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tikidoc

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Everything posted by tikidoc

  1. I’m going to be at a professional meeting being held in National Harbor this weekend, and would like to try to get in a great dinner Saturday evening. Does not need to be fancy (cheap is actually great!), just really good and close enough to the meeting that it’s not a huge hassle to get/park there. Love just about any cuisine except chain restaurants!
  2. I’ll see if I can talk her into it! And just a quick mom brag, she will be off to William and Mary in the fall!
  3. I’ll check and see if Maddie wants to try to go up for an abbreviated trip, but likely we will be waiting until next year.
  4. Damn, they finally released the graduation date for Maddie’s HS class, and it’s the 17th. Looks like we are out this year.
  5. Yup, that was us, but the credit for that one belongs to Gaylene - we used the leftovers of her pipeable raspberry pdf, which was amazing. The cookies were the thin lemon cookies from Trader Joe’s, which are one of my favorite store-bought cookies. We decided to use up leftover fillings on the last day, and we also enrobed some caramel on TJ’s speculoos (another favorite cookie), which were also nice.
  6. I didn’t take many pictures, but a partial list of things I learned this year: 1. Making colored cocoa butters. Looking forward to experimenting with this. I like color. 2. Painting molds, and the tip of using nail art tools to do so. Opens a whole new world of decoration. Tools from Amazon already arrived, a big set for under $10. 3. Bernie’s sponge toffee. Yum! Will definitely try this. 4. Leaf croquant. Willow, Gaylene and I (I was pretty much a go-fer and observer both times) tried this several years ago in Las Vegas, and although the flavor was good, the texture was not right. Willow really nailed it this year. It appears that the problem may have been doing it on a marble surface last time, which lowered the temp too much/fast. It was done on the metal counter this time, and the ingredients stayed fluid longer, allowing for better mixing/lamination. I have granite countertops but plan to try it on a full sheet pan with a silpat, sitting on a wood cutting board. I’m thinking this one may also be do-able.
  7. I’ll have a car and my kid but will be happy to help with transportation to and from hotel.
  8. I haven’t seen anything about the usual teaching sessions on Friday - will we just be doing work on your own stuff on Friday, instead of formal classes?
  9. I’d be interested in some. Don’t need a lot, but I’d be in for up to a kilo, assuming it’s not going out of date soon.
  10. I used this recipe. The flavor was a little sweet for my tastes but the family loved them. Might cut back on the sugar a little next time. Also the kids request slightly less dark. I like the caramel flavors, the kids prefer it a bit less pronounced. Overall, I was pleased though. No white asses.
  11. It will be a total of 2 for me - me and Maddie. Will be visiting with family but none coming to workshop.
  12. Good to hear. My daughter, Maddie (she will be my +1) is mostly vegetarian - occasionally eats seafood. Thank you for hosting!
  13. I’m in. Maddie is a maybe. That is right before the end of the school year, so she will need to find out her finals schedule first.
  14. tikidoc

    Shortbread

    Just stumbled on this topic. Shortbread is one of my absolute favorite cookies. My go-to shortbread recipe comes from Food 52, which has a recipe that is from Bien Cuit. It requires an overnight stay in the fridge before baking. I tend to bake it on the longer end of the range given in the recipe because I like the slight caramel notes it picks up when taken to a slightly darker golden brown. When I have it, I use European butter. It is not a very sweet shortbread, which is a big plus for me, and I push it a little further into the savory with my own variation, adding a little finely chopped fresh rosemary to the dough, and a little sea salt in addition to the sugar on top, and sometimes using salted butter (in which case I cut back on the added salt). Bien Cuit Shortbread Ingredients: 302 grams unsalted butter 93 grams confectioners' sugar 3.5 grams kosher salt 302 grams all-purpose flour 1/8 cup regular or raw sugar, for sprinkling Directions: Cut the cold butter and reserve at room temperature to temper slightly. Line a 13x9-inch baking sheet or baking dish with parchment paper. Mix the confectioners’ sugar, salt, and flour in a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix for a few seconds to combine the dry ingredients. Add the cubed butter and mix on low speed until a smooth dough is formed and butter is fully incorporated. At first, the dough will look extremely flaky and dry; let it keep mixing and it will eventually come together into a dough. Dump the dough into the baking sheet ordish and spread it evenly to the corners. Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight. The next day, heat the oven to 300°F. Dock the dough every inch or so with a fork. Bake until the shortbread is golden brown, 60-75 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Turn the shortbread out onto a cutting board, and slice into 4-inch x ¾-inch slices. Sprinkle with raw sugar and transfer to a baking rack to cool completely. Store in airtight containers. Source: https://food52.com/recipes/81249-bien-cuit-shortbread
  15. Costco is now at $99 for the 7 function with 3 containers.
  16. Oooh, Balthazar looks great too. May have to load up on our way to MA. We have a pretty big freezer at the vacation place, so will get 2 weeks worth of breads and bagels on the way. Our old usual spot for breads was Isabel Et Vincent in Fairfield CT but I always like to try new places. I definitely would stop at Teaneck again. Easy to get to, great bagels/sandwiches, and really nice people.
  17. Stopped at Teaneck. Was only maybe 5 minutes out of our way. After a weekend of making pastry, an everything bagel with lox and cream cheese was perfect. They were busy but efficient, and the staff is super friendly. Bagel sandwich was great, and I got a dozen to bring home for the family. This will be a regular stop on our yearly vacation in MA.
  18. Thanks guys! Looks like Teaneck is the easiest to get to. We go to MA every summer, so will save the others for next time. We have a lot of driving to do today (with a teen!) so I’m going to take the option that adds the fewest miles.
  19. My daughter and I are taking a baking course today near Providence and will be driving home to VA tomorrow. We are staying just east of NYC tonight and would love to make a quick stop to bring home some good NYC bagels. Does anyone know of a place that is relatively close to I95? I don’t know NYC at all and want to be quickly on the way home. Outside the city but along the way is fine too - just want to get the real deal!
  20. Splicing a cord is super simple, don’t need a new plug. And now I have a backup machine. But the fact that the lid sticks every time I use it has not changed, so I pretty much kept it to use short term in the event that the current machine dies, while a new one is on order. The Creami has pretty quickly become among the most used items in our kitchen. It has also helped get my husband to eat better. Other than the occasional apple, he rarely eats fruit, but now, instead of snacking on chips at night, he has a bowl of 100% fruit sorbet, and actually looks forward to it.
  21. I had a problem with mine (the lid kept sticking and it was very hard to remove the pint after spinning - I kinda had to force it to remove, even when I let it sit for 10 minutes as instructed in the troubleshooting), and they sent me a new one for $21. I got the original on Woot, so did not have the option of an easy return to Costco. Ninja had me cut the power cord to the old machine on a video call, then sent me a complete new set (not just the machine), so at least for the $21 and the hassle, I got an extra pint, spinning container, lid, and blade. So now I can have one lid/blade soaking while the other is in use. One design flaw is that the ice cream tends to seep inside the lid mechanism, and it’s a pain to clean, so I like to soak it to make sure nothing is dried in there.
  22. I have not had it happen to me but I have heard a few people say they have had the same issue on a FB group for the Creami. I think people have gotten a replacement when they call Ninja.
  23. Continuing the “healthy ice cream hack” part of the thread, the addition of a couple ounces of cottage cheese adds amazing texture to the protein drink ice creams. My current recipe: 11.5 oz bottle of Fairlife chocolate protein nutrition shake 2-3 TB good quality cocoa 1 TB powdered espresso 1/4 tsp guar gum 1/4 c full fat cottage cheese A little almond milk if needed to get 16 oz About 225 calories per pint, almost 40 grams of protein (the cocoa adds a gram per TB, and the cottage cheese adds about 6 grams to the 30 grams in the shake). 2 grams sugar, about 6 grams of fat. The cottage cheese adds a little salt that rounds out the flavors, and it makes the texture and mouthfeel much creamier, more like a high end ice cream. Breakfast!!! I also recently discovered that Wegmans has cans of mango in juice and apricots in juice (no sugar added), so I have a batch of each blended and in the freezer. Based on a taste before freezing, I anticipate they will both be really good.
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