What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[turbo]

I hear that botulism is really running rampant through Maine this year. Of course us PF Mentors are willing to take on this important task of ensuring member safety.

Yep, I think it'll work, Evo. He can't suspect anything.[/size][/color]

The only botulism running rampant through Maine is being soaked up by vain dowagers who are afraid to show any emotion for fear of looking wrinkled. I guess I could try to produce BT intentionally to cash in on the fad...

 

[turbo]

Today, I boiled down gallons of green tomatoes, and tomorrow they will be reduced further and combined with peppers, onions, cilantro, etc to make a BIG batch of salsa, and my wife and I will have a lot of canning to do tomorrow night. I also processed the sweet corn that my sister-in-law gave us yesterday and that is bagged in the freezer, with the husks and cobs joining the activity in the compost bins.

Note to the sisters: breaking news! Apparently there have been reports of serious listeria outbreaks that have been traced to premium chocolates that have been improperly processed and packed in oxygen-free environments that promote the propagation of this pathogen. Cheap domestic candies with low chocolate content are not involved. Link here:

http://www.food_recall.org/premium_chocolate_listeria_epidemic_

 

[Evo]

Note to the sisters: breaking news! Apparently there have been reports of serious listeria outbreaks that have been traced to premium chocolates that have been improperly processed and packed in oxygen-free environments that promote the propagation of this pathogen. Cheap domestic candies with low chocolate content are not involved. Link here:

http://www.food_recall.org/premium_chocolate_listeria_epidemic_

I can't open the link.

 

[turbo]

I can't open the link.

Darn! The chocolate market must be flexing their muscle on this and squashing the news. No matter. I am trained as an organic chemist, and I can test for listeria. Just send all your chocolate to the turbo-1 listeria lab and I'll check it for you and ship it back. We can't have the sisters dropping like flies. I have your best interests at heart.

 

[Evo]

Darn! The chocolate market must be flexing their muscle on this and squashing the news. No matter. I am trained as an organic chemist, and I can test for listeria. Just send all your chocolate to the turbo-1 listeria lab and I'll check it for you and ship it back. We can't have the sisters dropping like flies. I have your best interests at heart.

We'll meet half way, you hand over the salsas and we'll hand over the chocolates.

 

[turbo]

In a food thread, there should be an occasional mention of the tools of the trade. I recently purchased a 6" Sabatier chef's knife (the brand with the stars and elephant logo) to replace one that disappeared years ago. In this season of salsas, chopped/frozen foods, etc, knives are critical tools and my wife has recently discovered why I missed the 6" Sabatier so badly when it went missing. The balance, the quality, and the feel are superb. Sabatier's SS knives are great, but their forged carbon steel blades are the best in the world.

Recently, Evo linked to a video by Alton Brown who purported to know how to take care of knives. I was prepared to be educated until said "good eats" guru proceeded to hand his "precious" knives over to some "expert" with a belt grinder and a grinding wheel to get them "properly" sharpened. This is so wrong on so many levels that it is hard to describe. Knives must be sharpened on lubricated, cooled stones or diamond hones, so that the temper of the edge is not compromised, and then they should be touched up on a steel between uses to re-align deformations in the edge caused by hard usage. It is difficult to imagine how somebody like Alton Brown has been awarded any kind of credentials as a food "expert" yet lacks the basic skills required to maintain the tools of his trade. Can you imagine a fish-monger or a butcher who lacked the skills to sharpen their cleavers, heavy knives and fillet/boning knives and had to wait for some itinerant "sharpener" to come by every few months and sharpen their tools on motorized machines in a shower of sparks? Stupid. If the Food Channel ever bothered to look beyond the urban, high-earning, dilettante demographic they aim for, they would realize that there are basic skills involved with the hunting, planting, cultivation, harvesting, and preparation of food that they are unable to address effectively. Real cooking requires skills that go far beyond the ability to throw stuff together from boxes and jars, and contrary to what Brown asserts, real chefs know how to maintain the tools of their trade. When my grandmother was honing a blade on a steel, you wouldn't get anywhere near her. The knife was a blur.

 

[Astronuc]

When my grandmother was honing a blade on a steel, you wouldn't get anywhere near her. The knife was a blur.

It was the same way with my dad sharpening the carving knife in the kitchen - 35+ years ago.

 

[turbo]

Well, during the time when my grandmother was cooking for the crew driving logs down the Kennebec river, she was feeding 40+ men per day. Every day, she was cooking hams, turkeys, beef roasts, vegetables, sauces, and stuffings, plus monster breakfasts every day, and she cooked a 10" fruit pie every single day for every man on the crew. These guys were working their butts off and burning the calories, and my grandmother was keeping them in trim. She was a monster in the kitchen.

 

[Astronuc]

I often spice my food with hot curry (lots of coriander and cumin, as well as fenugreek and tumeric) with hot sauce.

 

[turbo]

We use hot curries a lot in stir-fries. Those are fun dished to just "wing it" with whatever's on hand. A pretty simple, generic dish might start with pieces of chicken going into the wok in really hot peanut oil - brown that and stir in chopped chilis, bell peppers and onions, and maybe string beans and/or carrots. If carrots are used, they should go in the wok at the same time as the chicken, because they take longer to cook than the other vegetables. When the vegetables are cooked but still firm, add in some chicken or turkey broth that we made previously (frozen in blocks in the chest freezer) and hot curry, black pepper, and salt to taste. Serve over hot basmati rice. Mmmm! That's a really quick, easy meal.

Last night, my wife got an idea about making a vegetable soup with lentils and Swiss chard. I was skeptical, but it was pretty darned good with a grilled cheese on rye.

 

[Astronuc]

Well I demonstrated tonight that Dole's Orange-Strawberry-Banana drink does not go well with a savory Garlic Chicken Pasta. A hint of orange or lemon juice would have been OK, but the strawberry-banana taste combined with the sweet fruit juices (and I'm guessing high fuctose corn syrup) just does not go well with the garlic and spices.

It's a good thing that I can eat anything regardless of taste, because I'll end up eating most of it.

 

[turbo]

Well I demonstrated tonight that Dole's Orange-Strawberry-Banana drink does not go well with a savory Garlic Chicken Pasta. A hint of orange or lemon juice would have been OK, but the strawberry-banana taste combined with the sweet fruit juices (and I'm guessing high fuctose corn syrup) just does not go well with the garlic and spices.

It's a good thing that I can eat anything regardless of taste, because I'll end up eating most of it.

Ooh! I am impressed by your adventurous nature, but I could not have been prompted to try that combination under any circumstances. Generally, when I think of garlic and chicken, that drives me to simple acids (maybe lime or lemon), fresh-ground black pepper and maybe branching out to parprika, basil, oregano for seasonings, and then finishing the dish with a complementary fruit or vegetable to round out the dish. In college, I'd raid my meager larder and come up with dishes that sometimes ended up being favorites. My roommate would have married me if I was female even if I was not cute. When I told him that I was making a batch of lentil soup, he'd flip.

 

[Astronuc]

Ooh! I am impressed by your adventurous nature, but I could not have been prompted to try that combination under any circumstances. Generally, when I think of garlic and chicken, that drives me to simple acids (maybe lime or lemon), fresh-ground black pepper and maybe branching out to parprika, basil, oregano for seasonings, and then finishing the dish with a complementary fruit or vegetable to round out the dish. In college, I'd raid my meager larder and come up with dishes that sometimes ended up being favorites. My roommate would have married me if I was female even if I was not cute. When I told him that I was making a batch of lentil soup, he'd flip.

Well, yes - I realized my error as soon as I poured the juice. Usually I use orange or lemon, which has worked in the past.

I have done some pretty weird stuff in the past, but then I'll eat whatever I cook - even if no one else will.

Certainly hot sauce or curry will repair the damage.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Our new member tacosareveryyum just reminded me: Yesterday I found the elusive REAL fried taco shells at a fast-food place near here. Hurray!

Their food is probably as good as any fine Mexican restaurant. And I found the same to be true in L.A. The best tacos that I ever had [tripe tacos] were from a hole-in-the-wall in one of the worst parts of the city.

 

[Evo]

It is supposed to freeze tonight so my mom went to go and pick all of the ripe tomotoes, I told her she should pick the green ones to and try making the green tomatoe salsa as well. I hope she gives it a try because it sounds yummy.

Scorpa try this, it's a version of Ninfa's Green sauce. It is fabulous!

3 medium avocados
3 medium green tomatoes
4 fresh tomatillos
3 garlic cloves
3 sprigs fresh cilantro
2-3 jalapenos
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/2 teaspoon salt, to taste

Peel avocados and place them in a blender.
In a medium saucepan, boil tomates, tomatillos, garlic, and jalapenos for 15 minutes.
Remove from saucepan and place all ingredients in a blender with avocados.
Add sour cream and blend until smooth

http://www.recipezaar.com/34965

 

[scorpa]

Thanks guys I will pass the recipes on to the one who makes it! Oh and I tried spinach and feta pizza today and I am shocked but it is soooo good!

 

[turbo]

Thanks guys I will pass the recipes on to the one who makes it! Oh and I tried spinach and feta pizza today and I am shocked but it is soooo good!

Some Greeks moved into the area about 20 years ago, and they offered a lot of pizzas with feta and odd topping combinations. Some of them were OK.

Pat's in Orono had a better plan. Just about anything they had in their restaurant could be requested as a pizza topping. My favorite combo was sauerkraut and hot Italian sausage, then I'd shake on crushed red pepper and black pepper when it arrived.

 

[jtbell]

Are there any okra fans here?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TRAVEL/getaways/09/18/okra.strut.ap/index.html

As an expatriate Midwesterner, I can't stand the stuff. But I live about an hour's drive from Irmo, so maybe I'll visit the Okra Strut this year and at least get a picture of Okra Man.

My brother, who's lived in various parts of the country, has a theory that there's an invisible Okra Line that divides the United States into two parts. North of the Okra Line, you never see okra on a restaurant menu. South of the Okra Line, almost every locally-owned restaurant has it.

 

[Math Is Hard]

Oh yes! I love me some okra! Pickle it up, or fry it up, or put it in my gumbo. I'll eat it any way but raw.

 

[Evo]

Are there any okra fans here?

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TRAVEL/getaways/09/18/okra.strut.ap/index.html

As an expatriate Midwesterner, I can't stand the stuff. But I live about an hour's drive from Irmo, so maybe I'll visit the Okra Strut this year and at least get a picture of Okra Man.

My brother, who's lived in various parts of the country, has a theory that there's an invisible Okra Line that divides the United States into two parts. North of the Okra Line, you never see okra on a restaurant menu. South of the Okra Line, almost every locally-owned restaurant has it.

I love okra, fried and pickled are my favorites. I used to grow it, it's like a huge hibiscus.

 

[Math Jeans]

I think its great in gumbo.

 

[turbo]

Oh yes! I love me some okra! Pickle it up, or fry it up, or put it in my gumbo. I'll eat it any way but raw.

Eek! I like gumbos that I've had in LA and east TX, but eating okra as a vegetable must be an acquired taste. No matter how it is cooked (even hidden in breading and fried) it turns into such disgusting slime. I must say that I loved trying little diners down south and finding turnip greens, collards, etc on the menu, especially if they were cooked with salt pork and served up with piquant vinegar on the side.

 

[turbo]

Our friends from Pittsburg are due to show up for a cookout, and my wife and I have been preparing food for a couple of hours. We have a large salad all made with vegetables and herbs from our garden, sliced apples from one of our trees, cheese, crackers, chili relishes and salsas, carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes for snacks. We'll have cheeseburgers and BBQ chicken for the main meal, with my favorite appetizer - jalapeno poppers, stuffed with cream cheese and crumbled bacon, and topped with shredded Monterey Jack, roasted on the grill. Mmmm! As we've made batches of chili relishes and salsas, there always seems to be a little left over after canning them, so we've been putting the overage in one jar in the refrigerator. It's kind of a cross between salsa and habanero relish right now and it is fabulous on cheeseburgers!

 

[ZapperZ]

Dunkin Donuts is completely http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070827/us_nm/dunkindonuts_transfat_dc by Oct 15 of this year. They already have many within their chains that are already using this new oil.

Humm... might I finally be able to have a Dunkin Donuts doughnut for the first time in 4 years?

:)

Zz.

 

[Moonbear]

Dunkin Donuts is completely http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070827/us_nm/dunkindonuts_transfat_dc by Oct 15 of this year. They already have many within their chains that are already using this new oil.

Humm... might I finally be able to have a Dunkin Donuts doughnut for the first time in 4 years?

:)

Zz.

I hope it doesn't ruin the flavor. I love Dunkin Donuts (but only eat it rarely).

But, beware, it doesn't say no trans fats, they say "zero grams." There's some loophole in the labeling laws (or the lack of labeling laws) that let's them get away with still having trans fats and saying 0 g because it's less than a gram...I don't know the exact amount that is the cutoff, but I'm guessing it may be anything less than a half gram so you can "round down" to 0. There was a news story on it not too long ago that it's a gimmick a lot of these junk food manufacturers are using to label their products "0 g trans fats" without having to stop using them.

I got my annual dose of Dunkin Donuts and trans fats when I visited in July. I don't know how you could resist with it being practically right around the corner.

 

[ZapperZ]

I hope it doesn't ruin the flavor. I love Dunkin Donuts (but only eat it rarely).

But, beware, it doesn't say no trans fats, they say "zero grams." There's some loophole in the labeling laws (or the lack of labeling laws) that let's them get away with still having trans fats and saying 0 g because it's less than a gram...I don't know the exact amount that is the cutoff, but I'm guessing it may be anything less than a half gram so you can "round down" to 0. There was a news story on it not too long ago that it's a gimmick a lot of these junk food manufacturers are using to label their products "0 g trans fats" without having to stop using them.

I got my annual dose of Dunkin Donuts and trans fats when I visited in July. I don't know how you could resist with it being practically right around the corner.

I have strong will-power whenever I want to. It also helps that I can be pretty stubborn! :)

Since I decide a while back to cut out as much trans fat as I can, I've stopped going to several places that I really love, such as Popeye's Chicken (I LOVE THAT PLACE!) and Dunkin Donuts (I much prefer yeast doughnuts such as Dunkin Donuts rather than cake doughnuts such as Crispy Creme). Unfortunately, that also means that I had to cut out almost all fried foods since one cannot tell what kind of oil they're using.

Luckily, around here, there are now many places that advertises the type of oil they use, etc. So I can now get my fix of fries and onion rings (once a month). Now if anyone knows what kind of oil Fuddruckers use...

Zz.

 

[turbo]

According to Wiki, the FDA standard for "0% trans fat" is actually less than one gram per tablespoon.

In January 2007, faced with the prospect of an outright ban on the sale of their product, Crisco was reformulated to meet the US FDA definition of "zero grams trans fats per serving" (that is less than one gram per tablespoon) by boosting the saturation and then cutting the resulting solid with oils. Meanwhile, at the University of Guelph,

Alejandro Marangoni's research group found a way to mix oil, water, monoglycerides and fatty acids to form a "cooking fat" that acts the same way as trans and saturated fats — the stuff that makes baked goods taste so good. The big difference here is Marangoni's process works with "healthier" oils like olive, soybean and canola. He's hoping to get food manufacturers interested in the process this year, as the pressure mounts on the makers of commercial foods to dump trans fats.[14][15]

 

[NateTG]

According to Wiki, the FDA standard for "0% trans fat" is actually less than one gram per tablespoon.

So still 1.5% trans fat?

Really, you should be able to get stuff fried in coconut oil, lard, tallow, or clarified butter which are all available unhydrogenated, and all make for tasty tasty donuts. Naturally, all of those are chock full of saturated fat, which is also frowned upon by the nutrition folk.

Basically, hydrogenation is a process for synthetically saturating oils, but there are many natural sources of saturated fat which may, or may not, be healthier than the trans fats. It would not be surprising if the mechanisms for the associated health concerns are effectively the same.

In practice, unsaturated fats like safflower, flaxseed, fish oil, and olive oil (and a bunch of others) are chemically more heat sensitive which makes them less suitable for frying food, go rancid more quickly, and tend to have lower melting points, which can affect their viability for use in baked goods.

 

[turbo]

My wife and I have been using butter, olive oil, and peanut oil for years, and have no margarine, hydrogenated oils, etc in the house. We don't often deep-fry, but if we do, that is done in lard, not shortening. You can keep the temperature of the lard so high that the chicken, donuts, whatever crisp up immediately and resist the absorption of the cooking grease, resulting in a lighter product with less total fat.

I scalded, peeled and simmered down gallons of ripe tomatoes today, and will make up another batch of red tomato salsa tomorrow. The next day, I'll start processing some green tomatoes so that we'll have an extra "cushion" of green tomato salsa. I hate running out of that stuff. It is wonderful on cheeseburgers, omelets, and a thousand other things. Need a sauce for crab-cakes? Grab a jar of red or green salsa, and blend it with Cain's mayonnaise with some fresh-ground black pepper and a little salt and whatever else strikes your fancy.

 

[Moonbear]

Oh, crap, I should have bookmarked the various recipes I liked in this thread as I saw them to get back to the right page! I'm now thinking I'd like to go back and find some of the finger food recipes for my Mad Hatter Tea Party, and am realizing the thread is now 55 pages long! I'll never find them!