cakewalk

Whatever it is, it's got a very serious grip. Does it go after things that are still alive? (Like a T-Rex would?)

Tyranasaurus Rex

I use it all the time now when I bake. I think it's very good. I use it in cookies, cakes, biscotti. I've never done a side-by-side taste test with real vanilla so I can't tell you about taste differences, but there is no ersatz taste in anything I've used this with. It's good stuff. I wish I could find it in a supermarket around here, but I've never seen it anywhere so I'll just have to re-order it online.

It's a new thing. Beekeeping was illegal in NYC until fairly recently. I've heard that it's really taken off in Brooklyn (no surprises there), where there are several apiaries, although I'm not sure if they're rooftop. (But I can't imagine where else they would have the room. Also NYC has so many five- and six-story residential buildings from the post-war period, which seem to be perfect for beekeeping. We're not just skyscrapers!) I found this: http://www.bees.nyc/ which leads to other websites as well. Central Park is at most two miles from the Javits Center, so it's just a hop skip and a jump for those bees. I'm sure this was all well thought out before they started the project. I hope it is successful, I really do think it's a wonderful idea.

Thanks for the post. I live two blocks from the Javits Center and did not know about this. (I'd guess that they have plants on the roof along with the hives.) It's a great idea. BTW - the Javits Center is not a high-rise. It's maybe five stories high and takes up at least three city blocks in width, probably more. So it has a lot of roof space. Starting an apiary up there was a brilliant idea. Maybe they'll start gardening, too.

I was browsing at a street fair in New York today and came across this Cake Decorator set. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to have it. I also knew I wouldn't pay the asking price, which was 30 bucks. (Ridiculous.) I was trying to decide just how much I wanted the thing. Would I pay $20? Maybe. I really wanted it. Then the vendor came up to me and said, "It's yours for $10." Sold. I couldn't resist.

Not as old as some of the beauties up-thread, but I bought this on a whim several years ago. I vaguely remember watching his show as a kid, and it was usually just to laugh at his antics. But the book is actually quite serious. (And, in fact, way out of my league.)

The ATK Classic Sandwich Bread (gluten-free) is actually a good loaf. Good flavor, nice texture. This one gets a thumbs up.

I'm thinking it's terminology. (Poor terminology, IMO.) He's taking it as a "given" that you've moved the loaves off the couche. His language is confusing, because he failed to mention a step that he takes for granted. Check out this website, which gives a good basic lesson on using a couche: http://thebreadmaiden.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-science-behind-using-couche.html Scroll to the bottom, where she begins the paragraph with: "Since you have baked your bread on your homemade couche ..." She also doesn't mean that you should literally baked the bread on the couche, and she's also taking for granted that you moved the loaves. I think it's poorly thought out. A novice would follow the instructions exactly and bake on the cloth. And anyway that step, moving the proofed bread without degassing it, could use a lot of explanation.

I find it interesting to describe anything as being "lightened" by sour cream! Beautiful as always.

You mention a lot of things. For me, the combination of toppings in and of themselves is not an issue. (Corn and tomato is one of my favorite combinations. Corn and tomato sauce, not so much.) The issue is whether or not it's a pizza when it has all those toppings. As you mention, you've had such combinations on flatbread, or a quesadilla, a burrito, a tortilla, ... whatever. But pizza is a thing in and of itself. With pineapple, corn, tuna fish, chicken, etc. it becomes something else. Maybe it is a vegetable flatbread. If you need to eat it with a knife and fork, I think it belongs in its own realm. (I'm waiting for dessert pizza. Chocolate and tomato sauce. With whipped cream. On pizza dough. Mmmmm. )

Revolting. (Said the New Yorker.) When did people start using pizza as a plate?

In Israel they have a product that is soured milk. It is sold like yogurt, in small containers of about one cup. Many people just punch a hole in the top of the container and drink it. There are two types, one called "Eshel" and the other is called "Gil." The difference is in the fat content, with Eshel having a higher fat content. @shain might be able to weigh in here about this. It is a staple in Israel, my guess is that thousands of containers of this stuff are consumed a day, and I'm not exaggerating. Anyway, Gil was one of my favorite things in the world, I just loved it. For years I thought it was yogurt, until a friend informed me that it was just sour milk, there was no fermentation or bacteria or other things that make yogurt yogurt. I thought she was pulling my leg, but she usually knew about this stuff. (She grew up on a farm.) Anyway, it didn't deter me at all, I still loved it and ate it, a lot of it. Haven't thought about it in ages, and I never thought it was actually made with milk that was going bad. And I think that's what I don't understand about this. At what point is it "Gil," or soured milk, and what is the tipping point? If you're trying to make it deliberately, and not just trying to salvage milk that is getting a bit too old to use, what would you do? (Short of going to Israel to buy some Eshel or Gil.)

Well that was a must.

I usually throw past-its-prime milk down the drain. Looks like I have something to learn here. What do you do with it?

Serious Eats has a bit to say about Greek salads: http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2017/08/the-best-greek-salad-tomato-feta-summer-recipe.html Daniel Gritzer is my favorite writer on Serious Eats. I always try to read his stuff, even if I have no intention, or ability, of making the recipe. (But this one I can deal with.)

I didn't know that Cuban sandwiches used a particular bread. So I had to read about it. Have you seen this yet? http://www.virtuousbread.com/bread-and-conversation/making-bread-with-la-segunda-bakery-in-tampa/ Perhaps the recipe will be helpful. The shaping seems complicated.

@liamsaunt, that is one damn fine cherry pie! But, but - tonight's not the finale!!! It's episode 16 - I think there are 18 episodes this season, so we're getting close. I'm right there with your niece! (And have mentioned a damn find cup of coffee, as Dale Cooper would say, somewhere in one of these threads.) Beautiful burgers, too! ETA - oh, I see you're talking about Season 2. I'm on Season 3. Whew!

Yes, they really need to be watched. As soon as the water boils, you have to lower the flame to a simmer while it perks. Mine aren't Revere Ware. The smaller one has no name on it at all. The larger one is stamped on the bottom with the name Comet. (Never heard of it.) The bottoms of the handles (which are plastic) on both of them are partially melted away, undoubtedly from too high a flame as it sat on the stove. I am waiting for @andiesenji to weigh in here, I have no doubt she has a stash of these things in all sizes!

This thread made me think of these old stove top aluminum percolators. These are a six-cup and a two-cup. When I would visit my father (he passed away almost 20 years ago) I'd always make a pot of coffee in the larger one. He swore by them, said they made the best coffee ever. Not so sure about that, but they really weren't bad. You really have to work out your timing - let it perk for 5 minutes? Six? I always loved watching the color change in the glass cap as the coffee brewed. Maybe I'll try the two-cup today. ETA: I just had a cup I made in the two-cup percolator. Brewed for six minutes. As Dale Cooper would say, it was a damn fine cup of coffee.

I'm not a tea drinker, but @helenjp, I really enjoyed that post. (And learned a lot.)

Oh yes. And it really makes a difference.

Is this fairly common in farmer's markets where you are? I've bought produce at the Union Square Greenmarket that was, at best, sub-par. I now go to only one vendor because their stuff is always good. I have long felt that the USGM has very poor quality control, and for the prices that they ask (and get), it is inexcusable. I thought it was only here in NYC. I'm just wondering how common this might be?

Interesting, all this ice cream truck stuff. We also had candy stores and grocery stores right on the block or across the street, and they sold ice cream. Yet we all waited for that Good Humor truck. There was a competing truck, Bungalow Bar. I remember the poor old man who drove it around, we would taunt him mercilessly. It was Good Humor or nothing. I love the idea of that ice cream boat floating around.

I think there must be a big age difference between us. We had no music-box tune. These trucks had bells! The driver (aka the ice cream man) would pull a string, and the bells would jingle. We could hear him coming down the block. Not sure if you can see the bells at the top middle of the windshield. The still work! (Although I think these bells are replacements.) It was all very low-tech. But oh how we loved it. Loved the ice cream, too, although I'm not so sure how I'd feel about eating Good Humor these days.