Shel_B

Having asked in a few other places, and searched the 'net, it seems that only a minute, at most depending on technique, is needed.

Thanks! I'll be making enough almond milk that I'll want to blanch relatively large quantities, and the steaming sounds like a good option, especially if the almonds don't need to be soaked further. Big time saver. I'll try the technique with my next batch of almond milk. Although I resisted getting the Soybella (I think that's the correct name) earlier, it may come in handy now that I'll be making more and larger quantities of almond milk.

So, after plonking them into boiling water, then what? Do the skins just float off? How many minutes is "a few?" Is there some minimum amount of time that the almonds need to soak?

I'm making more and more almond milk these days. I buy raw, organic, unpasteurized almonds and have noticed that the soaking water sometimes gets murky and needs to be drained a couple of times during the soaking process. I'd like to try blanching the almonds to see if the taste of the milk improves and also to eliminate the need to drain the soaking liquid. I don't want to buy blanched almonds as I like the flavor of the raw, organic ones that I get at the farmers market. So, what's the most efficient way to blanch almonds? Thanks!

This weekend we made flan, or, more precisely, Toots made flan and I helped, and learned. Now, when Toots makes her flan, she makes it in a ring pan (if that's the right nomenclature), and she covers the pan with aluminum foil. In looking at other recipes on line, all of which are fairly similar, some call for covering the pan or the ramekins, and other recipes don't. Since all the recipe ingredients are similar, I can't help but wonder what the pros and cons of covering the pan/ramekins are? Why cook one way or the other? Also, when using ramekins, some recipes say to cover each individual ramekin, and others suggest covering them all with one large sheet of foil secured to the vessel that holds the water bath. What's up with that? How does covering the individual ramekins effect the results as compared to covering the entire water bath vessel and ramekins with one sheet? Thanks!

I'm just a novice wrt baking, and certainly no expert making drop biscuits. However, over the past year or so, I've read that letting the dough or batter sit for a while develops some additional flavor, although this has been related to other types of baked goods, not biscuits. So, my thinking is that maybe it will help increase flavor or improve texture. The reality is that I'm just taking a shot in the dark - experimenting, as it were - and looking to see what happens. Also, Andie mentioned using cream, which has a high fat content, and the buttermilk that I use is a full-fat variety, so maybe the rest will be beneficial in that case.

Yes, I still like it having used it about 15 times. Yes, you can set the tare weight very easily. I haven't been able to get the readout to light, but I'm not sure it's supposed to. However, the readout can be pulled from the base of the scale allowing a good view even with a large bowl on the scale. For the money, it's a good deal, IMO.

Could adding a full fat yogurt, especially a Greek style (without additives) work as well as the sour cream trick?

No, the recipe I made came from Cook's Illustrated. I'd be happy to send it to you if you don't have a CI subscription. If you do, here's the link: http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/3913-best-drop-biscuits Never having made biscuits before, and probably never having eaten any, I can only say they tasted pretty good to my uneducated palate. They were reasonably light, very buttery, and, as suggested in my earlier post, had a nice tang to them. I cooked them just a scosh too long, going with the outside range of the times suggested in the recipe. Next time I'll bake 'em a minute or two less. I did use a full fat buttermilk, which I understand is not too easy to find. I let the dough rest a bit before putting the biscuits into the oven, but next time I'll go the full 20-minutes as Andie suggests.

That's what I do when dicing an onion - didn't know there was another way. How do you do it?

No, drop biscuits use a different dough and are just spooned onto a baking tray. I'm familiar with the English muffin recipe you posted, as EMs are my next project. As I type, my first batch of biscuits are in the oven. The dough tasted pretty good - buttery and with a nice, buttermilk tang to it. I'm anxious to see how they turn out.

We saw Fed Up on Tuesday and we all agreed it was worth viewing. It might be more of the same, but there are some salient points and interesting observations that set it somewhat apart from the movies you mentioned. Last night I watched this and found it more interesting, but the perspective is about the American diet not about food production, although that is touched upon. It's really hard to separate one from the other. http://www.netflix.com/WiPlayer?movieid=70185045&trkid=13630398&tctx=0%2C0%2C07824010-c4bf-495d-afaf-afd6b7f585bc-399877&evType=EV7

Here's a chart that shows what's kosher and what is not. http://www.busyinbrooklyn.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/primal-cuts-beef.jpg

Liuzhou Thank you for starting this topic and staying with it with updates, comments, and additional information. I only hope that the forum participants take some action, even if it's just forwarding the links and info to friends, colleagues, and others that they know.

And what's that got to do with the menu saying "any style?" Are boiled eggs not stylish enough <LOL>.

Well, I assumed, apparently erroneously, that any style means just what it says. It's only been in the last couple of years that I've wanted boiled eggs when eating out, so I never put the matter to a test until recently. I don't feel "childish" eating a boiled egg. And why would you assume that any style doesn't include boiled eggs? Frankly, I don't give a rat's ass why the restaurant won't make boiled eggs, but what bothers me is that the menu says ANY STYLE, and that's outright bullshit. How about saying something like "two eggs, scrambled or fried," and leave it at that if they won't do boiled, shirred, coddled, baked, etc.

Erroneous assumption. In the for-what-it's-worth department, I don't have a single non-stick pot, preferring clad stainless and enameled cast iron for making soup, stew, etc. The only non-stick in my cookware collection are two skillets, same brand, different sizes. I use bamboo spoons and spatulas a lot - don't have a single wooden utensil - and a stainless spaghetti fork (only because I got it as a premium with a stock pot - used it once), and I use both a nylon and a stainless ladle, stainless tongs with a nylon tip, and both stainless and nylon spatula/turners, and a nice, silicone spatula for most of my stirring.

During the past year or so, I've had breakfast out several times, and as is typical on the breakfast menu you can order "two eggs any style." I'm sure you've seen that many times. Yet, when I order boiled eggs, whether hard, medium, or soft, I'm told that I can't have them, that boiled eggs are not offered. This has happened five times, at five different restaurants and cafes. One place offered old boiled eggs that were cold and overcooked, which the server said was going to be used in an egg salad. So, why is it so difficult (for me at least) to get boiled eggs at my favorite breakfast places. Have you encountered this situation?

Meant to get back to you ... I followed Dave the Cook's suggestion to use Gary Regan's formula: 1/2 oz triple sec (use a good one, like Cointreau) 1-1/2 oz fresh orange juice 3-1/2 oz sparkling wine Garnished with orange slices. Toots felt I was making too big a deal of the process, but everyone at the brunch, including Toots, felt that these were the best mimosas they'd ever had. What a difference between these and the usual mixture of some mediocre champagne and bottled OJ. I want to thank y'all for the suggestions.

I wonder, would Soylent Green count?

Following the lead of Food Songs, how about movies about food? The movies must be a feature length film or documentary, or a short, and food or restaurants must be the subject, not just the title, although there can certainly be subplots that are not about food, cooking, or restaurants. If it's a film you've actually seen, so much the better. I'll start with a few that come quickly to mind: Tampopo, El Bulli: Cooking in Progress, Supersize Me, The Big Night, Fast Food Nation, Food, Inc., Chef, and tonight we're going to see Fed Up. What else is there?

It's a term used here in the States, and is not intended to be an allusion to a "happy" party. One may say that it's somewhat sarcastic.

The story has been around for at least a couple of years. For example, NPR did a two part story on the subject back in 2012. In March of this year CNN did a feature about the problem, as did NBCNews.com, and on 29 August 2011 IRINAsia also did a story. The Guardian is late to the party on this one, but maybe it will garner more exposure.

If you're thinking about such gloves, try an auto parts store and look for nitrile gloves. I get 'em for Toots for use as gardening gloves.

That would be the Texas Playboys ...