kayb

LOVE Castelvetrano olives.

I rinsed it, but I may not have rinsed it well enough. May have been a combo of the two. When I made basmati rice the other night, I used 1.5:1 liquid:rice, and it worked fine. Different rice, and the liquid was water, but I think a big part of it was the liquid volume.

Used the IP tonight to make Spanish rice (after I boiled the chicken for the chicken enchiladas, thus creating the chicken stock I needed to make the rice) My recipe calls for a 2:1 ratio of liquid (a combo of chicken stock and pureed tomato and onion) to rice. Despite the rinsing and sauteeing, the rice was still sticky, rather than separate and dry like it is when I cook it in the oven after the liquid is added. I think I'll try with a bit less liquid next time, and maybe use basmati instead of regular long-grain, and see if that makes a difference.

Not a white drinker, as a rule, but I do go to Bota Box for my budget wines. Their Pinot Grigio is quite acceptable. I generally keep their Old Vine Zinfandel on hand.

Those were poached in a saucepan, put in when the water boiled, covered, turned down to simmer, three minutes, and out. Seemed like too much trouble to get the IP out to cook two egg yolks and a tad of white.

I have no clue, but is this the precursor to sweetened bean paste, a popular ingredient in Japanese confections?

Couple of recent breakfasts: Taking a page from Anna N's book, poached egg yolks (I will forever be grateful to Anna for letting me know about silicone egg-poaching pods) on toast with bacon. Steel-cut oats with dates and maple syrup.

This one: "click."

My spiralizer has a blade that will do ribbons.

I picked up a pair of Calphalon loaf pans at TJ Maxx several years ago that are my workhorse pans when baking bread and loaf cakes (which is generally what I do with anything I'd normally put in a bundt pan, because I can royally screw up a Bundt cake. They aren't coated with non-stick, but appear to have some sort of finish on the metal. I've never had a loaf of bread stick, even when I forget to oil the pan.

...Order from Amazon at 4 a.m., after I've awaked and read a recommendation in eGullet, from my phone. I had forgotten I had put two potential candidates for cleaver purchase in my cart, waiting to hear what the recommendations were. So, I inadvertently ordered THREE cleavers, $160 worth, instead of one $25 one. Discovered mistake about two-three hours later and canceled the first two, which still show "attempting to cancel" on the order status. Thank God for Amazon's excellent customer service. I can at least return them if the cancellation doesn't go through. Three cleavers. Sheesh.

Based on dcarch and Anna N's recommendations, I went with the 7-inch Concord Cookware one, for just over $20, cited in the link Paul Bacino sent. If I want to step up later, well, I haven't invested much in it. I don't think I'll use it enough to warrant buying a Dexter. Thanks, all, for your input!

I want a cleaver. It doesn't have to be a many-bells-and-whistles one; chiefly, I want one I can whack through chicken bones with. I found this one in Amazon's warehouse deals for a little more than 50 bucks, which I thought was pretty reasonable for a forged Japanese blade. I am not familiar with the brand. Any users/reviews/knowledge of it out there? Any recommendations on a different one? I don't want a huge big thing, but obviously, I want one big enough to do the job. I doubt it will be used for much of anything but disjointing meat. Amazon Warehouse Deals also has an 8-inch Zhen cleaver for $66. Which is preferable? Also, recommendations on a reasonably priced boning knife would be appreciated. My workhorse everyday knives are Misonos, but I'm not tied to that, though I do prefer Japanese blades. Thanks in advance!

Bota Box, my box wine of choice (love their old vine zin) has a respectable Pinot Grigio that isn't bad for drinking or cooking. Bota also makes "little" boxes, .500 ml, as I recall, in size. The normal size is 3L, which you'd have to keep for a LONG time to use in cooking. Like Lisa, I've found wine in a bag-and-box keeps 4-6 weeks.

Here, we had the "blizzard that wasn't" -- 4-8 inches predicted (that's a blizzard in the South), and we got maybe an inch of sleet. Bah, humbug. Nevertheless, the grocery looked like Rome after the sack by the Visigoths about 4 yesterday afternoon. Prepared for snowy weekend cookery, I made vegetable beef soup last night. Surprisingly, I haven't cooked today; not enough precipitation to inspire me, I guess. Generally, I want to bake, and I need to make King cakes for some friends, but it just hasn't been a King cake day, for some reason.

I had the beginnings of a BP problem, to the point that my doctor put me on the "beginner" dosage of a basic maintenance med. The single thing I did that dropped my BP to a level that makes the meds just about unnecessary? Quit drinking diet soda. The amount of sodium in those things is unconscionable. Learning to drink water is tough; I found it hard to get past W.C. Fields' admonition against it. But I'm getting there! I second the upthread recommendation for Mrs. Dash. Another good salt-free seasoning, from a tiny regional company in my area, can be found at this site. (They also make a kick-ass barbecue seasoning and good steak and pork seasonings, too.) And I use more lemon pepper than I used to.

Wanted a switch from my usual Cooks Illustrated white sandwich bread, so I tried Rose Levy Beranbaum's Classic Soft White Sandwich bread. Takes a full 24 hours (overnight ferment for the sponge, another 4-hour ferment with the flour/yeast/dry milk atop the sponge, 2 1/2 hour rise, fold, another 1-hour rise, loaves formed, another hour and a half rise in the pans. My kitchen was cold). Very, very good sandwich bread; since I work from home, it's relatively easy for me to work around its schedule. I like the "yeastier" taste, vs. the CI loaf. Very good rise, very soft and flexible; makes wonderful toast and grilled cheese sandwiches (my only usages so far).

Yes. Exactly. And if I know I'm fixing that for a big crowd, I can even pre-bread, and chill or freeze on a baking sheet. If I freeze it, I can then re-bag it and keep it indefinitely, and just take them out and toss them in a hot skillet.

The IP triumphs again. Vegetable beef soup. Stew beef, sauteed, onions added and cooked until soft, red wine. High pressure for 45 minutes. Quick release. Added tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato juice, diced potatoes, frozen mixed veggies. Another 25 minutes at high pressure. Regular release while I grilled cheese sandwiches (good butterkase on homemade sandwich bread). Perfect for a cold, wet night with the blizzard approaching. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

@rotuts, I used to quite often take chicken tenderloins, pound them flat, blot them dry, spread with a mixture of cream cheese and pesto, roll up and bake, before I got my SV. You can chill those, slice them, and layer them with fresh tomato and mozzarella and drizzle with a good olive oil and balsamic for a quite lovely little luncheon entree. It would be even easier with SV. Must put that on my list for next summer when it's caprese season.

Yes. If I'm going to pound it thinner, I do that, as well. I tend to leave it thicker if I'm going to SV it and then chicken-fry, since the pounding/thinness is mostly a tenderness thing anyway. I haven't tried chicken cutlets, nor pork, but I'll bet both would be excellent that way as well. H'mmm. I may be seeing pork katsu in my future soon.....

I have had great success in the realm of chicken-fried steak by SV'ing beef round steak or sirloin tip, at about 125 for 4-5 hours, and then carrying on with breading and frying as usual. Really great way to prepare it -- fork tender, but still nice and juicy.

Some days, you just need to get back to where you came from. Clockwise from 12 o'clock, potato salad, meat loaf, "jail slaw," and purple hulled peas with tomato relish. Cornbread would have been good, but I waited too late to to think of it.

I do the same, and I, too, find the key step to be the cracking all over and then letting the cracked eggs sit in the ice water to chill. For good measure, I generally peel them under running water. I find it works with almost all eggs.

Must have been the not doing the quick release thing, I guess. Will try again tomorrow. Thanks.