andiesenji

I have a popover pan, which gives nice tall popovers with a "mushroom" top. However, for smaller batches I have an antique enamel, cast iron muffin pan which produces lovely popovers. As mentioned above, the pan has to be HOT before adding the batter.

There are certainly times when I really NEED a rapid application of comfort food and so I keep Campbell's Cheddar Cheese soup on hand so I can cook a batch of pasta, add some butter and the can of soup, stir and chow down. About 20 minutes start to finish.

I have a Wushof, the Global (both too short) and a 30-year-old Robinson, that used to be my choice before I found the Dexter about 20 years ago. None of those pictured are really long enough to cut straight through a large boule, unless you turn it up on its side, which makes for uneven cutting. You also have to note that some include the handle in the length description. One that says "12 inch" has a blade that is less than 8" long. Schmidt bros used to offer a "wavy-edge" bread knife with a 12" blade - it was reverse serrated, with the rounded "scallops" on the cutting edge. I intended to get one but by the time I made up my mind, they were no longer available. We have an excellent knife shop in Palmdale that carried that line, as well as most others and the shop owner, who used to take care of all my knives when I was catering, was the one who put me onto the Dexter-Russell - the first one I bought was less than $15.00 and saw heavy duty and lasted for more than 5 years with no attention. I would probably still have it but managed to bend the blade when I did something with it that are not intended for such knives. (Prying up the lid of a can.)

I have the motion sensor soap dispensers from Bed, Bath & Beyond in the kitchen and in the bathrooms and also have one out at my garden sink. Not having to pump the thing keeps it clean and so far I have had no problems with clogging. I do run hot water through them before refilling. I signed onto their web site and added the dispensers to my cart. The next day I removed them and then I got an email with a coupon which I took to the store where I found them marked down and I used the coupon.

Good point about the length of the blade. I recall reading that many bread knife blades are too short, so I'll be sure to pay attention to the length of the blade. Thanks! Also, if you use a slicing guide, as I do, none of the regular bread knives are long enough to make a long, even stroke. I have a Bread Pal which has both thick and thin slice guides and the width is 7 1/2 inches so one can only use short strokes with a 9" blade, that makes for a rather ragged slice if you have bread with a soft crumb. You mentioned bagels. This knife cuts bagels perfectly - I use a bagel holder, since slicing into my left thumb many years ago.

As you probably know, I bake a lot of artisan breads, most with lots of crust. I have tried numerous "bread" knives and have discarded most because they don't deal well with crusty loaves OR they are simply TOO SHORT. I have two of these Dexter-Russell "roast slicers" that have 12 inch BLADES. They slice through anything, cleanly and with less effort than other knives. I also use them for slicing horizontally through cake layers and other tasks that require a long blade (big watermelons, for instance.) They are also INEXPENSIVE. But they last plenty long enough for me - I have bought them at Smart & Final for a bit less than the Amazon price but that was a while back. Compared to knives that i have paid three or four times as much for and gotten less satisfaction, these are exceptional. I used one just a short time ago to slice a large round "sourdough" loaf - too wide for the "normal" bread knives. And it had a thick, crisp crust.

Since I last posted in this thread in 2007, I have added a couple of salt cellars to my collection and also bought three or four of these Norpro shakers. They do "leak" a bit with very fine salt, if your turn them over and shake to loosen clumped salt. (And also cinnamon, because I use one for my cinnamon/sugar mix). They are also handy for other things that are used for "dusting" - one holds cornstarch and another powdered sugar (with a couple of the SecaPac desiccant thingys to keep that from clumping). This is a good price, they were 12.99 when I bought mine. I actually bought five - and am now wondering where I put the other one... Must be a "senior" moment... In any event, I ALWAYS have a spoon (or more than one) in the salt cellars - as you can see in the photo on the previous page. DO NOT LEAVE AN ALUMINUM OR OTHER METAL SPOON in the salt - it will pit it - take my word for it, I speak from personal experience. I have had salt eat through the bottom of an aluminum salt shaker that was not emptied before it was put into storage. Plastic measuring spoons are CHEAP and with one right in the container, you don't have to look for one when you need it.

I've always used a mixer and mine comes out just fine.

Be sure there is no direct heat to the drawer. As for storing ANYTHING that can burn - don't do it. One of my neighbors stored her cookie sheets WITH parchment paper liners, in the drawer under her oven and they burned after the oven had been on for a couple of hours with a large turkey. There was smoke escaping from the opening below the oven door and while there was no open flame, the parchment was dark brown with charred spots.

Thanks for the heads up! Rattlers are my favorite. I posted that two years ago.

If using bacon, I would get a cured but not smoked or "flavored" bacon - pancetta would be my choice. I have tried the regular bacon on turkey and it ended up tasting like bacon throughout - not that it is a bad thing, but I want turkey to taste like turkey (or goose in this case). There is no source near me that carries unsmoked bacon, except the pancetta at the Italian market/deli.

If you have enough time and a local REAL butcher, ask if they have caul fat. It comes from a pig so is unsuitable if serving a meal to those who avoid pork products. I've used it to wrap beef roasts, the leaner pork loin roasts, etc. you can brine the bird first, which will make it more tender, drain and dry it well, season the surface and inside then wrap with the caul fat. Tent the goose for the first half of cooking time then remove the foil or parchment so the wrap can brown. It makes a beautiful finish and holds the moisture inside the meat.

Beautiful, Darienne. Makes me feel lazy for not yet getting around to baking cookies. However, I have measured out the dry ingredients for four kinds into ziplock bags and stored each in a jumbo bag along with the recipes. Even with just a few batches, doing this saves so much time and aggravation if one finds there is not enough (or any) of a particular ingredient. When I used to prepare more than a dozen varieties, it was absolutely necessary - of course I was still working then - but the "production line" method helps a great deal.

When I have one of the big diffusers over two burners, the heat is distributed evenly throughout the entire plate with some warmer spots right over the burners. At the rear I put an oval pan then smaller pans - I can fit 4 or 5 where 2 would ordinarily sit.

I have two of the Copco "1 quart" saucepans that I use quite often. The pouring lips on either side are essential for me. You can find them on ebay at a reasonable price. I have one yellow, one blue, both came with lids. I also have a half-liter SS pan that is handy for use on the small "simmer" burner or on one of the copper plates I use over my gas burners so I can put more than one pan over a burner. (as shown in one photo) I like the enamel cast iron because it heats evenly and HOLDS THE HEAT well, maintaining the temp I want without having to adjust the burner often. This one has seen a lot of action over the decades I have owned them. It is not really a "full" quart because that brings the liquid level to within 1/2 inch of the rim. For my purposes, it functions perfectly for 3 cups, which is what most of my sauces produce at maximum, many are less. I like the white interior because it allows me to gauge the progress of certain sauces where color change is critical. I use them especially for making browned butter. The smaller SS pan is very useful for warming fruit sauces, condiments, etc., that do not do well heated in the microwave. Incidentally, I have written many times before about the usefulness of the copper burner plates that may seem a bit expensive but for me they extend the usefulness of my gas cooktop greatly because very small pots will tip if not set precisely over the heavy cast iron grates. I have two big plates that each cover two burners plus this one that covers one large burner and a small 6" square that covers the little simmer burner. BellaCopper will also make one for your custom size. As one side of my cooktop has two large burners, I ordered one that is 11 x 18 to cover the entire grate. I just checked and I bought the first one in 2007, the others in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Partially render the fat off in a pan of water - simmering - until the water is almost gone, then skim out the bacon solids, turn off the heat, wait about 20-30 minutes and skim off the fat that should be floating on top of the water. You can then finish cooking the water away, toss the solid pieces of bacon back into the pan to SLIGHTLY crisp up, then cool and store in the fridge. The cooked pieces will keep 3-4 weeks in the fridge, if they last than long.

Put some dry rice through it along with a teaspoon of baking soda. That should get the little nooks and crannies clean and dry. If there is some residual rice and soda, it won't affect the flavor of the pepper. (Been there, done that.) If you have one that is wood and the wood got soaked, filling it with corn starch and leaving it in a warm dry place for a couple of days will allow the corn starch to pull the moisture out of the wood. I have had this experience - dropped a wood pepper grinder into a pot of new potatoes as they were just beginning to boil.

The last 6 pounds of the candied ginger just out of the dehydrator. Left it a bit longer than usual so it is just a bit darker and a bit dryer, not as flexible as usual.

I'm not doing much this year as the local folks who usually get baskets are away for the month. I will take one large one to the senior center - a couple of stollen loaves, some simple cookies, my plain cocoa cookies, and some home- blended teas with spices and etc. I've made a couple of cheese logs but some of the folks there don't like to eat cheese so I may save those for something else. I've been invited to the home of some ex-neighbors for a day but was instructed to bring "just myself" as it is to be a day of making tamales for the big family celebration. I'm invited to that also but considering that I will be more than sufficiently fed the previous day, I will probably stay home. Including me in the tamale-making event is something I consider an honor for a non-Mexican. There will also be construction of several varieties of empanadas... I've already made a large batch of candied ginger and candied orange and lemon peel.

The thing to do is get acquainted with the dairy manager at your store ahead of time. I began by arriving at the store around noon on a Tuesday, after asking and being told that was after the regular dairy deliveries. (stock was always quite low on Mondays. I would find a product that was not in the case and ask for help and buy that product after the dairy worker, usually the manager on those busy stocking days, found it for me in the back. So the next time he knew I was a regular customer. They would rather sell the stuff rather than crate it up to return to the distributor - looks better for the division even if sold at a discount. I have bought cottage cheese "for the dogs" "expired" buttermilk (which keeps for weeks anyway, in the fridge), and cheese, also "for the dogs" which I freeze as any of the "hard" or even semi-hard cheeses do just fine frozen. Once they know you are a steady customer, you usually don't have to ask for a discount, they will even put the stuff in your basket until you say "enough" and then write a note to give to the checker. When it's half price they just scan every other carton so you get two for one.

The local drive thru dairy had a special yesterday on heavy cream (Alta-Dena) 1.69 per QUART so I bought a dozen and those are going into the freezer as I use the heavy cream to make butter. Yield is slightly more than a pound per quart so it is cheaper than the cheapest butter store brand locally. And there are no additives (except salt). You don't need a churn or anything fancy to make butter - a stand mixer makes it "breaks" then the paddle) easier but you can do it with a hand mixer too but it is a bit harder to do the "rinsing" to get it as "clean" as possible. I now use the Thermomix but before I got it used my Kitchenaid (the whisk till and when I used to make big batches used an electric churn. I have also "negotiated" with local supermarkets to buy heavy cream at a significant discount on the day it "expires" when I notice that just before a holiday (like Thanksgiving) they have a huge supply laid on. I make a note of the expiry date and go to the market in the afternoon and discuss it with the dairy manager - most recent purchase got it for half price 15 quarts. Have used several to make unsalted butter for baking. This may seem like a lot of work but until you taste it, you will never know what you are missing. You can also "culture" the cream to get a result that is close to the flavor of Isigny butter which has been rated (by some) Best in the world.

Mitch, a small point: I understand that some people get spooked by expiration dates, and may even get a little queasy when they take a bar out of the freezer and see that the butter is 6 months out of date. I do not pretend to understand the chemistry, but freezing butter seems to be as close to suspended animation as a food product can get. And butter is one of those products for which most everybody can detect off-aromas, off-flavors and rancidity... I don't worry at all about expiration or "use-by" dates. I go by my sense of smell (highly developed) and my taste (apparently undiminished by age (74) and currently am using a carton of heavy cream with a date in September. Still sweet, a bit thicker, but absolutely no adverse change in flavor or appearance. I do have one fridge that is kept colder than the regular one and in which I store dairy. One caveat. Don't store dairy in the door of your fridge - put it near the back and on a lower shelf. It will keep much longer.

6 months but you should wrap the original package first in foil and then in zip lock bags. If you vacuum seal it, you can keep it for a year. I make my own table butter but for cooking I buy when it is on special at Costco and vacuum seal it, especially the unsalted, which will not keep as long as the salted if you don't vac seal it.

I got in the habit of using a mandolin for "big" slicing jobs about 40 years ago and when I began preparing things in big batches, it never entered my mind to use a knife, which requires a certain amount of skill, which also requires practice. I used a Bron for many years, replacing the blades as needed and was happy with it until it began to bother my elbow and shoulder so I got the de Buyer and gave the Bron to another eG member. This one is expensive but I use it enough that it has justified the price in making my life easier. I just made a 12-pound batch of candied ginger and slicing that amount of ginger with a knife would be an impossible task for me nowadays. I also helped make a huge batch of eggplant lasagna for a friend to take to a potluck party at her work. I used the long pusher for large eggplant and sliced them lengthwise to make thin sheets of eggplant - can't do that with a knife and have even slices. I also cored then sliced 10 pounds of apples which are now in the dehydrator. Braeburn apples, which have a skin that is tender enough to dry nicely. I have arthritis and now my knife skills are less than they were, never really impressive. I like the V-type cutters, or the slant blades much better than the straight. I use the pushers, for my de Buyer I have both the regular and the long holders. I also have a mesh glove for the odd times I might slice something without the holder. I could get along without my mandolin but I would cease to do some of the things that I have done for years. If you get into a routine of using one, you will not have wasted your money, but if you treat it like a novelty, it will be a waste.

Southern Cakes is excellent for your criteria. I discovered I have two so am selling one on ebay. The one I use is spotted and stained throughout. You can look at the index at the Amazon site. One of my favorites is the Miss Nannies Fresh Coconut Cake, which even people who don't care for coconut say they like. Every time I take one to a potluck, it is always completely consumed, not even crumbs left on the plate.