Shel_B

David Lebovitz offers this suggestion http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2007/07/making-ice-crea-1/ which I have used with acceptable results. In addition, the good folks at kitchen.com offer these options: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-ice-cream-without-an-ice-cream-machine-171060 And finally, though there are more, here's a couple from the Brown-Eyed Baker: http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/06/21/how-to-make-homemade-ice-cream-without-an-ice-cream-maker/ You may also Google "How to make ice cream without an ice cream machine" and find plenty more options.

Sounds like a nice, simple meal, one that allows plenty of time to be with your sweetie, and that's the best part of any special dinner.

No, you're not ...

Try Bella Milano ... it's been a few years since I've been there - was just passing through - and I found the food to be good and the service pleasant. When on the road, very few places compare with foodie locations such as Berkeley and San Francisco, NYC, etc., but this is a place I'd go back to if ever again in the area.

That's some nice looking guanciale. It's difficult to find good quality and tasty guanciale here ... <sigh>

What are you doing, or cooking, for your sweetheart for Valentine's Day? Is this an occasion that's celebrated world-wide, or is it an American thing? Tonight we're having a simple supper consisting of Molly Wizenberg's curried lentil soup with kale from our garden, a salad, also with ingredients from our garden, a pork tenderloin with apples and caramelized onions, and a side of baked Minnesota wild rice, cooked in a homemade mushroom stock with some of Toots' favorite mushrooms and toasted pecans added for good measure. For dessert there will be a blood orange panna cotta served in small, red, heart shaped ramekins. I'm having a grand time doing things for Toots. I made a card for her using a vintage image from the early 1900's - It's fun making my own greeting cards, and the recipients like them, too, as they can be so easily personalized. She's also getting a box of Recchiuti chocolate hearts with her favorite fillings http://www.recchiuti.com/overview.html?area=02&id=J43aFnvE&gclid=CNHkuufUy7wCFQWTfgodPl4AVw, and the traditional bouquet of a dozen red roses. We went to see The Thin Man last night at the local theater, which once a month has screenings of classic films. Whatever you do, I hope you'll be enjoying the day as much as we will.

We're generally in agreement here, although I take a small issue with your point on yogurt, or some yogurt. Many "Greek" and other yogurts are loaded with crap - thickeners like corn starch or carrageenan, sugar and other enhancements. A lot of store bought yogurt, regardless of style, should forever remain in the dairy case. I'm familiar with Ottolenghi and Tamimi's hummus - it's very good, and while I won't go so far as to say it's a hummus by which all others should be judged, it's right up there. So now we have a common point of reference.

So what makes Greek yogurt Greek? Are you complaining about the price and the marketing or the yogurt? Well, how is home made American hummus different than Lebanese home made hummus? I don't think you can compare supermarket products with well-made restaurant or home made products. Maybe that's the same in Lebanon? Is what you get in the supermarket in Lebanon equal to what is made at home? And, from what I understand, in part by experience, Israeli hummus may be made and presented differently than Lebanese hummus. Which is "authentic?"

Might not "American-style" food be authentic American? It seems that we here in the states have our own culture and history, and that is reflected in our food - the ingredients and how we prepare it.

What is the difference between "Americanized" hummus and that from the middle east, and how have we "ruined" it? Likewise our Greek yogurt and yours?

Gotta hand it to 'em ... http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/02/12/275628045/cornell-pair-introduce-american-chinese-food-to-shanghai

I see the point you're making, and I agree with the example you gave, but .... if you make something like a roux, using flour, milk, and the fat from the meat, wouldn't the bread then be "cooked" and lose its raw flavor and texture? And then serve the same purpose as a panade?

So, how does scalding milk effect chocolate pudding?

OK - thanks! And that brings me to a question about using a panade in making sauces, in this case a meat sauce. If bread is made with flour and water, why use bread at all in a sauce? Couldn't a mixture of flour and water be added in place of bread?

I noticed that many of the techniques and recipes here use the addition of water - sometimes a fair amount of it. What's the idea behind adding water - to this uneducated-in-the-ways-of-sugo guy, it seems that the water would only dilute the flavors and the sauce?

It reminds me of some of the stores and homes in the older part of the town in which I spent my childhood. Thanks for the pleasant memories.

Isn't guanciale made from the jowl or cheek?

Not having heard back from anyone by the time I was ready to make the pudding, I used the microwave, kept a close eye on the progress, and the results were pretty good - quite comparable to cooking the milk on the stovetop. Now that I've done it both ways, I agree that the stovetop is a bit easier to judge, but the results are similar. Thanks for your response.

I've never heard of Italian water rolls, and I grew up in NY and Long Island in the fifties. Can you explain what they are?

I am about to make some chocolate pudding, and in reviewing the recipe and my notes I was reminded that some of the milk in the recipe is to be scalded in a saucepan on the stove, which is how I made this recipe in the past. I was planning to heat the milk in the microwave this time. Does scalding do anything to the milk that is important to the recipe, or would getting the milk nice and hot in the microwave work just as well? I'd be happy to post the recipe should that be necessary or helpful. Thanks!

Hummus, or perhaps even a baba ganoush. Maybe an eggplant hummus, which works quite nicely with broccoli and carrots. That's something we enjoy when watching the news, and we have it with broccoli, carrots, celery ...

24cm - when I measured with a tape it showed just a scosh less than 9.5 inches, i.e., 24cm

Glass covers are easy to find (and thanks for posting the suggestion), but I want an original type lid. I'm in no hurry to get just what I want.

It's 24cm ... Didn't see anything when I last checked Etsy. Thanks for looking!

Perhaps you may not fully understand the differences between white and black pepper. To make white pepper, berries are ripened past the point where they would be harvested for use as black pepper. They are then are soaked in water for several days until the black husk come loose and then the white centers are dried in the sun. This different processing changes the flavor and heat of white pepper, therefore, mixing black and white pepper together affords a flavor profile that cannot be had with black peppercorns alone.