I like to cook (and eat) almost anything from glop to gourmet. I have taken classes in French Continental, general Italian, Southern Italian, Northern Italian, Spanish, Mexican and Asian. I really got into cooking when I was a wine buyer in the 80's. I grew up on Eastern European, BBQ and basic American staples.

I have generally had decent stuff in the past. But for the better part of the past dozen or so years was I had been in flux as I worked away from home and didn't cook much at that time. Now that I have been home full time for the past 2+ years I have been cooking more and more. That is when I felt the pinch of using a hodge podge conglomeration of cooking tools. So I decided to start collecting new cookware and cutlery to make cooking more enjoyable. While I have had names like All Clad, Viking, Henckels and Wusthof in the past I wasn't looking forward to the cost they command. So I looked at other brands and decided to try made-in by purchasing their Carbon Steel Wok and 3.5 qt Stainless Saucier. I fell in love with the 5ply stainless Saucier and was ready to try more of the 5 ply stainless line. So I got the 4 qt saucepan with lid, 3.5 qt sauté pan with lid and 8" and 10" stainless pans. Let me say the stainless pans are really nice to use and are my new crepe and egg pans. After learning how to season and use the carbon steel wok I got 1 10" carbon steel pan. I am now so in love with the carbon steel pan and wok that I use them whenever I can put anything in a pan. After seasoning similar to cast iron they are slick like non-stick and conductive like cast iron. The carbon steel pans also brown and braise like nothing else. And after some good seasoning and use are an easy clean up. All the stainless is as good as the Viking and All Clad I have had in the past. I am now looking forward to getting a 12" carbon steel pan, 12 qt stock pot and 5 qt saucier. While I already had 2 blocks of J.A. Henckels knives I have always liked the thought of the Japanese style knives over the German style. The Japanese style are cut to a sharper bevel and lighter than German knives. And I have always liked the look of Global knives (which I first saw on "Cooking with Giada") and decided to get a set. I have been more than impressed with these and use them now for everything but the heaviest jobs, which is where the heavier German knives excell.

2.) It's time for a spooky bake-off, or a SPOOP-OFF! Make all the spoopy themed baked good in October. This is an event with PRIZES! There will be two-- one distributed randomly, and one based on aesthetics (since I have not yet figured out how to taste things through computer screens). The winner of the aesthetic contest will be determined by vote at the end of the month, and will not be eligible for the random prize. The best thing about the spoopoff? You have almost all month! Photos will be due in this thread by end of day October 28th, so that we have a few days for voting.

Please feel free to submit as many things as you want, but if you put in multiples, please note which you'd like judged for aesthetics. You will only be given one entry for each contest.

Get bakingggggggggggg

We're all baking anyways, I think it's time we have an official bake-off!
How you qualify--
Next weekend, May 30th and 31st, you will bake a thing! (or any time this week! I don't really care!)
Anything! Literally anything! Savory, sweet, I don't care, I'm not eating it! (Unless your name rhymes with Mosh and you live close enough that you could leave some at my house...just saying**).

Post photos here of what you baked and the recipe (as long as it's not a family secret) and you will be entered into a raffle to win a $10 Amazon gift-card.

• Bonus internet points for baking a new recipe, for telling us what you learned/what you'd do differently, for getting someone to judge your food or judging it yourself and for sharing here or in Discord progress photos of how your baking is going! __Note: bonus points have no impact on winning but will be noted in the official register.
• Sidenote: I am definitely not stalking any of you nope no sirree so I definitely have no idea when you actually bake things. Cough. (Honestly...I don't actually care when you bake the thing! Just bake it!)

Bake bake baaake bakeeey bake bakerooos
Bagels for tax

** No Posh does not have any elevated chances at winning

My first attempt turned into rice wine vinegar and my second attempt turned out pretty rancid. Not sure if it's because I messed up the koji or something else.

My third attempt I gave up on making my own koji and am using stuff imported from Japan (no english instructions). Im not sure if it's going to turn out at this point and its got me pretty frustrated.

Has anyone made sake/rice wine before and could help a fellow Icrontian out? It would be greatly appreciated

Recently I've been digging more into the world of bourbon, and man, there's some great stuff to discover. As a whiskey fan for a long time, I often find myself shelling out for top shelf, rare and expensive whiskies, particularly in the Irish Whiskey and Bourbon categories. And while these whiskies are always awesome, I've begun wondering if I've been missing out on any hidden gems that might be considered "lower" tier.

Enter Bottled in Bond, the bottom shelf bourbon you had no idea you should be drinking.

I stumbled upon Bottled in Bond when I read a bunch of rants from the whiskey punk scene. Drinkers were pissed that Jim Beam, a massive brand in its own right, had raised prices across their large portfolio of distilled beverages. One of the top complaints was in regards to Old Grand Dad Bottled in Bond (BiB). Old Grand Dad, to me, was the "unemployment whiskey", aka this stuff sucks but it's only $15 a bottle so whatever I'll buy it. This led me to research BiB.

Here's a quick primer on BiB. Introduced in 1897, the Bottled in Bond Act was put in place to protect whiskey drinkers. See, back in those days, it wasn't difficult for any random person to distill and sell whatever they want under the label of whiskey. As a popular alcoholic beverage of early America, it wasn't uncommon to find... unfavorable beverages being sold side by side with some of the legendary distillers that still exist today (like Beam). You might walk into a bar to buy a bottle of whiskey labeled as "Straight bourbon whiskey", only to find out it's mostly colored water, or worse - something legitimately harmful such as paint thinner plus a little coloring.

The Bottle in Bond Act set to standardize bourbon whiskey in America, both for the protection of the consumer, and to legitimize the beverage as a pure product of American craftsmanship. The requirements are as follows:

• The liquor must be the product of one distillation season.
• It must be made by one distiller.
• It must be made at one distillery.
• It must be aged, for at least four years, at a federally bonded barrel aging warehouse.
• It must be bottled at 100 proof (50% ABV).

The bottle's label must identify all of the above before a whiskey can be sold under the label of BiB. The cool thing? This federal label is still in act today, and you can go out and buy Bottled in Bond bourbon at most bottle shops near you. Most modern distilleries don't bother with BiB labeling, as it can be costly and annoying to produce. However, there are still quite a few BiB whiskies to choose from, made by names such as Jim Beam, Old Granddad, Rittenhouse, and Old Forester.

You might wonder to yourself "so what? Why would I care about BiB when I can buy Two James Grass Widow?" There are a few reasons, and most of which favor the budget and adventurous bourbon seekers.

Firstly, it's important to note the 100 proof requirement for BiB bourbons. Most bourbons will be bottled at 60-80 proof, which will give you a light, watered down flavor. By picking up a BiB bourbon, you can guarantee yourself a big and intense flavor, most of which that will be very clear examples of what makes bourbon whiskey great - a sweet flavor of corn, rye, and heat.

Because of the intensity of these flavors, BiB whiskey makes for EXCELLENT cocktail bourbon. In fact, a well-kept secret is that most bartenders prefer to stick to BiB whiskey for all of their cocktail mixing (specifically rye-forward variants), because they impart huge flavor without the need of using a ton of whiskey from the bottle. That, and they're typically super cheap.

The price really is a shock with these whiskies. Most BiB bourbons found today can be purchased between 20-30 dollars. You've probably seen them, sitting on the bottom shelf of a whiskey isle, gathering dust. BiB bourbon has long been considered a hidden secret for bourbon lovers, and I'm only now beginning to understand why - they're delicious and a great bang for the buck.

Ultimately though, BiB whiskey is great because you're guaranteed to know what's in that bottle. Sure, we live in a world where we're not about to be duped by some punk selling paint thinner in a bottle. That being said, you don't always know where the whiskey actually comes from, or what the age statement actually is. When you buy Bottled in Bond whiskey, you know exactly what's gone into that bottle. That kind of transparency is pretty neat.

Here's a great article on Paste about Bottle in Bond, including a list of some of the best currently available Bottled in Bond brands. If you're a discerning bourbon drinker and are even the slightest bit curious, give some of these a shot (I'm sipping on Old Granddad BiB right now!). You might be surprised what you'll find in those dusty, ignored bottles.

I asked the cashier if that was really the price and she guessed at first that it was just mislabeled, but when she got up to the shelf (all of their liquor is up high), she realized that was the actual price. $8.33 after tax.

At that price, I couldn't NOT try it.

I've been pleasantly surprised by it. It's a very solid standard "tastes like Bourbon" Bourbon. Nothing particularly wonderful about it, but nothing awful about it, either. For HALF the price of white label Beam and Jack Daniel's, I think I found a real winner.
Now if I can just attach a picture.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/kfEzDXqYzJpjLN5z9

Gots:
I'm in West Michigan, and get all the Founders, Vivant, Perrin, Oddside and GRBC beers. Try to get to the Darkhorse, Bells and Saugatucks when I can.
Next big release in the Area will be KBS in March, Hazels Nuts in April.

Wants:
Stouts, Barley wines, Belgians, BBA stuff.
If anyone is in Southwest Michigan and has access to Greenbush that would be sweet as they always do releases at lunch during the week and its really tough to get down there.
Boulevard is putting out a Coconut version of their Imperial stout in February that I'd love to get a couple bottles of.

Thing is, I stopped drinking beer a fewyears ago. Don't get me wrong, I'll have a beer at an event if that is what is available and I can't pass up an offer of trying rare beers that friends have opened, but I don't have the thought anymore to drink a beer when I'm just chillin at home. I've gotten headaches/migraines too many times after having one or two beers.

A couple of them I believe I will take with me to Texas. Maudite from 2008 and Sam Adams New World I believe will be worthy for life celebrations in the future.

The rest would basically go in the trash if I don't pop 'em. So I'm gunna pop 'em. Will report when I do.

2014 Sam Adams Octoberfest - My favorite beer. "I wonder what it will taste like in a few years?" - 2014 Me

2x 2015 Sam Adams Octoberfest

2013/16 Sam Adams Octoberfest - Not marked, Could be 2013-16. Likely not 2015 as I have 2 of those and did not save more than 2 any given year.

<2016 Lucky Buddah Enlightened Beer - Purchased for the bottle, no high hopes here

2011 Stone Cherry Chocolate Stout - I don't know how this got in my fridge but it has the original Stone cap and I can't wait for it to get in my mouth.

2012 Labyrinth Black Ale - Purchased from BevMo during a time I would go to their Friday Beer Tastings almost every week. I was told it this a delicious black licorice flavor.

A buddy of mine (PF) gave me a few beers over the years. I am reaching out to him for more info and/or him trying them with me.

2013 PF Chocolate Milk Vanilla Stout - The only one from the cabinet.

? PF "A" cap - Stone Arrogant Bastard bottle

? PF "P" cap - Unlabeled Bottle

Cheers,

-Digi

I was going to call the sauce South Florida Special Reserve Small Batch Artisinal Habanero Sauce but that's too hipster Trader Joe's wordy. I need something that conveys that this stuff is hotter and spicier than @Thrax's abs. My first go was Heat Stroke Habanero. Next was Hellbanero, but @GnomeQueen pointed out that the name was already taken. Then again, it's not like I'm selling the stuff. I welcome some better name suggestions than what I have already come up with. Credit will be given on the label.

If Joseph and I can make it to EPIC this year (depends on when we're moving into the new house) then I will definitely bring the sauce. We're going to have to fly this year, but with the miles I've been accumulating on JetBlue, that shouldn't be a problem. But I digress. Names, motherfuckers! Please.

• Crown whiskey
• peach schnapps
• sour mix
• Mix (equal parts) until it frothes, then pour.

• 8oz beer (lager or malt liquor preferred)
• 1/2 shot of sour
• Drop in shot of spiced rum and chug

• Double shot of rasberry vodka
• Quadruple shot of Blue Hawaiian schnapps (or any "tropical" flavor)
• Dash of cranberry juice
• Fill with OJ

• Mountain Dew
• peach schnapps

Press release from Boston Beer.

Highlights from the press release:

• The combined company will be led by Boston Beer CEO, Dave Burwick.
• Sam Calagione (of DFH) and his family will receive approximately 406,000 shares of Boston Beer stock based on a share price of $314.60. Dogfish Head shareholders will also receive $173 million in cash.
• Sam Calagione will join Boston Beer's Board of Directors.
• The combined company will maintain its status as an independent Craft brewery, as defined by the Brewers Association (well under 6M barrels/yr).

So mostly it's Sam Adams buying out Dogfish Head, except they get a board seat. Sounds like a good plan to me.

This is the easiest bread ever. Here's the famous, original recipe:

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11376-no-knead-bread

But there's a billion other versions out there. The original writer also did a book on the bread.

The basics of the recipe boil down to this:

3 cups of flour
3/4 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups water

Combine dry ingredients.
Add water.
Will form a shaggy, wet dough.
Cover dough, then let it sit for roughly 8-24 hours. Dough will rise and form bubbles.
Heat oven to 450 degrees. Stick dutch oven/ some sort of covered casserole dish into oven to get hot.
Cover hands/surface with flour. Turn dough over once or twice. Cover again and let sit for another half hour.
Once the half hour has passed/ the oven is hot, cover your hands in flour again, form the dough into a ball (if possible) and drop into the hot dish in the oven. Can cut slits in the top if you fancy.
Cook for 30 minutes with the lid on, then 15 minutes with the lid off.
Carefully remove from oven and when possible, tip the bread out. If it's done, will sound hollow when the bottom is tapped.

The neat thing about this recipe? You'll see a billion versions of it because it's super super forgiving. Less instant yeast? Sure! Oops, too much water? No problem!

You can also add more stuff to this. I've done:
Chocolate bread-- added 2 tbsps sugar, maybe a tbsp cocoa powder, and a cup of chocolate chips.
Wheat-- two cups wheat flour, one cup white flour, then I also threw in some chia seeds, sunflower seeds. etc.
Cheese-- I usually do a cup of shredded cheese, and then dial back the salt content. Also ends up needing more water. I think next time I'm gonna amp up the cheese, actually.
Cinnamon-- added 2 tbsps sugar, 1 tbsp cinnamon, and a cup of cinnamon chips. WAS CANDY BREAD.

Note: You can also use the instant pot to speed up the rising process! But I have only tried it with chocolate bread, which I do NOT recommend-- the heat melted the chocolate chips. Oops. Very very wet dough, made a very flat, dense bread. But you could probably do that with a normal white bread or a wheat bread no problem.

Show me your sexy bread pics!!

My mom used to make these, still does, but as the title states, I've improved them and the method in which they are made.

Ingredients:
1 cup butter melted - Kerrygold salted
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
1-1.5 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup semisweet chips (Toll House)

Tools:
Measuring cups
15.5"x10.5"x1" baking sheet
Whisk
Wooden spoon/spatula
Optional to make life easy - stand or hand mixer
Offset spatula or butter knife.

Directions (if using stand mixer):
Preheat the oven to 350
Melt the butter on the stove or in the microwave.
In the bowl of the mixer, combine flour, dark brown sugar, and salt. Use paddle attachment on speed 2/stir to combine all together so it sorta looks like the flour has taken on the color the the brown sugar (or just whisk in a bowl to combine).
Add vanilla extract to melted butter (let it cool a little if you want) and swirl around to combine and immediately pour into bowl with dry ingredients.
Combine the butter and dry ingredients until it looks sorta crumbly, think of shortbread.
Pour the dough onto the baking sheet and use the bottom of a measuring cup to pat out flat and even into a cohesive layer that covers the entirety of the baking sheet.
Place in the oven at 350 for 12 minutes.
Check after 12 to see if it's turned golden.
Remove from oven, turn oven off. Sprinkle semisweet chips over top and put back in the oven for 30-60 seconds for the chips to start to melt.
Remove from the oven and use the offset spatula to spread the chocolate evenly over the surface. Once coated, use the spatula or butter knife to cut into squares while still warm.
Let cool or eat warm.

Personally I like letting the cool in the fridge and placing in a tupperware or some sort of lidded container, they get nice and chewy and last that way.

It was the salt, I added the salt to this, also using dark brown sugar.

We were talking on the FoodPorn Discord channel that we should start posting about recipes. Lincoln said we should feel free to molest this subcategory to do that! So here's one of my favorite cookie recipes:

https://www.crazyforcrust.com/the-best-pudding-cookies-recipe/

I started making these pudding cookies randomly a year ago on a whim, and they've replaced most of my cookie recipes. I actually still prefer the basic Nestle Chocolate Chip cookie recipe to this for basic chocolate chips, but I love this for everything else. The rad things about it? Super easy, and it provides this really amazing chewy texture that I love. And you can throw basically anything into it!

Note: This recipe doesn't make a TON of cookies, so I often double it.

I've done:

Double Chocolate (Chocolate instant pudding with chocolate chips)
Fireworks (Vanilla instant pudding with sprinkles)
White Chocolate Peppermint (Vanilla instant pudding with white chocolate chips topped with crushed starlight mints)
Double Chocolate Peppermint (Chocolate instant pudding with chocolate chips topped with crushed starlight mints)
Salted White Chocolate Pistachio (Pistachio instant pudding with white chocolate chips topped with flaked salt)
Salted Lemon White Chocolate (Lemon instant pudding with white chocolate chips topped with flaked salt (also used lemon extract))
Cinnamon Chip (Vanilla instant pudding with cinnamon chips and a tablespoon of cinnamon)

Here's some pictures!

What recipes are you making right now? Start a thread!

I recently discovered hot eggnog + buttershots (butterscotch schnapps) as my new go-to cup of holiday cheer. Without alcohol, I think hot eggnog with a healthy dash of cinnamon would be my jam.

There's an old Lancaster County bakery called Achenbach's that has some of the world's best pastries, no joke. Their long johns used to be a fairly regular treat, but since I don't get to my parents' house as much any more it's become more of a holiday tradition to get a huge order to tide us thru the week (especially Christmas Day - it's the "before presents" snack of choice).

Cooking and baking have been a passion of mine for years, I love entertaining and trying new recipes. For a few years now, people have requested that I create a blog to share recipes and new ideas in the kitchen. Couple my love of food with my love of photography and BAM! I have a blog. Sharing with you all if you care to indulge

https://forkandbite.wordpress.com/

Please let me know if any particular recipe or cooking/baking questions arise, I'm happy to address them in an an entry for you!

My go-to Rum is this one:

Priced from $40-$60.

My special event fav is this one:

Priced from $90-$110 is pretty steep to have in the bar at all times, but boy, it's well worth it.

Anyone else with hints of a golden one?

So, we had just ate when we found ourselves at the local beer tent. I bought myself a Smithwicks and Aslan bought a beverage as well. After he drank his, the following conversation ensued:

Aslan: "Well, I am now officially a whiskey man..."
Me (confused): "What did you have?"
Aslan: "Guiness"

O_o

Long story short, I made fun of him and wouldn't let him live it down.

Here's the deal. Brew Dog occasionally allows the public to actually buy stock in their company. Not "lol you get a tshirt if you invest money" -- instead actual this is part of your retirement money. You make money off of this. You put your money to work for you. And you get some amazing perks -- like free beer on your birthday, discounts internationally at Brew Dog's bars. There's more, and you can read about it in their legit prospectus.

Investments are first come first serve until they make 25 million. Frankly, I invested. As such, I got a referral code. If you invest, you should do the right thing and use it. Why? Because if you do, I stand a chance to make a trip to hang out with the brewers of Brew Dog and tell you people about it. So if you decide to do the best thing you can do for future you, and invest in this company, you may as well enter my referral code. It's:

R739937

I already have a couple referrals and I'd appreciate about 38 more.

THANKS

,
beer

Excitement built to today. The Digifam planned on lunch at Taco Bell and then off for some grocery shopping for some treats for the big game tomorrow. Then I got out of bed about 10am and no email yet. 11am came, no email. In the mean time while looking into why I wouldn't have recieved my email, I found out the mystery item is none other than the Quesalupa. A taco with a quesadilla as the shell. Noon came and there was no email. I reached out to some friends. Mixed results of getting the email or not but already success stories of east coast Quesalupas in hand. I decided we would continue on as planned, present my pre-order confirmation and figured I would have no troubles.

Turns out for the first time in years, my spam filter had betrayed me and hid the coveted update email from this morning. Not only that, I there was a second email that hit my spam box a mere minutes before me finding them (~12:50pm). The first email (9:00am) was as expected, advising to log into ta.co and place my order and I would be able to pick my order up between 2 and 4pm. Sweet. The second email stated that if I wanted I could go in and pay for a preorder in-store and then still pick it up between 2 and 4.

I logged into the website and found the Quesalupa on the menu but alas no image displayed and when I clicked to add the item to my cart, I got 404 Page not found. It made sense to me. This thing is so popular that their ordering system is having trouble and the second email was giving an alternative way to pre-order by going in store. Printed the two emails and we were off.

We parked at Taco Bell at right about 2pm. "Heh," I thought to myself, "We're 'That Guy'"

Sat the ladies down at a table and went up to order. Advised the young lady taking our order that I pre-ordered but the ability to place the order on the website this morning was giving me troubles. I asked if ordering the Quesalupa would be any problems? She looked at me with 1/2 deer in the headlights, 1/2 scared look on her face. She turned and saw her manager, she stepped back and I could see her say "He knows about the Quesolupa."

He looked up at me, came over and explained that those won't be for sale until Monday. I asked, about the pre-orders and all the hype on the Internet and was met with scrambled answers. I got the vibe that they either were unfamiliar with the promotion (which was unlikely as there were at least 4 giant tacobell.com/preorder posters in the windows of their restaurant) or they were under the impression that they were not supposed to talk about it so I didn't question further. Nothing to raise drama over. I ordered my nachos, cheesy potato burrito, and Baja Blast along with food for the ladies and paid. I guess we'll just head back for lunch on Monday to give it a shot.

We sat down. I picked up our order when it was ready. I shot a message to a group chat,

I'm more upset than I should be. The employee attempting to take my order and the manager both looked at me like I was crazy. Had no idea what I was talking about.

And started into my nachos with some delicious Fire sauce. About 3 minutes later the manager came out to our table. He explained he had just spoken to his boss and had been advised they should be giving the Quesalupas to anyone that asks about them but that the order would have to be placed through the app. I had no problem with this. I shared the emails I had printed out just to update him on what his customers are seeing in case anyone else comes in today before 4. We agreed I would place the order on the app and I'll let him know if there were any issues.

Not ever ordering on the app before, I wasn't sure how that would work but I was easily able to place the order, pay, and indicate I was at the restaurant so they could go ahead and prepare the trio of deliciousness I had just paid for.

From my chair I could see in the back behind the counter where the food was being prepared. Shortly after submitting my order, I could see things being opened. This had to be the new shells. I watched an employee with one of the shells in his hand (flat at the time) looking perplexed. He then karate chopped it to fold it. He did this twice more placing each shell into a wire frame for frying. Into the fryer they went. Shortly after, out they came.

I watched the same employee take the shells over the the manager who was at the preparation counter. I picked up a sense of pride and relief as he handed over the shells. They came out right the first time. A couple minutes later the manager came out from behind the counter with a bag and brought it straight over to our table. He then advised us that we were the first ones to try these. They, as employees, had not even had a chance to try them yet. They were curious. He asked us to let them know how they were.

They were delicious. It's like a Chalupa with a cheese stuffed shell. The cheese is a pepper jack and has amazing flavor. I reported to the manager, "Two Thumbs Up, Would Quesalupa Again!"

If you didn't get in on the pre-order today and you are a Taco Bell fan, do yourself a favor and treat yourself to a Quesalupa sometime soon (starting Monday apparently).