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andiesenji

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Posts posted by andiesenji

  1. We sold our house in Kansas City and moved to Lexington Ky last summer for a new job.

    The house we rent is very nice, probably 5 years old or so.

    The kitchen may actually be too big. Its got the classic triangle workspace. Stove at the end, sinks to the right and fridge on the left. I'm guessing there's about 10 ft from fridge to sink. This makes for lots of cabenet and counter space, but also lots of steps for everything. There is also a pantry at the other end of the kitchen and that's 15 ft or so from the stove end. Sounds weird whining about too much kitchen space, but it is too big.

    One other complaint is the wire shelves in the pantry. I hate these things as nothing will stand up. I'm tempted to cut some plywood and set on top of the wire to make a real shelf.

    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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

  4. I have a laboratory/pharmacy volumetric measure. It has to be accurate by law!HPIM3892.JPG

    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.

  5. Poppyseed cake on the Solo poppyseed can.

    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.

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

    HPIM3887.JPG

    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! :angry:

    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.

    Why are there variances in these measuring devices? It would seem there would be no excuse for that in the modern age.

    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.

  8. 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.

    HPIM3887.JPG

    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.

    mes spoons closeup.jpg

    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.

    Pyr&AH measures.JPG

    And these are some of the plastic ones I rarely use. Not for the microwave!

    plastic measures.JPG

  9. 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.

  10. 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.

    HPIM3885.JPG

    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.

    What I really like is are dry sets that have the non-standard measures...in cups, 3/4 and 2/3 and in spoons, 1/8 tsp and 1/2 Tbls. I know I could probably easily guesstimate the 1/8 tsp, but I still like having the spoon. And since I routinely scale-down recipes, the 1/2 Tbls. comes in very handy. As do the 3/4 and 2/3 cups, saves time.

    ETA - I have one of those perfect beaker type creatures, but it's plastic and I'm hesitant to put it in the dishwasher for fear the printed measure markings will fade off from the detergent. So mostly for liquids, I use the old stand-by Pyrex, 1, 2 and 4 cups. I am learning to weigh, but so many of my existing recipes are in measures, not weights.

    I agree. I have a bunch of the "odd" measures.

  11. 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.

  12. 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.

  13. Maybe it's my age, maybe it's something else...but I don't understand the aversion to the term "foodie". I'm not a gourmet, or a gourmand, or "a food enthusiast", I'm someone who has had long distance friendships cemented by a love of geeking about food. I had a marriage that had a passion for food as one of the cornerstones. Street food, humble food from faraway places, handmade noodles from hole-in-the-wall purveyors...it's not all about the Veuve Cliquot and foie gras, although I won't turn away from that when I can afford it, either!

    I don't do well when partnered with people who eat to live. I don't understand why there's supposed to be any shame associated with that. Frankly, I find terms like "food enthusiast" to be too much "doth protest too much", and am more averse to the workarounds to "foodie".

    (Then again, I don't get the "don't call me a Trekkie!" defensiveness, either. I'll admit that my friends used to say "Trek fan" to get away from the entire Trekkie/Trekker divide, but it wasn't out of a sense of shame over the enthusiasm.)

    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.

  14. 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.

    HPIM3882.JPG

  15. 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.

  16. 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. :rolleyes:

  17. I know exactly what you mean by that. I was a fan of the Lawrence Sanders' Edward X. Delaney books. Edward had a particular affinity for sandwiches which were so evocatively described, it was enough to make me get out of bed, during a late-night reading fest, to take a look at the contents of the fridge to determine if I could replicate one of them.

    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.

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