petite tête de chou

I still have a few cubes of frozen blood worms left from when I tried to raise frogs. Yeah, that little hobby didn't last.

I haven't dropped a whole pot of oil but I usually use either salt or flour to clean smaller spills.

They're very good on a simple pizza (no red sauce) with shaved parmesan. Peel a good handful or so, drizzle with olive oil and basalmic vinegar, s/p and roast in a hot oven until caramelized. Use them to top your favorite pizza dough, bake and voila! After the pizza is done I really like to scatter fresh herbs and bitter greens on top, too.

Butter pecan ice cream cake, pie thingy. I crushed a bag of pecan shortbread (sandies) cookies, mixed with melted butter, pressed into a springform pan, smeared the bottom with butterscotch/caramel sauce, froze, spooned a half gallon of butter pecan ice cream over that, froze again, covered the top with the remaining caramel sauce and trimmed the edges with crushed Heath bars. And y'know, I don't even care that much for the whole thing. But my husband loves butter pecan sooo...

No go-fer/gopher for me. I do all the shopping. Period. If I forget something, well, as my Nanny used to say "Tough titties." I improvise or simply do without. And woe to me if I forget whatever it was NEXT time.

I remember it. 301/302

Nicotene gum helps tremendously. Not the 2 mg. The 4 mg. is the way to go. Especially if you chomp on two pieces at a time.

Since I'm SUCH a novice bread maker I don't rightly understand the purpose of multiple risings. As per the recipe, after kneading I let the dough rest (and ME ) for about 15 minutes, shaped and dropped them into the pans for their final and only rising. After your first rising did you punch down the dough? If so, what does this do, exactly? For such a "simple" bread recipe it sure gives rise ( ) to lots of questions.

Success! Thank you so much JayBassin. I took your recommendation and added 3.5 teaspoons of salt, kneaded it for about a half hour (!) and cut the yeast in half. Also, I used three cups of unbleached bread flour and three cups of AP. I allowed it to rise about an hour and a half in a warmed oven and voila- bread. The only slight problem I encountered was that the loaves fell a bit when I removed them from the oven to cool on a rack. Hmm. Not sure what caused it. Thanks again.

What a dreadful day, Marmish. I can save a really bad day with good scotch, a crappy cigar and Hunter S. Thompson.

How I cut and eat my steak is different when I'm eating alone or with others. In relatively polite company, I cut the meat in half and eat from the center first, cutting each bite one at a time, fork in left/knife in right paw. But, if I'm alone and watching my favorite old movie, I eat the steak with my fingers, dipping each pre-cut piece into a little pool of melted butter, salt and Lea and Perrins. Of course, the crispy, fatty edges are the best! I'll tease my tastebuds a bit by nibbling the edges first, while the meat is still hot then save them for last.

I really enjoy iced green tea or iced green tea with soda water added. Very refreshing.

Blueberry cheesecake with a graham cracker crust. This was my first cheesecake and I'm very happy with the results. I double-wrapped the springform pan with foil so there weren't any leaks and the cake didn't crack. But that really wouldn't have mattered much since I covered the top with a blueberry sauce (16 oz. frozen/thawed blueberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice). And once I saw that Philly cream-cheese was on sale (10 for $10) I just knew I had to try my hand at one of my husbands favorite desserts...but certainly not one of mine. I'm one of those kitchen-breeds that usually favors the research and process of cooking instead of the actual consumption. But I know a darn tasty cheesecake when a forkful finds it's way into my mouth! And the spouse was mighty impressed.

There's still a hot-dog restaurant in Portland, too. Roake's It's been many, many years since I've eaten there so I couldn't tell you if it's good or not. Yeah, I'm pretty much useless.

"Good ol' No. 9 stands the test of time." "Isn't it time for a No. 9?" "Meal time shines with a No. 9" "Doesn't get finer than a number niner." Ok. I'll stop. I like the new logo, too. But the original with the red and gold is really eye-catching and the lettering uses up the space nicely.

Eye-rolling, slamming down plates, glasses, etc., sighs of impatience, snippy comments, eye-brow raising or otherwise churlish behavior will result in no tip and no explanation. Now, if the waiter somehow upsets my usually calm and collected family or friends, I, the closeted hot-head, will discreetly speak with either the manager or, if I'm in a particularly confrontational mood, the boorish waiter in question.

The crumb was dense alright. Not actually raw but the yeast smelled like it hadn't cooked through. My next attempt will be slow and easy. Less yeast, more salt, slow rise. Kind of makes me wonder how the folks on Epicurious who reviewed the recipe "really liked it." How could they? Then again, perhaps their loaves didn't collapse. And because of the strong yeasty smell and flavor I don't think that I'll even use it for stuffing. -sigh- At least the ingredients aren't expensive.

Thanks JayBassin. I'll definitely add more salt next time. The recipe says to let the loaves rise for about an hour and I was gone for a little under that and yet they had time to rise aaand fall like some yeasty Roman Empire. So hopefully more salt will slow it down. But no more hardware trips during bread-making for me. I did knead the bread for about twenty minutes and was pretty happy with it's elasticity. It's supposed to get a bit more difficult towards the end of the kneading process, correct? Activating the gluten and all that? Or was I just getting tired? Also, I don't understand about cutting the yeast in half. What will this do? Should I then let the loaves rise longer? Sometimes bread can have an over-yeasty smell and flavor that kind of turns me off, will reducing the yeast help with this problem? My husband bought me a KA this Christmas but I feel that I should learn how to make bread completely by hand before making use of it's convenience. But I DO use it to whip egg-whites and cream. Thanks again.

Another vote for No. 9.

Reminds me of the Fran Leibowitz quote: "Bread that must be sliced with an axe is entirely too nourishing." ← Indeed. Especially sad considering that this particular recipe was to result in a "lighter" weight bread. I really do suspect the over-rising for it's demise but I thought that I would pick the collective brain otherwise known as Egullet.

I'm a novice bread maker and have baked, including this one, three different kinds of bread. My first was a simple, white sandwich loaf and the second was a french bread. Both turned out "okay." The french bread wasn't kneaded enough and spread quite a bit. The slashing, oven moisture and flavor were good. However, this oatmeal bread was awful. In the interest of full disclosure I didn't sprinkle the yeast over the top of the oatmeal mixture, I stirred it in. It foamed after about 6 minutes, I added one teaspoon of salt and five cups of flour. Kneaded it for about twenty minutes, slowly adding a bit less than one cup on flour (all-purpose). Elastic, smelled great, let it rest under a bowl for about fifteen minutes. Cut in half with a chefs knife, formed into two loaves, dropped into two lightly oiled loaf pans, brushed with egg, sprinkled with oats. During the doughs resting stage I turned my electric, pizza stone-bedecked oven to 225 for a few minutes then turned it off- just to warm it a bit. Inserted said loaves and promptly left for the hardware store. Should not have gone to the hardware store. What appeared to have happened is that the loaves over-rose. They were lumpy on top. -sigh- Removed them, preheated my oven to 370 and baked for about fifty minutes. I let the misshapen, sad things cool and sliced off an end to taste. If the flavor and texture were there then I wasn't too concerned with the appearance. Yech. Too dense. Not enough salt. Blech. Is there something I should know? Bad recipe? Outstandingly incompetent baker? What?

Queen cake.

Katharine Hepburn and King Henry the VIII. I'm very curious about what he ate.

Carnitas soft-shell tacos with monterey jack, chopped onions, cilantro and romaine. Warm tortilla chips and salsa on the side. Oatmeal scotchies and milk for dessert. I went a bit overboard, I think, on the carnitas seasonings...onions, fresh garlic, fresh jalapeno, red bell-pepper, ground pasilla, mexican oregano, rehydrated ancho, fresh lime and orange juice, beer, chicken stock and water. I'll add salt as needed towards the end of the cooking process. Oh lord. A big plate of carnitas, beer and the weekend. Heaven.

Definitely grade B. That is, if you're looking for a rather strong maple flavor. Choose grade A if you desire a more mild flavor. Maple Syrup Grades