Culinary Conversations

[LindaJean]

My son thought the economy Costco container of Peppercorns included a grinder in the lid. After hours of searching online for a decent pepper grinder I decided to just use a mallet, it's therapeutic.

[Danny]

My son thought the economy Costco container of Peppercorns included a grinder in the lid. After hours of searching online for a decent pepper grinder I decided to just use a mallet, it's therapeutic.

ROFLMAO !!!

[worth1]

I watched some guy on YouTube experiment with vodka in pasta sauce.
4% vodka was nasty and bitter.
1% was better.
0% was fantastic.
Then he tried gin and wine and liked it a lot.

Ya think!!
Everything goes better with gin because your basically using a type of spice and herb extract.

[Danny]

Got the packages of peppercorns in today, so expect to find the big thing of the black peppercorns soon, LOL!! That's how it goes around here most times.

[worth1]

After many trips to the grocery store and nursing one roll of paper towels for lord only knows how long I finally remembered to get paper towels yesterday.
I'm not one to waste paper towels and I only buy in my opinion the best.
It's the one thing I don't cheap out on.

[pepperhead212]

The last "triple roll" of Bounty I put in my kitchen (the only ones I put in there) made me wonder how long they last me? So I wrote the date on the inside of the roll, when I started, and it was 4 days over 3 months when finished! And I use them a lot! Yet that stash of them I got down in the basement didn't seem to be going down fast, and now I know why. I "only" got 2 packs of 12 triple rolls - this was in Jan '21, sort of still in that time of the pandemic, when paper products, and many things were in short supply in some places, and BJs here had a deal on them, about 1/4 price they would be elsewhere. I also still wasn't shopping much, and figured they'd be out, when I got there, but there were more PTs in one store there than I had ever seen! A limit of 4 packs, but I only got 2, and there are still 5 rolls in the first pack, and this is why.

I also got TP there that day - I was still working on a couple 24 roll packs that I got before the pandemic started. I was never one of those that had to go to 6 different stores to find paper products.

[worth1]

Bounty or Brawny is what I buy.
Brawny because they still have the whole square not the cut in half squares.

[MarkAndre]

Somehow searching Texas Tomato Food brought me here. Which I bought, since my last batch is from 2019 and the price is the same.

Anyway, back in the thread, a restaurant in Barton Springs was mentioned, and this brought back a forgotten and not so culinary culinary memory of a weekend in Austin at the ACL
Festival. Some poor planning led to being stuck at a restaurant in Barton Springs after the close of the Festival very late at night with virtually no cabs running or responding. I can’t remember if one of our kids was with us. But we sat in that restaurant for hours, trying to figure out what the heck we were going to do when the restaurant closed and we were many miles from our hotel in the middle of the night without transportation. At the end of his shift, our waiter said “come on, let’s go,” and gave us a ride in his car across the city back to our hotel. We tried to reimburse him in some way annd he absolutely would not take it. He was incredibly gracious and kind about the whole thing. And in total ingratitude, I have completely forgotten that until just now.

Well, I had to tell somebody.

[Rockporter]

I just discovered we have been eating green olives all wrong according to a chef on YouTube.
The guy isn't pretentious and has some good advice.
He's been soaking the brine out of the olives and adding simple spices like coriander seeds to the fresh water he is putting the olives in.
He says it brings back the olive flavors without all the salt or vinegar.
Naturally the olives don't keep long this way and need to be refrigerated.
I'm going to give it a shot.

That's interesting, when I open a jar of olives I drain them and cover with water in a big bowl to soak the salt out of them. I had no idea I was doing what a chef does lol. I don't like the salt.

[Rockporter]

My son thought the economy Costco container of Peppercorns included a grinder in the lid. After hours of searching online for a decent pepper grinder I decided to just use a mallet, it's therapeutic.

I don't know how many pepper and salt mills I have been through but I bought a set of these about 6 years ago and I have no complaints at all. Expensive but well worth it and I know I got them on sale, I always try to buy things on sale. There are many different sizes of milling on these, they are great.

https://coleandmasonusa.com/


https://www.amazon.com/COLE-MASON-Derwe ... to_dp&th=1

[worth1]

My son thought the economy Costco container of Peppercorns included a grinder in the lid. After hours of searching online for a decent pepper grinder I decided to just use a mallet, it's therapeutic.

I don't know how many pepper and salt mills I have been through but I bought a set of these about 6 years ago and I have no complaints at all. Expensive but well worth it and I know I got them on sale, I always try to buy things on sale. There are many different sizes of milling on these, they are great.

https://coleandmasonusa.com/


https://www.amazon.com/COLE-MASON-Derwe ... to_dp&th=1

It looks like they are using the crush grind mechanism in them.
That's what I made mine with.
It cost me a homemade walnut tapered french rolling pin in trade for two of the kits.

[PlainJane]

I’ve had my Peugeot pepper grinder for more than 30 years. It’s lost a little of the black paint but otherwise great. It’s shaped like a big ball and I’ve never seen the same model again.

[worth1]

Thomas Jefferson eats tomato
https://www.mashed.com/1265898/thomas-j ... -a-tomato/

[karstopography]

https://monticello-www.s3.amazonaws.com ... ts2011.pdf

Results of tomato tasting contests at Monticello.

[MarkAndre]

https://monticello-www.s3.amazonaws.com ... ts2011.pdf

Results of tomato tasting contests at Monticello.

That turns a lot of flavor reputations on their heads. I’d want to know more about the way the tests were conducted. And the people tasting them.

[karstopography]

https://monticello-www.s3.amazonaws.com ... ts2011.pdf

Results of tomato tasting contests at Monticello.

That turns a lot of flavor reputations on their heads. I’d want to know more about the way the tests were conducted. And the people tasting them.

The tomatoes at the top varied year to year. Same garden, different seasons. Those results seem to reinforce the idea of growing several varieties each year as one that might be great one year could be middle of the pack the next.

I did notice Brandywine OTV came in second in 2010, but don’t see it again on any other year. I wonder Did they grow it in the other years?

[MarkAndre]

https://monticello-www.s3.amazonaws.com ... ts2011.pdf

Results of tomato tasting contests at Monticello.

That turns a lot of flavor reputations on their heads. I’d want to know more about the way the tests were conducted. And the people tasting them.

The tomatoes at the top varied year to year. Same garden, different seasons. Those results seem to reinforce the idea of growing several varieties each year as one that might be great one year could be middle of the pack the next.

I did notice Brandywine OTV came in second in 2010, but don’t see it again on any other year. I wonder Did they grow it in the other years?

I agree, it could support that idea. But there are many unknown variables. They probably weren’t that ambitious about their testing, but the results are either confusing or do in fact support the year-to-year variability hypothesis.

[worth1]

I recall the time I was in Europe on a tour with a bunch of college kids.
I loved the food and the German people.
The snotty college kids didn't like them and they were rude to the Germans.
Many were from New York city or surrounding area and their manners were horrible.
They were raised to hate Germans.
They would ask for something by saying I want this or that.
I got along with the Germans because I was raised with manners.
I would ask may I have and they were nice to me.
I recall the time we had a meal service were we were staying and there were huge piles of sauerkraut bratwurst and potatoes.
Served with bread and wine.
The rude New York German hating kids turned their noses up and I had a feast.

[worth1]

The opinionated dinning companion.
Or more commonly known as the ODC.
You've all seen or been around one.
It's that person that always seems to have something to say about what you're eating or what you put on your food.
They can't just sit there and eat their own meal.
To date I've been warned or told several things.
I can't believe you're eating category.
Liver.
Corn dogs.
Corn.
Cornbread.
Bacon.
Onions.
Garlic.
Eggplant.
Hominy.
Mayonnaise on french fries.
Salt and black pepper on melons.
Mayonnaise on a hamburger.
Ketchup on a hotdog.
Habanero peppers in ice cream.
Chicken fried steak.
Frito pie.
Chili without beans.
Ketchup on hash browns.
Sweet pickles on a hamburger.

The too much category.
Too much black pepper.
Too much salt.
Too much sugar.
Too much mayonnaise.
Too much hot pepper.
There always seems to be that person that has something to say.

[MarkAndre]

Plant-based cream has come a long way and I don’t want it in my coffee.