This Week's Top 5 Hotline Questions

Do you use the Hotline? If you haven't been lately, you're missing out -- between discussions about egg yolks and rapini, questions about FOOD52 recipes, and friendly debates about the new party planning site zokos.com, it's a lively place. Here are our top 5 Hotline questions of the week:

1. FOOD52er SeaJambon asked the community:

Just finished making two angel food cakes and now have 24 egg yolks. Any ideas on how I can use them all up in something tasty?

Answers ranged from Martha Stewart's Lime-Pistachio Tart to lemon curd and freezing yolks in 8-ounce units for later use.

2. Kristen W. wondered if any FOOD52ers had suggestions for getting burnt gunk off a cast iron skillet. Many responses followed, including maryvelasquez's response: 

Burning off the gunk in a very high oven, followed by a scouring with coarse salt, once worked for me. If you have a charcoal grill, you could do the heating outside, eliminating any smoky vapors. Cast iron can stand very high heat. In fact, if your house burns down, you may be able to find your skillet in the ashes.

3. A friendly debate took place when lorigoldsby asked if the new party planning site zokos.com (which allows a host to set a price for invitees to attend their event) is tacky, brilliant, or a little of both. While some opined that it sounds tacky, tacky, tacky, others thought it to be a smart and interesting idea. annahezel commented:

It's certainly not the most traditional approach, and there are plenty of circumstances in which asking your guests for monetary contributions is entirely ungracious, but I can see a few ways in which the service could be really useful. Firstly, it was started by college students, organizing and cooking for big group dinners with not such big-group budgets. What a great way to eat well (and together) even when you don't have the money to buy food for a crowd of 40. Secondly, there are plenty of entertaining conventions that involve exchange of money (like fundraisers and supper clubs), for which a website like this would simply help to organize more efficiently. 

4. Kimot2ltd inquired about how to make a vegan gratin. As many FOOD52ers pointed out, cheese is not necessary. vvvanessa said:

One of the most delicious gratins I ever ate was dairy-free: layers of eggplant and zucchini with tomato sauce and herbs and crumbly breadcrumbs on top.

5. And, Mirepoix79 was in search of an easy recipe for rapini. sarah.reinertsen shared one of her favorite recipes:

I parcook the rapini in simmering salted water until just done and refresh in cold water then drain. Meanwhile, chop up a lot of garlic, anchovy fillet and have some red pepper flakes on hand. Add all to a cold pan with a good amount of olive oil (several tablespoons) and heat slowly until the garlic starts to just simmer. Add the drained rapini and toss to heat through. Serve with a squeeze of lemon. If you want to get fancy, you can toast up some panko in olive oil and mix with parsley and lemon zest as a garnish.