Smithy

Impressive! I like the looks of the work area, as well as the product.

Nope, no prohibitions, but I may not bother with the initial flops. ;-)

It looks like that bread has a good structure for sandwiches, cyalexa. Are you using light rye flour? Sourdough or yeast? There's a marble rye next on my list of lessons.

I've been an avid listener to (and supporter of) the radio show The Splendid Table since its inception, well before eGullet hit the scene. I credit Lynne Rosetto Kasper with (a) helping develop my pronounced domestic streak and (b) a regular battle to keep from gaining 25 pounds. This MSP Mag article just came out about her early life and how she arrived where she is today. It's a well-told story of how life's twists can lead to an interesting and unpredicted life. The Splendid Prequel.

I await the day you ignore the instructions and post an image of them baked onto the bottom of a loaf. :-D

If anything's going to tip me over the edge, it will be those ribs. Were they any more tender, rotuts, than if they'd been slow-cooked? Or was speed the principle advantage?

For info from the enthusiasts, here's a good discussion: Has anyone used GrillGrates?

How fortuitous, Anna. The pots remind me of a tiffin box.

I'm feeling very pleased with myself. Between Peter Reinharts' Craftsy class on Artisan Bread and bethesdabaker's lessons on sourdough bread, I had grand fun yesterday. Enriched white yeasted bread with egg wash; rosemary olive oil sourdough (my developing formula) rolls and loaf. The loaf got an egg wash late in the baking cycle when I realized I had the oven too low, which accounts for the pale color of the sourdough rolls. It helped with the color but using an appropriate temperature would have been best. We had Polish sausage on buns last night; tonight it will be burgers.

Wow. The photos look glorious, and you're only at the beginning of the party! Thanks very much for posting. Believe me - you aren't even close to a boring level of detail. Wish I could be there!

Thousand Island souffle? :-D

Thanks for posting that recipe, JohnT. It makes me want to go RIGHT NOW and raid the neighbors' trees...which are now nothing but a memory. Still, I can keep my eyes peeled for the opportunity.

That's a great idea, cyalexa. Thanks! Now I know what I'll be doing when our cherry tomatoes stop ripening. :-)

So...it isn't as though I expect much use for this, but I confess to the occasional temptation for a kitchen torch. Look what I found at Goodwill! 3 bucks, never opened.

In the "cheap thrills" department, behold my new favorite spatula: iSi Basics Slim Spatula. All silicone. Skinny, with two different edges. Heat resistant (it says) to 600oF (315oC), although I've had no cause to try it that high. Rigid enough that I can mix bread dough with it. Flat enough that I don't have to dig stuff out of a cupped surface, as I'd have to with a standard spoon. Skinny enough to get down through most bottlenecks for that last bit of squeezable mustard. Until now, my preferred bread-dough-mixing implement - other than hands, or sometimes my mixer - has been one of my several silicone spatulas with wooden handles. The wooden handles have been a problem when it came to cleanup. By comparison, very little sticks to this nifty spatula, and the little that sticks comes off easily. Best 8 bucks I've spent in a while. I liked the first one so much, I got a second for the trailer kitchen.

Whoops! Sorry for not reading more carefully!

Anna, in re-reading your post on marmalade I now see the clear comment that it's a lot less fuss and bother. My other question remains: is it a special recipe or is a new technique required? And a new question: what is that thing that looks like an oversized safety pin in the last photo?

In this post in the Instant Pot. Multi-function cooker topic, rotuts shows some TJ's South African Smoke seasoning blend. It's clear that he thinks the grinder is no good, but not whether he also thinks the blend itself is a bust. My questions, for anyone who's tried this (rotuts, that includes you of course) are: 1. What is supposed to make this blend South African? 2. How does it taste, when you can get it out of the grinder? An ingredient listing would be welcome.

I used to think I detested marmalade: too sweet, too sticky, sometimes also bitter, and generally an insult to good oranges. Then a friend gave me some kumquat marmalade she'd made, and it was lovely. Now, seeing your lemon-lime setup. I wonder whether I've been missing something wonderful. Can you describe the level of sweetness? Finally, and most importantly for this topic: does the IP make this easier somehow? Is this a special recipe? Edited for focus.

Shelby, are those green tomatoes a second batch on the same prolific vines you've been harvesting, or do you have a variety that sets fruit later than the rest? And are you a bit relieved that the pace has slowed somewhat?

I'm loving these tests and detailed notes. That potato salad looks like just the ticket! Thanks for the Penzeys spice mix recommendation, rotuts, as well as the TJ's South African Smoke spice anti-recommendation. Anna N, that brown bread looks well worth trying. I wish I were brilliant enough to have thought of your coffee can treatment on my own. Since I'm not, I'm very pleased to take the idea and run with it! rotuts, Don't Cut Raw Beets By Hand...at least, not without armored gloves. The microsurgeons may adore your choice of weapon, but they will not admire your judgment.

I suspect you're right about the corn syrup. However, here's another idea: could the pH of the vinegar affect the glaze's ability to form a shattery surface? I think your fritters look wonderful. I'd be pleased to help you test. :-D Still, I can understand your disappointment at the finished texture.

If I don't like the food at a restaurant, I don't come back. If I don't like the staff or service, I don't come back. If I thought the executive chef at a restaurant looked down on customers like me, I wouldn't patronize the place. It's that simple, and I'm not one of the oldsters you're disdaining. As others have said, you need to please your customers. The ideas uptopic about offering special menus or dishes sound like good ways to see if you can broaden the customer base and express your creativity, at least a little bit. Maybe you can get support from the owners if you pitch it as trying to bring in additional customers.

Andie, do you have to put the ravioli in a single layer, or can they touch in the pasta boat? I too have problems with them breaking up in the boiling water, and this might be a good solution for me.

This Bosch oven is a convection/microwave oven on the upper half and a conventional oven on the lower half. Is that the specific combination you're after? If so, Alex has provided some terrific information above. Now, at the risk of unwelcome confusion: when I clicked on your link I also saw wall oven combinations with a steam option. In light of the many discussions here on the benefits of steam cooking, I'd give that some thought. (Expense, and how/where to vent the steam, would be two considerations.) If you haven't thought about that, check out these topics: Built-in combi oven Steam ovens Baking Bread in a Steam & Convection Oven (Combi Oven) and finally, as an example of what steam can do for you, the ever-popular Cuisinart Combo Steam/Convection Oven. Edit: on second thought, you could go with the microwave/standard wall combination and then get the Cuisinart Combo as an auxiliary oven. ;-)