[Mike Nolan]

Jack Stack BBQ restaurants in the KC area make a cheesy corn bake that is very good. There are copycat recipes available for it that use frozen corn. (We leave out the garlic, of course.)

[Mike Nolan]

I suspect the physics behind the cold cloche method and the hot Dutch oven method are different.

Here's my guess as to what is happening with these two methods, both related to what's happening with the thermal mass of the baking vehicle:

A cold cloche is going to take longer to get up to the ambient temperature of the oven, resulting in a slower warm-up of the dough, extending the period during which oven spring occurs. That's why it takes longer for the bread to bake than it does just putting the dough in the oven. That probably makes this method similar to starting the bread in a cold oven.

A hot Dutch oven is going to produce an initial burst of steam, cooling and softening the crust in the early stages of baking. Where the dough touches the hot surface of the pan is going to behave differently than where it touches the hot (and steamy) air. My admittedly limited experience with the Dutch oven method is that it shortens the baking time.

I think there's value in both methods, but I don't think they're interchangeable.

I've got a Meater Plus wireless meat thermometer, but I'm not sure it'd be safe to use it with bread. Otherwise it would be interesting to see how the internal and ambient (air inside the cloche/Dutch Oven) temperatures change over time. I'm not sure the bluetooth signal would get through the metal of a Dutch oven, though. Maybe two or three corded oven thermometers would work, though? (One for the temperature of the surface under the dough, one for internal dough temperature and one for ambient air temperature.)

[Mike Nolan]

I've been using Australian wines for boeuf bourguignon, Lindeman has a shiraz that I like and also a good cabernet. Shiraz is a grape that gets dissed by the wine snobs, but I think it makes an excellent cooking wine.

[Mike Nolan]

I'm cooking an eye of round today, we'll have leftover roast beef for several days.

[Mike Nolan]

I made 2 loaves of semolina bread today.

[Mike Nolan]

I have a tapered wood rolling pin, I seldom use it because I can't figure out how the tapering is supposed to make it easier to roll out pastry. Are you supposed to rock it from side to side?

We also have one of the old traditional maple ones with handles, it is 11 inches long and 2 1/2 inches in diameter. My younger son liked using it for rolling out pizzas, but with my arthritis my hands don't fit around the handles very well any more.

I have two straight wooden rolling pins, one is 20 inches long and 2 inches in diameter, the other is 19 inches long and 1 1/2 inches in diameter. I also have a silicone coated one that is 20 x 2, and I use a 3/8" dowel for making creases in a celebration Challah so that the upper layer nestles into the groove, and also for making fendu (split bread.)

I find more delicate pastries work better with the larger diameter rolling pin.

Irish baker Jimmy Griffin has a translucent plastic one he uses in the videos he uploads to Youtube: Jimmy Griffin Videos, it appears to be longer than 20 inches but I haven't found anywhere to order it yet, so I don't know the specifics or cost.

[Mike Nolan]

We had tomato and salami sandwiches for supper. I'm not sure if I'll get enough tomatoes to do another batch of tomato juice this season, the garden is really slowing down as the weather cools.

[Mike Nolan]

We had baked breaded fish and steamed broccoli tonight.

[Mike Nolan]

Made In has several stainless steel pans including a 12 inch frying pan and a 3 quart saucier that I've been eyeing, price looks good and their stuff is getting good reviews and endorsements from chefs I respect. I don't know if they've got one with a glass lid, but personally I prefer a metal lid. They also have non-stick pans, but I prefer stainless steel ones.

I've got two 10" Ikea stainless steel saute pans that are also very good and reasonably priced, but the nearest Ikea for us is in Kansas City.

[Mike Nolan]

I looked up the Angel Biscuits recipe that was posted in the Johnson & Wales bread symposium recipe file, it makes 200 biscuits!

Angel biscuits are sometimes called bride biscuits, because they're so easy that even an inexperienced cook like a bride can make them.

[Mike Nolan]

I haven't made carrot cake for a while, but I need to make another batch of carrot vinegar soon, and I'll run 10 pounds of carrots through my juicer to do it, use the juice for the carrot vinegar and use some of the pulp for carrot cake, freezing what I don't use up right away.

[Mike Nolan]

We're doing a lavash pizza tonight.

[Mike Nolan]

I see what may be two biscuit recipes from dvdlee, but they're pretty similar and neither appear to be angel biscuits, which are supposed to have both baking powder and yeast.

I do see one from Mrs. Cindy, and there's a 7-Up angel biscuit recipe, too, with discussion over whether it makes any difference if you use club soda or ginger ale.

There was a presentation on angel biscuits in the J&W symposium, but I was travelling that day and didn't see it.

You need to click on the 'advanced' button to get to the detailed search parameters.

[Mike Nolan]

Prepping the turducken was interesting, you fully debone the chicken and the duck and partially debone the turkey (not the legs or wings, but you remove the breastbone and back.) I prepped it on Christmas eve and we cooked it on Christmas, but several of us came down with some kind of cold or flu starting around noon on Christmas, while the turducken was in the oven, and we only picked at the turducken a bit.

Would I do it again? Probably not. I've done a deboned chicken a few times, it is fun to fill it with stuffing, roast it, and then slice it at the table, so each slice has white meat, dark meat and stuffing it it.

The stores sometimes have a turducken in the freezer section at the holidays but it is usually prepared Cajun style and that's too spicy for us.

[Mike Nolan]

Probably doesn't make much difference if they ever swam or flew, their bodies are still engineered for that.

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