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Old November 12th, 2008 #141
Stronza
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No, I did not know such a thing existed. But I do have a bamboo cutting board and it is both nice & durable. The ones made of olive are particularly beautiful.
 
Old November 12th, 2008 #142
Kind Lampshade Maker
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Indeed. It takes quite an old tree to provide the raw material.
The old battle axe runs this place like a museum. Whoah to me, if I dare use that cutting board for what it was intended for
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Old November 12th, 2008 #143
Anne
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I'm a bit fanatical (ok, obsessive-compulsive) about cutting boards. I have one each for fruit, bread, cheese, fish, poultry, red meat, and veg.

Wooden boards are the best ones to use to protect your knives.
 
Old November 13th, 2008 #144
Kind Lampshade Maker
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Default Are these pics showing up or not?

Are your rolling pins made of different woods which fit different husbands, also?

Here's a view of the olive tree cutting board my battle axe bought at a tourist trap just outside of the Garda Lake where Mussolini was kept during the latter stage of the war (The hosted link shows the same image in a larger format):



http://s401.photobucket.com/albums/p...rent=Olive.jpg
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Last edited by Kind Lampshade Maker; November 20th, 2008 at 05:08 AM.
 
Old November 13th, 2008 #145
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Beautiful boards! Olive wood is good for two reasons: it's durable (won't warp), and does not absorb bacteria, thus reducing opportunities for cross-contamination. (I completed a diploma in culinary arts and we had to study this kind of stuff.)

As for rolling pins, lol, I do have a few--the latest ones are made of silicon and they are superb! (Haven't hit anyone yet, though).
 
Old November 13th, 2008 #146
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Then, get married.
All wood is bacteria-resistant. Which is the best reason to avoid synthetic boards
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Old November 13th, 2008 #147
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Kind Lampshade Maker View Post
Then, get married.
All wood is bacteria-resistant. Which is the best reason to avoid synthetic boards
You don't mince (excuse the pun) words, do you?

I'm working on it. I'm a bit of an airhead in that department. (The best way to a man's heart is through his stomach!)
 
Old November 15th, 2008 #148
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Anyone want to win the best entry for Crab Bisque? Please post.
 
Old November 15th, 2008 #149
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ohgolly View Post
Anyone want to win the best entry for Crab Bisque? Please post.
The key, as always, is to make it with a homemade stock. Believe it or not, the classical recipe for bisques is with veal and/or chicken stock, not fish stock. Traditionally, they are thickened with rice, but you can use a roux.
Are you planning on starting from scratch? If not, I'll exclude some details. If you want a grainy texture, puree the shells and return them to the soup.
The flavor is all in the shells.

1. Caramelize the mirepoix and the shells in the fat.
2. Add paprika and a tomato product (perhaps paste) and deglaze with wine.
3. Add stock.
4. Add roux.
5. Simmer (and maybe skim).
6. Strain (puree like I mentioned above, and return to the liquid)
7. Simmer
8. Strain again and return to a simmer (I know, repetative)*
9. Finish with hot cream
* I like to add a vanilla bean (normally used with lobster) for flavor.

Good luck!
 
Old November 19th, 2008 #150
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Default Tuesday was pork hock night, again

Here, I prepared this hock, with the usual seasoning. This time, I jabbed the meat, at each end, with a knife, before inserting the mandatory garlic cloves, hot pepper seeds, fennel seeds and fresh ginger slices.
Don't let the photo, at the very bottom, fool you. It's not what you think. I'm not Jewing the hock, by foreskinning it. I simply cut the skin away from the meat, in order to pull it down, like a sock. I then applied the aforementioned seasoning to the meat, before pulling the skin back to its original position. Thus, no culinary Tapirism commited.
I then basted the skin with the sauce left behind from baking a yellow- and red pepper for my vegetarian daughter. As a rule, I only use green-colored peppers for this sort of cooking, though. The sauce had a fragrance similar to beet syrup and was a little sweet. Although, I don't ever use sugar, in cooking, except when marinating corned beef and baking goose (In which case, I don't use refined sugar. For corned beef, I used sugsr extracted from grapes and for Goose, I use a sauce containing mollasses), the minimal sugar content, in peppers, doesn't undermine pork which can tolerate a minor amount of sweetness.
To start the cooking process, a little moisture is needed. Usually, an added table spoon of water will do. This time, I poured a small ladle full of olive brine to the bottom of the caserole (The unseen hosted images are larger than the thumbnails, for closer viewing):




http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y11...ent=CulTap.jpg

Here's the end result, with 2 baked potatoe halves. Natural lighting is always better for digital photography. The small amont of sauce wasn't enough to noticably influence the taste. I would have had to bake a numerous amount of peppers, for continual basting. The sauce gave the hock an appetizing color, though:



http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y11...=CulTapAft.jpg
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Last edited by Kind Lampshade Maker; March 19th, 2009 at 06:22 AM.
 
Old November 19th, 2008 #151
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Just made some curry catfish with onions. cheap as dirt and simple and taste pretty good. the catfish was $2.50/lb in the stop n shop. i fried up onions in canola oil. then added the catfish salted and peppered. after catfish was nearly cooked, I threw in another chopped onion , because i like the taste of onions that are cooked lightly. Cooked another 30 seconds, and dumped in 1 tablespoon of curry powder. Mix the powder in well. Cook another 30 seconds and take out.
 
Old November 19th, 2008 #152
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Can't stand the taste of those oily bottom dwelling mudfish. And further ruining an already disastrous dish by smothering it in curry for god sakes should disqualify you from ever cooking anything more than top ramen.
 
Old November 19th, 2008 #153
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve B View Post
Can't stand the taste of those oily bottom dwelling mudfish. And further ruining an already disastrous dish by smothering it in curry for god sakes should disqualify you from ever cooking anything more than top ramen.
Yea funny how people either like curry or hate it. I try to make things quick that are high in protein and low in carbs and have good seasoning. Oily fish are high in essential oils as well, and I like the taste. Here's the pic, you have to admit it doesnt look that bad considering it cost about 2 bucks and took about 10 minutes to make:
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Old November 20th, 2008 #154
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Anne View Post
The key, as always, is to make it with a homemade stock. Believe it or not, the classical recipe for bisques is with veal and/or chicken stock, not fish stock. Traditionally, they are thickened with rice, but you can use a roux.
Are you planning on starting from scratch? If not, I'll exclude some details. If you want a grainy texture, puree the shells and return them to the soup.
The flavor is all in the shells.

1. Caramelize the mirepoix and the shells in the fat.
2. Add paprika and a tomato product (perhaps paste) and deglaze with wine.
3. Add stock.
4. Add roux.
5. Simmer (and maybe skim).
6. Strain (puree like I mentioned above, and return to the liquid)
7. Simmer
8. Strain again and return to a simmer (I know, repetative)*
9. Finish with hot cream
* I like to add a vanilla bean (normally used with lobster) for flavor.

Good luck!
Hey, thanks very much!

Listen, I don't mean to sound ungrateful or uneducated but would you mind clarifying a few things for me?

1. mirepoix
2. roux

While not much up on words like this, I'm anxious to make good Crab Bisque.

And thanks again, for the initial response and for the following understanding.
 
Old November 20th, 2008 #155
Marse Supial
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve B View Post
Can't stand the taste of those oily bottom dwelling mudfish. And further ruining an already disastrous dish by smothering it in curry for god sakes should disqualify you from ever cooking anything more than top ramen.
I take it you don't like oysters, then?



You've been getting bad catfish. Mud-cat maybe. There's a lot of stuff coming in from Vietnam that is labled catfish, but is not. It's almost all pond-raised now. A whiter, lighter, flakier piece of fish cannot be found.

 
Old November 21st, 2008 #156
Anne
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ohgolly View Post
Hey, thanks very much!

Listen, I don't mean to sound ungrateful or uneducated but would you mind clarifying a few things for me?

1. mirepoix
2. roux

While not much up on words like this, I'm anxious to make good Crab Bisque.

And thanks again, for the initial response and for the following understanding.
Sorry, , I guess I just take those words for granted, like "dice" or "glaze". Anyways, mirepoix is the French word for the classic mixture of flavoring vegetables, namely, onions, carrots, and celery. (Coarsely chopped most of the time, or finely diced, depending on the dish. In this case, it does not matter.)
A roux is a combination of equal parts flour and fat (usually butter). You melt this together in a separate pot and then add to your main pot.

I did not bother to include measurements, because I don't know what size portions you want. Also, it's better to just eyeball and taste as you go along. You might want to roast the shells first, as this can enhance flavor.

Have fun!
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Old November 21st, 2008 #157
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Anne View Post
Sorry, , I guess I just take those words for granted, like "dice" or "glaze". Anyways, mirepoix is the French word for the classic mixture of flavoring vegetables, namely, onions, carrots, and celery.
The holy trinity of French cuisine! I've never been able to master French cooking. It's truly an art form.
 
Old November 21st, 2008 #158
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Originally Posted by Amy View Post
The holy trinity of French cuisine! I've never been able to master French cooking. It's truly an art form.
I wish I could say that I've mastered French cooking, but I haven't. While I did go to cooking school, to be honest I've found Julia Child's books to be just as useful as any cooking class. A good bookstore should have them in stock.
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Old November 21st, 2008 #159
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My daughter just said "Eew,that looks like shit and puke".

I don't have much familiarity with catfish,but I once bought(the last time I bought fish,over five years ago) something called "river cobbler" which is supposed to be Aussie catfish and it was absolutely delicious.I have a bit of a taste for Red Irish Lords and I've met several aficionados up from the states who claimed it was just like catfish,so I have to guess that if I lived in an area where catfish are available,I'd probably love the stuff.


There you go,Red Irish Lord;you can catch it yourself from shore from Monterrey Bay north and it tastes just like catfish(watch out for the tricky Y-bones).

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Old November 21st, 2008 #160
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Quote:
Originally Posted by reltih145 View Post


My daughter just said "Eew,that looks like shit and puke".
lol! Maybe a little parsley on the side would have helped.

Quote:
Originally Posted by reltih145 View Post

How can that thing swim?
 
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