Free Republic

If you’re planning a festive event for New Year’s Eve—or even if you’re just planning a quiet dinner at home—why not take some time to enjoy your last carefree meal before your New Year’s resolutions kick in on January 1st? There’s still time. Eat some beef that’s been slow-cooked in fat. Make Brisket confit. You won’t regret it. Confit of beef brisket is a sumptuous, meaty, gem that sticks to your ribs and is perfect for a cold winter night. It adds just the right touch of indulgence to the last night of the year. Take a twist on tradition...

Time is running out for these animals at risk of disappearing forever.

Funny, I didn't think about this when I offered to take over this week for the vacationing Jamestown1630, that I'd be heading into a religious fast! What great timing! Still, there is no time like fasting (or thinking about fasting) to come up with delicious ideas to make and eat. What would you break a fast with? Personally, the actual first food I eat after not eating for some 25 hours needs to be protein, or I will feel quite sick. But there are a million kinds of protein! Traditionally in my family the proteins have been cold meats (as...

For some Americans, going out to dinner is a treat, planned and budgeted for. For others, it's just another Tuesday night. And Wednesday. And Thursday. And that second group of people is becoming the majority. The number of Americans who enjoy cooking is declining, while the prevalence of food delivery startups, meal kit subscriptions and culinary-centric television shows grows. In the Harvard Business Review, researcher Eddie Yoon shares data he's gathered over two decades working as a consultant for consumer packaged goods companies. Early in Yoon's career, he conducted a survey that determined that Americans fell into one of three...

There are times I would like to make the effort of throwing dinner for friends or family and cook everything from scratch. But the labor of love just takes so long. In spite of all the inspiration from Rachael Ray, the 30-minute meal is actually more myth than fact. Thawing your food alone may take almost an hour. Then there’s the diligence of slow cooking the meat to your desired tenderness. Not to mention the many times you will have to change pots and pans, as the vegetables, which cook faster, have to be cooked much later than the meat—you...

Hello! I bought a large (12 in diameter) cast iron pan at a garage sale today. It has been only very lightly used, the manufacturers name LODGE is plainly visible on the bottom. Little or no burned grease or discoloration evident. So I did wash it once very lightly with mostly water but just a hint of soap and am now trying to season it. I put in about a tablespoon of unscented coconut oil and let that melt and worked it in with a paper towel, then turned off the heat. So I am wondering about the best approach...

Refrigerators were originally used to store just a few perishable essentials such as meat and milk. In fact, the first electric units of the 1920s were only slightly bigger than modern mini-fridges. Nearly 100 years later, refrigerators are bigger than ever and used to store the bulk of the food consumed by a household. Americans spend anywhere from $130 to just under $300 a week stocking up on food for a family of four, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But those numbers include dry goods that wouldn't be kept in the refrigerator and leave out fridge such staples...

Let’s just pause the vitriol and political drama, and instead enjoy some cakes, puns, and Mary Berry for the day. It’s a rather dismal time in American politics. There’s been lots of fighting, drama, and tweeting of late. Over the past few months, we’ve seen disappointed hopes, angry passions, and forlorn despair all rise to the surface. On the cultural front, we’ve experienced a good deal of unrest and volatility, fragmentation and decay. But there’s hope, friends. From across the pond, the British have delivered unto us the most delightful “reality TV” show an Anglophile could ever ask for. It...

Britain's restaurateurs are facing a recruitment crisis with higher costs, tougher competition and the effect of Brexit – and things are only going to get worse, say key industry figures. Fears over workers’ rights following Britain’s exit from the European Union mean that restaurants are finding it harder to recruit staff and retain existing employees. According to a recent survey by accountancy group KPMG for the British Hospitality Association, a quarter of all chefs are from the Continent. Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of the BHA, said: ‘The success of the UK’s food scene depends on an ability to hire leading...

There are more than one way to cook bacon than in a skillet. Which brings us to many unique people that are gun hobbyist that likes to combine food and guns. The AK-47 serves as the cooker of fresh Bacon with plenty of ammo. Recipe begins with the bacon wrapped around the gun's barrel and carefully fixating it in place so that it won’t move.The next step is to load several 7.62 magazines and be ready to take the recoil of bursts of it. The bullets and the hot barrel will get hot enough to get the process of caramelizing...

Kara Nielsen, manager of Sales and Engagement USA for Innova Market Insights, discussed food trends during her presentation at the Sosland Publishing Purchasing Seminar. KANSAS CITY — Vegetable butchery, lab-grown burgers, seaweed and spirulina may be among the food trends of tomorrow. Concepts supporting sustainable nutrition and busy consumer lifestyles are set to emerge, said Kara Nielsen, manager of Sales and Engagement USA for Innova Market Insights. During a June 6 presentation at the Sosland Publishing Purchasing Seminar in Kansas City, Nielsen discussed current and future food trends, including what’s next on the health and wellness horizon. Protein may be...

In an interview six months after the election, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chairman, John Podesta, discusses the night of his candidate’s defeat, the mistakes made on the trail and Donald Trump, who he says is “unfit and unqualified” to serve as president. […] Spiegel: Mr. Podesta, the election took place only six months ago. For many, though, it seems like an eternity has passed since Barack Obama’s presidency. Are you suffering? Podesta: Yeah, Donald Trump has given a new meaning to dog years. The only constant seems to be his unpredictability. America lives in a state of constant turmoil. There were...

How to easily make Cantonese Char Siu at home? This is quick and simple recipe that anyone can master!

Today’s recipes are Italian soups! This is in honor of my Nonna (Italian grandmother), who strangely enough, couldn’t cook anything except soup. Her soups were out of this world good. Unfortunately, I never watched her make one to learn her secret. I know she didn’t make her own stock, so that wasn’t the key. She was rather a lazy cook, so I’m guessing it had to do with some Italian ingredients that we can’t get here, or I don’t know about. So these recipes are ones I’ve found and probably modified to suit my tastes. Sorry for the lack of...

Hi to all! This is the weekly cooking thread for this weekend, and I am one of the substitutes for Jamestown1630. I'm sorry I didn't start yesterday, but, well, how do I say this?? I forgot. And I am sorry. But here we are. What is going on in your kitchens this week? There are a lot of sports on TV this weekend so I decided to make a bunch of fried chicken, great to eat right out of the fryer, but also good cold. I bought a bunch of winglets and some drumsticks. I took a glass 13x9 pan,...

Hello fellow cooks! This is Cottonball, your 2nd substitute thread poster for Jamestown1630, along with Yaelle. I decided to indulge in one of my favorite hobbies for this week’s foodie thread - I LOVE making bread. Just like growing plants, making bread for me is an act of love and creation – the little yeasties making the flour and water into something magical always excites me and gives me a feeling of accomplishment. Seeing the dough rise and take shape is like giving birth (without the pain or medical staff). I wasn’t always able to make edible bread – I...

Good morning, happy Friday the 13th. Cotton Ball and I are the substitute cooking leaders for our dear Jamestown1630, who is nursing someone close to her back to health. May he be having a uptick in health this weekend, JT! Anyway, no creepy morbid Friday the 13th recipes for me. But in my area (Southern California) we've had chilly weather and rain, for us quite delightful. So I'm thinking warm, homey slow cooker meals today. But as you know, we here are open to EVERYTHING food and food related. Today I'm going to make a white bean chili recipe in...

3 (THREE) Boxes Pistachio Pudding (3.5 oz approx. - often 3.4) 1 can Crushed Pineapple (20 oz. approx.) 3/4-1 cup milk (I prefer whole milk) 2 bags Pecan pieces (or about 4 oz) 1 bag Mini Marshmallows (I like the colored / flavored ones yellow/green/pink/orange) 2 tubs Cool-Whip or similar whipped topping In a large cake mixing bowl, 1) Empty the whole can of Pineapple AND juice 2) put in 2 (TWO) of the contents of Pistachio Pudding 3) put in the milk 4) put in the pecan pieces 5) (optional) - put in about 1/2 can of fruit cocktail...

I'm really not much of a cook at all. I don't have the patience or the concentration. It's therefore no surprise that I would fall back on cooking eggs - fried, boiled, or poached. When I fry the eggs, I prefer to use bacon grease, but butter works just fine. So does olive oil if I'm in a healthy mood. I recently ran across a scrambled eggs recipe that used Worcestershire sauce: You Never Knew You Needed Scrambled Eggs With Worcestershire Sauce I tried it and I liked it. The link led me to a couple other links: This Is...

Serial trophy hunter Aryanna Gourdin poses proudly alongside a majestic giraffe she has just gunned down in a picture that sparked a furious ­backlash from animal lovers. But the 12-year-old, who has a string of kills to her name, defiantly vowed never to give up shooting wild beasts and churned out the disputed claim that blood sport like this is a conservation measure that stops the decline in big game numbers. Aryanna shares the images of her and each ­dead creature on her Facebook page complete with captions bragging about the deaths, despite insisting she “loves” animals. In one sick...