lindag

This isn't exactly about a bad meal: Husband and I and a friend were at a vacation home on the lake one summer. We invited dear old friends who lived nearby to come for dinner with us. The wife, a woman in her late fifties at the time, asked friend and I what she could do to help us with the dinner prep. We asked her to chop up some garlic cloves. He response was, "Huh? I don't know how to do that." She wasn't kidding, she had never prepared garlic. We also gave them a whole, fresh chicken to take home with them because we weren't going to be able to use it before we left. Husband says, "What's she going to do with it?, she doesn't know how to cook a chicken." He wasn't kidding, she'd never roasted a chicken - they buy take-out chicken instead. I can't believe they're both still alive what with the kind of diet they have.

Hey, I like Padma. So what if she's a little toasted some of the time.

Forgive me if I posted about this before. My husband and I were invited to his niece's home in a nearby city for dinner. She was not a great cook. We sat at the table while she finished up in the kitchen. I could see her with the hand mixer working over the mashed potatoes; she kept mixing and mixing and mixing, for about 10 minutes. You can easily imagine what those potatoes were like when they were served. Not only cold by then but you could have stood a pitchfork in them and it'd stay upright. The rest of the meal is lost in my memory but I do know it was not good.

Do you ever wonder what her reaction would be if you made her your posole? Would she think it was not very good?

Also the Breville Smart Oven, don't know how I lived without it for so long. Kitchenaid circa 1980s Hobart-made 5-quart lift mixer...Love it and hope it never dies. Zojirushi induction rice maker. Zojirushi Bread maker - though I only use it for kneading. All Clad 3-quart sauté pan, one non-stick and one without. Fissler 4-qt. Pressure Cooker Pan set

Did you, by any chance, use a pan de mie without the lid? I don't run across this size pan anywhere else.

I make my own as well, nothing beats these rolls! The recipe I use is from King Arthur Flour's website. Wonderful. I wish I had more room in the freezer right now so I could bake up a batch.

I have numerous LC pots; a couple are so old that they have the unglazed bottoms. But I digress. Barkeeper's Friend works very well for my pots. Except for the ones that have been used for no-knead bread and have gone into 500° ovens. Those will never be pristine again. Some staining is inevitable considering what all is cooked within. Edited for spelling.

I've only had BR one time; it's hard to come by here and costly (probably why the stores don't stock it). Mine was not bitter at all, and I cooked it just as you described. I'm sure it just varies in bitterness. Edited for spelling.

Thanks for posting, this looks worth trying.

Thanks for all the rave reviews on the bread proofer. I bought one from King Arthur (nowhere else had them in stock at the time). Love it! And I do leave mine set up (in the dining room so it doesn't take up kitchen counter space. I checked its temperature(s) with my Polder probe thermometer by laying the probe on the rack inside. Temps fluctuate minimally in what I think is a normal range. I'm enjoying using it and have made several loaves and rolls with it. How come I never thought to use it as a warmer???

I actually live quite near Missoula. And, no, it's not foodie heaven by any means. I like the Lolo Steakhouse but my fave is Johnny Carino's Italian foods. I hear great things about Scotty's Table and also Pearl.

I actually have some lime juice that was frozen in ice cube trays (then stored in a freezer bag). However, it seems to have lost its flavor over time.

I don't know just how new it is but I just ran across the Brod & Taylor folding bread proofing box. What a great tool for home bread makers; especially if you're into sourdough baking. It's a bit pricey and has a large footprint. See it here: http://www.amazon.com/Folding-Bread-Proofer-Yogurt-Maker/dp/B005FCZMU6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397830955&sr=8-1&keywords=brod+%26+taylor+bread+proofer

I've been using 'sweet' soy sauce recently on some dishes. I'd never heard of it before but it is really good.

Frankly, I think that what he's asking is incredibly presumptuous. I'd give him the address of a good bakery. Harrumph!

So if it comes to that, what is an acceptable substitute in one's gin and tonic?

While I exclusively buy e-books now, the exception is cookbooks. I need the real thing when I'm studying recipes or when cooking. I have a few e-cookbooks but they just don't work well for me, I need to be able to flip back and forth thru the pages.

I purchased the Brod & Taylor bread proofing box from King Arthur Flour to use with my sourdough loaves. I imagine it will be particularly useful in cold weather.

I have found that frozen corn is not what it used to be. Must be something to do with the recent drought. I'm having to used canned corn instead, and it is really quite good.

My use of the term 'hog' has nothing whatever to do with her size.

That really just reinforces my already low opinion of her.

It seems there's almost nothing more satisfying than a lovely loaf of just-baked bread; the aroma is like nothing else.

I bought 2 limes a couple days ago for 93-cents each. Unfortunately I'll have to pay the price since cocktail hour calls.

Every time I see Ann Burrell, I think to myself "What a hog"! Can't stand Guy Fieri either.