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Aperitifilter

nj_subgenius — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:58:07 -0800

What's your fvorite aperitif? How do you mix it if at all? I've spent an adult lifetime avoiding Campari because I believed someone's opinion that it 'tasted like Karo Syrup'. I tried it a few weeks ago and found I like it with seltzer or a good blood orange soda. Any suggestions for something diferent?

Use of word "rennet" on labels

Morrigan — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 11:00:53 -0800

If a food lists rennet among its ingredients, am I right in assuming that it is most likely animal rennet? To put it another way, if the labels simply says "rennet," can I assume it is not vegetable, microbial or genetically engineered rennet and therefore is not appropriate for a vegetarian to eat? Or might some manufacturers use "rennet" as an umbrella term?

bagel w c/c issue

rudy26 — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 10:02:40 -0800

I'm thinking of putting cream cheese on bagels, wrapping them in plastic wrap and selling them. I expect to be sold out in 2-3 hours. Should I be concerned about the cream cheese going bad? Any other food safety issues?

Alternative to tomato for vegetarian stew base.

piratebowling — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:23:40 -0800

I have a loose vegetarian stew recipe that I have made up that is wonderful in the sense that it is flexible and quick. It does have one constant, in that it has a tomato base. What can I sub the tomato content with? The recipe usually involves sauteing up some garlic or onions, throwing in a can of chopped or crushed tomatoes (pre-seasoned, or unseasoned) adding in a couple cups of legumes (chickpeas or lentils usually) then whatever veggies I feel like (squash, broccoli, mushrooms, kale, spinach, whatever I have around or feel like). I then serve it over cous-cous or some other starch. I find it fairly no-fuss and filling. I also like that I can play around with veggie and spice combos. However, the constant of the tomato base is beginning to bore me. What else could I put in there to sauce it up a bit and tie all the veggies and legumes together into a nice stew goodness?

Throw 'em yolk recipes at me!

kitchencrush — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:17:49 -0800

How can I use leftover egg yolks? I want to make a chocolate mousse from a recipe that calls for a large number of egg whites but I feel guilty about just throwing the egg yolks away. So... please give me your best ideas and recipes for what to do with the yummy yummy yolks, folks.

No, Mr Bond, I expect you to dine.

jrishel — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:38:37 -0800

What food goes with a "Detectives, Spys, Villians and Henchmen" themed party?

Best Irish Booze?

mtstover — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:02:30 -0800

Heading to a themed dinner event. We each represent a country and bring food / drink from the country. I am Ireland. I'm going to bring booze. What whiskey or other hard alcohol should I bring?

Springform pan recipes wanted.

emd3737 — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 06:11:21 -0800

What else besides cheesecake can I make in an springform pan? I recently purchased three springform pans of different sizes, and now I'd like to start using them. I made a pumpkin cheesecake this morning, but I'm wondering what other sorts of things (desserts, casseroles, breads, etc) can be made in a springform pan? I'm looking for recipes that don't include chocolate (I'm allergic). Thanks!

Someplace to read, write, work alone at night in NYC

laptolain — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:29:54 -0800

Someplace to read, write, relax alone at night in NYC. I'm looking for somewhere to go where I can unwind alone. I live in Maspeth, Queens where it's mostly residential and after 8PM almost everything is closed. Any place in Queens, Manhattan or Brooklyn would be fine, I don't mind long train rides.

The perfect establishment is very dark inside but all the tables have sufficient lighting for reading/writing. There might be music playing or some kind of live band but it's not a club or frat hang out. I like all kinds of jazz so that would be a bonus. The train station should be a reasonable distance since it's getting pretty cold now. It's open till 3AM or later, never very busy and at no point will I be expected to get up and leave for new customers. I don't want to sit at the bar.

Beer, liquor, coffee and food are all fine but none of them are priority over the atmosphere. As cheap as possible is probably second to atmosphere. I'm looking for a place that's the opposite of where people go to get seen.

I found a few older, similar posts but they seemed focused on Manhattan.

Thanks :)

Yet another "should I eat this?": black beans

k. — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:33:13 -0800

Should I Eat This? Filter: cooked black beans left in a pot overnight. Yesterday I was waiting for the pot to cool before putting it in the fridge, then forgot about it, leaving it there (with the cover on) until this morning when I put it in the fridge. There are no meat ingredients.

Wanted: Madhur Jaffrey's Ultimate Curry Bible

lioness — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:11:31 -0800

Do you have Madhur Jaffrey's Ultimate Curry Bible on your bookshelf? Could you flip through in search of a pork recipe with mustard seeds? I'm hosting a small informal dinner tonight and was planning on making one of my favourite recipes from Madhur Jaffrey's Curry bible. Alas, I can't find my book and I need to start prepping!

The recipe was on the top of a left page and the title was in the vein of 'pork with mustard spices'. It entailed making your own spice mix with the usual suspects. Frying mustard seeds, adding pork strips, the spices, curry leaves and bean sprouts. Maybe some diced tomatoes were added, I'm not sure.

Could you find it for me?

As a last resort I will head to my library, but I'm hoping on a faster response here.

Cherry cola in Toronto?

sarahkeebs — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:21:08 -0800

Where can I get Cherry Cola in Toronto? I'm not particular as to brand, and I'd prefer to take it home but if necessary will go to a diner or something that serves it. Alternatively, can I make it?

Help I need pretty food pictures

bookdragoness — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:20:12 -0800

Help for the food-imagining-impaired: cookbooks and sources of recipes with pretty pictures? My husband doesn't consider food FOOD until it's cooked, so I generally decide and make what we eat. He wants to start putting together meal plans, so to help I want to surprise him with cookbooks (or other recipe sources) with pretty pictures that make him salivate.

This realization came from the other day where he was looking at canned soups and was easily biased by their food photography. I'd like to help him with his food decision-making abilities, and he has basically no ability to imagine what food tastes like from a recipe, so I thought that getting him some resources with food photographed at its tastiest might help.

I'm rather cookbook retarded - I have the Joy of Cooking, an Italian and two crockpot cookbooks - all of which were gifts. When I think of something to eat, I generally go cruising on the internet and amalgamate several recipes into something tasty.

Bonus for food that is fairly simple to make - while I like to try fancy recipes sometimes, I tend to stick to fairly simple things on weekdays.

Extra bonus for things HE could make - he has a mastery of the microwave, can make pasta (and reheat sauce), chop/slice/peel things, etc.

We have a fairly well-stocked kitchen, including a multitude of spices, blender, mixer, full set of pots/pans, good knives, rice cooker, fondue pot, and a crock pot, if that helps.

I am planning on stopping by a used bookstore on the way home - what should I look for?

Catfish Tikka Death

sully75 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:02:00 -0800

I may be my own personal typhoid Mary. Food safety questions inside. 1) If I make a big pot of soup, lately this is Mark Bittman's African Chicken Peanut soup (which is friggin awesome), sometimes I make about 1.5 gallons of soup in a big pot. So, when it's done, it's usually hot (duh) and it's at night. So rather than decant it into tupperware things, I leave it in the pot on the stove to cool. In the morning I pour it into tupperware and put it into the fridge.

So question: is it ok that it's sitting out at night, probably after it's cooled down, for a couple of hours? If that's not ok, what should I do differently?

And how long can I eat this tasty soup for? Last time I froze half. After I unfreeze it, how long would it still be good for?

2) I'm going to try to do a chicken-tikka-masala recipe but using catfish instead of the chicken. Again, I will be making several portions, maybe 3-4 meals worth. Can I store this in the fridge or freezer? What's my best practice for not poisoning myself or my friends?

Help me make last minute dinner reservations for a large group!

Loto — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:13:05 -0800

Where can I make a last minute (Saturday, 7PM) dinner reservation for a group of 15 in NW DC? My original plan fell through! So, I screwed up my own birthday and my original dinner plans fell through. I find myself in need of a place that can handle a group of 15 (+/- 5) at the last minute. Help?

Conditions:
Must serve beer
No Italian
Easily accessible by the Red Line
Within walking distance of other bars

Thanks, gang!

when is 6oz not 6oz? Baby formula measuring.

dpx.mfx — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 05:31:29 -0800

How do you measure how much formula your infant is eating? This sounds like a silly question, I know, but I'm confused.

I make my daughter's bottles as she needs them. As explained on the formula container, I mix one scoop of formula for two ounces of water. I put 6 oz of water in the bottle, add three scoops and mix. When I'm done, the bottle contains more than 7 oz.

I have a friend who mixes all her formula in advance. So she puts 30 oz of water in a container, adds 15 scoops of formula, and mixes. When she wants to feed her baby 6 oz, she pours 6 oz of formula into the bottle.

We both say our babies are eating 6 oz. My theory is that she is getting 6 oz worth of the powder, so 6 oz worth of calories. Her theory is she's drinking 6 oz of liquid, so, that's 6 oz.

I realize it doesn't really matter as long as I'm consistent, and that I should ask my pediatrician. But I'd like to know how other people measure, or think it should be measured, or what they believe logically makes sense (or if there is an actual right answer, that would be great, but I have no idea where to find it!)

Turkey massacre

popcassady — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:36:55 -0800

Turkeys. Which festival consumes the most? In my country we eat them for Christmas. In the USA, I gather, they get eaten at Thanksgiving.

So what's the deal? Do Americans eat turkey for Christmas too? Are there other celebrations in other cultures which feature a whole roast turkey? Is turkey for Christmas a global tradition?

Which festival sees the death of the most turkeys worldwide? Christmas, Thanksgiving, or other?

Help! Electric kettle conundrum!

faeuboulanger — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:08:22 -0800

Is it ok/safe to heat non-water beverages (apple cider, namely) in my Krups electric kettle? I'd really like to both preserve the integrity of my tasty apple cider and my expensive electric kettle, but I'm going to need to heat moderate quantities in a location without a stovetop or microwave. Any insights would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Holiday Candy?

unlucky.lisp — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:00:23 -0800

Poor as Dirt Filter: Best Candy Recipes for Gift Giving? One year I did caramels, which were a great hit (and cheap to make) but I'm looking to branch out -- so I'm asking for your favorite candy recipes. They needn't be specifically related to the holidays, but if they are, that's cool too.

Thanks!

Giving the gift of deliciousness

sararah — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:32:56 -0800

In previous years I've made a lot of cookies to give away to friends and family around the holidays. This year I'd like to do something a little different, but still make it a gift of food. So I've done my holiday-cookie-palooza for the last three years or so, and I'd like to change it up a bit this year. For one, making all of the cookies tends to be a lot of minutiae since it is like 10 different recipes. Also, a lot of people (including yours truly) are trying to eat better, and there are more than enough holiday cookies that will make their way on to our plates throughout the season. I recognize not all of the ideas below are "healthy," per se, but some of them will last a lot longer, are used in small quantities, or are freezable for enjoyment after the holidays.

I'm not ruling out cookies entirely, and I may still make a few favorite batches. I'm not really interested in making the jars of brownie mix/cookie mix or whatever, I feel as if those often go unused.

Some ideas I have rolling around in my head:
-Breads: either a sandwich-type loaf or a sweet fruit bread
-Jams: I have recently learned how to preserve and have successfully made strawberry jam and apple butter. Considering making pumpkin butter, cranberry jams/chutneys or some sort of citrus jam/marmalade as oranges, etc hit their peak.
-Frozen baked goods: fully prepared pies, scones, chocolate chip cookie dough or cinnamon rolls that you would just have to bake.
-Granola
-Would be awesome but also a lot of work: homemade bacon

So I'm wondering what you would personally like to receive in a holiday-themed gift basket of food? Have you ever done anything like this or received one from a friend? Ideas on clever packaging are also welcome.

Where to buy daiginjo sake in Vancouver

findango — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:24:13 -0800

Where can I buy a bottle of Daiginjo sake in Vancouver? BC Liquor Stores carry a number of Junmai and Ginjo options, but no Daiginjo, from what I've seen. Does anyone know where I might look (preferably downtown)? I've checked Granville Island already. Cheers!

Beaujolais not-so-nouveau

Sara Anne — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:09:40 -0800

Beaujolais Nouveau 2007: drinkable still? Or should I use it to deglaze a pan?

help me use my cranberry sauce

acidic — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:41:51 -0800

What can I make using a can of jellied cranberry sauce that not only doesn't involve a turkey, but doesn't involve an oven or (most) cheese? I have two cans that are expiring in a few days. Turkey is hard to come by in my country and I don't have an oven. I can find mediocre cheese: cheddar, grated white pizza, brie, camembert. I can make ricotta and goat cheese. I have pots, pans, a grill, and a blender. I looked at this question but most recipes didn't fit my constraints. However, the smoothie idea was intriguing-- what flavors would it pair well with? I do have a loaf of pumpkin bread, so I'd appreciate non-turkey sandwich ingredients.

Where to go for a fancypants Montreal dinner on short notice?

alleycat01 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:47:35 -0800

Where to go for a fancypants Montreal dinner on short notice? Details inside... Hi Montreal MiFites! On short notice, my boyfriend and I are taking a long weekend trip to Montreal (the weekend after this one). Boyfriend wants to do a nice dress-up dinner one night, and neither of us has been to Montreal before, so I'd love your suggestions on where we should go. The main criteria are:

- He'll be wearing a suit and I'll be in a dress, so somewhere where we won't look stupid or out-of-place in our fancypants duds
- Preferably not insanely expensive. We'll probably do a shared appetizer, bottle of wine (... we tend to pick from on the lower end of the cost scale on these), and 2 entrees, MAYBE a shared dessert but only if dinner portions are small and we're still hungry. With tax & tip, it'd be great if this would cost around or under $150. (What is tax there, anyway?)
- Sadly we're not bilingual, so somewhere where the waiters are ... and, uh, bonus if we can read the menus
- We can still get a reservation (or don't need one) for a Friday or Saturday night
- Preferably French-influenced food, or at least something that's not a total import to Canada (no Chinese restaurants, etc).
- Totally open to BYOs as well, if you think that might be a good bet.

I keep reading about the apparent amazingness that is Au Pied du Couchon and I'd LOVE to try it, but it seems like a non-dressy place. We're usually pretty casual dressers/eaters, but since Boyfriend suggested it this time around I'd like to honor that thought. (Or do you think I'm wrong and PDC would work?) We'll be staying in the downtown area, but we do have a car & can drive if needed.

Is this doable, Montre-fites? What are your suggestions? Other thoughts on things we MUST do that weekend are also welcome, though I know there are tons of other threads on this subejct. Our current plans are just to relax in cafes, hang out, and eat poutine. Thanks, all!

Italian fruitcake?

John Borrowman — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:31:46 -0800

Thin, seasonal Italian fruitcake. What is it called? Where can I buy it? In late 2008 I purchased an "Italian fruitcake" from NapaStyle. No longer in their catalog. The sucker was about an inch thick and 9 to 10 inches diameter. Dense, chewy interior. Dusted with what I assume was powdered sugar. Wrapped in heavy paper lined with foil.

I thought I recalled from the catalog text that this was something of a seasonal delicacy where it came from. Could be they were just making that up.

What is it? Where (online) can I buy it?