andiesenji

All my scales work on these 3 Volt Check to see if your scale uses this one. The only scale that seems to use them up rapidly is my bathroom scale but it has a significant job to do.

Today's email from ChefsCatalog.com included this interesting combination: Measuring Cup Scale. Also some "Dual, magnetic measuring spoons" Being a rabid enthusiastic collector, I have ordered these. What can I say? I'm hopeless.

I have shelving units with wire shelves and I use full size sheet pans, which fit exactly the depth of the shelves. Not only do they let things sit level, the lip keeps stuff from sliding off. I recently bought 10 because of the price break for multiples. (4.59 each) considering the price of plywood now, this was cheaper for me.

In a word, NO! They should be light, crispy on the outside and very tender. If you have a warm, dry place to hold them, they will be okay for 4-6 hours but no longer. They get leathery, especially in high humidity. As note above, the batter will keep in the fridge for a few days.

I just looked at the 2/11 email from America's Test Kitchen and one of the subjects was "Measuring Spoons" and their winner was the Cuisipro set that in the text says has oval spoons and the ends of the handles are bent so the spoons set level. The set that is pictured is the long-handled rectangular set so there has apparently been a glitch in their presentation.

They also have some fairly large ones at Sam's Club and at Costco. I have a couple that are now somewhat "distressed" and need to be replaced. They also have smaller ones, 20 x 60 and 20 x 36 - the "Gelpro" brand.

Wouldn't weighing water in them work (assuming you're not at very high altitude)? I don't have a lab quality volumetric measure (nor, I would guess, do most others). Mostly I have the pipettes for accurate measurement of liquid flavorings because droppers are not very accurate. Pipettes are relatively inexpensive like these.

Plus one on that- it is comfort food for our family I missed this post. There used to be a recipe on the Solo Prune Plum Lekvar Filling can for a coffee cake that was just like real Danish pastry. I lost it years ago and would love to find it again. I have some good Danish pastry recipes but none as flaky and tender as that one but still held together well.

I have several very old cookbooks with some really odd receipts for remedies for a long list of ailments. Some are weird, some could be very dangerous but most are fairly innocuous. A few make some sense.

I have a laboratory/pharmacy volumetric measure. It has to be accurate by law!

I agree that heating slightly is desirable. If you are doing more than one at a time, take a stack of 4 - 6, roll them in paper towels and microwave for 10-15 seconds, depending on the power of your Mw. This way they will steam slightly and be more flexible. P.S. I use the thicker "Gorditas" for burritos that have more "wet" fillings. They hold together much better and you don't burn your fingers as they sort of insulate the contents.

In your photo, just below the oval set, is a set of 6 spoons. I have a set that looks like those but have found that the "Tablespoon" is really just two teaspoons in size. That discovery meant that I had to update many of my recipes! The one I have measures out at exactly 15 ML, which is the same as all the others I use. I have one set, sent to me from Australia (and tucked away in a drawer) in which the tablespoon measures out at 20 ML which is accurate for OZ. The US and UK measurements are the same. As far as I know only OZ is different in this one measure. Because some are cheaply made and are "copy cat" products, often made with molds of the more expensive originals. The molds take up space so the interior volume is either more or less than the originals. Some knock off of the Nigella Lawson measuring cups showed up in "dollar stores" a couple of years ago and they were extremely inaccurate.

I like that same set of spoons. I got mine at the factory outlet kitchen store in my city. They have an extensive array of measuring spoons, cups, glasses and etc., some rather whimsical.(and those are not very accurate. I have the "Perfect beaker" and have both the large and small "Wonder Cups" but don't care much for them. I have trouble gripping and twisting because of arthritis in my hands. I have some other long-handled measuring spoons as well as several "regular" length. The oval set just left of center are "odd-sized" 2 tablespoon, 1 1/2 tablespoon and etc. My favorite spoon sets for liquid measuring are these because the handle is made so they will set level on a counter, a big advantage when one has a tremor in one hand. The holders (magnetic and desktop, found at Office Depot) hold plastic measuring spoons grouped by size. Some sets are incomplete because I have left them in the ingredient container because I use that one size most often. The salt box next to my stovetop holds a tablespoon, 1/2 tablespoon, teaspoon and 1/2 teaspoon measures. The jar with the dry yeast a 1 1/2 teaspoon odd size measure. It may seem like overkill to have so many but as I have mentioned in other threads when I go into baking mode, I do a "production line" assembly of the recipes, bowls and etc., that I will need and put everything for each one on a tray or in a bus tub, including a set of measuring cups and spoons. I go along and measure each dry ingredient for all the recipes in order and combine them, if appropriate in plastic bags. And there have been times when I used every set I have. Here's some of the Pyrex & Anchor Hocking glass - the green one is an old Fire-King 2 cup graduated measure that once had a citrus reamer top (broken) but it is an accurate measure. And these are some of the plastic ones I rarely use. Not for the microwave!

I found this site that has a long list of "sausage" formulations, including Jadgwurst, which they list as "German Ham Sausage" which I think is like the larger form of lunch meat I had back in the '50s. It's in 90mm casings and steamed or poached. There is lots of interesting information in these Adobe format documents, even if the Jadgwurst is not the dry variety.

I have a lot of measuring cups. The liquid measures I have are mostly Pyrex, from 1 cup to 2 quart/liter and I have one Anchor Hocking that is 2 1/2 quarts. They can go in the microwave and into the oven, which is important to me, not so much to others. I have some plastic ones that are not microwavable but they are adequate for measuring liquids. I also have this one that was a gift but it is borosilicate glass, a big plus in spite of the "humorous" measurements. I have the silicone measuring set by Isi which I like so much that I sent a set to my daughter. They are microwavable and are easy to grasp. For dry measures I check to see that the measurements are accurate - some are a long way off accurate. These are the ones I use routinely. I have a bunch because I don't want to stop and wash them when I am measuring for several recipes in a short period of time. They are in plastic bags so they can be hung up and kept dust free between uses and I can easily find the set I want. I should add that I have thrown out many sets that were so inaccurate it would have thrown off most baking recipes. In one set the 1/4 cup measure was barely 3 tablespoons and the 1/2 cup was just slightly more than 1/3 cup, and the 3/4 and 1 cup measures were just as bad. They were also not cheap and had a "name" attached to them. They are no longer on the market. I agree. I have a bunch of the "odd" measures.

Jagdwurst is also made by a few local butcher shops still operating in rural areas of Wisconsin. When I lived there in the mid-'50s, the village butcher made jagdwurst with a mixture of pork and venison, sometimes including beef, and it was called simply "hunter's sausage" and some was a thinner sausage, longer and slimmer than brats and some was made into a larger "log" shape and cooked - I think it was boiled - and this was sliced like other lunch meats and as I recall had lots of whole peppercorns in it. He also made the best blutwurst I have ever tasted.

So, today's Gear Patrol dispatch presented this portable espresso system I thought it seemed interesting and am passing it along.

And now, for the individualist, comes the Pimp your Thermomix 31 decor. This was posted on ForumThermomix today and I just couldn't resist passing it on. P.S. Two years ago I purchased the "Flames" decals for my KA but still have not gotten around to applying them.

I use this recipe and this method because I like the many thin layers and I have not found it necessary to roll the resulting omelet in a sushi mat. Also, it's possible to add little bits of "filling" to some "layers" before rolling. Some recipes call for sugar but I prefer the mirin. Although I have to admit that I watched several before attempting it myself. My daughter learned in a sushi cooking class.

My feelings exactly! I never minded being called a trekkie back in the days when I attended Sci/Fi Cons. It was a lot of fun but I never took it seriously and I was into sci-fi prior to Star Trek. I'm pretty sure I've been a foodie all my life. When I was in the WACS in the late '50s, and stationed in San Francisco, I spent a lot of time exploring restaurants and food stores all over the city while my friends were sight-seeing and I made friends in the Chinese community who invited me to their homes. That was when I learned to eat with chopsticks and learned how to make wor won ton from scratch. I also met a girl of Russian descent at a tiny market catering to eastern European folks, and from her mother learned to make blini as well as borscht. I celebrated my twentieth birthday with an Italian family in Sausalito from whom I learned how to make Cioppino and veal scaloppini. I spent some evenings with friends at "coffee houses" but mostly I searched for interesting ethnic restaurants and food shops. I really can't consider myself a carnivore but rather an omnivore. Meat is not the major portion of my diet but I do think it contributes to my personal well being. And to those people who deplore the use of animals as a food source, I point out that if there was no demand for these animals, they would certainly become extinct. No sane person would continue to spend money on breeding and feeding an animal of any kind that is not a pet, were it not for the demand as a food source. I would hate to see all these disappear from the earth.

While digging into the mysterious depths of my "auxiliary" pantry, I moved a gallon can of olives (don't ask) and discovered these five, long-lost and unopened bottles of hot sauces. The Thunder Bay Fire Island bottle was encased entirely in a shrink-wrap sleeve that had adhered to the label and tore it when I removed the sleeve. (Mostly because it was nearly opaque in spots.) I don't recall when I bought these but they have been in that dark corner for a minimum of three years. Some of the names are marginally funny or strange, the Dave's item is pretty tame. Hopefully they are still good.

It's too late for me to edit my last post so I will add this. I was just chatting with a friend who is an ex-pat Brit who also likes to read and we discussed foods that are often mentioned in books sited in the UK. We agreed that one "dish" often mentioned that we could easily omit from our list of "wants" is baked beans on toast. She says she didn't like it when she lived there, although it was a fave of her husband, and wouldn't "cross the pavement" to have it now. While I do like baked beans and I love toast, I really don't care for the combination.

I SO agree. Ditto from me! I detest "architectural" compositions on my plate. I never know where to start with no "deconstruction" guide.

Having watched America's Test Kitchen yesterday, where a pork shoulder (bone in "butt") was basted a few times and as it turned out beautifully, I would opt to use their method at least once, before trying it without. Some things I baste and some I do not. It all depends on the piece of meat or poultry and how much integral fat it contains. Some are cooked in a pot that has a "self-basting" lid and some are tented, which produces the same effect. I like basting some things. It is simply a satisfying action for me, even if it does nothing to the item being roasted.

In the "What are your reading?" topic I mentioned my re-reading of the Lord Peter Wimsey books, which prompted me to pull out the "cookbook" by Elizabeth Ryan and William Eakins that was published in 1982. And that has prompted me to get a large roasting hen so I can prepare Poulet Poéle A L'Estragon for dinner today. (having difficulty with accents) I'm also going to prepare the potato scones and the seedy cake from the same cookbook.