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What are your variations on cornbread?
I have a variety of recipes, so depending on what I am serving.....last night it was a bit sweeter variety with home canned green beans cooked with smoked pork shanks...dinner was a hurry up kinda deal.
But basically my recipes have sort of common ingredients and I use yellow cornmeal normally, or self-rising if I can find it.
My muffin pans are some old things, very thin and look like some early non-stick, being thin they brown wonderfully.....or I do cornbread in my iron skillet in the oven if I am using the self-rising recipe.
Pinto bean soup is one of my faves also, years ago found a recipe for Arizona Mountain Soup, it's a keeper
Zapp
What is your favorite fast food on road trips?
We have a tendency to do marathon driving when we go cross-country, like mainly driving all night and into the next day when we stop and sleep. So we end up with a sort of day and a half long day. Because we are confined to the van that long, we really only eat breakfasts. Our good luck holds well for picking good breakfast places, including Lilo's in Seligman AZ.... and others that I can't name now. But once down south (we both have early childhood and early adulthood memories) and will just start drooling at Waffle Houses and in Florida, Huddle Houses. Nothing fancy, just good quantities and I like the fact that you can see eggs being broken, bacon and home fries on the grill, nothing that is not prepared fresh right in front of you.
Zapp
How did you first hear of serious eats?
I found you through A Hamburger Today, but had also seen other mentions, finally just HAD to see what it was about. I like the variety offered here, all sorts of interesting things that land here just because they are good.
Zapp
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What's in your kitchen junk drawer?
I guess I've moved too often for a wondrous drawer like that....my kitchen junk drawer has "stuff" related to kitchen use in it. Right now there are some thermal cups that I use once every two years, a thermos that someone gave me, a new package of bamboo skewers (in standby mode) an old anodized (50's) mixing cup, the kind with a lid, put stuff in it and shake until you arm falls off.....and some candy thermometers and an oven thermometer, a plastic cutting board with a crack (won't I find a use for it some day?) and knives that have not passed muster and are waiting to go to St. Vinnies.
Yours sounds like a lot more fun. Most of the stuff that is in your junk drawer is in my office supply area.....which covers a bit more than one drawer.
Zapp
What are your variations on cornbread?
I have a variety of recipes, so depending on what I am serving.....last night it was a bit sweeter variety with home canned green beans cooked with smoked pork shanks...dinner was a hurry up kinda deal.
But basically my recipes have sort of common ingredients and I use yellow cornmeal normally, or self-rising if I can find it.
My muffin pans are some old things, very thin and look like some early non-stick, being thin they brown wonderfully.....or I do cornbread in my iron skillet in the oven if I am using the self-rising recipe.
Pinto bean soup is one of my faves also, years ago found a recipe for Arizona Mountain Soup, it's a keeper
Zapp
What is your favorite fast food on road trips?
We have a tendency to do marathon driving when we go cross-country, like mainly driving all night and into the next day when we stop and sleep. So we end up with a sort of day and a half long day. Because we are confined to the van that long, we really only eat breakfasts. Our good luck holds well for picking good breakfast places, including Lilo's in Seligman AZ.... and others that I can't name now. But once down south (we both have early childhood and early adulthood memories) and will just start drooling at Waffle Houses and in Florida, Huddle Houses. Nothing fancy, just good quantities and I like the fact that you can see eggs being broken, bacon and home fries on the grill, nothing that is not prepared fresh right in front of you.
Zapp
How did you first hear of serious eats?
I found you through A Hamburger Today, but had also seen other mentions, finally just HAD to see what it was about. I like the variety offered here, all sorts of interesting things that land here just because they are good.
Zapp
Refrigerator magnets, do you collect?
My RM's are limited to a few that hubby made for me, carved out of wood, a lamb, a fish. Also one magnetic picture frame and the whole rest of the freezer section is filled with GLOW in the DARK Refrigerator Poetry.....and hubby and I can sometimes be found just standing in front of the closed frig reworking our little fantasy stories......nut cases, that's us. We don't require that it be poetry, just weird stories........
Natural cook top cleaner?
If you use any cleaner like Simple Green, definitely do go over it with vinegar afterwards.
I would be concerned with Barkeepers Friend as it has a bit of abrasive, but if you don't rub too hard and rinse well, you should be ok. Barkeepers Friend is much like Zud, Zud works better, goes after "organics" so if I spill something that burns onto the top, I use Zud, then rinse like a maniac and glosss over all with vinegar.
My cooktop is also black and looks gross and smeary most of the time....yuck.
Feeling cheesy?
Cheese fiend here, almost any kind, with or without other foods. I prefer to just taste the cheese, not mixed in with other foods. I find I eat less of it if I keep to just tasting the cheese itself.
But I grew up in a city that had this wacko restaurant that made things like peanut butter bacon hamburgers and grilled cheese sandwiches to kill for. Mind you this would have been pre1960, so it was new and different to us all. The grilled cheese was the classic kind, but at the absolute last moment before it came from the kitchen they opened it up and slapped in cold lettuce and tomato.......had to be eaten immediately but was divine. I always thought it needed some of that bacon on it also.
Pressure cookers....do you use one?
I have two, both obsolete so when the gaskets finally go, they are headed to the trash bin.....what a shame!
If I am running short on time, I have a tendency to look at the pressure cooker or the pressure pan to see if I can bail my fat out of the fire. But I cook stuffed cabbage in the cooker, and I have been known to stuff a whole chicken in the smaller pressure pan when I run out of dog food. Also, for the human members of the family, I have pre-cooked a whole chicken for gumbo. When it is done, I just cool it a bit pull the skin out, cool the meat and cut it up, the juice goes in the frig to defat itself and then I can construct a pot of gumbo in a slightly shorter period of time.
There are good new cookbooks out, some with multiple meals that are cooked in one pot..... I love mine.
Zapp
ZZZ....bedtime foods
Since I read in bed for hours....my bedtime snack must be non liquid in nature and mostly portable. Also my 85# puppy likes to "help" me stay trim by assisting me with said snack.
In light of these facts, my snack is almost always a custard cup of Cheerios, sometimes with a handful of wasabi peas. I am careful not to share the wasabi peas with the puppy.
My hubby is often up in the middle of the night also and I can hear the Cheerios or Raisin Bran hit the dish, but his is with milk.
Zapp
What's your favorite non-chocolate candy?
Similar list...........
black licorice, the softer kinds, not the ones like my van tires
almond brittle, actually I've never met a brittle I didn't like
spice gum drops, in "traditional" flavors only
salt water taffy
so many of the old fashioned candies are just not the same....Walnettos, the taffy on sticks....whatever your area called them are just faint imitations....or is that my taster?
Anything else, must be dark chocolate to come into the house
Zapp
How Do You Eat Your Bagel?
On the left coast, we lived in sometimes isolated Humboldt County California .....we DID however have Los Bagels. Honestly, I could walk in and be transported. L.B. was started by a guy who missed real bagels, so you know they were good. I never heard anyone order a toasted bagel, didn't think it was done.
So..... an onion bagel, schmear (and you had to tell them or they went at it with a BIG blob), then it was topped with a pile of sweet sweet shredded carrots, minced black olives and just a few rounds of green onion. That was on each half and you HAD to eat it open faced. Big Sigh.
I haven't been in Humboldt for about 7 years now, I would hope they are still there and making good bagels........
Zapp
need reccos for the strongest blender ever
I'd have to "test drive" a Blentec myself, but personally I couldn't kill my old stainless steel Vitamix'......I've had several because I've moved a lot and I'd sell one and end up buying another, and these stainless ones are ancient. Yes, it does ice, makes soups, smoothies to die for, etc. Somehow I have a bit less faith in a blender that resorts to chopping up cell phones and iphones......makes me wonder what they are hiding. Probably nothing, but I'd have to have one in my kitchen for a while to decide.
Zapp
Condiments are like old friends...
I like seafood cocktail sauce in lieu of catsup..... I have Dijon mustard in the frig, it is growing elderly.
Sweet.....Mae Ploy sweet chilli sauce for things like ramen soup, well ok, on lots of other things too.
For Pickled, it has to be giardiana......oh boy, bet I spelled that wrong, but the hot pickled veggies in a jar.... Also sweet pickle relish.
Hmmmmm, I notice a trend here, even my sweet condiment is sort of hot. I like most chutneys, but find vinegars seem to end up being used for window washing......
Excuse me now....I feel the need to visit the kitchen, my mouth is watering.
Zapp
Cook the Book: 'Southern Belly'
Best southern.....easy. DH and I were driving east and road repairs were making us nutty. We pulled off the highway at Delhi Louisiana and realized it was after 10PM, but we found the greatest little storefront restaurant. It just happened to be all you can eat shrimp night and in addition to a huge pile of shrimp, they actually had like one bowl of gumbo left.......OMG, we could have (and did) drive with smiles on our faces the rest of the night.
Can't tell you the restaurant's name, nor the street.....but the memory is still sharp and clear.
It was just good homestyle cooking, the BEST.
What recipes have you retired?
We seem to eat simpler as we age, so into retirement went any complicated recipes. Now if I have to follow a two page "formula" I have to be very serious about making said item.
For years I have collected dessert recipes, classics, fancies, thousands of great cookies both regional and seasonal.........these are not only retired, but have a new home with a young baker. In trade, I get desserts from her bakery, what few we eat.
I cook with "real" ingredients also, if I don't know what an ingredient is on a product, it doesn't come home with me. No chemicals if I can help it. Cool Whip..... can you remember the first time you saw it? Wow, the consistency, the sensual scoopi-ness of it and soooooo darned convenient........Yack, it's fake and just as easy to make whipped cream IMHO.
Zapp
Do you know where your meat really comes from?
We have been vegetarians in the past, then changed and ate all meats that tasted good to us. But we are somewhat returning to our former state as it is getting harder to purchase locally (our state or the next one to us) grown, organic, free range chickens. Fish comes from the local fishermen, etc. There is one remaining pork company available to us that doesn't have "18-20% water added", I truly resent paying for a product of unknown origin with 20% water added so that I actually pay even more for taking the chance, so we are almost not eating pork. I like nothing more than a medium rare steak, but those are getting harder to come by in our location.
So we are back to being more and more vegetarian in our meals, and we are probably better off for it.
Of all Doughnuts...May favorite is....
seldom indulge, but when I do......it is chocolate frosted and has a cream filling. Now I am drooling. Crullers are a very, very close second. I assess which looks better the moment before I choose, but normally the chocolate frosted ones win.
Post your profession...
I'm a 65 year young retiree....looking for my next occupation. Currently I'm trying to learn how to write, after reading voraciously all my life.. I've done a bit of editing in the past and written a newsletter for an orchid society, and articles regarding computers and their operation. I've been messing with computers since the early 70's.
I'm retired from Economic and Small Biz Development in CA, living in mid-coastal OR....home of no restaurants and no grocery stores of any merit....LOL. I do a lot of beading, primarily dog portraits and this is my relaxation....mindless stitching of wee beads..it's great.
Aren't we a wonderfully diverse group? It makes me happy to see younger people very interested in food, in my age group everyone is taking Geritol and eating soft foods....borrrrring. I like ethnic foods of Eastern Europe, India, Mexico, and I love Cajun food too.
;)
Where's everybody from?
Mid-coastal Oregon, near the town of Florence. In addition to a lack of decent restaurants, we have two high priced grocery stores, Safeway (Spaceway) and Fred Meyer (now owned by Kroger....which is an improvement). We pay the same prices here as they pay in Alaska (read: very high) and are also without any butcher or decent bakery.
We shop for everything we can twice a month at Winco, an employee owned smallish chain where everything is modestly priced and the employees are happy. Going to Winco is a 120 mile round trip, but the savings more than pays for our gasoline. Trader Joes is also in the same town (Eugene OR) and I love to go in there and especially for the green corn tamales...and wasabi peas and lovely things like that. Yum.
This is a hard place to live if you like food, we grow a garden and shop the lone farmer's market when it is there.... We do have a good fresh seafood shack, and we buy there when we can. Whadda place, but we DO live in the middle of a National Forest in a small quiet neighborhood.....the trade off is always a debate.
What do you do with an avocado?
A good avocado is a treasure and in season.....cut it in half, get out the cayenne pepper and some really plain corny crisp tortilla chips and a spoon and go at it. Cayenne sprinkled on the half and then just a bite of avocado, chip, avocado, chip and sooner than you wish it to happen........done. DH of course gets the other half, seeds go to the greenhouse in a bucket and grow like mad. I have one now that is 7 years old and I am expecting an avocado next year....or else.
I have nothing against any of the other methods, they are all worthy, especially on BLTs
What fruit could you eat every day for the rest of your life?
The only fruit I've never gotten tired of is strawberry.... I can max out on nanners (besides the dogs get all drooly and want their share....sheesh) and apples like Waltannas and Honeycrisps (although it is tougher). All fruit is great and divine, but I have never turned down a strawberry.
Tasty toast toppers....
Years ago, an old fisherman told us his secret for being able to walk to the lake, row a boat out, fish all morning and then still have enough energy to make it back home. He'd start out at "umpty-AM" with toast, and on top was a warmed up mixture of a can of undiluted Campbells Cr. of Mushroom soup and a can of drained tuna with a lot of black pepper on it. Sounded awful to me, so I shelved the idea.
We finally tried it when we had to get up at 3AM to get to the flea market in Tucson from our home about 60 miles away. We'd eat this heavy duty toast and we were able to load the truck, drive to Tucson, work the flea market until we were out of stuff to sell (usually between noon and 2PM) and actually make it to our fave Mexican restaurant for a really good meal.
Sunday Night Supper
Sunday at our house is "cooks day off" and we just get in the frig and find little delights ... like leftovers that are too small for an official meal.
Best yard sale kitchen gadget find?
Wow, I won't remember them all, but I find lots of great stuff at yard sales. First off, a $100 famous name pan and glass lid eons ago for $10, had never been used, it was "too heavy" for the gal (she needed the exercise, trust me). A faboo breadmachine just like my trusty Hitachi for $5.00, now I can run "dualling breadmachines". A fifties Dormeyer stand mixer in CHROME finish for $5,
An Aeternum pressure pan (they couldn't figure out how the lid went on) for $5 in the box, probably brand new, an immersion blender for a buck...... A really nice food processor for a couple bucks.
Also lots of older kitchen tools which were certainly made much sturdier than the new junk you buy cheap, and lots of items in "free" boxes just because the sellers didn't want to bother with them. We ALWAYS check yard sales for knives, and have found at least one that we figured was an almost $200 knife, it was $1 in the bottom of a box......
Do you cook for your pets?
Emphatically yes, and quite a few of my friends do also. I feed a kibble made with human grade meats, and quite a nice variety of fruits and veggies (yes, I have eaten some just to see if it tastes ok). The home cooked part is added to the kibble and gives a variety of meals so they don't get bored.
My cooking for dogs is lean meat of any kind that is on sale at the grocery, sometimes potato, sometimes pasta, whatever veggies are "in stock" in the frig, and any leftover basmati rice (the only kind we currently have in the pantry). It is divvied up and some frozen for future meals.
My dogs also like almost any fruits and veggies, do not wave a green bean in front of them, it is like a red cape to a bull...... Most notable no-no is onions, not good for dogs. They also aren't crazy for grapefruit, one likes orange, and both of them qualify as 'nanner gators.....offer piece of bananna, remove fingers quickly, they are on 'nanners big time.
Check out a web site called Boxer Life and look at the drop down menu for cooking. This guy is serious and his dogs are fit and trim and obviously happy.
We eat modestly but well and we feel our dogs will be like us and live to be old farts if they eat well.
What do you do with an avocado?
I love making guacamole or just spreading mashed avocado on toast. After reading this I want to make avocado ice cream... that sounds great!
Tasty toast toppers....
our faves- 1. pbj 2. pb and banana
3. butter, sugar and cinnamon
4. butter and apricot preserves
5. beef hash
6. pb and mayo
and 7. best favorite- take 4 slices toast and spread on
warmed shredded bbq chicken eat with fork ,delish.
Tasty toast toppers....
Jewish Rye bread spread with thinly sliced sauteed shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced provolone cheese, with a few capers sprinkled over the top mildly toasted. (My favoriter toaster oven treat)
*note for an interesting flavor add (in addition to the butter the mushrooms are being sauteed in) a teaspoon of peanut butter.
Tasty toast toppers....
I was just looking at the posts about topping toast with cream cheese. Add jam to that...yyum! The first time someone suggested eating a sandwich with cream cheese and jam, I thought they were crazy, but it's actually really good.
Tasty toast toppers....
*leftover turkey gravy from thanksgiving dinner boiling hot on buttered whole wheat toast
*bacon, tomato and real mayo
*virgina ham and white super sharp cheddar, layered on buttered wheat toast and broiled til melty
*honey roasted peanut butter
*roasted chicken breast (leftover), garden tomato and watercress
*eggs scrambled with half and half, mixed with cooked sausage, tomato, cheddar and topped with white gravy!!!
Tasty toast toppers....
eggs, scrambled with cheese and garlic.
Tasty toast toppers....
Good Morning! I just started my day topping my toast with mayo and big thick slices of homegrown beefsteak tomatoes and a little freshly ground sea salt and pepper. Heavenly.
Tasty toast toppers....
Oops, just checked the Mr. breakfast site...the # is actually at 326...we can beat that, right?
Tasty toast toppers....
@NativeRose...wow thanks for commenting on my post from almost a year ago! I have never eaten gluten-free bread but the brown-sugar & cinnamon cream cheese really sounds good :)
SE...what's your latest toast topper? Can we beat the 308#...actually I think the # is up to 312?
Tasty toast toppers....
I have to use gluten-free bread, so I choose the sandwich bread e.g. ener-G, rather than the thick-sliced more dense forms of bread. It's interesting to find enjoyable toppings with that crazy new texture, and I find I need to use more of the topping. So...
tuna fish w/mayonaise/sweet relish
or: tuna w/melted cheddar cheese
Honey, which is almost completely absorbed by the bread, but tastes so yummy
butter and cinnamon/sugar, of course
strawberry cream cheese
brown sugar and cinnamon cream cheese
peanut butter/jelly
butter w/maple syrup is my next try
best eaten with: banana, gluten-free granola (best brand, Udis), gluten-free puffed rice cereal and cornflakes
...yum!
What are your variations on cornbread?
My favorite cornbread recipe is just the basics. A cornmeal mix, egg, and sweet milk, a little oil and bake in a hot oiled, cast iron skillet.
But my kids love the taste of Jiffy mix. But when I make jiffy mix it always seems to fall apart while slicing or after it's on the plate. It tastes great but is so fragile, it must be eaten with a fork.
Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong, or could that just be the nature of Jiffy mix? I follow the directions to the letter and bake in my cast iron skillet.
Annoying food habits...
My boyfriend drives me INSANE when he eats! He holds his silverware like a freakin shovel! I'm dying to say something to him about it, but don't want to his feelings. It's actually embarrising whe we go out to a nice resturant, all dressed up and here comes the shoveling...agggghhhh
Don't Miss Food between SF and Seattle?
Last June I took a drive up highway one from Ca. I stopped at the Surf Shack in Port Orford Oregon. I had the BEST ribs I have ever had there. Cool layed back spot!
How did you first hear of serious eats?
I picked up the link off eGullet.
How did you first hear of serious eats?
I heard Ed Levine on one of Martha Stewart's Sirius radio shows. I was impressed and intrigued and couldn't wait to get home and check out Serious Eats. I'm so glad I did. What a great community! Thanks for all the tips.
I've been trying to convince my niece to apply to Serious Eats to work as an intern. She's a darling 35 year old who lives in Manhattan and has worked in the restaurant world for many years. She's cute, intelligent, articulate, upbeat, loves to cook and knows her way around the computer. She needs a push......any suggestions??????
How did you first hear of serious eats?
I saw Ed speak at the Gourmet Institute even in October.
How did you first hear of serious eats?
I first heard of Serious Eats on eGullet in a little post on the Chicago board. It was by someone mentioning the Amateur Gourmet and the new site.
At first the name scared me. Serious Eats sounded too serious for me, but I was assured that seriously Serious Eats was not scarily Serious.
I'm very glad to have found it. I like the idea of being a Serious Eater.
Never could stand the idea of being a "eGulleteer". Talk about seriously scary. Heh.
How did you first hear of serious eats?
A link from the Mario site. I bought the Mario/Copco risotto pan and the cast iron skillet and was looking for the link to the products page. Found this instead. This is my first night here...love it already!
How did you first hear of serious eats?
I was freaking out at work because it was the day before I was leaving for vacation in France and I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to find a place to eat. My co-worker suggested posting to Talk on Serious Eats and I've been hooked ever since. And yes, France was wonderful and yummy!
How did you first hear of serious eats?
Ah yes, I remember it well. Watched an appalling episode of Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee (I agree, they are all appalling) on the Food Network and decided to google her name so I could find a place to vent. I've been a huge fan ever since. Of your website, not HER! ;)
How did you first hear of serious eats?
I was not even looking for a food blog, but came across it when I was searching for something recently (I don't remember what). It came up in the search results, and I've been hooked ever since! I only wish I had found it sooner...Thanks everyone for sharing your love of food with me!
How did you first hear of serious eats?
I Googled "Best Food Blogs" and Serious Eats for listed under the 2007 Webblog Awards site as one of the best. So here I am.
Annoying food habits...
I really hate it when I've spent hours preparing a meal and my husband and other family members eat it so quickly that you have to wonder.....did they really even taste it?
I also hate it when people mix their food. Ok.....when I was a child I mixed my food, but it really is annoying when you have spent a lot of time preparing a meal with great flavor and someone mixes each bite! My suggestion.....make things easier for them and just put it in a blender before serving :)
How did you first hear of serious eats?
Discovered it today! I've just got a food blog up and running this week (http://blogcheyanne.blogspot.com/) and was looking more closely into the food blog community.
Wish I had found this site earlier! It's great.
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I guess I've moved too often for a wondrous drawer like that....my kitchen junk drawer has "stuff" related to kitchen use in it. Right now there are some thermal cups that I use once every two years, a thermos that someone gave me, a new package of bamboo skewers (in standby mode) an old anodized (50's) mixing cup, the kind with a lid, put stuff in it and shake until you arm falls off.....and some candy thermometers and an oven thermometer, a plastic cutting board with a crack (won't I find a use for it some day?) and knives that have not passed muster and are waiting to go to St. Vinnies.
Yours sounds like a lot more fun. Most of the stuff that is in your junk drawer is in my office supply area.....which covers a bit more than one drawer.
Zapp