Mike Nolan

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Viewing 15 posts - 886 through 900 (of 7,491 total)
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  • in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of January 14, 2024? #41574
    Mike Nolan
    Keymaster

      I'm finishing the batch of apple butter I started yesterday, cooking it down a bit to thicken it after adding the vanilla.

      Might have some on some toast, a spoonful of it tasted pretty good, though.

      in reply to: Pumpernickel Sandwich Bread #41569
      Mike Nolan
      Keymaster

        Here's a recipe for pickle brine:

        https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/pickle-brine

        Adding some dill might make it better for rye bread, and maybe some mustard seed.

        My mother always put a lump of alum in a jar of dill pickles, but if you're not actually making pickles that's probably not necessary.

        in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of January 7, 2024? #41566
        Mike Nolan
        Keymaster

          Winesaps are what I made the first batch of apple butter from two months ago, I think they're a great cooking apple. The wine professor at UNL also taught fruits, and he says Cortland is even better, and is an all-purpose apple. Finding them in the stores is another matter, though.

          in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of January 7, 2024? #41563
          Mike Nolan
          Keymaster

            I had about 20 winesap apples left and they were getting a little soft for pies, so I'm making another batch of apple butter. It just filled the slow cooker.

            in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of January 7, 2024? #41562
            Mike Nolan
            Keymaster

              Happy birthday, I hope you can reschedule your celebration. A friend of ours had his birthday in December but was working double shifts at the railroad repair shop at the time, so they just had it last night.

              in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of January 7, 2024? #41560
              Mike Nolan
              Keymaster

                I don't think I've ever tried to braid a rye dough, but when I do the marbled rye bread I shape several rectangles, stack them in alternating colors and roll it up, and that seems to work well.

                in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of January 7, 2024? #41551
                Mike Nolan
                Keymaster

                  The Swiss steak was very good, and we had it with mashed potatoes.

                  in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of January 7, 2024? #41547
                  Mike Nolan
                  Keymaster

                    A couple of years ago I made my wife's mother's Swiss steak recipe, today I'm doing my own take on that recipe from my notes, more onions, adding some beef stock, carrots and celery. I did the browning and sauteeing on the stove top but I'm doing the slow cooking in the oven in my dutch oven.

                    The cold weather is here, a high of about 7 today with sub-zero lows and a few sub-zero highs for most of the next 4 days. Snow expected to stop in the next few hours, but we've probably gotten 6 inches since yesterday afternoon.

                    in reply to: 2024 Gardening #41543
                    Mike Nolan
                    Keymaster

                      That's a good one, BA.

                      in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of January 7, 2024? #41540
                      Mike Nolan
                      Keymaster

                        We had baked pork chops with orange juice, brown sugar, mustard powder, salt and pepper. Yummy and a keeper recipe. These were bone-in, next time I'll probably try boneless chops.

                        We also had salad with artichoke hearts and olives.

                        https://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/2306/Orange-Baked-Pork-Chops108257.shtml

                        in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of January 7, 2024? #41535
                        Mike Nolan
                        Keymaster

                          When I make marbled rye bread, I use Peter Reinhart's recipe in BBA, but I change it to 41% medium rye flour vs 30% white rye in the book. Above that and I find the dough doesn't rise as well.

                          in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of January 7, 2024? #41530
                          Mike Nolan
                          Keymaster

                            We had leftovers as we watch the Washington-Michigan game.

                            in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of January 7, 2024? #41527
                            Mike Nolan
                            Keymaster

                              I'm making semolina bread today, letting the bulk rise go longer than normal because it is cool in the kitchen, as it has been snowing since around 8AM after some freezing rain. We could wind up with as much as 10 inches of snow from this storm, but unless the temperature drops (as forecast) the snow may melt quickly.

                              in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of December 31, 2023? #41515
                              Mike Nolan
                              Keymaster

                                We had Diane's postponed birthday dinner tonight, Veal Zurich, using some of the veal cutlets I got in Omaha last Friday.

                                Very good, but the cream sauce was a little too thick. I should have added more veal stock at the end, or used a bit less cornstarch.

                                I tried to make rosti, the Swiss take on hash browns and the classic accompaniment to Veal Zurich, they didn't hold together, not sure if that was not having the potatoes shredded finely enough (I used a mandoline with a julienne blade) or not enough butter, or just not enough practice. We decided we like it better on spaetzle or toast, anyway.

                                in reply to: Interesting Article on Wild Nuts #41499
                                Mike Nolan
                                Keymaster

                                  We have an oak tree on our lot that was there when we built the house in 1996. I don't recall it having ever produced many acorns, though. The arborists we've used have never agreed on what type of oak it is, the most common identification is chinkapin.

                                  We planted two chestnut trees in the front yard a few years, they haven't started producing nuts yet, though I've seen catkins in the spring twice. (One of them is not doing as well, and it takes two healthy trees to cross-pollinate and produce nuts, I may wind up replacing that tree.)

                                Viewing 15 posts - 886 through 900 (of 7,491 total)