[aaronatthedoublef]

BA, what is sweetened chocolate? I have unsweetened, bitter sweet, semi-sweet, and milk all with varying amounts of cocoa.

I finished up the week making KAF no-knead challah. I subbed out 1/2 cup of water for 1/2 cup of apple cider. Also, like many of the reviewers I mixed all the wet and dry ingredients separately then combined them. I found when I put the recipe together as called for by KAF I either have streaks of egg running through the dough or I had to knead the dough quite a bit. I was testing to see how big a loaf I needed before baking to end up with at least a 1 lb loaf after baking. I lose about 2.5 ounces during baking so I'll start with a 21 ounces loaf. If I bake a loaf in a pan I only lose about 1.5 ounces. All of this is in preparation for our big challah bake next weekend. I will be with the 7th and 8th grade at our religious school and we're going to make between 30 and 40 one pound loaves of challah in about two hours. Lots of prep this week.

I have some leftover shortbread dough and I was going to bake cookies and dip them in chocolate for dinner at a friends but my wife nixed it as our friends were trying to be healthful (actually it was a conspiracy of the two moms!). But I'll make those some time this week.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Madeleines are roughly the same shape but the dough is much more of a cake then a crisp cookie.

I made scones 2/15 for Valentine's Day. My wife was away on Valentine's Day so I did some things with the kids but our celebration basically crossed two days. This week so far is English muffins, shortbread, and scones. I need to make a batch of challah and I'll try to do that tonight.

The parchment pastry-bag trick is cool. I've never mastered it but I also never thought about sitting down with a sheet of parchment and practicing. Thanks for the tip.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks everyone for the tips. I ordered Wilton Meringue powder from Amazon. It won't be here in time but I'll have them for the next time.

I think I actually have the Good Eats Art of Darkness. Someone gave me some Alton Brown DVDs so I'll check there.

I made shortbread cookies for my kids yesterday. I used brown sugar and cut back the butter a bit. They had a chewy snap and the reduced butter plus brown sugar really made the taste. I usually use corn starch in addition to flour but I was out so I substituted cake flour.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I'm looking for powdered egg whites but I cannot seem to find them anymore. I may have to go to WalMart which is a bit out of the way considering I have three grocery stores within two miles of my house.

Mini chocolate chips (any kind of chocolate for that matter) will go over well.

Any suggestions to look for instructions on tempering chocolate? I may try that to dip some berries.

[aaronatthedoublef]

It's fascinating to see how people make pizzas. There are as many varieties as there are people. There is a place - I think it's on Coney Island - that puts cheese down first then sauce on top of the cheese for a crisper crust. And they've been around forever so they must have their fans.

When I teach pizza classes I try to stress that there is no "right" way and that my goal is to give people the skills and the courage to create their own pizza that works for their friends, family, guests...

I have some chicken breasts and thighs. I have not decided how I will cook them yet. I also have some lamb koftas for later in the week. Also my wife is out of town so we will make or get hamburgers. I really want to try grinding my own beef one of these days.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks for the tip. I will try that.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Len you are correct. I have a tilt head model. At least I still have one working bowl and can make the other work if I need to. But I cannot depend on my wife or kids knowing how to brace it right.

[aaronatthedoublef]

The English muffin dough is rising. I'll also make challah this week and perhaps cherry pie. I already made (and my kids have already consumed) a batch of shortbread cookies. I was going to make scones Tuesday but that's off until Thursday as my wife left on a last minute trip and will not return until late Wednesday. I am debating whether or not to make meringues Thursday. Any good recipes would be appreciated. They are usually too eggy for me. Would mixing some powdered egg whites with fresh egg whites help?

[aaronatthedoublef]

Well, I just screwed up a batch of challah by using by 2 cup measure instead of my one cup! Score another point for weighing the ingredients... And I am out of eggs and oil and since we're hunkered down in blizzard I am not going out to get more. 🙁 oh well. Tomorrow is another day.

I'll make pizza dough later. Challah tomorrow. And English muffins for the weekend.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I can't find it anywhere in CT. It might be in Boston or New York. I can definitely order it from Amazon which is probably what I'll do so I can have for Super Bowl Sunday.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I'm with you Mike. I like a mixture but my family does not necessarily agree. Sometimes my wife likes some chevre with the mozzarella but that's about it. The boys might complain but they usually eat so fast I doubt they can taste it. Some days my little girl is picky and some days she isn't. I never know what she'll like on any given day.

But I wanted Provel for the St. Louis pizza. I can get it from Amazon but it's still five pounds of cheese I don't know if anyone will like.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I listed them before but I forgot a few... bread, www, pastry, OO, cake, almond, rye, soy, corn meal, and flax meal.

I too, am a lightweight!

[aaronatthedoublef]

Len, did you make this recipe? Did you use Provel cheese? I cannot find it locally and can only order it. It's kind of expensive and is a big block which is a little risky without knowing if my family would like it.

I added a little bit of provolone to the mozzarella on one pizza last Saturday and upset EVERYONE except the guy making the pizzas. 🙂

[aaronatthedoublef]

Hmmm... Wonder what my wife would say if I asked for a blast chiller for father's day?

• This reply was modified 7 years, 10 months ago by aaronatthedoublef.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 10 months ago by aaronatthedoublef.

[aaronatthedoublef]

We don't make or use mole. I'm not a fan of it either. We actually cheat and use Frontera Grill enchilada sauce. But no reason you have to use that. You can put whatever you want on top of them. Any kind of Mexican style sauce would work or even barbeque sauce.

I make carnitas for my kids and they liked it but they like it much better when I mix barbeque sauce with the carnitas sauce. Come to thing of it, that freezes well and you could give some tortillas and cheese with it and they can put them together when they want to. I usually make about three pounds of carnitas and divide it into one pound bags putting two in the freezer.

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