kayb

....show up to serve my volunteer shift at the church soup kitchen without taking my own knives. I didn't think we had much in the way of knife work today; I had asked for the shoppers to have chicken thighs, or a combo of chicken pieces, thinking they'd get the bags of frozen pieces, while I brought big pans of dressing from a local mom-and-pop restaurant and we prepared green beans, sweet potatoes and gravy on site. The shoppers got packaged leg quarters, which I had to cut apart, as I didn't think we'd have enough to serve a quarter to each guest. (We never turn down folks for seconds, but we also have several regular patrons who are elderly and likely would not eat that much.) So, as we were going to be pushed for time, I went for what appeared to be the sharpest knife in the drawer... My hands are still cramping, and some of the chicken looked as though the Texas Chainsaw Massacre star had had hold of it. Tasted good, though.

Coming up in a bit -- roast chicken and dressing, left over from serving at the soup kitchen today (volunteers get to take home leftovers if there aren't enough to warrant taking to one of the local shelters).

I'll bet that hot sauce will clear your sinuses. Canned, or pickled? I tend to freeze mine if I'm not making peach butter. Now, this is fascinating. Wonder if grocery store mangoes are green enough? Would love to try this!

I guess I should clarify -- I travel a good bit, mostly by car, and through a lot of small towns where one is really flipping a coin as to whether the local diner will be really fabulous or not fit to eat. Cracker Barrel is, at least, dependable in that I know I'll get a meal that's edible, if not overly enjoyable. Give me a choice of it and another restaurant whose quality I know and enjoy, and I'll bypass Cracker Barrel every time.

Most curious thing happened. As noted, I only used 1/2 cup powdered milk, vs the 1.5 cups called for , in my yogurt. Imagine my surprise when it seemed, after 8 hours, to behave exactly as full strength milk would have done. I got a quart of yogurt, just about standard for 1/2 gallon of milk. Now wondering what a more concentrated milk will do.

Thanks. So I need to buy supermarket, as opposed to what I make at home (which I do drain) and ferment longer?

A woman after my own heart. I will have more, and better, tomatoes next year. Already planning to order very, very early and start seedlings, as I have a very sunny window with a table in front of it....

I'm highly impressed! I probably won't do it, but I'm sure thinking about it.

I know little about the cuisine of that region. What are some of your standbys?

OK. This is off the wall, but what the heck, that's what this is about, right? How about if you roasted or poached the chicken breasts minced them fine, along with the pork, and briefly stir-fried them with some enoki mushrooms and Asian spices, and made lettuce wraps (with a garnish of kimchi). Slaw of cabbage, carrot and Fuji apples, in a ginger-sesame dressing. Grapes for dessert, unless you can figure out how to work them into the wraps or the slaw.

Yes. If some helpful host would do that...

Ohboy ohboy ohboy! Been looking forward to this trip!

One of the Great Truths I learned in college, living in the dorm, about a century ago is that you can make toast, or more specifically, a grilled cheese sandwich -- with an iron. Likewise, that you can fry an egg in a popcorn popper.

Today, Amazon delivered to me a five-pound bag of non-fat dry milk, which will be the makings of yogurt, as I rarely ever have a full half-gallon at my house and that's how much I use when I make yogurt (as I eat it almost every morning). I am eternally grateful to @ElsieD for that tip. At a cup and a half of powder to a half-gallon of water, it should last me for a good while. My question is this: Yogurt starter, while not prohibitively expensive, is still a bit more than five bucks for enough starter to make two batches of yogurt. I have tried once using a "starter" from the previous batch to culture the milk; it didn't seem to work very well. But I recall EliseD saying she had used existing culture, to good effect. What experiences have others had? I'm a bit more inclined to try it now, with a plentitude of dry milk in the house, than I perhaps might have otherwise been. And if one does so, what are the proportions? Aaaannnnddd...I just realized I did math wrong and used only a third as much milk powder as I should have. May not be very good yogurt. Oh, well. Live and learn. There's a reason I didn't major in accounting.

I will confess to going to Cracker Barrel periodically. One can generally count on a fairly decent breakfast there, though on my last trip the bacon was poor quality and not cooked well (I'm not real certain how they got a single slice to range from burnt to not done, along its length, but they did). It is at least predictable. It won't be great, but it won't be inedible, either. I think they cleaned up their act significantly after a set-to over employment of gay/lesbian wait staff and such.

A hybrid ratatouille/gumbo, as detailed on the Create My Meal thread, to make use of leftover chicken.

I actually DID cook last night; a sort of a a hybrid ratatouille/gumbo with the leftover chicken. Good stuff, it was! Made a roux, salted it a little, peppered it a lot, added a Cajun spice mix I get from a great little Cajun market/restaurant down the road, Sauteed onions, garlic, pepper (relax, @rotuts, it wasn't bell pepper, which I do not keep in my house; it was a couple of banana peppers), but no celery (may the Cajun cooking gods forgive me). Cut up two small yellow squash, two small zucchini, two small eggplants, some okra, added that into the roux/onions/garlic and let it saute a bit. Added chopped chicken (about half what I had in the fridge; remainder will go into a pasta tonight with alfredo sauce and veggies) and a pint of home-canned tomatoes, let it simmer for a bit. Tasted, added some red pepper flakes for some zing, and served it over brown rice. A very good dinner, and one which made good use of leftover chicken! WildYeast, why don't you jump in here and give us a list and let us create a meal for you?

Since the weekends are when I tend to cook meals that have a significant portion of leftovers (midweek meals are usually more portioned to one-time service), my rule of thumb is seven days; if I cooked it Sunday, and haven't used it by the following Sunday, out it goes. Some exceptions are made for foods that are naturally spoilage-resistant because of the high acidity, etc., or smoked or cured meats. I try to avoid that eventuality by freezing entree-sized portions when I'm putting away leftovers.

Crackers spread with homemade ricotta and topped with Medjool dates.

I think Bhukhhad is the winner here; that will let me use the roasted chicken, which I really need to get out of the refrigerator. I can make it a bit lighter than the traditional heavy gumbo. Although Wild Yeast's suggestion of the tagine sounded good, as did whoever suggested the Malaysian curry. Off to start my roux....

Love it. Keep 'em coming.

I tried one Christmas doing a "homemade" version of that green bean casserole. Damned if it was any better than the Campbell's golden mushroom soup version. One of the three dishes for which I use canned soup.

Welcome, Chema! I think my favorite use for the SV is to cook a steak, then chill it in the bag, and then finish it on the grill. I find chilling it first lets me get a good sear on the outside without overcooking the interior. Plus, it's convenient! I also love to do pork loin roasts and pork ribs. Would love to hear from you about some of the Spanish dishes you cook. I love what I know of Spanish cuisine. In what general part of Spain do you live?

Fun, Bhukhhad! I hope it was good. I love both eggplant and zucchini done this way. I can cook either tomorrow night, Thursday night or Friday night. Here's my list: Some chicken, both white and dark meat, from one I roasted the other day and really need to use (in the event the chicken is too far gone -- haven't been into the bag in a couple of days -- I have both chicken breasts and thighs, both boneless and skinless, I can thaw and cook) Yellow crookneck squash Zucchini Eggplant, if it's still good Cucumbers Okra Peaches A decent assortment of hard cheeses, as well as some homemade ricotta Eggs Assorted kinds of pasta including spaghetti, linguine, rigatoni and curly egg noodles A fairly well-stocked pantry, including rice, wild rice and several kinds of dry beans, peas and lentils, and a reasonably decent variety of spices and condiments. Two things I am out of that I normally have are capers and anchovies. Other pantry staples include home-canned tomatoes and tomato sauce. Should be a ripe tomato or two in the garden, but they're small.

The little springform pan is really nice. It'll make a believer out of you quickly. Highly recommend your favorite Rancho Gordo recipe in it.