Shel_B

Next month I'll be making a batch of baked beans. Checking the larder yields only Ranch Gordo Tarbais beans. How well will they work in a baked bean recipe? Would I be better off using some other type of bean? What bean(s) might you suggest?

This question of a metallic taste when using lemon has come up before ... you are not alone in your experience. http://forums.egullet.org/topic/40823-lemon/?hl=%2Bmetallic+%2Btaste

One of my first cookbooks was written by her ... I may still have it stored away somewhere. It was a book about salads, and it was both useful and enlightening at the time. Thinking back, with many years of cooking and recipes behind me now, I'd say the book was a little simplistic, but for a beginning cook it was quite helpful and informative.

I got the original of this recipe from Toots, and she called it a frittata. She got the original of her version from a school lunch program in Michigan about fifty years ago, and they called it a frittata. Both Toots and I modified the versions we got to make it our own, but it's still essentially the same amount of eggs and cheese, and the amount of spinach used hasn't changed much over the years either. I never would have thought to call it a casserole, but I've always wondered it it's really a frittata. Still, whatever it really is, it is good ...

Posted the frittata recipe in Recipe Gullet section ....

Shel's Spinach-Cheese Frittata 2½ 1-lb pkgs frozen, chopped spinach, thawed, water pressed out, leaves separated 1 can canned corn (I use TJ's), drained (not creamed corn - you cab use frozen or fresh kernels as well) 1 pkg TJ's condensed Portobello mushroom soup or equivalent 4 large eggs, beaten 2 heaping TBS A/P flour ⅓ cup ground dried shiitake mushrooms 12 oz pkg shredded cheese (Gruyere, Emmentaler, Pepper Jack - I usually use TJ's pepper jack) 1 4-oz can diced green peppers Some diced bacon, pancetta, or ham (optional) ½ cup finely diced leek, lightly sautéed S&P to taste (I use no salt and add about ½ - 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper depending of type of pepper Sauté leeks in a small amount of oil, let cool. Prepare bacon and set aside to cool and drain. Set aside prepared spinach in a large bowl or colander. Dump condensed mushroom soup into another large bowl. Grind in pepper and add ground mushrooms and mix. Add eggs, drained canned corn (or you can use frozen corn), green chile peppers, cooled leek mixture, optional bacon, and lightly sift flour over all. Mix together to incorporate, then add shredded cheese and spinach and mix well. Lightly butter/oil (or use a little bacon fat) an 8x8 or 2-quart Corningware baking dish and add the mixture. Bake @ 350-deg for about 40 minutes, or to an internal temperature of about 170-degrees.

Have you tried the Union Square Café bar nuts? Been using the recipe for a couple of years. Here's a link to the version I've been using: http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/recipe?id=7039143

Ratto's is still around. Rarely get to that area any more, but I'll call and ask what they have. Last time I checked, they were carrying Molinari, but hey, times change.

Looking for a good quality sweet Italian sausage with fennel in the San Francisco Bay Area. It can be a quality national brand or, probably more to my liking, a good quality local brand. Molinari makes a pretty good version, but is there something better or more interesting. It'll be used in a Sunday gravy and eventually in a few other dishes, like sausage and onions or sausage and peppers. Any suggestions from our Bay Area contingent?

There's a Cauliflower with Gruyere Sauce recipe that I've modified to use with pepperjack and a very cheesy frittata that has been discussed in another thread http://forums.egullet.org/topic/149975-oven-times-for-different-size-baking-dishes/

Satisfied isn't pleased. I believe I can do better. The shredded cheese I'm using has additives that effect the texture and perhaps the taste. This concern was raised in the Pimento cheese thread, and I recently found out why the problem exists, so I'd like to improve my results. It was you who brought the issue to my attention when you wrote "Pre-grated cheese is never as good as grating your own, as pre-grated cheese tends to break down too much when you mix everything together. It's also usually dusted in starch or cellulose to keep it from clumping together in the bag."

There are a couple of recipes I make using pepper jack. They both require shredded or grated cheese. I've been buying a pre-shredded pepper jack from TJ's, but some comments I read suggest grating/shredding the cheese yourself. I've not been pleased with the various pepper jack cheeses I've tried, although I am satisfied with TJ's shredded cheese. I can, however, find numerous, excellent plain jack cheeses. My thought was to use one of these cheeses and then finely dice or mince whatever peppers I want in whatever proportions that will give me the heat and flavor I want. The idea is to take the diced peppers and mix them with the liquid items in my recipe, which will then be mixed into the dry ingredients before the dish is popped into the oven. Does this sound like a good way to get that pepper jack taste into my baked dishes, or am I missing something?

Will do in a couple of days ... away from my recipes now.

I looked at the ingredient list on the bottle I bought and discovered that the sauce contains sucralose. It's way down at the bottom of the list of ingredients, in fact, the last ingredient. I didn't notice that when I checked the label at the time of purchase. Searching the net, there seems to be some health concerns about the ingredient, although it is used a lot by diabetics and others wishing to restrict their sugar intake. I need to research some more, but I think I'd prefer a low sugar sauce rather than a sucralose sauce.

This frittata is unlike any that I've seen mentioned on the net (3/4-lbs of cheese, more than 2-lbs of spinach, not many eggs, thick, soft, and cheesy), although I'm sure that somewhere something similar can be found. I don't know if the internal temp of a more typical frittata would be appropriate for this puppy. I'd be happy to post the recipe should you, or anyone, be interested. In any case, I know what it should look like, so I can nail it pretty well every time by observation. Plus, the thing is quite forgiving. Thanks for your suggestion.

Last week I found a sugar-free sauce. Haven't tried it yet - waiting to use the balance of a bottle in the fridge. http://www.cutthewheat.com/2014/04/review-g-hughes-guys-sugar-free-gluten.html http://www.guysbbq.com/bbq-sauce/taste-difference

Good idea, although I've never determined what the internal temp of the dish should be, so there's no point of reference. I've always made the dish and determined doneness by what it looks like.

Thanks all. Just knowing that the baking time needs to be adjusted is a big help. The frittata is in the oven now and - whoops! the timer just went off @ 28-minutes ... looks pretty good, so I'll remove from the oven and let it cool. Thanks again to everyone.

This afternoon I'm making a cheese and spinach frittata. It's usually made in an 8x8 dish, but this time I want to make it in a larger dish, which is about 10x10. The dishes are of the same material, vintage Corningware baking dishes. I am sticking with the same recipe, so the volume will be the same for each dish. Of course, the thickness of the frittata will be less in the larger dish. With that in mind, should I reduce the baking time? It's usually about 350-deg for 40-minutes in the 8x8 dish.

I never said anything about preventing skin ... just wanted to know why it happens and what contributes to it. I like the skin.

I just made a batch of chocolate pudding, and, as usual, a nice skin formed on the top. Recently, Toots made a batch of chocolate pudding using a mix, and no skin formed over the pudding. She did use non-fat milk and I used reduced-fat (2%) milk. Might the lack of skin on Toots' pudding be a result of her using non-fat milk? Or might there be some additive or ingredient in the mix that prevents the skin from forming? And, why does a skin form in the first place?

I may have misspoken .... Upon reflection, I believe he said that he has 66 pans, so it's possible that he didn't do all of them using the oven method. I'll have to watch the video again. However, I'm comfortable with the idea he's done quite a few using that method.

You're quite welcome. So pleased that the technique worked for you. I've only done one skillet this way, and it turned out perfectly. I've a newer (20+ yo) Lodge that I plan to treat after the holidays.

The guy that made the video has done something like 66 skillets using the method. He issued no caveats about warping or cracking. Where did you get your information? I'd like to check it out.

I posted the panna cotta recipe in Recipe Gullet ... feel free to ask any questions.