Subj : Re: moving or not To : Barry Martin From : Nancy Backus Date : Tue Nov 26 2019 16:45:28 -=> Quoting Barry Martin to Nancy Backus on 13-Nov-2019 11:08 <=- 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. Yup... fat generally carries the flavor... :) One could do better to drop out some of added sugars to reduce calories... ;) 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.) Simple can be just as rewarding... especially when the main reward is having something to eat... ;) And I'll leave the fancy and the reward is in the production type meals to those who are more proficient at them... ;) 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?) Not to worry.... even my very talented friend cooks 'quick and easy' as well, from time to time.... BM>> Agree. With us prefer rare but not going to make a fuss if BM>> medium-rare. Medium will be accepted but there's a comment made. BM>> Anything over medium is being sent back. NB>> Not that long ago, our 4th Sunday group went to a place that sold NB>> steaks.... I think the cooks must have been asleep on the job, or NB>> something, as at least three of us had our meat come much more done NB>> than asked for... Mine was the first discovered, and I did have them NB>> re-do it (second time was at least acceptable)... Then Richard found NB>> that his hamburger was quite overdone, but told them that he'd just NB>> eat it... They ended up comping his entire meal... The third person NB>> had waited to even start her steak until later in the meal, and then NB>> discovered that it was overdone... she also had them re-make it (I NB>> thought she should have at least checked a lot earlier in the meal, NB>> actually)... I suspect that that might have played a part in they NB>> restaurant's decision to comp Richard's meal... :) BM> Something's not right in the kitchen! And yes, if there were problems BM> noted early in the meal I probably would have checked my meal to see BM> if it eas OK even though I was not ready to start eating. Since mine is likely to not pass muster, I do try to always check mine as it is delivered, just in case... 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.) Most restaurants would be more likely to just comp the part of the meal that was defective... we were quite surprised to have his entire meal comp'ed... I'm sure they could do dollar-off, though, as they regularly have coupons for dollar-off as well as percentage-off.... :) NB>>>>> but as an avid milk drinker, I'd find that hard to take, too... BM>>>> If you had that taste I had you'd avoid! NB>>>> Maybe... or figure out some way to cover it up... ;) BM>>> Well I also covered up a bit: I needed milk to do some cooking so had BM>>> a quart of milk in the refrigerator; would periodically try to see if BM>>> got rid of that nasty aftertaste; found if I didn't pour too much into BM>>> my cereal so was still relatively dry (not soggy) and the last bite or BM>>> two was cereal and not a spoonful of milk the taste was covered up. NB>>> I'd probably mix in chocolate, or molasses... ;) BM>> I hadn't thought of those! NB>> When I was back in grade school and we got the school milk in those NB>> little cartons, the white milk often tasted a little off, so I got NB>> in the habit of just ordering the chocolate milk... So, later, I'd 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?! Pretty sure.... I do taste when milk picks up odd tastes, like from the waxed cardboard carton, or a plastic taste from the jug, when the milk hasn't been taken proper care of at the store.... And the added coconut oil to the 2% milk to bring it to the right percentage (that doesn't usually happen with whole 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. I've seen strawberry flavored milk in gallon jugs along with chocolate milk, likewise.... A regional milk cooperative (Upstate Milk) sells various flavored milks in plastic pint bottles.... chocolate, mocha, strawberry, cappuchino, and seasonal flavors such as mint chocolate chip, eggnog, pumpkin spice, etc... 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. I saw that one below... I've seen it elsewhere as a one-liner... NB>> ... Everyone is of some use, if only to set a bad example. BM> Yup; think I used a similar one in the previous message. Yup, you did.... :) BM> I've gotten some interesting responses with a live use of 'everyone BM> brings happiness to this room; some by coming, some by leaving'. BM> (One does have to say that judiciously!) One does... :) ttyl neb .... Forbidden fruit is responsible for many a bad jam. --- EzyBlueWave V3.00 01FB001F * Origin: Tiny's BBS - http://www.tinysbbs.com (454:1/452) .