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I just tried a new biscotti recipe from KABC - the malted brownie biscotti. I thought the dough was way too wet, even though they said it would be sticky and that you should use up to a ¼ cup flour to heLp shape. Because of the stickiness I lost some of the dough from the total. I ended up wetting my hands for shaping like PJ always recommended. Next time I might chill the dough before shaping. Even though I put it in the freezer as directed for about 40 minutes, it still spread quite a bit.

However, I like the flavor and the texture, but I might add more malt next time. The recipe called for natural cocoa powder and baking soda, so I used the KAF triple blend which they say can be used in either dutch process or natural recipes. If I wanted to use Double Dutch instead would I use baking powder? Most of the other biscotti recipes call for baking powder and I wonder if that would help with the spreading. It might need a little espresso powder, too.

[cwcdesign]

We’re going to have turkey soup from the freezer and the rest of the blue cheese bites (see Baking 12/12) for dinner tonight

[cwcdesign]

I made a quick appetizer for a neighborhood open house last night - the invitation said “if you are not vaccinated, we will miss you” - that I found on a favorite website. It’s probably from the 60’s or 70’s and consisted of butter, refrigerator biscuits and blue cheese. Melt the butter in a glass pie pan, cut the biscuits in quarters, sprinkle on the blue cheese and bake. It was well received. I made a half batch for home.

[cwcdesign]

I made a Spicy Sesame Chicken and Ginger Rice from Half Baked Harvest last night. It is a new favorite.

I used rice flour instead of AP to coat the chicken which was a really good move. I lowered the temperature to bake from 475º to 425º and the chicken was perfect in the same amount of time. Next time I will double the sauce. In the comments, someone mentioned that they made the sauce ahead of time and put it in a jar in the fridge - this is a great idea for meal prep. The rice was nicely seasoned and worked well with the chicken. I will also cook more broccoli next time.

[cwcdesign]

Nice buns, Len - they look delicious.

[cwcdesign]

Frozen eggplant Parmesan that we froze this summer - made from our own eggplant

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I made my turkey soup for dinner tonight. We’ll have a couple of quarts to put in the freezer. Will baked fresh bread this morning which was a nice go with.

[cwcdesign]

I made turkey stock today for soup tomorrow. It’s in the fridge now so I can remove the fat tomorrow.

Tonight I’m going to bake risotto from a package we carry in our store - it was in a gift basket the team gave me when I broke my wrist last January. We’re going to have chicken sausage and green beans with it.

[cwcdesign]

Well, there’s another option for protein.

My old recipe used spaghetti instead of egg noodles - the casserole was a different texture. I’ll have to turn on my old laptop to see if the recipe is their. When I upgraded I didn’t move everything over.

[cwcdesign]

Mike, we really liked it too - but I agree with you about more cheese. Unlike your wife, I would probably add more peas and definitely more mushrooms. Will asked if I should use the rest of the package of mushrooms, but I always like to follow the recipe as is the first time. I would season the sauce earlier as I'm making it. Sherry sounds like a good idea, BA. I didn't have heavy cream, so used half & half. I'm not sure it made that much difference.

I wouldn't buy turkey just to make it, but it's a great way to use leftover turkey. We're going to make soup with the rest. If you wanted the tetrazzini, you could always use chicken. I know some people buy a rotisserie chicken just to make it.

[cwcdesign]

I made turkey tetrazzini from Brown Eyed Baker, since I seem to have lost my old recipe. We really enjoyed it and have plenty of leftovers. I liked that she used egg noodles instead of spaghetti. The sauce wasn’t too heavy and there was the addition of mushrooms and peas.

[cwcdesign]

I tested the turkey again a little closer to the bone, but not touching it. It still wasn't ready. When the alarm went off this time, the little popper that I don't usually rely on had finally popped. Tested again with the instant thermometer and it was right where I wanted it. It took about an hour longer than Ina recommended. So glad that I didn't have a deadline. The turkey was perfect - moist and tasty. I will definitely buy this brand again, but probably use a smaller pan with vegetables for the rack.

[cwcdesign]

BA, thanks for the info, I’ll definitely try it

[cwcdesign]

My turkey breast is in the oven now. I took it out of the freezer on Friday morning and this morning took it out of the fridge around 8. At noon, I unwrapped it and while the turkey felt thawed there was still a huge chunk of ice in the cavity. I was able to pull it out easily, but I still needed to run some cool water through the bird. I followed Ina's recipe and she said 1 ½ to 1 3/4 hours at 325º. I always reduce my oven by 14º. So, it's been about the longer time, but it still has a ways to go. I set my chef alarm to 160º and when it went off, I double checked with my instant one - glad I did since I still had more that 20º to go. I repositioned the chef alarm and upped the oven temp to 325º. It's quite possible that the bird was still too cold.

Since we are just having sandwiches with it tonight, there is no deadline for the turkey to be cooked through. I will make stuffing and gravy to go with. Will has made sourdough bread so the sandwiches will be delicious.

Last night I made BakerAunt's crispy fish and chips. I reduced the amount of panko I pre-baked and only baked it for 3 minutes. I tried making the potatoes like the recipe originally recommended, but I needed to use two half sheet pans so they didn't steam. I agree with BA that cutting the potatoes in wedges is the way to go, so will do that next time. I took the fish out at 10 minutes and it was perfect. Definitely a recipe that is now in our rotation. Still need to try the baked panko on oven-fried chicken tenders.

[cwcdesign]

I forgot to post last week, but I did make the cranberry pumpkin rolls from KABC.

I made the dough in my Zo, did not add the optional cloves and added 2 teaspoons of the SAF Gold instant yeast - the recipe had called for 1 tablespoon regular instant yeast. I made 24 rolls and put them in a 9x13 pan per PJ's blog post. I let them rise longer than the recommendation, unusual for me down here, but it was fairly cool, They looked puffy but not too the top of the pan like the photo. I was afraid of overproofing so I went ahead and put them in the oven. They rose nicely, were really good and are nice for breakfast. I think another time I could let them rise to the top of the pan. But nobody else noted and they loved them.

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