What I learned today (Take Two)

Jenise, one of your signature recipes here is Tuscan Chicken with Porcini. So... you make it but never eat it?

[Jenise]

Jeff, long-cooked porcinis are/were never a problem for me. However, the realization of their toxicity has made me discontinue making that dish--too much risk. Doctor's orders.

Mike, thanks for the link. Glad to know I have company. Have enjoyed reading stuff there. Here's an interesting factoid: China is a major exporter of porcini, most of it ending up in Europe. We used DNA-sequencing to identify three species of mushroom contained within a commercial packet of dried Chinese porcini purchased in London. Surprisingly, all three have never been formally described by science and required new scientific names. This demonstrates the ubiquity of unknown fungal diversity even in widely traded commercial food products from one of the most charismatic and least overlooked groups of mushrooms.

Interesting to differentiate between intestinal and inhalative reactions. My reactions were, of course, intestinal. HOWEVER, once upon a time I decided to grind dried porcinis to make a chile-mushroom rub for a whole filet mignon. When I opened the grinder to transfer its contents to a bowl? Instant asthma attack.

I'm reminded of being in Tuscany circa 2005 which was after my first anaphylactic reaction but before the 2nd and 3rd. We bought fresh vegetable tortellini from a Village market. Went home and cooked them for dinner--it only took three or four bites, and I was gone. Full body evacuation and violent head to toe itching on every inch of my body. Not at all understanding what happened, two days later we marinated the leftover tortellinis for a cold appetizer. This time I only ate two before I had a repeat of the first episode. And I have no idea what was in them. Given my location, in hindsight porcini would be a prime suspect but it could have been some other kind of funghi that I'm also allergic to but had not encountered before.

Speaking of all this I saw a commercial today for a CNN special this week: DEATH CAP, the Mushroom Murders.

Speaking of all this I saw a commercial today for a CNN special this week: DEATH CAP, the Mushroom Murders.

I remember not being surprised when I first heard about the Mushroom Murders. After all, Australia is the Continent That Is Out To Kill You.

-Paul W.

Wow, Jenise, that's really interesting regarding the Chinese mushrooms. Who would guess that investigating packaged mushrooms would be a way to find ones that were previously unknown to science?

That's a really harsh reaction you have. I guess you don't run into issues often enough to carry an Epi-pen, but if you lived in Italy it might be a consideration!

The mushroom murder thing brought back a memory involving the late Chef Joseph Carey. He was working on a crime novel in which several people were murdered by being given deadly mushrooms. He knew I had been involved in diagnosing poisonings by these and contacted me regarding appearance of symptoms, timing, etc. Don't know how far he got with that book before his health problems became severe.

Yesterday I had one of those "light dawns over Marblehead"/d'OH! moments when one finds the obvious solution to a nagging problem.

Murphy's Law of Wonton Folding says that you will always run out of either filling or wonton wrappers and be left with an inconveniently small amount of one or the other.

As yesterday's wonton folding session progressed I could see that it was going to be close. When the package of wonton skins was nearly gone I counted the skins. There were 11 left. So I divided the remaining filling into 11 even pieces and thereby avoided Murphy's Law. Obvious solution, but I'd never thought of it before.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

That's a really harsh reaction you have. I guess you don't run into issues often enough to carry an Epi-pen, but if you lived in Italy it might be a consideration!

I don't carry an epi pen here, but if I ever go back to Europe my allergy doctor insists I take one. I could avow to not eat any mushrooms, but what happened in Tuscany proves a problem might not be avoidable. Porcini mushrooms are the only food allergy I know I have. Weird isn't it that something safe for others would be for me, deadly?

I learned that Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser sheets really do erase. I wiped the front of my toaster oven and the temperature markings came off.

I learned that Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser sheets really do erase. I wiped the front of my toaster oven and the temperature markings came off.

Oh no! I think that is not what the maker intended! Breville, perchance?

Black & Decker.

I accidentally left a pot of water on the stove until all of the water had boiled away. This left a very hard, rough deposit on the stainless steel lining of one of my treasured heavy-gauge copper saucepans. Soap and water were ineffective and I was loathe to use steel wool for fear of scratching the pan lining. Yesterday it occurred to me that the deposits were likely a combination of salts and of carbonates of calcium and other metals. Most carbonates are dissolved by acids, so I put a 50-50 mixture of water and white vinegar in the saucepan and let it boil for 1/2 hour. It worked. The deposit is gone and the stainless steel lining is back to its original state. It's good to learn that there is a simple and effective solution to this issue.

-Paul W.

If you wash wine glasses or other glasses that have a slight indent in the base in the DW, vinegar is also handy for clearing up the cloudiness that can occur.

[Jenise]

Two days ago, a quick stop at a local grocer (biggest in town at 4 stores and closest to me, though this is a small town) that used to carry Diamond Crystal Salt but no longer does, resulted in me using an aisle I typically never visit on my way to the bakery section where I ran into a friend and stopped for a chat. And there, on the wall opposite me, in the Jewish food section, was the Diamond Crystal. It used to be in the salt/spice aisle next to the Mortons. Our local Food Coop carries as does the Chef Store, so I didn't need the local grocer but there have been times I've had to go another 6-8 miles out of my way for the alternative. Wonder what the H word made them do that! Was it a deal with the Mortons distributor or do they just misunderstand the fanbase for this product?

HA HA HA HA HA HA!
HA HA HA!
HEE HEE HEE!
It's kosher salt!
HOO HOO HOO HOO!

<groan>

Albuquerque used to have Diamond Crystal. But I don't know where to find it now. I ask traveling friends to bring me back a box if they find any.

[Jenise]

HA HA HA HA HA HA!
HA HA HA!
HEE HEE HEE!
It's kosher salt!
HOO HOO HOO HOO!

<groan>

Of course, but us gentiles like it too.

https://www.amazon.com/Diamond-Crystal- ... BPMUK?th=1

Penzeys also carries it, and I've read that they have changed the color of the box, so if you are focusing on the original color, you may miss it. Research also suggests that some stores have relocated them to an aisle more suitable for the product.
whatever that means!? I also like Field Day Mediterranean Coarse Sea Salt.

[Jenise]

Yes, the box has been redesigned--it's both taller and thinner. But it's still red and one would have no trouble telling the difference between it and the blue box.

[Jenise]

Today I learned that my primary kitchen faucet (I have a small prep sink too), which is operated by a toggle stick, is in cahoots with my stereo receiver. No hot water over 100F.

I tried making ciabatta today from a recipe in The Italian Baker that I last made many years ago. It came out really well back then, so I hoped to do as well this time. I did not. The the loaves are shaped and placed on floured parchment for the second rise, and after that, you're supposed to transfer them from the parchment onto a pizza stone covered with corn meal. The first two loaves I tried to transfer were disastrous. They completely stuck to the parchment despite the flouring, and by the time they got to the stone, they did not in any way resemble "loaves" of anything. Much less bread. And then I remembered Yaniger's technique for pizza, in which you assemble the pizza on parchment and then put the whole thing on the pizza stone in the hot oven for two minutes, after which the pizza slides right off of the parchment and onto the stone for the remainder of its cooking time. So for the last two loaves, I did just that, leaving them on the parchment for three minutes to account for the cooler oven. At that point, I slid them right off of the parchment and on to the stone. They came out great. Next time....

Sounds like a good technique--the two-minute thing. But I've baked bread on parchment paper for the entire time. If I do use parchment, I usually wait until half baked, so I can get a peel underneath without distorting them.

IMO, I think the original problem was using flour on the parchment paper. Moisture from the loaf would combine with the flour and form a sort of library paste that we made as kids with flour and water. I've had excellent results with rice flour, especially, or coarse cornmeal directly on a wood or metal peel and you don't need parchment. Rice flour is particularly good because it doesn't soak up water well and acts like tiny ball bearings.

If there is any sticking at all, I slide a long knife under the loaf to ensure it will slide off the peel directly onto the stone.

It's a little odd, because I used that recipe once before and don't remember any problem getting the dough off of the parchment, but I think you're right. The flour just re-moisturized and stuck it to the parchment. It probably would have been fine to let the loaves sit on the parchment for the entire bake, but I was hearkening back to the pizza for which the oven is up at 500 degrees plus and will char if you leave it in for more than a few minutes. At 425, it probably didn't need to come out right away.

[Jenise]

Last night, on the fly, I made dinner for my brother and I, making it up as I went along. I hadn't planned on him being here, let alone cooking for myself but I had at least bought a pair of Dolly Parton sized chicken breasts, a cucumber, and a bunch of cilantro the day before plus a friend had sent a box of limes from California (the best I've ever had, that tree of theirs) so when I looked in the fridge, it said "Thai". So I made a panang flavored rice, sliced one of the breasts into four cutlets, pounded and breaded them, and turned the cucumber into a sesame-garlic smashed vegetable/side. All good for a tangy Langhe chardonnay my brother chose from the wine cooler. Then, when I got ready to serve, I peeked in the fridge to see what further embellishment was possible and spied an unopened bottle of Melinda's brand Sriracha Wing Sauce. Lighter in color than a standard sriracha and tangier, I found it at Grocery Outlet months ago then totally forgot it was there. But wow, it made the perfect drizzle to finish the cutlets and tie the whole dish together like a dish you spent all day planning.

So that's what I learned: Melinda's Sriracha Wing Sauce is good!!!!

That sounds like a lovely dinner, Jenise. I've never tried Melinda's sriracha. I use Shark Brand, which is made in Sriracha. Huy Fong Foods Rooster brand is the "sriracha" most commonly seen in US markets. It's made in California and is not real sriracha--it's much hotter and coarser.

-Paul W.

[Jenise]

I don't know if I've had shark brand or not, Paul. I remember the Sriracha tasting I did for a bunch of friends--we rounded up like 20 of them--but the best was the one an attendee made herself. I don't really use a lot of it, nor in fact do I buy prepared sauces but something about what you'd get by mixing a buffalo sauce with sriracha was very appealing to me so I bit. Next time I use it will probably be to pump up some ketchup for a plate of oven-fries, which I love.