IndyRob

Interesting. Would/should the cutting be reflected in the ingredient label? All I'm seeing is dextrose and Stevia in some form (other than cellulose in one case and 'natural flavorings'). So, powdered milk is out. Wouldn't this exclude the whole whipped cream thing? Perhaps I'll learn something(s) here. Does cream not contain the sugar?

Thanks for the considered response and especially that ratio. I think the ATK recipe used a partial can of the SCM, which is pretty awkward. Incidentally (not for your purposes, but for anyone intrigued by the SCM/No-machine method), I was at Walmart today and noticed a clearance cart - Everything under $2!. It had cans of Eagle brand chocolate-flavored SCM for $1.98. Had never seen that before. I bought three, but don't have any results yet as I've been doing other things. I hope they're going to eliminate an entire ingredient for my chocolate ice cream. Then again they were on clearance, so we'll see.... So, anyway, I thought that I'd be whipping up some cream soon, so why not steal a little bit for an experiment? I looked at my wife's sweeteners and came up with Sweet 'N Low, and two stevia based sweeteners (Stevia in the Raw and Equal Stevia Extract). I asked her if she wasn't using any of them and she said she wasn't using any of them. Ok, so I looked back and I believe you said that Stevia would be acceptable, if not for brand differences/variances related to taste/aftertaste issues. Well, I'll never be able to anticipate your personal taste and I anticipate any level of success would not be as good as the sugar for me. But it's about the texture, right? Alright, so gosh, I wonder if anyone has made SCM using Stevia. I found this recipe... https://myreecipes.wordpress.com/2010/03/27/stevia-sweetened-condensed-milk/ Not only does she claim that it was a success, but the ice cream she made with it was 'amazing' Hmm. I'll just need some powdered milk. I think I have some powdered buttermilk somewhere. That ought to do.... Edit for a note about the temperature issue - I put my mixture in a 32oz deli container which fits nicely in the door of the freezer. So that's where it stays and it's probably decidedly warmer than if I put it in the back of the freezer.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure I hate Rodney. And yes, Rodney, I'm hating you because you're beautiful.

From ATK, I think...If you're going to apply cooking spray to a pan, open up the dishwasher door and spray it over that. Then close the door and the overspray is contained until the next wash cycle. Also, Mary Ann is handier with a spud than Ginger.

The condensed milk ice cream is very scoopable.I can attest to that, But I have a hard time believing that the ingredients besides sugar are not playing a role. Otherwise, why not just add sugar? I think the egg yolks may help. Heck, throw some tofu in there. But I think the fact that you had a success with a whipped product might lead you further down that line.

I don't know anything about the sugars/non-sugars (back in the day, I think people would be saying "Um, so you're using two cups of heavy cream and you want to reduce the sugar?!??!), but since you said this, it reminded me of the way I've been making Ice Cream. I had been wondering what happens if you just freeze whipped cream and found my answer with a YouTube search. It turns out the simple addition of sweetened condensed milk can turn a simple whipped cream into a passable ice cream without a machine. America's Test Kitchen has a video where they do this with the addition of chocolate, vanilla and coffee, while another woman simply whips the condensed milk with the cream to create a base into which she customizes individual cups with different flavors. The result is simply frozen. No machine. I don't think the ingredients in sweetened condensed milk are going to meet your needs, but perhaps the mechanical aspects of the technique could offer a way to try several formulations at once. Just whip the cream and divide and fold in other ingredients in separate containers and freeze individually. I was able to make mint chocolate chip and chocolate ice cream out of one batch of cream. Seems a perfect test bed for testing various ideas quickly.

The tongue is where we taste the salt, no? That's where the final judging is done.

Puff pastry. Raspberries. Maybe dots of cream cheese. Freeze. Bake. Enjoy.

Do we need salt for the meat? Or for the tongue? Granted, the tongue may need more salt if it's covered in fat, but there's plenty of water on the tongue - especially when presented with a great steak. But here, we're not talking about great steak. Just chuckeye vs. strip.

Well, you can't argue with that. So, naturally, I'm going to argue with that. They chopped the meat up and I think that makes it a very different thing. If my filet mignon is seasoned on the inside, I'm going to wonder what they did with it (and why). Some of it is about the contrast. And that steak pictured above posted by btbyrd - I don't know if I'd want to salt the bejeezus out of it.

I'm taking that picture to bed with me tonight in the hopes that I might dream of eating it.

I've never heard of salting different steaks differently. I think if you have some top quality Kobe or something, then it might bear some serious contemplation. But for regular steaks, I've never heard of such a thing. In fact, the one example I can think of is salting a round roast a day ahead (basically a dry brine). But this is to try to salvage a truly inferior cut - which is kind of the opposite of the question. In the last week I have run across a couple of people who like to aggressively salt steaks just before cooking. I usually like to salt well about five minutes before cooking. The idea (Alton Brown inspired) is to dry out the surface a bit for searing. Here's my best guess and I may be completely wrong - A chuckeye (which I also really like) has a much more open texture. More nooks and crannies for salt to get into. If you are at all rubbing the salt into the steak then I'd bet $1 that the chuckeye will grab and hold onto more. A strip steak has a much more homogeneous surface. My local Meijer stores have started to sell something the call a Manhattan steak. I think it's half of a New York strip. Versions using sirloin are also starting to appear. Both are cut to resemble filets, and they look quite convincing but, if you find a deal, can be less than $2.50 per steak. As I've lately been on a steak frite kick, I've taken to putting them in a bag with some heavily seasoned flour for about an hour before cooking and then dropping them into the frite oil (375) for about 90 seconds and then into a 425 degree oven for 6-7 minutes. If I've correctly judged the size of the steaks, and adjusted the 6-7 minutes right, the result is perfect med-rare with a crispy exterior.

Well, five years on, I've gotten pretty close, but no cigar yet. I know now that I can nail the filling. My Maltese uncle confirmed that it is cow's milk ricotta, and I've discovered only home made ricotta will do for its low moisture content. This allows you to add more eggs for more flavor. Then quite a bit of S&P to make it perfect. But I haven't yet perfected the ratios. But I always knew that would be the easy part. I nailed it once - I know I I can do it again (and eventually repeatedly) Now I'm on to fine tuning the pastry. The technique is one thing, but I've got it close and is just something I'll have to work on. But now I'm having a crisis about which flour to use. My latest (and even a bit photogenic) result was with Caputo "00" flour. But my previous attempt used high gluten flour and wasn't really that different (and might've had a better flavor). There are more videos out their now, but none of them explain the characteristics of the flour you want.

If you're looking for an easy way, grab a sheet pan and a big sheet of aluminum foil. Slice up an onion or two into rings and make a layer on the foil in the sheet pan. Season the roast (either simple S&P, or a spice rub if you want to be more elaborate) and put it on the onions. Seal the foil (in a way you can re-open to check doneness) and throw into a 225-250 oven for 2-3 hours (depending on the size). When done, remove the onions and juice to a saucepan and get creative (add cream, broth, herbs and/or seasonings to your own taste). Meanwhile, broil each side of the roast for a few minutes. Serve the onions over the roast. Admittedly, the results (being basically oven braised with the onion liquid) will be pretty pot roast-like if I'm not mistaken. Alternatively, I've often wondered if one can cut chuck eye steaks from a chuck roast. Not the tenderest steaks in the world, but they have good flavor.

I just bought some to do fish & chips. I really liked it for that.

I went back and watched the ATK episode (S14 E3 currently available on Netflix) to see exactly what they said. They agree with pbear that the temperature of steam remains 212. However, the steam has 5 times the energy (owing to water being 'sticky' because of hydrogen bonds and, um, yada,yada...). What this means is that steam can cook more eggs in the same amount of time. That explains my inconclusive results using one egg in each pot. Had I used 4 eggs in each pot, I probably would have seen the results I expected. More eggs would've caused a temperature drop in the water, requiring energy to be devoted to the getting the water back to boiling rather than being available for the eggs.

Well, rather than quoting stuff from Wikipedia which I probably oughtn't do, I decided to just Kenji it. I got two very similar pots and put them on my stove, filled one with about 3" of water and the other with about 3/4". I put an egg in each one, covered them, and let them go for exactly 6 minutes. Then each was plunged into its own individual container filled with cold tap water. I expected dramatic differences but didn't get them. The differences, as far as I could tell, were extremely subtle, and perhaps a bit counter intuitive. The yolk in the steamed egg seemed slightly more consistent in texture. The boiled one had gelled a bit around the outer edge, but the rest seemed slightly more runny. The white of the steamed one was perfect and the boiled one did look that way too, but upon cutting it did seem just on the edge of cooked enough - perhaps a little under. I not sure how to interpret the results other than that I now understand a little better why ATK claimed it tested over 1,000 eggs. Possible errata: 1) The two eggs were from the three I mentioned above that varied from 61-63 grams, but I don't know which ones I used. 2) The burners were at very different levels of flame. The boil pot needed more flame to heat the larger volume of water. Given that I feel the temperature of steam can get above 212, perhaps I should've put the spurs to it. 3) I did take a picture, but the visual results are virtually identical so I didn't bother to upload it. Well ok, I can't eat any more eggs tonight. I think if I had to cook soft boiled eggs for company tomorrow I'd go with ATK's recommendation of steaming for 6:30.

I haven't graduated to the shopping cart level. I just laser-focus on certain items. e.g. Milk - 1 Gal -$1.49. I'll take that and turn it into 20oz of ricotta which would normally cost $5-$6 at a typical grocery. Domestic Prosciutto as good as Walmart Del Duca's offering for $1.00 less (per 3oz). Don't focus on their prepared (frozen) foods. Even the best priced of those are generally a big waste. ALDI loses to Walmart in frozen waffle prices. The clone-food offerings might offer some value. For instance, their 'Savortiz" Cheez-It's clones are 1$ less than their namesakes. We determined the slight difference still gave the mega-brand the edge, but it is so slight that I bet many people prefer the cheaper option. Canned goods - Yeah, maybe some tomato sauce or something. Fresh produce and meat - Generally not what I would go there for, but keep your eye out. Especially on Wednesdays. They seem to want to get a jump on the normal weekly ads by a day, but only on Wednesday. Check the website. One cool thing is that they'll normally have the next week's ad up as well.

Can you elaborate? I must admit to being a bit skeptical. I've had the misfortune to burn myself both with boiling water and with steam and I must say that steam seems far worse. I'm trying to think of some sort of mitigating factor like the barbeque stall, but that doesn't seem to apply.

Just for the reference desk, I just weighed 3 "Large Eggs" and they were 61-63 grams (probably not enough to make a difference). But 2 quarts of water? 6 minutes? I don't have the book, but I assumed it was something similar to the latest ATK soft boil method I've seen. This uses only a 1/2 inch of water and relies on steam. Once a boil is achieved (not sure if a simmer is materially different), the eggs should go in, covered, for 6:30. Given that steam is supposedly more energetic, It doesn't seem like 6 minutes could be enough for a submerged egg.

I've been thinking about getting a Meyer lemon tree (also in zone 6). Supposedly, it can live in a pot and winter indoors if it has enough light (an obstacle I'd have to overcome). But I have a perfect spot right near a patio for the summer. Regarding the Everclear - Brilliant! That man clearly has an auspicious future. Whether it's one that should be closely monitored by the proper authorities is a question I'll leave to others.

As this has sunk into my thick brain, it really is beginning to make sense. I have seen Italian cooks crumble (Italian) sausage into their sauce. In fact, the link Tere posted includes this. As Italian-American cooking adopts local ingredients, and an Italian grandmother may find hot dogs the only readily available sausage, I could see this happening. Even if the first time was an emergency case. Ground or minced, hot dogs are simply seasoned meat (maybe all pork). If the seasonings in the sauce are corrected, the hot dog meat may simply melt into the background. And a good cook (perhaps that's the essential ingredient we're ignoring here) could make it a winner. An alternative theory is that an Americanized youth saw grandma putting sausages into the sauce and didn't know an Italian sausage from a wiener in his pot.

I agree. I really do like him, but I think sometimes he solves the problem for himself and doesn't go through the repeatability stuff that might've been expected at ATK. I was excited to learn of his 2-minute mayo technique, but like quite a few of his commenters, I had about a 50% failure rate. I eventually figured it out and wanted to post my findings on his site, but they shut down comments after a certain amount of time. Anyway, it turns out he was right, it does work, but it's not as foolproof as he made it out to be.

I was recently researching (Detroit style) Coney Island hot dog sauce and found a mention of putting ground up hot dogs in the sauce. I don't think that's traditional based on my other research, but it sort of makes sense in context. Perhaps this is an idea that escaped the hot dog world.

Glad to hear it. Now you may want to explore the File/Export option. It's disabled on my trial version, but it should allow you to at least save your saved data in a more universal format. If some of those are specific recipe file formats, researching those might lead you to new software that can import your saved data.