterwards to get it to stop. I don't drink a lot of milk straight from the glass for the same reason.

Fridge Door Left Wide-Open All Night

I did a search of the topics with several different search variations and didn't quite come up with anything specific enough to be of use so I'm hoping fellow SE'ers can give me a hand here. Last night my youngest son inadvertantly left the fridge door open all night. Wide open. I discovered this when I went into the kitchen approx 11-12 hrs later. Everything in the fridge was warm. Like WARM WARM. The door wasn't ajar so even the glass bottles for condiments felt like they'd been sitting on the counter all night. I threw out all the perishables - dairy (full unopened gallon of milk - oy), meats, etc. - but am wondering about the jars and bottles of condiments. The sauerkraut? Yeah, I threw that. But since this isn't a matter of "do you keep it in the pantry or the fridge" but rather - it was all in the fridge and came up to room temp for quite some time....should I play it safe and toss it all? I have jars of ethnic sauces, jars of pickles, olives, Hawaiian chili pepper water, pickled garlic, char siu sauce, homemade chicken stock, rendered drippings from the Xmas bone-in ribeye roast. I don't want to risk food poisoning (I have Ogilvie Syndrome = very sensitive digestive tract to bacteria) but am cringing at the $ loss here to say the least. Any suggestions or links to a previous Talk topic I may not have found in my initial search are welcome!

I missed the "reduced giblets" memo....

Over the last coupla years I'd moved away from cooking whole chickens to pieces/whole cut-up but did notice that when I did purchase whole chickens....the giblets I'd come to expect were dwindling to the point to where I now only find the neck and livers in the cavities. Don't get me wrong - I still dig into the neck and livers....but did I miss a memo somewhere that shunned the addition of the heart and gizzard I so enjoyed? For what it's worth, I generally purchase Foster Farms brand when doing a whole bird.

Who have you recommended the SE site to?

I love this site and have recommended my sister as well as several friends check it out - and they all loved it! Then the other day I was on the phone with a wireless Carrier rep as I was placing an order for a new cellphone and as we were both killing time, making small talk while waiting for the order to go through...turns out she also had a passion for food. Without hesitation I started gushing about how awesome the SE site was, asked if she'd ever heard of the site. What? No? OMG! You gotta check it out! She was very interested and planned on jumping online as soon as she was done with her shift. That got me to thinking - have any of you ever found yourself in a random conversation with a stranger and suggested they come see all the glory that SE has to offer?

First Look: Sag Harbor's Sen Arrives in Manhattan

First Look: Sag Harbor's Sen Arrives in Manhattan View Slideshow

The newly minted Sen occupies an ambitiously large space on 21st street in Manhattan. The menu is a congruous blend of traditional and modern: classically prepared sushi and a broader, more eclectic kitchen menu with pan-Asian focus. If the concept sounds less than original, it's worth mentioning that Sen is an offshoot of the nearly two-decades-old Sag Harbor restaurant renowned for their sushi. More

The Ramen Rater's Top 10 Instant Noodles of 2013

The Ramen Rater's Top 10 Instant Noodles of 2013

I've been a fan of instant noodles all my life and in 2002, decided to turn this passion into a blog. While living in Seattle, I've found Asian grocery stores aplenty and my love affair with the instant noodle has only increased. Over the years, I've found some pretty amazing varieties; this list represents the best of the best. More

Get to Know Tianjin Food in Los Angeles

Get to Know Tianjin Food in Los Angeles View Slideshow

Located next to the bustling metropolis of Beijing, Tianjin is a northern Chinese city with a unique culinary culture of its own. Similar to its cousin Beijing but with a focus more on river fish and seafood given its proximity to the water, the cuisine is inundated with large helpings of noodles, Chinese-style pies, and baos. You can find a slice of the region's tastes in San Gabriel at Tianjin Bistro. More

Video: Alton Brown and The Food Lab Play With Chicken

Video: Alton Brown and The Food Lab Play With Chicken View Video

A few months back Alton Brown stopped by the office to chat with us about cooking and recipe writing. Now, chatting is all well and good, but I'm not going to pass up on the opportunity to actually cook with the man who made me want to do what I do today. To make it exciting, we grabbed the first raw ingredient we could find—a whole, head-on chicken from the Chinese supermarket around the corner—and placed a bet on it. More

The Burger Lab: The Ins-n-Outs of an In-N-Out Double-Double, Animal-Style

The Burger Lab: The Ins-n-Outs of an In-N-Out Double-Double, Animal-Style Get Recipe

Order In-N-Out's Double Double (two patties, two slices of cheese) Animal Style and the Double Double is brought to a whole new level: The onion slice gets replaced with a dollop of a sweet, darkly caramelized chopped onions, an extra stack of pickle chips goes underneath the tomato, and the patties get fried with mustard directly on the griddle. But while I've had my share of regular In-N-Out burgers, I've never had them Animal Style. That's something that needed to change, and stat. More

Seriously Asian: Velveting Meat

Seriously Asian: Velveting Meat Get Recipe

The Chinese technique of velveting meat is an oft-used yet underappreciated one. It refers to the coating of meat pieces in cornstarch, egg whites, wine, and other seasonings such as garlic and soy sauce, to make it more tender. Learning how to velvet meat is as integral to Chinese cooking as say, browning meat is for the French or Italian. More

Great Deviled Eggs

Great Deviled Eggs

Growing up, I was never a fan of deviled eggs (or anything mayonnaise related, for that matter), but then again, deviled eggs back then consisted mainly of overcooked, slightly sulfurous hard boiled eggs mashed up with Hellman's mayo and a bit of yellow mustard, served too cold. They were the default "serve them anyway, someone will eat them after the guacamole's gone" option at the potluck. I thought I'd swear them off forever. Well, times have changed. More