Emily_R

Reviving a very old thread to ask -- is there any way to add flavor (other than sugar flavor!) to honeycomb candy?

Hey all - I tried an unusual and really tasty new snack yesterday. They're called Savory bars, made by Sheffa. They come in Rosemary, Sesame, Everything, and Spicy versions -- I tried the Rosemary One. They're basically savory granola bars, made with a mix of grains (quinoa, amaranth, etc) and legumes (chickpeas). While I wish they had more calories (they've only got 140), they still manage to pack in 8 grams of fiber and 4 grams of protein. It took a little while to get over the learned association that granola bars would be sweet... But when I did the bars were satisfying, salty but not too salty, and, well... savory. Has anyone else tried these? Emily

I've made bundt cakes that called for 1 cup of oil, and replacing half of that with applesauce worked really well. Note that if your applesauce isn't thick, I would drain it in a strainer or on papertowels...

For what its worth, the times I've cooked chickpeas at home in the pressure cooker, I also end up with a batch of gelatinized goo (the cooking liquid turns to jelly). And I made those chickpeas into hummus with no problem. So I'm seconding or thirding whoever said it may not have been the chickpeas...

Thanks guys -- didn't realize it would take quite that long in the dehydrator. I'll try the seeding method. Don't have a microwave so I'll do the double boiler...

Hi all - I'm about to have my first go at tempering chocolate for making spiced PB cups, and I've of course obsessively been doing research about how to temper. From what I've seen, if you have quality block chocolate that is already in temper, and don't heat it above around 95 degrees, it should stay in temper. I have a dehydrator with a thermostat that will let me set the chamber to 90 or 95 degrees. I'm wondering if I could simply chop my chocolate, put it in a glass bowl, and stick it in the dehydrator until the chocolate has melted? Emily

Looks like the place is really coming along (and the menu sounds delish)! One thought -- I can't tell for sure from the photos, but you might want to consider replacing the ceiling tiles? For me, one of the most depressing things is a restaurant with a dingy / stained ceiling... Even painting the black straps (holding the ceiling tiles up) white would help brighten it up... Enjoying this thread and looking forward to hearing about your grand opening day!

Just chiming in to say I do the same as scubadoo97 -- in fact, just did it today. I PC for 60 minutes, and like Phatj, I tend to prefer just chicken parts, salt, and some peppercorns -- no aromatics.

Thanks for your reply Kerry! I agree futzing with the mini cup liners sounds not fun... Intrigued by your idea of the mini tart pan... I don't need to grease the metal pan -- they will really pop out of there?

Hi all -- So I have plans with a friend to make these amazing-sounding thai-flavor infused peanut butter cups: Thai Peanut Butter Cups However since I've never done that kind of chocolate work before, I figured I'd ask for advice here. The recipe seems to suggest using small foil or paper candy cup liners, and brushing chocolate on the inside, piping the filling in, and then adding chocolate on top. I'm wondering about the brushing step -- how thick to make the chocolate layer? How to get the bottom layer of the chocolate to meet up with the top layer? Am I being prematurely neurotic? Thanks for any help you chocolate masters can provide! Emily

Do you keep ice cream in the house? We usually have vanilla ice cream, which on its own does nothing for me. However when I cover it in a heavy dusting of instant espresso powder... Also good to keep on hand is the Biscoff-cookie spread? A spoonful of that will serve as dessert, and it mixes well with vanilla ice cream too...

Shelby -- would you post your recipe? Those cookies look great, and I've had a hard time finding a cookie recipe with PB in it that stayed soft at all...

Totally agree on the shark jumping Holly. I had to fast forward through much of the actual 'competition' to just get to the food. Kudos to all four of them for making food that I'd actually want to eat however. That said, I'm so so disappointed in the outcome.

Totally agree with jmolinari -- stock alone makes it worthwhile, as does something like pork shoulder. I've had the same experience with beans -- too short and they're raw, too long and they're mush. Has anyone here actually made that MC carrot soup? When I look at the recipe on Food and Wine, it calls for no liquid in the pot, just butter. Is this really ok? I don't understand how it comes up to pressure with no liquid -- is it just the liquid that comes out of the carrots?

Hey Darienne -- I made that Savory Onion Bread the other day and it was really tasty, and a big hit with my husband. I served it with some carrot ginger soup, and it made for a great light dinner. Thanks for posting it!

Yes -- totally agree with Blether that for a pie with cups of fruit, you'd need at least an hour, but probably closer to an hour and ten minutes of cooking time. That said though, I really don't think straight flour is a good choice for a juicy pie like a blackberry pie. Cornstarch (or tapioca, though I've never used it) is key.

My tried and true method for thickening berry pies is 3 Tbs of flour and 3 Tbs of cornstarch, for pies with five or 6 cups of berries. No floury taste at all, and perfectly set, in my experience. I'd recommend 3&3 of flour and cornstarch, and then however much sugar you feel like you'll need. A few other things -- when thickening with cornstarch, it is key that you let the filling actually boil within the pie - you should see the top of the pie heaving and make sure the filling is bubbling out of the air holes a little bit. Also, did you let the pie cool completely before cutting into it? Cutting into it when there is even a smidge of heat left in it will lead it to run...

My favorite hash is this asparagus, potato, & pancetta hash from Deb at Smitten Kitchen. It gets wildly rave reviews every time I make it (and especially when I use homemade pancetta!) Asparagus Pancetta Hash I think I usually add a little fresh thyme to it... Emily

Thanks Butterbean -- I gave it a very thorough rinse and then a short soak to help reduce the saltiness. Hopefully it won't be too bad given how thick it is... I'll report back!

Hi everyone -- So I used Ruhlman's recipe for pancetta a few months back with great success. I just recently started a new batch, and I'm puzzled. This belly was bigger, and thicker in parts, but I did scale up the amount of cure appropriately. However its been curing in the fridge for 10 or 11 days now, and still feels fairly squishy to me. I can't remember how firm my last batch was, so I'm not sure if this is ok... Any suggestions for what I should do? How firm does it need to be? Should I make more cure and add it now? Should I just hang it up and figure its probably okay? Thanks! Emily

Ok, what does it take to get this great recipe released to the public? I want to try!

I love the KA attachment. And for situations where I really think the pasta benefits from irregularity (to me, this winds up being almost exclusively the noodles in chicken noodle soup), I just hand-roll them with a rolling pin.

Cherie -- Just saw your post -- I'm so glad you liked it! And wish I had thought to put some red potatoes in there -- I steamed them on the side instead.

I'm surprised they got rid of anyone on the last challenge, given how positive they were about all of the dishes. I thought I remembered at least one instance from a past season when they didn't do an elimination because the dishes were all so good. And I must say I disagree with David's argument that Beverly needs to believe in her own skill more to be a Top Chef. I think Bev has a lot of confidence in her skill and the flavors she creates in her dishes, and - we've never really seen her second guess herself or do much waffling over what to cook on any given challenge. She's not an alpha personality, but in this case I don't think that's the same thing as a lack of self-confidence.

Well I wound up doing them on the stovetop, because I didn't see the cooking time guesses until too late. Next time I'll give it a go in a slow oven and will report back!