What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[Evo]

Meringue pies, like lemon meringue.

Who else scrapes the meringue off and just eats the pie?

I mean, meringue is a pile of egg whites. EWWWWWW.

Put whipped cream on it if you want to top it with something.

 

[turbo]

Meringue pies, like lemon meringue.

Who else scrapes the meringue off and just eats the pie?

I mean, meringue is a pile of egg whites. EWWWWWW.

Put whipped cream on it if you want to top it with something.

That was my grandmother's philosophy. Instead of a smooth lemony filling, she made a light filling loaded with lemon zest (she called it lemon chiffon pie) and topped it with fresh whipped cream. That was my father's favorite pie, so we got some every Thanksgiving. Heaven!

 

[turbo]

Evo, you'll be happy to hear that my wife is making eggplant Parmesan today. Twisted Edge would be glad to hear that I don't have to eat it. She's making it to take to her mother's place tonight. Yay! I have left-over shepherd's pie, hot-dogs, and other tasty stuff to eat.

 

[Evo]

Evo, you'll be happy to hear that my wife is making eggplant Parmesan today. Twisted Edge would be glad to hear that I don't have to eat it. She's making it to take to her mother's place tonight. Yay! I have left-over shepherd's pie, hot-dogs, and other tasty stuff to eat.

You and Twisting Edge, I swear I've never known two people that both said that eggplant tasted like cardboard coasters.

Mmmmmm, the only thing better than eggplant parmesan is Moussaka, it's eggplant parmesan with bechemel sauce. :!)

I am having a Philadelphia Steak Pizza for dinner tonight. Only a few minutes until it's ready.

 

[turbo]

You and Twisting Edge, I swear I've never known two people that both said that eggplant tasted like cardboard coasters.

If you are looking at an on-line system for marking possible matches, you might want to ignore my lack of structure, and consider the possible benefits of marketing food that is otherwise unpalatable and devoid of taste and attraction.

 

[Evo]

Mmmm, mmrmmph, snork, chomp.

This is a very good pizza. I don't normally eat pizza that isn't loaded, this has only Philly steak, caramalized onions, and cheese. YUM!

 

[rewebster]

If you are looking at an on-line system for marking possible matches, you might want to ignore my lack of structure, and consider the possible benefits of marketing food that is otherwise unpalatable and devoid of taste and attraction.

they do make nice ornamental plants

 

[turbo]

I have convinced my wife that in consideration for the stuff I do around here, she will stop watching Pat and Gina Neely every day at 5:30. They are the two most over-the-top smarmy, saccharine, insincere, people on the Food Network, and I can't even stand to listen to them in the background.

Of course, I made her a batch of extra-spicy rye croutons today, and she kept crunching them like popcorn. That might have softened her up, so I'll have to test her resolve if she tries to sneak a peek. Frankly, the Neely's recipes are more hype and "cuteness" than substance.

My cousin's daughter and her husband both work in the food-service trade (though she is getting more and more steady work as a speech therapist) and though they spent years in the deep south, they get BBQ/smoker recipes from me. (A back-woods Maineiac) Last winter was the mildest on record for years and years, and her husband still thought it was too cold. Durn rebels! Gotta teach him about the joys of BBQing in fleece and down jackets.

 

[turbo]

they do make nice ornamental plants

One of my neighbors grows eggplant in 5-gallon buckets. Of course he also grows more zucchini than any normal couple could eat.

Both "filler" vegetables that are not edible without a lot of camouflage and misdirection. His wife grinds them up and freezes them, only to make "breads" to "thrill" the neighbors. It's really awful.

 

[Evo]

One of my neighbors grows eggplant in 5-gallon buckets. Of course he also grows more zucchini than any normal couple could eat.

Both "filler" vegetables that are not edible without a lot of camouflage and misdirection. His wife grinds them up and freezes them, only to make "breads" to "thrill" the neighbors. It's really awful.

My co-worker made a chocolate zucchini cake and you would not know it had zucchini in it. It was to die for. She also made the only rice pudding that not only I could eat, but it was delicious.

 

[turbo]

My co-worker made a chocolate zucchini cake and you would not know it had zucchini in it.

Of course not! It is a filler meant to add moisture and structure to heavy cakes. It has no flavor of its own. My wife can make nice zucchini cakes or breads, though she generally relies on apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, some citrus (often lemon) to give them character. The neighbors' breads and cakes are inedible. They have no flavor, but if they would hold together, I could use them as counterweights for my tractor or perhaps a block to tether my dog to.

My wife makes an apple bread that is to die for. It's called raw-apple bread because the dough is cool and the apple is blended in in fairly large chunks with no preparation. It's a soft, meaty, moist bread that never lasts long enough to spoil. Wonderful stuff for breakfast or dessert.

I'm surprised that there isn't a Food Network show that concentrates on simple Depression-Era foods that are affordable, don't require lots of specialized equipment to prepare, and are hearty enough to feed a family of working folks. I could open a restaurant with recipes handed down from my Anglo-German grandmother and my French-Canadian grandmother (both with strong native-American heritages). Good simple food done well.

Not so much of that on the FN. When the Neelys or Deen starts out with a deep-fryer ready to crisp some concoctions made of heavy cream, butter, etc, it turns me off. My grandmothers used animal fats (lard) to transfer heat to food very quickly, and crisp it so fast that fat penetration was minimized. My Anglo-German grandmother made doughnuts that were very light, sweet, and crispy, with NO greasy taste/texture. The lard puffed and crisped them very quickly, and she added them to the frying-pan very slowly, so that the lard always got back up to operating temperature before another couple of doughnuts got laid in. Heavy cast iron pan and a hot gas flame made that possible.

 

[turbo]

Supper was pretty nice. Leftover sage risotto with carrots, mushrooms, onions, garlic, etc. Plus a suicidal partridge. The bird killed itself by flying into my storm-door window. I thin-slided the breast meat, dredged it in flour, salt, pepper and onion powder and fried it in butter in a really hot cast-iron skillet.

Maybe a deer will suicide by running headlong into my house. I could use some venison.

 

[Evo]

Supper was pretty nice. Leftover sage risotto with carrots, mushrooms, onions, garlic, etc. Plus a suicidal partridge. The bird killed itself by flying into my storm-door window. I thin-slided the breast meat, dredged it in flour, salt, pepper and onion powder and fried it in butter in a really hot cast-iron skillet.

Maybe a deer will suicide by running headlong into my house. I could use some venison.

Awww, poor partridge. At least he didn't go to waste.

I love rabbit, but I was against my first husband shooting them. So whenever he went hunting on his friend's ranch and brought home rabbits, he'd always tell me that they accidently ran over them with the jeep. When I would ask him why there were bullet holes in the bunnies, he'd tell me that they were suffering and had to be humanely put down.

It worked every time, I'd cook up those bunnies so they would be honored for the tasty morsels they are.

 

[turbo]

It worked every time, I'd cook up those bunnies so they would be honored for the tasty morsels they are.

Sorry about the deception, but happy about the cooking. Rabbits make the nicest stew...

 

[Evo]

Some woman on the Food Channel said "your guests will be so impressed when you serve this cheese on your haricots vert, what's next, bâtons de poisson?

Lady, you're American and you're in America, they're green beans, stop being pretentious. Ack!

 

[rewebster]

It worked every time, I'd cook up those bunnies so they would be honored for the tasty morsels they are.

I didn't realize your love for nature

 

[Evo]

I didn't realize your love for nature

Nature can be mighty tasty.

 

[Monique]

Some woman on the Food Channel said "your guests will be so impressed when you serve this cheese on your haricots vert, what's next, bâtons de poisson?

Lady, you're American and you're in America, they're green beans, stop being pretentious. Ack!

Don't haricot verts have different properties than typical American green beans? Here the haricot verts are longer and thinner than the general green beans. The crop has either been selected to generate this type of beans, or the harvest is selected and placed in different quality groups. There is a show on television here that investigates these types of questions, it would be interesting to get to the bottom of it.

I agree that in general the chefs like to inflate the dish by using fancy names. I've been to restaurants where the chef would explain the menu of the day and that I wouldn't understand a word he just said.

 

[Evo]

Don't haricot verts have different properties than typical American green beans? Here the haricot verts are longer and thinner than the general green beans. The crop has either been selected to generate this type of beans, or the harvest is selected and placed in different quality groups. There is a show on television here that investigates these types of questions, it would be interesting to get to the bottom of it.

I agree that in general the chefs like to inflate the dish by using fancy names. I've been to restaurants where the chef would explain the menu of the day and that I wouldn't understand a word he just said.

These were definitely plain old green beans. Not long at all.

Yes, haricots vert are supposed to be longer and thinner. She was just clueless. Watching these shows are masochistic.

 

[rewebster]

I agree that in general the chefs like to inflate the dish by using fancy names. I've been to restaurants where the chef would explain the menu of the day and that I wouldn't understand a word he just said.

for some reason that seems to be the case with a lot of fields in the more 'extensive' regions to be explained---art, derivatives (business), physics, etc.

 

[Monique]

for some reason that seems to be the case with a lot of fields in the more 'extensive' regions to be explained---art, derivatives (business), physics, etc.

Yes, you can call french fries "Pommes de terre frites à cru, en petites tranches", but is that really necessary? When you communicate with people, you should be clear what you're talking about.

 

[Evo]

What I hate the most is when they can't pronounce the names of the food. Emeril Lagasse pronounces jalapeño (ha la peh nyo) as HA LA pee na

He pronounces poblano (pō blah no) as puh bleh no

AAAARGH

 

[rewebster]

What I hate the most is when they can't pronounce the names of the food. Emeril Lagasse pronounces jalapeño (ha la peh nyo) as HA LA pee na

He pronounces poblano (pō blah no) as puh bleh no

AAAARGH

ohh, those pooghm-pause people!

 

[Evo]

ohh, those pooghm-pause people!

Seriously, if you're going to be on tv, learn how to pronounce the ingredients.

Some of the food show hosts pronounce voila as walla. And vichyssoise as vichyswa. This "chef" was even having the group of kids he was teaching say it over and over and he couldn't pronounce it himself. It's like dragging fingernails across a chalk board.

I know, I'm anal when it comes to pronouncing things. I wonder if these people know what a dictionary is.

 

[rewebster]

Yes, you can call french fries "Pommes de terre frites à cru, en petites tranches", but is that really necessary? When you communicate with people, you should be clear what you're talking about.

no wonder then why the English just call them 'chips'

 

[rewebster]

Seriously, if you're going to be on tv, learn how to pronounce the ingredients.

Some of the food show hosts pronounce voila as walla. And vichyssoise as vichyswa. This "chef" was even having the group of kids he was teaching say it over and over and he couldn't pronounce it himself. It's like dragging fingernails across a chalk board.

I know, I'm anal when it comes to pronouncing things. I wonder if these people know what a dictionary is.

oh, boy----and we're all glad that's the only thing you're anal about!


edit:
<Runs and hides>

 

[Evo]

no wonder then why the English just call them 'chips'

The English are crazy, they call fries "chips" and chips "crisps".

<Runs and hides>

 

[turbo]

The Food Network is such a joke. Their "stars" spend so much of their time convincing you of how perfect every dish is... Ina and the Neelys in particular are top offenders. The Neelys are sooo lovey-dovey with the baby-talk, it's sickening. My wife has agreed to shut off the Food Network when their show comes on because I just can't stand listening to them.

 

[Evo]

oh, boy----and we're all glad that's the only thing you're anal about!

 

[turbo]

The English are crazy, they call fries "chips" and chips "crisps".

<Runs and hides>

And the old gents who are members of the order of the garter wear suspenders, right?

 

[Evo]

I bought some zucchini because I was going to make a stew for couscous, but that's not going to happen since I made a huge pan of chicken enchiladas. Now I have to cook them before they go bad. They've already started bullying the radishes, so I need to act quickly.

I was thinking of sprinkling them with olive oil and italian herbs and roasting them. Any other simple ideas?

 

[Andre]

I was thinking of sprinkling them with olive oil and italian herbs and roasting them. Any other simple ideas?

When I had a shipload of zucchinnis in the old days I used to pickle them with onions, ratio one to one. Add some italian herbs, Fill up the jars with boiling water/vinegar and a bit sugar for taste. Cook 'au bain marie' (short) and close the jars while hot. Cool quickly in water to prevent the zucchinnis to get too soft.

 

[turbo]

When we get too much zucchini, my wife gets out the Kitchen Aid and slicer attachment and shreds them. She packs them in small Zip-Loc bags and tosses them into the freezer. When she wants to make a loaf of zucchini bread, pull out a bag.

 

[Evo]

Ok, so I bought "green vidalia" onions, they're young vidalias with the green leaves and supposed to be similar to leeks when cooked, and they were only 99 cents a bunch. I also splurged and bought radishes (since I can't get them to grow here), those I will sautee in some butter. If you haven't eaten sauteed radishes, you haven't lived.

Now I have to decide what to cook for an entree. I have tons of steak from that steak "mishap". Maybe a steak topped with the sauteed vidalias and radishes.

 

[rewebster]

A new trend in growing lettuce, radishes, and other quick growing 'small' things is using plastic gutters (cut to your size, capped on the ends) and with drainage holes.

They don't take up make space for the 'output', easy to handle, and be hung, even over each other.

A ten foot section runs about $4, but the ends caps can run about $2 each.

 

[Ben Niehoff]

I need some advice on cast iron, and I thought you guys could help (especially Turbo). We are looking to get one or two pans and a dutch oven. Prices of new things are kinda high, so if I can snag something used off of Craigslist, that would be great.

What do you think of the quality of these items?

This one looks good on the back; no picture of the front. It's a small skillet, though...so it wouldn't be enough on its own:

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/clt/1714231996.html

I think these look OK, a little hard to tell:

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/clt/1703170006.html

These look like they need work...probably wouldn't want to bother:

http://orangecounty.craigslist.org/hsh/1715620730.html

And these might make you cry. I'm not considering buying them, just showing you what I dug up: :P

http://inlandempire.craigslist.org/clt/1698798632.html

All of these things are about an hour away from where I live, so before driving out there to see them, it would help to have your opinion.Also, if I were to buy new instead, what do you recommend? And what's the best kind of fat to use for seasoning the pan?

 

[Evo]

Griswold is very expensive, I believe turbo has some.

For new pans look at Lodge for a good pan at a reasonable price.

http://www.lodgemfg.com/Logic-product.asp

 

[turbo]

The 8" and 10" Wagner Ware skillets in the second link are very nice. The little #3 in the first listing is tiny. If you wanted to saute a bit of onion and garlic for a dish, you might use it, but a #5 Griswold is the smallest I would get, since I'm a cook, not a collector. It's a good size to do up a couple of scrambled eggs, and it's almost always on the stove-top waiting for another task. Lots of savory/aromatic stuff starts out in that little skillet before being added to the sauce-pot.

If you get the 8" and 10" skillets, start haunting lawn sales and estate sales and see if you can come up with a 10" dutch oven and lid. The lid can do double-duty on the skillet and the pot. My wife and I have a 12" dutch oven with lid, and the lid gets used on our 12" skillet quite a bit. It holds in both heat and moisture, with is really nice when you're whipping up a risotto or something similar.

Griswold and Wagner Ware are both good high-quality brands, and the cookwear lasts lifetimes. Invest in some non-scratch spatulas, so you won't erode the cured surface of the cast iron. If you need to clean cast iron and stuff is cooked on, the best method I've found is to put water in the pan and bring it to a boil to loosen the tough stuff and de-glaze the pan. Wipe out the pan with terrycloth or a nylon scrubber, then scour the bottom lightly with coarse sea salt, wipe that out and lightly oil the pan with oil with a high smoke temperature (I use peanut oil) and reheat the pan. When the pan is cooled, wipe out the excess oil and store the pan.

You don't have to do this whole routine very frequently - just when the pan needs a real good cleaning. With a few years of seasoning, the bottom of the skillet will be shiny and practically non-stick.

 

[turbo]

Griswold is very expensive, I believe turbo has some.

Yes, but I don't have a lot invested in them. I got them at yard sales, house-cleanouts, and the like. It's the same way I got some nice old chef's knives.

If you buy Griswold through eBay or similar, you will pay a premium because they are very collectible, plus good cooks know how good the cookware is. That means you are competing against collectors AND experienced cooks. Double whammy.

Lawn sales are great, though. Our most-used skillet is the little #5 Griswold, and my wife picked it up at a lawn sale for a couple of bucks. Score! I didn't have to work at it at all - the pan was already clean, rust-free and well-seasoned. Some old cook must have kicked off or got put in a nursing home, and the heirs were clueless about good cookware.

 

[Ben Niehoff]

We have a silicone spatula already (with a metal support inside so it doesn't get all floppy). Besides that, we have some nylon stuff (crappy) and some wooden spoons and spatulas (great). I assume wooden spoons are OK for cast iron?

I was just on the phone with the guy with the Wagner Ware skillets. He says the smaller one does not sit flat, so I won't get that one. But the larger one sounds good, will probably pick it up tomorrow.

Edit:

I will certainly be checking out lawn sales and estate sales, as the season for them is approaching. Also, this is LA...sometimes you can get some really great stuff at estate sales if some rich Hollywood types get divorced or something. :P

 

[turbo]

Good luck, Ben. My wife and I have a nice collection of wooden spoons and spatulas that are great for cast iron. Recently the Chinese have started putting out wooden utensils made of laminated bamboo, too. If you can trust that the adhesives aren't full of formaldehyde and other bad actors, they might be an option. My wife picked up a couple of laminated-bamboo pizza-bread peels since she has started baking bread with a passion, and they are wonderful. Dust the peels with corn meal, after the last punch-down, put the loaves on the peels and cover with cloth for the last rise, then slip the loaves onto the preheated bread stone when you're ready to bake. Those simple tools make a huge difference.

 

[Evo]

I picked up a cast iron pan at my Grandmother's house over 40 years ago, and the house was filled with stuff that was pre-civil war. The pan is so worn that I can't make out the markings. It is very crudely made, so probably not worth anything, but it works.

 

[turbo]

I picked up a cast iron pan at my Grandmother's house over 40 years ago, and the house was filled with stuff that was pre-civil war. The pan is so worn that I can't make out the markings. It is very crudely made, so probably not worth anything, but it works.

There were foundries all over the country 100 years ago, and there are probably all kinds of regional treasures to be found, crude-looking or not.

Wagner Ware and Griswold got popular by standardizing on sizes and delivering pans with a nice smooth machined interior finish. You could go to a hardware store or general store and order a pan, knowing that it was going to be well-made. Somehow, Griswold had the upper hand in Maine, because it is very rare to see any Wagner stuff at lawn sales. Years back stuff got delivered by train here, and most of the large distributors of tools, hardware, etc were located in Boston. We had local tool-makers like Snow and Nealy, but they were mostly making steel tools for the lumber industry. Even today, their cruising axes are highly-prized as compact light tools for chopping camp-fire wood etc. My uncle has one and I swear he keeps it sharp enough to shave with.

 

[Ben Niehoff]

Hey, so I also want to ask, are these prices any good? Because it looks like I could get brand new stuff from Lodge for similar prices.

 

[Evo]

Hey, so I also want to ask, are these prices any good? Because it looks like I could get brand new stuff from Lodge for similar prices.

Griswold and Wagner are collectible, so you'll pay more. They are very well made.

Alton Brown did a show using Lodge, they are also very well made, but not considered collector's items. He's also an actor. Maybe get a piece of each and compare.

At least with new pans, you can be assured it wasn't formerly coated with rat urine and feces and dead mice.

 

[rewebster]

At least with new pans, you can be assured it wasn't formerly coated with rat urine and feces and dead mice.

who knows for sure if the new pans weren't coated that way too

 

[Ben Niehoff]

So, after doing some more research, it seems that the newer Lodge pans have the stereotypical rough surface, while the older vintage pans are smooth and shiny...it seems that is a good reason to get an older pan...

 

[rewebster]

So, after doing some more research, it seems that the newer Lodge pans have the stereotypical rough surface, while the older vintage pans are smooth and shiny...it seems that is a good reason to get an older pan...

check your local antique malls and stores----sometimes they're high--sometimes low---I've seen them (old Wagner's and Griswold's) in antique malls for $5-10

 

[Evo]

I'd still recommend trying Lodge, they are pre-seasoned, I saw the show on how they're made.

Rated 5 stars here.

http://reviews.basspro.com/2010/65368/reviews.htm

 

[turbo]

So, after doing some more research, it seems that the newer Lodge pans have the stereotypical rough surface, while the older vintage pans are smooth and shiny...it seems that is a good reason to get an older pan...

That is part of the non-stick charm of the old Griswolds, provided they are well-seasoned. The bottoms are quite smooth - almost shiny. If you want to give Lodge a whirl, you might do well to get some sanding disks for your electric drill, and smooth the interior with those. Then clean thoroughly, and season the pan. Cast iron will have pits after machining/sanding, but those fill in as you season and use the pan, so don't worry about them.

I checked Amazon for a Lodge 12" skillet. They sell for about $20, and the 12" cover sells for $24! Instead you should opt for the 12" dutch oven which comes with the same lid and sells for $29. That pricing scheme is insane!