[Italiancook]

Thanks, Mike, for Jeff Mauro's recipe.

Mike, none of the butcher shops I've ever worked with advertised they'd slice the rump roast. I also asked a conditional question, "If I buy a 5 pound rump roast, will you slice it paper thin after I roast & bring it back to your shop?" None refused, but I think during this pandemic, that they'd worry about the customer bringing back Covid germs and refuse the request.

[Italiancook]

I have posted the recipe for Italian Beef that I acquired somehow when we lived in Chicago. I've received many accolades with this recipe. I've always purchased the roast from a meat market after they agreed to take back the roasted meat and slice it paper thin. That was before the pandemic. I don't know if they'd do that during the pandemic. I buy "hard rolls" from a bakery -- every city we've lived in has had a bakery that could give me hard rolls.

A quick search of KABC netted 3 recipes for hard rolls.

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, I don't know whether this source has what you need, but . . .

. . . . I purchased Chicago Metallic (I think) 1/4 sheet pans & a 4 quart dough bucket from: wasserstrom.com

[Italiancook]

I'm sorry I'm so late to your party, S. Wirth. You have helped me out a couple of times, so I regret my tardiness. I hope you had a good special day. I hope you heal completely and soon.

[Italiancook]

Yesterday, I baked a new chocolate chip recipe from allreceipes.com. Best, Big, Fat,, Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie. I used bittersweet chips, my preferred, even though recipe calls for semisweet. I like the recipe, because it calls for melted butter. I don't have to deal with softening butter, which I always do in the microwave. It calls for 1/4 cup portions, so I used that size ice cream scoop. Made big cookies! And, they were fat. I used only 1-3/4 cup chips, that's all I had, even though recipe calls for 2 cups. For my taste, 2 cups would be too many, and next time, I'll go down to 1-1/2 cups chips. I like the recipe, because it doesn't use nuts, which I shouldn't eat for medical reasons. My Yield: 16 cookies. I gave away some of the cookies. I hadn't planned on that when I started baking, but the finished product looks spectacular, so I had to ignore the pandemic and give away some. This is now my go-to choc. chip cookie recipe. They're that good. I froze what my husband and I didn't eat. I hope they'll be delicious thawed out.

Later in the day, I baked KABC Blitz Bread: No Fuss Focaccia. I added 2 teaspoons marjoram to the dough & sprinkled the top with marjoram. The spicy bitterness of the herb shined through, and I didn't like it. Next time, I'll try a combination of dried thyme and dried rosemary - crushing the rosemary in the mini-food processor. Because the house was cold, I let it rise longer than the 60 minutes called for in the recipe. I'm much happier with the results than previously. I cut it into rectangular soup dippers and froze.

[Italiancook]

I had never heard of these rolls, BakerAunt,, so I'm glad you're keeping us updated on your adventure. I wish you success. Thanks, Mike & Janiebakes, for posting pictures of the cutter & a finished product. It would be an interesting roll to eat with a hollow center. Is that what you're trying to achieve, BakerAunt, a hollow center?

[Italiancook]

chocomouse, thanks for your input about the lemon juice powder. I have made the KABC lemon streusel. Delish! My blueberry muffin recipe uses 1-3/4 cup flour & 1/3 cup sugar for 11 muffins. I'll try more of the powder next time.

[Italiancook]

Yesterday, I baked blueberry muffins. As an experiment, I added a teaspoon of lemon juice powder. Couldn't taste it in the finished product. I'll try 2 teaspoons next time.

[Italiancook]

Yesterday, I made ranch dressing for lunchtime chef's salad today. Besides lettuce, the salad had mushrooms, grape tomatoes, avocado & green onion tops. I would have added shredded carrots, but it took 40 minutes, so I decided not to invest more time in it.

[Italiancook]

Thanks for your generosity, Mike. I'll give the semolina pasta recipe to my friend tomorrow, when the holiday is over. I'll be sure and tell her where it came from.

[Italiancook]

Joan, I'm glad your sister is doing better. I know what you mean about the dust. I skim the Food Network website every day. Not to glean recipes, but to see what products for sale they're featuring. I've found a few products that were just what I needed. One of them is a 3-step ladder that has wide steps. I wish the handle at the top was taller, but the ladder is what I had been looking for. I used it last night to clean the top of the refrigerator. I don't know when it was last cleaned, but not during year 1 of the pandemic. Consequently, there was a ton of dust on the top. I can't believe I was cooking and baking with such a dusty mess. Windex and paper towels caught all the dust bunnies, and now it's health department clean.

I made blueberry pancakes yesterday. I threw caution to the wind and used baking powder instead of my medically necessary substitution of baking soda & cream of tartar. I wanted to have pancakes with rise instead of flat pancakes. They were pleasantly high and looked beautiful. Tasted good, too. But I can't make a habit of using baking powder.

Mike, do you have a recipe for semolina pasta using volume that you'd be willing to share. I bought a friend the KitchenAid pasta extruder that makes pasta with holes in the middle. After I bought it, I read the reviews. Some people had issues with the recipe that came with the extruder. So I bought her some semolina and suggested she sub some of the flour with semolina. She didn't say this, but I think I confused the issue. I tried the website KitchenAid recommended, but the recipe for semolina pasta there is by weight. So if you have one by volume you can share, I'd like to give it to her. If not, that's fine. I know you bake by weight.

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, I've seen the citrus pan online -- maybe KABC?. It's one I've considered buying. My bunny pan has arrived. We quarantine packages for a week or two before opening. So I can't comment on what it looks like. After the busy-ness of the next three weeks is over, I'm going to use my grandmother's chocolate cake recipe to make bunnies.

Today or tomorrow morning, I'm going to bake blueberry muffins.

[Italiancook]

I made a buttermilk yellow cake before breakfast. Maybe the "before breakfast" was my problem. The recipe says to bake at 375*. I preheated the oven to 350*. I caught the error with 10 minutes baking time left. I cranked oven to 375* and added 2 minutes to the cooking time. I was concerned that the 4 eggs be fully cooked. The end result was that the top and sides are too brown. Surprisingly, the bottom looks fine.

After 5 minutes out of the oven, I used a paper towel to hold the first layer's pan. Successfully, I caught the cake coming out of the pan with my palm. Unsuccessfully, I moved my fingers and pulled apart some of the cake top. Determined not to do that on the second layer, I didn't move my fingers. When I tried to flip over the cake onto the rack, the cake hit the rack and slid 3/4 of the way off the rack, headed for the floor. I threw the pan onto the counter and in the nick of time, caught the cake layer.

I don't anticipate any problems when I make blueberry muffins and pancakes later today. Those will be after breakfast.

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, should I store the Grease in the refrigerator or at room temperature?

Thanks for telling me not to soak the pan. That would have been my first inclination. You bought your bunny pan at a good price. I think I paid $26.00 + change, but I'm not positive. I rationalized it because I saved $12.00 plus change. My TJ Maxx never had the great things you've found there. Must be a locale situation. Not that I would have purchased a specialty pan; I just haven't seen them there at all. Thanks for letting me know that Williams-Sonoma has good sales after the holidays. I've never thought of checking them out after the holidays. I'm glad you posted the Grease recipe. It saved me the effort of searching for it. Others may also benefit from you posting it. My child had Type 1 Diabetes, so I didn't bake when he was growing up, because he couldn't eat sweets. I didn't start baking regularly until 2011, so I appreciate all the tips you all give on this site.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by Italiancook.

[Italiancook]

Thanks, all, for your suggestions to my stand mixer dilemma. BakerAunt reminded me that I can use my food processor for pizza dough. I've used it for Vienna Bread, so I know I can do one loaf of bread in it. I was so involved with "woe unto me" that I forgot I had an option. cwcdesign, I've never before baked a no-knead pizza or bread, and you have a good idea. Thanks to both of you! Mike, I have a friend nearby who has access to a website for people giving away things for free. I probably could pick up a bread machine through the friend's contacts. Alas! I have no where to store it, so I can't look into that. But thanks for the suggestion!

BakerAunt, I took the plunge: I bought the bunny pan. It'll be my first and probably last cakelet pan, but it's too cute to pass up. KABC has it on Clearance. I don't know if that means clearance until next Easter or clearance forever, but I thought I better grab it while I can. Right now, I have no where to store it. But I have a new household ladder that I can use to clean out the shelves in the coat closet. That should net me a bunny pan space. I don't even own a bundt pan because of storage.

One or two of the reviews complained about the paws not coming out of the pan. How do you grease your bunny pan? You didn't mention a problem with the paws or ears coming out of the pan, so whatever you've used is what I want to do. Another complaint was cleaning the paws and ears, because residue is difficult to reach. So I bought the bundt pan cleaning tool they sell.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 7 months ago by Italiancook.

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