The grocery store I go to sells bags of grains: big bulk bags of flour, oatmeal, rice, etc. They're labelled by the store, not by some company. The other day, I bought cornmeal, and when I got it home, realized it said "whole germ" rather than "whole grain." Is it the same as whole grain, or does "whole germ" imply that the hulls were taken out? Thanks!

I'm looking for a present idea for a chiropractor who has helped me out quite a bit, and figured that food is always appreciated. You guys have yet to fail me, so I figured I'd ask here! Here are the parameters: From what I've seen at chiro and PT offices in this area (and maybe other areas too, I don't know), it's probably better if it can be opened and shared at the office, rather than for him to take home and eat. He's also an athlete, so while dessert ideas are fine, I'd prefer not to give him Paula Deen Cake with five sticks of butter. Also, I'm a grad student in a small town, so recipes with expensive or hard to find ingredients and/or very time consuming recipes are out. Finally, I have no idea if there are any food allergies at the office, so I'm not sure what the etiquette is on that (I'm assuming it's a good idea to stay away from the potentially life threatening ones like nuts, but don't know what people generally expect as far as things like dairy and gluten). Thanks everyone!

I don't know if figuring out this recipe is possible, but if anyone can do it, it's you guys. My dad really misses my grandmother's ravioli. I'd like to surprise him with as close a replication as possible for father's day, but sadly, when my grandmother died, we weren't able to find any of her old recipes. To make matters even more complicated, I've never even tasted these ravioli, so all I can do is go off of a description. I know it's a meat ravioli (probably beef) with lemon in the filling (I don't know if this is juice or zest or what). Also, my grandmother was Polish, though my grandfather was Italian and I guess it's possible she got the recipe from his side of the family, and my dad clearly called them ravioli rather than pierogi. I know my dad will eat any homemade pasta and be perfectly content, but the closer I can get to my grandmother's recipe, the better! Thanks!

I opened a can of sardines today and was greeted by some weird organ sticking out of one of the fish.
In the fish: http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/3904/sardine1.jpg
Removed for a sense of scale: http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/4348/sardine2.jpg
It was big and hard, and it looked like there were eggs or something on it. Are those really big fish gonads? I couldn't handle the idea of eating gonads, so I threw out the offending organ and ate the rest. My curiosity is killing me here...does anyone eat that or am I supposed to throw it out?

I made pancakes for my family this morning, but instead of going with the tried and true buttermilk recipe I always use, I decided to experiment a little. For the liquid, I used half a cup of coffee instead of buttermilk or milk. Cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg for spices. AP flour (I don't know how much because I just kept putting it in until the texture looked right). Started with half a cup of brown sugar. Half a stick of butter. Appropriate amounts of baking powder and soda. Started with two eggs. Threw it in the pan and...disaster! It ran all over the place. I added more flour...same problem. After wasting a ton of the batter adding different things, I finally got it to work. By the end, I had added several cups of flour, 3 additional eggs, way more brown sugar, more spices and some milk. I had also wasted a ton of the original batter, so it had less coffee, butter, and baking powder and soda. My family said they loved them, and I'd like to make it for them again, but avoid the first hour of failed pancakes, and I have no idea what the final proportions were. The original batter smelled way better than the finished one, so I can't help but wonder what they would have thought if I hadn't messed it up. Also, they were also a little on the flat side since they didn't have as much baking powder and soda as originally planned. Anyone have any idea what went wrong? I guess I'd need more dry ingredients and eggs in the beginning (or less coffee and butter), but does anyone have any ideas on proportions? Thanks!

My family made lobster tails and we have all the shells left. They're only the shells from the tails, and they were originally frozen. Can they still be made into stock? If so, should I roast them beforehand (as I saw in a couple recipes) or are they okay since they were cooked when the meat was cooked? Can I make it like I made chicken stock or do I have to do anything differently? Can I use shrimp tails too or would that be gross? And how much water can I use in comparison to the shells? Thanks!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40357712/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/?gt1=43001

Really interesting article. I'm not sure it's yet another disorder that needs a name (God knows we overdiagnose everything already), but I totally buy that there's a biological component. Sheds a new light on all those topics about someone's boyfriend who eats "like a little kid." Looks like there's a possibility they may want to try new foods and expand their diet, but just aren't able to (at least not easily).

I've seen so many posts lately where people look at something and say something along the lines of "This isn't Serious Eats!" or "Mixes aren't serious! It's not hard to make it from scratch!" or "How can you call this Serious Eats!" So...what is Serious Eats to you?

I like this place because I've learned a lot here. My cooking has improved since I've started reading the site, and I've gotten some great recipe ideas and cooking tips. I also love reading the comparisons of different brands of food (since unlike many of the restaurants, they're actually things that are accessible to me), and I'm a really big fan of Kenji's lab and the US of Pizza series. I also enjoy the humor in the Talk section. I'm not a serious chef, I'm a serious eater, and that means eating what tastes good, even if it's not considered gourmet or foodie-approved or "serious" (whatever that means) or whatever. Labels are for posers.

Thanks Adam and company for keeping up the site! :)

Interesting article: http://consumerist.com/2010/10/suss-out-fakers-at-farmers-markets.html

Another thing is that farmers' markets don't always mean organic. I was at a farmer's market once where I found out that every apple farmer used chemical pesticides. I guess I always just assumed that farmers' markets didn't...which, in retrospect, was a pretty dumb assumption. After all, farmers' markets don't automatically mean every farmer is organic. Which leads me to a question....given the choice between local, conventionally grown and non-local organic, what would be your pick? (Assume local organic isn't an option)

I heard that PB&Co is the new title sponsor of the Twenty12 women's professional cycling team. I've seen articles by Lee Zalban on this site, so I hope he reads this. I just wanted to say that's awesome, and thanks for supporting women's professional sports. You have my business! (Alright, so maybe I already bought your peanut butter whenever I saw it, but now I'll go out of my way to find it!) Best of luck to you and the team.

I've been put in charge of a cranberry side dish for Thanksgiving this year, but normal cranberry sauce isn't very popular with my family. I was hoping to make something a little healthier, since our table already has butter-heavy dishes that would make Paula Deen proud and everyone else's arteries seize up upon glancing at them. We already have a salad, and my aunt usually brings a baked sweet potato and apple dish. I thought about a baked cranberries and squash dish, but I'm afraid that's too close to my aunt's recipe. I also considered a cranberry risotto, but that's the only other thing coming to mind. Any ideas? Thanks so much!

I have a half-marathon coming up in Pittsburgh and need some restaurant suggestions.

Dinner: Relatively inexpensive Italian restaurant with large portions and a marinara or pomodoro that's not very oily. Fresh pasta is preferred, but dry pasta is okay too. A bread basket with Italian bread (not buttery garlic bread) is also a plus. I'm being a little picky here, but I like to keep everything semi-controlled before races. I'd probably just bring dinner in a tupperware for myself, but my dad's coming along and I hate to make him eat alone and/or make him eat tupperware pasta!

Lunch the next day: I can have a little more fun now that the race will be done! My dad's not a very adventurous eater, and I've watched him push his food around his plate at Indian and less Americanized Mexican restaurants before, so at least one or two "safe" options are a must. And nothing overly greasy, please. It'll be a Sunday afternoon, and I've heard Pamela's is pretty good...will they still be serving breakfast that late? I've also heard great stuff about Pittsburgh pierogies. Alternately, a buffet is always nice post-race. Again, inexpensive is a good thing.

Thanks for any suggestions! (And for putting up with my pickiness!)

My little brother is turning 21 this weekend, and I thought it would be appropriate to make a cake with some kind of alcohol in it. I was going to do the Irish Cake Bomb (Guinness chocolate cake with Bailey's icing), but I found out today he doesn't like Guinness. So now I'm trying to think of a new idea. Maybe a Kahlua cake? Or a rum cake made with Malibu? Something else with Bailey's? Or maybe Amaretto? What kind of recipes have you guys had good luck with? Thanks in advance!

I'm moving soon and want to put together a little gift basket for the local running store that sponsored me for the past year and a half, but I'm not sure what to put in it. I was thinking maybe a bottle of wine and homemade cookies or a dessert bread or something like that, but I'm open to other ideas. There is one catch though...the woman who's done the most for the team is celiac, so everything has to be gluten-free, which is the main reason I'm totally stumped right now, since all the cookies and bread I've ever made involve flour. I did a little bit of Googling, but am afraid to just pick a random gluten-free recipe because I'm worried that it'll either be tricky to cook or taste like crap. Thanks in advance!

I've wanted to try Kefir for a while, but it's so expensive, so I kept putting it off. (I know you can make your own, but I didn't want to get cultures until I know for sure I could use it as quickly as I was making it.) However, today I had a coupon, so now I have a quart of Kefir in the fridge! It's the original flavor, so I'm free to do as I please with it without having to worry about strange flavorings. So far, I've mixed some up with some fresh fruit and whey protein and made a smoothie. It was tasty, so I wouldn't mind using it for more smoothies, but I was wondering if there was something else worth trying? I have some Kashi GoLean Crunch that I think it will go well with, but that's not so much a recipe as me dumping liquid-y yogurt on my cereal. Any other ideas? Thanks guys!

Reading all these topics about cereal made me REALLY hungry for cereal. Well, I was at Whole Foods today, and had a coupon for a box of Cascadian Farm cereal. I found a Cinnamon Toast Crunch copycat called Cinnamon Crunch. When I got to my car, I decided I couldn't wait to get home to try it. Big mistake...it was REALLY good, and I housed the entire box in the parking lot, sans milk or anything. Very similar to Cinnamon Toast Crunch, just not as sugary and a little more wheat-y tasting.

Now my question...even with my coupon, I paid $4 for this cereal. I can probably find the store brand Cinnamon Toast Crunch for $2, and the slight improvement in taste probably isn't worth double the price, especially when I'm eating the entire box in 10 minutes. But is the "healthy" version actually better for you? No HFCS, but it's still got sugar (8 grams per serving, so 80g in the box, oops). And it's organic and whole grain, but I think that normal Cinnamon Toast Crunch is whole grain too now. If it's actually that much better for you, I don't mind spending the extra cash. But is it all a big marketing ploy to appeal to everyone who thinks organic always means healthy?

With all the controversy surrounding the latest Served columns, I realized I had a question about tipping. I posted it under one of the comments sections, but it (understandably) got lost in the flood of comments.

At normal restaurants, I tip 20% unless the service was exceptional, in which case I leave a little extra, so I am not an intentionally stingy tipper. Anyway, I often go to bagel shops and buy day old bagels, where you can get a dozen bagels for $3-5, depending on the shop. They're always pre-bagged and are sitting on a shelf in the corner of the shop. These shops also make made-to-order sandwiches and serve coffee and whatnot, so the receipt has a line for tips on it (and on the rare occasion I get a sandwich, I do leave a tip). I realize that at some point someone had to prepare and bag the bagels, but I've never tipped, since I just figured I was picking up a bag and all the cashier had to do was swipe my credit card. But now I'm worried that I'm really in the wrong, and should have been tipping all this time. What do you say, Serious Eaters? Tip to pick up the bag of day olds, and if so, how much?

I went to an Asian-style buffet, and they had these little dumpling looking things labeled "Sweet Fruit Buns" and "Barbeque Buns." I picked up one of each, and they were really good. (Good enough that I went back and picked up more). I Googled them when I got home, and I think they're called Baozi, and I think the barbeque ones were Cha Siu Baau. However, I can't figure out what the fruit ones were. The fruit had a pink-ish tint to it, had a grainy-seedy texture, and was very sweet. Any idea what this was? Thanks!

I just bought a couple of Eye of Round steaks and don't know what to do with them. I've been told this can be a hard meat to cook because it's pretty lean, but I bought it because I do tend to prefer leaner meat and don't mind if it's a little tougher. So how do I cook this? I'm hoping to keep its lean properties and not add too much extra oil. I'm such a cooking n00b when it comes to meat that's not ground meat that I don't even know where to begin. Thanks in advance!

Stumbled upon this site recently. No one is ever allowed to complain about the nasty things their in-laws serve anymore. On the bright side, it probably works well for weight control. There's zero calories if you don't eat it...
http://www.candyboots.com/wwcards.html
I can't decide which one looks the worst.

I'm in love with it. But I get the feeling that it's probably not that hard to make and isn't actually worth the $8 a pound they want for it. The problem is I have no idea what they're seasoning it with, or how they make it or anything. My tofu experience is pretty much limited to chopping it up and tossing it in a stir fry. I figure they probably freeze it first because the texture is different than the stuff I stir fry (usually because I'm impatient and want to eat it as soon as I buy it), but what else do they do? And if I do freeze it, do I drain it first? Anyone have any idea what else goes into making it? Thanks!

Not necessarily deep dish, but a nice thick chewy crust you can bite into. Can it be done without a pizza oven? And is it possible to make with whole wheat flour (or if not all whole wheat, 50/50 whole wheat and white flour)? A friend of mine tried to do a deep dish, and while it was actually very good considering it was done in a conventional oven, it was in the oven forever, and still didn't seem to cook all the way through. Thanks!

If I have time, I really like cooking up a bowl of steel cut oats, which I then eat plain and unadulterated, because I love their flavor and texture. However, when I don't have the time and don't think about cooking the oats in advance (which happens a lot), I still enjoy rolled oats. Though I sometimes eat them plain, I'll also sometimes add other food. I've done peanut butter, applesauce and raisins, dried cranberries, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, cinnamon, different types of nuts, and today I got the idea to try ginger (which I am eating now and think is fantastic, by the way). Sometimes milk goes in, sometimes not. I've added flax seed, but didn't think that added much as far as taste goes. Lafayette, CO holds an annual oatmeal festival where they offer a topping bar with 150(!) toppings, ranging from fruit (fresh, dried, and sweetened like pie filling) to candy to nuts and seeds to whatever else they think you might want in your oats, which opened my eyes to just how creative you can really be. So what do you like in your oatmeal? (And yes, I'll probably be stealing ideas. I'm totally on an oatmeal kick right now.)