Italiancook

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  • in reply to: What Did You Bake the Week of November 6, 2016? #5511
    Italiancook
    Participant

      I "baked" a Lemon Meringue Pie. I used a store-bought frozen pie shell. I used Jello Lemon Pie Filling and substituted 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice for part of the water. I made the meringue, so I "baked" this pie. Other than that, I mostly cooked.

      in reply to: Rice Cooker #5502
      Italiancook
      Participant

        luvpyrpom, thanks for the tip about washing the rice.

        in reply to: Rice Cooker #5499
        Italiancook
        Participant

          I hadn't thought about the rice being starch, Mike. Thanks for reminding me of that. Yes, the cold rice had clumps. We had the Chicken Noodle with Rice soup for dinner, and yes, the clumps fell apart.

          in reply to: Rice Cooker #5497
          Italiancook
          Participant

            Thanks to all for your responses. They certainly give me flavors to which I can look forward.

            Mike, I bought a Zojirushi rice cooker. I think it has 5 settings, one of which is sushi that I'll never use.

            For the most part, I'm like BakerAunt and like rice to go with other foods. So pre-rice cooker, I wasn't in the game for lots of flavor. Now that I can have decent rice, I want to optimize the flavor.

            To you experienced rice makers, please allow me to pose another question. I made white basmati rice today. I had a pot of chicken broth in the refrig when I learned a friend was ill. So I offered Chicken & Noodle with Rice Soup. I made the rice in the morning then refrigerated it. Late afternoon, I placed the chicken in a quart container, added the noodles and rice, then broth. I noticed the rice has clumped together. Is that normal for refrigerated rice?

            in reply to: Freezing yeast dough #5477
            Italiancook
            Participant

              Since so many of you freeze yeast, I wonder: How long does it last in the freezer? Does freezing it give it an super long lifespan?

              in reply to: Freezing yeast dough #5470
              Italiancook
              Participant

                It sounds like I'm the only one who keeps yeast in the refrigerator. I simply can't give up freezer space to the yeast container. After a year, I occasionally do a proof test to make sure it's still viable. If I kept it in the freezer, I'd still do that.

                Mike, thanks for your instructions on putting links in a post. But it was Greek to me. Next time my computer tech comes here, I'll have him show me how to do it. In the meantime, I'll use the copy/paste method that S_Wirth mentioned.

                in reply to: Freezing yeast dough #5444
                Italiancook
                Participant

                  Thanks, S_Wirth, for the instructions. I know how to copy and paste and should be able to do that. Here I've been thinking posting a link was some technical computer magic that I would never be able to do. But I now think I can do this.

                  in reply to: Freezing yeast dough #5440
                  Italiancook
                  Participant

                    I contacted Fleischman's about this several years ago. I was told that if I freeze yeast dough, I have to increase the amount of yeast. I don't recall by what percentage. I can't recall whether I contacted KAF or read this on a blog, but KAF also said to increase the yeast. Again, by what percentage, I don't recall.

                    On October 5, 2016, KAF posted a blog about freezing yeast rolls. I'm sorry, I don't know how to post a link, but if the title of their blog is, "Freeze and Bake Rolls: A Head Start on the Holidays." It has a note about increasing the yeast if the dough is going to be frozen longer than 2 or 3 days.

                    I haven't tried their method but intend to do so soon.

                    • This reply was modified 8 years, 7 months ago by Italiancook.
                    in reply to: I Quit Cooking … #5405
                    Italiancook
                    Participant

                      These stories go a long way in making me feel better about wasting so much money and labor on last week's flopped endeavors.

                      in reply to: What Did You Bake the Week of October 30, 2016? #5404
                      Italiancook
                      Participant

                        Cardamom tastes great in cooler weather, Baker Aunt. I thought about putting it in my pancakes, but decided against it. Now that you've reminded me how good it is, I'll add a little cardamom to the remainder of the pancake batter. As for baking, I was too busy flopping cooked food to bake.

                        Italiancook
                        Participant

                          I discussed my flopped meals in another thread. I also had a couple of successes after my three flops. I made braised pork chops with fried potatoes and caramelized onions. I also made a pancake breakfast-for-dinner.

                          in reply to: I Quit Cooking … #5397
                          Italiancook
                          Participant

                            I am laughing out loud over your story, Mike. Be sure and tell your wife I am NOT laughing at her. I am laughing because it's a new bride story. I have one of those, too.

                            I was a newlywed. I had never met my in-laws, but friends of their family were coming to town. I really wanted to impress them, since I figured they'd tell all to my mother-in-law. I went to the local butcher and explained that I needed a cut of meat that would showcase my culinary abilities even though I didn't have any at that time. I also mentioned that it was such a special occasion that I was willing to break the budget.

                            He sold me a prime rib roast, wrote down cooking directions, and explained how to carve it. He assured me my in-laws would receive rave reviews about me.

                            I felt so proud when my guests and my husband were seated in the dining room waiting for me to bring out the roast. The kitchen and dining room were connected by an open doorway. Everyone had a clear view of me as I walked to present my roast.

                            As I walked toward everyone, I knew the meat looked gorgeous. Not just to me, but to my husband. His face was beaming with a huge smile. I knew I had a home run. It was at that exact moment that the unthinkable happened.

                            My roast lurched forward and fell off the platter onto the dining room floor!

                            My mother's-in-law friend saved the day. She jumped up, ran to the roast, picked it up and said, "I can fix this."

                            She washed off the roast, put it back in the pan and shoved it in the oven long enough to dry off the water. She put it back on the platter, had her husband carve it, and yes, we ate it. I was too mortified to pay any attention to how it tasted.

                            Many decades later, after her death, I asked around my husband's family to find out if this quick-thinking woman had shared my failure with my mother-in-law. She had not.

                            So I do not laugh at your wife; I laugh with her . . . as one bride to another.

                            in reply to: I Quit Cooking … #5394
                            Italiancook
                            Participant

                              navlys, it sounds like your goblins sent some of their friends to my house. Thanks for sharing. I'm glad you "got back on the horse" and everything has turned out for the good. I guess I'll return to the kitchen, but I put the 3 pound chuck roast in the freezer. Until I know I'm over this messing up spell, I don't want to take a chance on such an expensive cut of meat.

                              Thanks for your input, Mike. It may be that my oven is not heating properly, since the chicken & rice didn't cook through. Other than that, I have to blame myself -- human error. Lack of focus, probably.

                              in reply to: I Quit Cooking … #5390
                              Italiancook
                              Participant

                                Thanks for sharing your experiences. I feel better now. I remember my mother saying a year before she died that she didn't know how to cook anymore. So a week of time/money "disasters" worried me. I'll take BakerAunt's advice and stay out of the kitchen today. Tomorrow, I'll make pancakes -- surely I can't mess them up. Although spaghetti sauce sounds fool-proof, too, Mike. Bread . . . I don't dare try that for a while after this week. But I was thinking about making a loaf over the weekend. Not now.

                                I guess I need to send hubby out for an oven thermometer to make sure my oven is heating properly. But I don't really think it's the oven. It's probably me.

                                The Cubs won; I lost.

                                • This reply was modified 8 years, 8 months ago by Italiancook.
                                in reply to: Dried Bay Leaf Opinions, Please #5375
                                Italiancook
                                Participant

                                  Oh, RiversideLen, straining is an Excellent idea. I wish I had thought of that. They're already in the freezer. Since I've marked them for family only, I'll probably strain them after they're thawed.

                                  My concern was that the dried crunched leaves might damage the digestive tract. But Mike says he leaves dried bay leaves in his marinara -- I took that to mean crumbles of them -- so I guess we'll be alright. I had a bowl of this soup for lunch. If I live to tell about it tomorrow, I'll assume my mistake was "no harm, no foul."

                                  I'm going to post the recipe for the Carrot Soup in the recipe section . . . if I can figure out how to do that.

                                Viewing 15 posts - 1,366 through 1,380 (of 1,513 total)