zoe b

Thanks for the Crepes-- you're making me laugh. My Asian grocery store is in NJ--the parking lot alone is a death trap. No one speaks English, and no one is helpful. The fish guy actively hates my husband. I don't care, though, there is great stuff there, and part of the fun is getting something that you don't know anything about. The last time, I accidentally bought that Korean sauce that everyone is talking about. I get beautiful vegetables, fish, sometimes meat, frozen dumplings, tofu, condiments, fun crackers and snack and desserts. I will steam the buns tonight. I did google the factory, no results.

I'm pretty basic regarding mashed potatoes--boil them with the peels on, mash still with peels, add butter, milk, salt and pepper, sometimes boil some garlic with them. I'm light on the butter, because the whole point of mashed potatoes is gravy, and that is quite rich. Apropos the Robuchon recipe, I was mashing the potatoes for a friend, no milk, only olive oil, and I would glop some on and mash, and she would say, "more"--she kept saying "more" for quite a long time--they were delicious.

We went to the asian grocer today, and I picked these buns up, but can't figure out how to cook them--steam or bake, or what? Help is appreciated.

I've been reading books by the writer Stuart MacBride. They are set in Aberdeen, Scotland, and are filled with references to bacon butties and the like. I got curious about rowies, apparently an extremely fat laden bun similar to a croissant. There are a few recipes online, but all are different. This one looks interesting, but it's difficult to tell since I've never had one. But am having the urge to make them. Anyone have a recipe? http://www.stronach.co.uk/2013-02-04/how-to-make-the-classic-buttery

Just wanted to report back. Dinner was decent, much better than I thought it would be. Some really delicious things--a field greens salad with goat cheese and prosciutto, a scallop appetizer, skirt steak, and a basil and honey sorbet for dessert. It was kind of like eating in a diner, though, noisy and cramped, and service was friendly, but spotty--noone poured the wine for us, and DO NOT order a cocktail if you should find yourself there--the Hub had a weak and odd tasting Manhattan, and no one liked their drinks. We thought maybe they were attempts at new versions of traditional cocktails--not successful.

Yeah, I know--guess I was hoping for a miracle!

I think that the porous nature of clay would make it not really the best material for making yogurt--I'd stick to glass or pyrex--although I just looked at chamba casseroles online and the exterior did look hard and shiny--is the interior the same? I'm still leaning towards glass and pyrex, though, even if it is smooth and shiny.

Anyone know what we can expect there next weekend? I know Katy Sparks has left, is anyone at the helm? This is not a place I'd ever want to eat--as beautiful as it was--I don't know what it looks like now--but my sister has planned her big year--not saying which--birthday party there--annd I want it to be wonderful for her. Anyone know anything?

OK, 20 ears of corn, all smooshed up and mixed with salt. I know, it shouldn't be plastic, but of my two crocks, one is too small and one way too large.

Thanks so much, you guys. The links are truly fascinating, djyee--will send me off exploring for a few hours or days. I got kind of stymied in my googling as I was getting sites telling you how to make sour corn to use as bait for wild pigs--scared me a little. One of the reasons I was confused was because the recipe seems to be half fermentation, half pickle! I'm more interested in fermenting, so will go that way. And, David, thank you for making it simple--just what I needed. Will report back!

I'm watching season 2 of Mind of a Chef on Netflix right now. Brock does eight or so episodes, and they are great. In the Appalachia episode he mentions making sour corn, a fermented process by the sound of it. I want to try this. Only found one mention of it online with a recipe, and wonder if it is correct, and safe! I've done lots of traditional canning, and some fermentation, but nothing quite like this, so advice is welcome. I'm mostly unsure about what to do after the 6-8 weeks--do I drain the corn and add a new water/vinegar mix, or just water, which doesn't seem safe? posted on Qorum Jerry Wan20 ears of white hickory king corn on the cob1 gallon of heinz white vinegar1 cup canning salt/pickling salt Directions:1). Cook your White Hickory King Corn until done. 2). In another large pot mix 2 cups of vinegar to 1 gallon of spring water to a rolling boil. This is a step you estimate how much liquid you will need and you can always make another pot to finish up what amount of corn you have. 3). Sterilize pint jars and lids per Ball jar directions. 4.) Cool the corn until you can handle it, cut it off the cob and fill jars to 1 inch from the top. 5). Put 1/2 tsp of canning salt in the jar on top of the corn. 6). Fill with boiling liquid leaving 1/2 inch headspace. 7). Wipe rim of jars, place on sterilized lid and band, tighten snuggly by hand. 8). Place in a cool dark place to work, approximately 6 - 8 weeks. 9). When done working, you can take the jars of pickled corn, remove caps, fill with spring water again leaving 1/2 inch headspace, replace lid with clean lid and place in a water bath canner to seal for about 15

I was thinking of getting it for my husband, as he makes limoncello every year, but wondered if the recipes, which look interesting, are good.

We have an old pear tree that we don't really take care of--don't prune or treat for insects. It sometimes has a nice crop of pears--which it does this year. The pears are small and hard--and have little brown specks on the skins--from insects or some kind of blight, I guess. But the meat is fine-- no spots at all. They aren't bruises. I dread having to peel them since they are so small--do you think it would be okay to just teim them, scrub them well and just cook as usual, straining the skin later, or is this a no no for whatever reason? thanks--Z

this may not be what you want as it doesn't give recipes by weight, but The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook By Beth Hensberger is a no-fail recipe book--must have 300 recipes--I bake from it at least once a week and have never been disappointed. She also covers fascinating topics, like using the yeast on the skins of grapes to make bread! I do weigh when cooking quite often, and precision in the bread machine is important--I find that if I measure scant cups of flour--never quite filling the cup measure, that it works well for almost any bread recipe. have fun--you don't need a fancy machine--I get mine from thrift shops--like the Breadman machines the best, though.

Just wanted to mention that it's streaming on Netflix now--I watched it last night. Oddly enough, I agree with all of the above critiques-- a fascinating, hard core film about the process at El Bulli. I loved the non intrusive style of film-making--like Frederick Wiseman, a hero of mine. Getting so close to the people of El Bulli was just incredibly enjoyable. The building & grounds are gorgeous--it all made me wish I'd had a chance to visit there while it was open. While I loved the intensity of the experimentation with ingredients, nothing I saw during the film made me want to eat any of it--as Adria said, he thought of food as an idea, whether good or bad wasn't too important. HOWEVER--the final montage of the different dishes that make up a meal changed my mind--they were gorgeous, and looked rather luscious.

thanks, scamhi--finally found the recipe http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/red-cooked-beef-with-cinnamon made it once more--it is just as good ten years later.

I had this recipe from either Food & Wine or Bon Appetit--maybe from 10 years ago. It was great for a dinner party. It was I think with beef brisket, but i've used other braising cuts --it had bok choy, red peppers & wide noodles. I can use other asian braising recipes, but if anyone has this recipe, I'd appreciate it--spent ages searching both sites, but couldn't find it. ETA--it's basically a red-cooked beef recipe, so if anyone has a tried & true for that--I'd love it. thanks!

it's a thought, but you wouldn't get all the nice crust that you get from the little rolls--I love crust!

Thanks, Isabelle--that recipe is similar to one a member posted from the Fleischmann's Yeast site--except yours has an egg--I think I'll try both versions. dcarch--magnificent bread & pics--what recipe do you use, if I may ask?

Heidi said-- well, not completely--although I want to make them with some kind of whole grain, and the fact that they are small means that they are lower in calories--I like the convenience of them--and I don't like any of the packaged sandwich rolls available at the supermarket. It would be great to have a bag of homemade rolls in the freezer to grab when I need one .

ok--well, the thin rolls aren't like ciabatta or pizza dough, but thanks, Lisa & runwestierun. And Blather--as gorgeous as your rolls are, that's not what i'm looking for, either. I think you're right, HungryC--the texture of the rolls is like pita, or the crust end of sandwich bread--I'll try the pita recipe tomorrow--lord knows, I've never had any luck making a pita that's a pita, so maybe I'll be able to make the thin rolls, instead!

I've been buying the whole grain ones--I think they're made by Pepperidge Farm. They are handy to grab and use for a sandwich, or just butter & have with some soup. I think I could make better ones, though--I'm thinking of a whole grain dread dough, wetter than usual, roll out very thin discs, let rise & bake--has anyone done this, or have any ideas?

I'm loving reading about these old fashioned cakes--wouldn't it be wonderful to try them all.... My mother wasn't a baker--she was that unusual thing in 1960's America--a working woman--so we had food that was easy & quick to prepare--had fruit cocktail or jello for dessert. My Aunt Mary was the baker--she was considered to be quite sophisticated & Bohemian--had worked in NY as a costume designer, & traveled to Europe every year. She wore loose dresses, sandals with red toenail polish & matching red lipstick. Wore her hair in braids wrapped around her head like a crown, & reread Jane Austen every year. She made a very rich & dense yellow cake flavored with nutmeg, and a thick milk chocolate fudge frosting--I can still taste it. And she and my other aunts made what was called blueberry pudding-- a moist cake with loads of blueberries baked in a rectangular pan. It was served with hot lemon sauce. The other wonderful dessert was peach cobbler--in a crispy, buttery cake batter--served with plain heavy cream--not whipped.

Yep, it worked exactly as you said, Ruth. Came back nicely--but now is slightly softer & chewy--more caramel-like--still delicious. I will try again with the toffee tomorrow--it's for my Mom--can't ship the caramel toffee, so we will just have to eat it ourselves--not really a hardship! Thank you for helping me to rescue it--I HATE wasting ingredients--the sugar I could have stood, but a half pound of butter would have made me very sad.

Oh, thank you, Ruth! Back to the stove, humbler & wiser.....