Small Talk: ...not Top Carrot

[Totale]

On 2/24/2018 at 4:31 PM, Nordly Beaumont said:

On Pack Your Knives podcast Chris said it's lemon, lemon rind, garlic, salt, thyme and a "shit ton" of sage, marinade for a day. 

I seem to recall reading that any marinade with acid should only be used for a short time on chicken, to avoid cooking it like seviche.  That sounds like a boatload of acid for a boatload of time.  I haven't tasted it obviously, but I do wonder.

[cooksdelight]

27 minutes ago, Totale said:

I seem to recall reading that any marinade with acid should only be used for a short time on chicken, to avoid cooking it like seviche.  That sounds like a boatload of acid for a boatload of time.  I haven't tasted it obviously, but I do wonder.

You’re correct, a lot of acid will cook whatever is marinating in it. But fish more so than chicken. I might give it  whirl and see what happens.

[ratgirlagogo]

23 hours ago, chiaros said:

For me, sage is associated with things like pork in Western-type cuisines.

I think of pork too, but sage is the primary ingredient in poultry seasoning so it's commonly used with chicken as well.  I think of chicken with lemon and sage as Italian or French.

Edited February 26, 2018 by ratgirlagogo

[Totale]

This was a April Fool's Day joke video a few years ago, but it was popular enough that they went ahead and brewed some (perhaps not as shown here).  It's still in their lineup.

[Blonde Gator]

Oh Lawdie!!!!!!!!!!!

[FormerMod-a1]

10 hours ago, Bastet said:

The only boneless steak I'll eat is filet mignon.  I'll use boneless chicken breasts in a salad or pasta, but to eat a piece of chicken, it better have the bone(s).  Bones = flavor.  It annoys the hell out of me how increasingly difficult is is to get bone-in meat without going to the butcher.

I agree.  I can't believe how hard it is to even find bone-in pork chops nowadays.  And when I do find them, they are only the super thick ones.  I used to be able to find everything from thin cut to thick cut with bone-in.  And you're right about steak, too.  T-bones are easy to find, but even bone-in ribeye is getting harder to find.  Thank goodness, it's still around somewhat, and not as scarce as bone-in pork chops.

[Bastet]

Ugh, yes, the pork chop difficulties.  I like them thin cut, and finding those with the bone in is getting harder.  Bone-in ribeye is still fairly plentiful here (thank the universe, because that's my favorite steak; I don't eat a lot of beef, so when I do, I want what I want).  I'm lucky to have a good butcher shop and a couple of independent markets locally, but the supermarket chains are trending heavily towards boneless, and that's annoying when I'd like to be lazy and pick up everything in one place.  Costco has pretty good quality meat (and good prices), but the only thing I can buy there is lamb chops because everything else is boneless!  The Ralphs (Kroger) near me still has a good selection of bone-in meats (including my thin-cut pork chops), but the one near my mom packages almost nothing with bones, because people aren't buying them -- to get bone-in, you have to ask the butcher and hope they have something on hand to cut to order for you.

[biakbiak]

My Costco has bone in thinner cut bone in pork chops. I buy the pack and then freeze them in packs of two. They actually have many different bone in meats so it must very by location.

[Bastet]

Yep, just like two different Ralphs ten miles apart having different options - it's based on what sells in that store.  The butcher at my mom's Ralphs grumbled with her about people wanting boneless meat, but explained that they had so many packages of bone-in meat left sitting there about to go bad, they largely stopped offering them after a while.  Those same people must shop at my local Costco (which is about halfway between me and my parents' house), because they consistently have boneless everything other than the lamb chops. 

I wonder why so many want boneless - for the faster cooking time?  The fact it's priced per pound and they don't want to pay for the weight of the bone?  Finding boneless easier to eat?  Enquiring minds want to know.

[biakbiak]

10 minutes ago, Bastet said:

The fact it's priced per pound and they don't want to pay for the weight of the bone? 

This is the reason the one person I kmow who prefers boneless states, they think it's a waste of money though I tried to point ouy that most places charge less per pound for bone in because it's less butchery. Long before bone broth was everywhere I threw the bones in the freezer after they were cooked and wait until I have enough to make a broth or stock so it actually is much cheaper since I never have to buy stock or broth. I also throw vegetable scraps and herb stems in the freezer so basically my stock is "free".

Edited March 19, 2018 by biakbiak

[cooksdelight]

I found bone-in lamb chops at my local grocery store today. I was verklempt.

[Lura]

I haven't tasted a lamb chop since my little brother was a child and was allowed to choose his birthday menu -- always lamb chops and corn on the cob.  At that time, The meat on the chops was about the size of a 50 cent piece, and the expense was prohibitive!  After eating only one per person, we were still hungry.  Nowadays, I don't even look for them when I'm shopping.

[Totale]

On 2/17/2018 at 11:52 AM, susannot said:

I'm in!  Just one state away in OH.  When is it filming?

Reddit scuttlebutt is that they are filming around Louisville now.  Sightings at WF and elsewhere.  Padma tweeting from a local BBQ place, etc.

[cooksdelight]

I got an invitation to be in Lexington on Tuesday but I have other commitments. Dangit!  Hopefully they will ask me again.

[cooksdelight]

If you can be in Lexington on Tuesday and want to attend a taping, PM me and I’ll get you there.

[LillyB]

Have any of you people tried the Quickfire wines? I have and found them to be pretty awful.

[biakbiak]

Anyone catch The Final Table on Netflix? They have more time and only have to make one dish and so far many of the dishes have been absolutely gorgeous. 

[Rai]

I watched some of it last night, but it doesn't quite grab me the same way Top Chef does. It's so slickly produced and leans into the Chef's Table fetishization a bit too much for my tastes. Still, it's pleasant and the plates are indeed gorgeous, so I'll probably keep watching it, but I guess I prefer the shows that actually can impart some teachable content.

[Totale]

This last outing of TC was not an exciting episode.  The big standout for me was that I saw it on the road rather than at home, where like any sane person I can skip the non-embedded commercials.  Jesus Tap-Dancing Christ, I've never seen anything like the MALARKEY! commercial that popped up halfway.  When did he turn into a meth-addicted insect?

[CrazyInAlabama]

If anyone wants Kelsey's Key Lime Puppy Chow recipe, I read that it's on her Instagram (I don't have the faintest idea how to find and link it). 

[PamelaMaeSnap]

On 5/11/2020 at 10:44 AM, questionfear said:

Oh man, now I'm imagining creating a restaurant around my grandma's cooking. It would include such hits as:

-Pot roast that is somehow both dry and moist. And possibly reheated from last Passover.

-A "vegetarian" entree that is just the vegetables fished out of the chicken soup.

-Cabbage stuffed with mystery meat.

-Dessert is instant coffee and baked goods made with sweet 'n' low. 

I love my grandma, she's an absolutely kickass human being...but yes, all those things were served at the holidays. The best is still when I came home from college as a vegetarian and she so proudly put together a plate of chicken soup vegetables for me (with bits of chicken still hanging off it!). My mom (who was not super thrilled about my newfound vegetarianism) leaned over and whispered "just go with it, and I'll make you eggs when we get home."

Actually, come to think of it, I'd love to see the chefs have a challenge where they have to take a mediocre or terrible meal someone made and recreate it into something delicious, without breaking from the spirit of the original (so if the recipe were chicken soup, the chefs could make soup variants but they couldn't make a roast chicken instead)

I had no idea that my Nanny had a second secret family!!!! Sister!!!! The cases of Sweet N Lo were carefully placed next to the bottles of Cotts diet black cherry soda while the freezer was full of “ice milk” (anyone remember that?) ... brisket or pot roast cooked to Corinthian leather. She could even ruin a bagel. But for dessert she’d trot out the “delicious sugarless cookies” her neighbor Mrs. Littman made. They supported my dentist with several broken teeth. I believe, no offense or snarkiness intended, that my grandmother was the world’s oldest anorexic  

But ... she made awesome matzoh balls (the consistency of a chewy handball but I liked them like that). 

My husband, meanwhile, has stories of his plus-size grandma’s plus-size/minus-flavor heaping dishes of flanken every week (luckily his family ran a few NYC restaurants so he could get some good meals the rest of the time)

We’ll call the place All the Little Cooks and Nannies

ETA: Sorry Aquarian!!! Posted this in response before I read rest of the thread and I’m on my iPhone and don’t know how to move it on here ... will move it to small talk as soon as I get back to my laptop!!!!

Edited May 14, 2020 by PamelaMaeSnap
Apologies to our patient mod!!!

[questionfear]

1 hour ago, PamelaMaeSnap said:

I had no idea that my Nanny had a second secret family!!!! Sister!!!! The cases of Sweet N Lo were carefully placed next to the bottles of Cotts diet black cherry soda while the freezer was full of “ice milk” (anyone remember that?) ... brisket or pot roast cooked to Corinthian leather. She could even ruin a bagel. But for dessert she’d trot out the “delicious sugarless cookies” her neighbor Mrs. Littman made. They supported my dentist with several broken teeth. I believe, no offense or snarkiness intended, that my grandmother was the world’s oldest anorexic  

But ... she made awesome matzoh balls (the consistency of a chewy handball but I liked them like that). 

My husband, meanwhile, has stories of his plus-size grandma’s plus-size/minus-flavor heaping dishes of flanken every week (luckily his family ran a few NYC restaurants so he could get some good meals the rest of the time)

We’ll call the place All the Little Cooks and Nannies

ETA: Sorry Aquarian!!! Posted this in response before I read rest of the thread and I’m on my iPhone and don’t know how to move it on here ... will move it to small talk as soon as I get back to my laptop!!!!

OMG ice milk! I remember that stuff...such a weird concept....

[CrazyInAlabama]

From the wrong thread, what my Grandmother's meal would have looked like at Kevin G's restaurant:

My grandmother's cooking would have been an old chicken (stopped laying), stewed to pieces, potato rolls, bad dressing with slimy celery leaves in it, and no seasoning on any of it, and desert would be some home made custard pie that had been sitting out on a table, and growing bacteria all day.       The butter sat out all day, and in hot weather turned liquid.   No seasonings, no gravy, enough butter to give you a heart attack, 

(The reason so much food is stewed or boiled to mush is because they never went to the dentist, until the pain was too bad, or until it was denture time).     

The side of the family love gravy (white and brown), hot sausages, make great biscuits, and love seasonings.  It was actually great to go to any home on that side of the family.   

Edited May 14, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[BlackberryJam]

Where is the fatback in this meal? Because my Granny always cooked with lard and fatback. Need to season something? Throw in a hunk of pig fat. Something a little dry? Nothing a heaping scoop of lard won't fix. Also rice, stuffing and mashed potatoes with every meal because why have one starch when you can have three? Also, those got covered in gravy made from that morning's breakfast meat drippings. I also have some recollection of stuffing and mashed potato sandwiches covered in gravy, but I've tried to block that out.

 

 

 

[mlp]

I have no warm, fuzzy memories of cooking from my childhood.  One grandmother died when I was very young, the other lived in a different state and my mother was not a good cook.  She was divorced, raising three kids alone and working full time back in the '50s when all those things were uncommon.  She taught high school history and, when she got home, she was more concerned about correcting papers and making lesson plans than cooking plus, when we got old enough to stay home alone, she went to night school to finish her master's.  Looking back, I don't know how she did it all. 

Anyhow, her idea of cooking was browning some ground beef, adding a can of tomato sauce and serving it over Minute Rice with a canned vegetable and a salad.  She was very happy when TV dinners became a thing.  We kids could even make those ourselves.

[Vermicious Knid]

Quote

“delicious sugarless cookies” her neighbor Mrs. Littman made.

Was this in the NY area, because my cousins are Littmans. It's not an incredibly common name. I remember many a Littman Family Circle meeting with excellent desserts though. Both my Grandmas kept kosher so no ham hocks or shrimp. They were both pretty good cooks, but the strangest thing I was ever served by one was a giant matzo ball in a bowl of borscht. It was kind of fascinating watching the purple creep up as the matzo ball absorbed it. She also used to terrify us with all kinds of jello confections and to this day, my brother and I won't touch it. 

[PamelaMaeSnap]

On 5/15/2020 at 2:27 AM, Vermicious Knid said:

Was this in the NY area, because my cousins are Littmans. It's not an incredibly common name. I remember many a Littman Family Circle meeting with excellent desserts though. Both my Grandmas kept kosher so no ham hocks or shrimp. They were both pretty good cooks, but the strangest thing I was ever served by one was a giant matzo ball in a bowl of borscht. It was kind of fascinating watching the purple creep up as the matzo ball absorbed it. She also used to terrify us with all kinds of jello confections and to this day, my brother and I won't touch it. 

Any of them in Riverdale??? She and my grandmother lived in the same building. She was one of her best friends. Apologies if it is indeed a relative and I inadvertently insulted her cooking (more likely as a wonderful friend she knew my grandmother’s obsession with diet food and created the “sugarless” cookies). That would be too funny though if true! 
 

Also, borscht!!!! My mom’s favorite food! I couldn’t stomach it at all ... 

[Nordly Beaumont]

I hope it's okay to put this here. I just watched a movie from Zimbabwe called "Cook Off" on Netflix. A single mother joins a Top Chef style competition called "Battle of the Chefs" (the rules of this show are impossible to figure out, you just have to go with it). The story is, of course, predictable - but the movie is sweet and the lead actors are so incredibly charming! I smiled through pretty much all of it. So if you see this on Netflix and wonder if it's worth an hour and a half of your time, I'm giving it a happy little thumbs up!

[FinnishViewer]

Has there been a detailed description about what the cheftestants need to buy from the store to prepare their dishes and what they can take from the pantry?

[caitmcg]

9 hours ago, FinnishViewer said:

Has there been a detailed description about what the cheftestants need to buy from the store to prepare their dishes and what they can take from the pantry?

I’m sure it’s all spelled out for them by producers at the time they’re filming, but it’s not something that’s been shared with the audience, AFAIK.

[Ashforth]

Is there a thread for Padma's Hulu show Taste the Nation? I looked, but I am not adept at using the Primetimer search function.

[Browncoat]

@Ashforth, there is.  Scroll down to the recently added shows section and there's a link there.  

[ProudMary]

@Ashforth

Here's the direct link:

https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/110108-taste-the-nation/

 

[Ashforth]

Thanks @Browncoat and @ProudMary! I found my way there!

Three episodes in, such a good series. It's so much deeper than a food travelogue. I have a newfound respect for Padma (and I was already a fan).

[Machiabelly]

I just watched the finale of Top Chef Canada and the sous chef for the winner got $5K.

Doe regular Top Chef do that.

[buttersister]

LOL! Dawn appeared on Beat Bobby Flay tonight. Then she disappeared because, wait for it, time got away from her and she didn’t start cooking the meat until there were 4 minutes left.

[Leeds]

 

On 6/24/2021 at 9:48 PM, buttersister said:

LOL! Dawn appeared on Beat Bobby Flay tonight. Then she disappeared because, wait for it, time got away from her and she didn’t start cooking the meat until there were 4 minutes left.

You're winding us up, right?

 

[buttersister]

Dawn’s flavors consistently get high praise on Top Chef. Her time management skills there and here frequently suck. I’d love to eat her food. But while she’s an Olympic-level competitor, she may not be cut out for cooking competition. 

[ProudMary]

The Primetimer Awards here are open for first round voting. Top Chef  is one of 25 nominees competing for Favorite Reality Show. Season 20 has been a great one and deserves recognition. In the first round, forum members can vote for as many shows as they'd like, to whittle down the field of nominees to 5 finalists. Here is the direct link:

Favorite Reality Show

Let's vote Top Chef  into the finals!

[The Solution]

Battlebots is still on?

 

[kirklandia]

42 minutes ago, The Solution said:

 

Battlebots is still on?

 

Absolutely!  Or rather it is on again.
My son used to watch it with his dad. And now I record it every week and watch it with my six year old grandson.

Edited June 13, 2023 by kirklandia

[ProudMary]

Top Chef made it to the finals of the Spring Primetimer Awards. Now let's vote it to a victory! Voting closes this Friday, June 23rd, so don't delay.

Here's a direct link to the category:

Favorite Reality Show

[ProudMary]

To all who voted in the Primetimers, well done! 👏

 

[Bastet]

Finally!  I've nominated it every time it's been eligible, but I believe this is the first time it has won.  Fitting that it be for an all-stars, and Padma's last, season.

[MerBearHou]

13 hours ago, ProudMary said:

To all who voted in the Primetimers, well done! 👏

 

Great news and well deserved!  Ok, I feel super lame asking this -- I did all of my voting in the rounds, but can't find where the final results are.  Can someone guide me?  I've been poking around on the site and can't find them.  TIA!

[ProudMary]

4 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

Great news and well deserved!  Ok, I feel super lame asking this -- I did all of my voting in the rounds, but can't find where the final results are.  Can someone guide me?  I've been poking around on the site and can't find them.  TIA!

Here you go! Ther awards forum has four separate threads to announce the winners plus a Small Talk thread.

https://forums.primetimer.com/forum/3310-the-primetimers-awards/