blue_dolphin

Alton Brown posted a link to a ThermoWorks sale on the Thermapen Mk4: https://www.thermoworks.com/Thermapen-Mk4-DOD-Aug18-AB It's $74.25 vs the regular price of $99. That's also less than the regular price of $79 for the classic Thermapen. The web page says the offer ends at Midnight, Wed Aug 8, 2018 AB says it's not sponsored and he's not making money off the deal.

That's why I made them for breakfast - while it was still fairly cool! I was going to make them yesterday but after a flat tire and annoying/expensive/tediously-delayed tire purchase, I just couldn't bring myself to do it!

I'm listening to it now and find it very pleasant!

In a toss-up between resurrecting a 15 year old thread and starting a new one, I'm going with resurrection 🙃. I recently enjoyed this article in the NYT: Annoyed by Restaurant Playlists, a Master Musician Made His Own about how Ryuichi Sakamoto came to compile the playlist for the Manhattan restaurant, Kajitsu and I loved this letter he sent to the chef after being so annoyed by the background music that he left the restaurant: Here's a Sakamoto-designed playlist: I'm an admirer of Mr. Sakamoto but have to say that a few of the tracks he selected for this remind me of the trippy sounds that came out of the Muzak machine when the tape was playing backwards at a restaurant where I worked .

I've heard good things about Burma Superstar: Addictive Recipes from the Crossroads of Southeast Asia by Desmond Tan & Kate Leahy. The Kindle version is selling for $1.99 so I picked it up. Haven't dove in yet. A review & recipe here: Eat Your Books Edited to add: sadly, not on Amazon.ca

This is more of a fall/winter dish but one of the Ottolenghi books has a recipe I've made for Membrillo, Stilton and butternut squash quiche that's kind of like a cheese board baked up into a tart.

Corn Fritters with Pickled Chiles from Six Seasons p 232 These are made with raw corn, pickled chiles, scallions and grated Parmesan cheese in a yeasted flour, cornmeal and yogurt batter. Perhaps should be renamed Pop-Corn Fritters as there was much LOUD popping and splashing of hot oil while they cooked. I must have made them too small as I got 18 fritters from a half-batch instead of the 12 the recipe predicted. It's suggested to serve them with one of the compound butters in the book but that seems odd to me. Quite tasty on their own with the pickled chiles and scallions built in. Maybe a salsa verde, sour cream or yogurt on the side? I had a few for breakfast with scrambled eggs and tomatoes:

Or maybe some bacon crumbles?

Yes, that's my rule of thumb, too.

Here's how I answered over in the TJ's thread. More appropriate here: Even though the 12" can fit, you need to slide it in and out carefully and risk jostling the contents if you hit one of the shelf supports.

Yes, that is the 11" screen I have. The 12" will slide in if you place the shelf in this orientation: _/------------\_ but not this way: --\______/-- if that makes sense. And you need to slide it in just so in order to align with the shelf supports on the wall. I prefer to use the 11" if possible. I purchased one of the tartes yesterday afternoon and promptly ate it. I was starving because on my way back from delivering popsicles to the farmstand, I hit a rock and got a flat tire, which turned into 2 new tires for $679 and the 2 hr time estimate turned into 5 hrs. I walked over to the mall and went to a matinée of Christopher Robin with a million kids so I didn't have to wait in the tire store the whole time but still, I was hungry so I no longer have it to measure 🙃. It fits on the 11" screen so I'd guess ~10" I unwrapped it and put it on the screen for ~ 10 min while I preheated the CSO. I don't always do that but for some reason I was following package instructions. 450°F for ~ 9 or 10 min. This one was quite good in having a uniform distribution of toppings right out of the box. Sometimes they are all slid over to one side and I need to make adjustments but not this time.

I agree. I've never baked a full loaf of a banana bread in 35 min. It sounds like the timing was fairly close to what you'd expect from your experience with your recipe. Did you use your recipe or the one you linked to?

I bake them in the CSO on a 11-inch pizza screen. I usually need to rotate them once or twice for evenness.

I wasn't really concerned for my own safety but I did suggest the overnight thaw/proof and realize that might not be the best path for everyone. They were still in the freezer case this afternoon and I resisted putting up a sign recommending some proofing time 🙃 The frozen Tarte d'Alsace is still on offer at my local TJ's, as is its mushroom variant and another that I haven't tried. The frozen mini croissants that come in a box of 8 seem to have disappeared. Last time I was there, they had been replaced by a blue and white bag of mini croissants from Belgium that touted "butter recipe" and "no need to proof" on the packaging. Today, they weren't there but neither were the originals. The boxed chocolate and almond croissants that need proofing were still there. I bought a box of the almond but didn't try to nail anyone down on the others as it was getting to be peak pre-dinner rush time. I'm also mildly distressed at the continued local absence of the faux Triscuits, TJ's "less guilt" woven wheat crackers and will shortly need to venture into an actual supermarket for Triscuits or a substitute.

Yes, they were! And they gave me a free watermelon. Now I can make more!

Watermelon & Parsley This recipe is from People's Pops. I made them previously with yellow watermelon. Both times, I added small cubes of melon for texture. Later this AM, I'm packing up all the recent melon pops and taking them to the local farmstand where purchased the melons. I checked last time I was there and they have a fridge with freezer where they can be kept. We've got a heatwave starting today so I think they will be appreciated!

Used the CSO with its little baking stone to make some cracker breads from Six Seasons. Posted over here. I had to make them a little smaller than the recipe dictated but that was probably just as well as the full size ones would have required a turkey platter to serve them on! I used the given baking temp of 450°F and they took a smidge longer than the given time of 1-2 min/side. Much preferable to heating up the big oven on a hot day!

Carta di Musica with Roasted Eggplant Spread, Herbs and Ricotta Salad from Six Seasons p 235. This uses the crisp Whole Grain Carta di Musica crackers p 46, spread with a thick layer of the Roasted Eggplant Spread p 235 and topped with a "salad" of fresh herbs and scallions and a sprinkle of ricotta salata. The flavors and textures are great - lots of contrast between the herbs dressed with lemon and olive oil, the creamy eggplant spread and crisp cracker base. I'd find it a little awkward to eat in polite company but it was delicious. Served this with extra carta di musica crackers and eggplant spread, olives and roasted vegetables. The Roasted Eggplant Spread p 235 is very simple and lets the flavor of the eggplant come through without being overwhelmed with garlic or other seasonings. The Whole Grain Carta di Musica crackers p 46 were a bit of work. I baked them on the baking stone in the CSO to avoid heating up the big oven. I needed to make them a little smaller to fit the stone (~ 40g dough/cracker vs 53g if I'd followed the recipe) but I think they came out OK. I'm sure this would be good with purchased cracker breads but I liked the whole grain flavors and am glad I tried them. They stay crisp for a while, but do eventually soften under the eggplant spread so I'd recommend leaving a good rim around the outside that will stay crispy.

Roasted peach & buttermilk, sweetened with a piloncillo syrup A Cliff's Old Fashioned pop with roasted peach, coriander syrup, bourbon and angostura bitters

Ambrosia melon & blueberry in the afternoon sunshine

You can thaw o/n in the fridge and then give it ~ 2 hrs or so to warm up and proof. That would minimize the danger zone time. Meanwhile, keep an eye out for my posts and contact the authorities if I disappear 🙃

Thanks for that tip. Unfortunately, everything's frozen in place and the topping is the last bit to thaw - even after an overnight in the fridge, the dough had softened but the ham and cheese were still stuck together. I do have good news to report, though. After the overnight thaw in the fridge, I could tell that alone wasn't going to improve things very much to I followed @pastrygirl's suggestion and gave it some proofing time at room temp - success! The pastry was baked through nicely. With the last one, I decided to follow the method for the other TJ's frozen croissants and let it sit out at room temp to thaw and proof. Also very successful so I'd just use that method. After the overnight thaw/proof @ RT: Baked for 20' @325°F convect-bake in the CSO on a pre-heated stone. Not sure the stone was necessary but after the raw dough experience, I figured I'd use it. As Paul Hollywood and Mary would do: No soggy bottom! And the dough is cooked all the way through. That's just a bit of melty cheese there. I don't know if this method improves the texture of the ham bits but it didn't offend me the way it did in the first one.

You certainly will be busy, @kayb! And you're killing me with the figs. I paid $5 for a tiny basket of Black Mission figs the farmers market. First of the season. I am savoring them one by one with some crusty bread, blue cheese and red wine. They'll be more abundant later but even then I'll never be able to afford a bushel!

Nice find! That Pine Nut Vinaigrette is a delicious sauce - highly recommended by me 🙃

As someone who just put the same 2oz tin of anchovies into a sauce* with a 3/4 cup yield, I'm not sure how to reply to this. * Caper-Raisin Vinaigrette from Six Seasons