Shel_B

Just curious ... opened a new carton of eggs a while ago and found this puppy. Would you break this open and fry or scramble it? If you did break it open, what would you look for to decide if you'd eat it or not?

I'd not thought about a control group, but that seems to be a good idea. Because I have some plans for the weekend, I may not make a control batch until I return. I don't think it matters much when I make the second batch. After purchasing the 'nduja I started reading recipes for ideas on how to use it, and a few included beans as a good match for the spread. However, regardless of how the test batch turns out, those beans are going into a vegetarian or turkey chili that I'm planning. I make a big pot of such chili or stew every month or so ... vegetarian chili, turkey with various beans, black bean and sweet potato stew, versions of fagioli all’uccelletto, etc. I keep about 1/2 for me and give the rest of what I make to residents in my apartment building. Anyway, I'm going to see about using the 'nduja in my cowboy beans recipe which is a riff on Pasta Grammar's Italian Cowboy Beans. which itself is a riff on a more traditional fagioli all’uccelletto.

I don't know either, but the experiment has begun. Mashed up some fresh Thai chilies, some dried Calabrian flakes that I cut from whole peppers (seeds are included in this mess), some salt and some garlic slices. Added that to about 2 cups of water which I heated to just boiling, covered the pot, and will let the mess steep until the water cools. The aroma is intense! When the water cools, I'll strain it and add some dark red kidney beans and soak for about 12 hours. I'm keeping the experiment on a small scale. I'll let y'all know what happens after the beans get cooked.

Well, time for more experimenting. A little background might be in order, if for no other reason to know my point of reference. Years ago I started cooking pasta in chili-infused water, and the pasta would soak up the flavor like a sponge. I was/am hoping something like that can be done with beans. Thanks for all your advice. I'll certainly consider your comments as I continue exploring bean cooking.

So cooking in stock works well for you. That's very good to know. Thanks! Do the beans themselves have a chicken-y flavor?

The paste has citric acid as a preservative, so based on what you say, it should not be used in the soaking or cooking process. What if I were to create my own chili pepper infusion by grinding or mincing fresh chili peppers and creating an infusion as originally described. Nothing but pepper-infused water, maybe some salt. Would that work? When you describe the beans as flavorful, are you including the liquid in that description? If so, what about the beans themselves, after cooking but without the liquid, i.e., drained or drained and rinsed? I want the beans themselves to have a strong flavor apart from the cooking liquid, as the liquid my not always be used in the recipes.

Now that there's an Instant Pot in my kitchen, and I've found local sources for Rancho Gordo and a couple of other heirloom and organic beans, I'll be using these dried beans instead of canned in many recipes, including several chili recipes, soups, and a few bean-centric main dishes. So, while I have the equipment and the ingredients, my knowledge is lacking. Is adding flavoring components to the soaking water a good way to go, or is adding these components to the cooking water a better option? The few times that I've cooked beans in the IP, I've added onion, garlic, bay leaves, and some dried peppers to the cooking water. The results were pretty good but I'd like to try getting a more intense, or deeper, flavor into the beans. One idea that I have is to infuse the soaking water with some pepper paste. I've a jar of Aji Amarillo paste that's been sitting in a cupboard for far too long, and perhaps it's time to put that puppy to work. I thought I'd add a bunch of paste to the soaking water by heating the water to get a good infusion, strain the solids, and then soak the beans in the cooled water. Perhaps add some salt to the water as well. Workable? Good idea? What do you do to add flavor to beans?

The Pasta Grammar folks think it's pretty good, and more than most, they should know. I've not yet decided how I'll use it for the first try, besides just a scoop and a taste. Thinking of using it on spaghetti or fileja. I'd be interested in knowing your reaction. https://www.the-pasta-project.com/fileja-pasta-alla-silana-recipe-from-calabria/

Well, I got these items recently: I'm hoping this will help me keep track of items in the fridge and freezer.

I've not made yogurt before. Not sure what you're referencing. I'm not concerned about cost right now. I just want to try my hand at making yogurt.

@Tropicalsenior, Why dry whole milk? Will your technique work with low fat or skimmed dry milk? Is the liquid milk whole milk? Thanks!

How would that work with the diced/minced meat in a chili?

@FauxPas ... I saw a recipe on ATK where the water/soda mixture and the soy sauce were used separately but at the same time, along with other seasoning, mixed into the meat, and then cooked. They were making turkey burgers, and I tried that recipe wiyh great results. So, there doesn't seem to be a need to add the soy sauce after the meat is cooked. I made the turkey/bean chili a while ago and decided to just go ahead and add the soda to the soy sauce. The mixture bubbled and fizzed a bit, and then settled down. The results seemed to be fine, but the next time I make the dish I'll add the soy and the soda mixture separately and compare the results. Thanks for your thoughtful response to my question. 👍

I'm making a dish where I want to add baking soda to water and mix it with the ground turkey in order to increase the browning and perhaps increase tenderness as well. I also want to add some soy sauce to the meat to enhance flavor. Would adding the baking soda to the soy sauce and eliminating the water work OK? I'd like to limit the moisture in the meat if possible. Is this a good idea? I don't see why not but want to check in to see what y'all have to say.

Thanks for that. Generally, I don't care for additions to cheesecake preferring a simple, straight-ahead style. That's what attracted me to the recipe I referenced, although having enjoyed that type of cake before certainly got me interested.

Great! That site was on my list to check, so I'll move it to the top of the queue. This young lady has done a good job. 👍👍

I don't want a NY-style cake, and I'm ignorant about using the Instant Pot for such an undertaking. However, reading Tropicalsenior's post has increased my understanding of cheesecake-making technique in general and I'll keep the info in my back pocket until some future date. I'd like to get more use from my Instant Pot and the recipe does look interesting.

I can wait. Not planning to make a cheesecake today. Again, thanks.

Is that the generally accepted way to reduce such a recipe? It makes sense to me, and seems like a good place to start. Thank you²

Ahh! That looks like what I want, and the size and technique fit well into my comfort zone. I'll have to look at the recipe more closely, but from what I can see with a first look, there's something here that I can work with. Thank you for the link.

I wouldn't mind making a smaller cheesecake but I haven't a clue on how to properly reduce the recipe. How much of each ingredient would have to be reduced to give what size result? What size pan would be needed? How do I adjust the baking time? I am out of my comfort and experience zone when it comes to baking.

No, I don't have a stand mixer. I appreciate the thought, though.

There's a cheesecake recipe that I'm hot to try, and it can be made using the food processor for mixing. However, my processor is too small to contain the full amount of ingredients. Can I mix up about half the recipe amount, empty the processor, add and mix the balance, and then combine both batches and mix them together well by hand? I don't see a problem with this, but I'm not much of a baker and have only made a cheesecake once, so I'm not much of a cheesecake maven either. Ingredients 7 eggs 14 oz sugar 1 cup cream ¼ cup flour 2¼ lbs cream cheese FWIW, it's a Basque cheesecake recipe.

I saw this video earlier. Is there a way to use this technique without a crock pot? Maybe in a warmed, cast iron pot instead of the crock pot? Or ... ?

Sad to say, this item was a disappointment to me. The flavor was pretty good albeit somewhat subtle. It got lost when the cheese was spread on my morning bagel. I tried one half of the toasted bagel with my usual, and preferred, shmear, and the other half with a greater amount of the spread. In both cases the peach flavor seemed to disappear far into the background. The cheese itself was less than fine. It had a gummy texture that I found disconcerting. However, it's only fair to point out that I'm not much of a crem cheese user, and when I do use the product it's made by local companies that don't use gums, stabilizers, etc., so my point of reference may be somewhat skewed. However, I've not had the complaint when using Philly, which does happen. There's a bagel shop near me that uses Philly straight and in their spreads, and I don't have that "gummy" experience there. YMMV, and it probably will.