Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

So not particularly meaning to get all pedantic on you - but I will... As a Scot, I take a little bit of offense at the lack of care here. Whisky is Scottish (or Scotch, as Americans call it), Whiskey is Irish, and Bourbon is American. I believe that the Canadians also get away with using Whisky, but Bourbon does not!

Now to answer your question (interesting, these are all Whisky!)

Celebratory: Old Poultney
Guest: Edradour
Table: Tomintoul

I'm also adding cooking:

Johnnie Walker red

:)

I find this recall really weird - didn't we all know that raw eggs have salmonella in them? I guess this may be partly because I come from the UK, where we had a salmonella 'scare' (but no recall) over a decade ago. We were basically told that salmonella is endemic and unavoidable in factory farmed eggs. Since then, I've always just assumed that all non free range eggs have salmonella in them - I'd cook them, but not use them to make mayo or anything, and I wouldn't keep them for long (if I bought them, that is, which I don't).

I guess N America didn't have this experience? Though my Canadian stepkids have been trained not to lick the spoon from uncooked cake batter, so Canadians have also been worried about salmonella in eggs for a long time...

Hey, sounds delicious! I just bought a bushel of tomatoes, so this looks like a lovely way to use a few of them up :)

I hope this isn't a dumb question, but should the pan be covered when you're roasting things in the oven? And do all the cooking steps take place in the oven?

Just on a minor note, I'm wondering if locavor(e?) could have been rejected because it's use is general in N America, but not in the UK?

Gambas a la parilla :)

I made this last night with mushrooms instead of eggplant (my husband hates the stuff), and they were fantastic - thanks for the inspiration :)

This sounds great, but what is a package of mushrooms? At first I thought it meant dried (though those packets come in a variety of sizes), but from the recipe I think it means fresh. Can you give me an idea of the size of a package, please? (even the weight from the label...)

Oh, and I also add a spoonful of any stewed fruit I have on hand before cooking, or throw in a handful of blueberries. Rhubarb is the stewed fruit of the moment, makes really tasty porridge :)

It looks like you're using a meat thermometer there - is that okay? Would save me having to go out to hunt for a candy one... Are they really just the same thing anyway?

Oh, and thanks for giving me a project to do this weekend for the kids, very exciting ;)

My advice is calorie counting - stick with me, don't switch off, because it's the diet where you can keep eating everything that is tasty and good. The main problem I have with your diet is how vague it seems to be. You have no real idea at the end of each week as to where you are, just a feeling. Consumption of food isn't a black box, it really is calories in, energy/weight out. Yes, varying your fat/carb/protein intake makes a difference, but only long term to satiety. White carbs don't keep you filled up, complex carbs do it better, protein and fat best of all. From calorie counting, I know exactly where I am. I can eat 1450 calories a day, and (with some fluctuation for water retention due to salt and caffeine intake) at the end of the week I'm the same weight. While I was getting down to here, I ate 1450 and lost 1.5 lbs per week, then I plateaued at a weight I was happy with. You're a guy, you can eat more - my husband eats 1850 a day. Kitchen scales and cups of this, tablespoons of that help at the start, but then you get an eye for it. For example, the Almond and Tomato Shrimp that was posted on here a week or so ago? That's about 280 calories a portion, and that's for shrimp with double cream!

So I suggest 3 steps. One, look at your diet and calculate exactly how many calories you currently eat in a day or a week (whichever gives a better overall picture). Be honest! Then drop that expectation by 100 calories. You should lose weight for a while, then plateau. If you aren't where you want to be when you plateau, drop it by another 100 calories, and so on. Two, look at all the ingredients you eat and get a feel for their calories - eg, double (whipping/heavy) cream is 50 calories a tablespoon, butter is 70 calories for 2 teaspoons, an egg is 70 calories, etc etc. After a while, you will be able to look at the things you are being offered and think - that's about 120 calories for half a cup, I've had this many calories today and I want to eat a lot later, so I can afford a portion that is about the size of a 1/4 cup. It sounds anal perhaps, but it becomes easy and instinctive. Third, have really filling breakfasts - Porridge/oatmeal is a good one. I need to keep my weight down and this works. Oh and finally, if you have an iPhone, the free app 'Lose it!' (with the exclamation mark, there's a different one without) is an invaluable calorie counting tool.

There is a Larson cartoon, with an overweight lady who has climbed to the highest peak in India to consult a guru about her weight loss. His advice? "The secret is, eat fewer calories."

I always find it ironic that nobody thinks they like cranberry sauce, so they just buy a can and dump it in a bowl (with 'can marks' intact, half the time) for forms sake. And guess what? 'lo and behold, no-one likes it - surprise! I've always loved cranberry sauce, but then I've never eaten or even been offered anything but the homemade stuff.

Interestingly, I'm the complete opposite with peanut butter, and if you speak to many nutritionalists (including the one at the gastroenterology department at UVA, who first told me this) they have quite a different take on peanut butter. Used in moderation, it is a weight loss aid. If I am getting peckish in the long hours of the afternoon, I help myself to a teaspoon of peanut butter. Very filling for its calories (if you pause for 15 mins to give your stomach time to register it), it is the perfect filler to carry me through to the evening.

I guess the real point is the 'moderation' part :)

That is a pretty fair suggestion. Though to be honest my main complaint is generally the extra carbs. I'm doing my best to limit them (not eliminate, I don't believe in dieting by malnutrition ;) ). So really, I just take the beans on the side, and make them the main course :)