curls

Thermoworks has a nice mini spatula & spoonula set. They do occasionally go on sale. https://www.thermoworks.com/Mini-Spatula-Set

I have used my Ankarsrum mixer to make double batches of chocolate chip cookie dough using the stainless steel bowl with roller and scraper. Works great! Suspect it would work great with single batches up to quadruple batches of dough. Since I also have a KitchenAid, I tend to use it when doing standard recipes. If I only had an Ankarsrum, I would use it for everything baking related (bread, cookies, cakes, egg whites, marshmallows, nougat, etc.). Before making my chocolate chip cookies I watched this video from Ankarsrum USA (https://youtu.be/0yPLbE5FjP4 Here are links to some of the other helpful Ankarsrum videos: Bread Beckers Ankarsrum (Electrolux/Magic Mill/Verona) Mixer Demonstration https://youtu.be/zMB4CVG5fLs Collection of Ankarsrum USA videos https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpiJ0OkURk4tD7cPgLVh3Ng/videos Recipes to make using your Ankarsrum mixer from Ankarsrum Assistent https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxB_n3shKBmpoNdERgAa9Xh1uZ15oAsdc Collection of Ankarsrum videos from Ankarsrum Assistent https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL38C789F0854F6573 If there is a particular recipe that you would like to have me test in the Ankarsrum mixer, let me know. Currently I have a bit more time for baking and if it is a recipe that my colleagues might enjoy, I can share the extras with the office.

@Kim Shook the meals look great. Sorry your MIL was in the hospital. Wishing her a speedy recovery.

A photo for you @JoNorvelleWalker so you can see the colors... lots of metal, silver gray, and dark blue.

Indeed! I was the lucky one to buy andiesenji’s Ankarsrum mixer and it is still going strong and I love using it.

What part of Virginia are you in? I’m in Northern Virginia and can purchase frozen (and sometimes fresh) duck at all of my local grocery stores.

I went pro with my chocolate business several years ago and have the right paperwork to get into Restaurant Depot. I have heard that if you belong to certain BBQ clubs, they can get access to Restaurant Depot. May also be that they have relaxed the rules during Covid. Around Virginia a lot of the restaurant distributors are advertising that they will now sell to the general public.

These were cooked sous vide and then seared. When I do them this way I don’t always score the skin. When I cook them solely on the cooktop (or cooktop plus oven) I do crosshatch cuts thru the skin. Now that I have a case of duck breasts in the freezer, I’m trying out various cooking methods and trying to figure out what my favorite way is to cook them.

I also love a well done crust! I was quite offended (not really) when my husband suggested that it was burned... not even close to burned... that is flavor!

Thrilled to finally get an ear on a loaf of sourdough! Love baking it in the CSO vs. a dutch oven. The next time I bake multiple loaves, I am planning to try @Ann_T's trick of starting the loaves in the CSO and then moving them to a larger oven to finish baking (so that the top of the loaf is farther from the heating element).

Meant to post this back in July but just getting back to posting images. A duck dinner cooked in one of my Darto pans. Was very happy to find that Restaurant Depot stocks frozen duck breasts at far less than supermarket prices. All the duck fat is being saved in the freezer for future potato cookery (and other potential uses).

Tried the King Arthur Sourdough Cinnamon Crumb Cake and added a cinnamon sugar sprinkle after I added half the batter. The crumbs were not as tender as I would have liked but no one else complained. Recipe link: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/sourdough-cinnamon-crumb-cake-recipe

Apparently that David Lebobitz recipe for a fruit cake/tart was popular with a lot of us! Here is my version with blueberries & peaches from https://www.davidlebovitz.com/moelleux-of-summer-fruits-cake-recipe-plums-peaches/.

Small batch of peach jam that I put up in August. Was gifted some peaches from a colleague's backyard tree.

@teonzo those flavors sound delicious and intriguing. That is a lot of fruit to forage and jam! How many jars of jam did you make? Will you go thru them all or are you selling or gifting jam jars?

We have used Freddy Guys Hazelnuts at least twice during the eGullet chocolate workshop. Delicious hazelnuts from Oregon.

It definitely helps to have a good appliance shop. When I got my Wolf oven they asked me which knobs I wanted (red or stainless) and I used their Wolf installer. Prior to delivery they worked with my general contractor to make sure the range would fit between the cabinets, line up with the countertop, and that the gas hookup was in the right location. On installation day, everything went perfectly and they gave me both sets of knobs and some stainless steel cleaner. I never want to do another kitchen renovation but this one went extremely well. It’s been about seven years and I still love my kitchen.

https://gizmodo.com/the-death-of-bon-appetit-is-proof-media-companies-have-1844701822

Beautiful bon bons @pastrygirl! I’m waiting for cooler weather; it is 95 F in my area. While my work space has AC and is in the 70s, it is difficult to deliver chocolates when it is so hot. Hope I struck the appropriate amount of complaining about the weather. 😉

Are you keeping track of how much your starter grows? Does it double or triple in volume within a 12 hour window? Have you tried baking bread with it without the addition of commercial yeast? Give us more information about how it behaves and more people will weigh in with their advice. Or perhaps it is doing well now...

Seriously! My answer is nothing. Jeesh.

Followup article with additional information from the owner, Jessica Koslow. Still so hard to believe that they thought this practice was acceptable and safe. https://la.eater.com/2020/7/13/21323422/sqirl-jessica-koslow-statement-moldy-jam

https://la.eater.com/2020/7/13/21322591/sqirl-mold-jam-jessica-koslow-workers-unhappy-unsanitary-toast-los-angeles-news

Is your pizza dough rising without the use of commercial yeast? If it is then I think your sourdough starter is fine even though it doesn’t float.

Enjoy Key Biscayne; a beautiful area! I grew up in Dade County Florida and miss the grapefruit and mango trees we had in our backyard. Wonderful to be so close to the beach! Also lots of delicious Cuban food in that area. If your new place doesn’t have hurricane shutters, I highly recommend that you get them. It is so much easier to use them vs. finding & securing wood over all your windows.