Shel_B

So, use less cheese. The cheese is just a topping. FWIW, I agree with you.

I, too, like nicely toasted English muffins. I had my first McMuffin around 1978 or so, and I have NEVER had one that was toasted to any degree of crispness, and many seemed totally untoasted.

My nest "first attempt" will be a green papaya salad. I've checked and downloaded a few recipes from various cooking sites, and have a pretty good idea of how I want to proceed. However, I do have some questions: What kind of papaya is best suited to this salad? It seems that the big ones are most often used, but which big ones, or does it matter? If anyone has made this dish, any tips and suggestions would be appreciated, as would any comments on your experiences making the salad. Thanks!

Has anyone made this? How'd it turn out? Any comments on the recipe/technique or variations you've tried? Thanks! http://ruhlman.com/2011/10/french-onion-soup-recipe/

Thanks to all who've helped me understand the reason for oiling the carrots. Some very useful and appreciated information here.

Will do ... thanks!

Roasting times for the size of carrots I'll be using and the degree of caramelization I'm looking for seems to be between 45 minutes and an hour. Is that considered a brief time? How does time affect oil absorbtion?

What I said was tablespoons of oil ... sometimes three or more. And even 1 Tbs might be a lot depending on the amount of carrots, don't you think?

I'm trying to understand the need for oil - sometimes copius amounts of oil - when roasting and caramelizing carrots (and other root vegetables, like parsnips). If just a small amount of oil is helpful to enhance flavor and texture, that's fine. But many of the recipes I looked at suggested tablespoons of oil, and that seems excessive, and certainly so for how Toots and I prefer to eat these days.

My idea originally was to coat the carrots with a light glaze of orange juice and honey, or maybe an orange marmelade, and roast 'em in the oven at a suitable temp and time.

To expand on that you may want to check out this article from Modernist Cuisine on the Maillard reaction as well as the link to the caramelized carrot soup http://modernistcuisine.com/2013/03/the-maillard-reaction/There's no way I'm going to go through all that just to make a simple soup for dinner at home. Kudos to those of you who have the patience for such an undertaking. In any case, I don't have a pressure cooker, nor am I planning on getting one. However, there are some ideas in that recipe that could be incorporated into what is more my style of cooking. Thanks for the link.

I have some ideas for making caramelized carrots, and poked around looking at some recipes and techniques to help clarify my ideas. What I noticed is that most all the recipes I looked at called for adding oil or fat to the carrots. I'd like to make this dish without the oil. What purpose does the oil or fat serve?

When we make cauliflower soup, we often just throw the leaves in ...

How mundane a topic, however, I have learned here that there are substantial differences in many run-of-the-mill kitchen tools and gadgets, so why not box graters? My old grater has seen better days, and I'm not sure how good it was to begin with. So, what do you look for in a box grater, and what suggestions might you have to replace my old one? It'll be used mostly for cheese and vegetables (including squash and root vegetables), maybe ginger. Thanks!

When I made the carrots, I got some nice caramelization. I'm sure I used a bit of sugar. The results were pretty good, and gave me an idea to something more with roasted, caramelized carrots.

McDonald's shows how to make an Egg McMuffin at home .... http://lifehacker.com/5974825/mcdonalds-shows-you-how-to-make-an-egg-mcmuffin-at-home

So, how do you get the egg out of the ramekin without damage to the egg? If I want to put a slice of ham and some cheese on the egg, will the ramekin idea still work?

I enjoy the Lundberg rice as well, preferring their organic brown basmati rice. It's been a go-to choice for some years. Like you, I freeze the extra that I make ... put it in big zip lock bags and lay 'em flat in the freezer. The bags don't take up much space that way, and it's easy to break off a chunk for reheating or adding to recipes. A few days ago I baked a batch of brown rice for the first time ... easy to do and perfect results. I used the Massa organic rice that I heard about here.

Worth thinking about. Baking may satisfy me ... it's certainly healthier. Never cooked with silicon ...

Nope - whatever I do, I want round to use with English muffins.

I don't deny that the Cronut® could be a tasty treat, but I don't think I'd wait on line at 6:00am for a chance to try one, nor would it seem right to spend such outrageous prices even if I didn't have to wait on line. Reading some articles, it seems that the craze is already passing, and it may not be long before the Cronut® becomes just another footnote to foolishness. ETA: there's a bakery way across town from where I used to live - maybe 12-miles or so - and I used to drive there one or two mornings a week for the best brioche I ever tasted, so I suppose we all have one or two things that might drive us to "excess."

I like the concept of the Egg McMuffin, but I do not like the MacDonald's execution. Solution: make my own at home. With that in mind, it seems like a reasonable idea to get a set of egg rings (unless someone has a better suggestion). So, any suggestions? What do I look for? What do I avoid? What's the best way to use these things - preheat, grease 'em, get non-stick, what's the best material for rings and handle .... ?

Thanks for all the input. I'm leaning towards the OXO and the Foley.

Neither had I until about an hour ago when I read this. That's a chunk of my life I would like back. Oh, my ... certainly not worth the hype, the money, the time. Thanks for the link ... maybe.

I've never heard of them ... what are they?