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How to make oatmeal that isn't sticky: Perfect oatmeal

(A little early this week, because I have a couple of busy days coming up.) Chicken Cacciatore In the memoir that Julia Child wrote in collaboration with her husband's great-nephew, the story of the revelatory meal in Rouen that started Julia on her life's work is recounted ('My Life in France', Julia Child and Alex Prud'homme, 2006). I believe that anyone who has become seriously interested in food and the art of cooking has had a moment like that: the one meal that made you realize that there was a LOT more to eating and cooking than you had previously...

Well, I have accepted the challenge, and this is a preview of the New Cooking (and things related) Thread. I'll post a tried-and-true recipe each week, on Friday evening; and I hope we generate lots of Good Cookin'! I'd like it to also include recommendations of kitchen-ways - equipment that people find useful, techniques from Old Folks and Old Days, and new-fangled stuff, as well. (As an example: The Husband Unit and I have a bet on the Super Bowl, and if my team wins I get to buy one of those little counter-top ovens that are run on tea-light...

Okay. Doesn't fall under "Breaking News" but, I don't post articles very often. So, I drop off my Alki friend so he can do some walk in/walk out bail thing at the Sheriffs Department. I'm bored and spy a Thai restaurant across the street. At first my thoughts were just about some delish lemongrass soup. So I walk in and order their lemongrass soup. But, they offered a twist I hadn't been offered at othe Thai restaurants "You want regular or spicy?". "Huh? Why I'll take spicy. I love spicy anything" I responded Well, they tried to talk me out...

During my years of lurking, I always enjoyed the Thanksgiving Cooking thread; but I missed most of it this year. I've got a ? for the Freepers who like to cook and entertain: What do you take to an office party, where the only warm-up options are microwave and sterno-steam-tray? My crew favors my chicken and dumplings, which work out very well warmed up in a crock pot. But I've done it for years, and it's a little labor-intensive for me this year. I want to do something different, and my other best dishes are 'crusty' things - chicken pot...

Okay, I like to cook.  I made this butternut squash bisque for Thanksgiving, and took it to my in-laws, where we devoured it and fought for the leftovers.  It's so good, I made it again, wrote down all the ingredients, remeasured everything, and made it into a real recipe. Here it is so you can try it. Makes about 8-10 servings.  It will take you a good hour or two to make this. Ingredients:1 medium butternut squash – peeled, seeded and cut into ½” cubes (6 cups) 3 med yellow squash (4 if they are small) – seeded and cut...

The world is on fire right now, so let's talk about the important stuff. Not Fergadishu, not Ben Gazi (who is that guy anyway?), not Punkin' Thighs' presidential aspirations. I'm talkin' turkey! Do you brine, do you butter under the skin, do you fry? Please tell us your method and why you chose it. Happy Thanksgiving to the best folks on the inner webs!

Just in time for Thanksgiving, House Speaker John Boehner has revealed his secret turkey recipe that he calls the "Boehner brine." "I decided a number of years ago that I would try to brine a turkey. I found a recipe somewhere online and tinkered with it over a period of about five years, until I settled in on my current brine," he said. Although Boehner's method doesn't quite meet USDA safety standards for internal temperature, those who know their way around a turkey confirm that Boehner has the right idea. "In terms of the cooking process, he basically nails every...

Restaurant Code Words: Crunchy, tempura, battered, crispy, breaded, crusted, golden, sizzling If you're making a healthy choice, you're probably not purposely choosing a fried food item. Look for words like crunchy, battered, crispy, breaded, crusted, golden, tempura; some of these options are a double-whammy on your caloric intake because the item is fried with an additional carb-based coating. ... Restaurant Code Words: Teriyaki, BBQ, glazed, sticky, honey-dipped Powdered doughnuts may be self-explanatory on a menu, but options labeled as Teriyaki, BBQ, glazed, sticky or honey-dipped could also be high in added sugars. It is wise to ask if sauces of...

Episode 115 of “Seinfeld” featured a gruff entrepreneur who ran a soup stand offering the best soup in New York City. “You can’t eat this soup standing up, your knees buckle,” Jerry Seinfeld explained to Elaine. “There’s only one caveat — the guy who runs the place is a little temperamental, especially about the ordering procedure,” Jerry said. “He’s secretly referred to as the Soup Nazi” because if you don’t order right, “He yells and you don’t get your soup.” No one liked the Soup Nazi — but everyone loved his soup! Despite his grumpy, rude and domineering demeanor, the...

Were creeping into fall, and now is time to start thinking of those cooler months before winter arrives. Fall to me means Chowder.

Improving the classics is not an easy task. I, for one, have for years been trying to add a kickstand to my burritos to make them stand upright, but the technical challenges prove insurmountable. Big & Littles in Chicago has done better with its update to the grilled cheese, however: It battered and deep-fried it. Robert: All I need is a bowl of deep-fried tomato soup and it's a complete meal. Miles: It's beer-battered, so everyone be prepared for me to call in sick tomorrow with a grilled-cheese hangover. Peter: It's breaded bread, and it's delicious. Why not go for...

The 4th of July three-day weekend starts tomorrow. For many Americans, especially our fellow FReepers.. it'll be a well needed respite from the real world. Many will hit the beach, or a ball game, see a parade, watch fireworks. For a lot of us...it means grilling...cooking meat the way it was intended to be cooked, OUTDOORS..with lots of awesome sides. So, if that's in your plans ( or even if you're just thinking about it) feel free to share ideas, recipes, rubs..

When it comes to food, convicts are ingenious. Dried pasta and canned goods are prepared with nothing more than a pair of nail clippers.In prison, food takes on a significance that’s nearly unimaginable in the outside world. Sometimes it’s a scarce resource that confers power; everywhere it’s a status symbol and a form of currency. Cooking behind bars, was one of the few kinds of freedom us convicts could enjoy. On the flip side, food symbolizes a rigid social order. It doesn’t matter what kinds of friends you had on the outside, in lockup you don’t eat with other races....

Debbie Wasserman Schultz is best known as a member of Congress and chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. Now, she's become the clean cooking congresswoman. "I've really gone through this lifestyle change. I'm not a vegan or anything you could label. But I really started caring about what I put in my body," she said in an interview. "And so the easiest way for me to keep track of it is to cook for myself."

In New Mexico almost no food, no meal is without the influence of the famous chile pepper. So it should be no surprise that New Mexico claims the invention of the Breakfast Burrito. It is the wrapped wonder that brings spice to the morning. It is now a staple on menus across the Southwest, and showing up frequently on menus nationwide. Even fast food chains now offer versions. Now, to celebrate this success and its New Mexico heritage, we have created the New Mexico True Breakfast Burrito Byway.

To the list of bygone New York City pleasures, add one more slice of life — the sausage pizza.

Seemed like a good idea at the time. Last week in Copenhagen, 1,000 people gathered in a public square to participate in a collective act that some might call idiotic and others brave. Together, bound in solidarity, they each ate one ghost chili pepper — one of the spiciest chili peppers on Earth. Also called the "bhut jolokia," the ghost pepper grows in the Indian states of Assam and Nagland and, from 2007 till it was dethroned in 2012 by the Trinidad moruga scorpion, it was certified as the hottest pepper in the world by Guinness World Records. It measures...

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It may have started with female-friendly chainlets like STK in the early 2000s, but lately chefs and restaurateurs all over the country are redefining the steakhouse in new and unexpected ways. Below, we've rounded up some of the most notable carnivorous trends of the last year - and shared our picks for the best places in the country to try them yourself. Vegetarians, turn away now.