Serious Eats: Talk

laser/infrared thermometer recommendations

2009-11-07T20:25:00Z

My husband wants a laser or infrared thermometer for Christmas. His new favorite book is Serious Barbecue, so I figured I'd post here and see what responses I get. Can someone recommend a medium priced infrared/laser thermometer? Is there a difference between laser and infrared? I googled it but I found what looks like construction tools. Help!

Smoked Chicken

2009-11-07T12:50:03Z

My husband smoked chicken tenders a little to long so I made a recipe using it, thinking I could "hide" the dry chicken. It was a hit so we are going to try to duplicate it, with a little less dry chicken. I baked the first recipe 350 for 45 min and it was a little soupy so we ate it like soup. My question: How do I translate the baking time to making it the same but cooking it on the stove? What change does it make to the food: baking vs on top of the stove?

brining a turducken?

2009-11-07T03:39:04Z

has anyone else made a turducken from scratch before? i made one last year, which was pretty delicious, except for the dryness in the breast meat of the turkey, probably due to the long cooking time needed. i'm revamping the recipe this year and following some guidelines from fearnley-whittingstall (namely the butter, the foil, and the 6 hour cooking time: http://www.rivercottage.net/SeasonalRecipes~December/160/TheRiverCottageMultibirdRoast.aspx

anyway, i'm wondering if anyone has experience with brining the components of a turducken. do you brine the deboned birds, brine them before deboning, or something else?

Best black bean soup recipe??

2009-11-07T02:05:25Z

Are you out there? I have a few cookbooks but am looking to all you foodies.

Serving it for a gathering this next weekend, and looking for something that will satisfy the vegetarians as well (I know, I know you pork lovers). Preferably a recipe that will lend itself well to various topics such as cilantro, cheese, sour cream, etc.

Thanks!

Creeping curry paste and soy sauce

2009-11-07T01:35:40Z

I am confounded again by curry paste that somehow creeps up the side of the jar, slides through the seal created by the screwed-on lid, and slithers down the side of the jar to form a bright-orange ring of oil at the outside bottom of the jar.

My soy sauce does the same sort of thing; it slides up the inside of the bottle, through the plastic shaker, through the screwed-on lid, and down the outside of the container.

I have never been a kitchen neatnik, but I do make some effort, and these two ingredients seem bound and determined to undermine me. I do not think I am being paranoid about this. What gives?

What's your stuffing / dressing recipe?

2009-11-06T22:36:48Z

We've always had Pepperidge Farm dressing at Thanksgiving, the herb seasoned variety. In my new effort to leave all processed food behind, I was wondering what Serious Eaters do for stuffing. I've never had sausage stuffing - was thinking of something with sage and onion.

Prepare ahead and freeze!

2009-11-06T21:19:24Z

I have major plans to make a few large meals this evening to freeze in smaller portions in order to eat throughout the week or longer. Any recommendations?

Pig CSA?

2009-11-06T21:17:43Z

A friend sent me a link to this CSA--for pork, not produce! It's from the Piggery in upstate NY.

Has anyone done this before? Was it worth it? I'm afraid I'll have more pork than I know what to do with, and I don't want to end up wasting. The benefits, though, could be truly epic.

Advice?

Help with bolognese, please!

2009-11-06T21:17:22Z

Can someone recommend a recipe for bolognese sauce with a whole form of meat instead of ground meat? Maybe one I can do in a day instead of 3?

My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...

2009-11-06T20:53:43Z

It's quite interesting that all the components of the Thanksgiving meal aren't always everyone's favorites. I know of some folks that don't prepare a certain item if they know a certain family member won't be attending this year. I also know of people that are looking for an alternative to the traditional turkey.

What do you prepare on Thanksgiving and why? What is your favorite part of the meal?

Mine? My mom's mashed potatoes that she makes with whole milk, butter, cream cheese, and seasoned salt. Yummmmmm......

Homemade Soups and Stocks ...

2009-11-06T20:25:21Z

Canned is never good, I would be interested in finding out some good recipes that do NOT have chicken or carrots as ingrdients as my family has allergies to BOTH

I think I found a good one here any thoughts on it would be greatly appreciated http://www.recipecarousel.com/blog for reicpe thanks in advance JC

girls happy hour recommendations

2009-11-06T17:39:57Z

i am meeting a girl friend after work for drinks. location needs to be mid teens to mid 20s from park ave s to 6th ave. deals going until at least 8. suggestions?

Thanksgiving Day Appetizer Suggestions

2009-11-06T15:05:10Z

My dad is flying in fairly late--arrival at 5:45--so dinner is not going to be until 7:30. I am having three or four other people over probably starting around 3:00 or 4:00. What can I have around for people to nosh on that isn't going to interfere with the feast to come?

Bad dining experience?

2009-11-06T04:40:36Z

So I went out for dinner tonight, picked a Portuguese place in the Ironbound district of Newark that seemed to have a lot of good reviews and an interesting menu.

The service was fine, but when the entrees came around I was extremely disappointed. I had ordered a paella and it came swimming in a puddle of unabsorbed broth. It tasted like someone had dumped a couple of packets of Lipton soup mix on top of supermarket boxed rice then tossed in some frozen bagged veggies and chicken hacked into hideous hunks. There were a couple of anemic looking shrimp of the ilk you might get in bad Chinese take out.
They topped the whole thing off with a mangled piece of beet, some shredded red cabbage and a half a radish.
Very strange and the whole dish just smacked of cheap corner cutting in the kitchen.

My mom seemed to enjoy her bacalao all right.

I hate to waste food so I had half of it packed up to go (don't ask me what will happen to it, I'm hoping someone else will eat it), but the smell of it in the car bugged me. It smelled like airplane food.

The dinner wasn't cheap and the bad food kinda ruined my night.
I'm a little distressed about the fact that I've gotten so picky that I'd let some subpar food get to me so badly.

The waitstaff seemed a little worried that I barely touched my food but I couldn't find it in myself to tell them that I thought the dish was absolutely wretched. The check came with a little comment card and I didn't fill it out. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying their food just fine.

What do you guys do when you get bad food? Bad service is one thing, but what if the food is just not to your taste? Do you say something or do you hold your tongue?

Where's the best place to buy prepared food?

2009-11-05T23:34:34Z

Last night in New York tomorrow and I'm having some friends over for dinner in a rented apartment. Too much to do for serious cooking so where would you recommend for good prepared food and what dishes in particular? Upper West Side preferably but willing to travel!