phaelon56

Do you mean you pre-assemble the pie in the dish, freeze and then bake? Or... do you freeze the fruit and then assemble the pie using fresh dough and frozen fruit? Last question (I promise - at least until the next one ): when you freeze portioned batches of dough is it frozen in a flattened disc shape?

I'm starting to make my pie dough from scratch... finally! (no news to most of you!). I typically end up with some left over dough ranging from golf ball size diameter to perhaps twice that size once the cutting scraps are bunched up together. I've been wrapping and freezing these bits 'cause I hate to waste food (more accurately: I am constitutionally incapable of it due to upbringing). Please note that they are not all from identical dough recipes. How can I use them up at some point when I have enough collected? Some sort of cobbler.... sheperd's pie? Any and all suggestions appreciated.

I made my fruit tart last night and this morning but opted for a cream cheese based filling rather than Frangiapane. I didn't have lard handy but the recipe I decided to try for "sweet pastry crust" called only for butter. Remembering bits and pieces of the sound advice here.... I threw the butter in the freezer for a bit first along with the mixing bowl and the butter knives I planned to use to mix the flour and butter. The recipe called for one lightly beaten egg to be mixed into 125 grams of butter along with 1/4 cup sugar. 1 1/2 cups flour along with a dash of salt are to be sifted (I have no sifter!) and then mixed loosely until pea size chunks are achieved. Instructions called for "blending" the butter and sugar until it was "fluffy". I chopped the butter and sugar together with cold knives and then used an elctric handmixer for a minute or so to get it a bit softer, then mixed in the flour. Did the cutting in mostly with knives. It was still too dry so I did have to add a tbsp or so of ice water but it came together nicely in a ball. Flattened in disc and threw wrapped in fridge for about 20 minutes. I know some have advised here that this is not necessary but I had clean up to do and it made things easier. It rolled out beautifully and prebaked very nicely despite my screwing up (note to self: remembr to read instructions carefully!). It actually called for lining the raw crust in the tart pan with foil before putting the pie weights in place and prebaking. I forgot the foil and also let it bake a few minutes longer than necessary. It wa s trifle browner than light golden brown. Have not taste tested it yet but based on appearance it is way flakier than my previous attempt, despite the absence of lard or shortening. This really is a great thread - I think I'm on my way to killer pies and tarts The fundamental tips about keping things really cold and ensuring that there are lumps of fat still in the raw dough are so helpful. I wil report back on how well this one does on the Flake-O-Meter but I'm optimistic.

I've been so humbled and overwhelmed by the flood of info that responding seemed futile Not ready to make a pie again yet but tonight I'be whipping up a Fruit Frangiapane tart and will report back on the results. Half of my guests are vegetarian so lard will not be included but I will include some of the other hints and tips into my process. My only existing food processor is the mini FP attachment for my immersion blender. Works great for small stuff but not a big enough receptacle foa batch of dough. I'll try the knife and fork or two knife method for cutting the butter into the flour. Thanks again to all. And - the crust on the pie I discussed in this article was tender but not flaky. There is a difference and a good crust can exhibit both qualities or so I think.

I carry in my own damn bag, politely refuse their assistance and end up at the bar way ahead of you Tommy. Hell, I could even buy you the first beer because I drinl soda and $10 buys plenty of it The trick is to get out of the cab about 100 - 150 feet away from the hotel. If you exit the cab in the drop-off zone it's next to impossible to stop the tipping sequence from starting. I don't feel compeleld to buy into the whole doorman, bellman and valet scenario but housekeeping always gets a healthy tip from me. I always tip 5% to 10% (or at $1 to $2 on really small orders like a side) if it's a sit-down restaurant where I'm getting the meal from a bartender or wait-staff. Any place that is well established as a take-out place... e.g. a pizza joints or Chinese take-out.... I rarely if ever tip unless it's to leave my spare change n the tip cup.

Me, too, and I was pretty surprised that they had chosen to call it that. But then, I also thought that the word "mulatto" was well within common parlance for most Americans. Not necessarily, at least when it applies to the younger generation and I'll include all other racial groups in that generalization as well. This forum tends to be frequented by people who read and in most cases are well educated (sometimes formal education or in many cases self-taught). Those who read regularly, have an inquisitive nature and are attuned to cultural issues tend to be aware of the meanings of words that are no longer actively in use. Sadly, this is so often not the case with younger folks (I'd say those under age 30 - 35). I'll guess that my daughter and the majority of her friends (who are caucasian) as well as my girlfriend's sons and most of their friends (who are African-American) would scratch their heads a bit to try and remember what the word "mulatto" means (if in fact they even recognize it at all). These are all college students or grads in their early 20's but on so many issues they just don't have a clue because they don't read enough outside of required texts. Not making a judgement here, just an observation. Give any of them the phrase "mixed-race" or "bi-racial" and they know. I'm not near a dairy Queen and haven't seen the ads but it does seem like a lot of flap over nothing significant.

You can also buy it direct from Sugar-Shots wholesale by the case

Unless things have changed since I left Rutherford last summer, the reason would be that there really isn't anything worthwhile to choose from. The coffee is okay at Cafe Eros (the espresso drinks are middle-of-the-road) but the desserts are for the most part just glorified Sysco frozen crap. Overly sweet and overpriced at that. Two exceptions are worth mentioning 1) those fruit shaped sorbets that are pre-made but pretty tasty - can't recall the brand but they're good 2) baklava - the owners are Greek - the baklava and related Greek pastries are decent They also have a covered patio in the back. It overlooks the parking lot of Boiling Springs savings Bank but it's a nice spot to get outside when the weather is tolerable. obviosuly you didn't walk far enough up Park to spot the DQ - then your dessert worries would be over

One of my local grocery chains has been stocking cryovac frozen yellowfin tuna steaks that appear to be of the "frozen and processed at sea" variety. At $6.99 per pound I couldn't resist trying them ("fresh" yellowfin is $15 - $17 per pound around here). That's the technique I finally settled on after overdoing them the first two times out. When in doubt undercook. Even two minutes on the first side and a minute on the second side is way too much. I do press mine gently with a large spatula when it hits the hot pan to increase the searing effect a bit but that's probably overkill.

That sounds like it but I don't recall the squeak. Then again... the International Foods Warehouse offers such sensory overload to begin with that I may just not have noticed the sound.

Many good points have already been made about larger drink sizes (more prevalent in more upscale establishments and in larger cities) but IMHO very pertinent in this discussion is that fact that regular retail markup conventions do NOT apply. I was in the There are some inherent and specific costs associated with the business of alcohol related to things such as insurance which necessitate a higher markup. There's also the need to account for "spillage", which may range from something as innocuous as an inexperienced pourer who pours a bit too heavy but can extend to outright theft (e.g. the disgruntled bartender who pours multiple rounds of free drinks for their friends when no one is watching). In a bar with "regulars" it's also an accepted and wise practice to comp drinks periodically to your better customers. Lots and lots of hidden costs associated with alcohol sales.

I was at the truly weird International Foods Warehouse in Lodi NJ a coule years ago and one of their vendors was handing out free cheese samples. One of them is a sort of spongy cheese with fine holes in it that comes from Cyprus. They were cuttign slices, throwing them onto a non-stick griddle and then serving when it was totally browned and almost crunchy on both sides (almost like a slice of burnt crusty pizza cheese that's still soft in the middle. I loved it. They claimed that it's a popular breakfast food in Cyprus but I have yet to ever find that cheese again. Jimyo - you're so right about the eggs. I spent four housrs painting my patrents house last night after my day job and was too burned out to cook a real meal. I threw two brown eggs in the pan, scrambled 'em up with some S&P, chopped parsely and tomato from the garden (my first garden ever - yay!) and tossed in a couple slices of gruyere. Served on wheat toast as a sandwich - it was the best meal I've had in weeks

I have one of the cheap grey marble units and the bottom inside of the mortar is actually quite corase and grinds well. The problem is that the pestle broke after being dropped onto a granite countertop from only 3" - 4" above the counter. Thanks to all for the tips about Asian amrkets - I'll check mine locally for a stone replacement. By all means avoid the "close-fit" style shown on one of the linked websites. I bought one made of porcelain 'cause iti was so damn stylish and it was completely useless. It might be good for crushing pills but was terrible at crushing spices and not large enough to boot.

If you're camping in an area where there is access to fresh produce and you're not packing stuff into the back country, roasted sweet corn is one must-do that hasn't been mentioned. The ideal method is to soak the ears (in the husks) overnight in a bucket of water and then place into the embers of a campfire. have tongs or leather work gloves availabel to turn the ears until they're charred on all sides. About 15 - 20 minutes will likely suffice. Peel the husk off with the gloves (the silk just falls off with the husk. It's absolutely the best corn you'll ever eat. It can also be roasted on a propane gas grill or charcoal grill but the embers of a fire seem to yield a more intense flavor.

Okay folks... time for true confessions. It's a bit humbling to admit this in the presence of so many pastry pros and seriously advanced amateurs but until a few weekends ago I had never made pie dough from scratch. My method had always been to use Pillsbury Pie Crust Sticks. They look like a stick of butter - one simply adds water and mixes to get a ball of dough suitable for a 13" round. My long standing trick of replacing one of the tablespoons of water with a tbsp of orange juice really seemed to help. I only make pies once a year or so (pecan pies at Christmas) but people always raved about the crust. Now that I have a "real" kitchen and am immersed in eGullet culture it seemed time to make my own dough. I used the dough from this epicurious.com recipe Piled High Peach Pie although my pie included both blueberries and fresh peaches. The dough seemed easy enough to handle when I rolled it out after being chilled. It seemed a bit inflexible yet didn't crack. It browned nicely and tasted fine - not too heavy or overly dense. The issue I had with the result was a lack of flakiness. The dough I made previously from the pie crust sticks was markedly flakier. I'm hoping you more experienced folks can suggest some tips to improve my techniques (if it includes a different recipe that's okay too). I do have an accurate kitchen scale if that helps (accurate to 1/10 gram). One thing I know I could have done differently - it called for chilled vegetable shortening to be cut into the dough along with the butter. I had to run out to buy Crisco and just put a small bit of it in the freezer for fifteen minutes before using - it most likely was not chilled enough. The only mixer I have is a cheap hand mixer, thus I followed the suggestion of mixing with my fingertips but never achieved a true cornmeal texture. I did get the dough into relatively fine and fairly small clumps it was more like the texture of large risotto grains rather than cornmeal. Might this be my problem? Here's the pie - by the way - it did taste great! Peach-blueberry pie

I regret that I went through the market area too late in the day on my Seattle cisit last week - Beecher's was already closing and I couldn't try any of the cheeses. I did stop at Gelatiamo on my last day to sample some gelato. The prices were quite reasonable relative to portion size but what i tried was a mixed bag. The mango was fruity enough and the espresso flavor had enough of a coffee zing but neither had as creamy a texture as I'd hoped for. The third scoop (at the bottom of the dish) was the hazelnut and it was very, very good. Perhaps the texure was better because it had warmed up a bit and was the last of the three scoops to be consumed? It may also be that the intense flavor bursts or hazelnut were so pronounced that it had extra impact. Not really sure but it is an enjoyable stop when in the neighborhood.

Can you elaborate? I've always though that the contrasting flavors of the basic componenets have potential together but I've never been fortunate enough to have a good Russian Dressing.

I'm in complete agreement on "sammitches" except I always call potatoes byb their ful name (but I'm formal that way). "All natural" kills me. Hoa about "Part natural"? Why not? I'm also a bit tired of gnoshing and grazing. There must be a batter way to describe that activity. Isn't grazing what farm animals do?

Um, is that expensive? It's also expensive for NYC - way expensive. Most take-away slices in NYC run about $2.00 to $2.50 for plain.

"Hungarian Goulash" - the variety I'm thnking of is neither Hungarian nor is it a true gulasz. This is the elbow macaroni with sweetened red sauce and browned hamburger variety. I just love the stuff even when it's poorly prepared. Don't get me started on Sloppy Joes.

Last Tango In Paris. 'nuff said. Unless to ask.... was it Plugra?

When you're done looking at Gergia O'Keefe's flowers, take a gander at the photography of Minor White. Never did I think I could get horny looking at photographs of rocks but somehow he did it I appreciate all the input on my latte pic and will try to incorporate the suggestions into my next attempt. Now for my next chance to be assessed. Here's a gelato shot from last week's trip to Seattle. Unedited The following is with a small bit of contrast/brightness adjustment, some burning in on the highlights of the gelato scoops and the newspaper and also use of the Unsharp Mask. I'm actually leaning towards the original being preferable - perhaps due to the rectangular composition. I left the newspaper in the shot based on comments about my latte art shot and it does seem to improve the composition but comments and suggestions for improvement will be greatly appreciated (by the way... of the three flavors in that cup, only the hazelnut was a standout) Edited

If I can get my local Italian deli to order Aranciata I'll try that. I've been drinking it chilled straight up and just sip it as a digestif before dinner.

In my area the Italian sodas are sold only in bottles. Chinotto comes in a bottle that is roughly 6.5 oz in volume. Sanbitter is in a bottle about half that size.

Mine was about a week or two after I started waiting table. One of my colleagues put the filter in the Bunn coffee maker a bit crooked. It folded over and the grounds made their way to the drainhole of the filter basket, clogging it and leaving an empty coffee pot on the burner with a completely full basket of hot water. I yanked the basket in a one motion to dump thr grounds, ending up with the entire basket of scalding water sloshing out over my right hand and wrist. Amazingly enough.... despite the intensity of the initial burn, the after-effects were minimal. As the first "fern bar" in town, we had an abundance of plants throughout the restaurant. A wise coworker took a huge aloe leaf from a nearby plant, slit it lengthwise, placed it on the burn and then wrapped a towel around to hold the pultice in place. It works amazingly well. Every restaurant kitchen should have access to a huge aloe plant - seriously.