Here we are again. Everyone is on vacation and I’m about to head out for another round of open houses. I am actually looking at one from yesterday again, it intrigues me.
I just bought a set of 4 of these little mini-cast iron skillets to make individual chocolate chip cookie desserts for a dinner party. If successful there will of course be pics and recipe. I’m sure I’ll find many other uses for them.
I think they are adorable.
I am beginning to feel like the neighbor left me the keys and said, “hey can you pick up the mail and water the plants while we’re gone?” Then when I walked into the house I found their big screen TV and the unlocked bar and made myself at home.
Consider this an open thread.
raven
A high school aged friend is going to take care of the dogs while we are gone. I like to pay what it would cost to board them to emphasize how important it is that Lil Bit get her eye meds applied correctly. She’s coming over in a bit to get instructions.
TaMara (BHF)
@raven: Finding the right pet sitter is worth whatever I have to pay. I hope she’s awesome so you can relax while gone.
raven
@TaMara (BHF): She is but we won’t!
Baud
That looks like a good knock-some-sense-into-you pan.
bemused
Can’t wait for the pics & recipe.
Pan looks perfect to fry an egg in. I have one a bit bigger that I use for that reason.
greennotGreen
@raven: It is so nerve-racking to have a first-timer take care of your pets. I’d recommend a back-up you can call to check up and be there if things go south. Many years ago, the graduate student who had cared for my pets for years graduated and moved away, so I accepted the offer of a coworker to take the job. When she hadn’t shown up for work in three days (because she’d been committed to a psychiatric hospital,) my other coworkers grudgingly stepped in and took care of my animals and plants. I only lost one bird, but it could have been worse. I was in Brazil at the time, and getting the message via Portuguese wasn’t easy.
greennotGreen
I just bought a small wood stove for my new, not yet completed house. I think one of those little frying pans would be perfect for it!
rikyrah
Tom and Lorenzo on FLOTUS and the China State Dinner
It is now official:
They are the most glamorous First Couple in the history of the White House. The Kennedys and the Reagans have been surpassed.
THAT’S RIGHT, WE SAID IT. COME AT US.
But we shall not be budged, darlings. These pictures alone are so ridiculously stylish, charming and glamorous that it’s hard to believe we’re not looking at a movie version of the presidency rather than the real thing. Are we gushing? You bet your ass we are. In other words…
SLAAAAAAAAAAY, FLO! YOU WERQ THAT SKIRT, MAMA!
http://tomandlorenzo.com/2015/09/flotus-werq-michelle-obama-at-state-dinner-in-vera-wang/
Jordan Rules
I love those baby cast iron skillets. I’m certain I could find a lot of use for them. Right now I’m thinking personal, customized corn bread.
jeffreyw
Those are pot pie pans, although a bit small.
bemused
@greennotGreen:
Our two dogs go to the kennel and a friend comes to feed our two cats twice a day, bring in our mail, water plants depending on how long we are gone. She’s great and thank goodness she came twice a day when one of the kitties must have jumped up on the gas stove and managed to turn on a burner just to the ticking/lighting stage. We now have child proof covers on the gas top knobs and I lock the electric oven controls (very touchy) when we leave.
Keith P.
Cast iron seasoning with flaxseed oil = OMG. turned a ten year old skillet into this shiny pushed looking masterpiece with 3 cycles
raven
@greennotGreen: Huh, I just wrote this big explanation of how we are covered and POOF, it be gone.
raven
@Keith P.: Those new ones are “pre-seasoned” but I don’t buy it. Making a roux is my favorite way to season.
TaMara (BHF)
I was going to post this video from Magic Mike XXL, because it was running through my head while I wrote up the post both here and on my blog. Then I realized it was probably way to racy and offensive, even for this crowd. Besides it’s about Oreos.
D58826
We used to babysit my Mom’s basset hound. He moved in bag and baggage. He expected everything to be just like it was at his other house (and it was). Filled the trunk of the car with all his ‘luggage’. Not that he was spoiled or anything.
Arm The Homeless
I make a damn fine redneck fritata in my 12″ cast iron. Replace the flaky dough with buscuits from the tube and go to town.
I would be tempted to make individual chocolate lava cakes in those. I can’t wait to see what you do with them.
different-church-lady
Are you talking about having front-page privileges here at BJ? If so, keep in mind that all those booze bottles are filled with vinegar.
bemused
Oh boy, found a pinterest with mini skillet recipes. The little cakes, brownies, cookies and pies looked so darn good.
Jordan Rules
@bemused: Down the rabbit hole I go, right behind you. Looking for more savory inspiration.
Arm The Homeless
@bemused:
“Pinterest Ruined My Life: A Love Affair”
By: Arm The Homeless
Harper Collins, 2016
Look for it
bemused
@Jordan Rules:
Plenty of those too!
SiubhanDuinne
@Jordan Rules:
Several years ago, I spent most of a day at the annual Cornbread Festival in South Pittsburg, TN, and then took a tour of the nearby Lodge factory. A very cool and fun day, and one I would recommend to anyone who enjoys slightly quirky Americana.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cornbread_Festival
http://www.nationalcornbread.com/component/content/article/416.html
WereBear
@rikyrah: I have to agree.
I love FLOTUS’ hair now. That is really a flattering style for her.
WereBear
@Arm The Homeless: Congrats!
Arm The Homeless
@WereBear:
Easiest excuse ever for getting the SO’s acquiescence on new power tool purchases.
Word of advice: Buy the 15A sawzall when tearing down pallets for homemade deck furniture. Those cemented, twisted nails ain’t no joke.
Aleta
Gave one of those little skillets to a 5 year old who had opened a restaurant in her home.
mai naem mobile
@rikyrah: FLOTUS does look hawt. Poor Mrs. Peng looks well to put it diplomatically,not so hawt next to Michelle.
In other news past-his-prime actor James Woods has a photoshopped pic of the first couple with their left hand on their right side of their chest as a ‘see how much they don’t respect ‘Murica!’ I wish the RWNJs would decide whether Obama is the craftiest Mofo on the planet or the musleemy village idiot from Kenya.
Jordan Rules
@SiubhanDuinne: Oh geez, I just skimmed thru some of the recipes from years past. Bookmarked and inspired! My people on my Dad’s side are from Murfreesboro, though I’ve only driven through on my way from Atl to Nashville. Looking at the map, apparently I drove by Pittsburg too.
geg6
@rikyrah:
The Reagans were never that stylish, IMHO.
The Obamas and the Kennedys, OTOH, are the very definition of style. Hard for me to pick, but I would have the Kennedys barely edging out the Obamas. Both couples are just gorgeous and glamorous in the best of ways.
WereBear
Why should they decide? It’s like having a two-headed coin — either way they can make a silly fuss.
WereBear
@geg6: One thing that gives our current First Couple the edge for me is how totally relaxed and playful they are with each other, even in a fussy diplomatic event like this one.
bemused
@mai naem mobile:
Wow, he’s full metal wingnut.
redshirt
I have a large cast iron skillet (a gift) and I never use it, as I don’t get it.
Can someone educate me?
Note that I’m a veggie so no meats or fish.
WaterGirl
All hail TaMara for stepping up and posting threads! Hail TaMara!
MomSense
@rikyrah:
Did you see the photo of MO strolling through the dining room before the dinner? What a sight. I’m enjoying every minute this beautiful family is in the White House.
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: They are both absolutely gorgeous and I love the expressions on the President’s face. He is having fun and knows his lovely wife is stunning.
WereBear
I’ll say this: Nancy had the least quantity of that “deer in the headlights while on tranquilizers” look that so so so many Republican wives had when I was growing up. Miserable people. Nancy seems to have at least gotten something she liked out of the deal.
TaMara (BHF)
@Aleta: Wow, that just reminded me that my Gram had a lamp that was a cast iron stove, complete with cast iron pots, pans and utensils. The stove doors and top plates all worked. I swear you could have built a fire in it and used it to cook on. I played with it for hours when I was about that age.
I haven’t thought about that in years. I suppose that explains my obsession with cast iron as an adult.
ETA: And of course Google could find me a photo. http://www.antiquesnavigator.com/ebay/images/2010/360315980675.jpg
bemused
@WereBear:
Were they really medicating or did they just look that way?
Arm The Homeless
@redshirt:
Things with long bake times, that you would like crispy on the outside. I love it for baked macaroni and cheese. Cornbread, obviously. I like it for baked asparagus aswell. It’s also serviceable for casseroles if you don’t have a pyrex or enameled 9×11″
Also functional as a weapon if attacked in your kitchen.
WaterGirl
@mai naem mobile: I wish I could un-know that. I used to love James Woods. sigh.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@redshirt: My step mom has a cast iron skillet that she only uses for cornbread.
They’re great for making eggs and pancakes, too, if you season them right. My favorite way of doing it was to fry chicken in the pan. But that was years ago…
The reason why people like them is that they heat evenly and retain the heat much more than typical thin modern pans. If you season them right, they’re amazingly non-stick, also too.
HTH a little.
Cheers,
Scott.
redshirt
@Arm The Homeless:
I have pyrex bakeware, so I don’t see why I’d use the cast iron skillet. It’s big, but not bigger than the pyrex baking dish.
I just don’t understand when/why to use it.
WaterGirl
@MomSense: Do you have a link to that?
schrodinger's cat
@geg6: I like Jackie O’s style more than Michelle O’s. I am not a fan of the full skirts that Michelle seems to prefer. Even in this dress where she looks stunning and not a huge fan of the mermaid silhouette. As for the Presidents, Barack Obama is in much better physical shape than JFK. He has a perfect model like physique that he looks good in almost anything and definitely a tux.
raven
@redshirt: So don’t.
redshirt
@raven: Yeah but I have it, and many people rave about them. Trying to understand usage.
Thoughtful Today
Nothing says “chocolate chip cookie desserts” more than ‘Recommended Daily Allowance of Iron’!
Arm The Homeless
@redshirt:
It doesn’t replace anything.
It has it’s uses. I just like the even heating nature of it, and it works well on a propane grill top.
TaMara (BHF)
@bemused:
@Jordan Rules:
I hate you both just a little right now, I’m never going to get anything done today.
raven
@redshirt: Well, there isn’t anything to say that hasn’t been said already.
redshirt
@raven:
Well, wrap this thread up then.
raven
@redshirt: Oh, you’re a person that pays attention to that!
Jordan Rules
@redshirt: Try baking something that you love in it, that you’d usually use your pyrex for. Cornbread in a regular pie tin or pyrex vessel doesn’t even compare.
Cervantes
@redshirt:
Three ingredients: Yukon Gold potatoes halved, olive or canola oil, and salt (or viable substitute). Medium burner. When the oil, no more than an eighth of an inch deep, is hot, sprinkle some salt over it. Put the potatoes in, cut face down. Pan-roast without disturbing the potatoes, until they reach the shade of gold or red-brown that you like: say 10 minutes, then check them. Cover and cook for another 20 minutes, low heat — or, if you prefer, you can boil the potatoes a little first, in which case you may be able to skip the cover-and-cook step altogether.
I’ve left out some details and options — for example, you could dust in some ground rosemary towards the end — but I’m sure you get the idea.
If you’ve done it right, you get pan-roasted potatoes with crisp, golden outsides and creamy interiors. (Then again, maybe you just don’t like those — in which case you might consider giving away the pan.)
Germy Shoemangler
The Blenders, vocal group from 1953, sing “Don’t Fuck Around With Love”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoidXDF_vuA
WereBear
@bemused: There’s a reason it’s the Betty Ford Center, let’s leave it at that.
catclub
@greennotGreen: I remember a giant cast iron stove with removeable burner covers/holes at the top. You could get pans/pots that fit in the holes – like for frying.
geg6
@Jordan Rules:
Not just cornbread. I make a fabulous pineapple upside down cake in mine. As for what to use cast iron for, why anything except fish and acidic foods. I adore our cast iron pieces. We have three frying pans of various sizes, a Dutch oven and a grill pan. They are my most treasured cookware, which is saying something when you consider that the rest of my cookware are all All Clad.
HinTN
@redshirt: Start with cornbread, whatever recipe but I like The Joy of Cooking version of Southern Cornbread. Put the oil (more than they say) in the skillet and our it in the cold oven. When the oven comes to temperature begin to mix the batter. Let the skillet remain in the oven until the oil is smoking. The batter will bloom when you pour it in so don’t be surprised. Bake and eat.
catclub
@redshirt:
So frying with lard is still ok?
raven
Bohdi likes the new paint but he’s more interested in varmits in the garden!
Jordan Rules
@geg6: Join us in converting Redshirt! I’m already in the congregation. Made some Pimientos de Patron on a cast iron griddle for a family party a few weeks ago. They were wonderful! I’ve already asked my Dad to pass his stuff down to me.
redshirt
@catclub: Of course not. But how about coconut oil?
HinTN
@geg6: Second the pineapple upside down cake. The Brown sugar just really glazes well in the cast iron.
Cervantes
@WereBear:
Not sure that’s fair. She eventually admitted there was a problem; as did Democrat Kitty Dukakis, for that matter. Brave women both, regardless of political affiliation — I’m certain you agree.
Mnemosyne
@rikyrah:
I had never seen that website before, and I spent over an hour browsing it. They have a surprisingly good comments section, too — usually those devolve into nasty hatefests really quickly.
redshirt
@Jordan Rules: I’d like to be converted!
Do I need to prep the skillet before use? Seasoning, isn’t it called?
Suzanne
The thing I love most about FLOTUS’s state dinner look is the hair. Usually, I don’t like long hair on middle-age-and-older women, because it feels like you’re trying too hard to look like you did in high school and early 20’s. I tend to really like more avant-garde and “risky” hairstyles on women the older they get. Bangs, asymmetrical, play with color, etc. Usually, I think the long curly styles read as kind of cheerleader-esque.
But Michelle’s side-swept curls look AMAZING. She looks youthful, but also not like she’s trying to hang on. She just genuinely looks almost effortlessly great.
Speaking of, I cut my hair into a choppy bob a couple of years ago, and I’ve been growing it out for fun, but EH. I think it’s time to chop it again. Thinking a modified version of the Aeon Flux haircut.
MomSense
@WaterGirl</a
I saw it at Pete Souza's album of the event.
rikyrah
Virginia cop instructs black man to turn his back — then Tasers him for no reason
27 SEP 2015 AT 09:48 ET
A Virginia police officer is under investigation for Tasering a black man during a stop without provocation, WUSA9 is reporting.
In a video posted to Facebook, that officer can be seen aiming his Taser at the man and instructing him to turn around and place his hands on the police cruiser.
Once the man complies, the officer then Tasers him, causing him to scream and crumple to the ground as the officer stands over him still aiming his weapon and yelling at him to roll over.
An onlooker can be heard yelling at the cop, “What’d you do that for?”
According to the man who shot the video, the cop had no reason to use his weapon.
“A gentleman just happened to be walking down the sidewalk and the cop pulls up in front of him and tells him to turn over. And as soon as he has his back turned toward him, he Tasers him. He didn’t see it coming,” he told Fox 5. “He told him to turn around. He turned around he complied. And boom he popped out his Taser and he shot at him.”
The Fairfax Police Department issued a statement saying, “The facts and circumstances which led to the deployment of a electronic control weapon” are being investigated.
http://www.fox5dc.com/news/25246493-story
SiubhanDuinne
@Jordan Rules:
Well, it is one of those places that if you blink you’ll miss seeing the exit sign.
Jordan Rules
@redshirt: Yes, it must be prepped…specifically, as you said, seasoned. I love the different things people do for seasoning, like Raven making a roux. You could serve it over grains or use in a veggie gumbo. But really, you can just treat it with veggie shortening.
Here is a blog post about cast iron being the vegetarian’s friend and she goes into how you can do a basic seasoning.
ETA: This is also why I want my Dad’s old stuff. Getting hand-me-down cast iron cookware is awesome.
Mnemosyne
@WereBear:
Nancy Davis spent about a decade as an actress before she met and married Ronnie, and they spent some time as a Hollywood couple before he went into politics, so I would chalk that up more to being comfortable in front of the camera than really loving being FLOTUS. Though I think she liked that, too.
Barry
These little skillets are perfect for making a two-egg omelet.
HeartlandLiiberal
Cookies? How about small loaves of cornbread. That is what they are used for in our house. Southern style cornbread.
WaterGirl
@raven: Is that your new room? It’s gorgeous! Love the paint color, the white trim, the big window and the lovely scene outside the window.
When do you start accepting visitors?
rikyrah
Pennsylvania bride to marry in 120-year-old family heirloom dress previously worn by 10 other brides
BY NANCY DILLON
In terms of tradition, this wedding dress takes the cake.
Pennsylvania bride Abby Kingston is about to become the eleventh woman in her family to get married in the same gown.
The 120-year-old family heirloom dress dates back to her great-great-grandmother Mary Lowry Warren’s 1895 wedding in Buffalo, N.Y.
It was worn by her own mother Leslie Kingston and nine other brides on her family tree — making its last trip down the aisle in 1991.
When Kingston, 30, first got engaged to Jason Curtis last year, she knew she wanted to continue the custom.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/pa-bride-marry-120-year-old-family-heirloom-dress-article-1.2375210
WaterGirl
@MomSense: I give up, the link didn’t work and googling didn’t bring it up. I even tried The Obama Diary thinking they might have a link:-(
Oh well, I’m sure it was lovely. I will sorely miss the beauty of Barack and Michele, it’s like eye candy.
schrodinger's cat
I have a cast iron grill pan that covers two burners and is currently in a box and not been unpacked since our last move. I am wondering if I can use it on an electric stove top?
WaterGirl
@rikyrah: What the fuck is wrong with these people? Sociopaths in uniforms, with weapons.
WaterGirl
@schrodinger’s cat: Electric coils or glass/ceramic cooktop? If the latter, I think the answer is a definite no.
the Conster
@rikyrah:
There will be no intern sex scandal in that house.
WereBear
@Cervantes: Absolutely. In fact, Betty was one of the warmer and more open-minded Republican wives, ever.
But my childhood memories are of Pat Nixon… oh, now, that was a tortured soul. I don’t know if she was ever on medication, where prescribed or self-treated, but there was a woman who needed some peace, from any source.
greengoblin
@rikyrah: Remember when some lady at a Republican event said Mrs. Obama did not look like a first lady? Wonder what she meant by that?
catclub
@WaterGirl: I have a cast iron skillet that HAD a raised ridge. After we got the glass top stove, I filed off the ridge so the skillet is usable. I bet the same could be done for the two burner skillet.
The key is a flush bottom surface.
Filing took patience, but cast iron is fairly soft.
WereBear
@Suzanne: I’ve gone shorter and I love it! It really seems to suit my face now, whereas it didn’t suit me in my twenties, when I had knee-length hair and loved it.
Now, though, kicky is where it’s at.
the Conster
Apparently Tom Brady has decided that yes, he has to beat the teams he plays but that’s beside the point. He’s playing to make Roger Goodell hand him Lombardi #5. The Pats have figured out how to cheat themselves into midseason form, and cheat their opponents into looking like the junior varsity.
schrodinger's cat
@WaterGirl: Coils. I think the answer is still no, right?
raven
@WaterGirl: Yea, apparently the boss is happy with the colors in the addition but she’s having some kind of spell about the white in the sunroom that is adjacent to the kitchen. I think she has to have something to fret about.
Here’s the funky old window we used as a transom if the hall going into the bedroom.
bemused
@WereBear:
Heh.
WaterGirl
@catclub: Interesting. I’m pretty certain that my glass/ceramic cooktop came with instructions that I was not to use cast iron, which could break or damage the cooktop. Materials may have changed since then. What do I know?
redshirt
@the Conster: Cheatriots.
WereBear
@Mnemosyne: Nancy spent so much time gazing adoringly at Ronnie I don’t think I saw her much in a “Nancy” mode.
catclub
OT:
It looks like the Catalans are voting to push independence.
Cervantes
@WereBear:
If you have not read the following, consider doing so.
WaterGirl
@raven: Cool how you used the old window. Who is the she who is fretting about the white room? (pup or bride?)
Suzanne
@WereBear: Shorter hair requires a bit more confidence, and a lot less giving of fucks, in my opinion. I have known a lot of women with long hair who will be literally terrified to get rid of it, because the patriarchy tells us that men think long hair is beautiful. But the women who I think look the best just DGAF and take risks with their look,
WereBear
@bemused: Mind you, I blamed the culture pre-women’s liberation, where they had no say in their lives and lots of pressure. This would have been ramped up several orders of magnitude as a politician’s wife.
I’m saying I don’t blame them. But it apparently was a primal scene that kept me from marrying a Republican :)
the Conster
@redshirt:
Roethlisberger is probably out for the season, leaving only Aaron Rodgers and Russell Wilson who could give the Pats a game in the playoffs. It’s already all lining up. LOL.
redshirt
@the Conster:
19-0 Vengeance tour.
schrodinger's cat
@Suzanne: I disagree, long hair is more versatile, you can pull it up or wear it down. Short hair needs far more maintenance. I had shorter hair all through my teens and twenties and now my hair is much longer and I like it. Long hair with long layers can look really nice irrespective of age.
the Conster
@redshirt:
feeling like it’s a real possibility. Bring on the Giants!!
Iowa Old Lady
I’m just catching up with events here. The Boehner resignation would be more amusing if the Speaker weren’t in line to be president if the Obama and Biden are killed in some major disaster.
Omnes Omnibus
@the Conster: It’s only week three.
geg6
@redshirt:
It is imperative that you season cast iron. Wipe a thick layer of oil (an oil with a high smoking temp like grape seed or similar) and put it in a very hot oven until it smokes (or on the stovetop). Let it cool. Do that two or three times and you’re ready. Don’t ever use dish soap or let it sit in water. If you must scrub it, use salt. Re-season every time you use it.
Eric U.
I gave away all my mom’s cast iron cooking pans because we can’t get gas here. And then it turns out the gas company has all but decided to reconsider.
Suzanne
@schrodinger’s cat: Most women, as they age, find that their hair gets thinner, and more dry and brittle as it grays. That’s why, to me, the women that have that going on but try to stick with long hair anyway look like they’re in a bit of denial to me. It’s the women’s version of the combover, IMHO.
However, that’s not to say that long hair on women of any age can’t be lovely. I just find that about 70% of the time I see it on a woman who is, say, 45+, it isn’t.
redshirt
@the Conster:
Yeah, watch Eli junk his way back to the superbowl.
You omitted Romo from your missing QB list. @Dallas with Romo would have been a hard game to win. With Wheedon, not so much.
Jordan Rules
@Omnes Omnibus: Indeed. The NFL is known for swiftly turning feelings of invincibility into straight despair.
redshirt
@geg6:
How do you clean it?
redshirt
I also have a glass top electric range, so another strike against cast iron it seems.
schrodinger's cat
@Suzanne: Trying too hard is not lovely. That can happen with short hair too and at any age.
redshirt
@Jordan Rules:
Maybe, but it’s the Patriots.
With a weak schedule and lots of motivation coming off a Super Bowl win.
Omnes Omnibus
@Suzanne: Long graying hair can look quite good.
PurpleGirl
@raven: When certain friends were still living in Peekskill I was the official house and pet sitter. They paid for my train fare and taxi fare to get around Peekskill and get to work in Manhattan. They also took me shopping for food when time permitted. They usually brought me back something from their vacation trips — like the opal I had set in a ring or the beads from Turkey. I house sat when they went on vacation or both had business trips at the same time. The pets (in a 9-room house with fenced in back yard): one Doberman pinscher; 3 then 4, retired racing greyhounds; a cat; 2 parrots; then 3 ferrets and an ever changing number of gerbils. Their problem was that parrots can’t be boarded in most cases, so it was easier to have me stay in the house.
Suzanne
@schrodinger’s cat: Truth. But as I said, women who opt for shorter hair are often doing so even when the dominant beauty standard says that long hair = The Way Women Should Look. It takes a degree of boldness of personality to go against that grain. Same reason I love seeing an AA woman rocking some beautiful braids, or an Afro, or dreads. Or like when Sinead O’Connor shaved her head, and some people acted like she was the most hideous thing in history and it was borderline scandalous. Like, fuck that beauty standard. In general, I like when people change it up and take risk. Again, not to say that women who do the long hair thing can’t look great — I opened this discussion by pointing out that FLOTUS is rocking her long hair.
the Conster
@Omnes Omnibus:
I guarantee you that Belichick has told the O-line rookies that if Brady gets hurt, he’ll kill them with his bare hands. If Brady doesn’t get hurt, I like our chances.
geg6
@redshirt:
Just rinse it in hot water. As I said, scrub with salt if you have something that needs some elbow grease, but a well seasoned pan is basically a nonstick pan. Soap destroys the oil that is the seasoning. You don’t ever want that. Ever.
Suzanne
@Omnes Omnibus: Yeah, it can. My mom rocked a full silver head of long hair for a while, and people told her all the time that she looked like Emmylou Harris, who also looks amazing. But the thinning and breakage finally became a thing for her a couple of years ago, so she went shorter, and it looks good, too.
Jordan Rules
@redshirt: Even they are one injury away from shit getting real.
ThresherK
Ahhh, this is the inspiration I need to try my hand, again, seasoning some cast iron handoffs. I can muck that stuff up like nobody’s business.
Tomorrow, to the flaxseed oil emporium!
schrodinger's cat
@Suzanne: May be pixie cuts are daring, but shoulder length soccer mom bob is the norm not some outlier challenging patriarchy.
redshirt
@Jordan Rules:
Oh no doubt, if – FSM FORBID!!!! – Brady were to go down, the Pats chances go measurably down as well. Truth for every team with stars.
That said, Brady’s conditioning and the system the Pats use helps keep Brady upright and healthy.
Suzanne
@schrodinger’s cat: That is true. Soccer mom hair sucks.
geg6
@Suzanne:
I went from hair so long I had to move it out of the way to sit down to a super short spiky punk do in my mid-20s. The guy who did my hair was horrified when I asked him to do it. Told me all my looks were in my hair! Been short, of varying styles, ever since. Thirty years now.
ruemara
Well, got a spate of last minute cancellations and I’m sitting in the library just waiting to see if anyone shows up to audition. No sales, the fight for casting & crewing has worn me out and I’d really like to try & fail because I’m awful, not because it involves other people. Fuck this day & this life. Right in the eye, fuck it.
geg6
@redshirt:
You can still use it in the oven.
Steeplejack (phone)
@TaMara (BHF):
You could do worse. We could do worse. Carry on.
geg6
@geg6:
Best way to cook a steak inside, IMHO. You can heat the pan to smoking on that he stove or in the oven, put salt in the pan and then the steak. Then into the oven at 400-450. You can turn it once and cook until desired doneness.
Ruckus
@geg6:
The Kennedy’s looked great but always just a little stiff, or formal if you will. Almost like they tried too hard or maybe had to try to get there. The Obama’s don’t have that stiffness. They always look casual, relaxed, like life is easy, smooth, they look comfortable with themselves.
schrodinger's cat
@geg6: For how long?
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Suzanne:
I guess I’m not totally clear on what constitutes “short” hair in this context. I know that past the shoulders is generally considered “long,” but does that make anything above the shoulders “short”?
I used to have my hair cut short above my ears and in retrospect it was HIDEOUS. I looked like a 10-year-old boy. No wonder I never got a date in those days. Now it stays between my shoulders and my chin (no bobs!) and looks way better.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@ruemara:
That’s the crappy thing about filmmaking — it requires other people to help. I hope you get at least a few auditioners to show up.
geg6
@schrodinger’s cat:
Depends on the steak and how you like it. A filet, about 6-8 minutes per side for medium. A Delmonico or ribeye, probably 4-5 minutes a side, depending on thickness.
Edit d to add: And I really mean it about getting the pan smoking hot. In the time it takes to put the steak in the pan and get it into the oven, it’s usually seared enough to turn, so you can concentrate on others things while the steak is in the oven.
schrodinger's cat
@Mnemosyne (tablet): We must have had the same haircut. I was once even mistaken for a boy when I was 12.
Omnes Omnibus
@Ruckus: The Kennedy’s were from a more formal era.
redshirt
Anyone – ever – cook tofu in a cast iron skillet?
schrodinger's cat
@geg6: Medium rare.
Mike J
Fake return!
Suzanne
@Mnemosyne (tablet): I generally consider anything above the chin “short”, anything between that and the shoulders “medium”, and past the shoulders “long”.
There are certainly fugly medium-length and short hairstyles. I am a curlyhead, and I will not do a bob because the women that do it with my hair type end up with the triangle, aka mushroom head. Looks fucking ridiculous. But then there are these that look awesome for curlyheads.
Keith G
@WereBear:
I don’t imagine she was. She may have not made the choices nor lived the live that you approve of, but I never saw her as tortured.
At least, she was not anymore tortured than other woman of her era whose activities in life were in part prescribed by the ambitions and achievements of their spouse.
PurpleGirl
@redshirt: I loved to use my boyfriends cast iron skillet for bacon — the heating was very even. You can start something on the stove top and move it to the oven which you can’t do with other skillet, especially with plastic handles. I don’t like non-stick pans, the coating as it heats is dangerous for pets like birds, and you don’t have that problem with cast iron. Hmmm, may be I should get a mini-skillet.
Steeplejack (phone)
@redshirt:
It would work great for stir-frying. Can take high heat and maintain it.
schrodinger's cat
@redshirt: A Chinese friend once told me a great trick to stir fry tofu. Put some weight on it and drain the excess water.
mai naem mobile
Watched part of the Philly Mass with Pope Frank. Poor guy looks pooped and ready to nod off. They really should have had one extra day in the middle where he was supposedly meeting a bunch of bishops etc. when in actuality he was just resting the whole day. He seemed genuinely surprised the day he spoke in Congress with all the massive security. I know it’s a movie but Michael Douglas in American President says something about the WH being the world’s biggest home advantage. I don’t its just that. It’s the crazy security around POTUS and other VIPs. I bet the only other country that does crazy security like ours is Israel. Possibly the U.K. Obviously,its partly to do with the easy availability of guns here but its got to be somewhat intimidating to other leaders who come here.
Ruckus
@geg6:
My ex had beautiful black hair down to her waist, but it took 2 hrs to dry it and she just got tired of spending half her life taking care of it. She was afraid that I wouldn’t like her with short hair when she cut it off without warning. Nothing farther from the truth. Her hair didn’t make her who she was, she did.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@schrodinger’s cat:
I was once called “sir” as an adult. And I’m a 36D. Poor guy was very embarrassed once he was able to see past my shoulders.
@Suzanne:
I have stick-straight hair. My stylist once said in frustration, “Your hair just wants to lay together and be straight!” So haircuts above my ears make me look bald. :-s
Ruckus
@Omnes Omnibus:
This is true but they looked like they worked at being formal and stiff, like that really wasn’t them. It is a small thing as both couples were/are stunning. The Obama’s just look like they come by it easier.
PurpleGirl
@rikyrah: I can beat that — my Cuban boyfriend’s family brought with them the family wedding gown that every woman marrying into the family had worn for 300 years. They had the lace and pearls that went on the dress too. It came from Spain with the first bride and it was tradition to use it. His aunts wanted to put it together and thought I’d fit it without too much adjusting. But he told them to put it away.
MomSense
@Suzanne:
I got a sort of angular bob with some choppy layers and some long side swept bangs. I have a bit of a white streak coming in and I’m going with it. If I get (when I get) more white hair, I’ll just wear brighter lip stick.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
Was he blind maybe? I’ve seen women that you could make that mistake with a very casual glance from a bit of distance, but I can’t see any way that would be true in your case.
Renie
@Suzanne: Jumping into this discussion on long hair. I’m close to 60 and have shoulder length hair. I always thought past 50, women don’t look well with long hair. But I think the problem is more how women take care of their hair rather than the length. Too many women over color their hair and appear not to use the right products to make their hair look great. When you color your hair blonde and it looks dry and frizzy, it looks horrible no matter what the age. I only use non chemical or ‘no poo’ shampoos with a small amount of leave in conditioner and it makes a big difference in the quality of my over 50+ hair.
MomSense
@schrodinger’s cat:
Chin length or forget it!
D58826
@mai naem mobile: While I doubt that the church will change its teachings on homosexuality and same sex marriage any time soon, the pope did say something very interesting today. From the AP feed ‘anyone who wants to bring into the world a family which teaches children to be excited by every gesture aimed at over coming evil – a family which showes that the spirit is alive and at work will encouinter our gratitude and appreciation’ I rather suspect there are many same sex couple raising childern that meet that stanard. l
MomSense
@ruemara:
Damn, I was hoping for a good turn out.
gogol's wife
@rikyrah:
Oh, yeah, fabulous! I am going to be so sorry to see them go.
jeffreyw
Dunno if this qualifies as gray hair, but it damn sure qualifies as good lookin’.
stinger
While you’re there, TaMara, would you mind looking for the mustard?
gogol's wife
@WereBear:
Yes, you can tell he’s not constantly cheating on her. Sorry, but it does make a difference in the pics. (None of my business, of course.)
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Ruckus:
I wasn’t fishing for compliments, but thank you anyway. :-). I was also about 30 pounds heavier, wearing baggy clothes, and was half-turned away when he started talking, so that didn’t help. I definitely dress and look better in my 40s than I ever did in my 20s, and I have the photos to prove it.
redshirt
@schrodinger’s cat:
Yeah, I’ve known that trick for a long time. That said, after 20 years of trying I’ve still never cooked tofu like the best restaurants do. I assume it’s because of my fear of high heat, and lack of gas.
gogol's wife
@raven:
Did you just lose your sitter, or did I misunderstand? I hope not.
I just left the key for ours. She loves our kitties so much she’s going to sleep here. I hope everything will be okay.
stinger
@Iowa Old Lady: I’m wondering what the chances are for a pick-up of his seat. How red is his district? (I’m sure Kay knows, if she’s reading.)
Steeplejack (phone)
@schrodinger’s cat:
Yes, you can use it on an electric stove. It will take a while to get hot because it’s big.
Suzanne
@Renie: For sure, I think that crappy hair care is why a lot of women don’t look as good with long hair as they would with short hair. If you color it too much, or heat-style it too much, it gets dull and breaks easily, and the drier it gets, it won’t look good long. Shorter hair tends to look better for those women because the ends get cut off sooner. There are certainly women who look great with long hair at 50, 60, and 70. Just….they’re relatively few.
@MomSense: That sounds really good. I like the choppy styles a lot. You know who always has awesome choppy hair is Rihanna. She has a great sense of style. My own hair is starting to gray, but not in a nice streak or anything cool. Just a few grays mixed in with the mousy-ass brown. I am tempted to bleach, but I hate the frizz factor and I will never be in the salon on a monthly basis, so I need something I can keep up at home.
shell
@D58826: I wouldnt be surprised if the Vatican, fairly soon, allows married priests.
raven
@gogol’s wife: Nah, they are just their normal Colombian selves. The clock walks.
Suzanne
@jeffreyw: That is gray hair, and it looks awesome.
Suzanne
Here’s a quote from that bullshit screed against women with short hair that went around the series of tubes a while back:
“The truth of the matter is that long hair’s almost universally attractive to men, when they’re actually speaking honestly (without trying to appease women in the room). Furthermore, it’s a symbol of youth, femininity, and health. Why can’t old women grow long hair? Because it’s an ephemeral trait of your fertile years. Women instinctively know this, which is why every American girl who cuts, and keeps, her hair short often does it for ulterior reasons. Short hair is a political statement. And, invariably, a girl who has gone through with a short cut—and is pleased with the changes in her reception—is damaged in some significant way. Short hair is a near-guarantee that a girl will be more abrasive, more masculine, and more deranged.”
Barf.
D58826
@shell: They may have to since they are running out of single ones. Since Peter was the first pope and he was married it seems like there is a reasonable precedent.
shell
@Suzanne: Cut to the chase pal: Short hair=Lesbo. In the same way: any girl who wont go out with me=Lesbo
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Suzanne:
He’s not the first guy to decide that what he personally finds attractive is what every man, everywhere finds attractive, and any man who says otherwise is lying to look PC or whatever.
I’m pretty sure that’s what “evolutionary psychology” is based on 90 percent of the time.
MomSense
@Suzanne:
I used to do a semi permanent rinse or glaze a shade lighter than my hair to blend in the gray. I just got sick of doing it and noticed that I liked the color of the white hair coming in. I think hair looks best when you work with what you have. I don’t have to style mine and it still looks good. I have friends who spend an hour every day straightening their hair. Curly hair is so beautiful so I don’t know why they do all that. I always wanted curly hair. Oh well.
redshirt
@Suzanne: Where is that quote about short hair from?
mai naem mobile
@Suzanne: I never saw that idiotic piece. I’ve never ran across a woman who cut her hair to make a political statement. Jeezus, if all guys were expected to their hair past their shoulders they wouldn’t bitch about their female partners keeping it short. Just washing long hair adds ten minutes to your shower time. Forget the time taken fixing it. Men would never have put up with corsets, multiple skirts and high heels.
Omnes Omnibus
@mai naem mobile: Some might.
Suzanne
@redshirt: It come from this blog post which went around social media a bunch last year. I don’t even like linking to this bullshit.
@Mnemosyne (tablet): There’s been lots of polls that indicate that American men prefer long hair to short by a significant margin. So I am sure that this dude is a douche, but I also don’t think he’s alone by any stretch.
Renie
A good case for either short or long is Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in Grace & Frankie. They both look great for women who are 70!!!
redshirt
@Suzanne: Yeah I won’t click that link, I was just curious. I don’t like supporting those weirdos with clicks either.
Suzanne
@mai naem mobile: I personally don’t know any women who cut their hair expressly to make a political statement, but the women I know who I think look the best with short hair have done it out of a sense of confidence and security with the way they look. Which, in a way, is a political statement.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Suzanne:
Usually those polls are done in a vacuum and, yes, in the abstract, most guys will probably say they “like” long hair better. But those polls usually fall apart once you start asking about specific famous women. I doubt most guys would kick Michelle Williams or Jennifer Lawrence out of bed for having a pixie cut.
Suzanne
@redshirt: Read the comments. They’re a joy.
Suzanne
@Mnemosyne (tablet): True. Certainly not a deal breaker for most. But I also would bet money that most would say they prefer JLaw with long hair to JLaw with short hair.
Ultimately, all these prove to me is that short hair may be a good way to filter out assholes.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@mai naem mobile:
As OO said, there was a time in history (generally speaking, late 1500s to late 1700s) where it was common for aristocratic men to wear heels, corsets, and multiple layers. Complicated clothing is always a sign of aristocracy since it means you have servants to help you get into it.
Though it usually also meant that men and women both cut their hair short so their elaborate wigs would fit better.
Omnes Omnibus
@Suzanne: Some of us were scarred in our formative years by too many of our female peers trying the Dorothy Hamill cut when it really did not suit them.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Suzanne:
They like the fantasy of long hair, but most guys (or at least most non-assholes) are willing to roll with whatever the woman they’re interested in feels comfortable with. I agree that a guy who has a very strong opinion about your hair is one to be careful of.
I'mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet
@Mnemosyne (tablet): Or a young Sinéad, even.
I don’t know for sure, but I always thought she had short hair as a political statement. She wore (and wears) it well.
Cheers,
Scott.
Omnes Omnibus
@I’mNotSureWhoIWantToBeYet: IIRC she shaved her head after her record label decided to market her on her looks.
Suzanne
@Omnes Omnibus: I am of the age to be scarred by everyone trying “the Rachel”. Lord have mercy.
JPL
@geg6: I do the same thing but wait until the salt is brown.
Schrödinger’s cat, I happen to like rare steaks that are at least 1 1/2 inches thick, if not 2. It takes me a total of ten minutes.
Mnemosyne (tablet)
@Omnes Omnibus:
A shaved head did not disguise her looks by much.
@Suzanne:
Ironically, I turned out to be one of the few women who looks really good in a Rachel. I have just the right (fine, straight) hair and bone structure for it, apparently.
Omnes Omnibus
@Mnemosyne (tablet): No, it did not, but it killed the label’s ability to market her as a conventional sex symbol type.
Ruckus
@Mnemosyne (tablet):
I’ve made the mistake the other way a couple of times, till they turn towards you and realize that they are men. And yes I’ve known a lot of guys that had long hair, including myself for a while. It might be that I was trained to observe bodies and movement for mental health counseling, there are many subtle clues you can see if you are observant. Also I professionally fit people on bicycles for a while, all shapes and sizes. And you have to be very observant about movement and all doing this because many people won’t actually explain what isn’t working for them or what part(s) aren’t comfortable.
redshirt
@Ruckus: Most people are disconnected from their bodies. Like two different objects.
Geeno
When I was a kid I remember my family using those “skillets” as ash trays
schrodinger's cat
@Suzanne: That is some unadulterated bullshit as is the line that 45+ women should cut their hair short because otherwise they are clinging to their youth. I think women should do what they want, wear the type of hair they like and tell everyone else to STFU.
Right now my hair is almost waist length but I have sported every length from the pixie to everything in between. I sometimes straighten my hair or just let it air dry or sometimes I curl it, when I am too lazy, I braid it or put it in a bun. What I do with my own hair is no one else’s business.
Suzanne
@Mnemosyne (tablet): It looked good on people who had your kind of hair. It looked like ass on everyone else.
@schrodinger’s cat: If you like your hair, then awesome and rock on. IME, there are lots of women who, as they age, are sticking with the style they had when they were young even when their hair can’t handle it, in large part because of beauty standards, and in my opinion they’d look better trying a shorter style. That doesn’t mean there aren’t also women who have great-looking long hair at every age, and it doesn’t mean there aren’t short hairstyles that look like ass.
schrodinger's cat
@Suzanne:I think I agree with you more or less. I am tired of my current hair style and am thinking of chopping off at least 6 inches or more in the next week or so. I experiment with my hair a lot. Although I stay far away from color, since my hair is naturally dark and don’t like the texture of colored hair.
Suzanne
@schrodinger’s cat: I change mine up a lot, too. I cut my hair to chin-length a couple of years ago, kind of a Louise Brooks (minus the bangs) look, and I liked it, then I tried the bangs and didn’t like it, and then I decided I wanted to grow it back out. Right now, it is halfway between the shoulders and the boobs, and I HATE IT. I want it to be longer or shorter. Just not this boring-ass mid length. I haven’t decided if I’m going to go back to a short style or try growing it out fir a few more months.
I change color a lot, though. I have colored nonstop since I was 16. One time when I was in grad school and broke, the Vidal Sassoon salon offered me free hair cuts and colors for a year….if I allowed them to cut and color my hair any way they chose the first time. I agreed, and ended up with pink and purple hair, short and asymmetrical. It was weird, to say the least. But I got a story out of it.
chopper
@redshirt:
eh, people are too dainty with cast iron. well-seasoned cast iron can handle a lot.
the seasoning is basically a nice layer of polymerized oil. that shit is tougher than you think. ever work in a restaurant? see those stainless skillets with the black layer around the outside that won’t fucking come off no matter how hard you try? same stuff.
the big reason everyone says ‘don’t use soap’ is cause that’s what their nana said and that was back when soap wasn’t so pH neutral. acid or alkali will do a bit of a job on it. truth is soap isn’t really necessary cause it’s nonstick and some hot water and a scrub gets it all out anyways.
the only time my cast iron skillet needs any real attention is if I cook something lemony or tomato sauce in it. even then it doesn’t need much help. you certainly don’t have to re oil it every time unless the seasoning is pretty weak.