Lisa Shock

You can also hit it with a stick blender to puree it. But, overall, I vote for small dice -more surface area for browning.

Most places do sampling, ask to try whatever they will offer. I get a lot of tea from Asian markets. Many basic types are under $5. Sure, there are better, pricier types. But, everyone starts somewhere. A pound box of gen mai cha can cost as little as $3, and you'll have tea to drink for months. For me, the most important thing is that it is loose tea, not teabags. I can taste the flavor of the bag. Also, some companies put inferior sweepings/dust in the bags. You will get more tea and better tea at an overall lower cost by purchasing loose tea. Of course, for loose tea, an infuser is useful. I prefer the type with a handle over the kind on a chain. The kind on a chain are difficult to open and clean sometimes. The micro-fine type that rest on the cup are also good, but cost more.

It varies by what I am eating, or how I feel (between meals). I enjoy Earl Grey, Darjeeling, Chinese white, and Jasmine on their own. I tend to make Chinese tea with Chinese food, and Japanese tea for Japanese food. That said, one of my hobbies is trying new teas -has been since I was a teenager. So, often my preference is to try something I just discovered.

There are about a dozen websites devoted to this topic, the Happy Cow is pretty good wherever you are in the world. THIS GUY publishes a guide book which I have found to be useful. The difficult part is that many vegetarian restaurants are small places and tend to move a lot. I liked It's Vegetable a lot, but I hear they are closed now....so sad...but they are hoping to reopen in a larger location, so, keep an eye out!

Can you unroll the unbaked ones and bake them with the toppings on top like a pizza? (or cut into wedges) This way, the moisture will be driven up and away from the pastry. I'd re-bake the cooked ones, maybe even cut them into crouton sized chunks to encourage any residual rise.

The onion and cheeses contain water which is not helping. It also appears that the cut was not good. I think you are trying to add too much. Bacon bits alone would probably work. Dehydrated onion confit would probably work. Cheese powder would probably work. If you still want gooey cheese plus onions and bacon, consider doing turnovers instead. -And egg wash the interiors before adding the filling.

Butter has several interesting qualities that substitutes may not have. It's an emulsion of fat and water, and can (if handled gently) emulsify other things into sauces. The fat melts at a relatively low temperature, which gives good mouthfeel, but it also solidifies when cooler, giving structure to many baked goods. If you are looking for something to spread on toast, etc. perhaps you could consider a high quality olive oil with perhaps a touch of salt.

Does your oven have a self cleaning setting? I have taken a couple of mine partially through self cleaning and that worked very well. (placed it on the bottom so as not to risk breaking a rack) There's also the lye followed by vinegar method.

Greetings! What's for dinner?

I believe you are referring to CorningWare, not Pyrex. Pyrex is clear, CorningWare is white and often has patterns on it like the blue cornflower.

I just remembered that I still own a Bake-A-Round. The round bread makes good sandwiches, I should find something else to replace it...

The cup was purchased in 1997, right after a move. It exploded in 2007, in front of witnesses. It was in the cupboard, I pulled it out and was putting water from the tap into it and it just exploded. I did not knock it on the sink or anything. I know about the 2 types of glass, and drink from Duralex cups. What worries me are baked goods and savory foods that people regularly cut into while still in the pan. I looked at my Pyrex pan from 1984, which had seen many a lasagna cut inside it, and realized that there was a huge network of scratches - any of which could cause failure. At least a SS hotel pan won't break because it got scratched. Between the French oven that came with my copper-clad pans, my cast iron Dutch oven, and a variety of hotel pans, I realized that I have a lot of good options for baking the savory foods I generally bake like: baked beans, lasagna, macaroni casseroles, scalloped potatoes, enchiladas, etc. (I love making frittatas in cast iron skillets!) I do have dedicated pans (sheet pans, cake pans) for pastry, breads and other bakery items -once again, I don't really need anything glass or ceramic beyond the occasional custard or souffle cup. I guess that I also realized that I simply owned a lot of pans, far beyond my stove's capacity, and I really did not need that many. I also realized that I had a lot of glass mixing bowls, but was limited with how I could use them -I was nervous about whipping cream or eggs. At the same time, I also own a good collection of steel bowls in various sizes (for several of them I have as many as 4 of the same size) and I realized I could easily just use the steel bowls if I purchased a couple more. The steel bowls stack nicely and don't weigh very much. Nowadays, I don't worry about dropping pans when moving them around. And, I can grab bowls quickly and easily.

Do an internet search for "exploding pyrex". I had a pyrex measuring cup explode in my hand while measuring cold water, nothing hot was involved, about a decade ago. I have gotten rid of almost all all the glass bakeware in my kitchen, just some Duralex custard cups remain, and almost all of the ceramics (just holding on to a couple of vintage items with sentimental value). Honestly, I use my copper clad stainless pots and pans, plus my beloved wok and cast iron, for almost everything and for baking I use professional sheet pans and hotel pans.

Host's note: this was originally posted as a separate topic titled "Microbiome analysis and confocal microscopy of used kitchen sponges reveal massive colonization by Acinetobacter, Moraxella and Chryseobacterium species". The post immediately following refers to that title. Interesting paper on household sponges and various bacteria, particularly the parts about regularly sanitized sponges. IMO, looks like bar towels, fresh daily (machine washed in hot water with bleach and machine dried) and used with a sanitizing solution, is the way to go.

I have a Primo and alas, they are also no longer manufactured. That aid, they use the same cartridges as paintball guns and are super cheap and easy to get refilled. I managed to get all sorts of supplies really cheaply at Lowe's when they went on closeout.

Epicurious has a copycat recipe that looks very good. Baker's weekly does not have a formula in the issues from the 1920s through 1930s. Although, they have a nice almond brittle formula which uses honey.

I belong to a local gardening group on facebook. We meet every so often to trade stuff, everything is free, and we often trade in things other than produce. If people can find such a group locally, it may be worth your while to ask a number of people to split a bag purchased from Restaurant Depot, or some other wholesaler. -Like an old school co-op.

You should read THIS thread by CaliPoutine older people can be really picky, and not realize that their tastes have changed with aging. Someplace in there is a good description of how they would always complain about the meat being tough. Anyway, I'd do a really in-depth interview about their tastes and food heritage.

What's in your rum? Flavor scientists create a lexicon of terms to describe nuances of popular beverage. Looks like flavor scientists are just now starting to approach the study of Rum, and have run into issues with tasters experiencing sensory fatigue too quickly to make much progress in the lab. So, they started using the Internet to develop a basic lexicon of flavor descriptors. Looks like some eG members' work may eventually become part of the scientific standards for describing rum.

HERE's a video. Essentially, you take your roll of plastic wrap, set it on an open counter and pull out, without cutting, a length a bit longer than your container which then lays on the counter with slack near the box. You place your container on top of the wrap that is on the counter. Pull up the end edge, so that it wraps up the side and maybe even a bit onto the top. Then, pull more wrap from the box, enough to cover the top PLUS wrap around the bottom a bit. Tear, and make neat. To do a wide pan, like a full sized sheet pan, place the long side of your pan perpendicular to the wrap and then on the wrap so that there are a couple extra inches on the short side. Wrap one side, you'll be able to cover a little more than half with a roll of commercial wrap, then wrap the other side. The center overlap just gets done on top of the first wrap. Make sure the edges are covered and folded. This is MUCH easier to understand when you see the procedure.

Most vegetables don't really benefit from sous vide. I tried many things about a decade ago. My guess is that this particular recipe is for people who like southern (US) style green beans that are cooked for a very, very long time -usually with some pork. I am not aware of any Chinese recipes where green beans would be cooked for hours, but, I have just a very rudimentary knowledge of the cuisines of China.

If you learn how to cater-wrap, almost any wrap will work for you.

Welcome! What sorts of desserts do you serve?

Rice freezes really well, don't worry about clumping. I freeze mine in small rectangular containers overnight, then, I pop the brick out and vacuum seal it then freeze for real. The initial freeze helps prevent the vacuum sealer from smashing the rice.

There are some trade secrets which have never managed to be revealed. IIRC, the Dr. Pepper and Moxie formulas are still secret. I have never tasted Irn Bru, if I ever find some, I'll let you know what I think is in it. (I worked briefly for a US soft drink company developing flavors, and I am pretty good at replicating some newer drinks.)