Serious Eats: snackorameal's Profile

What do you think of culinary tattoos?

(I'm not usually snarky, but . . .)The tatt of the dude with the fried egg plate(?) on his bald pate/yamulke thang -- sorry, but that's hitting a very, very low level of taste and ugly aesthetic sensibilities. Imagine his cooking is the same.

snackorameal at 10:24PM on 10/19/10

From Serious Eats

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Tofu?

Took the quiz and made the comment before I saw that it's Fuschia Dunlop's Mapo Tofu recipe on the site.

snackorameal at 8:46PM on 10/12/10

From Serious Eats

Quiz: How Much Do You Know About Tofu?

Once, I purchased soft tofu instead of firm/estra firm for mapo tofu. It turned into a creamy s-on-a-shinle looking dish. But it tasted GREAT! added a deliciously fresh and creamy back to the spice and meat. Now, sometimes I use soft tofu on purpose. (I use Fuschia Dunlop's recipe -- it's terrific, and she's terrific.)

Here is one tofu tip that changed my tofu dishes. After pressing the block of tofu, steep the [cut up pieces] in boiled salted water for a few minutes. The texture becomes finer, it cooks better. It doesn't brown well, but it absorbs the braise better, without a lot of tofu-y moisture leaking into the dish.

snackorameal at 8:42PM on 10/12/10

From Serious Eats: New York

Poll: What Food Trucks Would You Love to See?

In LA, there's a new truck called Takosher. Understand it's Glatt (that means it's extra Kosher). Havent tried it yet, but I hear it's goood.

Otherwise, I'd like to see grocery trucks with refrigeration serving fresh, non-expired food to people who live in food deserts.

snackorameal at 5:54PM on 09/29/10

From Serious Eats

Name Change for HFCS: 'Corn Sugar'?

Aren't HFCS disdained because: ubiquity, chemistry involved in processing, water issues . . .

snackorameal at 11:59AM on 09/15/10

From Talk

a Trader Joe's Disappointment

Greetings from SoCal! TJ's is great for a bunch of basics -- compare olive oil prices to WF (WTF!), TJ's Spanish Olive Oil is pretty darn good. Balsamics are also excellent. So who packs their products? Seems like the flour is "King Arthur," the sparkling water is "Crystal Geyser," the pita chips are "Stacy's." TJ Brand white bread has better flavor than WF Hanover Bread for .50 less. Nuts, nut butters, mustards, frozen wild caught shrimp, flash frozen wild salmon, wild smoked salmon, potato chips, chocolates from Belgium (uniformly excellent at a much lower cost than anywhere near me.) I guess if I lived in an area with a big Italian population, I wouldn't be enticed by the tins of tomato paste or the whole tomatoes in juices, but TJs selection is much better and less risky than the metallic tasting stuff I have to gamble for at the regular market (WF not in my budget). Produce goes bad immediately, but organic milk is cheaper. All-in-all, doesn't everyone cherry-pick the supermarket?

snackorameal at 3:14PM on 09/05/10

From Serious Eats

Recap: The Next Food Network Star, Season 6, Episode 6

Brianna? That girl needs a makeover.

snackorameal at 4:57PM on 07/19/10

From Talk

Feeding a hungry guy (almost like a hippo)

Like my Mom would say, "Soup 'em!" By that, she means "serve a thick soup/stew before the meal." It worked for me when I was growing up, when I could consume most of everything served, especially protein. Whole grains are more stick-to-the ribs satisfying, can be a lighter component for you, and reheat beautifully. Someone mentioned gravies -- that's a great idea. It's got fat and starch and flavor, it's easily portion controlled, and it's optional.

snackorameal at 12:47PM on 05/02/10

From Recipes

Dinner Tonight: Mapo Tofu

I make this for my family once a week. Last week, I picked up silken tofu instead of firm tofu and used it in the recipe. It was really delicious! The creamy tofu flavor was distributed through the whole dish and had a different level of comfort-food feel. Fuschia Dunlop's recipe uses beef, not pork. Boy, have I enjoyed reading all of her books. Loads of fun and flavor!

snackorameal at 12:27PM on 05/02/10

From Serious Eats