[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks. This is very timely as I was having a lengthy (and continuing) discussion about this with some colleagues.

Growing up on the south side there were plenty of tavern style pizza places but the only deep dish we knew of was on the north side. We went to Uno's once or twice as a big treat. Another rare treat was going to the Home Run Inn which was near Comiskey.

Giordano's was the first stuffed place I knew about and it arrived in 1973. If stuffed pizza existed we didn't know about it. Then a little later deep dish arrived in Hyde Park in the form of the Medici. The Medici had both tavern style and deep dish but no stuffed. The Medici still exists to this day but in a different location and not nearly as good.

Hyde Park also has a Giordano's and a number of other thin crust take out and bake at home pizza places.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks. This is very timely as I was having a lengthy (and continuing) discussion about this with some colleagues.

Growing up on the south side there were plenty of tavern style pizza places but the only deep dish we knew of was on the north side. We went to Uno's once or twice as a big treat. Another rare treat was going to the Home Run Inn which was near Comiskey.

Giordano's was the first stuffed place I knew about and it arrived in 1973. If stuffed pizza existed we didn't know about it. Then a little later deep dish arrived in Hyde Park in the form of the Medici. The Medici had both tavern style and deep dish but no stuffed. The Medici still exists to this day but in a different location and not nearly as good.

Hyde Park also has a Giordano's and a number of other thin crust take out and bake at home pizza places.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I made the Cake Bible white velvet cake. My wife used it for cupcakes for a baby shower. This was my go-to caked for my family but the last few cakes have been chocolate cakes. I brought my daughter over to the dark side and she now requests chocolate! I almost screwed these up. I forgot the baking powder when I first mixed up the batter. I had it in the fridge until my wife came home with the cupcake wrappers she wanted and for some reason I thought "darn, I forgot to add the baking powder." So I added it in and all was fine!

My wife decorated them as she and I have different views of the proportion of sugar to butter in faux butter cream and how much icing to use.

I've forgotten how much fun cake baking is!

[aaronatthedoublef]

Speaking of blue berries and science... I just found this link - a planet made of blueberriesa planet made of blueberriesa planet made of blueberries!

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks. I'm not sure what style I will make. Just starting out. I've found a few recipes but some are too fussy and I just need an extended period of time to get my brine mixed. Although one recipe I found seems to use a dry rub...

I'll let you all know what I find.

[aaronatthedoublef]

What our PBS was showing they called Season 8. It had Paul and Mary. I too was surprised by the comment about American pies in particular, and baked goods in general being too sweet. Yes we have people who make things too sweet. But there is plenty of that in the UK too!

I was disappointed with the end. The person who won was not the best baker of the season.

[aaronatthedoublef]

What will the countries that ban foods with GMOs say about manufactured meat?

[aaronatthedoublef]

Hi,

Sorry it's been a while since I've been online. I've been slammed with work. I missed you all.

Not sure where you're buying beef but here in CT and Boston grass fed beef carries a premium. It's usually about 25-30% more expensive than conventional beef. But it also depends where you buy your meat. At Whole Foods even the conventional beef is somewhat grass fed. The farmers switch to grain in the last six months because it's less expensive and this is when the cattle eat the most in their lifecycle. This isn't true of the other places around here. Costco has the least expensive beef but it's a bigger commitment than I can handle as we only have one refrigerator/freezer and we can only eat so much at one time.

As Mike points out, it's less expensive to feed cattle grain as it's more nutrient dense and you don't have to drive cattle to pasture. And cattle are dumb enough that they will eat all the grass at their feet and not move so they need cowboys to move them to different pastures. This means you need lots of land for grass fed cattle which also makes them more expensive.

I notice the taste difference more in ground beef than in steaks. My boys eat both and have not complained one way or the other. Our doctor said grass fed is supposed to be better because it lacks Omega 6s.

Your mileage may vary.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Wow. I would love a warming drawer. I miss my old pilot light ovens because they could warm things. They even had very low settings that our current oven cannot match. My old range also had a big, 36 inch, stainless griddle that I was just starting to use when we bought a new range. The new range has a much smaller, two burner sized, cast iron griddle. With the old range I realized what I could cook on it and now I use it at least daily. We use both ovens frequently as well, especially when making pizza.

I almost never use my mixer. It's too small and not worth the effort to clean. I may scale down some batches of rye bread dough to see if machine mixing will give me a little more loft. I used to use it several times a week but not since I began hand mixing most things. I really need an 8 quart mixer or bigger but even used those are very expensive.

I have a panini press and I used to use those but now I use the griddle and a cast iron pan.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I have a food mill that I use for mashed potatoes. I love it. I also use it for ricing potatoes for gnocchi. I also really like my fat separator. I have a plastic, Oxo one and I use it for turkeys, chickens, and carnitas. Sometimes I use it as a spare measuring cup.

Last Christmas someone gave me a strainer that clips onto the edge of a pot. I use it several times a week for draining pasta.

Any recommendations on whisks? I really need a new, small one.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I love the Maxwell House Haggadah story. We were just talking about it at temple the other night. It is hilarious and shows you some of what even people who have been raised following the rules can be confused about.

BA, I am sure your husband's colleague appreciated your thoughtfulness and the effort you went to.

We rented an apartment in Jerusalem and the kitchen was kosher. Everything was labeled but only in Hebrew and I am the only one in the family who speaks any. My wife is not Jewish so the rules were also challenging for her. Most things were left to me and we used paper good a lot!

[aaronatthedoublef]

Oh, I forgot, I have a bagel holder for slicing. I don't really need it but, again, it was cheap and I get closer to making sure the bagel is cut in two equal pieces.

Now if I can just teach my kids not to hold the bagel with their fingers in the hole!

[aaronatthedoublef]

We have a mini collection of pizza cutters. We have one shaped like a soccer player and one shaped like the symbol for Pi. Plus the fancy one my wife gave me. But my favorite is a cheap plastic one I bought. It cuts very well but doesn't cut fingers and it goes in the dishwasher!

Pizza cutters tend to work better than knives it seems when people will not wait for the pizza to cool!

[aaronatthedoublef]

People tend to buy me gadgets as gifts but they are not usually easier than what I use.

I wish I'd known about moulis! I would love something to grate cheese besides a grater or a food processor. I grate by hand because it is less time than cleaning up the Cuisinart.

I love cookie scoops! But I shape meatballs by hand. I weigh the meat portions out and that is how I determine size. My wife would not be happy if I used cookie scoops for meat even if they went through the dishwasher.

My wife bought me a new pizza cutter but it is over he top! And it squeaks when you use it unless you oil it which is kind of funny. She also bought me some fancy KitchenAid sheet pans but they warp in the oven. They snap back when they cool though. Kind of strange. I love my old ones even if they are old and ugly.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks Mike. I subscribe to the WSJ so I can read it. It's pretty funny. I've brought my own food to a number of functions so I would know there was something there I could eat. I brought matzah to an Easter brunch years ago and everyone there thought it was cool and ate it. I had nothing to eat since it was all bread-ish. I mostly avoid yeast and flour. And sometime is the last few years chemical leaveners became acceptable but growing up they were forbidden.

The rules for Passover are VERY strict and obscure. Most restaurants I know shut down because it's easier and cheaper. When I lived in Seattle we had a customer coming in who needed kosher for Passover catering. None of the usual kosher places were open so the caterers asked me because I was the one Jewish person they knew. I tracked down a Chabad house that would bring in meals for them but that was it.

So if you are an Eastern European Jew corn is off limits because when you grind up corn the meal sort of resembles regular flour but this rule doesn't apply to you if you're a Mediterranean Jew. Of course never mind that Kosher for Passover flour looks identical to regular, everyday, all-purpose flour.

What makes flour kosher for Passover? It's grown in separate fields and dry-harvested and stored. If the flour gets damp or wet it may pick up some natural yeast and leaven so the rules for harvesting, storage, and transport are VERY strict. And all of this is in addition to the normal, daily rules of kosher.

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