Smithy

I'd forgotten about Wayfair, though I should have remembered because my darling and I bought an item or two from them. We had a few laughs assembling the furniture after it arrived, but were quite happy with the products. Thanks for that reminder. There are some nice-looking options in there.

Followup: actually, these hearts and gizzards (no liver in this batch) have an odd aftertaste that's gotten more unpleasant as I've eaten. I don't know whether it's something in the marinade or something essential to the organs themselves. I can see a case for the fine chopping and soaking suggested in some of the other recipes. A good rinse, even, to get rid of a grittiness in the gizzards. Thoughts, anyone?

Some good ideas here! I opted for a more-or-less yakatori style this time, loosely based on this NYTimes recipe. I say "loosely" because my marinade was simpler; I didn't have all the ingredients they listed. Soy sauce, mirin, brown sugar, lemon, ginger, garlic. I had nothing resembling sake or even sherry. Note: do not try substituting brandy! That batch of marinade went down the drain. Marinating while I did other things: Skewered (with the sacrificial blood -- those gizzards are tough, and my skewers skewered me once too) Finished, after just a little grilling: I won't show you plated, because it's boring: meat and peppers. It needs rice, and I couldn't be bothered. A salad would have been good, but I had that earlier. Oddly enough, I like the gizzards better than the hearts. When my mother fried chicken bits, hearts were my favorite. Have my tastes changed, or is this not a good treatment for the hearts? I'll have to experiment with it. Speaking of experimentation, I appreciate all the other ideas and am glad I have another container of these things to play with for some of the other recipes. I'll make sure my friend knows to keep saving these for me. Thanks, folks! Keep the ideas coming!

@Maison Rustique is being pretty quiet about these photos, and we don't know her budget. I fear, however, that "relatively inexpensive" may preclude these beautiful works. Then it comes down to getting a "relatively inexpensive" rolling cart that will fit the space and the budget, then put a cutting board atop it. Have I got that right, @Maison Rustique? In that case you might even be able to find a suitable candidate at Home Depot or a similar local store.

There are some nice-looking islands in there. I still have the drop-leaf butcher block rolling cart I used as an island, way back before we remodeled our kitchen and put in a full island. However, the manufacturer of my cart seems to be out of business now.

Oh, I understand that. I just have no idea where I'd find maltitol syrup, and right now I'm on a "use stuff on hand" kick that may not last long. As you note, honey is also a possibility. This NYTimes recipe for energy bars looks like it might be a good starting point, based strictly on appearance. The recipe should be unlocked.

*mega-bump* I have 2 pints of chicken giblets, collected by a friend who saves them but whose wife won't touch them. I've finally gotten round to thawing one of the containers, and now I'm wondering what to do with them. I love fried chicken hearts...but am not likely to fry anything, any time soon. Up here @ChefCrash mentions chopping the gizzards finely, sauteeing with oil and butter, then braising in their own liquid until they're tender. That has some promise. Another idea is to stir-fry some or all of the giblets, along with some red bell pepper, onion and broccoli. But with what sort of sauce? What should I do with this stuff, now that I've committed to cooking it? I'm reasonably sure that a sheet pan roast in the oven is the wrong way to go. I'm also reasonably sure that I won't go to the trouble right now of wrapping the firmer giblets (hearts and gizzards) in bacon and then grilling them. Maybe next time around, with the second pint. Ideas, please.

Cabbage rolls are a real labor of love, even more so than meatballs. I applaud you, @Ann_T!

My neighbor, who runs a small backyard farm and sells at the local farmers' market, went camping for the weekend. Her raspberries are coming ripe, and she graciously invited me and another neighbor to come pick the ripe ones rather than letting them fall to the ground. The other neighbor was busy, so I picked 2 buckets' worth -- one for me and one for her. They aren't as sweet or tart as I'd expected. Is my sense of taste going off? Maybe, since I've been battling a cold and a general loss of appetite. But...today, I tested my own backyard's wild rasberries. There's no comparison. I'm torn between selfish relief that it isn't me, and sorrow that my neighbor's farmed berries just aren't good this year. I don't plan to tell her.

I'm no longer a big sweets person, but this looks really good to me. I should look around for recipes along these lines. I don't suppose you have one handy? (I also don't have access to maltitol syrup, with or without the formal chemical name you so hilariously provide) but I have a lot of honey and maple syrup.)

That's one of the funnier labels I've read in a while! 😀 Too bad it's only "not bad". It looks great in the photos.

I'm with @Shelby so far: happy to live vicariously for the moment. Still, this is looking mighty good. Please keep the info coming.

Well, they look convincing in the photo!

I had a bamboo cutting board and thought it was fine, although I didn't like it as well as my other boards and gave it away. (I think it was the dimensions that I didn't like.) What do you see as its shortcomings? And what's the rosewood like?

I'd never heard of rubberwood until this post of yours, so I can't say anything from experience. Based on my quick reading, it looks as though you'll need to be diligent with the maintenance in order to prevent it from warping. For what it's worth, I find that to be true even with my maple Boos Board...and, I confess, I always put a protective cutting board atop my Boos Board to protect its surface! 😁

There are some amazing colors in the photos above, @liuzhou. I'm used to seeing reds, oranges and yellows on mushrooms, but I don't recall ever seeing the blues and greens -- at least, not without some putrefaction. I especially like the teal tones in the first photo of the post above.

Gazpacho is another idea for those overripe tomatoes. Refreshing, filling, cool / cold.

I postulate that that's the range of "low boil" as opposed to "full boil" or "rolling boil". I admit that so far I haven't found anything to support that terminology. However, Shirley Corriher in Cookwise notes that grain starches thicken at "just below the boiling point of water; can be held at this temperature without damage" (p. 275, First Edition, 1997) whereas root starches thicken at lower temperatures. The exact temperature depends on the exact starch, of course. My point here is that "just below the boiling point" may be that ill-defined 7-degree range.

This is true, but bubbles start to develop at lower temperatures. "Simmer" covers a much wider range of temperatures than I'd thought back then, and the observed, for-practical-cooking-purposes boil happens at slightly less than 100C. In addition, the viscosity affects boiling point when it isn't pure water.

Can the chicken be removed from the sauce? If so, I'd try whisking it to see if that improves the texture. If not, I think I'd go with the pastry topping...or else, serve the whole thing over cooked rice, so nobody can see the texture. 😉

Yes. The qualitative summation is here: Somewhere back then we had a discussion about what temperatures would correlate to that activity, but it depends on the liquid involved as well as altitude. (At the time, we were discussing the temperatures for simmering vs. boiling at something like 5,000' MSL.) If I find an authoritative source on the activation temperatures for the starches in question I'll post it here, unless someone else gets to it first.

Welcome! You'll find a lot of friendly and helpful people here. If you have any questions about using the forums, feel free to contact a staff member (I'm one) by the PM (Personal Messaging) system. Tell us a little more about yourself. Do you cook only for yourself, or for a family? What sort of baking have you started? My own baking odyssey began with cakes and cookies and is now more about bread...but compared to the most active bakers on these forums, I don't know much. 😀

I'd leave it out on the counter for the afternoon, or overnight if necessary, to thaw. Then I'd put it in the refrigerator. In my household, at least, it will thaw but still be cool if left out overnight. If bacterial growth is a concern for you then the sink trick would work, or rotuts' suggestion for the microwave thawing.

Yes, this is an old topic. I remember thinking I had to try salt cod, and specifically salt cod brandade, back when the topic was new. I still haven't. Thanks to this article I'm thinking again that I should, sometime in the next year. Whether you want to try salt cod or not, read the article: Les Marseillaises (or, you're soaking in it) by Michael Procopio. It's given me a lot of laughs today!

I agree on all your points. Right now I'm excessively well stocked on those sorts of items, but eventually the Amazon 3rd party price gouging may be my only option. That's a while off, but it's nice to think I may have options when the time comes.