Random Food Questions Thread

[dopey]



I wasn't super aware of it either, but one year I was up in Marin County for Thanksgiving, and in order to see two close friends I had dinner with some Christians in Stinson Beach and dessert with some fellow Jews in Mill Valley.
The Christian dinner was like a post harvest/hunt still life, orange and brown colored pumpkins, yams, and birds everywhere. Everyone worked with their hands and was in robust health. Then went to dessert where everyone was a lawyer, banker, or doctor, and all the service and food was black and white, very Modern, and arranged by allergy.

Not us. Our home is a perpetual slaughterhouse, with my kids having animal protein for breakfast and dinner. My wife would live on apples and coffee if she could, but cooks meat for the kids all the time. My original point is that she would never use it for flavoring, like a broth, especially since she has no idea what it tastes like.

 

[Cary Grant]



not lactose intolerant. One has a dairy allergy (I don't know what the allergan is), but they are both intolerant of the protein in dairy, which is related to gluten (the protein in grains). The dairy intolerance isn't as violent as the ceilac, but given the younger daughter's severe allergy, dairy is anathema in our house whereas gluten is just something they can't eat and not a cause for a freak-out.

How old are they, Dopey?

My niece and nephew were both born with severe allergies to milk proteins but outgrew it by the time they were around 6-7.

 

[dopey]

13 and 10. It is certainly possible that the allergies will get less severe, or at least the reactions will get less severe. In any event, my older daughter hasn't had an anaphylactc reaction like the younger one has.

The gluten and casein intolerances are a totally different phenomenon. Those rarely go away with age, but the adverse reactions are less dangerous for older (i.e., bigger) people. And they can get better, but it is rare. Most typical is that the cross-reactions go away (i.e., the casein intolerance falls away)

 

[dopey]

Onion soup was good, but a little too much sugar and I shouldn't have used sweet instead of dry vermouth. Also, a lot of work, evenwithout counting all the time spent making the broth. Croutons were awesome.

 

[otc]



Bunch of copies of Simply French on amazon for less than a buck (plus the $3.99 hardcover shipping) in "good" condition.
Picked one up.

I'm a fricking idiot. This book is already sitting on my bookshelf

 

[foodguy]



How old are they, Dopey?
My niece and nephew were both born with severe allergies to milk proteins but outgrew it by the time they were around 6-7.

my daughter, too. she was violently allergic to milk protein -- we're talking anaphylactic range here -- and we seemed to spend half our time scrambling for all kinds of analogues -- goat cheese, tofutti, etc -- then one day when she was about 13 she came home from my sisters and announced that she'd had cheese pizza and ice cream at a birthday party and hadn't even developed rash. i'm surprised we don't hold a celebratory dinner on that day every year.

 

[b1os]



my daughter, too. she was violently allergic to milk protein -- we're talking anaphylactic range here -- and we seemed to spend half our time scrambling for all kinds of analogues -- goat cheese, tofutti, etc -- then one day when she was about 13 she came home from my sisters and announced that she'd had cheese pizza and ice cream at a birthday party and hadn't even developed rash. i'm surprised we don't hold a celebratory dinner on that day every year.

I'm glad it worked out okay! It's great that you finally could enjoy all the good cheeses and so on together! So, all the best to your children, dopey!

 

[otc]



I haven't made that much from Simply French. The pictured recipes are cool but half of them use copious amounts of truffles, or so it seems. It gets intimidating not for skill level but because my wallet screams.

You're right. Now that I am aware I already have the book, I flipped through a few random pages...and there in front of me was some sort of bacon appetizer recipe.

It called for 6 ounces of truffle.

 

[impolyt_one]

Yeah, and the ones that don't call for truffles in the recipe often have some handy tip at the end saying something along the lines of 'this recipe is especially great with a generous shaving of truffles, if you happen to have some on hand' - and all you can do is roll your eyes and say 'well duh'

 

[b1os]



Yeah, and the ones that don't call for truffles in the recipe often have some handy tip at the end saying something along the lines of 'this recipe is especially great with a generous shaving of truffles, if you happen to have some on hand' - and all you can do is roll your eyes and say 'well duh'

True, 50% of the recipes in the Grand Livre call for either truffle or fois gras, 25% call for both, 10% for optional truffle/fois gras and 15% don't call for any.
May I cite the glorious Marcella Hazan? For a basic risotto al Parmiggiano she calls for .5 oz of white truffle, or more if affordable.

 

[itsstillmatt]



True, 50% of the recipes in the Grand Livre call for either truffle or fois gras, 25% call for both, 10% for optional truffle/fois gras and 15% don't call for any.
May I cite the glorious Marcella Hazan? For a basic risotto al Parmiggiano she calls for .5 oz of white truffle, or more if affordable.

Quite an exaggeration.

 

[foodguy]

if you want more traditional French food, you might want to check out la bonne cuisine de madame st.-anges. a guy i know did the new translation for it and it's full of pretty cool stuff. very much home cooking. incidentally, the guy was the first chef at Chez Panisse, who sold his share after a year to move to LA to pursue his dream of making art movies. He actually got one produced -- Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. Serious.

 

[b1os]



Quite an exaggeration.

You got me there.

 

[Cary Grant]



if you want more traditional French food, you might want to check out la bonne cuisine de madame st.-anges. a guy i know did the new translation for it and it's full of pretty cool stuff. very much home cooking. incidentally, the guy was the first chef at Chez Panisse, who sold his share after a year to move to LA to pursue his dream of making art movies. He actually got one produced -- Sheena, Queen of the Jungle. Serious.

May buy this just on principle.

 

[Douglas]

Does anyone have good thoughts or generic advice on re-heating fried foods in an oven?

I am hosting a large party next weekend and I was considering making some cod potato fritter things but I would want to make them ahead of time and then just reheat. I am wondering if this gets a little dicey though and what should have been crispy and hot and delicious ends up soggy and limp.

I suspect any problems I may or may not have had in the past could be the result of improper frying in the first place....

But it seems if I do a good job of it initially and then get them in a nice hot oven to brown, maybe even run under the broiler for a minute.... might work?

Thoughts?