Subj : moving or not To : Nancy Backus From : Barry Martin Date : Wed Nov 27 2019 09:41:00 Hi Nancy! BM>> All sorts of details to go wrong. And the various chefs and cooks just BM>> do things slightly differently, even with standardized chain BM>> restaurant cooking. "Squirt grill with canola oil." OK. One chef BM>> will give a healthy squirrrrt while another will do an anemic (squirt) BM>> -- that detail will alter the outcome. NB>> Indeed. :) BM> Oils and fats do make a difference on the flavour, though usually a BM> reduction in flavour accompanying a reduction in calories. True; certain cooking techniques add (or reduce) flavour. Was reading the more the surface of the meat is charred the better the flavour ==> was one reason why cooking a hamburger on a solid surface flat and very hot grill at a restaurant tasted better: all of the surface was seared. (Plus they have strong exhaust fans to draw the smoke away from the smoke detector in the hall off the kitchen!) NB> Yup... fat generally carries the flavor... :) One could do NB> better to drop out some of added sugars to reduce calories... ;) Yes, though when we at out, which isn't all that often, we ignore the calories printed on the menu and go for what we want/looks good. Back home compensate for the 'billion calorie meal' by eating lighter/having a snack instead of a meal. BM>>> As for your friend, some people just have the knack. NB>>> He certainly does... :) he helped me make a steak and kidney pie at NB>>> the Cooking Echo picnic... I was going on my remembering doing it NB>>> years ago, he was going on remembered tastes from years ago... no NB>>> recipes, but he does have years of doing all sorts of techniques, and NB>>> used what was needed for our project... Came out very nicely... :) BM>> Good. And yes, makes sense to use an established recipe (even from BM>> memory), but then need to tweak for the subtle differences. Maybe the BM>> tomatoes are a bit more tart than usual, or green pepper not as mature BM>> and holding in its flavour. Compensate with a pinch of this, a BM>> sprinkle of that, all determined by taste. ...And how one can taste BM>> and just know the right seasoning to add is beyond me . NB>> It's what sets apart the real cooks from the likes of you and me... ;) BM> So what's wrong with a few fish sticks in the BM> microwave for two minutes?! (I'll do that if just for me at lunch; if BM> dinner for the two of us baked in the oven or pan-fried stovetop.) NB> Simple can be just as rewarding... especially when the main NB> reward is having something to eat... ;) And I'll leave the fancy NB> and the reward is in the production type meals to those who are NB> more proficient at them... ;) Yes, and it's not too cost-efficient for us to have a wedge of lemon for fish so have some from the bottle of RealLemon. And that bottle isn't all that elegant on the table! Sprig of parsley? How about a shake of dried parsley flakes? BM>> We go "dunno - that's what the Toothpick Test is for near the end of BM>> baking. Dough sticking to the toothpick, leave in a little longer! BM>> (Not saying we don't adjust while mixing, just not as good at it.) NB>> A lot of it comes from experience.... and some things, the toothpick NB>> test is really the only way to test... :) BM> Though sometimes get fancy and use a bamboo skewer oooow's>. Experience is a key. And time and effort. 'Ordinary BM> meals' I/we don't spend a lot of time and effort at -- decent. And BM> that sounds worse than it is; not like the school lunch at the BM> cafeteria line where the glop of mystery meat is plopped on to the BM> tray. Sure, sometimes 'quick and easy' but tastes good and has BM> presentation. (Why do I feel like I'm digging my hole deeper?) NB> Not to worry.... even my very talented friend cooks 'quick and NB> easy' as well, from time to time.... Though they probably do it fancier and with more eye appeal automatically -- just habit. BM> To me eating an overdone hamburger is not as bad taste-wise as an BM> overdone steak. Nice they comp'd The Wizard's meal; I'm thinking $5 BM> or $10 just for the hamburger would have been sufficient, but maybe BM> they (the restaurant) can't do dollar-off, or fractions of a meal. (My BM> working retail experience was more dress missing belt, $5 off type of BM> thing.) NB> Most restaurants would be more likely to just comp the part of NB> the meal that was defective... we were quite surprised to have NB> his entire meal comp'ed... I'm sure they could do dollar-off, NB> though, as they regularly have coupons for dollar-off as well as NB> percentage-off.... :) Probably. If worked in the restaurant area then it probably would make more sense why the entire meal was comp'd as opposed to a partial reduction. I do agree with you, it would seem more logical to give away the overdone hamburger but not the perfectly done sides. OTOH free food is good food! NB>> add chocolate if the milk was starting to taste like it was about to NB>> turn... I came across molasses milk later, as a way to make a NB>> fortifying drink... as it is quite tasty, I added to my bag of tricks NB>> for covering up an off-taste in the milk... ;) BM> You sure you don't have that curdle flavour like I did?! NB> Pretty sure.... I do taste when milk picks up odd tastes, like NB> from the waxed cardboard carton, or a plastic taste from the jug, NB> when the milk hasn't been taken proper care of at the store.... NB> And the added coconut oil to the 2% milk to bring it to the right NB> percentage (that doesn't usually happen with whole milk)... And no one has marketed 'Tropical Milk'?! BM> I have smelt/tasted where the milk is about to turn bad. Still good BM> to consume, just want to soon. LIS, haven't heard of molasses milk BM> though does sound worth a try. I haven't seen coffee nor strawberry BM> flavoured milk out here (Midwest) though used to be available in New BM> England, or at least prior to moving out here in 1975. Not talking BM> the powdered mix, but rather flavoured milks in cartons. NB> I've seen strawberry flavored milk in gallon jugs along with NB> chocolate milk, likewise.... A regional milk cooperative (Upstate NB> Milk) sells various flavored milks in plastic pint bottles.... NB> chocolate, mocha, strawberry, cappuchino, and seasonal flavors NB> such as mint chocolate chip, eggnog, pumpkin spice, etc... I don't recall seeing those 'wild' flavours out here, but then I'm not all that into milk. The egg nog has been out for a few grocery trip -- as much as I love egg nog I'm avoiding buying any until at least the first of December to make it a little more special. BM>>>> 99% of my taglines have been snagged from others or extracted from BM>>>> various sources so if you gave me one of 'my' taglines it probably BM>>>> originated elsewhere. NB>>>> Like most of mine... :) BM>>> Right. I found the trouble with snagging that great tagline was BM>>> everyone else has snagged it too, so not such a great catch. NB>>> It might not have been seen in some other echo, though... ;) BM>> True. I more or less figure if I like the tagline to snag it, If BM>> it's out there it probably has been seen. A tagline is more of a BM>> decoration than the main item. NB>> True, that last.... ;) We do have someone in the COOKING echo that NB>> tends to produce new ones, or rework old ones to make them new... A NB>> lot of his have ended up in my file... ;) BM> I'll have to see about selecting the one about roast beef. NB> I saw that one below... I've seen it elsewhere as a one-liner... NB> ... Forbidden fruit is responsible for many a bad jam. Yes -- I'm recalling it more as a saying than tagline. ¯ ® ¯ Barry_Martin_3@ ® ¯ @Q.COM ® ¯ ® .... One rotten egg doesn't spoil a dozen -- only when scrambled. --- MultiMail/Win32 v0.47 þ wcECHO 4.2 ÷ ILink: The Safe BBS þ Bettendorf, IA --- QScan/PCB v1.20a / 01-0462 * Origin: ILink: CFBBS | cfbbs.no-ip.com | 856-933-7096 (454:1/1) .