Forum Replies Created
-
AuthorPosts
-
The Emerald Ash Borer has been spotted in Lincoln, and we're wondering how long our two ash trees will last. The city has started taking out several thousand ash trees in parks and street right of way. We planted 2 chestnut trees in the front yard this fall that we're hoping will take their place eventually.
November 13, 2019 at 6:33 pm in reply to: What are you Cooking the week of November 10, 2019? #19234It was in the mid 40s here today, and heading for the 50's over the weekend.
As an interesting aside, I get emails from a company that sells knife sharpening supplies, they say that the evidence is that end grain butcher block is actually harder on knives than the usual (and cheaper) edge grain.
Most of our lower cabinets have two shelves in them that are on rollers so we can access them fully. They're 30 inches deep rather than the standard 24 inches, so they hold bigger things. We do have one specifically for baking sheets (it doesn't have shelves with rollers), with two levels, one for big pans (it'll hold our 3/4 sheet pans) and I added an upper shelf for smaller ones. We had a corner cabinet that originally had bins for recycling, but I replaced it with a lazy susan, and that's also where a few large things go, like a full sized sheet pan and a wooden meat carving board.
Ellen's recipe is one that will work with a lot of variants. I like to make it with a little whole wheat or rye flour in it.
November 12, 2019 at 11:32 pm in reply to: What are you Baking the week of November 10, 2019? #19217I think one key with the pumpkin shaped breads is not to tie the strings tight, and then don't let the dough rise much afterwards, the oven spring will be enough to give them the right shape.
I'm probably going to do another batch of them over the weekend, the first batch weren't picture perfect but looked enough like pumpkins to be worth trying a second time, with a tastier dough. I think the stem is necessary for them to look right.
The braided loaves look great!
Candymakers have been pouring hot sugar solution on marble surfaces for over a century, marble is fine in a kitchen, you just have to get the right kind and make sure it is thick enough.
In all honesty, the bigger problem is that marble stains easily and you can't use strong acids on it, it'll etch.
We went with blue pearl granite countertops, and haven't had any problems with them in over 20 years, except where a plumber tried to pull himself up by holding on to the granite edge by the sink and cracked it.
We also have a 30x48 marble top that I've poured many a hot candy on.
We missed the bulk of the storm here, though we got a dusting of snow. Tonight it's supposed to get down to single-digits and the wind chill is already below zero.
I'd use the pan grease (equal parts by weight of flour, oil and crisco) and a small pastry brush to make sure you get the pan fully greased.
Alternatively, use oil and paper towels.
November 10, 2019 at 10:15 pm in reply to: What are you Baking the week of November 10, 2019? #19172Dental floss might be too thin, and it would probably have to be the unwaxed kind to absorb any of the oil. I've seen some lighter weight kitchen string in stores, but most of what I use string for is for heavy-duty work, like trussing a chicken or turkey.
Some of the twines out there aren't marked as food-safe, and the colored ones might color the bread.
Back when we were living in Evanston in the 70's, the bakery on Main Street had a machine that would tie strings around their boxes. It was a lighter weight string than any of the baker's or butcher's twine I can find online.
If you're using a dough that has a fat or oil in the recipe, I think I'd recommend using it for the strings, too. That's why I plan to try it with butter.
November 10, 2019 at 9:19 pm in reply to: What are you Cooking the week of November 10, 2019? #19169Semolina pasta seems to work well with my wife's diabetes, she doesn't have huge peaks and valleys in her overnight blood sugar readings when we have pasta.
It wasn't so much the noodles (I would have made spaetzle to go with the Veal Zurich) but the fact that it'd be a similar dish, a cream sauce with mushrooms.
I went with the black bean meatloaf for tonight, I'll make the Veal Zurich in a few days.
Here are some comments on the pumpkin-shaped dinner rolls recipe.
I made the pumpkin-shaped rolls today, it's a recipe that needs practicing, I'll probably make it at least once more before Thanksgiving. I'm going to freeze some from this batch to see if they can be made ahead of time and frozen
Be sure to make your strings long enough, several of mine were a little too short. That made them hard to tie loosely, so they got on too tight, which made them hard to cut and pull off. I wish I had some thinner string to see if it made things easier.
The recipe has you soak the strings in vegetable oil. I used corn oil, which I think is a bit too strong, I can smell it on the bread. Canola would probably be more neutral, but I think I'll try soaking them in some clarified butter next time, that way if it adds any flavor it will be that of butter.
The bread recipe itself is a bit disappointing, it is on the bland side. I don't think the bread dough recipe is critical, the technique should work with nearly any soft dinner roll recipe. I plan to try a more flavorful recipe next time, maybe a Parker House recipe, or one with some whole wheat or rye flour to give it more flavor.
I'm not sure there's an easy way to make them orange in color. Maybe some annato (which I don't have.) I could add some cheddar cheese powder, I suppose.
I made the stems way too big, next time I'll make them about half as big, and maybe a bit longer. Too bad there's no easy way to 'glue' them into the roll. If they were a lot longer I could try poking them in rather than trying to dig out a hole with a knife.
My wife thinks each roll is a bit large, they were 2 ounces each. I may try making smaller ones next time. I'd estimate these at around 30 carbs each.
They were cute enough that I'll try the technique again, as these would be fun to include in the Thanksgiving breads.
Sounds interesting. Sugar when heated produces hundreds of compounds, so I can see how this might ramp up the flavor profile a lot.
-
AuthorPosts
