Emily_R

Thanks raji -- that is good to know. I figured it was something related to the broth itself, and thus couldn't be fixed. I didn't realize that soy is commonly added to the broth when putting a bowl of ramen together. Emily

Just a note that I tried Rai Rai Ken a few months ago, and got their curry ramen. While I found the curry flavor to be delicious -- rich and complex -- it was VERY salty... So salty that I couldn't actually finish it for that reason. But as mentioned, that was a few months ago -- don't know if its different now.

I actually just saw Sichuan peppercorns today in the unlikeliest of places - an Indian Spice market. The store is Dual, on 1st avenue between 5th and 6th streets (the west side of the avenue, a few steps below street level. It is a fantastic store in general -- their spice selection is fantastic and very reasonably priced.

Really good ciabatta.

Jamon -- You've got to tell us a little more here! I'm really having a hard time wrapping my head around this. What is the texture like? And is it sweet? I would think the carrots would make for a very sweet macaroni and cheese, which really doesn't sound all that appetizing...

Can you tell us some more about the puffing? This may sound like a REALLY dumb question, but I'm assuming you're puffing raw (not cooked) rice? And are you essentially pan frying it in oil, or are you deep frying it in oil?

Chris -- I use the NY Times recipe but add about 1Tbs of sugar and a tiny little bit of vanilla... I also cut back on the butter, as it just winds up pooled in the bottom of the cast iron pan if I use the full 4 Tbs. With that bit of sugar I think the NY Times recipe is just about perfect... Emily

Agreed... And just a note that pH is not the only factor... Density also matters, which is why as far as I'm aware winter squash purees are not safe to home can, even with a pressure canner.

I think the easiest way to get a supply of chicken fat is to skin a batch of chicken thighs, and then render the fat from the chicken skins. Not only do you get nice clarified chicken fat, but you also get to eat the insanely delicious chicken skin cracklings!

Meredith -- thank you so much for posting this -- Just finished eating it and had to post immediately as it was FANTASTIC! So easy, so good -- definitely a recipe that rocks!

Hardly ever cut myself with a knife, but I swear I injure myself on the box grater at least one in five times I use it. Nowadays I almost always ask my husband to do any grating... Emily

Ok folks -- finally an appetizer I can be proud of. Made the Muhammara recipe from epicurious (it is a roasted red pepper and walnut dip).... Spread it on lightly toasted french bread slices, then topped with manchego cheese and broiled until cheese was brown and bubbly. Delicious. Two separate batches of company scarfed them up. Note that I think the combo of flavor is critical here -- I thought the dip on its own / on chips was a little sweet for my taste, but the cheese, bread, and broiling brought it all together... Here's the muhammara recipe I used (roughly) http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/vie...uhammara-350402 Emily

Hey -- has anyone tried the parmesan cream crackers that were just posted in the NY Times recently? They looked delicious! http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/dining/0...xprod=permalink Meanwhile, my favorite crackers are from fine cooking, a seeded cracker recipe. It is referenced I think on the "cooking with Fine Cooking" thread that is somewhere here, and is fantastic.

Hey all -- Finally made a non-dessert recipe that is good enough to post on the Recipes that Rock thread. From smittenkitchen, and originally posted on orangette, two of my favorite food blogs of all time. A butternut squash and chickpea salad with tahini dressing. Fantastic. Filling. YUM! http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/01/warm-but...chickpea-salad/

Kept -- Hostess Cupcakes. When I get a craving they still taste great to me -- just the right balance of icing, cupcake, and filling. Emily

Hey all -- Just wanted to say that I think I'm getting converted to the "don't overproof" approach! I baked a half-white half-whole wheat sandwich loaf today, put it in the oven when it was just cresting the top of the loaf pan (I would have waited for it to rise much more previously), slashed it, and got big beautiful glorious oven spring! Thanks to the many knowledgable bakers on this thread! Emily

I don't think there is any reason to assume it was pumped full of liquid. The poster mentioned that the shoulder just barely fit in the crock pot to begin with, meaning that it wouldn't take all that much liquid to look nearly submerged. The poster doesn't say how much liquid he wound up with, but it seems to me that a 4 pound pork shoulder could easily release 1.5 to 2 cups of fat and natural juices when cooking for that long...

Not sure, but I'd imagine some of the olive gray would be the pressure cooking -- I'm not sure I understand why you pressure cooked it, as if the broccoli is chopped I don't find that broccoli soup takes much more than 15 minutes of cooking *without* pressure...

This sounds like a great combo -- how did you deal with the potatoes? Did you cook them first and cube them? Or slice them thinly?

The story of my windfall dry-aged strip roast is towards the bottom of this thread: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=120581&st=60 And thanks Chris -- there is not much liquid in the cryovack at all, so I'll just leave it be for another few days... Emily

I was worried about the fact that it does seem like this is now wet-aging it. Is that going to ruin it? Should I take it out of the cryovack to let it continue to be "dry"? But glad to hear that it can wait for another few days...

Hi folks -- I think this question may have gotten lost in the other thread... I've got a dry-aged roast that has been cryovacked and marked with a "use by" date of tomorrow. I'd really like to wait a few more days, as my husband has a nasty cold and won't be able to taste much of anything if I cook it tonight or tomorrow. Any idea if I can safely keep it for a few more days? Should I leave it cryovacked, or should I unwrap it, and let it sit somewhere "dry" for a few more days -- and where might that be? Our fridge? Our chilly basement? Help! Thanks in advance... Emily

Bread came out decently -- the flavor was good, and it did have more oven spring then I expected, but still a little less than I'd hoped... That probably doesn't make much sense -- I guess the idea is that I like a sandwich loaf that towers several inches over the loaf pan once its baked. Sometimes this happens, but as I mentioned its not very predictable for me. I did get more oven spring then I expected given how slowly the dough was rising in the loaf pan prior to getting it in the oven, and given the fact that the dough hadn't fully doubled in the loaf pan before putting it in the oven. Sorry for the vagueness -- you can probably tell that I haven't treated my bread making very scientifically, and have been willing to leave quite a bit up to the mystery of the day and the batch of bread and the ambient house temperature, and how finicky the oven temp was that day... But I will re-read this thread and try to be more observent of my results in the future!

Actually, dumb question here... So the dry-aged roast is cryovacked. Is that a problem? Should I take it out of the cryovacking and -- I don't know, put it someplace dry? The "use by" date says January 4th, though I'd love to wait a little longer until some friends return to town... Can you tell I really know nothing about steak aging? As to the confidence of the butcher -- its funny, I mentioned this story to another friend who joked that its like a drug dealer -- the first hit is always free! We'll see if when I make it I start jonesing for more...

Love love love this thread, and can't wait to read it... In addition I just wanted to share my new year's resolution for the past two years -- one which I've proudly managed to fulfill.. Each year I resolved to make at least one new-to-me recipe every week. This past year I kept track of each new recipe I made, the date I made it, the source of the recipe, and what I thought about it. I just love looking back and seeing all the recipes I tried that became instant house favorites! Just a thought for all you other food lovers looking for a fun new year's resolution to make...