Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

The Food Lab: How to Fry a Turkey (and Is the Whole Thing a Sham?)

I can see three problems, compared to what we have been doing for about 10 years...1 - Brining/injecting is essential; 2 - your oil isn't hot enough; 3 - you are cooking it WAY too long. We usually cook about a 17# bird for ~35 minutes, so I'm not surprised the experiment produced a dry bird.

katwmn1 at 10:27AM on 11/08/10

Is dating a picky eater a dealbreaker for anyone?!

My husband and I have been married for almost 26 years. When we started dating, almost 30 years ago, he came from a "Hamburger Helper" household and I came from a gourmet / European household. He was never quite sure what he was going to be served at my parents, but he was always game. While my side of the family introduced him to strange things like broccoli (WITHOUT cheese sauce) and asparagus, I will have to admit that he introduced me to kool-aid slushies and toasted pb & js.

His job has taken him all over the world and he is more than happy to try anything that is put in front of him. Our kids are the same way - they will try anything.

It's a tough call. Is he willing to be educated? If not, your meals are going to be pretty sucky.

katwmn1 at 3:40PM on 11/16/09

What's Your Favorite Ice Cream Flavor

Try a raspberry gelato paired with a dark chocolate gelato...orgasmic!

katwmn1 at 2:36PM on 06/15/09

the best cookbook for beginners

Ditto The Best Recipe and Bittman's. Really can't go wrong with either. I also highly recommend Food Networks's How to Boil Water. Funny title, but it has some fabulous recipes that even the newest of cooks can prepare with great results.

katwmn1 at 10:41AM on 04/06/09

Your Oldest Cookbook?

I have my Grandmother's original Joy if Cooking with lots of her handwritten recipes on the end pages, including her amazing Burnt Sugar Cake recipe. It's dated 1931. I love it and it's my "go-to" cookbook for basics.

katwmn1 at 7:02PM on 03/09/09

What's So Weird About That?

I was brought up in a "you must at least try it, if you don't like it you don't have to eat it, but you do have to try it" household, so there are very few foods I don't care for...tongue being one of them.

One of my favorite comfort foods is an onion sandwich, or as my husband calls them the "I'm not getting any tonight" sandwich...fresh baked french bread, a layer of cottage cheese, thinly sliced white onion and salt. Yum!

My kids, who are now 18 and 19 have very developed palates...thank goodness!

katwmn1 at 10:41AM on 02/23/09

How Do You Handle Uninvited Guests?

I was raised in a Latvian home where the European adage always rules: You feed a guest whether they want to eat or not. We sometimes got some interesting foods when visiting my Mamite...like cold hot dogs...There is always room for one more and they will eat.

katwmn1 at 10:13AM on 02/02/09

The Year That Was in Food Porn on Serious Eats

These are amazing treats. I bought a box of them (36 rolls) and brought them back a few years ago when I was in London. My friend's horses loved them, too. My other favorite candy is LoveHearts, also only available in GB, but I can get them from BritishDelights.com...for better or worse...

katwmn1 at 9:12AM on 01/05/09

Cook the Book: Fresh Lemon Mousse

The BC has the best Hummus (no cumin - true hummus shouldn't have CUMIN in it!) and Tzatziki recipes, in her earlier cookbooks that I have found. I haven't paid much attention to her latest cookbooks, but this one looks like a winner. She seems to be going back to what she is good at...the basics!

katwmn1 at 1:32PM on 11/12/08

Mixed Review: Classic Crème Brûlée for 45¢, No Blowtorch Required

I always keep a box or two of this on my shelf for that Comfort Food rainy day. It's simple, thought-free and tastes good.

No...it's not as good as my favorite restaurant's and yes, I've made it at home and it's REALLY good, but sometimes you just need a quick comfort and this does it for me.

katwmn1 at 11:08AM on 11/10/08

Blogwatch: Herbed Popcorn

The author of this blog is an amazing cook and a good friend. Check her other recipes...'cause they ROCK!!

katwmn1 at 7:42PM on 11/04/08

Mini Cuban 'Fritas' (Burgers)

I was 0 for 3 with recipes I picked this week and this was one of them. They all ended up being quite bland. I thought I didn't like really spicy food, but all of the recipes I've tried so far (at least 2 dozen) have needed some kick added to them. Again, not bad, but really bland...even with all the yummy stuff in them. We ended up putting a lot more than just ketchup on them to liven them up a bit.

katwmn1 at 11:28AM on 10/06/08

Avocado Mousse and Shrimp on Tortilla Chips

This was pretty bland. Not bad, but I like a lot more bite to my food. I topped them with a dot of horseradish cocktail sauce and that bling-ed them up a bit. I also added some garlic salt to the mousse as it was pretty un-inspiring.

katwmn1 at 11:25AM on 10/06/08

Pasilla Raisin Salsa

This was interesting. It wasn't nearly as hot as I expected it to be, but then again, I seeded the pasillas. It has kind of a sweet taste to it...not bad, just different.

katwmn1 at 11:23AM on 10/06/08

Cook the Book: 'Olives and Oranges'

Salt and vinegar chips

katwmn1 at 11:53AM on 09/17/08

Grilling: Thai Beef Rolls with Sweet Chili Sauce

I made these for some visiting friends and everyone loved them. I "only" used two Thai chilis instead of a tablespoon (I'm a spicy wimp) and they were just right - not so hot that your face goes numb, but with a nice bite to them and great flavor.

Our Aussie friend couldn't believe that it was ground beef "it's SO tender".

katwmn1 at 10:30AM on 09/15/08

Anthony Bourdain Shares His Daughter's Favorite Foods

My kids, who are now 19 and 17, will eat anything and always have. The "rule" has always been - you don't have to eat it if you don't like it, but you DO have to taste it.

My daughter recently got a job waiting tables in a local "Italian" restaurant and she was commenting yesterday on how picky most PARENTS are about their kids' meals.

She said the kids want to try stuff, but the parents are ordering their pasta dry (would YOU like to eat dry pasta?) or they want all these weird substitutions. One lady told her there wasn't anything on the menu that kids would like and my daughter told her that SHE had been eating there since she was a baby and that she had tried everything on the menu by the time she was 5, thank you very much. She then made some recommendations for the lady's little girl and the little girl ate everything.

katwmn1 at 11:04AM on 09/08/08

Cook the Book: 'A16 Food + Wine'

I had the pleasure of a glass of 96 year old Madeira at the Herbfarm Restaurant to top off an incredible Copper River Salmon dinner.

I am gluten-intolerant and they went out of their way to make sure my meal was just as complete as everyone else's...even more so.

You should have seen the look on my husband's face when I got fresh, hot cornbread and everyone else got artisan rolls...not to mention the raviolis wrapped in nettle leaves and everyone else had handmade pasta...an amazing meal and the Madeira was the cherry on top.

katwmn1 at 2:19PM on 09/02/08