Shel_B

I've checked Amazon. There is a lot of crap out there. I need a recommendation for a good quality lifter. If the pic posted above is what you have, what's the brand, who makes it?

Yes, that's the type of thing I'm looking for ...

I'm tired of hassling to remove my ramekins of flan and custard from the hot water bath, and would like to get a jar lifter. Quality is first and foremost. Any recommendations? Thanks!

Let me jump in here and dissuade you further from buying such a product. Never had good luck with it. We have a small jar of the stuff in Toots' refrigerator, to be used only in the event of an absolutely serious garlic emergency.

I like the idea of smoking and then cooked in the oven. That should help render the fat from the meat, add some flavor, and still allow additional cooking in the more traditional manner. Something to think about. Thanks!

I was thinking of heritage loin, which would probably have better fat content and marbling than commercial pork, and less waste than the heritage shoulder I've been using. I agree with Dave that the "unctuousness" of the shoulder is much to be desired. Hmmm ... that idea is intriguing. I'll look into the best way to do that, and if it makes sense to do it. There's still the issue of so much expensive waste, but that's really a secondary concern.

I've made a couple of batches of my chile verde this month, and, in fact, the third batch is in the oven at this moment. The issue I have is pork, or, rather, choosing the right pork. The last batch I made used pork shoulder from a heritage breed, and, eventually, it was delicious. However, the shoulder was loaded with fat and had areas with great swaths of fat running through the meat. I paid a high price for this meat compared to a leaner, more typical supermarket piece. I don't mind the cost per pound, but the waste was extreme (IMO). I lost almost 20% of the weight just by trimming the excess fat. In addition, the heritage pork had a lot more fat running through the muscle compared to the more common commercial pork. While fat adds flavor, the result was pretty greasy, requiring a lot of time to eliminate the congealed fat after refrigerating the stew. Even with the fat removed, the stew was a little greasier than I'd have liked. In this batch I added some leaner, commercial pork to the heritage pork shoulder, just to have a point of comparison, and, by comparison, the commercial pork lacks flavor and tenderness, but it doesn't add excessive fat, nor to I have to trim away a lot of fat. It's certainly more cost effective, but not necessarily flavor effective. So, what's my option? My thought is to use a cut other than shoulder from a heritage hog, maybe the loin, which should, I guess, be leaner and lose less to trimming. Does that seem like a reasonable solution? Since I'd be using heritage pork, free range, organic, yada yada, I'd imagine that it would contain sufficient fat. Are there certain breeds that are less fatty but which will still be more flavorful than the commercial cardboard that's so readily available? Thanks for any suggestions.

There are several brands of JBM available on Amazon, some clearly better than others. In addition, some are blends, incorporating a relatively small proportion of JBM. Which item are you asking about?

I would think that Arborio (and other white rice) would not have a problem with rancidity since the fats are removed with the hull.

When I was using potato flakes, I used THESE. At the time, they were the most robust-tasting of the three or four brands I tried, and they also had the least amount of additives, etc.

I read her comments a while back, and that's why I have another choice in mind. TJ's has a pretty well-regarded puff pastry, but it's a seasonal item and it's not available now - I checked. There is another brand - Dufour? - that's supposed to be quite good. Spendy though. In any case, after dinner this weekend I'll start on the details of the Valentine dinner. Thanks for all your help.

The dough I have is from Trader Joe's. There's another one I'd like to try - it's French, and is considerably more expensive, but the review I read was positive. I'll pay attention to your baking tips ... Thanks!

I am making a savory gallette, therefore a frozen or otherwise ready-made pie crust won't work. I need the sheets. The frozen pie crust I purchased has a reasonable, preservative and chemical-free, list of ingredients - it's not perfect, but it's not, at least by my definition, a "mainstream grocery store offering" as you suggest. By comparison, the ingredient list for Pillsbury All Ready Pie Crust is: Enriched Flour Bleached (wheat flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Partially Hydrogenated Lard with BHA and BHT to Protect Flavor, Wheat Starch, Water. Contains 2% or less of: Salt, Rice Flour, Xanthan Gum, Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Propionate (preservatives), Citric Acid, Yellow 5, Red 40. I've neither the temperament, time, equipment, nor the space to make my own pie crust for the upcoming dinner.

Sure, but since I've never used this stuff, and never made a pie dough, I don't know what more there is to know about handling, care, etc. Is there a best way to unroll the dough? A best temperature or consistency? Best way to trim it? Maybe some people have some tricks or tips to get specific results. What's written on the box isn't always everything one needs to know to get good results.

For our Valentine dinner, I'm planning to make a Chorizo, Red Pepper, and Potato Galette using a frozen pie dough However, I've never used this ingredient. I'd appreciate any suggestions on how to best use it. Thanks!

I lean somewhat in Lisa's direction. Last year I provided very specific details and instructions to my "son-in-law" for making a dish that would be served at a small, intimate dinner for four. I provided specifics such as exact oven temperature, which rack in the oven the dish should be cooked, precise measurements of ingredients, and so on. When SIL cooked the dish he decided that the proportion of ingredients was wrong (never having made the dish himself, or used the technique), and that my recommended oven temp "couldn't be right." Came time for dinner, the dish was ruined ... and this guy has owned restaurants and been cooking for 35+ years. I'd urge caution, but not necessarily forgetting the idea.

You should try it for yourself even if everyone agreed with me ...

There's a brownie recipe that I've been using for about a year now, and I would like to try something new. I have some dark rum in which a few vanilla beans have been soaking. I'd like to incorporate that rum into the brownies. How would the addition of the rum effect the proportion of milk that is used in the original recipe? Should I reduce the amount of milk by the amount of rum added, or just replace the milk (1/4 - 1/3 cup) entirely with the rum? Or should I just add the rum to the regular recipe (giving me more total liquid) since, at least in some types of cooking, the alcohol evaporates? My ex-wife used to make a well-received brownie recipe using Kahlua, in which the Kahlua was added to the mixture and then, when the brownies were done baking, she'd brush some Kahlua on the top. Looking at her recipe, she used no milk, just Kahlua. So, any suggestions for adding the rum to my brownies? Thanks!

Trader Joe's Uncured Sweet Sriracha Bacon Jerky Judy, my personal shopper, put me on to this new item today, and she swears it is deeeelish! I've not tried it yet, but you can.

Perfect timing! I was just putting together a spice order ... Super!