Mike Nolan

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  • in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of June 4, 2023? #39440
    Mike Nolan
    Keymaster

      We had burgers on the grill, plus 4 bean salad.

      in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of June 4, 2023? #39439
      Mike Nolan
      Keymaster

        I made the strawberry glazed Texas sheet cake today (1/2 recipe), pictures in cake thread.

        in reply to: Vanilla Texas Sheet Cake with Strawberry Glaze #39436
        Mike Nolan
        Keymaster

          Cake before frosting:

          IMG_0497

          Cake after frosting:

          IMG_0498

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          in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of June 4, 2023? #39429
          Mike Nolan
          Keymaster

            At last weekend's family reunion, my wife's cousin brought a pasta salad with diced apples and pineapple in it. It was quite good, I'll suggest she ask for the recipe.

            in reply to: Vanilla Texas Sheet Cake with Strawberry Glaze #39423
            Mike Nolan
            Keymaster

              I think I'm going to make a half recipe of it in a 9x13 pan.

              in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of June 4, 2023? #39422
              Mike Nolan
              Keymaster

                We had salami and tomato sandwiches tonight, and 4 bean salad, which Costco has again.

                in reply to: Wheat prices continue to rise #39413
                Mike Nolan
                Keymaster

                  I don't know about the planting and fertilizing equipment, but I know wheat harvesters are very different from corn or bean harvesters.

                  It used to be that many wheat growers wouldn't own their harvesters, they'd contract for a team that roams around the region harvesting wheat fields, bringing multiple harvesters with them so they could do your fields quickly. I know one wheat farmer who referred to it as the 'Million Dollar Parade' because of the cost of those harvesters.

                  in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of June 4, 2023? #39402
                  Mike Nolan
                  Keymaster

                    BLTs are on the menu tonight.

                    in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of May 28, 2023? #39395
                    Mike Nolan
                    Keymaster

                      We had steak on the grill, plus baked potato, sauteed mushrooms and steamed broccoli.

                      in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of May 28, 2023? #39389
                      Mike Nolan
                      Keymaster

                        I have the flying sponge for semolina bread going and will make peanut butter cookies just before I bake the bread so I only have to heat up the oven once today.

                        in reply to: 2023 Garden Plans #39388
                        Mike Nolan
                        Keymaster

                          I think my 2 spaghetti squash plants didn't survive transplant, I'll have to see if I can find some at the farmer's market. I've got one more that finally germinated under the lights, but it only has one true leaf so far so I think I'll give it a little more time before I try transplanting it.

                          I'm trying to take a picture of the part of the garden that is our test plot for the Nebraska Urban Soil Improvement project, using the same viewpoint and angle and at the same time of day (early evening) then I'll see if I can stitch them together.

                          in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of May 28, 2023? #39385
                          Mike Nolan
                          Keymaster

                            I was originally planning something on the grill tonight, but there are storms in the area again this evening, so we'll figure out something to make indoors.

                            in reply to: Professional doing bagels by hand #39382
                            Mike Nolan
                            Keymaster

                              I tend to use the 'poke a hole in the middle' method, but my bagels are usually about 3 ounces of dough, the ones you'll get at a bagel shop will generally be somewhere between 4.5 and 6 ounces each, so the 'wrap around the hand' method works well, especially if your dough is as soft and developed as the ones in those videos. (Mine seldom is.)

                              I find boiling them for about 45 seconds then flipping them over and boiling them for another 45 seconds works best, but as the second video notes, the timing of each step varies from day to day, some days the dough has to rise longer, other days it needs to boil a little longer.

                              There was an interesting discussion in the Bread Bakers Guild forums a while back about whether or not bagels should be boiled in lye (or some other alkaline solution.) This is one of those areas where bakers get pretty passionate, the majority of the Guild members were very opposed to using lye, though I know of some NYC shops that use it. (Pretzels are another matter, using lye or baking soda when boiling them is pretty much universally approved.)

                              I did some testing, and when I used an alkaline solution, baking soda, the surface of the bagels got darker. I don't think it affected texture much.

                              What the boiling does is to gelatinize the starch on the surface, which changes the surface texture to add some shininess and a bit of a snap when you bite in. I think it may also help hold the toppings on.

                              in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of May 28, 2023? #39378
                              Mike Nolan
                              Keymaster

                                We went with a rotisserie chicken from Sams tonight, I'll make stock with the bones again.

                                in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of May 28, 2023? #39373
                                Mike Nolan
                                Keymaster

                                  We're having BLTs

                                Viewing 15 posts - 1,381 through 1,395 (of 7,461 total)