To fuck or to cook?

[Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
And do NOT let them sell you the pop-up ventilator -- it rises up from behind the burners and ostensibly sucks in the fumes, etc.

Not a chance. I've used the bogus ones too--that recirculate. They can suck it. 600 CFM minimum.

[NotFromHere]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
And do NOT let them sell you the pop-up ventilator -- it rises up from behind the burners and ostensibly sucks in the fumes, etc.

It doesn't work. It sucks out the flame. If the salesman tells you otherwise, he is lying.

Our one and only JennAire indoor grill did much the same thing. If the fan was high enough to keep the smoke detector from going off, then it sucked the flame. If it was not high enough to suck the flame, then the smoke detector went off.

[tmdiva]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
And do NOT let them sell you the pop-up ventilator -- it rises up from behind the burners and ostensibly sucks in the fumes, etc.

It doesn't work. It sucks out the flame. If the salesman tells you otherwise, he is lying.

My mil has one of these, and I've never noticed this as an issue. We're going there tomorrow, though, so I'll ask her if it's ever happened to her. Not that she'd necessarily know.

The thing that bugs me about her stove (Dacor or Thermador, I'm not sure which) is the lack of a really really low burner that works like I want it to. The "simmer" burner goes off and on, which means annoying clicks as it relights itself. Even then my ginormous pot of chili scorched on the bottom. We ended up buying one of those flame tamer thingies, but when I buy my own dream stove I want a simmer burner that gives constant, low heat.

tm

[Sidd Finch]

Originally posted by tmdiva
My mil has one of these, and I've never noticed this as an issue. We're going there tomorrow, though, so I'll ask her if it's ever happened to her. Not that she'd necessarily know.

The thing that bugs me about her stove (Dacor or Thermador, I'm not sure which) is the lack of a really really low burner that works like I want it to. The "simmer" burner goes off and on, which means annoying clicks as it relights itself. Even then my ginormous pot of chili scorched on the bottom. We ended up buying one of those flame tamer thingies, but when I buy my own dream stove I want a simmer burner that gives constant, low heat.

tm

The Viking is very good on this -- each of the two that I've had came with a very small burner (or two on the 6-burner range..... sniff) that gave good, constant, low heat. For a big heavy pot (your chili, my Mama Fincholi's meat sauce), the big burner is actually very good, because you can set the heat very low and the big burner surface spreads it out nicely.

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
The Viking is very good on this -- each of the two that I've had came with a very small burner (or two on the 6-burner range..... sniff) that gave good, constant, low heat. For a big heavy pot (your chili, my Mama Fincholi's meat sauce), the big burner is actually very good, because you can set the heat very low and the big burner surface spreads it out nicely.

Amatures. The future belongs to induction cooktops.

Energy output equivalent to 35,000+ BTUs on some models, and you can set you hand on the range right next to the pan. Also allows infinite control on the low end, so much so that a double boiler is unnecessary.

Does require steel or iron pans, though.



ETA the link I was orginally looking for, explaining ad nauseum how induction cooking works:
http://theinductionsite.com/how-induction-works.shtml

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally posted by baltassoc
Amatures. The future belongs to induction cooktops.

Energy output equivalent to 35,000+ BTUs on some models, and you can set you hand on the range right next to the pan. Also allows infinite control on the low end, so much so that a double boiler is unnecessary.

Does require steel or iron pans, though.

So RT's the cook in the duo?

Stop badgering her.

[Fugee]

OK, so I've read the no yeast stuff in Exodus and can understand if this would be expanded to cover chemical leaveners that may not have been in use back then. And with the whole rushing to get out of Egypt before Pharoah changed his mind again, dessert was most likely not a high priority.

But none of this explains the box of passover yellow cake mix I saw in the grocery store -- one of the first ingredients is matzo crumbs/meal.

There are plenty of cake recipes that don't require chemical leavening -- is there something prohibited about baking with regular flour during Passover that I'm missing? Because cake made with matzo sounds less than fully appetizing.

Speaking of holiday desserts, I made Paula Dean's "Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding" for Easter dinner. It's almost too rich to eat and was a big hit with the family.

[bold_n_brazen]

Originally posted by Fugee
OK, so I've read the no yeast stuff in Exodus and can understand if this would be expanded to cover chemical leaveners that may not have been in use back then. And with the whole rushing to get out of Egypt before Pharoah changed his mind again, dessert was most likely not a high priority.

But none of this explains the box of passover yellow cake mix I saw in the grocery store -- one of the first ingredients is matzo crumbs/meal.

There are plenty of cake recipes that don't require chemical leavening -- is there something prohibited about baking with regular flour during Passover that I'm missing? Because cake made with matzo sounds less than fully appetizing.

Speaking of holiday desserts, I made Paula Dean's "Not Yo Mama's Banana Pudding" for Easter dinner. It's almost too rich to eat and was a big hit with the family.

The rule is no chametz, which means nothing made from barley, wheat, rye or oats AND cooked within 18 minutes of coming in contact with water. That's why no baking with flour. There's no way to control how long it would go between contact with water and baking. Matza meal has already been baked.

Stupider in my book is the prohibition against soda unless specifically marked KP. Because corn syrup is made from corn.... and corn can be considered chametz.

Add in to this that no one can agree on how long the holiday lasts.... in Israel and here in reform homes, it's 7 days. But in orthodox homes and most conservative homes in America, it's 8.



Helpful linky.

[Fugee]

Originally posted by bold_n_brazen
Helpful linky.

Wow. Just wow. I had no idea.

I thought the food stuff in that link was severe and then I got to the part about purifying the silverware and pots. It would be easier to give everything to charity once a year and start with new stuff for Passover.

[baltassoc]

Originally posted by bold_n_brazen

Helpful linky.

Very interesting (really), but it doesn't explain the need to cheat by using Matza. This is up there with the fake hamburger patties some vegetarians eat. I mean, if you're going to go with some arbitrary rules, especially ones that are about denial for ritual reasons, why screw around? It's not like Matza is that bad, for a week or 8 days.

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by baltassoc
Very interesting (really), but it doesn't explain the need to cheat by using Matza. This is up there with the fake hamburger patties some vegetarians eat. I mean, if you're going to go with some arbitrary rules, especially ones that are about denial for ritual reasons, why screw around? It's not like Matza is that bad, for a week or 8 days.

What if your kid has a birthday during that week to 10 days?

[bold_n_brazen]

Originally posted by baltassoc
Very interesting (really), but it doesn't explain the need to cheat by using Matza. This is up there with the fake hamburger patties some vegetarians eat. I mean, if you're going to go with some arbitrary rules, especially ones that are about denial for ritual reasons, why screw around? It's not like Matza is that bad, for a week or 8 days.

How is it cheating to use matza?

[Sparklehorse]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a good casserole cookbook? The prospective audience is a mother who, with her blended family has 5 children, all of whom are teens (or nearly so). They're healthy eaters and she tends towards simple preparations (cooking's not her thing). I've been looking for almost a year but haven't had any luck with looking online. There are a lot of cookbooks with few reviews available.

[tmdiva]

Originally posted by Sparklehorse
Does anyone have any recommendations for a good casserole cookbook? The prospective audience is a mother who, with her blended family has 5 children, all of whom are teens (or nearly so). They're healthy eaters and she tends towards simple preparations (cooking's not her thing). I've been looking for almost a year but haven't had any luck with looking online. There are a lot of cookbooks with few reviews available.

Here you go:



I don't have any experience with this particular volume, but my overall experience with the Cook's Illustrated people has been very very good (including two recipes prepared for yesterday's Easter dinner: Scalloped Potatoes and Chocolate Layer Cake).

tm

[ltl/fb]

Originally posted by tmdiva
Here you go:



I don't have any experience with this particular volume, but my overall experience with the Cook's Illustrated people has been very very good (including two recipes prepared for yesterday's Easter dinner: Scalloped Potatoes and Chocolate Layer Cake).

tm

I think I disagree with their mac & cheese, but they generally have great recipes.

You can get it thru amazon for less, and use the link here.