Okanagancook

We are having bbq butterflied leg of lamb as part of a Greek themed dinner. Sides are roasted potatoes and a braise of fennel, peppers and tomatoes. Not planning dessert but someone wants there is homemade ice cream in the freezer.

I don't know @kayb. I read a recipe that said you must rest the rolled out pitas for about 15 minutes before baking to ensure a puff.....I proved that theory wrong to day as they weren't rested. Then I thought well, maybe it's the thickness of the pita that makes it puff. In this batch, my first ones were quite thick and did not puff as well as the ones I rolled thinner...so maybe it's that. Getting the cooking surface really hot also is important. I used my steel plate with the oven at 450F, heated up for 30 minutes then I put the broiler on for another 10 minutes to get the plate hot...I put it in the middle of the oven. The dough was a lovely consistency...a little tacky so maybe it's a more moist dough. I tried rolling them out without flour then with flour and both puffed. Sorry ☹️ Just play with them. Someone posted in the last two months about their pita bread experiences...maybe they can chime in.

You could freeze in after pureeing it then covering with oil....I kept quite a bit of my garden basil like that. You can then use it in salad dressing, etc. And, pesto freezes well. We just hauled some out of the freezer to go on pasta for lunch.

So jealous about the asparagus. I think our farm asparagus from up the valley will be another couple of weeks seeing it has been so darn cool. BUT, I did see the first humming bird visiting our feeders...need to make new feeding liquid for them. Due to the cool temps, my little arugula plants are the same size as they were two weeks ago. Peas are poking up.

Pita breads. Most of them puffed. The very thought of eating those "cardboardie" commercial pita breads was the inspiration this morning. Also made some hummus and baba ghanouj to go with. The BG was made with a jar of roasted/pureed eggplants which really saved time. They were quite smoky .

I returned the Panasonic for a full $310 refund. Got a $100 Danby. It is only 700 watts and quite small inside but it will work just fine and I have $210 in my pocket! I wish it had a one minute button though.

yes, that is what I was thinking.

@eugenep the TK recipe calls for the breast to be cooked to an internal temperature of 125F so on the rare side. I agree about Chinese roast duck but my meal is not Asian so I want to stick with the traditional flavours. I plan on serving the duck with polenta and wine braised plums with some kind of veg. Perhaps some roasted endive on the side if they have some nice ones in the store. I have some duck glaze from the freezer which is again, very mild and very 'ducky'. The juice from the plums will go nicely with the polenta. @gfweb I have looked at the sous vide duck breast thread and there is too much mucking about with the skin...take it off and cook between silpads to get crispy otherwise the fat doesn't render or don't do that and just put in a frying pan to render......I will try sous vide when just me and DH, thanks anyways....too chicken to try it now 😩

Reviving this old thread. I am cooking duck breast the T. Keller way (pan cooked) just because I have done it this way before with excellent results and I am cooking for guests. Question: Should I equilibrium brine them for a day before? thanks

And through the wonders of the internet, I give you his response, he's a good lad: "My friend has an earlier version, so the newer ones might have some differences (probably for the better). His is good, and i'd definitely recommend it. It's pretty much a proper wood-fired pizza oven but is portable. Cooks pizzas in 1-2 minutes, making a nice crust on top and on the bottom. The fire at the back passes right over the pizza to get to the chimney at the front, so the tops get cooked very well. There is a learning curve though, so you can expect to burn parts of your pizza from time to time as you learn (or not cook it as well if you fail to keep the temperature up). The pellets are at the back, so you need to take the pizza out as you're cooking and turn it to cook it evenly. The metal peels can get sticky if you don't use enough flour, but when you use enough, the flour transfers to the uuni and burns between pizzas (so you need to figure out a way around that). The one he has is a little small, which isn't a huge problem (and i think the newer ones are bigger), but it limits the pizzas to 7-8 inches. So yeah, it needs close attention as you cook it, but still a great little toy. "

I don't personally but I think my nephew's friend has one and they really love it. I will email him to get more details.

The lentils look perfectly cooked!

That’s probably it. Or Big Skewered Chicken Brochettes.

Ok, I’ll bite...BSCB?

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing. Love the dumplings...never heard of them filled with egg.

I am still fuming over the shitty quality of Panasonic. I have decided to get a refund and get a cheap Danby which has decent reviews and instead of costing well over $300, it is $120. It has the features we use most frequently, it is 1.1 Cubic ft and 1000 watt. Fed up with poor quality we get nowadays. Fridges and freezers included here. grrrr

I feel your pain because I am going through the same and I want my original Amana microwave back. i had a larger Panasonic for about 18 months and then it started overheating on defrost until finally it burnt a dish of green beans that were in it on the keep warm feature...they were in for 10 minutes until we wondered what that smoky smell was. Not on warranty any more. i did a lot of research on what would be a good replacement...I do not have my notes anymore and got really confused with all the different model numbers from Panasonic and all the conflicting reviews. I also want the inverter. I ended up getting the Panasonic model NN ST6815..it had a lot of favourable reviews and was available locally. That was about 3 weeks ago. All was well until a couple of days ago...the defrost heats too much as in bringing the liquid in frozen baked beans to the boil . I weighed it and it was not in too long. I had noticed other items seemed too hot after a spin at defrost. So, it is going back soon for either another or a refund. Not sure what to do. I too would like other comments. I am rethinking the whole microwave idea. I like the keep warm feature, I like the defrost feature and other than that we use it to reheat stuff. So maybe I just get a cheap one and forget the inverter.

This weekend will be a good freezer dig: 4 duck breasts 6 pork tortillas A lamb leg A bag of garden tomatoes A bag blackberries and peaches...for a cobbler😁😁😁

I was going to say grill them and your sauce sounds great. Green onion cakes: chop them fine because they may be tougher than spring onion tops....this is what I usually do with my extra tops in the late spring. After a quick google: Charred: You can throw scallion greens on the grill, calçotada style. And slurp them down with a carafe of red wine like they do in Spain. Pureed: Turn the greens into a lovely chimichurri-like sauce by giving them a whizz in the blender with some fresh herbs, olive oil and a splash of red wine vinegar. Finish with a hefty pinch of dried thyme and oregano and some salt and pepper. Garnish: The green part of a scallion or green onion makes a great substitute for chives. Just give them a quick mince. Tarts and quiche: Add the greens to the filling of a tart, quiche or Spanish tortilla. Scallion pancakes: These Asian apps are a quick way to dispatch a hefty quantity of greens in no time flat. Scallion spread: Mince up scallion or green onion greens and add them to a mixture of half goat cheese and half cream cheese. Blend with a pinch of salt and pepper for a “gourmet” cheese spread. Scallion hummus: Add a few chopped onion greens to your next batch of hummus for a little flavor and color boost. “Gremolata” with scallions: Riff on the classic Italian condiment by substituting scallion greens for parsley. Mince together a few scallion or green onion greens, one clove garlic, zest of a lemon and salt; mince. Sprinkle a pinch of this zingy garnish on slow roasted foods to brighten their flavor. Scallion top compound butter: Blend the “gremolata” mixture above with a stick of softened butter. Press into a ramekin or form into a patty or roll and refrigerate for up to five days or freeze for up to three months. Add a pat to cooked chicken, fish or steak; stir into hot cooked rice or pasta; or slather on grilled bread. Eat those scallion tops! You can always just ignore the recipe and use the whole scallion or green onion — white root to green tip.

Stock eggs potatoes dried beans Pork ribs stews or curries

If one had a cat it would make a fine litter box area!

Looks like you did. you may find this interesting. https://www.seriouseats.com/2018/02/for-perfect-duck-breast-get-in-the-zone.html

I usually wait until DH goes golfing before I bring new toys into the house😇

Absolutely stunning. The space says ‘we care’. Very, very well done and a big thank you for sharing with us. I just wish I lived closer.

Never heard of Promite..had to google it https://thatsugarmovement.com/vegemite-or-promite/