Shel_B

Shel’s Simple Meyer Lemon Panna Cotta I like to use a shallow rustic ceramic bowl for this dish so that people can help themselves, or serve in individual dishes. Ingredients 1 envelope unflavored gelatin 1 cup sugar, scant (see notes) 1 cup water, divided 1 cup whipping cream 1 cup Meyer lemon juice (4-6 Meyer lemons) 1 - 2 Tbs finely grated Meyer lemon zest (optional, see notes) 1 cup nonfat Greek-style yogurt (use one without additives and fillers) 1 tsp - 1½ tsp vanilla extract Instructions　 Sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water in a small ramekin; let it soften for 5 minutes or until no dry spots remain. Combine sugar and 1/2 cup warm water in a saucepan; bring to a simmer and stir until sugar dissolves. Turn off the heat and add the gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin dissolves. Add cream, lemon juice and lemon zest. Let cool slightly. Put yogurt in a mixing bowl and whisk to loosen it up. Add the cream mixture, little by little, gently stirring after each addition to break up any lumps of yogurt before adding more cream. Do not over stir, which will avoid air bubbles. Pour mixture into a 5-cup bowl or mold. Tap the bowl on the counter to remove air bubbles. Cover and chill until set, 6 hours to overnight. Notes: Ideally, use heavy whipping cream, but even half-and-half will work. When using whipping cream, use a good, unadulterated cream. Many store creams have additives and fillers – read the labels! Trader Joe’s whipping cream (in my area) is excellent, as is Clover – made in the same plant. Manufacturer's cream is heavier and may also be a good choice. For a somewhat tangier result, mix Meyer lemon with regular, Eureka lemons – maybe as much as about 50-50, but I prefer no more than about 20% of regular lemon juice. You can use a mixture of zest as well. Experiment to find the lemon intensity you prefer. Sometimes I want it heavy, other times more subtle. A scant cup of sugar seems to be just fine, but depending on your taste and the intensity of the lemons, a little more, or less, may also work. I’ve gone as low as ¾ cup sugar when using all Meyer lemons, a bit more when adding Eureka lemon juice. You can use somewhat less gelatin for a "looser" texture, or more if you prefer a firmer dessert. I like the results from a standard packet. I’ve never used super fine sugar, just fine. I let the sugar sit in warmed water for a bit before turning on the heat and stirring. Vanilla sugar may be great, but I’ve not yet tried it

http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/STOCK-TIPS-3237449.php

My pleasure. Will do so after the weekend, when I get home.

I make a wonderful Meyer lemon panna cotta and also use Meyers when I make lemon curd. If interested, I'll post or send you the recipes.

Porthos, this worked for me .... much simpler than other methods, and it can be done at home very conveniently. Nice find! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6Tz3HnnCFs

I like it, but it's not a good fit for the family because of the cheese component and Toots is not a fungi fan.

Toots and I discussed the situation and have decided to go with a Brussels sprouts dish. Thanks so much for all the suggestions.

We have it here as well, although not sure if it's the right season for it now.

We (We means that I make it) have been requested to bring a "green vegetable side dish" to Thanksgiving dinner. I can't think of anything creative that will stand up to traveling or that will be good eaten at room temp or would work well being reheated. Any suggestions? PS: Green Bean Casserole - been there, done that. Thanks!

Recently found this video ... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6Tz3HnnCFs

Months ago I sourced the powder and now have tried three different sources. I'm good. Thanks!

There's more than one way to make the dish ... how do you know (actually, you don't since you said "suspect") that "just about every restaurant in Rome makes it with butter." And, "just about every restaurant" means not all restaurants, so some may very well be making it without butter or oil. I have a collection of about 15 Cacio e Pepe recipes at home, and some ask for butter/olive oil and some don't. The recipes are, of course, from many sources, including Italy, and of the Italian recipes (by Italian I mean recipes from Italy and Italian cookbooks), some include butter and some don't. In the FWIW department, Batali's recipe includes butter and olive oil, Bastianich's recipe doesn't.

Adding butter and/or olive oil is very typical of the dish. That's how I was taught to make it, although there are many variations of the dish. Probably the same idea as CI's suggestion to add cream. And here's an excerpt from an article on the subject: [...] he showed up bearing his own spaghetti, a super-long type from Naples. He set a big pot of water to boil, threw in some sea salt and got to work finely grating a tall pile of pecorino on a hand grater. He tried out the pepper grinder to make sure it gave the proper coarse grind. It should resemble peppercorns crushed in a mortar and pestle. When the pasta was cooked al dente, he drained it (no rinsing!), shaking the colander vigorously. Now, he told me, the secret is to wait about one minute. If you add the cheese when the pasta is too hot, it will melt, and that’s not what you want. After one minute, he frantically ground lots of black pepper over the pasta, added the cheese and tossed with a three-pronged pasta fork until everything was mixed. The cheese and pepper should attach to and dot each strand of spaghetti to give a tweedy effect. Don’t add olive oil, or pasta water, and above all, no butter! "

And here's what might be a perfect example of preference making a particular pizza "the best." Cheese Board pizza is beloved by many, attested to by the long lines of people waiting for a slice or a pie. And I don't like it at all. However, a shop somewhat further south on Shattuck puts out slices that I love. Is it great pizza? Probably not by many contemporary standards, yet I love it because it's truly the closest to a NYC neighborhood "slice joint," which, since I'm from NY, makes the Arinell pie one of my favorites. I'll have to try Benchmark in Kensington.

Layered Flag Fruit Salad http://npascackvalley.macaronikid.com/article/294209/macaroni-menu-layered-flag-fruit-salad Ballot Box Brownies https://www.hersheys.com/recipes/recipe-details.aspx?id=6363 Voter Vegetables http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ukraine/11204433/Ukraine-rebels-lure-voters-to-polls-with-root-vegetables.html

Your comment made me think of choucroute garnie, definitely casserole-like and a one dish meal.

While gathering my ingredients to make a batch of baked beans, I could only find Ranch Gordo Tarbais beans in the larder. Will they work pretty well or would I be better off with a more traditional bean? It would be nice if I could save a trip to the market ...

And Pot-au-feu ....

A few nights ago I was dicing potatoes for a batch of potato leek soup. I was using, as I often do, Yukon Gold potatoes. Whenever I cut into the potatoes, especially when cutting a whole potato in half, the potato would stick to the knife blade. Not a big deal, but somewhat annoying. Why does this happen, and how can the problem be eliminated or mitigated? I generally use a standard-style chef's knife (8-inch Victorinox), but the problem is the same for any similar knife I use. Might the knife blade have something to do with the problem? Could the problem be solved with a different blade design? I have heard that using a blade with dimples or ridges will make the problem go away, but have not found anything (yet) to substantiate that idea.

If you enjoy kugel, you might enjoy a Jerusalem Kugel. There are some recipes for such on line, but, if you're interested, I'll be happy to shoot you the one I use when I get home after the weekend.

I always pan fry my salmon croquettes. There are four basic recipes I use, one includes mayo, another smoked salmon, a third with fresh, not canned, salmon, and, of course, amore "traditional" version made with canned salmon. They all turn out just fine - the last batch I made, with fresh and smoked salmon and mayo, were exceptional - nice crispy crust and creamy flavorful interior.

Hi, I have a large (5 quart) stoneware bowl that I bought about 20-years ago. It's specifically for the purpose of letting bread dough rise. Roseville bowls are thick and heavy, and come in a variety of sizes, from 2-quart to about 12-quart. Made in USA. They're spendy new, but they can be found used on line (ebay, etsy) or perhaps found in thrift and second hand stores. I now use an 8-cup Pyrex bowl for my much smaller bread and baking needs these days. It's like the one in the link below, although I don't have the lid. Didn't see a need for it in my situation. http://www.target.com/p/pyrex-8-cup-measuring-cup-with-lid/-/A-10322004

You can give them something besides junk. There are lots of options ... http://www.listotic.com/64-non-candy-halloween-snack-ideas/7/ http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/food/nutrition/nutrition/life_stages/hgic4112.html No need to be a "crotchety cantankerous terse curmudgeon" for a holiday that's designed to give kids some pleasure.

I bought medium-sized bags of mixed Hershey's candies and mixed Mars candies. Something for everyone, including me. I doubt if I'll see any kids this year - haven't for the last three years - and Toots hasn't had trick-or-treaters at her place for the last four Halloweens.

There are many recipes that say to heat oil until smoking. I don't know if that's a particularly good instruction - I've never heated my oil to that point - and I don't really know how important that is, but those are the recipe instructions.