Shel_B

Tell us next year just how much stuff you got rid of. It'll be interesting to see if you still have the egg poacher, or if it has been replaced with something else, perhaps a watermelon seeder or other such useful gadget. I got rid of lots of things when I moved into my retirement apartment, yet I find myself accumulating more and more things. It seems that it's human nature to acquire things - or at least this human's nature. I believe that eGullet is an enabler.

I noticed the ingredient listed on a bag of KA four today. and figured it couldn't be too bad. KA flour seems to have a good reputation. Thanks for explaining what it does.

My experience is that it is ignored more than enforced. I recently bought a Breville at the local BB&B and got the 20% discount. I've gotten 20% off without the coupon ... 3B seems to be very accommodating with the discount.

Stopped at the local TJ's this morning and discovered this puppy, price only $1.99: http://www.clubtraderjoes.com/2012/01/trader-joes-joses-pizza-al-pollo-asada.html It's an excellent size to feed one or two, and a perfect size to pop into the Baby Breville. Guess what's for dinner tonight ...

When I was a kid and into my teens, we'd go to the White Castle. We called the "burgers" there "Belly Bombs" for their tendency to "explode" in the stomach, and also because they were so small. FWIW, my earliest White Castle memories include the price of the burger ... 8-cents!

Freezing the Burgers: The local BK is now delivering, and there's a $10.00 minimum order. It would take me a l-o-n-g time to eat $10.00 worth of BK food, and I was wondering if, and for how long, a BK burger can be frozen. I'm not as much concerned about the meat patty as I am about the condiments, pickles, and tomatoes. Maybe it would be best not to include condiments on the burgers I plan to freeze. Any thoughts on this?

I'm happy for you. May you have many years of enjoyment and good cooking with your new pan. It's nice to finally get something you've wanted for a while ...

Flour Choice for Popovers: I've read that AP flour is fine for popovers, and I've also come across some recipes and articles that suggest using bread flour. What are your thoughts on the best choice for popovers if the desired result is good height and a degree of lightness. Trader Joe's AP flour contains malted barley flour (or some such similar description). I don't know how much it contains. Could the addition of barley flour effect the results when used in popovers, and how so? Thanks!

For the record I tried this SF Chron recipe last summer when that article appeared. It is very eggy, and I prefer my popovers less so. I don't know if it would have been better with just 2 eggs instead of 3, but I didn't try it again. That's good to know - about the egginess - perhaps exchanging a whole egg for the whites might also help - just thinking aloud ...

What Makes Perfect Popovers? This morning I found this article on Sfgate and thought some people might find it useful or the recipes of some interest. http://www.sfgate.com/recipes/article/Baker-s-quest-What-makes-perfect-popovers-4601293.php

I went ahead and ordered the Nordic Ware ... good price (a few $$ less than shown on the page below plus free shipping): http://www.chefscatalog.com/product/10460-nordic-ware-grand-popover-pan-51748.aspx

We sometimes buy the Wild Planet tuna. I find it a little dry and not as flavorful as Spanish or Italian tuna, but certainly a couple of steps above ANY typical supermarket tuna. A while back, Cooks Illustrated tested canned tuna and rated Wild Planet very highly - it may have even won the test. I'm not sure if I prefer TJ's solid white packed in water, but both make the cut here. They are each different enough that having both in the pantry could make sense.

. . . and dishwasher-safe. Being able to put a pan in the dishwasher is a non-issue, FWIW.

Trying to decide on a popover pan. I'm considering two. There's this one: http://www.amazon.com/Chicago-Metallic-Stick-6-Cup-Popover/dp/B003YL3DWO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389033363&sr=8-1&keywords=popover+pan and this one: http://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Grand-Popover-Pan/dp/B0055FSMCS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389033446&sr=8-1&keywords=nordic+ware+popover+pan Any comments or suggestions on these (or other) choices?

I studded the pork roast and it turned out pretty well. The garlic taste was not overwhelming and afforded a nice background to the meat. Toots would have liked a little more garlic flavor, so next time I'll use more and thinner sliced garlic (although I could probably put more garlic into her side of the roast and less into my side). Thanks to all who said that there's no problem doing this. I don't know where I got the notion that studding a roast with garlic was not a wise thing to do.

Toots wants slivered garlic cloves inserted into the pork roast I'm making tonight. Should I do it? I vaguely recall reading somewhere that puncturing a roast and inserting slivered garlic cloves is not recommended. Is my memory correct? If so, why shouldn't it be done?

Unfortunately, just about all the bread recipes I have use cups, not weight, and I'd hate to toss them all out just because they don't use weight. These are recipes I've been collecting since 1967, when I got my very first recipe from a little café in Durango, Colorado.

Thanks for the pointer! I was at the KAF site but didn't see that chart. Very helpful. All I need is a place to start that has reasonable conversion info. I don't have a scale ... yet. There are some threads here about scales, have to reread them.

Never saw that at the local TJ's around here ...

Thank you for directly answering my question. All I'm looking for is a reasonable place to start since I have no real experience baking. One of the breads I'd like to get around to making is brioche. I've collected a number of brioche recipes, including recipes from Rose Levy Beranbaum, Paula Wolfert, Julia Child, and a fellow by the name of Norm Matthews. All the recipes use cup measurements, not weight.

I understand that cups can be packed differently. I've experienced it myself. If one is to use weights, there must be some standard or reasonable approximation to convert a cup measurement to weight. Most US recipes use cup measurements, so how do I, as you suggest, "use weight rather than cups for precision" when the recipe calls for cups?

As noted elsewhere over the past couple of days, I am going to try my hand at baking bread. Having read a bit about the subject, it seems that many people feel better results can be had by weighing the flour rather than using volume measurements such as cups. I came across this conversion chart today and I'm wondering if the conversions shown are accurate enough to use when getting started on this new project. Any comments on the conversion figures? Any suggestions WRT measuring flour? Thanks! http://www.preparedpantry.com/how-to-measure-flour-convert-cups-ounces.aspx

I have not been convinced that I need, or would even really benefit, from a pair of herb scissors, plus it seems that I can control the size of the cuts better with the simple set of shears I already use in the kitchen. Thanks to all for your input!

I guess that means you like them ...

That's an interesting gadget. It seems like the herbs would all be cut to the same size, yes? Any way to adjust the size of the cut?