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Dear Food Network, Please Stop
Isn't Bob Tuschman the one who killed BRAVO?
Do you ever use the cookbooks that came with small appliances?
kathyvegas...
Those were some funy points on the Knox On-Camera Cookbook.
I've used that cookbook for a few years and have had great results. Their chiffon pies are great. I live in Texas, and their's nothing better than a cooled chiffon pie for a hot afternoon snack.
Now, about Spam recipes, I'm just not too sure. Besides, I prefer my spam simple, a slice fried in between 2 slices of plai white bread, with mayo and onion of course.
Mixed Review: Jiffy Pie Crust Mix
I use Marie Callenders pie crusts picked up at their restaurants. I buy them specifically when I make the old fashion recipies from my Knox's Gelatine On-Camera cookbook.
Seems this crust works perfect for the Lemon Chiffon Pie and their Nesselrod Pie. Mmmmmmm.
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Cookie Exchange -- Looking for suggestions.
Posted by lochaven, November 17, 2008 at 5:38 PM
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
The secret to Chinese (Asian) cooking is….
You're absolutely right about the heat...... it's the bucks that get in the way. Speaking of Food Network chefs, isn't chef rachel auctioning off her stove? lol
Dear Food Network, Please Stop
Isn't Bob Tuschman the one who killed BRAVO?
Do you ever use the cookbooks that came with small appliances?
kathyvegas...
Those were some funy points on the Knox On-Camera Cookbook.
I've used that cookbook for a few years and have had great results. Their chiffon pies are great. I live in Texas, and their's nothing better than a cooled chiffon pie for a hot afternoon snack.
Now, about Spam recipes, I'm just not too sure. Besides, I prefer my spam simple, a slice fried in between 2 slices of plai white bread, with mayo and onion of course.
Mixed Review: Jiffy Pie Crust Mix
I use Marie Callenders pie crusts picked up at their restaurants. I buy them specifically when I make the old fashion recipies from my Knox's Gelatine On-Camera cookbook.
Seems this crust works perfect for the Lemon Chiffon Pie and their Nesselrod Pie. Mmmmmmm.
What do you collect?
I've collected Fiestaware almost 30 years.
Rosenthal Studio Linie....
and sterling....and as I retire in 1 1/2 years, everything will be going on ebay. lol
Food Network losing its edge
@ spiceweasel -- Excellent Idea, maybe they'll read your post and allow us a couple hours a day of old reruns, and I don't mean FN produced shows. I still go to my JC DVD's and what she called "videobooks" and watch the hell out of them.
I hope WBGH put out more of her old shows, after repeated watchings, I catch myself blurting out certain of her phrases in unison, lol.
Oh yes, and the FN edge...... let's see, when Moulton and Batali left, I basically left as well.
Serious Efforts: A Buttermilk Brine for Fried Chicken?
I've given up on Food Network recipes for almost anything and this holds true for any of the brine/soak/slice and dice recipies for fried chicken.
I go totally for a quick dredge -- flour, salt, pepper after a quick dunk in a bit of milk with tabasco sauce. Pan fry in cast iron skillet. I cook for 2, so my clean up mess is minimal. As for the shack smell, I have a good enough exhaust (non-commercial) that takes care of the problem. Besides, cooking it this way, you can hold the cooked chicken till the cows come home. I get crispy, juicy and tender chicken every time.
I say, try it both ways and decide which one you like best.
Electric knives: Do you use them? And if so, for what?
I use mine for roast turkey.....makes slices out of a whole turkey in just a few minutes.
Hint: For easier carving, remove the wishbone and disjoint the thigh bone from the back of the turkey before roasting. An old hint I learned from one of old Julia Child's shows.
Loads and Loads of Ginger
As with Vodka, but we use vinegar. Peel and cut in about 1 or 2 inch pieces and drop in a jar, fill with vinegar. Use an old quart jar of Bread and Butter pickles. You may be able to store your excess ginger in that manner. Better still, freeze some as suggested above and the rest as I've suggested. Let us know which you like best.
I need to try vodka next time.
Cookie Exchange -- Looking for suggestions.
UPDATE:
@carolrsfMISSESTEXAS Used your cookies for this years cookie exchange. They worked great and would do them again....received great positive comments. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions
Oh, and they were so easy to make that I was able to make them the day before with time to spare to package all 28 little bundles.
McDonald's Filet-O-Fish: Yea or Nay?
This is lochness, one of lochaven’s other personalities and I’m here to say that my high school years were spent eating filet-o-fish sandwiches….and still have one occasionally. Back then they used to be 65 cents, but not any more. Whenever I order one I always ask them to make me a fresh one and willing to wait for it. They always comply.
Now, I know that lochaven would never go public that he’s had them before, but I think he also likes them…. .
Btw, I saw this a few months ago….I always wondered how to pronounce it… now I know.
What to bring to an Thanksgiving Pot Luck...in the office.
Funny you should mention that....I'm currently cooking for the office Thanksgiving lunch tomorrow. I'm providing the main stuff... Roast Turkey, Baked Ham, and dressing, oh yes, and the cranberry sauce...I never let anyone else do the cranberry. BTW, I'll be getting up about 6 AM to start the Turkey...lol.
If you are thinking about one item...you can do one of those 1950's molded jello dishes...you can always use a baking dish to serve it. I've made many during the years as we never had anything like that as a kid. I know you are looking for a substantial dish, but if you can't settle on one, try one of the fruited ones for dessert. Try this link..
Beets on a Burger
I love beets in any manner-- pickled (sweet and sour), shredded and cooked in butter, or roasted, but on a burger.... don't know about that one. But you know what, I will try them next time we cook burgers -- never say never.
I wonder how they would taste in a cheese burger...lol.
Food In Literature - What Has Inspired You?
Well, it wasn't the written story but the movie Babette's Feast based on a story by Isak Dinesen (pen, Karen Blixen), . Although most of the dishes are interesting and historical, I've used it as inspiration to go beyond food as sustenance and to always aspire to a higher level. It piqued my interest in how food motivates a person and what strong emotional feelings it propels. From a kid and mom's favorite dishes to those things we eat as adults that trigger mental and physical joy.
Who knows a good restaurant in Alexandria, VA?
Hey Fellow Texan. When I used to live in the DC area we'd go to Savios. http://www.saviosrestaurant.com/ Cant go wrong with this one.
Win a Free Organic D'Artagnan Turkey Here!
Hey -- I'm way down here in South Texas -- I'll take one!
James Beard's Roast Turkey.....will have me do the Time Warp, in reverse. I'll even pay the shipping!!!!
Come on you guys! Update your profiles!
I agree with being careful as well. However, I don't see anything in the profile questions that would be sensitive.
Of course, no real names, addresses or phone numbers.......
And if anyone has intentions of stalking me -- I have ways to stop you... actually I don't do it, but I have people who will do it for me.... lol.
Come on you guys! Update your profiles!
Great suggestion. OK done.
Looks like we could be future neighbors.
Do you share food?
I agree with JerzeeTomato. In a relationship, you best pick your battles otherwise it turns into a war. I see nothing wrong. People are different with different habits and expectations. I share food, no biggie for me, in fact I sometimes encourage it as I seem to always order the odd dishes no one elses wants simply because they've never taste it.
Sharing a muffin or a piece of pie between people is very common, most of the time there is not enough room to eat a whole slice, so people share. If you did not want any, more for them..... relax and enjoy yourself, he'll like that.
Cookie Exchange -- Looking for suggestions.
@JerzeeTomatoe -- A Show Stopper would be a good thing....
Ingredients -- well, we have lots of pecans as it's the season....other ingredients can be had easily.
7 layer bars -- that's a new one on me, will look them up....
Mexican wedding cookies also sound good and am familar with those.
Will also take a look at Gourmet's favorites.....
I'm looking for those true and tried people's favorite recipes for the holidays.
What did you cook this weekend?
Sunday early dinner for friends.
Roast Stuffed Pork Loin -- Stuffing of Prunes, Dried Apricots, etal, with herbs
Mashed Potatoes
Sauteed Beets -- Shredded -- butter, red wine vinegar, S&P
A Killer Gravy
Peach Cobbler
Types of Salted Cod.
Update....just got around to ordering this evening. Called L&F Fish Market in San Jose and spoke with the owner's son. He took his time explaining what was available and how supplied. I'm ordering 2 different kinds , Norway and Canadian. Norway's is Class A -- and the Canadian is the thicker of the two and used more as steaks. Need to get more info on the classifications as I was trying to write down the information as fast as I could.
More later.
Shallots! What do you do with them?
I always thought my secret ingredient for guacamole was minced garlic..... Now I See!...... just use shallot.... Perfect.
One favorite way of using whole shallot is to caramelize (glazed) them whole, just like you would do whole onions...... small saucepan, 1 layer of shallots, T Sugar, T Honey, some butter (you decide), pinch of salt and water half way up the shallot. Reduce until golden in color.
Oh, one other suggestion. I'm big on good pot roasts, throw them in whole (peeled of course)...... always put more than you need as there never seems to be enough.
Enjoy.
Sushi - Love it or Hate it?
Love it. We have one of those awful chinese all you can eat places near work. Costs about $6.95. Their food is not very good....but, their sushi and their rice paper rolls with pork or shrimp are soooooo good. Very limited sushi (tuna, salmon (not smoked), a couple of others) and a few of those california rolls, granted the variety suffers, but for $6.95. Oh, and tea is included....lol.
Most of the patrons spend their time at the steam tables.... while I'm all by myself in the sushi area.
Pecan tree question
I don't think you eat the green ones. They do use tree shakers...I've been to Comanche County in North Texas SW of Ft. Worth and the acres and acres are really beautiful. I would get rid of the green ones and wait for them to fall natually...you'll end up with more than you can use.
We have a cabin near Bryan/College Station, TX and there is a pecan sheller that sells cracked pecans in season...I ways buy a few pounds and snack on them for a few months and at couple of bucks a pound they are well worth it.
History of the Theta Burger?
The Theta is indeed an Oklahoma original and probably attributable to the late great Split T (or the T Bar to afficianados), but it has certainly entered the Okie culinary vernacular and decent examples abound. I grew up in Tulsa and we used to get pretty good Thetas at Charlie Mitchell's (eponymous pub of the great Scottish footballer/hooligan) but my favorite was probably the one served at JP Sousa's. The buns were nice and toasty (essential from an engineering standpoint to keep your theta a hand sandwich) and they gave you extra hickory sauce for your curly fries. The fact that you ordered by phone from your table was a bonus.
It should be noted that an according to hoyle Theta is an all or nothing proposition. The pickles, mayo (not miracle whip), and shredded chedar (not sliced american) are what make it what it is and are as essential to the outcome as the hickory sauce. Just as a Martini with an onion is a Gibson so too is a Theta minus one of it's contituants an altogether different thing. It may sound like an odd combination, but people eat special mushrooms hunted by trained pigs so...try to be open minded.
As far as the name is concerned, I had always heard that it was after the sorority. Seems likely. Burgers are pub grub. Not hard to find a sorority girl in a bar (especially not in OKC area). If you run the phrase "I ate a theta" together, it sounds greek. Back when I was at OU, there was a bar called Denko's that used to advertise "Eat a Theta @ Denko's". They also had a chili 5way that they called the Darlin'. You used to see people sporting tshirts that said "I ate my Darlin' at Denko's". Good stuff.
McDonald's Filet-O-Fish: Yea or Nay?
I haven't had one in decades but just to keep this sandwich going, I will go there and have them.
McDonald's Filet-O-Fish: Yea or Nay?
They're tastey but they're like 700 calories each!!!!!!
Mixed Review: Jiffy Pie Crust Mix
I have used Jiffy Pie Crust Mix for fifty years. It is excellent! Anyone that can't get a perfect pie is not going to get one anywhere else. I am upset that I haven't been able to find it in our area now. Has Jiffy stopped making it or can I find it somewhere?
The secret to Chinese (Asian) cooking is….
@squeezebottle: ah great tips. graçias
The secret to Chinese (Asian) cooking is….
Some Chinese cooks use lard, some use rapeseed oil, some use peanut oil. It depends on regional styles and specific recipes.
@hungrychristel - I'm no Chinese food expert, but from what I know fish sauce is not typically used in Chinese cooking. It's more common in other Southeast Asian cuisines, but I've never seen it in Cantonese, Sichuan, Hunan, Peking or Shanghai dishes I've sampled or cooked. The most common Chinese flavours are ginger, scallion and soy sauce. Garlic is also used a lot. Sesame oil is used sparingly in the south and more heavily in the north. Shoaxing wine and Chinkiang vinegar are also typical Chinese flavours. Oyster sauce is greatly abused by Cantonese cooks.
The secret to Chinese (Asian) cooking is….
@chiff: oh for sure! sesame oil for aroma only. haha
Also chiff, if you havent tried it I like to use grapeseed oil for stirfrys. It doesn't leave the same lingering taste as a canola or peanut oil for me. A bit more pricey but I think its worth it. :)
The secret to Chinese (Asian) cooking is….
I've seen a couple of mentions of "sesame oil." I take it you all mean as a finishing oil? Use canola or peanut oil to cook - higher smoking point.
The secret to Chinese (Asian) cooking is….
There's a lot more to Asian food than stir-frying. Reducing all Asian cuisines to stir-fries is like saying that Americans only eat cheeseburgers.
The secret to Chinese (Asian) cooking is….
I also agree about "asian" being too-broad of a term. I immeidately made an assumption that I retract :)
wow; quite a lot actually!?!?
The secret to Chinese (Asian) cooking is….
um, @ginger totally agree with you. asian is WAY too broad to generalize. as an asian, i have to say that yes, high heat temps can be seen as a more omnipresent than in western cuisine culture, but as far as every asian family/home owning one of those wok-in-a-hole doo dads, that is a little ridiculous. our family cook used a gas range. and i remember country side trips to my both paternal and maternal grandmothers as a small child, where the cooking would take place on some kind of outdoor fire, with a variety of what we today would call artisanal vessels (clay pots, pans, etc). some of the local dives/street vendors would have the wok with gas torch ish - but again, they were professionals.
The secret to Chinese (Asian) cooking is….
My chinese flavour musts:
- Cutting your veggies in a diagonal manner: my papa always told me to do this for stir-frys but I don't remember the logic behind it--anyone?
- fish sauce definitely
- as others said sesame oil
- chilis of some kind
- ginger
I tend to get a pretty authentic flavour if I use these
The secret to Chinese (Asian) cooking is….
I thought it was sesame seed oil.
Go figure.
Mixed Review: Jiffy Pie Crust Mix
There are a couple of big mistakes made by non-crust makers when they embark on a pie crust mission.
Overworking. Mix until it holds together. THEN STOP. It is NOT supposed to be homogenous. It should still have bits of butter visible (which will ultimately cause flakiness). If pie crust is overworked, it shrinks in the oven and becomes very tough.
Not allowing the freshly-mixed dough to rest. Gently form the dough into a disk, wrap, and fridge it for at least 30 minutes to allow developed gluten to rest. Then, allow to come close to room temp but the dough should still feel cold to the touch.
The way to overcome fear of doing a specific thing in the kitchen is to do it repeatedly. Make a pie a week for the family or work associates and I'll bet at the end of a month the fear will be gone.
What do you collect?
I've been collecting new and vintage cookbooks, cookbooks, cookbooks, since I was a teen! Most recent addition (2 days ago) : Picnic by Linda Collister et al.
I have three different editions of Roger Verge's Entertaining in the French Style (what a gorgeous GORGEOUS book[however the New Entertaining... edition is less so]), two different editions of the Larousse, Elizabeth David's French Provincial Cookery in hardcover (!) and my precious Edna Staebler's Food that Really Schmecks. Every Nigella (except Nigella Bites being a commercial rip from her stellar How to Eat). Oh and Blah Blah Blah! Obviously I can get a little too excited about the cookbooks. Yes I read them like fine literature, which many of them in fact are: Tamasin Day Lewis, Ms David, Nigel Slater, Ms. Lawson, to name a few.
Also I collect Spode plates, gorgeous blue transferware in every pattern. Gorgeous cookware (tagines, Le Creuset) and Chinese tea ware! Should I stop? Jamais, jamais, jamais!!!!
What do you collect?
Food related: Restaurant menus, matchbooks. Not food related: Vinyl records (jazz, predominately) and CDs (over 3,000 of those). And stuffed animals.
What do you collect?
Food related collections: spatulas made of various woods, favorite being olive; vintage cooking tools and pots collected at flea markets (mostly while living in Switzerland during the 70s), but it continues; coffee mugs; small stainless bowls for mise en place; Swiss potato peelers; cookbooks; herbs and spices, including anceint ones even though I know they don't last forever, I enjoy the continuity and knowing I have that ancient bottle of fenugreek on hand; and many more.
What do you collect?
Cookbooks, Food magazines and...........Tassels. I love, adore tassels! I admit to spending waay too much for, "Oh, I must have just this ONE more beautiful, unique tassel"! I hang them on lamps, corners of paintings, mirrors and more! And, I collect beautiful, elegant ones, not 'tacky' ones. Also, had to stop collecting crystal dinnerbells, ran out of space in my curio cabinet. My favorite way to use them is to spruce up any dining table centerpiece, fresh flowers in center with dinnerbells around/at the end, etc.
dixiesue
What do you collect?
Condiments, I have a whole fridge full. In fact they outnumber the "staples" and the food I can even hope to mix with them.
What do you collect?
Oooh if only I could *REALLY* collect! We moved into a much smaller house and I had to give up some great "stuff". But given any chanceI would gather more:
Bowls -- how can you have too many bowls?!
Cookbooks and recipies (I too read cookbooks like novels)
Fiestaware.
I am of the opinion each season should have its own china (and not china, but plates/bowls and such) now if I could just find some place to PUT THEM!
What do you collect?
I'm home! I've found my people!! Cookbooks, internet recipes, beautiful glassware/wine glasses and along @ bananamonkey lbs.
What do you collect?
@honeybumper - haha ...and I'm a coffeecup whore. I enjoyed your speech!
I'm particularly a "whore" for:
- celeb. chef cookbooks
- anything with kittie kats :) meeow!
@chisai - I love vintage coasters, and on extra-special trips I take home hotel coasters, and forgein beer coasters.
@Traci7822 - haha I wouldn't last
What do you collect?
i'm starting to crazy for plates and bowls. anything with a pretty print. or any print, actually.
Recent Posts
Cookie Exchange -- Looking for suggestions.
Posted by lochaven, November 17, 2008 at 5:38 PM
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About lochaven
Location: San Antonio and near East Texas
About: Enjoy cooking. A two person cooking household so it tends to dominate the conversation. Originally from Texas, lived in DC for 17 years. Looking to move somewhere in 3 years (retirement), perhaps the NW, but keeping the E Texas location.
Favorite foods: Hearty winter dishes -- lamb shank, beets, winter squash.
Breakfast -- Simple eggs (no herbs) -- breakfast breads and great jams (strawberry, orange) also, simple apple butters.
Also, cakes, pies and fruit anything.
more later.
Last bite on earth: French Bread with butter. (subject to change, lol.)

You're absolutely right about the heat...... it's the bucks that get in the way. Speaking of Food Network chefs, isn't chef rachel auctioning off her stove? lol