Mike Nolan

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  • in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of March 26, 2017? #7126
    Mike Nolan
    Keymaster

      I made a Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake on Saturday.

      in reply to: What are You Cooking the Week of March 26, 2017? #7124
      Mike Nolan
      Keymaster

        I use funnels for tasks like pouring into your ice cream maker.

        I've got one of those ice cream makers where the outside of the container is a gel-filled freezer pack, I've gotten some good ices and sherbets from it, but I don't think it's got enough freezing power for a cream-based mix, even though our big freezer is set for 10 below, so the cold pack gets plenty cold.

        I don't think my wife will let me spend money on a real ice cream machine, though. S'OK, the farmers market season starts later this month, and the gelato stand there is better than anything I could make anyway. And Freddy's has pretty good frozen custard, in addition to the best french fries in town.

        in reply to: Now THIS is a Deep Dish Apple Pie #7120
        Mike Nolan
        Keymaster

          The thing is ten inches tall, I'm not sure it'd fit in most ovens.

          in reply to: What are You Cooking the Week of March 26, 2017? #7119
          Mike Nolan
          Keymaster

            Cass, then you'd really hate Chef Joel Robuchon's puree de pomme, because it's really heavy on the butter, about 2 parts potato to one part butter.

            I don't like either olive oil or garlic in mashed potatoes, and garlic mashed potatoes has become a restaurant staple. But these days too many restaurants will put garlic in anything, even oatmeal!

            I've tried making buttermilk mashed potatoes a few times, somehow it always comes out weird.

            in reply to: Moved: Reply To: Braiding challahs #7101
            Mike Nolan
            Keymaster

              I suspect that there are many minor variations on the 6 strand pattern and each baker might have his own signature look. The loaves might all look similar to us, but the bakery staff can probably glance at a loaf and know who shaped it.

              in reply to: Wheat planting down in Nebraska and in USA #7100
              Mike Nolan
              Keymaster

                Commercial farming is a volume business. It takes a lot less effort per plant when you've got many thousands of plants.

                A farmer with 1000 acres of corn (a pretty big farm) might get 140 bushels of corn per acre, or 140,000 bushels from his fields. At $3.00 a bushel that's $420,000. Now, of course that's not profit, you have to subtract out the cost of seed, fertilizer, herbicide, insecticide, fuel, vehicle costs, any hired labor, property taxes and so forth.

                in reply to: Moved: Reply To: Braiding challahs #7091
                Mike Nolan
                Keymaster

                  The 2nd method of doing a six strand braid on this site looks promising:
                  http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-braid-challah-6-strand-method/?ALLSTEPS

                  in reply to: Moved: Reply To: Braiding challahs #7090
                  Mike Nolan
                  Keymaster

                    I have 'Secrets of a Jewish Baker' on order now, should be here early next week.

                    Does Amazon Prime have a way to slow the video down for that scene? That's not something I've tried to do yet.

                    Do we have any members in Houston? That's where the bakery/deli featured in the documentary is located, I wonder if they'd be willing to explain that braiding technique to someone who came in and asked?

                    in reply to: Moved: Reply To: Braiding challahs #7088
                    Mike Nolan
                    Keymaster

                      That's one of those books that I don't own yet. There are lots of places to see 6 strand braids, there appear to be several variants.

                      in reply to: Mayonnaise #7085
                      Mike Nolan
                      Keymaster

                        With a stick blender it takes about 15 seconds to make 2 cups of mayo, hard to beat that for speed. I've done it in a blender and in the food processor, but I think the stick blender makes less of a mess because you do it right in the container you're going to store it in. Rinse off the stick blender and you're done!

                        But whichever method you use, the taste taste still beats the daylights out of commercial mayo.

                        Welcome to My Nebraska Kitchen, Molly.

                        in reply to: Moved: Reply To: Braiding challahs #7084
                        Mike Nolan
                        Keymaster

                          OK, I've watched the braiding sequence 3 times now (about 1:30:00 into the movie), it isn't really a 3 strand braid, it's a 6 strand braid starting with 3 strands that are rolled thin in the center and joined together to form one end of the loaf.

                          The real secret is the dough, dough like that is always the secret.

                          I've got 6 pieces of macrame yarn (in 6 different colors) that I use for practice braiding, I think with a bit of study and practice I might be able to do that braid. (Watching the baker do that braid was like watching a surgeon or a symphony conductor at work.)

                          And after watching Deli Man, boy do I want a good corned beef or pastrami sandwich! The nearest good deli is probably 400 miles away, though.

                          in reply to: Moved: Reply To: Braiding challahs #7081
                          Mike Nolan
                          Keymaster

                            I googled the topic as well, the 3-strand braiding topics I found all seemed to use the standard braiding method. I haven't had a chance to watch the movie yet.

                            in reply to: Moved: Reply To: Braiding challahs #7074
                            Mike Nolan
                            Keymaster

                              I may have to watch that movie to see the braid, it sounds interesting anyway, we used to live near one of the best deli's in Chicago, and they had something like 20 kinds of lox!

                              When I was going to New York on a regular basis (for work), I'd visit places like the Carnegie Deli (which I think has now closed), the Roxy (near Times Square) and of course Katz's, the deli made famous in "When Harry Met Sally". But some of the best deli's were the little neighborhood places.

                              Followup: Amazon Prime says it's not available at the moment, looks like a bandwidth issue! I'll try again later tonight.

                              in reply to: What are You Cooking the Week of March 26, 2017? #7060
                              Mike Nolan
                              Keymaster

                                Tonight I'm making my black bean and mushroom meatloaf.

                                in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of March 26, 2017? #7059
                                Mike Nolan
                                Keymaster

                                  My mother used to make peach cobbler with canned peaches and Bisquik, and it was delicious.

                                  Fresh peaches are usually better, and frozen peaches are generally better than canned, too.

                                Viewing 15 posts - 6,976 through 6,990 (of 7,560 total)