Shel_B

Trader Joe's Pork Gyoza Pot Stickers Serious Eats did a taste test on frozen pork dumplings, and the TJ's brand fared quite well: http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/03/best-frozen-pork-dumplings-taste-test.html

Some years ago, in a rare fit of decadence, I made a foie gras mousse using a lovely Pommeau - a blend of 2/3 heirloom apple cider and 1/3 apple brandy - that I found. Maye that will give you some ideas.

Check out Realbeanz. Maybe this one will work for you. And then there's this one: It’s cold coffee like you’ve never had before. It’s not watered down or stripped of any flavor. There are three to choose from, Menemsha Mud Regular, Decaf, & Espresso. Add your sugar and cream etc., or drink it black Scroll down on the page to Cold Brew Coffee.

When we have large meetings at City Hall or at other venues, we put out these Starbucks boxes, which offer the option of decaf. Check with your local Starbucks for availability. We just get the boxes, not the cups and other accessories. The boxes can stay in the fridge and coffee can be drawn as needed. While I recognize this isn't quite what you asked for, perhaps this can give you some ideas, like adding sugar or other amendments to the box, or maybe asking the local Starbucks if they can custom fill a box with your drink preference. I have a vague recollection of having a box of fancy coffee at one of our meetings. http://www.starbucks.com/menu/drinks/brewed-coffee/coffee-traveler

Allow me to preface my question by noting that I rarely drink alcohol, and know almost nothing about various drinks and such. Every now and then - maybe once a year or so - I'll have, what I call, a vodka martini - vodka and vermouth. Someone told me that a martini is only gin and vermouth, and the concoction I drink is not called a martini. It was never explained to me what vodka and vermouth is called. Yesterday I had lunch at a local restaurant, and their drink list had these items listed under martinis: Coconut vodka and pineapple juice; Ruby Red Vodka, grapefruit juice, lemon juice, and simple syrup; Ketel One vodka, lychee liquor, lychee juice; Belvedere vodka, Midori, pineapple juice, fresh lemon and lime juice. There were other such similar drinks, none of which seem like a martini to me, but I'm unfamiliar with all these drinks. So, what constitutes a martini? What is vodka and vermouth called? Are the drinks mentioned above considered mto be martinis?

Clickhttp://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/07/us/crooks-caper-at-san-francisco-bakery-leave-the-cash-take-the-cruffin-recipe.html?_r=0 I posted this three times and the links don't work. I'm done here ....

The lemon oil is terrific. A couple of years ago it was suggested I use it to punch up a lemon poppy seed cake I was playing around with. I've never used more than three or four drops in addition to the regular recipe. It made a big difference. As noted by cdh, a little goes a l-o-n-g way and lasts a very long time.

Interesting idea. I might, depending on circumstance and how the recipes were delivered.

Yesterday I hit the Berkeley Farmers Market and picked up a jar of Frog Hollow apricot conserves: After about a year of tasting apricot preserves, and being unsatisfied with everything I tried, this is the one. The ingredients are simple and basic: Organic apricots, organic sugar, ascorbic and citrus acids. The color is like that of fresh fruit (or as close as can be considering there's some cooking involved) and the taste is also close to that of fresh fruit. The product is not overly sweet, not overly cooked, and the pieces of fruit are large. In the sample I tried at the Frog Hollow stand at the farmers market, there was actually a piece about the size of half an apricot in the jar. This is the closest I've found to what Toots makes. I read that conserves have other ingredients in them, such as nuts or pieces of other types of fruit. I also read that conserves are made from dried fruit. This is not the case with the Frog Hollow product. This is what I would call a preserve, but nomenclature notwithstanding, this is what I would eventually like to make. It seems like there's some wiggle room with names for jams, jellies, preserves, and now, it seems, conserves.

Thank you. A friend who builds custom furniture made it for me.

I've never cooked for more than four people here, either, although I believe it can be done without too much difficulty. Still, four is very comfortable. While the space is tight, I'm adapting and learning techniques to better use the space. Before retiring and downsizing, my kitchen was about 375 sq ft with lots of counter space. When I moved in, about 15-mos ago, some friends bought me this cart as a housewarming gift. The extra space for food prep, the Breville, and storage is very helpful.

Trader Joe's Organic Valencia Peanut Butter - Salt Free Oh, my! This is bad! First, allow me to address the salt issue. I usually buy unsalted, fresh ground peanut butter from one of three sources, and I don't mind, in fact, I prefer, salt-free peanut butter. But for some reason, this p'butter was very bland and lacking in peanut flavor. Maybe this nut butter, for some reason, needs salt. The contents were oily, even after draining the oil that typically floats to the top on these natural peanut butters. When I mixed the peanut butter there was very little resistance to the spoon - very little! I've never encountered anything quite like it. Keeping the p'butter in the fridge didn't firm it up, as is usually the case. It spread almost like a thick milkshake, and, in fact, peanut butter dripped from the bread. As for crunchy, well, there was a dearth of crunchy in this jar. I could easily count the peanut pieces on the bread or in each spoonful. If you like thin, bland, and insipid peanut butter, this one's for you. I'll go back to my regular sources the next time I want peanut butter.

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My small kitchen ....

Thanks, I'll take a look when I get home, after the weekend. I'm not a honey fan, as such, but I do use it and enjoy it. It might be a nice change from the more typical sugar.

That sounds perfect! Thanks! Maybe I'll pick up some Frog Hollow the next time I hit the Berkeley Farmers market. I have been very disappointed with recommendations for various jams and preserves that I received here. Everything tasted overcooked and over sugared.

This looks interesting. I'll look into it further. I don't mind extra effort .... and I will be making small batches. What do you mean by "higher quality?"

Soon it will be the season for fresh fruit, and I've promised myself that this year I'll make some preserves, especially apricot, maybe cherry, but other fruits as well. Saw some books on the subject at a bookstore this morning, but have no idea if they are any good. Any recommendations for books, literature, links that may be helpful? Maybe some details about the content would be helpful. Thanks!

I used "about 50-grams of dried mushrooms," not 10-ounces. 50 grams = 1.76-ounces. Actually, I rounded off. The exact amount was 48.5 grams, in either case less than the 2-oz you suggest. You can see the porcinis at 40-grams on the scale, and can probably interpolate to some degree the weight of the shiitakes. Read my post again. The milk didn't burn. I just went back an looked at the pot again to be sure.

But ground up mushrooms soaked in water have no further use. The remaining mushroom pieces can be used for other dishes. And I did not want to use water ... I think my original question made that clear. I've made plenty of infusions using water and mushrooms, such as the 2 quarts of mushroom stock in my freezer (http://forums.egullet.org/topic/146256-mushroom-stock-ideas-wanted/?hl=%2Bmushroom+%2Bstock), which I could have used had I wanted to use water. While you, and others, jump on my case for not doing this your way, and for my not wanting to follow your sage advice, I know, and thought I was clear about, what I wanted to do. I said, "One idea that I want to play with is infusing the milk or cream with mushroom flavor from dried mushrooms. Might that work by simply heating the dairy and adding dried mushroom pieces and letting them steep?" IOW, I wanted to try and experiment with that technique. In fact, at least one person here, Deryn, suggested I experiment with the idea. She said "In addition, I also suggest that you take a few of the dried mushrooms you say you have already and try the infusion 'experiment'. So I did ... In my searches for ideas about this technique, I also discovered a cold infusion, where the mushroom pieces are soaked in the milk or cream overnight in the refrigerator. That would probably have a lot less intense flavor than your water technique, but it is something I shall try at some point. Not everything has to be intensely flavored. There is a decided lack of subtlety in many recipes and ideas that are floating around. More is not always better. Finally, if I don't experiment and play around with ideas that don't conform to someone else's concept of what is right, or commonplace, I don't learn. And maybe even others won't learn from my experiences, whether successful or night.

It really depends on what you want. I just finished infusing 10-oz of half-and-half with about 50 grams of dried mushrooms, mixed 20% shiitake and 80% porcini, and, as it is, the mushroom flavor is almost too strong for my intended use. Considering there will be butter and flour added to thicken the mixture (to make a condensed-type soup), as well as some aromatics and additional fresh mushrooms, it's expected that the infused flavor will be nicely balanced for my purposes. Here are the shiitake pieces before adding to the porcini pieces: And these are the porcini pieces: This is the combined pieces in the pot with 10-oz of half-and-half. Note the color of the dairy: I kept the temperature below boiling at all times. 208-degrees is the hottest I allowed the mixture to get: This shows the infused half-and-half ready to come off the heat. You can see it has a nice tan color. That color equals flavor, IMO: Finally, the strained infusion in a bowl, ready to be added to other ingredients to make the condensed soup:

If you look again, you'll see that the ingredient is Condensed cream of mushroom soup, which is an ingredient that we use in casseroles. Sorry if I'm too cryptic for you.

Let's see if I understand you. I want to infuse into milk or cream, and you're suggesting water ... is that correct? I don't necessarily want the dairy to evaporate, but if it does to some degree, it's the mushroom infused dairy taste that I want. Water will dilute the flavor of the dairy, yes? In the FWIW Dep't, some artisan cheeses are infused with mushrooms ... We can also add flavor in a more subtle way by infusing the milk with dried mushrooms,

Well, thanks for Googling around. I am not making a soup, rather, an ingredient that will replace an ingredient I can't get right now. I have no recipe just yet, only an idea, but I do want to try the dairy infusion as I think it will add to what I want to do. When I develop the recipe, and finalize the idea, I'll post it on eG. I found a couple of recipes that infuse dairy with mushroom pieces, so, at this point, I'm convinced it's a workable idea. In fact, there was a discussion here that I'd completely forgotten about, although it's for a dessert not a soup (which is not quite what I want to make in any case), as it's the infusion process that I am interested in at the moment. I'd be happy to send you the recipes I have in which the cream is infused with mushroom flavor. You said that I stated this step was but one of many in my 'recipe' - I didn't. What I said was that "the infusion would only be one step in the preparation ..." Since there's no recipe just yet, I can't say how many steps there may be, although the idea is taking shape.

Thanks for explaining that. The original idea was to infuse the dairy with pieces of dried mushroom, and at this point that's still the plan.