Foodborne Chillness

 An easily exploited flaw in the most common type of plastic beverage container seal makes it easy to contaminate the contents without leaving any evidence. Here's how it works...

What happens when you run a cast iron skillet through the dishwasher? I'm going to find out. In this video, I make some eggs in a vintage unmarked Lodge 3-notch #5 pan (with only so-so seasoning - it's a user, not a showpiece), then run it through the dishwasher. Will I still be able to cook eggs in it, or have I ruined it forever? Watch and find out...

I recently got an inexpensive portable induction 'hotplate' and I've been testing it out. While it definitely won't replace my gas stovetop for most cooking tasks, it's amazingly fast at bringing water to a boil, and unlike my high-BTU burner on the stove, it doesn't dump a lot of waste heat into the air in the kitchen doing it. Click to watch the video and check out how quickly it brings a pint or so of water to a boil so I can enjoy some delicious Cup Noodles... Here's the model I bought: https://amzn.to/2SQ1WNI

If you have any say in it, steer clear of dishwashers that don't have an easily removable filter you can clean. CLEAN YOUR DISHWASHER!  Do it in detail, not just the places you can see. Before cleaning your dishwasher, prepare yourself for unimaginable horror. Reading the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft would be a good start. But it isn't enough. Nothing is enough. If you don't already have a wet/dry vac, get one. What the hell is wrong with you? You ate off plates that were "washed" in that chamber of hidden filth. Come to terms with that.

Today, I'd like to open a huge can of worms and discuss a topic that is sure to trigger a lot of restaurant and hospitality workers; namely, inconsiderate, clueless customers who come in "too late" and make the entire staff angry. I see it all the time on Reddit and Facebook - posts raging about patrons who come in "ten minutes before closing" and have the nerve to expect to be served. These subhuman monsters see that an establishment's listed hours are something like "11AM - 9PM" and actually believe they can exchange money for food and service during that entire period. They either don't understand or don't care that there is some unspecified period of time before the listed closing that is the real break point after which the staff no longer wants you to come in. Typically, these posts are some variation on a common theme of, "It's just common sense to know that you don't come in 15/30/45/60 minutes before closing and ex

Chicken Long Rice Soup (ProTip: there's no rice in it - the name comes from the 'cellophane' noodles) is a Hawaiian favorite, or so I am told. It seemed like the perfect cold weather treat, but after getting all my ingredients together, I discovered that the recipe I found was, frankly, a disaster, with scattershot directions and some pretty inefficient methods. I decided it was worth fixing, though, so my pain is your gain. Ingredients: 2.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs OR about 3 pounds chicken leg quarters 3, 32 ounce cartons of chicken broth 1 half-inch piece of fresh ginger root 1 large sweet Maui onion 1 package of bean thread noodles (typically 6-8 ounces, also sold as cellophane or glass noodles) 1 bunch of green onions 1 small head of bok choy Hawaiian sea salt and cracked pepper to taste Directions: In a large pot, put your chicken in with the broth. For convenience, it's hard to beat frozen boneless, skinless thighs, but if yo