Shel_B

Some time ago, I mentioned that my sister sent me a salt sampler, and while I've not used many of the samples thus far, I have used one (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) with great success. A couple of days ago it was used to season the 2lbs of ground turkey that went into the turkey-bean-vegetable chili recipe that I'm developing, and man, did I like the result. I can't strongly recommend the other salts in the sampler just yet as I've not used them, or used them enough.But if you want toadd some smokiness to your ground meat, this is a ine choice. (eG-friendly Amazon.com link)

My experience is quite similar to yours. I'm revisiting this thread because I used the diffuser last night with my very wide All-Clad pot, which is wider than my widest hob, and the results were beautiful.

I've been using this diffuser for quite a while now, and it works better than expected. I am using an octagonal variant. I have several pots that are quite a bit wider than my hobb, and heating has always been uneven. No longer. Looking at the bubbles coming up through the sauces and stews, they are evenly spread across the entire surface. No need for special pliars, I just let the thing cool down of its own accord. pretty good I don't use it in the oven. No need to. My cookware is already pretty good. Using Al-Clad D5 and Le Creuset for the hob in question.

@blue_dolphin Did you ever find containers that were suitable?

I am going to make a long-braised chuck roast. The meat is sitting in the fridge until cooking starts in the morning. It has been salted, and while sprinkling the salt, I realized that I've no idea what a good or proper amount of salt should be for this situation. Is there a formula or calculation that can be used? Besides the weight and thickness of the meat, what other factors should be considered? Thanks

Tried a couple of these at the sample kiosk and liked them. The wrapper was nice and crisp, appropriately cheesy, and the pups inside had a nice balance of fat and salt. Better than junk food, but not quite a real dinner. I think that what I like most about these is their balance.

I ate two, gave the balance to a neighbor

Had I Iseen this review before purchasing a box, I'd have not made the choice. However, I'm glad I did, as I had some of these this evening. My shells crisped up pretty well, certainly better than as described above. They could have been more evenly crisped, perhaps by pan frying. I used a Breville oven. Yeah, the inside was mushy, but I figured that's how a mashed-style potatoe is supposed to be. I'd have liked more peppers, though. I might just try making them in a skillet and see how they turn out. The OP didn't mention the cooking method.

My sister sent me these salt samplers, which I receved yesterday. Opening the tins released an incredible and delicious aroma. Can't wait to try the samples ...

Please be kind enough to post your opinion. Thanks!

These were on those POS stands by the registers, and the display did it's job, the box came home with me. Overall, I give these a very low rating, maybe a one or a two. The ratio of filling to crust and topping was very low, could barely taste it. However, the overwhelming taste of sugar was front and center. It's a sugar bomb, not a flavor bomb. 👎

Have you tried the pasta yet and how does it compare to top talian brands?

I've been enjoying this salsa for a few months and it's really quite good. Not anywhere near as watery as some store brands I've tried, thick, but not overly so, and a nice level of heat. This is something of a Goldilocks salsa for me, just right, and a perfect choice for TJ's dipper-style corn chips. This has become my go-to salsa. Guests have liked it and said so.

I saw this thread about can openers and rembered this review of openers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65pLsbLToVs

In the past I tried using the IP for rice and followed directions from various sites on the internet re time and water proportions. Couldn't get a decent result. This was kind of a long shot before buying a cooker. It's worth experimenting with. IMO. I used less water than the pkg directions.

Over the last year+, I've been eating white rice more frequently than before, mostly Jasmine, Basmatti, and Mahatma long grain rice. Been cooking in a pot on the stove top and the results have been quite good overall. However, thoughts of a rice cooker have been dancing thru my head. For some reason I searched for.making rice in the Instant Pot and discovered there's a rice setting on my model, and I tried it this afternoon with some fussy Basmatti. I added the rinsed and drained rice to the IP with water, salt, Abit of ghee buttened 'er up and pushed the RICE button, and let the mess rest for 10-11 minutes before venting. The results were about on par with my stove top technique. I'm a happy fellow, a little fine tuning should improve the results.

Both of these are fine recipes, and thanks for linking them. I was famliar with the Memorie ... site but somehow missed the ribollita recipe. The Grazia site was new to me, so Both will go into my ribollita collection. While "reboiled" may be traditional, reheated may aso be considered, and I've taken to sometimes aing the soup thicker and reheating it by frying it in a skllet with oil. It's especially nice when the proportion and type of bread is just right.

I couldn't find a topic or discussion on this, so I thought I'd start one. I discovered ribollita in 1982 in an article in the long defunct Cuisine magazine. Over the years I've had successful versions, failures, and some that were just good nutrition and little more. The latest version was made by frying smoked pancetta in olive oil, adding a dried chile mixture that use, veggies, chicken stock, and pureed canned tomatoes. Discovered that there were no white beans of any type en casa, so canned garbanzos saved the day. Quite good, actually. After preparing the soup, I layered it in a large vessel with a locally made Italian bread that was staled in the Breville. The mess was refrigerated over night, and the result was a soup that's eaten with a fork. Instead of being reboiled, I frid the veggies and bread in olive oil, making sure the bread got crisped during the process. Serve with fresh grated Reg or Pec, it made a wonderful and filling meal. I will be making Refrito Ribollita again. So, how do you make your version? What little tricks do you use? Any veggies that you especially like or avoid?

My experience was the same

It's been years since posting that TJ's was my favorite, and things have changed. Best Foods has moved to the #1 spot, but not the squeeze bottle version. Just the plain ol' regular version. I've heard that there's a thicker version that a lot of delis and commercial establishments use, but I've not tried it yet. I'm unclear if it's available under the Best Foods lable, but it is under the Hellman's name. Since my earlier posts, I've tried Kewpie, and ther's always a bottle (if you can call it that) in the fridge. My favorite use for it is for Japanese-style egg salad sandwiches, but it's used on other items as well.

Senior Breakfast

Miso soup from homemade dashi with daikon, Negi onion rings, soft tofu chunks, bok choy, 2 types of fish cakes.

Well, Mr. Rotuts, thanks for that reminder. My memory can be poor at times, and it's certainly spotty. Nice to know that I was correct about reading the info in Molly Stevens' book. In any case, I appreciate your taking the time to check up on my contributions and posting history. Keep up the diligence, and feel free (I think you already do) to remind me of my errors, omissions, and carelessness. It's nice to know that you're there as a good backup for my poor memory.

What benefit, if any, can be had from using a "dedicated" braisier, like the style shown below, over a Dutch oven, sauté pan, or other style pot. I vaguely recall Molly Stevens commenting on this in her book, All About Braising, but the book is not here now, so what do the braising gurus say?

Leftover Shoyu Chicken and Rice: 1½ thighs were left over from dinner last night. Heated them in the sauce, used the sauce to refresh the rice, had a glass of tea with the meal.