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Mike sorry to take so long to answer and also to wish everyone a Happy New Year - I am hunting and pecking with my right hand as I managed to break my wrist on NYD while Will and I were out for a walk - 3 hours in the ER - not too bad - its a radial fracture which is the most common type - good news is the bone is fine, but I crushed the radius and might have to have a plate surgically put in. needless to say my dominate left hand is in a splint over my elbow - 6 weeks! hopfully I will be able to spend some time at work - will know more when I see to doctor this week. as the swelling is going down the pain is starting.

Dessert Person is a beautiful book - in the beginning she has a chart from beginner to expert recipes and at the same time how long they take - one of her expert recipes is kouign amann and the photography is beautiful. she has a whole savory section. the title comes from the fact that many people will say "I am not a dessert person"

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When I made the mini cherry pies for my mom's birthday, I didn't do a top crust - I just put cutouts on each one - just another thought

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Aaron, when we moved into our house in Massachusetts, the former owners had planted theirs in the front yard 3/4 of the way from the house to the front wall. When it got taller than my husband we moved it to a corner of the property. After a few years we had the landscaper come and string the large white bulbs around it - we never took them off and as it grew you could see it from a couple of streets away - it must have been 40 ft tall when we moved. The hardest time I had was keeping my husband from having the lights on year round! I allowed him to start December 1st and we kept them up through January 6th.

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Skeptic - I'm impressed at the effort you've put into your batons - can't wait to hear how the pain au chocolate turn out.

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Today I made focaccia from the new book that Will gave me for Christmas - Dessert Person by Claire Saffitz - did anyone ever watch the YouTube videos for Gourmet Makes from Bon Appetit - that was Claire who did those videos. This book is gorgeous and has a savory section as well. She has a video on the focaccia which was very helpful.

I made a couple of minor mistakes - First spin in the KA mixer, I should have had the speed a little higher and mixed a little longer - she says you cannot overmix this dough, but it's easy to undermix. Not sure I got enough oil on the bottom of the pan - it pooled in the corners and the last 5 minutes you bake on the top shelf and I should have checked and stopped a couple of minutes early because I burned my garlic and a couple of air bubbles. But all in all, it looks really good. Can't wait til it's cooled.

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Tonight we made Ina’s quick tomato soup and multi-cheese paninis with roasted peppers and bacon on Will’S sourdough it was just right.

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Leftovers here as well.

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And, as Joan said, here in Georgia it was 34 - it was warmer at my brother’s in Massachusetts. At least today it got back up into the 50s. Went back to work yesterday, today off and we have inventory tomorrow.

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The salmon was for Christmas Eve. We had eggs Benedict for breakfast with homemade English Muffins. Dinner was a charcuterie board with Wills sourdough baguette and some sparkling Cava

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We had delicious salmon with a maple mustard glaze for dinner last night with roasted broccoli and brown rice and some of the maple apple cake for dessert

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A note on the Maple Apple upside down cake - the flavor is really good - I definitely want to make it in a sealed pan as I think the lost maple syrup was definitely needed. The cake was a little dense - could have been due to my mixing and I think I may have over baked it by about 5 minutes. We definitely want to make it again however.

I wonder if it might work in a 9" pan instead of the 10" - the cake would be taller but the syrup more concentrated . . .

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I heard back from KABC and they said they are currently out of both blends and don't have a "return to stock date." Then they directed me to this blog post which I'mm not sure answers my question
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2020/10/28/3-ways-to-switch-up-your-bread-baking

In the Harvest Grains bread you don't make a soaker with the grains, just mix them in the dough. Mrs. Cindy's bread does add them to soak for a short time.

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They're called Command hooks and it's important to get the 3M ones - others might not perform the same - you still need to be careful when removing them

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My broccoli cheddar soup is almost finished - I'm a little late since I watched a Christmas movie. I haven't made it in a few years and it's perfect for tonight.

There will be 3 of us for Christmas (test for guest was done yesterday). We've figured out our simple menu - salmon (probably grilled), broccoli and rice Christmas Eve; Eggs Benedict Christmas brunch (late breakfast) and a charcuterie board, stuffed dates and whatever other appetizers we decide to have for Christmas dinner. We haven't decided sweets yet. I work Christmas Eve 10-6 and the day after 9:30-5:30, so simple is good and Will does so much of the cooking which is great.

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I made a Maple Apple Upside down cake from the Food and Wine link I posted in the maple syrup thread. It's a recipe from Joanne Chang.

It called for 3 Granny Smith apples, but I cut 4 as I figured mine were smaller than hers probably were - it was a good call. I didn't have a 10" round pan, so I used a 10" springform - I put a piece of parchment under it which was a good call as it did leak a little while I was making the cake. I put it on a sheet pan with parchment to bake (another good call). One of the directions said to add the dry and wet ingredients in 3 batches which I found a little confusing. But in the end, I added half the flour mixture, the whole buttermilk/egg mixture and then the last half of flour - I made the right call. It came out beautifully, but we haven't tasted it yet. I used up my Trader Joe's syrup so now we can start enjoying Chocomouse's syrup - I gave one of the containers to a friend for his birthday - all for him - his wife doesn't like liquidy soft food. I also gave him the canning directions just in case he wanted to put it in pints.

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