Lisa Shock

Just because it was originally made one way doesn't mean it's currently made that way.

I've been fooling around with using a 10" tortilla press to press out the final product instead of rolling with a rolling pin. I found a coated aluminum handheld model that I put in the freezer, while leaving the dough a little soft. Like corn tortillas, the process is easier with plastic clingfilm. I thought of this while watching a professional pie crust press. It's been summer and I haven't been baking much, once it's a bit cooler, I will be more willing to heat up the house with more tests.

I forgot to mention the wine, beer, and spirits. Oftentimes, their Kirkland brand spirits are a famous label offered at a 30-50% discount. Yes, the selection is bare bones, especially with spirits and beer, but, there are definitely some good savings to be had.

I tried a Cook's Illustrated recipe one holiday season when I was catering a large volume of meals on particular days. I know that it's behind their paywall, and it isn't their only recipe, it's the one where you do not drain the potatoes, you add milk to the water, cook and mash all in one pot. This recipe has been incredibly useful wherever (home, work) because it's fast and only uses one burner. If you use a dutch oven or another oven-proof pot with a lid, once done, you can move these to the oven to stay warm while, say, your turkey is resting, being sliced, etc. I have tweaked it a little. The ingredient list is mostly theirs, instructions all mine. (the beurre noisette was my idea, you can skip that step for a more traditional butter flavor) Garlic Mashed Potatoes 4 lbs Yukon Gold Potatoes 4 tbsp Butter 12 medium cloves Garlic 1 C Whole Milk ½ C Water 1 tbsp Salt ½ C Cream 2 tbsp chopped fresh chives, optional garnish Peel the potatoes and cut into uniform chunks, about 2" square. Set aside for a few minutes. Peel and mince the garlic, or run it through a garlic press. Set aside. Heat a 5 qt or greater pot (one with a lid) to medium and add butter. Allow the butter to melt, bubble and then brown. Keep a close eye on this, it can go from brown to burned very quickly. Add the minced garlic and stir for a few seconds until it becomes translucent. Quickly add the Milk, Water, Salt, and Potatoes. Bring to a simmer, about 195°F, cover, and cook for 12-16 minutes. Check for doneness, starting at 12 minutes, by poking the potatoes with a fork. They are done when the fork slides in easily. Add the cream, stir, and pull the pot off the heat. Mash with a hand-held, non-electric, mashing device until desired consistency is achieved. Keep covered and warm until serving time. Garnish top of potatoes with chives, if desired. A friend of mine adds 4oz of cream cheese at the end, too. Hope this helps!

Most of them here in Phoenix also sell gasoline. I generally save $0.07 - $0.12 a gallon on gas and there is a location near me, so I don't have to drive around to get a good price. I save $25-$30 a year just on gasoline. I also buy large sacks of flour and sugar there, the regular price is a little lower than Smart & Final, but, occasionally, S&F has a baking supply sale that beats them.

I standardized the formula by weight, subbed celery seed (ground) for celery salt and granulated garlic for garlic salt, added the salt from them to the salt line on the ingredient list, and then cut the total amount of salt in half. It was bland. Added 50% more, to equal ¾ the original amount, and that was much better. I am also reducing the amount of black pepper a little (still working on that) as it seems a bit strong, probably because I am grinding it myself just prior to use.

Date sugar?

The almond ones have always been my favorites, ever since they started out as holiday limited edition candy. I just wish they'd do other nuts, like hazelnut. The PB ones are ok, maybe they should try Nutella candies.

I don't think that In & Out blanches their fries. Every time I have had them they have been oddly starchy. Five guys does a better job with old fashioned fries. (no comparison to the modern, 19-ingredient crunchy ones)

I got some red sugarcane at an exchange last weekend. Hope to plant it in the next few days. Then, I hope to make my own rum in about 3 years' time...

black licorice?

fungus, like wood ears? The color is very much like wild rice, but, I have never seen anyone make noodles out of it. I was thinking maybe forbidden black rice, but, you said no rice... (the good news here is that your post has me thinking about black foods, and expanding my thoughts for a Halloween dinner!)

Thank you! I am trying to not cheat at this, so, my reply was directly off the top of my head -no internet searching. Ok, back to wondering what...

It is the plant that grass jelly drink is made from? (not certain what to call it...grass, or, grass jelly grass?)

Did you change brands of gelatin? There are different strengths out there... Also, did you remember to bloom the gelatin?

There is a sweet version of easter pie, there's usually dried fruit in it and sometimes pine nuts. You might try reducing the size of the image on the scanner, sometimes things are clearer that way. Also, you might try manipulating the image, like making it black & white or fooling around with brightness and intensity.

I am very familiar with Easter pie variations -I won a pie competition in culinary school with one. The one time I saw an Italian person make it on tv, they also used pasta as the crust. Essentially, the traditional pie lets you use up the more high-end of the preserved meats, cheeses, olives, etc. you had been storing to use in the winter and then had set aside during Lent and other fast days. You are then prepared to start making and eating springtime foods. Generally, the filling is ricotta and raw eggs to which each family then would add hard boiled eggs, ham, salami, olives, other preserved vegetables (artichokes, red peppers), onions, and some spring greens -if the greens were available. The variability of the date of Easter, and the various climates within Italy's borders means that for families in the North, the 'traditional' pie might just be meats and preserved vegetables, whereas, for families in the middle and South, baby spinach or other baby greens are part of the 'traditional' dish. I have seen it both with and without a layer of pasta in the middle. If this is going to be the only pasta dish at the meal, I personally feel like it should have pasta in the middle. BTW, I think I also solved my own quandry. I remembered a pretty comprehensive modern Italian cooking site I visit occasionally and, they have a recipe for the Colonne di Pompei, la pasta di Gragnano: Colonne di Pompei al Tonno Fresco. My guess here is simply that the pasta, which is made in an area of Naples, recalls broken pillars of Pompeii which is within the modern city limits of Pompei (one i). Being near the coast, I imagine that seafood is an important regional food. (plus, it's a big fish served with a big pasta)

Thanks @andiesenji! I was leaning towards a casserole, as these are so thick and long, they have to be cut to be eaten, and, as far as I understand pasta, it's generally served to be eaten with just a fork. Weaving a a layer would definitely make a beautiful and unique dish. I can probably approximate the filling part. Thanks for the link, @Thanks for the Crepes -I did not have anything in particular in mind, I was just curious. Italians are generally really picky that a certain pasta type be served with a particular type of sauce. These are more than just long fusili of the solid type, they are about twice as thick, too. I should get a photo with some regular rotini for comparison.

Firstly, you are starting out too hot. There are unique qualities to very type/brand of chocolate, and you'll develop tricks to handling each type. That said, dark chocolate shouldn't get over 118°, it's probably best to start with 115° to be safe. Milk and white chocolate burn at lower temps, I'd say about 110°-113° for milk, and I wouldn't take white over 108°. Are you stirring while cooling and reheating? You do not mention it -it is vital for the correct crystals to develop. Before wasting time and product molding your chocolate, you should do tests. Take a small piece of acetate and smear a thin dab on it, cool and check after about 10-15 minutes. A crisp, shiny piece of chocolate should pop off easily. (You can also use parchment paper, but it gives a dull result which can be confusing. Before switching, use both acetate and parchment to see how the results should look.) If it doesn't turn out shiny and snappy, start over. Good luck, tempering takes time to master!

Oh, I definitely see how a casserole would be a very good way to use these Pompeian Columns, I was mostly wondering where they 'fell' in the scheme of the tightly adhered-to Italian pasta customs.

Ok, here's a mystery. I saw this package of pasta at Home Goods last night. It's definitely pasta, and probably pretty good pasta. It's from a well known pasta making area in Italy. The catch is, it's HUGE. I thought I captured the olive oil bottles near it as a size indicator, but now, the photo doesn't really convey the size accurately. These are the size of large pretzel rods; almost a foot long and about 3/4" diameter. The mystery is, what dishes is it used for?

For mayonnaise, I just make adjustments to the Joy of Cooking (my copy for this is from 1982) recipe for blender mayonnaise. With regular ingredients, plain mayo. In a regular blender place: 1 large egg (without the shell!) 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder ¼ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon sugar 3 tablespoons lemon juice 1¼ cups vegetable oil (salad oil, or any light oil, canola is fine) Mix the first five ingredients for about two minutes, until very well blended. Add the oil in small amounts, blending between additions. Add a little extra juice or oil to adjust the thickness. *** For the sweet lime above, I would try the recipe without sugar at all and add some later if needed. Might also add a little grated peel. If it tastes bland, maybe add some fresh herb like dill or maybe basil. be careful about adding too many things, it will just have a muddy flavor. *** For liqueur, get some grain alcohol. In the US, the most common brand is Everclear. This works much better than vodka. Take a pint of grain alcohol and add the peels of one fruit. Make sure the pith has been removed and you are just using the top, colored portion of the peel. After about a week, or when the peels lose color and become brittle, strain them out, and mix with simple syrup: 1/3 infused alcohol, 2/3 simple syrup. A pinch of citric acid may be added to boost the flavor, if needed. You can also experiment with the proportion of syrup. Hope this helps!

That's me! I use some medium rectangles that are from Smart & Final, their First Street Brand (they do have rounded corners). The majority of the containers are Ziplock brand, they are reasonably priced and the company makes several sizes as squares and rectangles. Amazon has a lot of different sizes. I got mine at a supermarket a few years ago -I lucked out they made some in Christmas colors and I scooped them up on sale in late January. I mostly freeze things in the green lidded Cambro containers, both the 2qt and 4qt size, you do not need to fill it to make this work, just get an amount of 1 inch high or greater. So, if the amount I want in one block is more than a pint, I use the Cambros. For small amounts I use the large, 2" each cube, silicone ice cube tray, available under several brand names (got mine at TJ Maxx, but have also spotted them at Bed, Bath & Beyond) You can, of course, vacuum seal a bag of multiple ice cubes and just re-seal as they get used up. Some foods can be really useful as small portions, like, I make a red chile and bean stew then freeze leftovers as the 2" cubes. Then later, I thaw the chile out to make chili dogs (with vegetarian Smart Dogs). I would never bother to make red chile from scratch to be the topping on one hot dog. But, yeah, there's no reason to have your container collection in the freezer, vacuum sealing works MUCH better. Plus, I don't have to own a lot of containers. For refrigerator storage, I tend to use canning jars because they are tall and utilize the space more efficiently. All of my plastic storage containers, well the empty ones used for leftovers and such, fit on half of one shelf in a kitchen cupboard. I don't have a giant crazy stack like a lot of people. (I do store flours, sugars, dry beans, etc. in Cambro containers, and smaller amounts of grains and beans in vacuum sealed canning jars. But, they tend to stay in place in the pantry.) There are certain foods that freeze well and help get meals made faster. I generally make large batches of: tomato sauce, some soups, cooked rice, and some Indian dishes. Having the soup on hand is very useful, I have been able to 'stretch' a meal when unexpected guests showed up for dinner, by adding a soup course and then serving the main dish in smaller portions. Hope this helps!

Well, in other countries, they don't wash the bloom off, so their eggs, unlike US supermarket eggs, are virtually impermeable to bacteria.

I make my own sauce, I usually use #10 cans of San Marzanos. Once in a while, I'll get good fresh tomatoes and make it from scratch, but, that's rare here in Phoenix. Anyway, I make a lot and then freeze in square containers, pop them out, and vacuum seal 4oz and 8oz portions. The only jarred sauce I like is made by a local Italian deli, Romanelli's. They now have several flavors, and professional packaging. But, I've been buying it ever since the owner started putting up marinara in Mason jars with photocopied labels. His recipe is the same as mine (well, my grandmother's) we've had conversations how this is a huge coincidence seeing as he's from a different region than my family. I'd share the recipe, but, in the past, when I gave it out people would alter it so much that it wasn't the same. So much so that I did not want my name associated with it.