Mike Nolan

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  • in reply to: What are you Baking the week of December 10th? #10292
    Mike Nolan
    Keymaster

      Decorating cakes is an art form, and not one I've mastered.

      in reply to: What are You Cooking the Week of December 17, 2017? #10280
      Mike Nolan
      Keymaster

        Does sound interesting. Am I correct that you mixed the filling with the shredded spaghetti squash then put it all back in the shell?

        The last several times we had spaghetti squash, I made marinara with meatballs.

        For the sauce I combined 1 can of Hunts traditional spaghetti sauce (which is garlic free) with a 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes. Heat to a boil.

        The meatballs were ground beef, bread soaked in milk, an egg and some spices (basil, marjoram, salt and pepper.) Form into balls and cook in the marinara for a half hour.

        I've never grown spaghetti squash, how many do you get from each plant?

        in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of December 17, 2017? #10279
        Mike Nolan
        Keymaster

          I've had days when I couldn't boil water without screwing something up, so I sympathize with you, chocomouse.

          in reply to: recipe addiction #10274
          Mike Nolan
          Keymaster

            Without knowing a lot more about the type of printer you have, whether it's in color or just black, what kind of paper stock you're using and the quantity you intend to print, I can't say what the cost per page is for your printer versus the cost at a copy shop.

            However, the chances are pretty good that the difference in cost per page compared to the cost at a copy shop is no more than few pennies per page. (After all, copy shops have to make a profit.) Multiply that by the number of copies you'll be making. Now figure out the cost to drive to the nearest copy shop (at 50 cents/mile.)

            in reply to: Peach Cobbler #10273
            Mike Nolan
            Keymaster

              Frozen peaches are available year round these days, and IMHO are usually better quality.

              Here's a site that shows traditional can numbers and their size:
              can sizes

              in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of December 17, 2017? #10270
              Mike Nolan
              Keymaster

                Here's a site that might help you type in German (or other languages): http://german.typeit.org/

                The Microsoft international keyboard doesn't appear to have the German ß.

                The Pfeffernüsse I remember from my grandmother's relatives (she was eastern Iowa German stock) was so hard you could chip a tooth on it!

                in reply to: recipe addiction #10267
                Mike Nolan
                Keymaster

                  The toner going out on your printer is just a good excuse to get another printer! (I've been looking at high res photo printers lately.)

                  I'm a tool/gadget junkie at least as much as I am a recipe/cookbook junkie.

                  My son just got a 3D printer, or at least that's what I think it is. I wouldn't know what to do with a 3D printer. (On the other hand, the high pressure water cake cutter they had at chocolate school is something I could have a lot of fun with, good thing it costs $100K.) And my wife has said a pretty definite NO to getting a tabletop sheet roller. But what I REALLY want is a blast chiller and an anti-griddle!

                  in reply to: recipe addiction #10256
                  Mike Nolan
                  Keymaster

                    Michael Ruhlman in his book "The Making of a Chef" mentions a dish with a variety of soft and hard vegetables in it, the challenge being to get them all done without overcooking some of them. I know when I make vegetable soup or a pot roast I have 3 or 4 points at which I add various ingredients so that some ingredients don't get cooked to mush.

                    Thanksgiving and Christmas are about the only times I try to do 2 or more dishes in the oven at the same time. A lot of our meals are 'one pot' dishes or at most with just one or two side dishes, and often one of those is raw, like a salad. I have taken to doing broccoli or hard boiled eggs with the standalone induction burner, but mostly because it is fast and easy to control.

                    in reply to: recipe addiction #10248
                    Mike Nolan
                    Keymaster

                      We have a file drawer full of recipes on 3x5 cards, plus 6 shelves of cookbooks and recipes in binders or magazine holders in the kitchen, plus another bookcase just around the corner that has several shelves of cookbooks (plus other books) and several shelves of cookbooks in the basement, too.

                      And I can think of a dozen or more cookbooks I'd still like to have.

                      The first step is admitting you have a problem.

                      in reply to: What are you Baking the week of December 10th? #10244
                      Mike Nolan
                      Keymaster

                        Today is my wife's birthday, so I made a 10x10 Texas Chocolate Sheet cake. (1/2 of the batter recipe but about 1 1/3 X the icing recipe, because it's better when the icing is thick.)

                        in reply to: What are you Cooking the week of December 10th? #10216
                        Mike Nolan
                        Keymaster

                          The cocoa butter in chocolate has six different crystal states, referred to as alpha-1 through alpha-6. Alpha-6 only forms after a long time, but alpha-1 through alpha-5 will form any time chocolate is heated and cooled. Properly tempered chocolate should mostly or only contain alpha-5 crystals. (Alpha-1 through alpha-4 have lower melting points than alpha-5.)

                          Streaks in a good chocolate is called 'blooming', which is when some of the cocoa butter loses the desired alpha-5 crystal state and produces a lighter color chocolate. (Cocoa butter itself is white.) This usually happens if the chocolate gets too warm or is not properly tempered. You can leave a chocolate bar in the sun and it'll get warm enough for the alpha-5 crystals to break down, resulting in a white layer on the outside.

                          A cheaper chocolate may have other things in it that can separate out.

                          Usually melting and properly tempering the chocolate again will get rid of the streaks. As long as you don't scorch chocolate, you can reheat it over and over.

                          The issue of whether almond bark should be randomly shaped pieces or more evenly shaped ones is largely a matter of personal preference. Scoring the chocolate as it cools is the best way to get it to break into more even pieces.

                          in reply to: Thanks 2 BakerAunt #10190
                          Mike Nolan
                          Keymaster

                            Check health food stores or places that sell spices in bulk, they usually have cream of tartar (aka tartaric acid) in bulk. Should be less than a dollar per ounce.

                            Bulkfoods.com has it in 1 pound packages for $8 or 5 pound packages for $25 (plus shipping), but those tiny containers are around $50 a pound!

                            in reply to: Never Turn Your Back on Softening Butter #10185
                            Mike Nolan
                            Keymaster

                              I'm guessing this is not a small dog. My experience with bigger dogs is they'll eat almost anything, even if it's not good for them. Cats will sample many things, but usually not go much beyond that. We once had a cat eat a large hunk of store-bought angel food cake, right through the plastic wrap.

                              in reply to: What are you Cooking the week of December 10th? #10174
                              Mike Nolan
                              Keymaster

                                Websites come and go, for a variety of reasons, so you can't always count on a website being available or having certain content for years.

                                Did you ask if it was OK to post their recipe here?

                                A friend makes a chicken salad with grapes and mandarin oranges, It's the best chicken salad I've had. (Recipe is already posted.)

                                in reply to: What are you Baking the week of December 10th? #10160
                                Mike Nolan
                                Keymaster

                                  Is there egg in the filling? If so, then it probably needed more egg yolk.

                                Viewing 15 posts - 6,151 through 6,165 (of 7,261 total)