blue_dolphin

Yesterday, in visiting the website of a woman who authored a number of the Instant Pot Chinese cookbook recipes, I noticed she had a link to another cooker, called a RoPot (not to be confused with @rotuts ), and a number of recipes using the RoPot. I was intrigued that deep frying was listed as one of the functions and thought it might be useful to have a small fryer that could also serve other functions so I visited the website and watched some of the videos. The website says the RoPot has an "intelligent temperature control system" but from reading and watching the videos, I can't see that there is any way to set the temp, nor did I find what temperatures it uses for its various functions. The RoPot has an insert pan with a smooth bottom and one with a stirring hook. There's one heating element in the base and another in the lid. With the lid closed, the stir fry function seems more like stir-steaming, but maybe the lid heating element generates enough heat to make a difference. There are a number of videos produced by the company, showing it in action. Cooking asparagus: An intro video: I can't see that this has any appeal for me, with the lack of temp control. Also, since there's a heating element attached to the lid, it's fixed to the base with a hinge so it can't be removed for washing. No thank you! From the top photo on the RoPot home page, it seems they are targeting people who sip tea from fine china whilst reading high fashion magazines. Does the RoPot appeal to anyone else? Edited to add: It's currently "on sale" for $279 USD

And a lovely looking cheese that is!

Yum! I'd say that calls for a round or two of something bubbly to wash it down

Here's a link to the article that @JoNorvelleWalker mentioned above: Cuisinart Recall ‘Just Screwed Up the Holidays for a Lot of People’ The quote in the article title is attributed to @Rachel Perlow

Gotcha. I'd say that your changing use of 3 different words (browning, caramelizing and undergoing the Maillard reaction) to describe the same process is different from the evolution of the Vietnamese term for wheat bread to include both the original usage and entire sandwiches made from that bread. So the name of a part (bread) is now also used to define the whole (sandwich). That evolution happened within the Vietnamese language but only the second usage made the transition into English as a synonym for Vietnamese sandwich. And like many adopted foods, we manage to slap the name on all manner of variations (like duck confit )that stray rather far afield from the earliest iteration.

Yep, it's one of the duck confit sandwiches I mentioned in my post, along with grilled cheese and quesadillas, all of which fall under a very broad sandwich umbrella in my kitchen. Andrea Nguyen, author of The Banh Mi Handbook says the word does indeed mean bread but over time it has been used to mean sandwich and has is generally used to describe the ubiquitous Vietnamese sandwich. To me, saying "banh mi" is more descriptive than just "sandwich" as I assume it will start with a light, uber-crispy baguette and include pickled carrot and daikon, thin slices of jalapeño or other chili and fresh cilantro plus a little Maggi seasoning sauce. More of Andrea's comments about banh mi here. That's a new one one me. I'm not sure what banh mi has to do with browning.

Egg, bacon, extra sharp Canadian cheddar and a little Dijon mustard on a toasted multigrain roll:

That's right. If you go to this link on her site, you can find many of the recipes in the Chinese IP cookbook. I'm not sure every recipe is there but many are.

For a cookbook, I highly recommend @pazzaglia's Hip Pressure Cooking, however it does not contain the sort of nutritional breakdown for each recipe that you need. Over on one of the IP Facebook groups, someone posted a link to this list of accessories that may be helpful for new IP users. If you look through the list, you'll probably spot many items that you or your mom already have. Some sort of steamer basket is very helpful. A small springform pan is nice for cheesecakes or other desserts. I find the little silicone IP mitts to be very handy. An extra silicone gasket may be a good idea - many people keep one for savory, onion/garlicky dishes and one for more neutral dishes or desserts. She may not need the glass lid - I have a lid from another pan that fits very well.

Also, if one is doing any amount of jam/jelly making or other preserving using waterbath canning, a very steamy kitchen and house can result without good exhaust.

Go ahead and enter the order and click to see the shipping estimate. $18 shipping took care of my weakness.

I am an IP failure when it comes to hard boiled eggs. Mine have been similarly undercooked so I've gone back to steaming.

Well, Betty says the dough should be soft and pliable, but not crumbly. She suggests putting a little dough in the cookie press to test, then adding a little egg or more flour to adjust. It's admittedly harder to gauge with a dough like this one that specifies chilling. @scott123 did a good job of explaining the texture in his post above. As he suggests, it may be easier to adjust the texture by chilling or warming the dough a bit. You want a little bit of jaggy-ness when it comes out of the press, but not so much they fall apart or so little that they lose their shape.

Brad Thomas Parsons' book Amaro has a section of small, 2 ingredient drinks - basically shots, containing one or more amari, starting with the Hard Start (Fernet-Branca + Branca Menta). I'm a sipper, not a shooter but I've been enjoying the Jimbo for an after dinner sip. It calls for 3/4 oz rye, floated over 3/4 oz Amaro Meletti. That gets a little sweet once I've sipped off most of the rye so I've been mixing 1/2 oz Rittenhouse + 1/2 oz Meletti and then floating another 1/4 oz of rye over the top.

I second @gfweb's recommendation. TJ's also has some take-and-bake rolls A lot of people love the Kings Hawaiian rolls. I'm not a big fan of sweet dinner rolls, but the jalapeño version is kind of nice for a change.

Lemon-Cheese Pressed Cookies, per Betty Crocker's Cookbook (1969 edition, like @Thanks for the Crepes!) 1 cup butter, softened 3 oz cream cheese 1 cup sugar 1 egg 1 t grated lemon peel (I use more) 1 T lemon juice 2.5 c all-purpose flour 1 t baking powder Cream together the butter, cream cheese & sugar - don't over cream! Blend in remaining ingredients. Test dough for consistency before adding all the flour. Chill 1 hour. Fill cookie press and make shapes on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 8-10 min at 375 F Makes ~ 5 doz cookies This recipe does contain the contraindicated baking powder. I've seen similar recipes online that omit it and add a bit of salt. I know this is an abomination, but when I was a kid, I used to make these in all sorts of pretty pastel colors and flavors by dropping the sugar to 2/3 cup and adding a 3oz package of Jello along with the sugar. They were very pretty

Yesterday, a friend gave me a few Transylvanian Christmas cookies. So....breakfast:

I've had a number of cookie presses and made a lot of pressed cookies. I used recipes written for pressed cookies and adapted others. I learned it was most important to get the right dough consistency, and in my hands, that varied from press to press. Most helpful to me was the recommendation to add the flour gradually (3-4 additions) and don't add all the flour unless it's really needed. My go-to recipe for pressed cookies is an oldie from a Betty Crocker cookbook for Lemon Cream Cheese Pressed Cookies and my favorite variation includes rosemary. In fact, I've used all the pressed cookie recipes in that book and all work nicely. Since it's not the classic, simple spritz, you've requested, I won't post the recipe unless someone asks.

Having enjoyed all the posts, I feel I should offer to come over and help clean up....and maybe nibble on some of those leftovers??? Too bad I'm so far away....mostly too bad for me!

This is very, very fun - in fact, if I were invited, I'm sure I'd say spectacular! Thank you for sharing!

Oh dear. I can't click "Like this" on the sad freezer incident. I'm glad the duck could be saved....or savored. It looks lovely.

Chuck Taggart (@Sazerac)'s Réveillon cocktail is one of my holiday favorites for sure. And now, I want one!

It was a brilliant emerald green color that looked beautiful on the sandwich - I wish I'd asked my friend for a taste to see what else was in it.

I had lunch yesterday to catch up with a former colleague at a local spot that popped up in a search inspired by recent discussions here on eG about Peruvian roast chicken. Mouthful Eatery isn't a roast chicken joint, but they do use Peruvian flavors and I thought their menu looked interesting. Apologies for the lack of photos as my phone battery was dead as a doornail. It's a casual, order at the counter and wait for your food to be delivered to your table sort of place. The servers and staff in the open kitchen wore black t-shirts with the restaurant name on the front and a Julia Child quote printed on the back: "People who love to eat are always the best people." I ordered the La Sarita sandwich: roasted pork shoulder, sweet potato slices, pickled red onions and aji amarillo aioli on ciabatta bread with pickled red cabbage. My friend got the Albondigo (meatballs of fire) sandwich: turkey meatballs, chipotle-tomato BBQ, melted provolone, kale pesto and crispy onion rings also on ciabatta. We shared a side of shaved brussels sprouts and winter squash in a balsamic glaze. The sandwiches were both very good and very large. We'll go back.

And I laughed at this: "the Instant Pot, a fearsome multipurpose tureen"