lindag

I love having leaf lard on hand for making piecrusts! Nothing can compare. Even though I have to order it online and pay for shipping, it is still worth the doing. I order ten pounds at a time and store it in my big freezer. That gives me plenty for my pies and for sharing with a friend. I order it here: http://www.dietrichsmeats.com/Lard.html

Really? For me it's just too time-consuming and frustrating to peel those itty bitty cloves, so I toss them and use only the big cloves. That means I don't get much garlic out of one head. I'm loving the idea of the pre-peeled cloves, particularly since I'm told by an ATK expert that they're just as good as fresh! My only question is whether you need to increase the amount to make up for a loss in flavor after freezing.

Oh, I didn't think of that, the elements not staying on. That does make a lot of sense. More and more, I'm thinking that when it comes to replacing my BSO I need to test drive the Cuisinart. Too bad there's not room for both.

It takes longer too toast bread that has less sugar content, so with no-knead, I let it go with my normal setting, then re-start it when that's done so I can get more color. Someone here said that he/she felt that toast in the BSO was more like baked than toasted. After giving it some thought, I actually agree. I think it's because the elements are located so far from the center rack. Still, it's very convenient and not really all that much different than in a toaster.

Well, on my last foray into Costco I did buy their bagged, peeled garlic cloves. My goodness, that bag is HUGE I should look, but it must be at least two pounds! I hope it keeps well frozen, it will take me a lifetime to use that much - and I do love garlic.

My BSO takes at least four minutes for normal (homemade) breads. Add time if the bread is frozen (there's a setting for frozen).

Where'd they go? Is it just where I live that they don't sell cut-up chickens, just whole chickens or chicken parts. Where I used to live (Portland) there were more cut-up chickens in the meat case than there were whole chickens; but not here. Is this a change or is it a local thing? I have to admit that I am not good at cutting up chickens to get recognizable parts!

I disagree. CI cookbooks, especially those big, comprehensive ones are wonderful. I own many of their books and find them far better than almost any others.

One of the comments made by CI's Bridget Lancaster was that she buys the pre-peeled garlic because when she buy the fresh stuff she ends up with only one or two usable cloves, the rest are all those little guys that are too small to be useful. I was sold, because that's a gripe of mine. Next trip to Costco I'll get a jar of the ready-to-use.

"So last weekend I watched the first installment of The Worst Cooks in America, now hosted by Anne Burrell and a chunkier Tyler Florence. Words fail me in describing how truly awful it is. Chock full of freaks and geeks, "artists" and characters, there is not one normal or likeable contestant in the bunch. It's gone from mildly entertaining to cringeworthy in three seasons." Once again, it's a case of too many clowns, not enough circuses!

I wish they'd just lose that part of the show. I don't need to know about the chefs' pasts (mad-up or otherwise), I just want to see if they can cook. I've pretty much stopped watching most of the episodes just for that reason. I don't know how many of you have been around long enough to remember the show "Queen for a Day" from the mid to late fifties. The wretched sob stories of those women (most of which I'll bet were fictional) brought the show to a ridiculous end.

I've become a true fan of America's Test Kitchen podcasts! And on one of their programs they endorsed the use of pre peeled garlic cloves (ala Costco). I bought some and tossed them into the freezer as Bridget advised. And I got the impression from the discussion that we may have to increase the amount when using these from the freezer. Anyone use these? Comments about it?

Thanks for asking the question, I was wondering the same thing.

I had just about forgotten about my http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41Er5hdut0L._AA160_.jpg Cuisinart Rotisserie Oven. I used it yesterday to cook a Hutterite (think Amish-type) chicken which I pre-rubbed with seasonings. It smelled divine while cooking and turned out very, very good. While my use of this oven is severely limited and its size is huge, it is quite useful. I don't think I'd buy one again now though, knowing how difficult it is to clean and store.

Since I cannot be without limes EVER, I panicked at the grocery store and bought three more very large limes. The store had loads of them so I don't know what's up with talk of a shortage. But I'll sleep better tonight knowing that I'm stocked up - can't have cocktail hour without my gin and tonic.

Thanks everyone! I will try everything and let you know what, if anything works!

Katsuji is basically an ill-mannered yutz.

I don't wish to belabor my question, but it seems I wasn't clear: Here's the scenario: I am in the kitchen and decide I want to make my recipe for Pineapple Upside down Cake. But the recipe is upstairs in LC on my desktop computer. I have to go upstairs to access LC and print out the recipe. I want to be able to have LC on my iPad so I'm not always running up and down the stairs. It appears there's no real solution.

when your computer is in another part of the house? I use Living Cookbook which I couldn't live without. But I can't pull up a recipe without going upstairs to my desktop computer. I wish LC was available on my iPad.

You'll like your Bamix. I've had mine for at least six years and it has done everything extremely well. The first immersion blender I got was a rechargeable - I hope no one wastes their money on these anymore, they're just useless.

I remember years ago there was a gorgeous Farberware electric skillet in gleaming stainless. It really was too pretty for words. I absolutely had to have it! But I found I really didn't use it much and eventually gave it away.

I completely agree. I don't know whose idea that was but it was really stupid and didn't add anything to the show.

I don't mean to detract from the direction of this topic but I have to pipe up and gripe about the Walmarts in my city. It doesn't seem to matter much what time I go to the store but I find the shelves unstocked!! What's the matter with the management? How can they sell if they don't have the products out. This is primarily in the grocery and produce sections, I don't shop much for their dry goods. This has been going on for years. Does this happen in your Walmart too?

Oh yes, I forgot about the iSi whip 1.5 liter and the soda siphon, both of which have never been used!

Oh yes, there are more. Ice cream maker - Too many calories and too many special ingredients. Gave that one away. Oh yeah, forgot about the: Pannina maker - Used it a few times then it went into the pantry to stay. Need to give it away. Deep fryer - Love the results of everything cooked in it but couldn't stand how it stunk up the house with the smell of grease. Used it in the garage after that but it was way too much trouble to clean it up and drain the filter the oil. Oy, what was I thinking? It's on it way somewhere soon as I figure out where that is. I know there are still more.