andiesenji

This site has a very easy conversion system for all measures. U.S./ Imperial/metric. You type the original amount in one area, click on the equal sign and all the other windows show the equivalents. The Imperial pint is indeed signifiantly larger than the U.S. pint. Regarding other measurements, if you use any Australian recipes, you have to convert differently for the tablespoon measure - in the U.S. and U.K. a tablespoon is 15 ml. in Australia it is 20 ml., a significant difference. I would like to add that the Innova cast iron - enamelled cookware is very reasonably priced and is very well made. This 5-quart round is an excellent buy. I have given these as gifts and I have one that I use in my barbecue outdoors. For those who can't afford the expense of Le Cruset, Staub and Chasseur, this is a good choice.

I came across the Laughing Goat Pottery that makes stovetop and ovenware. that looks very nice. I have inquired about the size of a couple of items by email and will place an order when I get a reply. I also just ordered one of these which is quite different from other tagines I have seen. I will post photos when I receive it.

When I cook lean pork roasts, loin or eye of loin, fresh ham, I insert strips of pork fat (unsalted) or use pancetta (it is not smoked as is US bacon). I have made the same stew, however I buy the boneless shortribs that have much more fat than the roasts cut from the large muscles.

Andie - I'd like to try making lard in my crockpot, and am wondering what method you or others use to do so. Do you cook it over low heat all day? Add a couple of tablespoons of water? About how long does it take to melt completely? Thank you for helping out this lard making newbie. ← This is for a 5 or 6 quart crockpot. I add about 1/2 cup of water and fill the crockpot about 2/3 full of pork fat/leaf lard cut in 1/2 to 1 inch squares or chunks. I start it on high until it is hot then reduce it to low and cover it and usually let it cook overnight - (I set the crockpot on top of my washing machine so it is out of the way and my laundry room can be closed off so the aroma does not work its way throughout the house. There may also be some bubbling and spatters of fat which are easier to wash off the top of the machine than to clean off the butcher-block counters in the kitchen.) The following morning I turn the crockpot off and unplug it, pour off the rendered fat, then pulg it back in, turn it to high and continue cooking the fat chunks, stirring occasionally, until the fat bits have browned nicely. More fat will render out and I add that to the fat I removed earlier. The lard will be a creamy to beige color, however, if you beat it in a chilled bowl (I found one of the long cold packs that can be chilled in the freezer and are supposed to be placed on a person's back, at Walgreens drug) around which you place an ice bag or something that will keep the bowl chilled, and beat it as it cools, it will look white and fluffy.

In an earlier post I inserted a link for the Kapoosh Knife Block from First Street This link has additional photos. A friend and I were just talking about the various types of knife blocks and she mentioned one that she saw at the Pacific Design center in L.A. She described it as a tempered glass box filled with translucent glass beads and with a light in the base that illuminated the beads in the box. It was shown with several knives plus a couple of kitchen tools inserted into the beads. She is going to take her camera along the next time she goes there and ask permission to take a photo. (It is forbidden to take photos without permission because some of the objects are in development.) She asked about the beads and was told they are industrial glass used in blast cleaners which doesn't mean much to me. She didn't think to ask about cleaning. This sounds interesting to me, although it sounds like an extremely modern design.

Check this video on sink selection at the HGTV site. I like the sink that has a very low divider between the large section and the smaller, garbage disposal section. The sink I have now has a large section that is quite deep and the smaller section that is shallower to accomodate the garbage disposal and the divider is 2 inches lower than the outer rim, which is handy.

When I was a child, my grandfather's cook was a Gullah woman who had an amazing repetoir of "receipts" committed to memory and I recall some of the most delicious foods I ever tasted, from her kitchen. She prepared a coconut cake, made with fresh coconut, that was moist and delicious which I have never been able to duplicate. The benne seed wafers, like a cookie/cracker, were a favorite treat and she made philpy, a sort of rice bread/cake, not a sweet bread, that I loved.

I believe you are wise to get the larger range. It is particularly desirable if there will be more than one cook working at the range. I think the 60" will work much better for you than a 48" because accidents can happen when two people do not have enough space while working around burners, accidents can happen. Many years ago when I did have a big family at home, I had a huge Garland range that was 72" overall with 8 burners and a 24 inch griddle over a salamander at one end. There were two full-size ovens that were separated by several inches and that made it much easier for two people to be loading or removing items from the ovens without getting in each other's way. Few people have the need for that much range but I was doing some catering and some contract baking also and I needed ovens that could take a full-size sheet pan. At that time there were no separate built-in ovens that were that large and I couldn't find a resenditial range that had burners that were powerful enough or large enough to hold my large stockpots. When I sold the house, the range stayed and was a big selling point and added a significant amount to the selling price.

I bought my woks from The Wok Shop They have been in San Francisco for a long time and have an excellent reputation. I know several people who have bought from them and none have had any complaints. I havethis one in 14 inch and this one in round bottom 22 inch. I keep it well oiled because it does rust, but it is great for cooking for a crowd. I have a separate wok burner but it is not super powerful but it works okay for what I do.

Did it once, once was enough - good, but not THAT good. Took two people two days, or rather somewhat more than a day and a half, to prepare for 12 diners. I don't recall where I found the recipe - possibly in Cucina Paradiso - for some reason that name rings a faint bell. This was in the early 90s, perhaps 92 or 93.

I discovered this Sweet pepper pasta sauce several years ago and have great success with it. I keep jars of roasted sweet red peppers (or the combination of red, yellow and green in a jar found at TJs) if it is a last-minute idea and I don't want to go out to the market. I also often use carmelized onions from the freezer. As posted, this is a vegetarian sauce, however I have used beef broth, chicken broth, duck stock, etc., depending on what I have on hand. For people who have digestive problems, with high acid foods, this is an ideal substitute.

I just went to Tagines.com and it opened right up.

There is another recipe for Zserbo here, with other Hungarian recipes. Anka is from a town near the Austrian border and says that many of the local recipes are very similar to those found in that part of Austria - She reminds me that once it was all one country..... She pronounces this "share-bowe" but says each region has a little bit different accent. this site shows one with chocolate topping but Anka says they don't make it this way in her home town.

I learned pastry work from two Hungarian pastry chef/bakers in my mom's bakery after she sponsored them and their families following the "revolt" in 1956. The kifli were very popular with people in the area, who were mostly of German descent. We also made bagly (? spelling) rather like strudel, and a multi-layered Esterhazy cake made with whipped cream, caramel and nuts, filled cheesecakes and a "thousand-layer" pastry made with very thin puff pastry that had alternating layers of whipped cream mixed with fruit or nuts between each layer of pastry. My housekeeper is Hungarian and makes some apricot and almond pastries that are delicious, melt-in-the-mouth. She also makes this: Here is Anka Hargitay's recipe for Zserbo cookie/cake Zserbo Flour, 2 cups regular, 2 cups pastry or cake flour (or use all White Lily southern type flour) XXX sugar, 1 level cup. Butter, 5 tablespoons unsalted 2 large eggs, beaten until frothy honey, warmed and strained, 1/4 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup. Place first 3 ingredients in bowl of food processor. Pulse until it looks like coarse bread crumbs. Mix together eggs, honey and sour cream and add to mixture in processor. Pulse just until dough forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and chill for 30 minutes. Set oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with bakers parchment. Divide the chilled dough into 4 parts. Roll each part into a square about 1/8 inch thick and place on cookie sheet. If you don't have room in your oven to bake them all at once, keep dough chilled while you do the first two, then make the next two. Set aside to cool. Filling 2 cups XXX sugar 3/4 cup superfine sugar 1/4 cup cake flour 1 cup half and half 1 cup melted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Place XXX sugar, superfine sugar and the flour in a bowl over simmering water (or a double boiler) Add the half and half a little at a time, stirring constantly until it gets thick like pudding then stir in the melted butter and beat until creamy. Measure out 1/3 of the filling and spread on the bottom layer cookie. Add another cookie and spread 1/3 of the filling on it Repeat again with the final portion of filling Top with the last cookie. Cut into 2 inch squares and sprinkle with XXX sugar or XXX sugar mixed with cocoa powder. Anka says, "A little whipped cream on the top doesn't hurt.

I have read through this entire topic and I simply can't believe that no one has come up with: Mush mouth!! Mutter, mutter, mutter, what?? Speak up, don't mumble, mush mouth!

I want to make a comment about testing and ratings. Some testing labs that do these ratings are very subjective. They ask for applliances to test from the manufacturer or distributor and sometimes their results are skewed for one reason or another. Often the appliances they test have been pre-tested and even enhanced to improve the test rating. On the other hand, Consumer Reports sends people out to buy appliances blind, that is from retail outlets without identifying where they are going, and from multiple outlets. You can depend that their findings are totally unbiased. Ratings can vary between appliances in the same line or brand name because one model might be made at one factory and another might be made in another factory, even in another country. On more than one occasion I have purchased an appliance that failed to work well, exchanged it for another of the same model and had that one operate flawlessly. There can be glitches in anything. I had a bread maker that had controls that went berserk. I returned it, demonstrated the problem to the sales clerk and she brought out a new one and we tested it together and it worked fine and I still have it, no problems. (She broke the hinges on the lid of the original one so there was no way it could be resold). At least these items are portable and can be returned if not up to specs. I spend a lot more time on anything that is going to be built-in because that is much more difficult to exchange.

This Hamilton Beach 4-slice has had good reviews but the chrome model has some problems. Note these model numbers. Target has the "cool-touch" exterior ones for $29.99. The "All-Metal" HB toasters, which are more expensive, do not perform well - a case of stylish but overpriced. also the Sunbeam #6278 has been selling very well. One of my neighbors has one that she found at Kohl's for 29.99 - the 2-slot was 24.99 so she decided she might as well get the 4-slot. I know it does bagels beautifully, because I have had them at her home. She fixes frozen waffles, pancakes, French toast and toaster strudel for her grandkids in it and says it works great for those things. She said she had an old Sunbeam toaster for many years and still has her old Mixmaster and decided to stick with the familiar name.

The Breakfaster appliances are very popular with some collectors. There were several models, some fairly rare. Breakfaster by Calkins I have one like this, however mine has the ivory colored bakelite handles and trim.

The Hamilton Beach cool touch toaster has been sold in many stores, as well as on line and has an excellent rating and is certainly inexpensive. It has also been in production for some time, although recently issued in new colors, so it has been well tested. I know they had it at Target before Christmas because they had a large display with a very low price listed.

I have tested it by toasting a slice of bread because I wanted to make sure it was in working condition. However I wouldn't use it on a regular basis because it is valuable as it is. The evolution of the toaster (and other kitchen appliances) is fascinating to me. We had a discussion a year or so ago, regarding the sandwich toaster - they fell out of favor for a number of years, only to reappear as a panini grill.

I agree and I give a slight edge to the larger Rifi because it holds enough to serve 6-8 people. When I combine chicken with vegetables I never have to add any liquid. The ingredients start out "dry" and by the time the cooking is done, they are swimming in liquid. I posted a photo on another thread which shows this.

I do have one old round (cylinder) pan that has lost one of its wire bails and I hold it closed with a giant hose clamp. it is the #152 on this page. You might have to call around to plumbing supply places to find ones that large, but if you have a metal rectangle that is a bit larger than your loaf pan, you can fasten it on with two of these. I use a recharageable screwdriver/drill to open and close it. I actually have a shallow and narrow "biscuit pan" I bought at one of the markets that is just a bit longer and an inch or so wider than my regular loaf pans (the 4" x 9") something like that might work.

Have you been there recently? I was reading in the LA Times that it has a new chef. And the place got reviewed back in June 2005. ← I haven't been recently, I think last in January last year, but have been many times over the past 20 years and several chefs have headed the kitchen during that time.

I would like to add that one place that no one seems to ever mention is in Pasadena, on Arroyo Parkway. The Parkway Grill has been around for a long time and has excellent food and service. It is one of the few places where venison is prepared as it should be. I love the duck. Parkway Grill It isn't cheap, far from it, but in my opinion is worth every penny.

The Dualit in the Slate test is not the same as the one I have. That one has different controls and is totally different in design and the way the internal components are arranged.