Lisa Shock

Bake the dry ingredients to make them crunchy (like old-school granola recipes instruct) instead of freezing???

Sorry, I got lost in the pictures and replies. Honestly, soda bread doesn't have the gluten development to support an ear.

The slash should be cut at an approximately 30° angle, just before baking, in order to form a good 'ear'. Hers may have disappeared because the loaf was not proofed enough, the cut was not angled enough or deep enough. HERE's a good page about the topic, showing the results of different slashes. BTW, the white stripes are rice flour added at the last minute, it does not brown.

To me, it looks like a carrot come to life. Imagine the ears in green and the body in orange.

I use a small cast iron pan, a six inch Wagner, I like how it performs with frittata. I heat up the non-egg ingredients, then add the egg and move it to the broiler. Carryover heat cooks the bottom and the broiler handles the top quickly. I tend to like browning the bottom of my ingredients, along with using brown butter, so, I don't mind having a relatively thin final product if (for example) there are browned potatoes as the base. If 6" seems too large, many times, I save half for later consumption, Lodge does make a 3.5" model.

You shouldn't proof that long, what's room temperature where you are? (here in Phoenix, when summer hits, my kitchen is often 85°F -almost warm enough to proof, but not quite. Did you refrigerate between turns to retard yeast development? If so, for how long?

There's a chance that it's a combination of lower nitrates and thick meat. This hunk of meat was the thickest one I cooked, and the most fatty. That said, it was in brine starting on March 5, which should have been plenty of time -unless there's some sort of physics issue affecting it. I did the math to use as little saltpeter as possible, same with salt. I was trying to make a dish that perhaps would be perhaps more historically accurate by being frugal. Plus, I wanted to emphasize the spice flavors. I am also cooking for senior citizens who are mostly on low sodium diets.

Here are some pancake suggestions: trade out 1/2 the flour for whole wheat flour fruit compote on top instead of syrup is delicious I add chopped nuts in my pancakes sometimes, they toast as the pancakes cook and provide protein. You can make your own granola and store it for weeks in a jar. (or buy a good natural brand) Granola gives you the goodness of oats with crunchy texture, plus extras like nuts. You can make it in different flavors. If you make two batches at once, you can alternate what flavor you eat. It can be eaten plain, with milk, or with yogurt. Hash can be an all-purpose dish that is different every day. You can use leftovers in hash, and tiny amounts of food can go a long way. A little oil/butter in a pan with your choice of the below items (and more) along with some herbs and/or spices, can keep things interesting. Ingredients: cooked chicken, onions, celery, carrots, a few cooked potatoes, garlic, cooked beef, cooked seafood, corned beef, cabbage, broccoli stems, beets, cauliflower, parsnips, mushrooms, etc. You're just cooking the vegetables for a few minutes, then heating up the cooked proteins. French toast is a great way to use up stale bread. It can be made with whole grain bread, for fiber, and contains a considerable amount of protein. Fresh fruit is delicious on top, so is hot fruit compote. An easy way to make a fruit compote (aside from cooking fresh fruits) is to simply hydrate some dried fruit. Chop it into small, 1/4" chunks for faster hydration, or make it the night before by putting fruit in a bowl, adding hot water, stirring, wait ten minutes, then refrigerate. This should be fine in the fridge for 5 days. Avocado toast is a good option, especially if you can catch avocados on sale. Use wholegrain bread (one that has nuts in it will be higher in protein), make toast, top with avocado slices and a quick sprinkle of salt and maybe one of those dry herb blends, or a hot sauce. There are muffins you can make the night before. Many contain eggs and dairy, so there's protein plus lots of fiber options. Hope this helps! (and welcome!)

@ElsieD I believe I have the answer to the grey in the middle issue. I make two whole briskets yesterday. I cut each in half, approximately where the lean part ends and the fatty multidirectional meat begins. I simmered each separately, as I was working on delivering meals for several groups. For the most part I did ok; I had a probe thermometer stuck in two ends of each slab. One piece in particular, I was able to keep at 158°-160° really consistently for about 5 hours. This piece was grey on the very outside (they were all grey outside) but really pink inside. That said, it could have used another 5 hours or so cooking; it was kinda chewy. (I sliced it paper thin with a ceramic knife, and apologized profusely.) By the time I got to tending to my last hunk of brisket, I was pretty tired. This batch of beef and vegetables was to be delivered the day after, cold, for reheating. It was the fatty end hunk of the brisket. I had trouble keeping my temp stable. (I don't have a SV unit at home, because this is the one time per year I cook meat. Also, The slab in question was too large for my slow cooker.) I kept fiddling with the stove every 15 minutes or so. I made myself some food, sat down, and promptly fell asleep by accident. When I woke up, 5.5 hours in to the cook, and about an hour after I fell asleep, The internal temp was 189°. This meat was firmer, but much of the collagen had broken down. It was super-juicy, but a little bit like cutting wood. And, it had a grey patch in the center, about 2" in diameter. My recollection of the last time I made corned beef, two years ago, was that I was doing ok, until a 'helper' wandered in and looked at my setup and decided something was wrong because the pot wasn't at a rolling boil -and turned up the temp. By the time I caught it, maybe 20 minutes later, the temp had risen a bit. I think the answer is that grey in the center is well-done beef.

I have worked in a mom&pop doughnut shop. Cake doughnuts are cake batter that is extruded using a special tool. Real bakeries use an automated machine. Yeast doughnuts, like honey glazed, basic chocolate iced, and (my favorite) the cinnamon twist are rolled out and cut. Technically, doughnut holes don't really exist for cake doughnuts unless you extrude them separately. (for small amounts, you could use a portion control scoop. Coffeecake is a lot easier to make.

Yes, I would cut the string. If you want to cook it in a shape, I'd re-tie it just before actually cooking it.

Kinda looks like croissant dough, rolled into a log, then sliced in thin rounds, alternating with rounds of apple, stacked tall, then laid into a small sized loaf pan, egg washed and sprinkled with sugar and maybe cinnamon. (If those dark stripes on top are red apple skins, these things have to be fairly small -the diameter of an apple.) -If they are red apple skins, I am calling out another example of the Pinterest Paradox (where images appear that are unreproduceable in real life) as many red apples will leak out waaaaay too much moisture too cook a pastry properly, and the skins cook into an inedible, unchewable plastic-like substance.

For those who make their own brine, I just remembered that at some point I want to try adding some Angostura bitters and see how that works out. (I'd add after the brine is cooled, to prevent damaging the flavor.) Next time I corn some beef, I'll try it and let you know how it went.

Look for a bread where the crust is rubbed in oil, or egg washed. (a little oil in the formula helps, too) Also, as the bread is cooling, when it is almost cool, put it in a plastic bag or seal it in some sort of plastic/metal container to get rid of crunchiness in the crust. HERE's a formula from KA. I have never made it, I have no idea how good it is. Personally, I'd add a tablespoon of olive oil to the second set of ingredients. (and bag the loaves when they are still a tiny bit warm)

I brine for a minimum of two weeks (I do a whole brisket, about 16+ lbs) I turn it regularly, I poke tiny holes in it, and I even (occasionally, depending on how I am serving it) will butcher it down to smaller sections. I do use some food grade saltpetre, but just a bare minimum, I get grey centers. I have given up on trying to get pink all the way through. I am assuming it has something to do with commercial brining or vacuum packaging. Honestly, I stopped worrying about trying to fix it. I just tell my clients that I make it the old fashioned way, like people did in the 1600s. I explain how I use fresh, whole spices that I roast and crush by hand in my brine. I also explain that I use a bit less salt in the brine than 'factory processed' beef -enough to still be safe, but I definitely let the spices take center stage. I also roast and crush a second set of spices when I cook the meat and vegetables, to make sure the vegetables taste authentic. So, basically, I just push the 'fresh, handcrafted, real spices' angle and characterize the pink stuff as a factory product.

Sawing, and I use a cheapo offset serrated sandwich knife from the restaurant supply place.

I haven't eaten there in more than a decade, but, they didn't used to heat up whole subs. Quiznos was the place to go for a broiled sub.

BTW, I use a modified version of Ruhlman's recipe. I use 1/4 less salt. I don't use cloves because I don't like them and usually don't have them around. I substitute juniper berries. I add a tablespoon of molasses to the brine.

We have the tail end of citrus season here; including tons of grapefruits because people plant the trees then get older and aren't allowed to eat the grapefruit.

Postal service shipping rates went up recently. If the item & box weigh more than 2 pounds that's about right. Big shippers do get discounts over the retail rates, and some places fold shipping costs into their pricing to entice customers. (giving a false perception of the costs involved) But, if they're old school and charge about what it actually costs, that's accurate.

Yeah, if it's a one-off class for people who otherwise don't cook professionally, limit your topic. Tempering alone can take over an hour to teach and almost no one gets it right the first time. Plus, you might not have access to a fridge to chill/set tempered chocolate. -Along with a host of other issues. I mean, in culinary school, we take a couple weeks of 5 hour days to teach every skill you listed. You'd probably be better off teaching a couple of ganache flavors and have the class make a variety of truffles -rolled in cocoa, chopped nuts, powdered sugar, spiced powdered sugar, etc. (maybe also show them how to make a ganache to use for hot chocolate and mocha drinks)

Why spiced rum? Why not a good full flavored, molasses-y dark/black rum sans the artificial cherry (Sailor Jerry) or clove (Captain Morgan), etc. flavors? You can always add flavors to your drinks with bitters, extracts and liqueurs. (plus, I'd add a good barrel aged rum, it's just better for some drinks)

I saw 'The Founder' a while back and found it really interesting. The film shows how bad many diner type restaurants were, back when fast food was in its infancy. (yes, chains like White Castle, A&W, and Chick-Fil-A had their start a few decades earlier but they were small and regional) It also showed the McDonald brothers developing their ideas about speed and efficiency. (and how they cared about the food tasting good, too!) I was left thinking about so many 'what might have been' scenarios: the brothers retaining control, franchising the service system out to other types of restaurants (what if they had bought into KFC and Taco Bell way back when?), the food quality staying high (no frozen fries, no chemical 'shakes'), etc.

This video was posted 9 years ago. In the meantime, many copycats have posted similar videos, enjoy the original!

I did not like this challenge. At least last season (IIRC) when asked to make a historic dish, the competitors were allowed to read up on the topic at the library.