Italiancook
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I had 2 lbs. beef stew meat in the freezer, so I made Vegetable Beef Soup. I've made this for decades. The last time I pulled a quart of it out of the freezer, the taste fell flat. I thought I was tiring of the soup. Today, I added half of a large jalapeno (fine dice) to the simmering beef, herbs, and onions. I wasn't sure if I should put in the jalapeno then, or wait until I added the carrots. I also put the usual pearl barley in the soup, even though I wasn't sure jalapeno would go good with barley. The finished product tasted only slightly different, but a pleasant heat lingered on the tongue after eating, so I declared the experiment a success. The heat is not so intense that I'd refrain from giving away this soup to people who don't normally eat jalapenos.
Rascals, I guess I should post this information, but you may already know it. Maybe it will help someone else.
There is more than one type of olive oil. I keep 2 types in my pantry. They have different flavors. Extra Virgin Olive oil has a distinct flavor in the brand I buy, compared to plain olive oil. There's also a light olive oil, and there may be other types. For pancakes, I prefer to use extra virgin olive oil. It adds a fruity hint to the pancakes. For delicate baked goods, I lean toward plain olive oil, because it has less flavor. I've never used the light olive oil, so I don't know what makes it light -- calories or flavor.
I buy cans of Fillipo Berio for both types I use. That's the brand my mother-in-law used, so I figure if it worked for her and her large family, it's good enough for me. The cans are over 3 quarts, so maybe it's economical. I've never price-checked it. I think, but am not certain, that both types are available in bottles. The cans are awkward to handle to measure out ingredients, so I have oil pour bottles on the counter for ease while cooking or baking. There are, of course, other brands of olive oil.
RiversideLen, I'm pretty sure they're supposed to go cut-side up, which would make the seam on the side. You'll notice in the picture that they have a cute, layered finish. By putting the seam side down -- cut ends were the sides, I ended up with buns that were shaped like you'd buy in the store . . . with a solid top, not a cute, layered top. So I'm fairly certain they're supposed to go cut-side up on the parchment. Hope I'm not leading you astray.
Even though the appearance of mine wasn't like the KAF photo, they taste good, and the onion flavor comes through. I used more than 3 tablespoons of dried minced onion to cover the dough.
I should warn you: Some reviewers complained that the buns were too brown or burnt with the stated cooking range. So I cooked mine for 18 minutes and found the tops quite brown. I had used the egg white/water. Mine are pretty with the extra brownness, but any longer in the oven and I would have had burnt product.
For my taste, they're too sweet when used for a ham & Swiss sandwich. Next time, I'm going to reduce the sugar to 1 or 2 tablespoons. But when I tasted one plain, I didn't detect the sugar, just the delicious onion flavor.
