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dcbc

Certifiably Surly
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Everything posted by dcbc

  1. I abandoned nonstick for C/S. I have a mix of Matfer-Bourgeat and De Buyer. I recommend either of the brands, but the De Buyer are a bit more expensive and robust. That said, they run sales on their website frequently. Some notes: The De Buyer "Minderal B" line has an epoxy coating on the handle. They come with a warning that they can be in the oven for 10 minutes max at 400. I've seasoned mine in the oven with some foil wrapped around the handle and the coating was not damaged. But if you like De Buyer and want to put it in the oven, the "Pro" version has a nice, stainless handle. If you have a gas cooktop though, the regular Mineral B will be fine because you easily can season on the cooktop and a little oven time isn't a big deal. But the Pro is only $30 more. Matfer is comparably priced to the regular Mineral B, and its 11 7/8" pan was the gold standard for years. The handle is uncoated, and putting it in the oven is a non-issue. The rivitless handle design is nice too. But (full disclosure) last year, a local French agency tested their cookware by boiling an acid solution in a bare (unseasoned) pan for 2 hours and the result was some leached chemicals that are no bueno. But it's pretty common knowledge that (1) you season these pans and (2) you don't put acidic solutions in them, which strip seasoning. So under ordinary use, this test is ludicrous, and I have continued to use my two Matfer pans without worry. Also, in theory, there probably aren't many similar products which would perform differently under this same standard. Both pans have pretty good sloped sides (other than the De Buyer omelet pans and the crepe pans). So you want to research how much cook area you get (my 10" Matfer has 7" of cooking area for instance), and go from there. Lastly, do not expect a carbon steel pan to perform like Teflon. They are very good alternatives and will last forever. With room temperature eggs and a good pat of butter, I can have fried eggs sliding around like hockey pucks. But a little sticking will happen, particularly when pan frying proteins. It's not bad though. You can clean these and cast iron with soap without issue (previously, this was discouraged when soaps contained lye). I don't think you can go wrong with either of these brands. Heat them slowly, especially if you use them on an induction HOB (induction HOBs have warped C/S pans when put on blast, but most pans, including the two above, incorporate a slightly upward bow in the base to fight this tendency).
  2. It's really cool. They talk a little about the composition of the mold (sand, clay, water), as well as the precise temperature range they have to have the molten pig-iron in to prevent some of the things you're talking about, as well as to preserve the structural integrity of the pan. Really interesting, and this video is just the dumbed down version of it all.
  3. And induction to prevent warping, but that's just an issue with carbon steel pans. But it's a good point. Cast iron and carbon steel are poor conductors of heat, which is one of their strengths when it comes to searing meat, i.e., not releasing all of the heat at once. So by heating it up slowly, you're allowing the whole pan to heat up and hopefully avoiding hot spots that could cause sticking.
  4. dcbc

    Mad Men

    I don't skip anything, regardless of whether I like a character. To understand the women in Don's life and how he relates to them is to better understand Don's character. The finale makes that point not so subtly. Hell, one of the first thing the show asks us is, "What do women want?" Answer: A chance to get closer.
  5. My 2025 BINGO card has been absolute dog shit.
  6. https://www.newsweek.com/sports/ncaa/mike-elko-penn-state-target-change-texas-am-college-football-10983417
  7. Yeah, over the years, I've gradually figured out how to use this stuff better. I just clean it and make sure it's smooth. Usually, this is just a brush, a little soap, and hot water. Since soap doesn't contain lye these days, have at it, and get all the stuck on food off. If I need more than this, I have a chain mail scrubber that makes quick work of it. I let it dry on the burner for a minute or two. If it looks like it needs a little maintenance, I'll put a tiny bit of oil on it, rub it in, and leave it on low for 15 minutes. Let it cool, put it away. I don't care what it looks like as long as it works. Temperature control and enough oil/butter is the key.
  8. According to Google, I was a little wrong earlier. They are indeed rough because they are cast in sand. Around 1960, they stopped mechanically smoothing the surface to save on production costs. To me that makes sense. If it were the seasoning application that made it rough, it would have smoothed out over several years of use before I got tired of it and sanded it down. But I'm not expert. So I'd love to hear what your FIL has to say about it.
  9. My understanding is that they are cast in sand and, at some point, they began using a coarse sand. Lodge's Blacklock pans are a little smoother, but still not completely smooth.
  10. It's the kind of cheap bastard I am. But yes, it only takes a few minutes to get a smooth shiny surface. It takes a little longer to build up seasoning, but no different than a carbon steel pan really.
  11. Needed an audiobook for the drive home from Austin on Sunday and chose the Gunslinger. I'm enjoying it more than before having since finished the DT series. I guess I'm in for another run at the Tower.
  12. I took an orbital sander to my Lodge, smoothed it out, and re-seasoned it. What a difference indeed. The Smithey pans are a nice looking bit of kit though.
  13. dcbc

    Mad Men

    Also, S5 had such a great ending. One of the top soundtrack matches for the series.
  14. dcbc

    Mad Men

    Pete drank Cutty Sark quite regularly.
  15. Sounds like it's time for you to pen another Immamac's Tales from the Tailgate.
  16. Goodbye, Donna Jean. RIP.
  17. As my local BBQ joint has preached for the last twenty years:
  18. I've done Tyler to El Paso (11 hours) and back over the period of a weekend. I had a bachelor party for a friend down there a few weeks after 9/11 and didn't really feel like jumping on a plane. I agree with Brisket that the desert part of the drive as you get closer to El Paso is beautiful. But I'll sure as hell fly next time and pick up a postcard. I've driven Houston to midway down Alligator Alley between Naples and Fort Lauderdale in one stretch (19+ hours). That panhandle drive indeed sucks the life out of you.
  19. Definitely check with the clerk and if there's some sort of return receipt or email receipt, go 30 plus days from that date (when they received the judgment). The 30 days is expiration of the judge's plenary power (power to set aside the DJ). That's a separate timeline from their time to file notice of appeal, which also probably runs from the date they had notice of the judgment if that is different (later) than the date the judgment was signed.
  20. I had three friends flying out of Austin---two on Sunday around 11 a.m., and the other at 1 p.m. No delays or SNAFUs reported for these three going to New York, Chicago, and Denver on Delta, American, and SW respectively.
  21. Remind me, did Sam get a redshirt year due to COVID? He started in 6 games in 2017 based on my recollection. I always thought of 2020 as his senior season.
  22. dcbc

    Tex Mex

    Curra's was solid and the avocado frozen margs were really good. But I definitely got a strange look from the group when I recommended them. But no one was disappointed, and we polished off a pitcher of them.
  23. Couple of questions here. How were they served? If by publication, they have two years to set aside a default judgment in JP court. Can you confirm they received notice of the default judgment? That starts the timeline and they have 30 days from that date to try to set aside a default judgment (as opposed to appealing de novo to county court). I'm pretty sure that restricted appeals and bills of review are not options in JP courts to set aside a default judgment. But I'm going off the top of my head here. So answer those two questions above before you make your next move. If they were served by means other than publication and you can confirm they received notice of the judgment, wait more than 30 days from that date they received notice to make any moves. /this isn't legal advice
  24. That's fine. But if you were to look up middle-aged white guy in the dictionary, there I am. I grabbed the Earl avatar back on Shaggy because, Shaggy wasn't always kind to new people, and who would neg Earl. /I quickly got my answer to who would neg Earl and the accompanying comment was pretty damned funny.
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