Smithy

OK, I'm going to have to try bread in the CSO as opposed to the cast iron Dutch Oven in my main oven. That's a wonderful rise!

The picture of the finished cracker is attractive. I had never heard of coix seed before. Can you describe the taste? Did you like the crackers?

That's how I wiped out my Royal food processor. Don't remember where I'd gotten it -- Sears? -- but it had lasted me for many years and had been within (a very tight) budget...and then I tried to use it on Parmesan cheese. Cracked the spindle. No replacements possible. It was years afterward before I could afford a decent food processor, since Royal had disappeared. I'm still leery of shredding hard cheeses in my Cuisinart. I suspect that frozen cookie dough would be difficult for the various reasons given above, but I've stayed out of the discussion because I've never tried it.

Right you are, and here it is, ready for more participants and inspiration! eG Cook-Off #72: Ramen

Nice job, Chris. I admire your video-making skills as well as apparent ease in front of the camera. (I was once told that I turned into a drill sergeant when the camera was rolling. ) Your explanations are clear, and there are amusing touches. The recipe looks good, too. Have you gotten much local reaction from your customer base?

My copy arrived today.

*Bump* I ran across an article from Serious Eats today, discussing whether the type of flour used to make sourdough starter makes a difference. (TL;DR version: not in the long run although perfectionists may wish to make adjustments to recipes depending on the flour involved.) This topic could use a boost, because of an especially good discussion some years back. I'm now boosting it. Serious Eats article: The Best Flour for Sourdough Starters: An Investigation.

Does this mean you have 2-way communication with your shopper?

This particular ramp butter is so hard in the refrigerator that I doubt it will soften or go off any time soon. It's about half "European Style" (very high butterfat) and maybe that matters for pulling water out of the ramps. That said, maybe I'll set some aside for the freezer to see if it makes a difference in longevity. TicTac's cautionary notes are appreciated.

I believe @Shelby has done the double-temperature fries more than once. Maybe she'll weigh in on the method.

Right up to the point that you want to type it for a shout-out!

Congratulations on your results! As to your question: I'd say yes to putting the skin into whatever the fat and bone go into. It could be stock. It could be beans, or bean soup. Or a mess of greens, like collard greens. Heck, potatoes might even benefit from that flavoring.

If you're really determined to get uniformly pressed burgers to the thickness you specify, you could do worse than to buy this adjustable Bellemain Burger Press. I thought it a rather silly idea, but my other half has a thing about burgers being tightly packed and uniform. The lightweight plastic presses never released the burgers and seemed much more trouble than they were worth, so we bought this burger press last fall. I have to admit, now that we know the thickness we prefer, I like it too. It might be too much trouble for one or two burgers, but if you make them in advance and freeze them - as we do - it makes the job pretty darned easy.

Speaking of playing in the kitchen and making messes: I also made sourdough crumpets. More here. Maybe I'll try some of that ramp butter on one. Hmm, maybe not.

Today I tried out another crumpet recipe, this one from a Washington Post article about what to do with extra sourdough starter. Their recipe is here: Sourdough Crumpets. I don't like this recipe as well as the one I tried earlier; I find the flavor a bit too sour and I'm sure it depends on the quality of the starter. You're supposed to start with nonrefreshed starter, but I think my nonrefreshed starter was a bit too old and would have benefited from refreshment. That said, I did use up the extra starter! Aside from that, I'm happy with this batch. I have a better feel for the needed consistency of the batter (I thinned mine slightly) and the heat needed, so these have great texture. As for the flavor: well, some crabapple jelly (see the lower right image) helped. I may end up using honey yet!

Thanks, @weinoo. Interesting about the blanching step. I considered it, but didn't do it. As it happens, I had spare time for projects before I saw your response, so my methodology was a little different. I'm still looking forward to the results! From left to right: Ramp / chive oil, buzzed up with a bit of salt; ramp butter (wish I'd thought of lemon!); pickled ramps using methodology from last week's episode of The Splendid Table; and then what was left of my usual lemon vinaigrette, with the ramp/chive oil that wouldn't fit into the jar at the left. I just had a salad using the dressing. Yum. Until May 1 I was away from home and using a small kitchen in our trailer. It is a lovely, delightful luxury to be able to spread projects out and really play in the kitchen! And then...throw most of the dishes into a dishwasher!

I really don't see a problem with skipping aisles at the end-caps. Passing in the aisles may be more problematic, in narrow aisles, but the local procedure (the local culture is very polite) is to say "excuse me, sorry!" or something similar, and then other person says "no problem, sorry!" or some such, and everyone holds their breath and the passing happens. Or it doesn't, because aisle-blocker moves on. So far it's working here although I still see some folks not bothering with masks. Boggles the mind....

@rotuts, my perspective may be different due to living in a less crowded area, but it's common here to skip aisles. Our markets are also marked with directional signs (although not everyone is paying attention yet) but the broadest and most open sections (produce area) are two-way and provide easy opportunities to pass at a safe distance. So, for instance, I might go up the outer area, through produce and dairy, then go down aisle 8 for the bread, and up 9 for the coffee. I also think that a brief noncontact passing within 6 feet, if nobody is sneezing and both are masked, is very non-risky.

I dunno, looks to me like you're on to something here!

I have been trying in vain to find KA Bread Flour in Duluth. I couldn't even find a slot for it in one of the grocery stores we frequent. Finally, after I struck out at our most upscale grocery store - the one that has reliably carried it for years - I called that store's representative. "Are you planning to stock King Arthur flour again?" I asked. He replied, "Yes ma'am, as soon as THEY have a supply again."

Beautiful, and absolutely the kick I need to do the same thing before my ramps all go off. How did you go about them, please? Was it just finely chopped or blitzed ramps in that butter, or did you add other seasonings? What pickling mixture did you use? Will that jar live in the refrigerator, or is it shelf-stable?

...and so we did. Here's an excerpt from dinner. The rest of the dinner wasn't photographed / snapped. Corn on the cob (too early in the season, I think) and oven-baked breaded pork steak: tasty but tough, probably a sign of the times.

Actually, shabakeh3 has asked the question elsewhere. We will simply hope that one of the experts can help. But thanks for the recommendation, @Kim Shook.

Dried cherries, yes. Dried cranberries, yes. Dried barberries, yes yes yes. But perhaps due to overexposure in childhood, I flinch at raisins now. The broccoli salad I made today has barberries in place of raisins, and we'll love it. ...but.... wouldn't you know it...now that I've taken to baking bread again, my DH is reminiscing about his mother's cinnamon rolls and hinting strongly that I should make them. With raisins.

Sad face because I just spent $3 more than I needed to! (I had already succumbed to temptation.)