NYCNomNom's Profile

I would love to know how I solve for shooting in restaurants. How do I compensate for the usual darkness that restaurants usually love?

Name: NYC Nom Nom
URL: http://nycnomnom.com

My microwave came with metal racks. I am still confused by this and have never used the microwave with them.

I used a Canon Powershot for years and loved that little thing, but when it finally died, I had to research a new camera. I was shocked when the reviewers all said that the Fuji Finepix F70EXR was THE camera. The camera snob in me was skeptical, but after a few shots I can honestly agree with the reviews. I'm still testing after only a week of ownership, but so far, when it comes to low light, close up (read inconspicuous in a restaurant) this baby outperforms even the digital SLRs I've used. I'm impressed, but looking forward to seeing how it does in the future.

Thanks everyone! I can't wait to start using it and had no idea that was the "secret ingredient" in pho. ~Sara

How do I know how long to cook things in the oven? Warm them up? What temperature? This seems to be something everyone just KNOWS but I've never been able to figure out the formula.

Completely shameless plug: http://www.nycnomnom.com

I have finally mastered popovers after over a dozen failed (or semi-failed attempts). I read recipes and cook books and combined the most common suggestions to create the most perfect popovers that popped, were fluffy (not too eggy), and came out of the pan easily.

I opened the door in one recent batch to add another item to the oven and closed it quickly, but I did notice that they weren't as popped as the other batches.

My tips:
* Use room temperature ingredients (eggs, flour, milk, oil, cheese, etc.) Take it all out of the fridge a good hour beforehand. I've noticed if I forget to do this, it's not worth making. I have warmed things in bowls of warm water, however, they never come out perfectly that way.
* Make sure the pan has heated in the oven first (I put it in as the oven warms so by the time I'm done stirring everything and the oven is preheated, so is the pan)
* Use a special popover pan (muffin pans work, but never as well)
* Spray the cups down with baking Pam and then throw in a pinch of flour (this gets messy between the cups, so be prepared)
* Keep the oven door closes. I wish I knew the science of "why?" but all I know is that it does make a difference.
* Recipes that begin at a higher temperature and then are lowered seem to make the best finished product

The one thing I still haven't solved for is the post-oven deflation problem. I poke a hole in the top but it still goes down a bit. I just try to eat them as quickly as possible. Not too much of a problem there!