Where my fellow cooks at???

[BadHands71]

Tif, you would LOVE this food market that Joburg has. One of the many stalls sells paella that is cooked in 3 foot diameter pans over an open flame. Good paella is a beautiful thing.

[Shyster]

Pepperoni, mushroom, roasted garlic, and onion pizza on a sourdough crust:

Spoiler:

[mac5155]

Made Salisbury steak, mashed potatoes and corn. With a tall glass of chocolate milk. Talk about comfort food.

[Factorial]

About 12 percent of spices brought to the United States are contaminated with insect parts, whole insects, rodent hairs and other things, according to an analysis of spice imports by federal food authorities.
The federal authorities also found that nearly 7 percent of spice imports examined by federal inspectors were contaminated with salmonella, a toxic bacteria that can cause severe illness in humans.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/healt ... ml?hp&_r=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Gaucho]

Pepperoni, mushroom, roasted garlic, and onion pizza on a sourdough crust:

Spoiler:

Yum.

[tifosi77]

About 12 percent of spices brought to the United States are contaminated with insect parts, whole insects, rodent hairs and other things, according to an analysis of spice imports by federal food authorities.
The federal authorities also found that nearly 7 percent of spice imports examined by federal inspectors were contaminated with salmonella, a toxic bacteria that can cause severe illness in humans.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/healt ... ml?hp&_r=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's why you should always wash your spices before using them.

[viva la ben]

Insects impart a depth of flavor lost in non insect-contaminated spices.

[blackjack68]

Homemade pumpkin seeds.

[Shyster]

About 12 percent of spices brought to the United States are contaminated with insect parts, whole insects, rodent hairs and other things, according to an analysis of spice imports by federal food authorities.

Meh; I don't care. But then again, I also eat garbage bananas.

[BigMcK]

There was an expose article (Mother Jones?) a few years back on green tea imported from China that said there is a unhealthy, possibly lethal amount of lead residue on the tea leaves. The article said to expedite the drying of the leaves, the distributor would drive heavy duty trucks back and forth over the product in an enclosed warehouse. The trucks burned leaded gasoline and the exhaust fumes would fall onto the leaves polluting them with lead.

It sure as heck didn't hurt the claim of the health benefits of green tea at all.

Besides, anyone that has ever camped or eaten out in a restaurant has eaten some form of bug or two.

[Shyster]

There was an expose article (Mother Jones?) a few years back on green tea imported from China that said there is a unhealthy, possibly lethal amount of lead residue on the tea leaves. The article said to expedite the drying of the leaves, the distributor would drive heavy duty trucks back and forth over the product in an enclosed warehouse. The trucks burned leaded gasoline and the exhaust fumes would fall onto the leaves polluting them with lead.

I could see that happening for cheap, mass-produced greens that are headed for bottled drinks and similar beverages. That's not the stuff I buy, which is mostly handmade and would be ruined by a fast drying like that.

[viva la ben]

Guy Fieri's family cruise on Food Network; why am I watching this and why can't I change the channel?

Help me

[tifosi77]

Well, if you're bored you could always go to FaceTube and search "Nigella Lawson XXX Xmas". It's highly..... diverting. And still food related.

(Probably can figure out on your own that it's NSFW content)

[mac5155]

Cause it has the word nigella in the name?

[tifosi77]

Well, there are sensitivities about which one should be mindful.

[columbia]

I had dinner at Husk in Charleston:

Pork belly wrapped in pulled pork and about the size of filet mignon. Plus greens, bacon corn bread and heirloom tomatoes.

Decadent.

What a superb restaurant.

[canaan]

that sounds heavenly

[columbia]

Of course the greens were cooked in pork fat.

That Sean Brock guy cooks like my southern grandmothers did....but much better.

[the wicked child]

/drool

[tifosi77]

If you liked Brock's food, check out the current season of PBS' Mind Of A Chef. It's a Zero-Point-Zero production (Anthony Bourdain is the 'host', but he only narrates and never appears on camera), and Brock and April Bloomfield are splitting the cheffing duties this season. Last episode I watched he went frog hunting in the bayou with Donald Link.

Fwiw, Mind Of A Chef is one of the best informational/instructional food and cooking shows I've ever seen. It's not a traditional stand-and-stir show, but it's very much in the vein of Made In Spain and Avec Eric - two of my other favorite food shows of ever.

[tifosi77]

Speaking of Charleston, a buddy of mine just ate at FIG recently and was quite impressed.

[columbia]

We have reservations at FIG tonight. :)

[tifosi77]

Apparently they have a 'make your own Manhattan' bar. Which sounds quite nice.

Friend's menu: arugula salad, tomato tarte, pate and head cheese, gnocchi with lamb ragout, sucking pig.

[BigMcK]

Question. What difference, if any, does it make to use cornstarch over flour as a thickening agent? Is there an advantage for using one over the other? I see some recipes that call for adding cornstarch to liquid instead of adding flour to liquid for the base of the thickening agent.

What gives?

[mac5155]

Sweetness of Cornstarch?