[Italiancook]

I baked Parker House Rolls for the first time. While I was in the throes of making them, I thought I'd never make them again. Now that I've tasted the finished product, there will be a second time. The dough was light and fluffy. The rolls are soft and way too buttery good. I made them for the freezer to give with a roast beef dinner to three people homebound in a couple of weeks, so I will be able to resist the temptation to make a meal out of them.

I don't believe I've folded them right. Some of them look like they should, based on some of the photos on Google Images. The recipe said to fold them in half, which I mostly did. Seems to me a celebrity chef on TV said to fold them 3/4. Have any of you made Parker House Rolls? How did you do the fold?

I had problems rolling out the dough. It rested for 15 minutes after punching it down, but when I rolled it, the dough kept springing back. In frustration, I quit rolling and pressed the dough into proper thinness with my hands. I know that spring-back means something, but I don't know what. Anyone know?

These are pretty and delicious, but I don't see how anyone could make them fresh to serve with a special dinner. They're labor-intensive, take up a lot of counter space, and would take away time from entrée prep, even if I made the entrée the day before. I'm more apt to make 90-minute rolls for a special dinner. But Parker House Rolls are much more stunning.

The recipe said to use a 2-3/4 inch cutter, which I did. If you made these before, do you recall what size cutter you used? The finished product seems large for a roll, but maybe I let them rise too long after cut.

[Italiancook]

Thanks, BakerAunt, and Mike. I checked out the website, BakerAunt. Helpful info. Thanks for taking the time to find it.

[Italiancook]

When I have the kitchen faucet changed, I'm also having a new sink installed. Contractor wanted to do a 9" deep sink, as I recall. I think I currently have 7". We compromised at 8". My concern is pulling pasta pots full of water out of the sink. The heft of lifting them up over a higher sink/counter top, because the sink bottom is lower concerns me. I think it'd take more muscle to lift it up 9" instead of 7", or even 8". I'm unsure why contractor spoke up for the deeper sink, but now that we've had this discussion, I'll probably ask him before he buys the sink.

BakerAunt, I grew up with well water. I know it's a challenge.

[Italiancook]

After reading your post, Mike, I hurried to call the plumbing store where the faucet will be purchased. I was told that the one that's being bought for me does have the pull-out sprayer. But I was also told there's more than one model of them, so there may be some variances between models -- or even brands. But it certainly is a good thing to check before buying. The pull-out sprayer is quite helpful.

[Italiancook]

I have kidney disease, and baking powder is not recommended on the renal diet. Not sure, but I think it's because of the phosphorus content. Don't quote me on that, because I've never asked anyone. I just know phosphorus is regulated on the renal diet. I don't know if aluminum-free baking powder would make a difference, but I'm glad you brought that up so I can ask.

[Italiancook]

It's certainly not an appliance, but have you considered a motion sensor kitchen faucet for your remodel? I'm having one installed soon. I'm looking forward to not having to touch control knobs to turn on the water when I want to wash my hands after touching chicken. I've talked with people who have one, and they're pleased with this faucet. The problem is that you can't hang a dishrag over it, because it'll mess up the motion sensor. So owners have to have some kind of a set-up for the wet cloth.

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, I think I read that you have a Kroger near you. The Kroger near me has Land o Lakes butter on sale 3 or 4 times a year. Usually priced at 2 - 1 lb. boxes for $5.00. I freeze it, and by the time I need more, they have another sale. But I don't do as much baking as you do. I've never thought the quality of the butter was harmed by freezing, but others are welcome to disagree with me.

Of course, Kroger & Land o Lakes might not run this special in all areas. A call to customer service will tell you if they do it in your area.

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, I'm glad you've been able to try so many new recipes this year. My new year's resolution was to try one new recipe a week, but I broke it early on. For health reasons, I need to avoid baking powder, but most of the new recipes I wanted to try have baking powder. I found a recipe online for making a faux baking powder, but never tried it, and no longer know where the recipe is located. Occasionally, I make something with baking powder, but try to stick to yeast-only recipes, which leaves out a lot of the goodies. I don't like the texture of yeast sweets.

[Italiancook]

I'm baking a Damson Plum Crostata today.

[Italiancook]

Mike, the creativity in your eclipse cookies is fantastic! They look delicious, too. Thanks for sharing the pictures.

[Italiancook]

Thanks for this recipe, BakerAunt. First, I'm going to try KAF Vermont Cheese Crackers. I just need cheese powder. This recipe uses KAF Italian-style flour. I have a lot of that, and I need to use it all soon. Their blog, as I recall, says the Italian-style flour is good for crackers. It makes it easier to roll the dough thin. Have you ever used Italian-style for any of your crackers?

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

[Italiancook]

I used my new blade to make blue cheese dressing. It didn't clank and clamor, as I had worried. It did the job, but of course, all it was doing was chopping half a clove of garlic while mixing blue cheese, mayo & sour cream. For me, the real test is the first time I need to chop hard veggies.

[Italiancook]

If you have time & haven't eaten/given away all your eclipse cookies, please post a picture. I'm curious.

[Italiancook]

I baked 2 loaves of "Cuban Bread" from "The Complete Tightwad Gazette." I like this recipe, because it only takes 90 minutes from start to finish. I didn't like the appearance of one of the finished loaves (boules ? they're round). It had a side blowout. Online sources say this can be caused by uneven oven temp, or something else I've forgotten. I think mine were from poor slashing. I was in a hurry when I slashed. When the finished loaves came out of the oven, I could tell by both of them that I my hurry had led to poor slashes.

I also reduced the salt from 1 tablespoon to a guesstimated 2 teaspoons. Definitely, I used less salt. One online article makes me think that could have helped cause the problem. So I won't reduce the salt again.

The blowout loaf is for bruschetta for tomorrow's lunch & French Toast on Tuesday, so I hope it tastes okay and looks somewhat normal inside. I'm going to freeze the one that looks okay.

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

[Italiancook]

I made blue cheese dressing for chef's salad. My husband's plants have an abundance of tomatoes, so we'll be using the dressing all week for salads.

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