Nice Cookies

….is there a specific kind that is better to use than others?
depends on the dish, general red i use for cooking is cab. and not shit cab, but one that you would actually enjoy drinking.
For recipes using wine, I either use a generic/non-expensive wine unless it’s a sauce. I then tend to use the wines that I enjoy drinking.
Merlots and cabs are generally pretty safe. Use something that you like though. None of this "cooking wine" hoopla.
I typically use a cab. My rule is "Never cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink a glass of while cooking."
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I’m allergic to eggs and really want to cook up some chicken parmesan. Does anyone know of a substitue to dipping in egg when breading?
Part of the purpose of egg is to have an ‘adhesive’ for the breading to stick to. You could try something like buttermilk. Its thicker than milk so it’ll help bind the breading to the chicken.

Or you could very thinly rub some shortening on the chicken for the same effect.

Personally, I skip the whole thing. I keep my chicken wet (from washing before hand) and just plop the pieces into a ziploc with my breading. The ziploc gives you the ability to vigorously manipulate the bread crumbs into the meat. It keeps the meat coated well, just don’t over handle the breaded pieces a lot before cooking so as not to knock off the breading.
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My question is this:

Are terra cotta pots, planters, lids, bases from your local hardware store (Ace Hardware for me) lead free? Or should I worry about using said items (ie smoker made of terra cotta planters, pizza stone via a planter lid/base)
I’ve made one of the smokers that Alton Brown demonstrated. Since it doesn’t make contact with the food in any way, I can’t see where there could be an issue. The pizza stone idea would be a different story, though I doubt Alton would steer us wrong. If you’re still concerned, I think you would need to contact the terra-cotta manufacturer to find out more.
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Does anyone know any good websites/book that would be good for someone who just started to cook for themselves all the time? I moved into my first apartment back in October and I bought a George Forman grill but I can only eat Grilled Chicken so many times before I get sick of it.

Any ideas? Thanks.
Get the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. It’s been around for over 70 years and no house should be without it (my ex got me a copy when I moved into my current place).

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What are the must have ingredients and equipment any moderately-geared kitchen should have? Cooking for yourself, family, and occasional guests. I’m asking about spices and such, things that you buy once and don’t have to replace until you run out. Like salt, pepper, paprika etc.

Moved into my apartment and after trying some of the recipes here, it feels like i’m always missing something basic
One of everything McCormick sells, except the premixed spice blends.
equipment:
*colander (spaghetti strainer)
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I am a huge consumer of dried beans…

I make soups, casseroles, baked and refried recipes… but say for texture… does one common bean really taste any better than another?

I use navy, northern, or black-eyed interchangeably… does anyone detect a difference?
They definitely taste different once they’re reconstituted. I like Northern beans in soups, black-eyed peas with pork, and black + pinto with anything resembling Mexican food.

Probably Northern beans are the least grainy when not fully rehydrated.
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so my dad called me about an hour ago and said if i was hungry. i said yea and he said if i wanted to go over to eat at his house, i denied and told him to bring me the food. he did.

i dont know all the exact ingredients so you can make all the asumptions you want. its really really good and im not normally a fan of all this stuff.

looks like ripped open intestines with a side of rice

Most of my frying pans and Saute pans are non-stick. I don’t like to cook with tons of olive oil and butter. With this be a huge problem if I switch to all-clad stainless? Does pam do the trick in stainless steel?

no, you will never recreate the "non stick" with something like pam, each pan has their own purpose.
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I’m trying to get away from my daily routine of coke in the morning to get going. Anyone have a suggestions on a better alternative? I’m not a big coffee fan but I can try it. Teas maybe?
try different coffees until you find one you like. That canned stuff is crap. Get some beans and a grinder.
Coffee is far better than soda for waking up. Not only does it have more caffeine and less sugar (which means you don’t get an insulin crash from it), but it also has all the complementary chemicals that are supposed to go along with the caffeine, so it has a better effect.
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1. Back yard currently has some wood retaining wall that is in very bad shape. I want to remove this all and build two rows with stone retaining wall blocks. The slope isn’t too sharp, so the first wall will be about 3ft tall and the 2nd about 2ft. It would be a smaller scale of the following:

It would be a gravity wall design, do you guys have recommendations on specific block manufacturers (versa-lok?) or have experience on items that I should be aware of?

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