Mike Nolan

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  • in reply to: What are you cooking the week of August 11, 2019? #17670
    Mike Nolan
    Keymaster

      We had tomato and salami sandwiches.

      in reply to: What are you cooking the week of August 11, 2019? #17668
      Mike Nolan
      Keymaster

        Green, kidney, garbanzo (though the label calls them ceci), pinto and wax.

        in reply to: Baking Powder Substitute & Salt ? #17665
        Mike Nolan
        Keymaster

          Baking soda is a base, cream of tartar is an acid, the liquid in the recipe is enough to activate them.

          However, what you wind up with is a single acting baking soda, so work quickly, because it doesn't have a second heat-activated leavening in it.

          in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of August 11, 2019? #17664
          Mike Nolan
          Keymaster

            I thought the KA spiral was only available on the 6 quart model.

            I've used a spiral on a commercial mixer (20 quarts, I think), it seemed to work faster.

            in reply to: Bake-a-Bowl pan? #17652
            Mike Nolan
            Keymaster

              I was putting in an Amazon order anyway, so I added that pan. (I found a Microplane nutmeg grinder that may be the replacement for the grate-n-shake, the Microplane 48060 Manual Spice Mill.)

              in reply to: What are you cooking the week of August 11, 2019? #17651
              Mike Nolan
              Keymaster

                What's your recipe? My wife has tried to make four bean salad a few times, somehow it never comes out quite as good as the 5 bean salad at Sams. I've seen the same brand at Costco.

                My wife thinks one we buy has too many garbanzo beans and onions and not enough kidney beans. It also has a bit too much sugar, but we always rinse it off anyway.

                in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of August 11, 2019? #17650
                Mike Nolan
                Keymaster

                  It's fairly typical for rye breads to start out looking like there's too much water in the dough, rye flour apparently is slower to hydrate than wheat flour. The trick is not to over-knead while the hydration takes place, as rye flour will turn gummy and when that happens its hard to get it back to a good dough texture without adding more flour and then, probably, more water.

                  in reply to: What are you cooking the week of August 11, 2019? #17648
                  Mike Nolan
                  Keymaster

                    The problem is that white striping is sometimes accompanied by internal areas that are mostly fiber or tendon, so they're inedible. They're apparently both a side-effect of the increased size of the birds. I think the fibers are present in the smaller birds but they're so slender that you don't notice them. These you will definitely notice, they're like chewing on a rubber band.

                    Restaurants don't like white striping because customers are more prone to send the food back.

                    I've seen them in turkey breasts, too. When I make turkey tenders, I often have to carve around them.

                    in reply to: Bake-a-Bowl pan? #17646
                    Mike Nolan
                    Keymaster

                      Len, who'd you order it from?

                      in reply to: What are you cooking the week of August 11, 2019? #17640
                      Mike Nolan
                      Keymaster

                        I won't buy chicken breasts if they look gargantuan. In fact, lately I've been more inclined to buy a smaller (3.5 to 4 pound) whole chicken and cut it up. I only buy the bigger ones if I'm making stock and want to make soup or chicken salad from the boiled chicken. I could eat chicken 4-5 times a week but my wife gets tired of it if I have it more than 2 or 3 times a month.

                        Tonight we had BLT's.

                        in reply to: Daily Quiz for August 14, 2019 #17638
                        Mike Nolan
                        Keymaster

                          I use nutmeg in cheese souffle and in spaetzle. It used to be commonly used in beef dishes, but I guess that's considered 'old-fashioned' these days.

                          in reply to: Daily Quiz for August 14, 2019 #17630
                          Mike Nolan
                          Keymaster

                            Grinding a nutmeg is more challenging than grinding salt, pepper or seeds, mostly because the nutmeg has to be pressed into the grinding element. That's why graters tend to work better.

                            We've got one that pushes the nutmeg into the grating grid with a spring, but the cap keeps coming off and I've never thought it worked very well even when the cap stayed on.

                            I've read a lot of review of nutmeg grinders and graters in the past few days, nobody sees to like the inexpensive half round ones (Norpro and others). The ones that look more like a pepper mill appear to have problems grinding the entire nutmeg. A hand-held grater tends to work better, but other than the now-discontinued grate-n-shake I haven't found one I liked. (I have tried the small microplane stick ones, I found them clumsy to use and hard to clean.)

                            in reply to: Daily Quiz for August 14, 2019 #17625
                            Mike Nolan
                            Keymaster

                              Do you buy pre-grated nutmeg? Many chefs believe freshly ground nutmeg is more flavorful.

                              Microplane has discontinued the Grate-N-Shake nutmeg grinder (the one that is shaped somewhat like an egg), I've been reading reviews for other nutmeg grinders but haven't found one I'm ready to order yet. My Grate-N-Shake developed some cracks when it got dropped on the floor and while it still works I'm afraid it won't last a lot longer. (I suspect problems with it breaking are why Microplane discontinued it. I can find one online in Germany, but the shipping fees are outrageous. Maybe some off-the-beaten-path cooking store might still have one, but I've checked the local stores.)

                              It appears OXO may have made a similar grinder but it too appears to have been discontinued.

                              in reply to: Daily Quiz for August 13, 2019 #17608
                              Mike Nolan
                              Keymaster

                                I think yellow peas have pretty much the same nutritional profile as green peas.

                                As noted in the explanation, it makes no difference if the peas are fresh or dried (eg, split peas), they are still a high-starch vegetable.

                                That doesn't mean you shouldn't eat them, but they are included in starches, like potatoes, which should be limited. (One source says you should limit starchy vegetable to five cups per week.)

                                Most people don't eat as much vegetables as they should, but that's a subject for another quiz. πŸ™‚

                                in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of August 11, 2019? #17601
                                Mike Nolan
                                Keymaster

                                  You made so many changes, I'm not sure you've given the original recipe much of a test. πŸ™‚

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