andiesenji

You could get one of the magnetic "boots" for the Thermapen - it glows in the dark. Only $11.00.

America's Test Kitchen has an excellent tutorial in preparing bread for bread pudding. I began toasting bread (usually homemade) for pudding many years ago. I started by toasting the slices and breaking them roughly but later began cutting them into large cubes similar to the method in ATK's instructions. As an option, I also still toast BUTTERED bread until browned, (salted butter) then chopping it into largish pieces and adding the custard mixture to the toast, allowing it to soak for 20 minutes and then into the oven. I cover it with the non-stick foil and put pie weights on the foil to keep the bread from floating. I remove the foil when there is still 20 minutes on the timer, so the top will brown slightly.

Mine is slightly larger than my original Thermapen - I think it is because of the "Splash-Proof" seal.

In local news today a recall of some TJs products.

How does your "open box" unit differ from New? (I ordered a yellow one). As far as I can tell, it looks perfect. There is absolutely no evidence that it was ever used or even taken out of the package.

I think it is a pretty good deal. A friend in Oz. has ordered four, one for herself and the rest for holiday prezzies.

No, I got the iPad a few weeks ago and got the purple "jacket" for it to keep it from sliding around. I've also got a folding case with bluetooth keyboard for travel. I love gadgets. This Thermapen is certainly faster than my older Thermapens and the Super-Fast dishwasher safe pocket digital (also Thermoworks). I think the Purple does look "faster" - I like purple in clothes but haven't had much purple kitchen stuff - I have a pitcher with a purple cow on it. Somewhere in my "stuff" I have one of the Nambé bowls that is silver on the outside and purple on the inside.

This is not a new gadget but when I got an email from Thermoworks with a "deal" on "open box" Thermapens at a discount, I ordered one. This time I opted for PURPLE mostly to distinguish it from my others. I think the color is really cool.

I use a heavy stainless roasting pan, rectangular - also for stovetop use that goes over two burners. The large burner at the front puts out slightly more btus that the back burner but I stir the contents back and forth, which evens the heat overall. The sides are 3 1/2" deep. I just measured it and it is 16 1/2 inches long 12 inches wide. I got it at a restaurant supply place. I've also used it in the barbecue and it has not warped with very high heat. I also have an extra-large Magnalite roaster that I often use over two burners for cooking large batches because I find it difficult to use very deep stockpots. I'm 5' 6" but still it is not all that easy, at my age, to use them. Having the wider, lower sided vessel is much easier.

This deal for a Tamale-Making Class with Beer Flight for one or two, at what seems to be a very reasonable cost (using the Groupon deal) just appeared in my email this morning. For anyone who lives near the Silver Lake district in L.A. this should be fun. It might be fun for a small group if you can convince others to buy the deal.

I use this method. From A Gardener's Table. It is identical to a recipe in one of my old pre-WWI cookbooks. The only difference is in the amount. The original recipe specifies 5 pounds of angelica stems. Oy!

I've had a Northern Tools grinder, similar to this one but a bit bigger, since 1995 and it was used heavily when I was catering. I used it to grind game meat and make sausages of all sizes. The advantage to the Northern Tools grinder is that it does not generate as much heat when operated for prolonged periods for many pounds of meat. It is very heavy. I have it bolted to a rolling wood kitchen cart/chopping block that is several inches lower than the counter heights. This makes it much easier to use for someone who is not tall. I also have two smaller ones I use for dried fruits and nuts or very small meat grinding jobs.

The only time I met her was way back in the early to mid '70s, when I attended a conference for women writers with a friend whose original partner for the trip had backed out at the last minute and I was willing to make the drive and hang out. A bunch of us went to a late lunch at Chez Panisse - It had only been open for a couple of years at the time. She was very gracious, chatted with us and introduced us to "another writer" that she introduced as "Mary Francis" and which only later I realized was MFK Fisher (who had also been at the conference). I was impressed with the food, the philosophy and the enthusiasm for fresh, locally produced foods. I guess I did write about it in the post weinoo started in '09. I wrote: Posted 22 April 2009 - 12:33 PM "I have long been appalled at the "trashing" of Alice Waters by people who should know better, but the fact that they say or write these things, shows that they haven't a clue, much less good manners. I first visited her restaurant back in the mid '70s, not a long time after it had opened and my friends and I were impressed. (A group of women attending a writers conference for women in Berkeley.) She has been generous with her time in advising and helping the Berkeley school system to greatly improve the food served in the school cafeterias, resulting in much healthier children. My daughter and a group of her students, who are participants in the Jefferson awards program attempting to improve the school cafeteria offerings in the Livermore school system, were invited to meet with her last month and were treated with courtesy and given a significant amount of her time and a great deal of help. Incidentally, they won the top award for the State of California and will be going to D.C. for the national competition in June. This fact alone, that she is not just hyping the use of fresh, locally grown foods, for her own profit, but for the betterment of her community and others, is enough to convince me that she is doing it right. Anyone who thinks differently is either unable to comprehend the importance of her contributions or DOESN'T want to believe because they want to sell their articles." Nothing in the past three years has caused me to change my mind.

You can fill doughnuts, cupcakes, muffins, popovers and croissants with jam.

I'm bumping this topic up because my baker friend here in town just got one of these and had it plumbed to a water line so he can use it as a steam oven. If you look at the list of specs - you will see "Includes electro watervalve for direct water connection " If anyone wants a fairly compact oven that will handle full-size sheet pans, this one is an excellent choice. It required 220 (208-240V) electric supply similar to that required for a regular electric range or an electric dryer. My friend has been intending to get one for some time but the best price till now was more than 2000. When he saw this price, he jumped at it. The shipping from Colorado was FREE!

Lovage grows like a weed here, sending up flower/seed spikes (which I keep cutting back) and seeding itself all over the yard. If you keep it in a (large) pot, you have to dig it out every two or three years, divide the root mass and replant in fresh soil. It pairs well in pots with sorrel.

Simply dry as much as you are not going to use fresh, or in the other compounds. Either tie the base of several stems together and hang upside down in a dry, airy place or, if the stems are short, place them in a mesh colander and toss them every day or so until dry enough that the leaves separate from the stems with just a touch. I grow loads of rosemary and dry some for recipes where the fresh is not appropriate. It will keep for a minimum of six months in a jar, longer if you can vac-seal it. You can also make jellies with rosemary - apple-rosemary jelly is a "classic" - sometimes with tomato, and an onion/garlic/rosemary jam is lovely for serving with game, both meat and fowl. I googled "rosemary jelly" and found several recipes, including these. I've just made the two but there are some other interesting ideas.

Those are similar to the racks I bought for my Hobart.

What really irks me is that a lot of us wrote letters to the "Govenator" begging him to not sign the darn thing. He did and I will bet anything that he has no problem having foie gras on his table...

Congratulations on your new adventure. I'm sure this endeavor has given you an infinite variety of experiences that will be of significant value in the future - probably at times must have felt like herding cats. I am just one of many who will greatly miss your wit and knowledge. Please do visit from time to time and keep us up to date with your activities. Andie

I have some inexpensive stemware that goes into the dishwasher. As long as you keep all the similar sizes together, you can "anchor" them by simply placing a cooling rack/cake rack on top of the stem bases. I use the same trick to keep lightweight (dishwasher safe) plastic tumblers and etc., in place. Much easier than all those little plastic ties. I got the idea from the many years I used my commercial Hobart dishwasher - the trays for stemware had grid-like covers to keep them in place. -Otherwise the pressure would blow them completely out of the tray.

I think that Pyrex is making a big mistake. Local people have nothing good to say for the new style. I can understand that it would work for some tasks, as Kerry mentioned, but for regular kitchen use, they are awkward to use and store. a couple of years ago a friend gave me one of these measures sort of as a joke. I like it so much I ordered three more. They have measurements in cups and ounces as well as metric - unlike regular lab glass measures. And they are cheaper at this price for this size = 2 1/2 cups than most lab glass from lab suppliers. I wish they produced a quart or 1 liter size but have not so far. I have not yet chipped or broken any of them and have not exactly treated them delicately. As I reported in my first post, I do have a lot of old Pyrex plus Anchor Hocking, up to 2 quart and one, precious Hazel Atlas 2 1/2 quart measure/mixing bowl with handle which I use constantly. I like the antique straight-sided McKee glass measures with the pouring lips on three sides and picked up several before other folks began collecting them. They can still be found in thrift stores if you look sharp. They come in several clear colors as well as the opaque green, light blue and rarely in cobalt with white markings.

Ripen them the same way as you would treat an avocado. They have seeds that are smaller than an avocado pit, sometimes just one but there can be more, shaped like extra-large almonds. They are ripe when they give slightly, similar to a peach or nectarine. I peel them as the skin can be a bit bitter. They are quite sweet and when fully ripe have a texture like custard. When I lived in Reseda I had a good sized tree in my yard that produced a lot of fruit, with no attention at all.

I have some of the measures made for reading from the top and they are okay, especially with very opaque liquids. However several can't go in the microwave. Like you, I am used to reading the line of the meniscus - I even have some graduated laboratory measures which I use from time to time because I can put them over direct heat. In the store I picked up one of the new measures and it just felt awkward in my hand - the balance is different and I think the smaller base would make them easier to tip over accidentally.

I noticed this a few days ago in the local kitchen store and intended to post about it but forgot until I was reminded by today's America's Test Kitchen segment. Pyrex has changed the shape of the glass measures and it makes no sense to me. They have also added solid red paint around half of the outside, which makes it more difficult to read the levels. It's not so bad on the larger measures - the 8 cup or 4 cup but for the smaller 1 and 2 cup measures to me they are awkward to use. They still make a 2 cup that is the traditional shape with straighter sides and red spots to indicate the graduated measurement levels. I already have a large supply of every size of the traditional Pyrex measures, which I intend to keep using. If anyone has only one and like the way it works, see if local stores have any of the "old" style still on hand and buy at least one backup. Otherwise, watch yard sales and thrift stores and pick up what you may need in the future.