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The Ten Most Recent Posts By wellred

From Talk

What are you known for?

I am going to two housewarmings this weekend and have my second of three types of cookies in the oven (butterscotch brownies, chocolate chip shortbread, and next is double chocolate). I can't open the balcony door because they are working on the concrete, and it is loud and hot!! Ack! But I thought I would ask - I am known for the butterscotch brownies, they are very rich and gooey and even non-sweets people love them. What are you known for, food-wise?

From Talk

Talk to me about offal.

So, in the pet peeve thread, dagoose mentioned that a pet peeve was people who won't eat offal. Now, I will try it, and have - my husband is Filipino and there is a ton of offal in that cuisine and I have tasted blood stew and lung and all that sort of thing - the textures are often not my thing, and with the blood, it is just too intense (I like to say it tastes like meat hitting you over the head with a baseball bat). But I do like chicken liver, at least my mom's chopped liver. Talk to me about offal: what do you like, what do you not like, what will you never try?

The Ten Most Recent Comments By wellred

From Talk

What are you known for?

butterscotch brownies

2.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
.5 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter
1.75 cups packed brown sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 11-ounce package butterscotch morsels, divided

preheat oven to 350

in a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. beat butter, sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. beat in eggs. gradually beat in flour mixture. stir in 1 cup morsels. spread into ungreased 13x9 inch baking pan. sprinkle with remaining morsels. bake for about 30 minutes. i like to take them out of the oven when the edges start to brown and the top looks moist but not wet.

By the way, all three kinds are done now and the apt is finally cooling off. :-)

From Talk

Does Where You Live Affect What You Like To Eat?

I always wonder how many of my food preferences are genetic and how many are environmental. And how many are just me being me. I was raised in a Jewish New England home and now I am in Toronto and my in-laws, who live here, are Filipino and Korean. A little shell-shock. I want my scallops back! I love scallops, and they always suck here. I love all the Asian cuisines I've ever tried, so this is not an issue (except for the incredible amounts of offal in Filipino cuisine, not my fave). Toronto itself, well, I find poutine incredibly gross (who wants wet French fries? ew), and dude, butter does not go with everything. But there aren't a lot of "local" foods to contend with. Now, when I lived in Cincinnati in the 90's, forget it. If I never saw another piece of plain roast pork...

From Talk

Favorite thing to eat with mayo

Someone else said sweet potato fries - yay! A little curry in the mayo on those please. Mmmm.

From Talk

Paula Deen's jewelry

I take my rings off to cook, clean, do plant care, anything with goo or dust. They go in exactly the same place every time, on a ring keeper in a drawer. I am terrified of my engagement ring as it is a ludicrous diamond for a couple of our income level (it came from a late aunt who purchased it in a pawn shop in the 60's - has since been reset) and I always feel like it will end up in the bottom of the washing machine, or worse, so I am supercareful.

From Talk

Comfort food

I'm so on board with melted cheese. It can be on basically anything - pasta, sandwich, and I've even been known, when alone, to melt some in a bowl and dip into it with whatever is around (crackers, tortilla, whatever) or even a spoon when feeling really in need.

Also lots of things my mom made when we were kids - anything with ground turkey (that was half of what we ate before statins were invented for dad's cholesterol issues), mashed potatoes, Near East rice pilaf, salmon croquettes (wow do I love those). In fact my parents called me tonight while both my mom and I were cooking dinner, and we were both using ground turkey! and she was making mashed.

From Talk

Do you send local treats to homesick family and friends?

For me it's the other way! I moved from Boston to Toronto and I bring Canadian treats home when I visit - Coffee Crisp, ketchup chips, things like that. Oh and ice wine. The things I miss from home do not travel well - dayboat scallops, Polar seltzer (heavy in any decent quantity), the gaprow chicken from Sugar and Spice in Porter Square... :-)

From Talk

I can't eat ------ like I used to!

It makes me weep that I can no longer drink most juices (apple is OK, and vegetable juice). I never had heartburn until a couple of years ago and juice is the only thing that triggers it other than serious lack of sleep.

From Talk

Immersion Blenders--worth it or not?

We use ours (a Kitchenaid) for pureed soups (mmm peas) all the time, but thing I like it best for is when we make ice cream and sorbet. With ice cream, it ensures that the mixture is totally uniform and smooth. To make sorbet, we often use frozen fruit, and if we partially defrost the fruit beforehand, we can puree it using the immersion blender, in the provided measuring container, with whatever other ingredients we are using (booze, often) to get a very very cold, uniform mixture which does beautifully in our ice cream maker (which is a Cuisinart).

From Talk

Random Personal Facts

I have never dyed my hair. When you are born a redhead and through your life, the red gets slowly, slowly less bright and beautiful, you reach 33 and say to yourself, OK, self, one of these days we're going to have to dye it. But not yet.

I dropped my computer a month ago, the same day I went down to the car to go pick up my husband at the airport and found it dead in the water after I'd left the door ajar five days earlier (we don't drive much).

I flipping love coffee but cannot tolerate caffeine, so am always on the search for delicious decaf. Toronto SEers, try Le Gourmand's, it's good.

From Talk

SE users: please introduce yourselves.

As I continually reference in my comments (hehehe), I am a Bostonian living in Toronto, age 33, married to a guy who likes all but five foods - make that four and allergic to one. Being employed in a country where you are not a citizen (I am a permanent resident) is sometimes a struggle so when I am not working, cooking keeps me sane. When I first moved here I tried making all kinds of things, just to keep my brain from going to moosh. One of our favorite things to do is walk to the organic market in High Park on Saturdays (when is it opening for the season? grr) and buy all kinds of things, and then go home and make lunch - either a salad or stirfry depending on what was available.

Responses to Comments by wellred

From Talk

What are you known for?

My carbonara

From Talk

What are you known for?

It's the simplest recipe I know but if I don't show up with my world famous macaroni salad, then I'm in trouble. I always make at least 2 pounds, because everyone always wants to bring some home with them. It's pretty basic,pasta,celery, green peppers, red onion and plenty of salt, pepper and mayo. I cover the entire top of the salad with sliced hard boiled eggs and garnish with Paprika. Oh, I also use farfalle (bow ties) instead of the usual elbows.
I wish I was known for something a little more exciting, but it is nice to see how much people enjoy the salad. Cooking is about making people happy in my book!

From Talk

What are you known for?

Sweets! When I'm home for the family gatherings, I'm in charge of desserts. When I'm not there, they sometimes forget to reassign the responsibility. Among my friends and coworkers, I'm known for adventurous cooking -- meaning I make the stuff I see on TV. The dish that gets attached to me the most is pound cake.

From Talk

What are you known for?

Chili is my #1, but also macaroni and cheese; on the dessert side of things, definitely my apple pie but also ('round holiday times) ginger cookies.

From Talk

What are you known for?

Chocolate cake w/cooked fudge frosting

From Talk

What are you known for?

My breasts and my legs..........grilled of course. ;-D I have a dry rub concoction that leaves them breathless and begging for more!

From Talk

What are you known for?

The two things I get begged to make:

Chicken Enchiladas

Brownies- I get the chocolate from candy bars 1/2 dark, 1/2 Hershey bar

I really like making pizza from scratch and slow roasted roast beef.

I request sliders for myself I am the only one I make them for. My sloppy joes are so spicy my family won't allow me to make them anymore

From Talk

What are you known for?

Christmas dessert packages. Tins, boxes, baskets, or whatever filled with all kinds of desserts: cheesecake, cake, brownies, bars, cookies, pie, cupcakes in assorted varieties and combinations. To borrow from Forrest Gump, they're like a box of chocolates - you never know what you're gonna get.

Kinda mundane, I know, but everybody looks forward to their goodies even if some protest about being on a diet.

From Talk

What are you known for?

@Butrflygirly - sorry I haven't replied sooner (was away from the computer, which is a rare case:-)). Hope it's not too late.

First of all, I always brine my shrimp - I've learnt (empirically) that the same recipe will always taste better when the shrimp are brined (that is, the shrimp will always be plumper and juicier when brined). So, for 2 lbs of shrimp I use 2 quarts of water with 1/2 cup of kosher salt and 1/4 cup sugar (dissolved, of course). They only need an 45 min to an hour (in the fridge). I usually use slightly less water and add a cup of ice cubes. For the salad, I actually prefer using larger shrimp and chop them roughly once they're cooked.

After that, I drain the shrimp, pat them dry and sprinkle them with a mixture of salt, black pepper, garlic powder and sometimes, paprika. In the meantime, I bring to a boil a mixture of: water (about 4 quarts), white wine (1 cup - you can use lemon juice for acidity instead), 2 small (or one large) bay leaves, 5-7 whole black peppercorns, salt and garlic powder or granules (or a tsp of freshly mince garlic). Once this stuff boils, I drop the shrimp in, lower the heat to simmer and watch the shrimp like a hawk - I usually don't let them cook longer than 3-5 minutes. Once they turn pink, I try one (OK, you don't have to do that:-), just let them cook an extra minute if you're not sure they're ready), and fish them out with a slotted spoon. I let them cool and chop.

Now, I have two types of shrimp salad - one is with mayonnaise, the other one is with sesame-soy dressing. The first one includes: 1 oz capers (one little jar), 2 celery ribs (diced very finely), 1 bunch scallions (both green and white parts, chopped), some minced dill (about 2-3 tbsp), about 2/3 cup of mayo (I always start with 2 tablespoons and then add as needed. Now, I usually use homemade mayo, made with walnut or hazelnut oil, but I've made it with Hellman's too, and it was good), and - completely optional: a couple of teaspoons of Manischewitz Creamy Horseradish sauce with lemon (I once added it because I happened to have it at the time and was curious, and I really loved it).

I don't remember the exact quantities for the second one (haven't made it in a couple of months), but I'll tell you "more or less". It includes: cooked and thoroughly rinsed soba noodles (the soba noodles we buy, come separated into little bunches - I use two bunches, I just checked, each bunch is 3.2 oz), one bunch of scallions (very thinly sliced), one fresh red bell pepper (julienned), some toasted sesame seeds and the dressing. Now, I don't remember the exact amount of the dressing ingredients (I just make it, taste it and add whatever is missing, you know), but just to give you an idea: soy sauce (let's say, 1/2 cup), about 1/2 tsp minced garlic, about 1/2 tsp of minced ginger (you can certainly use more, depending on how gingery you like it), 1 tbsp of rice vinegar, 1 tbsp of sesame oil and some red pepper flakes.

Woops, I didn't realise this post turned out so long - sorry!

From Talk

What are you known for?

@rosezilla-I just sent you a pm-thanks for sharing your recipes.

I wish there was a way to see all of these recipes. So many of them sound so good. The SE community is fantastic.