Roasting a chicken is extremely easy, though you can make it a lot more complex if you want. Sometimes I treat the inside of it like I would a larger bird, throw in some prunes that have been soaked in brandy or rum, some apple slices, lemon wedges and almonds. (James Beard recommended this inside a goose, but it works in chicken and turkey, too.) The drippings will make a wonderful gravy.
Sides, well, that's a matter of what you like. But that's a subject for another day and thread.
I've been reading about baking this week more than baking, specifically "The Art of French Pastry", by Jacquy Pfeiffer, co-founder of The French Pastry School in Chicago. Next week I'm probably going to spend a day (or maybe two) practicing with choux paste.
I don't roast a whole chicken very often, most of the time I'll do two bone-in breasts, or sometimes leg quarters or thighs, depending on what's on sale and what looks good.
The last time I had a whole chicken it was one of those 7 pound monsters, so I chopped it in half and roasted half after liberally dosing it with herbs, especially rosemary, then made chicken stock with the other half and turned that into chicken noodle soup.
In the summertime, if I do a chicken I'll often do it outdoors on the rotisserie.
I have sometimes roasted a chicken on a bed of onions, I think they add flavor to the meat. I usually do it at 425 then.
For lunch today I roasted a turkey breast fillet and then sliced it up for sandwiches, this should last me 3-4 days. For supper I did a stir fry with some sirloin steak, after cutting off a 10 ounce piece, which we'll probably have on Monday. (Tomorrow I'm doing a beef tri-tip roast.)
Moomies makes a good burger bun, but I think it isn't soft enough for a hot dog bun. I wish I could get Chicago-style hot dog buns (with poppy seeds) locally, though the KAF recipe is pretty close. (I can't get Vienna all beef hot dogs here, either.)
Sounds like you had a happy birthday, Joan.
Which hot dog bun recipe did you use?
I"m not sure what 'USDA Approved' means.
The beef grades you are likely to see in the store are (in decreasing order), per the USDA
(see USDA link):
Prime
Choice
Select
Standard
Commercial
Prime has the most marbling, but I actually prefer Choice.
Meat that is not labeled for grade is most likely Standard, sometimes Commercial.
Utility, Cutter and Canner grades are the other 3 grades for human consumption, but you're not likely to see them in any stores. Ground beef and processed meats (sausages) may include meat from those grades.
After all the fuss a couple years ago about Lean Fine Textured Beef or Boneless Lean Beef Trimmings (aka 'pink slime'), you may still see them in some ground beef. If it says 'from trim', I'm not sure if that means BLBT, you might want to ask.
Got the banana mini-muffins made tonight, 120 of them. That ought to keep my wife in muffins for a few days.
Gelatining the starch is what makes the TangZhong technique work, so I can see how it might impact rye bread.
I'm making Chicken Mirepoix tonight. I added a little orange bell pepper.
Some days my doughs seem easier to slash than others, not sure why.
Stale rye bread is often used when making rye bread, I've tried it a few times, I'm not sure exactly what it accomplishes.
It's still something of a 'cheat' because it's using a dark substance (or in this case, two of them) to color the bread rather than baking it until it naturally turns darker.
I don't think I've seen that technique before.
I've seen a pastry cross done a few times, never tried it myself, let us know what works best. I've always wondered if they were stenciled on.
I'm thinking this year I may use the pastry glaze on them and then pipe on the crosses. The glaze should keep them from drying out so much. (The whole wheat ones dry out quickly.)
