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lcdm

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Everything posted by lcdm

  1. Wow a lot of great information. I remember when my husband and I started having dinner parties, my typical menu was: salad, chicken parm, pasta and garlic bread. Dessert was usually cheesecake or apple pie. A few things to think about when having a party: have a pre-designated place for guests to put their "stuff" (purse, coats) make sure the bathroom is clean, have extra toilet paper and clean towels available make guests feel welcome ... thank you for coming, let me take your coat, what can I get you to drink, introduce them to the other dinner guests
  2. You can start early and attend Nutley's St. Patrick's Day parade this Saturday (3/4), then do the pub crawl. The Franklin Steakhouse obtained a permit to serve outside.
  3. I also thought of candied nuts (maybe spicey ones for a contrast) or chocolate bark (with nuts & dried cranberries/apricots).
  4. Hmmm, really a good question. I think I'd proof in the warm water, and then chill.... He clearly wants to keep everything cold. I was leaning towards just throwing the yeast into the flour without proofing, but... you want to disolve the yeast due to the size of the grains... so I'll vote for proofing and chilling. ← I had the same problem. I proofed the yeast in a small amount of warm water and added to the rest of the ingredients (I think I used about a 1/3 cup of warm water + yeast). I didn't wait for the mixture to cool down, I figured it wouldn't elevate the overall temp too much. The bread came out fine, but I guess to truely know how it effects the outcome you would have to do a side by side experiment.
  5. Ciabatta literally means “slipper” in Italian, and the name refers to the shape of the bread—a flattened oval, kind of like a comfortable old bedroom slipper you just can’t bear to throw out. However, ciabatta has come to mean, at least in this country, any airy, dimpled loaf dusted with flour, of just about any shape. We like to remain true to the original spirit of the loaf, and shape it into a rough oval. Definition from here: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/stuff/conte...te-ciabatta.pdf
  6. We did that behind the range in our last house, one of our friends works with sheet metal he just cut a piece for behind our cooktop. Now I have a 30" metal back that is fitted for our range. Both clean up very well, but you can see all the little grease splatters/smudges.
  7. If the dough sticks to your hands and won't come off you have used too little . The use of flour (and a bench scraper) will help, I just use a little extra flour at a time until I can manage the dough. Sorry I can't give you an exact amount I just throw some on the counter, it really depends on the dough.
  8. lcdm

    Baking 101

    I am far from an expert but here's what I did: Proofed the yeast (mixed the required amount of yeast w/about 1/2 cup of warm water, I think the package say 115 degrees) after it was nice and frothy I made the recipe as written (but deducted 1/2 cup of the water from the original recipe. My house is also cold, I either increase the proofing time (look at the dough until it's doubled) or put in the microwave with a cup of hot water (increases the surrounding temp) or you could put it in the luandry room:).
  9. I have a 30" Kenmore and am very happy with it. ←
  10. Don't know if it's too far but Hudson County Community College (in Jersey City) offers continuing education culinary classes. They offer a certificate in baking as well as individual classes. http://www.hccc.edu/cgi-bin/main/dbsort.cg...D=coned_catalog
  11. Anything you'd do differently? Anything you're really glad you did? MelissaH ← I haven't had time to take a finished picture yet but here is the main part of the kitchen near the end of construction. I love everything about it, but there are some things I would do differently. We purchased a 10" depth sink, because it is undermount it's really like 11.5" so I have to slightly bend to reach the bottom of the sink, also I can't store a full size garbage can under the sink. I would have ordered a swatch for the counterstools before getting them, they are great but they don't exactly match. Use fluorescent instead of halogen under cabinet lighting, the halogens get pretty hot. I really did a lot of pre planning so I'm pretty happy. I am especially happy with the appliances, and the floor (we chose linoleum). The layout works really well and it's very functional.
  12. Kenmore has a 36 in range for about 2000.00 http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?...standing+Ranges
  13. Some of his breads use pre-ferments or some need an overnight stay in the frig. I usually do this step Friday night after I come home from work and complete on Saturday or Sunday when I have more time. Good luck and have fun.
  14. Melissa, how exciting for you. We just finished our renovation, we chose an Asko DW, it has an SS interior, is very quiet, has a short cycle time and uses less water than the average DW (it also has a 5yr warrenty). Before you decide on a DW go and check them out, you can even bring a few dishes or glasses to the showroom with you to see if your stuff fits. Other appliances we purchased: Kitchenaid 48" refrig/freezer DCS 36" Range Vent-a-hood 36" Kitchenaid 27" convection electric single wall oven Before we did the remodel this site was a God send http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums
  15. I agree, get the BBA; I made the Pain a l'Ancienne over the weekend and it was great. My husband and kids said it tasted like it came from the Italian Bakery. I still have to work on it a bit, but it was my best as of yet.
  16. lcdm

    Superbowl Food

    Pittsburgh has a large Polish population, so maybe some pierogies, stuffed cabbage and/or kielbasa.
  17. This is too funny, at first I thought 56 was the name of a restaurant. The Meadowlands sports area cards everyone also. I guess it's a CYA type of thing, but it is posted so you have that expectation when you are there. I have to agree that the waiter was very rude and could have gone about it differently.
  18. The King Arthur website has tons of recipes and even online tutorials. If you are just getting started may I suggest the White Bread 101 on the KA website: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/getrecipe.php?id=R419 or Toast and Sandwich bread also on the KA website: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/getrecipe.php?id=R402 These both make basic white loaf bread, the toast and sandwich bread recipe does not call for any special ingredients, just yeast, sugar, milk, salt, All-Purpose Flour and butter and the only equiptment you need is a loaf pan. Once you get this basic bread down you'll have the confidence to branch out and try other types. Edited to add: If you are like me and like to see or feel exactly what the bread is supposed to be like during each step you may want to look around and see if a local school (like an adult school program or community college) or a supermarket, has a bread baking class (many are just a day or two).
  19. lcdm

    Rice Pudding

    Thanks all I used etalanian's rice pudding recipe, but took others suggestions and for the initial cook I used 1/2 milk and 1/2 water (instead of all water). The rice was tender and it had the consistancy I was looking for. Thanks again, Lisa
  20. San Fabiano Chianti Putto 2003 Cantele Salice Salentino Riserva 2000 Mont Gras Carmenere Reserva 2004 Valckenberg Two Princes Riesling 2004
  21. lcdm

    Hard Core Grains

    Buckwheat pancakes are great.
  22. lcdm

    Rice Pudding

    Thanks for your help. I'll try a couple this weekend.
  23. lcdm

    Rice Pudding

    My daughter wanted rice pudding. I figured how hard could it be to make? Well I've tried it twice and both times I bombed. First time I made it I used this recipe: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/106089 don't know what I did wrong but the rice never got tender. Second time I used the rice pudding recipe from the gourmet cookbook (pre cook the rice). The rice was tender but the pudding was a gloppy disaster (although it tasted OK). I used Carolina long grain rice in the recipes. Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
  24. Everything sounds delicious. Depending on the presentation and your company, (my friends think it's fancy when I put spinach dip in a hollowed out loaf of bread), I'm sure you will still get a "how fancy" PS Maybe you could slip in the springrolls when she isn't looking.
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