[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks Choco. I may need to look at BJs again.

BA, are there restaurants near you? You could befriend them, see who they order from, and maybe they would help you out. I've been very fortunate that way.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks BA! I looked through recipes and even searched. But the hunt was worthwhile as I found some more good recipes to try that everyone has posted.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Happy Birthday BA!

[aaronatthedoublef]

We have a Benriner which appears to be about $20 on Amazon. The guard was never very good and it appears to have a couple of blades which have been lost along the way too. But the blade we have is STILL sharp and this is something my wife brought with her when we were engaged and moved in together so that is 19 years ago (I proposed in March of 2001). We also had a fancy one from William Sonoma that someone gave us as a wedding gift that was dull the day we received it. That one is floating around somewhere but it was pretty dangerous precisely because it was so dull...

[aaronatthedoublef]

I actually did that the other night. The guard for our mandolin is long gone. I do have a cut glove, however (should be called a "no-cut glove") and I should have used that.

[aaronatthedoublef]

With our discussion of Alton Brown and Good Eats, this was just on last Sunday. But Alton said the injury came more from removing the pit from the knife than from whacking the pit with the knife.

It is shocking how dangerous cutting bagels can be. I watched as our kids put a bagel in a holder we have designed to hold the bagel and guide the knife and then do stupid things like stick a finger in the bagel hole! Of course stopped them immediately.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Lots of "natural" juices have no added sugars but tons of apple and grape juices and they are very high in sugar. Just like maple syrup.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Kenji Lopez-Alt says he doesn't trust anyone who doesn't like American cheese!

Also, when making quick mac and cheese or a quick cheese sauce American cheese or Velveeta or Cheez Whiz or something else (I use something called Pub Cheese) that has some starch in it helps emulsify the sauce.

Julia Child was great and from a different time. Her shows with Jacque Pepin were fantastic.

I do watch the kids competitions because my daughter loves them. It's interesting to go back and watch the earlier ones. Duff was much more involved and making sure things like mis-measuring butter didn't happen. Now he and Valerie stand off and the show is much colder. Last week a kid's pot of caramel caught on fire and they just stood there commenting on the big fire. The people with the camera kept filming and finally someone ran in and dropped a sheet pan on the pot but it took way too long for the adults to react.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I was wrong. But doesn't it depend on the cheese? My daughter has developed a fondness for white American cheese and the kind I buy is actually made from whey and cheese curds. Still tastes a little plastic-y!

[aaronatthedoublef]

It may be less dense, as well.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I have mixed emotions about Alton Brown too. According to his biography, he and his wife were working in Hollywood and had a vision of the kind of cooking show they wanted to make. I really liked and learned from the early Good Eats. It was when he did his show about cruising along Route 66 on motorcycles anfd finding interesting food that he seemed to become a jerk. He made one of the people on his crew stand outside a restaurant in a hotdog suit "because he could". Humiliating someone who works for you because you can is never attractive. And he has continued down that path and become more so. But he still has a lot of knowledge and can be very entertaining.

I LOVE Serious Eats. SO much to learn from the people who write for it. And, like Len I started down the path of using less and using cold water because of Serious Eats but it is because of their tips for making mac and cheese that I went down that path.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Also, I have cut back on cheese and this did not increase that. I am down from 32 ounces of cheese on five pizzas to 27 ounces of cheese on seven pizzas that are eaten over two or three days. Last night I was at 25 ounces.

I sliced the six ounces of cheese on a mandolin and used about half of it.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I have two who like it and three who don't. There are places in Chicago who go cheese first too. I can do both as I am making multiple cheese pizzas.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Cool. I always forget prunes are plums!

As I said, I made scones yesterday with liquid instead of powdered buttermilk. Only one person made any comments and he said they were "fluffier". This was before I revealed the switch. I did not notice a taste difference myself. I think I will try making them in a food processor too.

I made pizza a different way. I've seen a bunch of people putting cheese on before sauce so I made a cheese pizza that way. My wife did not like it but one of my sons liked it better because he could taste the sauce more. I liked the cheese better which had a chewy texture. The crust was also crisper.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Interesting. Kenji Lopez-Alt is more accessible than Nathan Myhrvold and his book is much less expensive than the Myhrvold multi-volume set. Plus Lopez-Alt is more fun. I still see plenty of people adding salt to their groud beef before forming patties. And I've read most of what is on Serious Eats about pie crusts.

And, I forgot, Alton Brown has been doing this for years. His wife gave me one of his cookbooks many years ago and, while there is some useful information in it, I've never made anything from it. And his way of making pancakes is opposite of KAF and yet they are both right.

• This reply was modified 6 years ago by aaronatthedoublef.

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