Smithy

Sounds like something one would use so as to see The Mummy coming in the dark.

I should think "Corpse preventer" would be a better summary of her profession. Purple was one color available for casts...what were the other choices? Is there a significance to the purple?

"Remove the paddles"...now, why didn't I think of that? Thanks, @andiesenji!

Oh, the stories we're told as children -- indeed! I don't remember whether I was told that eating the bread crust on my sandwiches would curl my hair or put hair on my chest -- maybe both, at different times. Either way, it didn't come to pass. We made up for last night's excesses with a Caprese salad (how I love summer tomatoes!) and fresh bread. I posted about the bread here. In this iteration it was sliced, slathered with garlic-infused oil and butter, and then broiled and toasted in the CSO. Frankly, neither of us could taste the garlic but it was good otherwise. The bread made a good crisp sop for the salad juices.

When you do, I'll be interested to know your opinion.

I just called the cook. She says it's basically her own invention, somewhere between a conventional shepherd's pie and a pasty. It's a double-crust meat pie with mashed potatoes at the bottom (to soak up juices) instead of as a topping, with some celery, carrots, mushrooms and ground beef that had been par-cooked before going into the pan, and of course the potatoes were cooked before being mashed. She says she says the crust is a "really basic" pate brisee, although she didn't put salt in it because she knew the meat dish would already be salty. To accommodate the electic oven she was using, she put the pie on the bottom rack and shielded the pie on top until the pie was mostly cooked, if I understood her correctly. She gave an entertaining description of how she gets better results making the pastry by hand with a pastry blender and swooshing the mixture around rather than using an electronic device such as a food processor; she credits America's Test Kitchen with the technique. Feel free to ask more questions...she's lurking, and will either correct me privately or join the group. Of course I'm encouraging the latter option.

My first attempt at baking bread in the CSO is encouraging. I tried a recipe for ciabatta from Nick Malgieri's cookbook, A Baker's Tour. This book jumped into my bag at some library book sale or other, but I've never gotten beyond admiring and aspiring until now. It's a bit jarring to see baking recipes that use volume measurements instead of weight, but I didn't feel like digging out my notes from the Peter Reinhart online class I took. Besides, it's time to try this book or give it away. Oven spring and browning were wonderful. I used the Bread cycle in the CSO, and had to adjust the temperature: first, because the CSO on that cycle doesn't go as high as the recommended 500F and the second, because it was clear that the larger loaf was cooking too quickly. These loaves took 3 separate baking sessions; I began with half the batch as the first loaf, then broke the second half into 2 separate, smaller loaves that I tried to flatten slightly for purposes of making sandwich buns. The big loaf began at 450F and I ended up lowering the temperature to something like 275F for the last 10 minutes to reach the proper internal temperature. The buns cooked at 400F for 20 - 25 minutes on bread cycle, and they look right. The large loaf's crust was crackly at first, but already isn't. It's humid today. The crumb wasn't as open as I'd have liked. That might have been my technique or the recipe, but I surely can't fault the oven! I'm having buttered toast right now. Couldn't wait for dinner. It's rather a bland recipe, compared with others I've tried. Next time I'll try a different bread recipe. Still, this was a nice way to try out the oven's bread cycle. I'm pleased.

I didn't cook any of this, but last night's dinner with good friends simply has to be shared. Their daughter, an inveterate baker, outdid herself with a shepherd's pie with a crust worthy of being included in the Sister Pie cookbook. Their garden contributed beautiful broccoli that was perfectly steamed and served with a vinaigrette to be added at will. There was also a small pitcher of gravy to be added to the pie at will. We contributed (the first bottle of) wine. Here's dinner: It was all finished with a lovely rhubarb crisp, coffee, and liqueurs of our choice. Holy smokes, what a meal. The parents are excellent cooks in their own right, but it's a marvel they let the daughter move away! Not shown: the sparkling conversation. It was a wonderful evening.

That's always been my take on it too. My best friend says she thought that might happen, but it turns out that by eating dinner at 6 pm (more or less their usual time anyway) and then holding off breakfast until 10 am they're managing the fast. They both go out for exercise early, and don't seem to get hungry then. In my very limited experience along these lines, I've found that fasting for blood labs isn't as big a chore as I expect. Still, when I get hungry I get hangry...it isn't something I would inflict on my students!

Am I correct, however, in thinking that you would not initially cook fries in the steam/bake mode? I ask because I tried some tater-tot-type-thingies that way and they simply went soggy.

My best friend, a physician, and her husband (an epidemiologist, so also no slouch in the health-knowledge business) have been experimenting with 16-hr fasts. It's too early to report on whether they think it makes a difference to their physical well-being. Both are fit; neither is overweight; they simply read the literature and thought it might have long-term benefits. She reports that it really isn't difficult and that she may have lost a pound or two before they went on vacation and the eating schedule was disrupted.

If my dear husband had his way, hash would generally be the fate of our leftover corned beef. He does love his hash!

Down here they call them "loggers' breakfast" or "lumberjack's plate" or some such. It's a LOT of food...appropriate for someone doing as much physical labor as the name suggests, but not appropriate for most of us. Fun to look at and sample, but not worth shoveling down past the comfort point. You did your best.

But how toned you'll be! No need for elevators, eh?

I FINALLY (finally!) got the shrimp, the corn and the time to make Maggie's Shrimp & Corn w/ Basil, blog post courtesy of @Kim Shook, with credit to @Maggie the Cat and Epicurious. Well. It took more time to type the sentence above than to pull together this bit of summer delight. I'm not a big fan of corn on the cob (heresy, I know) but good sweet corn OFF the cob is another story. I've never thought to pair basil and sweet corn before, but I won't forget it again. I thought those ingredients and the scallions and butter complimented the shrimp beautifully. My darling thought the shrimp got lost in the shuffle, but he thought the vegetables and seasonings played very well together. Thanks for pointing to that recipe again, Kim, some 5 or 10 pages back...and thanks for keeping it around on your blog!

The Instant Pot Ultra, 6 Quart size, has just dropped to $84.77 on Amazon (USA). This cooker, with its apparent fine-tune capability of temperature settings, would have been my preference over the more standard Instant Pot back when I was buying, but I thought the price too high. Now I'm not feeling flush enough to spring for it even at $85 - but it's a heck of a good price.

Now I understand your comment....

Were the other fish fully fileted? In Minnesota we have to leave a small patch of skin on when transporting the fish, so the species can be identified.

Since the rider is feet-first in a chair, and that chute won't come down until the boat slows, he or she should be pretty safe. What's Ornge?

Yes, @liamsaunt, a lot of us appreciate these trips. I would love to have access to seafood like that, prepared like that - with or without the marvelous views. Since I don't, it's nice to take a vicarious trip and ponder the possibilities of what I can do at home with shrimp or local fish.

I used mine yesterday to reheat some French fries from the previous night's dinner out. 425F, convection bake for 10 minutes wasn't enough to take the sog out. 400F for another 10 minutes got them crisp, but was overkill on the time; some of them went right through the "golden and crispy" stage to "brown and hard". But they weren't soggy! What do y'all do to reheat leftover French fries, if you do?

I already have the hardbound version of Mrs. Wheelbarrow's Practical Pantry. Now, I'll be able to take it on the road on my tablet. Thanks, Toliver!

That IS a cute-looking gizmo. If I hadn't already made a new-kitchen-toy purchase, I'd be tempted.

It does look as though you'll fit right in here! Welcome! Andiesenji, with her prodigious memory, brought up a couple of topics that you may or may not already have seen. I'm providing links here to make it easier for readers: Preserving Summer Jams, Jellies, Preserves, Fruit Spreads, Butters If you have any questions about navigating the forums, feel free to PM a host or ask in the Moderation and Policy Discussion forum. Meanwhile, I hope you're able to score good fruit this weekend. I am particularly interested in and curious about the apricots. I, like several transplanted Californians here, lament the delectable Blenheims that have been demoted to being backyard pet trees. If there's good fruit to score, feel free to show it off in the 2019 Farmers Markets topic.

FWIW in our experience the "no fire" restriction has applied to wood fires. It has not applied to charcoal in a portable grill. It also has not applied to gas-fired campstoves like the Coleman's that you and I both have. Not that I'm trying to talk you out of another toy, you understand, but you may appreciate full information.