Archive through December 26, 2001

The ClubHouse: Archives: I have a dumb question: Archive through December 26, 2001

Whoami

Monday, December 17, 2001 - 12:30 pm Click here to edit this post
Okay, maybe this can be a thread about common things that, when you think of it, is not really common to you.

My question:
Last nite, we watched a show that had the classic epic about a soufflé. The cook brought it out, people applauded, and the vibrations from the applause made the soufflé fall. The hostess leaves the room in tears, embarrased! So, what exactly IS a soufflé? If you are going to serve/eat it, it has to be cut into, right? If it is so delicate that a vibration makes it fall, how is it going to survive being cut apart and served? Has anyone here ever eaten one? How is it served? How did it taste? etc......

Car54

Monday, December 17, 2001 - 12:37 pm Click here to edit this post
Oh Weinermr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Pcakes2

Monday, December 17, 2001 - 01:26 pm Click here to edit this post
Souffle (as per Epicurious.com)

[soo-FLAY]
A light, airy mixture that usually begins with a thick egg yolk-based sauce or puree that is lightened by stiffly beaten egg whites.

Soufflés may be savory or sweet, hot or cold. Baked soufflés are much more fragile than those that are chilled or frozen because the hot air entrapped in the soufflé begins to escape (causing the mixture to deflate) as soon as the dish is removed from the oven.

Savory soufflés are usually served as a main dish, are almost always hot and can be made with a variety of ingredients including cheese, meat, fish or vegetables. Dessert soufflés may be baked, chilled or frozen and are most often flavored with fruit purees, chocolate, lemon or LIQUEURS.

Both sweet and savory soufflés are often accompanied by a complementary sauce. Soufflés are customarily baked in a classic soufflé dish, which is round and has straight sides to facilitate the soufflé's rising.

Foil or parchment "collars" are sometimes wrapped around the outside of a soufflé dish so that the top of the foil or paper rises about 2 inches above the rim of the dish. Such collars are used for cold dessert soufflés so that the sides of the frozen or molded mixture are supported until they set. Once the collar is removed, the soufflé stands tall and appears to "rise" out of the dish.

Littlebreeze

Monday, December 17, 2001 - 02:18 pm Click here to edit this post
Don't know a thing about souffles, Weinermr. If you're invited to a dinner party where souffle's on the menu, is it proper etiquette to bring a straw in your purse so, if the souffle turns to mush, you can suck it up? I think I just heard Martha Stewart groan from a severe pain in her temple.

Weinermr

Monday, December 17, 2001 - 03:46 pm Click here to edit this post
Baked souffles are the hardest to deal with. A frozen souffle is firm and holds it's shape, and unless you leave it out of the freezer for a very long time and watch it melt, you won't have any problems with it.

The baked souffles are the touchy ones. As described above, they rely on the air whipped into egg whites to generate their height. Once the souffle comes out of the oven, the souffle immediately starts to cool, and it almost immediately starts to deflate.

It's said that a souffle doesn't wait for you, you wait for a souffle. In other words, if you don't eat it right away, it wall fall, and you will be eating a sunken mess that will taste every bit as good, but just won't look impressive. So you have to be ready to eat it when it's finished cooking, or you will be eating a sunken souffle.

As described, sometimes a souffle comes with a sauce - in some cases you can poke a hole in the top of the souffle as soon as it comes out of the oven and pour the sauce into the souffle - then spoon out individual servings. Or, you can bake individual souffles, and pour the sauce into the individual ones as they are served.

With no sauce, you simply take the souffle out of the oven to your waiting guests or family, take two spoons, and gently but firmly plunge them into the souffle and spoon out the individual servings. You will get a combination of more cooked portions near the top and edges, and a more creamy, liquidy-but-cooked center.

Souffles are yummy, either savory or sweet. The frozen ones rely on whipped egg whites, whipped cream, gelatin, or a combination of these to hold their shape. The baked ones rely on whipped egg whites to hold the expanding air, and puff up to a delicious goodness.

Try one and see!

Weinermr

Monday, December 17, 2001 - 03:47 pm Click here to edit this post
Littlebreeze - at my house, I wouldn't be offended if you used a straw, but you're right, Martha and Miss Manners would shake their heads in disapproval.

A souffle though isn't liquidy, more creamy, or like a flavored meringue or mousse. It would be like sucking up a really thick milk shake - it just won't work.

Grooch

Monday, December 24, 2001 - 01:54 pm Click here to edit this post
Why do dogs eat poop?

Serious question here as a new dog owner.

Zed

Monday, December 24, 2001 - 02:38 pm Click here to edit this post
It's called eating your own cooking Grooch!! Seriously,I have no clue,but it tickled me that you asked...welcome to the wonderful world of dawg ownership!


**My greydawg eats volcanic rocks from the fireplace, toilet paper, matches and cigarettes....go figure......

Gail

Monday, December 24, 2001 - 03:05 pm Click here to edit this post
Grooch - is your puppy eating his poop or is he eating kitty poop?? There is something you can get from the vet - a small packet of powder that you can put in your cat's food - tasteless to the cat but makes their poop taste terrible! It works though - one of my doggies thought the litter box was her own private snacking fest. I did the thing with the powder in the food and never had anymore problems.

I do have one of my dogs that likes poop. I have no idea why though. They seem to be even more tasty when it snows and he has to search for them. I call them poopsicles.

Karuuna

Monday, December 24, 2001 - 04:15 pm Click here to edit this post
You can get that same stuff to put in the dog's food too, if he's eating his own poop. My golden never had a taste for waste, but my beagle loved it, so I give it to both of them.

Whoami

Monday, December 24, 2001 - 04:33 pm Click here to edit this post
Poopsicles!? Too funny Gail!

Seriously, I remember hearing of some animal (can't remember if it's dog or whatever) who will eat their own waste as a security measure. Meaning they clean up after themselves so a potential enemy won't come across the stuff and know they are in the area.

Don't know if I should share this or not, but I can't help it. One of my two dogs made me nearly lose it in the backyard once. The other dog was in the process of pooping, and.....um.....the most delicate way to say this is...it never hit the ground! It was the most disgusting thing I ever saw!

Resortgirl

Monday, December 24, 2001 - 07:20 pm Click here to edit this post
I was searching for a recipe today... Artichoke and crab dip... I ate it at Olive Garden and it was great! Anyway, my search wasn't bringing up any good results until I looked at my search again... I had typed in "Artichoke and Crap dip"
Thank God I had no results!

Car54

Monday, December 24, 2001 - 07:52 pm Click here to edit this post
RG, if you find THAT recipe, Grooch might like it for her poopy puppy.

Juju2bigdog

Monday, December 24, 2001 - 08:49 pm Click here to edit this post
RG, if you want to taste a killer crab and artichoke dip, go to a Palomino restaurant sometime.

Palomino

Weinermr

Monday, December 24, 2001 - 09:56 pm Click here to edit this post
RG, I posted just such a Crab and Artichoke Dip recipe in the Holiday Recipe Exchange thread a couple days ago. Check it out!

I'm too pooped to answer Grooch's question.

Juju2bigdog

Monday, December 24, 2001 - 10:04 pm Click here to edit this post
Weinermr, Braveheart needs you most tonight.

Weinermr

Monday, December 24, 2001 - 10:07 pm Click here to edit this post
Juju - I've already been in the Turkey thread with an answer that will hopefully help out Braveheart.

Grooch

Tuesday, December 25, 2001 - 02:19 pm Click here to edit this post
He just likes to try to eat what ever poop he finds on the ground outside. I don't look close enough to try to figure out what it is.

Poor little guy is so tuckered out from the holidays, he has been sleeping all day. He passed out on the back lawn last night so I covered him with a quilt. Till I carried him in later to bed. He never woke up for more than a minute. The fireworks going off last night didn't even wake him.

Juju2bigdog

Tuesday, December 25, 2001 - 05:15 pm Click here to edit this post
Uhhhhhh... Grooch, in South Florida, wouldn't those have been gunshots rather than fireworks? Or maybe that is just Miami. When we lived there, you didn't want to go out of your house much on the holidays because people would go outside and shoot their guns in the air in celebration.

Oregonfire

Wednesday, December 26, 2001 - 12:30 pm Click here to edit this post
I have a stupid question--my bathtub is clogged and I can't figure out how to unclog it! I already stuck a wire hanger down there and poked around, but I'm just hitting metal. I called the landlord and left a message, but based on past response times, they'll probably get to it sometime in February. Help! I'm already broke this holiday season; I can't afford to go buy a bunch of unclogging crap that probably won't work anyway. I have simple needs...but my baths are most definitely one of them. Any advice for unclogging the dumb thing would be greatly appreciated.

Whoami

Wednesday, December 26, 2001 - 12:39 pm Click here to edit this post
One thing that worked for me was to take a plunger to it. A plumber friend of mine said to position the plunger over the drain to get a good seal, then give it a good, swift, hard thunk. I shed a lot of hair during my showers, so I clog the thing up quite often!

Pcakes2

Wednesday, December 26, 2001 - 12:57 pm Click here to edit this post
Try this Oregonfire:

couple of teaspoons of baking soda, then 1/2cup of vinegar....then rinse with HOT water.

Kep421

Wednesday, December 26, 2001 - 01:05 pm Click here to edit this post
Oregon, I don't think your question is stupid...I've been plagued by that for years.

Never tried the baking soda and vinegar though...Thankx Pcakes!!

Weinermr

Wednesday, December 26, 2001 - 01:40 pm Click here to edit this post
Oregonfire - It's not a stupid question, but here's a stupid answer. Before you pour anything down there, use a screwdriver or something similarly long and thin to try to pull out any hair that has accumulated. You will be surprised at how much you might pull up, and quite possibly will unclog the drain. You may not have to pour anything down there at all.

Weinermr

Wednesday, December 26, 2001 - 01:43 pm Click here to edit this post
And by the way - before you try the baking soda and vinegar, which is a very volatile combination and may damage your pipes or boil up into your face, pour some BLEACH down the drain. It's inexpensive, and will dissolve the hair, because that's what's probably clogging your drain. Let it sit for about an hour, and then flush it with hot (boiling if possible) water.

That's if the non-chemical method does not work.