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Best one I saw was while working at a Greek restaurant. Called a mezzaluna and they are awesome. Ours had different handles, but essentially like that one.
Alright so I've always been in love with shitty box mac n cheese, the cheaper the better. But now I can't eat gluten and the gluten free boxes are all stupid expensive and kind of shit besides, so here's my copycat recipe:
gluten free macaroni (preferably Barilla but whatever)
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp milk
1 egg
1/2 cup grated parmesan
3-4 tbsp cheese powder
1/2 tsp modified tapioca starch (optional)
hot sauce to taste
Salt the shit out of your pasta water. Mix together the milk, egg, parm, cheese powder, tapioca starch and hot sauce. Cook and drain the pasta, then return it to the pot and mix in all the other stuff. Cook over medium low heat until the sauce gets as thick and creamy as you like, stirring and scraping the bottom with a spatula the whole time so the egg doesn't scramble.
I've never actually measured any of these ingredients so take them with a grain of salt.
Why would you need to take a scrub brush to it? It's non-stick! If it's sticking, you need to replace the pan!
Generally, a non-stick pan, without the non-stick property, is just a not-very-good pan (unless, of course, you're Bezos rich and are buying All-Clad nonstick).
I've been reading up on curry for the last hour and it's truly a fascinating tale of culinary history. It's so crazy that we have this word, that everyone thinks is a word from India that refers to their food and spice, yet is actually a western word to describe said food and spice. And somehow it spread all over the world. Then we have places like Thailand where their word for curry is one thing and we call it curry, and in neighboring Indonesia they have dishes that are literally called curry/kare.
Thanks, British empire!
BTW I absolutely agree American chili could fall under curry. I guess it depends on how you define curry though. I have a friend who claims to hate Indian food, but loves chili and this stuff: https://www.amazon.com/Tasty-Bite-Indian-Lentils-Microwaveable/dp/B0007R9L4M
She actually calls it chili and I always make it a point to remind her it's Indian food. :D
Fake sugar can definitely make you shit your brains out. Sugar alcohols especially. Just check out the reviews on sugar free gummy bears haha! https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B01AP9EC3G/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_FGZXSBCACY3ATFMBA6Y9?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
I've used cast iron woks and they actually do work well. For example, this one. Sure it's heavy, but as someone who uses a cast iron Dutch oven once to twice a week on average, I have no issues lifting it--I also have a 12 inch cast iron skillet that doesn't weigh that much less than the wok and I have no issue lifting it with one arm with food in it. I get that it's not for everyone, but it does work. A steel one is more practical, though, at least IMO.
Understandable. Not sure if it would work, but it looks like amazon may have some alternatives that work. When I looked for sichuanese yacai, I got some fermented vegetables that may work. As much as I don't like buying food products from Amazon, these may be okay since they are dried.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089QWZY1H/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_fabc_py2aGbPN9VDEP?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
I usually see Italians use a juice glass for wine at home. Something like these: https://www.amazon.com/B%C3%A0caro-Veneto-Italian-Stemless-Glasses/dp/B07Y29Z1V1/ref=sr_1_5?dchild=1&keywords=italian+wine+glasses&qid=1608236118&sr=8-5
Butter has a lower smoke point than Olive Oil. In all truthfulness you really don’t want to get any of the fats you’re cooking with so hot that it starts to smoke, at this point it starts to break down and can impart a burnt taste to your final product. If you want to use butter you can clarify(make a ghee) which gives you a higher smoke point. If I want the flavor of butter but need to fry, I mix in Grapeseed oil and a couple of tbs. of butter. Works great!
>EDIT: It appears that the "Digit" brand is just the same brand as American Weigh, the manufacturer of the original scale. Makes sense, seeing as they seem to share a design.
They sell it as the Blade-100 as well. https://www.amazon.com/American-Weigh-Scales-BL-100-BLK-Digital/dp/B002SVLB8E
Yes, you don't "boil" rice, you "steam" it in a pot with measured water. Without stirring- not even any peeking allowed! The Tassajara Cookbook taught me to give brown rice its privacy. You have to use your nose and ears to tell when the water is absorbed and the rice at the bottom is starting to get crispy. Then you turn off the burner and let it sit for 10 minutes.
I ordered Detroit-style frozen pizza from Amazon Fresh a couple of times and it's really quite good. I'm sure it would be better fresh. I'm not typically a fan of thick crust pizzas, but Detroit pizza is I guess just different enough. I'm not smart enough to really spell out how it's different, but this stuff was particularly tasty. It has a little bit of sweetness to it that I like. I think in the case of that one I linked it's a function of the toppings, but I saw one elsewhere on Reddit (that was linked here) that had hot honey on it, so maybe that's kind of a thing?
Wait, I'm vaguely remembering this. Was the man an American and the woman Japanese? Was this book on Reading Rainbow? I feel like I read this book as a child, too.
EDIT: I think I know, was it How My Parents Learned To Eat?
I just recently found this stuff and have to say it's damned fine in my book. If you like mildly spicy and definitely garlicky, try some of this.
Happy to! Butter dish here. The "knife" that comes with it is actually so blunt I hated it. Very strange design.. But, the magnet will work with other knives so it doesn't matter!
Should have gotten one of these cute little numbers:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EZAPVMW/
A bit low-powered, but perfect for someone like me who hates dealing with the usability disaster of modern microwave controls.
I actually did get one of those! I got the red one, to go with my coffeemaker.
I make a lot of puddings and custards, and it took me a long time to find a strainer I really liked for beaten eggs. Most mesh strainers are fine enough that hand-beaten eggs won't go through them as easily as I'd like, and of course colanders are too coarse. Amusingly, I wound up using this stupid thing from the dollar store:
Amazon - plastic "can colander"
It's apparently intended for people who eat canned green beans but can't figure out how to pour the icky gray water out and don't own any other strainers. (I like how its own description on Amazon explains that you don't need it: "Instead of using the can's metal lid to drain, simply place this strainer over the opening...") But it turns out to have medium-size holes that are big enough that hand-beaten eggs go through quickly, leaving the chalazae (nature's own bungee cords) behind.
That gadget is the dopiest thing in my kitchen (at least when guests are not visiting) but it does work for my alternative use. And it cost me 99¢!
(I could just plug in my stick blender to fully liquefy the eggs, but where's the fun in that?)
Most common kitchen scales suck for exactly that reason. Buy one of those cheap “drug dealer” scales off Amazon that claim to offer 0.01 gram precision. They are lying about that, I don’t trust their accuracy past about 0.2 g, but they are cheap. With inflation, prices have raised, and they cost a whole $17 now.
I used those at work as a professional dyer. I spilled sticky stuff, corrosive chemicals, and hot water on that scale almost every day, and occasionally I had to buy a new one because it stopped working, but that was about once per year with heavy use and abuse, and if my measurements were wrong I would have immediately seen the difference in the color of my products.
What does this matter? My best friend is a proper Nordic white boy and his New Mexican food is better than my entire family's. Hell, even the definitive guide to New Mexican cooking is written by a non-Hispanic.
Being a part of the history and learning recipes from mom and Abuela is great and should be appreciated. However, recipes are nothing but a set of ingredients that anyone can follow; to assume otherwise is just insulting and unintelligent.
Kenji's esquite recipe looks just like every "learned from Abuela" recipe I can find. I see no reason to discount his take because he fails to meet your racial purity standards.
Sorry, most of my cookbooks are in boxes right now. The only one I can remember for certain is this one [it's an amazon link]. It's old and a lot of the recipes have been Americanized due to there being less access to "foreign" ingredients in the 1970s, but it's still a decent cookbook.
I don't know if I would spend this much on myself, but years ago a friend gave me this mill as a gift and told me it's the best one in the world. I can't argue, it's been a workhorse ever since. I'm fairly certain I will never have to buy another, I can't imagine this thing wearing out.
https://www.amazon.com/Unicorn-Magnum-Pepper-Mill-Black/dp/B0006GSR76
The second I read that I started working out how to make bite size meat cubes in my head. Make the meat into a loaf, undercook slightly, slice into cubes, and then quickly sear them in a pan to pick up. Or, buy a metal tray with squares like this.
Best takedown of "protein, starch, veggie" came to me from this book: https://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Wolf-M-F-K-Fisher/dp/0865473366/ Basically "fuck that noise."
Ok but seriously Michel Roux is a real person who is actually one of the world's foremost experts on French sauces.
It's a real Crentist situation, if you ask me.
hah, no, just the regular square one like for making a pullman's loaf: here's what he bought me.
My sister uses this style pan for her pain de mie which she makes on a regular basis because it's one thing that people in her house agree on. She's gotten down to a science, it's always perfect. My white sandwich bread is decent but not perfect. I'm excited to try this pan soon!
hah, no, just the regular square one like for making a pullman's loaf: here's what he bought me.
My sister uses this style pan for her pain de mie which she makes on a regular basis because it's one thing that people in her house agree on. She's gotten down to a science, it's always perfect. My white sandwich bread is decent but not perfect. I'm excited to try this pan soon!
Now that's just a special kind of stupid. As far as I know, bagels aren't used as part of a Jewish religious ceremony. Although bagels could serve as Eucharist in a pinch
But hey, challenge accepted. I present Mexican milk caramel sandwiched in communion-type wafers.
Not quite what you were looking for, but this is a really interesting book:
A Bite-Sized History of France: Gastronomic Tales of Revolution, War, and Enlightenment. It basically walks you through French and European history, but from the perspective of food. Really fascinating.
When buying it at a bakery: Baguette or petit pain ("pain" as in French for bread, which is funny considering I'm in Germany).
When buying it at a fast food chain, no matter which one: a small sub
Somewhat off-topic yet not: Uhm, what?! In which region is a sandwich/sub called a hero? What's going on?! Anyway, there you got a new term to add to the debate, you're welcome.
I am from Denver too!
This is a chain, obviously, but:
They have it on the menu. Lame example, I know.
Man - Denver has really changed since I lived there. I was there last summer to visit a friend and was really loved the lifestyle.
One of the least odd parts of my very odd childhood was uncommon pasta shapes. As a result, when someone says "macaroni," I think of things like this rather than elbows:
https://www.amazon.com/Kraft-Unicorn-Shapes-Macaroni-Cheese/dp/B00RW0NAK8?th=1
I think the ones I had as a kid were dinosaurs or something like that, rather than unicorns, but you get the general idea.
Mac diversity 4 life!
Over this past year of lockdown, I've been buying it at Amazon. Suspect it's cheaper at Costco or a Chinese grocery, but convenient for me.
https://smile.amazon.com/Kam-Yen-Jan-Chinese-Sausage/dp/B000A0ZEBA/
Found this while checking out Franklins books https://www.amazon.com/Franklin-Barbecue-Collection-Special-Two-Book/dp/1984858920/ref=sr\_1\_2?dchild=1&keywords=Franklin+bbq&qid=1628973997&sr=8-2#customerReviews
I have a cookbook with recipes from prison inmates. It's only using simple ingredients they can get in the prison store and only a single pot, a stovetop and an oven. I had all the pots I needed as a student, but being lazy and without a dish washer, those recipes were great.
It was this one which is now sadly discontinued: https://www.amazon.com.au/Joseph-40023-Non-Scratch-Steaming-Vegetable/dp/B00DG0584E
It makes a decent number of dumplings for two when used in an 8 inch saucepan, or an absurd amount of dumplings for one. You can also fit smaller artichokes in it. Not marketed as non-stick but even the most stubborn bit of leftover gyoza wrapper came off very easily.
I saw one of these on sale for $6 at Walmart and figured I'd give it a try. Makes perfect breakfast burrito type eggs in about the time it takes me to get everything else together.
https://www.amazon.com/Hamilton-Beach-Electric-Removable-25506/dp/B07ZQYQ6JK/
I just replaced a very old "AWS" brand scale with this nearly identical model. I have no reason to suspect that it won't last for several years so long as I use it the say I used the one it replaced- at home, in a kitchen, with very little chance of it being dropped because it isn't really being used for cocaine.
EDIT: It appears that the "Digit" brand is just the same brand as American Weigh, the manufacturer of the original scale. Makes sense, seeing as they seem to share a design.
> By saying steamed, there is a non-zero number of people who think you are advocating for cooking rice in a food steamer
That's what I thought they meant at first, until they said they used a rice cooker and realized they meant the "add the correct amount of water so you don't have to drain it like pasta" method. In my head steaming something means you use the heat of the steam to cook it, like with one of these UFO units for veggies or a "double boiler" type basket thing with holes in it for steaming lobsters/etc. VS. boiling which to me is "submerge it in boiling hot water until it's cooked".
It's been so long that I don't even remember where I got it from anymore. But it looks like this:
It's a full 8.5x11 sheet with a sticky back. I put it on the inside of my cupboard door so if I need to check a measurement I open the cupboard, take a peek, and close it up. No one can see it so no one knows my shame.
I really like my Zyliss garlic press. My mom's is 10+ yrs old and I loved hers so much I got my own version. They have a nice cleaning mechanism. And consistently good pressing although the price seems to have gone up on Amazon.
Anyone else grow up using this gadget? I don't know why we didn't have an electric beater until I was in high school. My parents were weird.
I just read a book which is titled "salt". It actually explains how salt was discovered in China, made it to Europe via the silk road during Roman times and then brought to the Americas by the Spanish. \s
For real though, that book is fascinating, going into the history of how salt became a critical necessity for agricultural and pastoral societies and therefore one of the most important trade goods moving on pre-historic trade routes. However, putting salt into everything is a characteristic European habit and for example traditionally not done in the Chinese sphere, where it was reserved for preservation methods.
Get a Black Cube or Hexclad pan. They're non-stick, but you can use utensils in them, and you can do a little browning.
So, this is the model we have which is insanely fancy but it was also 50% off so it ended up being $144.
I recently bought this Oyama brand to replace my dead one. It's $35, only 3 cups, but has been doing just fine the post 6 months.