MelissaH

I heard two stories about camel milk this year: one on NPR https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2017/02/15/514544612/once-restricted-to-herders-camel-milk-is-about-to-hit-the-shelves-across-india and the other on the Milk Street podcast (which I keep listening to, even though at least once an episode I hear something that makes me want to hurl the iPod into the middle of the street and let the cars run it over, PLEASE MAKE IT STOP!) https://www.177milkstreet.com/radio/the-quick-palestine-cook-bold-easy-fresh

A friend recently posted a video from the Weather Channel on Facebook, listing the 5 major U.S. cities with the most snow, on average. I realized that once I became an "adult" with the ability to choose where I lived, I've always been within a hundred miles of at least one of the cities on that list. I'm not sure what that says about me, other than I appear to be in good company!

Or you got really, really lucky.

In fact, in our house, the kitchen scissors were called the "pizza scissors" the whole time I was growing up. They were even the pizza scissors when we used them to cut through something else, like chicken!

Earth Balance subs in nicely 1:1 for butter, if you can't use dairy. But I wouldn't try to do it for something that's butter-forward such as shortbread—I'd choose to make something else instead. I'd think it would be fine in the lemon curd. And I like the idea of an olive oil crust, especially if the filling will include other ingredients and flavors from areas where olives grow!

I'd make it the day before, through to completion. Once it's out of the oven and cooled, put it in a plastic bag. Then, while the turkey is resting, take it out of its bag and stick it in the oven for a few minutes to warm through.

Yeah. That's what I want for dinner!

Has anyone successfully canned lemon curd, for longer-than-a-couple-of-weeks consumption? A friend's chickens are still laying 10 eggs a day, freezer space is tight, and she's feeling a little overwhelmed.

I agree with the suggestion to make a longer rectangle (roll or pat the dough thinner). The only way you're going to get more of a spiral is to have more length to spiral.

Report: I picked up the banh mi from the restaurant at about 11:30, and transported them home as they were wrapped. I could feel a bit of warmth through the bag, so I didn't want to stick them in the cooler with the rest of the cold stuff I'd shopped for. When I got home, they felt sufficiently cooled to go in the refrigerator. My husband gave me the 20-minute warning at about 4:50. At that point, I took the bag of sandwiches out of the refrigerator and started the Breville XL (not the CSO) heating to 375. The bag itself was just a regular plastic grocery bag, with the handles tied together so the sandwiches didn't knock against one another. Inside, each sandwich was in a small paper bag, underneath that wrapped in a sheet of plain uncoated paper. Following the directions from the link, I unwrapped each sandwich and removed the sprigs of cilantro. I also removed the rings of jalapeno that were outside the bread. I then rewrapped the sandwich in its paper (but didn't bother with the bag), put it on a small plate, and microwaved it for 40 seconds on full power. I repeated with the second sandwich. From there, I unwrapped the sandwiches, placed them on a foil-covered quarter sheet pan, and covered them with another pan (one small enough to fit inside the CSO, but not a disposable pan because I don't keep those on hand). The sandwiches were snuggled rather closely under the pan. They went into the preheated oven just as my husband walked in the door. He had enough time to change out of his work clothes and give the cats some attention before the 10-minute timer went off. At that point, I took the tray out of the oven, carefully lifted the lid, and gave a sandwich a gentle squeeze. It crackled, so I declared them done. I moved them onto separate plates, and we each dressed our own with the cilantro and jalapenos. I got the extra cilantro. Nobody wanted the extra jalapenos. It was a success. I'm hoping to talk a friend into joining me for lunch after we play hockey on Tuesday morning, so I can actually try one fresh and see how well the reheated version compares!

How many people were drawn in by the smell of baking bread?

So, @kayb, how were those parties?

Seconding @JeanneCake's recommendation for Carol Field.

Thank you. I'll give it a try and see what happens. Worst case scenario...well, we do have a jar of pasta sauce from one of the local red sauce Italian restaurants in the house. :-)

Question: I brought home two banh mi from the closest Vietnamese restaurant 30 miles away, intending them for a quick dinner. The restaurant suggested reheating them in a microwave. That doesn't sound like a great idea to me. Would the CSO be a good option? What settings? (With or without steam?) Would I be better off using the Breville XL? Is there something else I'm missing? Or is this just a bad idea and I should rethink dinner completely?

And if you do make it before the lake effect picks up, please yell!

Last time I checked, a quart of non-ultrapasturized heavy cream was on the order of $5. Byrne Dairy is the only place I can find cream that isn't ultrapasteurized.

Those prices are incredibly steep...especially considering that I drive past two Byrne Dairy stores (which have the exact same products at prices that won't induce heart attacks) on my way to the local Aldi.

Chiming in to help enable: the spelt-dried cherry scones in the Violet Bakery Cookbook are amazing. The recipe makes a boatload, but the dough freezes well. You're welcome.

I always spray both the pan and lid with nonstick spray. Never had a problem with anything sticking, or anything burning. But I also typically pull the lid off about 10 minutes before I expect the bread to be done.

I can see that I'm going to have to get my other tasks for the week out of the way quickly, so I can read up on vacuum-treating dough myself!

Beautiful finished angel food cake. How do you get it out of the pan in one piece?

I, too, refrigerate my batter overnight. Because it goes in the fridge, I mix the eggs in with everything else. And I omit that quarter-teaspoon of baking soda. I also usually cut the amount of butter in half, and still find them plenty buttery (and non-stick). I like to mix my batter in a bowl, and then pour it into a lidded pitcher that has a small footprint, and thus doesn't need as much refrigerator space. As a bonus, in the morning, I can just give it a good shake to mix it all back together. One thing I haven't tried yet is making waffles over several days, leaving the remainder of the batter in the refrigerator until I'm ready for it.

I'm definitely going to have to try the vacuum mixing method...and see what bowls I own that will fit in my chamber sealer.

That, at least, looks like food! How was it?