Porthos

I had it in my mind that rice pilaf had both rice and pasta in it. When I started looking at recipes I found none with pasta. What dish am I thinking of?

Since onions give off moisture it is more difficult to get pieces of potato to crisp up. The moisture has to cook off first to end the "steaming" effect. (I know you know this I'm just thinking aloud as it were) I believe that if you're using waxy potatoes they should hold together and then crisp up but the question becomes when to add the sausage to get a bit of good browning. And will the moisture the sausages give off kill the crispiness? This is a tough one.

I'm not sure if it can be done "easily" campfire style. The best I can think of is cooking the sausage first, pulling it out and trying to keep it warm while the cooking up the potatoes and onions, then adding the sausage back in at the end, mixing in the pan and serving. What I am suggesting seems to be the opposite of what one-pot campfire cooking should be ... Do you do cubed potatoes for the hash?

Hopefully they will see the value of free "advertising" in letting you put the word out.

I have mentioned in other threads that I word-process recipes found on the internet. It allows me to make sure the ingredient list is complete and in the right order and to make sure the instructions make sense. I have on occasion transcribed recipes out of cookbooks that I am going to prepare away from home. Besides not having to lug a cookbook somewhere else I can do the same things I mentioned above. It also tells me what cookware and gadgets I will need. This is especially helpful on vacations where we take all of the cookware needed with us. One more advantage as I see it of word-processing the recipes is that sometimes the number of servings that the recipe is for is different that what I need. I find it much easier to have the right measurements in the recipe proper instead of making notes in the cookbook.

I ventured over to Anaheim today and around noon it was 87 F there. Normally it is 7 degrees or more cooler that where we live in the Inland Empire. Not so much today. The Tetrapaked cheese has aroused my interest.

Ice eeee nothing ...

Yes, it is steel. However, the dryer sheets still failed to loosen or dissolve the polymerized oil. I seriously doubt that the metallurgy of the substrate to which the polymerized oil had adhered to affected the ability of the dryer sheets to loosen or dissolve the oil.

In regards to the cleaning method with dryer sheets mentioned by GlorifiedRice I ran the following test: Pan cleaned and ready to mess up: After polymerizing the surface with Crisco (Smeared with Crisco, baked for 1 hour 20 minutes at 400 F): Warm water and dryer sheets applied: The result: My conclusion: The dryer sheet method may well work with dried-on food bits but doesn't pass muster for polymerized oil.

I remember the 2-burner white gas Coleman that was in my earlier memories of camping. Then my parents moved up to travel trailers or campers and never cooked outside again. 30-odd years ago My DW and I picked up a 3-burner Coleman with an aluminum body and the propane bottle adapter. When I posted pictures of my patio kitchen last summer this picture of that stove was part of the posting: We have not camped in over a decade but the lantern went on top of the distribution tree on the propane tank. The tank and tree are at the left side of the picture above. I inspired to go acquire some of the clip-on mantles since this stuff is part of our earthquake-preparedness equipment.

I have an 8" x 8" pan I'm getting ready to toss. I'm going to put it into a hot oven oiled up and let the oil polymerize. I've restored several cast iron pans lately so I think i should have success with this pan. I will then try the dryer sheet trick and see if it works.

Interesting idea. Baked on gunk may be other than polymerized oil, may include polymerized oil. I am a bit skeptical about it removing polymerized oil but have not ever tried such a techniquie.

For what it is worth, these pans are the standard baking pans in my kitchen. However, I always use them either covered with foil or with parchment paper. When used with foil, if I remove it carefully then the pan can go right back into the cupboard. I buy 200-packs of pre-cut parchment paper on-line from The Baking queen. That generally is about a year's supply but we also use up a lot for our Faire baking in the spring and fall. It is used enough that it has its own slot in our storage cubes:

That appears to be polymerized oil, the same stuff that makes the non-stick coating on cast iron. I don't have a quick solution for you. I have used Brillo pads before but they do affect the surface. I hope someone else can be of more help.

I think there are some interesting points in this. It doesn't seem like click-bait to me. Point 31 about cuttting boards: I'm firmly in the plastic boards catergory and have been replacing my boards with no-slip versions. My favorite smaller board is the red Kitchen Architek board avaiable at Target. It has a pattern of rubber feet on the back side.

So Cortina's is now closed on Sunday. My DW found an Italian Deli that I will be near Tuesday. Carnaroli is still what I want to try next. I don't make risotto very often but now I am on a quest. Nick, Thanks for the link.

I make my roux with olive oil quite often with very good results.

I use some of the jarred minced garlic from Costco in my home kitchen. Depending on what I am preparing I sometimes use fresh garlic. In my Ren Faire kitchens the minced garlic is a staple.

I will be in Anaheim this Sunday so I will drop by Cortina's and buy some carnaroli and give that a whirl. Maybe pick up some of the wonderful cookies they sell for dessert, also. We're making Grilled Tuscan Tuna Steaks for dinner for my FIL. He has a neighbor who does deep sea fishing who can't begin to use up everything he catches so my FIL get some of it. When he gets tuna we never change recipes- it is just that good.

The stock was made by my daughter in her home some 60 miles closer to the ocean. That could contribute. Since I don't make risotto all that often I will pay better attention to sourcing the rice as well.

I "tried" to make risotto tonight. I have made it before. I could not get the rice from "still crunchy" to "nicely toothy" even though I continued to cook it and add more liquid., Does arborio rice get old and stop cooking up properly?

I found that increasing the flour to 2 1/2 tablespoons per cup got me back to the thickness I was looking for. Thanks for your answers and input.

Welcome, Ruby. You're near where my older daughter and her husband live.

We have no interest in having dinner in a crowded restaurant where the staff is strugglng to make everything happen. Some years we make a special dinner at home but most years it is just cards to each other. Since we date all year long and express our love for each other all year long we don't buy into making this one day into something it isn't for us. This year will be our 37th VD as husband and wife. We save celebratory dinners out for birthdays.

The depth of my disappointment can not be measured. If science teachs us anything it teachs us to accecp our failures as well as our successes with quiet dignity and grace.