Ask Carb Diva: Questions & Answers About Food, Recipes, & Cooking, #119

I love food blogs! There's something for everybody. Some of them are very basic, with a brief introduction and a simple recipe, reminding me very much of how I dipped my toe into the pond about a decade ago. Others are cleverly written, and some are studded with stunning photographs.

There is a cadre of about a dozen or so food blogs that I know I can rely on for well-tested recipes, but I'm always looking for new, imaginative sources. And I always read the comments. What a treasure trove!

But I've noticed a new trend in those comments. Where once they offered thumbs-ups for the concept, questions on technique, or praise for the finished dish, far too often they now seem to be written by snobby food elitists (who probably learned all they know from watching repeat episodes of Hell's Kitchen and Master Chef Junior). Everyone always has a "better idea" and instead of preparing the dish as written, they go into great detail to explain every item that they changed or substituted . . . and then complain that they didn't like the recipe.

That reminds me of a poem I saw many years ago.

Let's get started with today's mailbox. If you're an old friend, you already know how this works. But, if this is your first visit, let me introduce you to my kitchen.

Each week I receive questions about food ingredients, cooking or baking terms or methods, requests for recipes, and queries about nutrition. Just about anything food-related has been covered here.

I'm sharing this past week's questions and my responses; it happens every Monday. Want to join in the fun? You can leave your question in the comments below, and next week the answer will be right here. It's that easy.

My first question came from an anonymous reader who left a question on my article about cooking eggs. He or she asked how to cook the perfect scrambled egg, and how much milk to use.

That's a great question, but there is no simple/easy answer. It’s almost like asking “Which is your favorite child?” Some people want the French-style of creamy eggs, some want a soft (but not custardy) egg and others want something firm and dry.

How much milk to add depends on how you want your eggs at the end of the story. Personally, I’m of the school that doesn’t introduce milk at all. The cooks at Bonappetit agree with my method. Here is how they do it.

But the cooks at Serious Eats recognize that there are different strokes for different folks. Here is a link to their recipes. Scroll down past the photo of the eggs and you will find links to “fluffy scrambled eggs,” “soft scrambled eggs,” and “French-style soft, spoonable.”

Rinita shared this question:

"I've been having a hard time properly cutting up sandwiches. Is there a specific knife or a particular technique that cuts sandwiches without breaking the bread? I'm talking about sandwiches made of thin bread slices with a lot of stuff in between the slices. I like to cut them up diagonally, but the bread always cracks. Any recommendation is appreciated."

Rinita, I think you get the award for stumping the Carb Diva. I'm honestly at a loss for what might be going wrong. My first thought was that you were using a flatbread, with a hard/firm exterior crust, but you assured me that it was simply sandwich bread. So, now I have fewer ideas. Very few. But here are a few thoughts:

• If you are using homemade bread made with whole grains the problem might be that there is not enough gluten structure to hold the bread together. If that is the case, let me know, and I will help you improve the structure of your bread.
• If you are using gluten-free bread, you will also encounter problems, again because of the lack of gluten which glues everything together. Let me know.

If your bread is not whole grain and/or gluten-free but is merely caving in when you cut the sandwich into sections, I can only suggest that you switch knives and technique. And maybe that is what you were asking all along.

• First, use a bread knife (also known as a serrated knife).
• Then, instead of pushing/slicing, place the knife on the bread where you want to make the first cut. Use your other hand to steady the bread (you will place the fingers of your non-dominant hand on one side, your thumb on the other side, and the back of the knife will be under your hand.)
• Use a gentle sawing motion and a touch of patience.

I hope this helps.

Shauna (Brave Warrior) asked me what type of cornmeal I use for my cornmeal (angel) biscuits. "Of course I use yellow." But, why?

Well, I think it's aesthetics. My family expects cornbread to be yellow but are they the same except that one is golden and the other is pasty Pacific NW pale like me? The owner of the local produce market tells me that in a blind taste test white corn on the cob was declared to be sweeter than yellow corn. Hmmm. I did some research (in other words poking around on the internet) and this is what I found.

• Yellow cornmeal has a distinct flavor that is missing in white cornmeal (it tastes more "corny.")
• White cornmeal has slightly less Vitamin A.

That's it. Really not much difference at all. Use whichever one you like or which one is more readily available in your area (I've heard that white is easier to find in the Southeast).

Mary (Blond Logic) said:

"Can you suggest some measuring cups and spoons? I don't like the ones I have. They are white plastic with the numbers also in white. They are too difficult to see. I don't know what possessed me to buy them. They are also a pain to clean with all the little nooks and crannies."

Honestly, I'm having the same problem. All of my measuring utensils are old and worn; I find that on many of the spoons the label has worn off so I can't easily tell a 1/4 teaspoon from a 1/2 teaspoon. So I went on a shopping spree at Amazon and found two sets that fit the bill for both Mary and me:

• They are sturdy
• They are easy to read
• They can be shipped overseas (Mary lives in Brazil)

So, which two are the winners?

The set above is made of heavy-duty stainless steel and, according to comments, will hold up to the rigors of a busy kitchen, even the work-a-day challenge of the Carb Diva.

This set matches the oil-rubbed bronze fixtures in my home. We live in a farmhouse tucked back into the forest. There is an expansive porch on the front, a warm fireplace in the living room, and a refurbished Carb Diva kitchen that is open to the family room. When I remodeled our kitchen about 10 years ago I chose the look of oil-rubbed bronze. I love the beauty, the warmth, and the escape from traditional/modern chrome fixtures.

I hope these recommendations help you, Mary. You mentioned that cleaning the "nooks and crannies" was a bother, but with utensils that are metal, perhaps that needed scrub won't be so difficult.

Did you know that there is a Table of Contents for this series? I have created an article that provides a detailed listing of each question I've received. It's broken down by category, and within each category, the questions are listed alphabetically. Each question is actually a hotlink back to the original post.

Here's a link to that Table of Contents.

I have also cataloged all of my personal recipes that I have shared with you in this weekly Q&A series and in all of my other articles as well. The link to that Index is here. There are hotlinks to each recipe and this will be updated as new recipes are shared.

Let's do this again next week. If you have questions about foods, cooking techniques, or nutrition you can ask them here. If you are in search of an old recipe or need ideas on how to improve an existing one I can help you. If you want to learn more, let's do it together. Present your questions, your ideas, your comments below. Or, you can write to me personally at this email address: lindalum52@gmail.com.

And, I promise that there will always be at least one photo of a kitty in every Monday post.