TdeV

@Okanagancook, Eat Your Books no longer has a lifetime membership and it's really, really pricey. And I have an issue with someone else controlling my data. I mean that I'm the one who'll have to organize all that stuff. What if I live another 40 years? OK, unlikely. How about 30? Or even 20? Think of all the used cookbooks that could buy! 🤣

@suzilightning, do you still have Official Peanut Butter Lover's Centennial Cookbook?

Re: water chestnuts. I, too, bought some fresh and now am totally ruined for ever eating them from the can again. I did some online research and found that there's a contagion which might be present in a raw water chestnut which can be neutralized by blanching. Has anyone heard of this? @liuzhou, am I correct in assuming that people in China don't worry about eating raw water chestnuts?

@Duvel, thank you. I have ordered most of those books. Me? Me? I do not have a cookbook addiction! 🤣

This is all that's left of tonight's pizza. Previously carmelized onions, avocado and cheddar cheese. Dough is made using King Arthur bread flour and semolina in the bread machine which ages for 3 to 7 days in the fridge. I've been following @JoNorvelleWalker's 3 minute pizza and tried out turning on the broiler for 5 minutes first, then slid the pizza onto the stone and did 1 minute under the broiler and 5 1/2 minutes at 550F. Bottom much more toasty than previous pizzas, dough more cracker-like. Am trying to decide if I prefer it. Fortunately the recipe makes two pizzas, so I shall have to test this theory in the next few days!

@Duvel, I have been researching your wonderful Catalan dishes for St. Jordi. Courtesy of google (and google translate), I have found one or two dishes, but not many. I have Penelope Casas' PAELLA but all those recipes look tame compared with your dishes! Do you know a good paella book from Catalan? I would prefer the book in English but, as long as there are photos, I'm sure I would survive. 😀

@Duvel, olives and onions and carrot and . . . ? Chickpea, rice, chicken thigh and . . . ? And the potato?

@jimb0, looks delish! Tell us about that slaw.

I'm reviving this thread because I've recently purchased Barbara Kafka's Microwave Gourmet ©1987. I'm interested in finding out more about COOKING with a microwave and this is always the recommended book. Kafka's very clear that different wattage ovens behave differently and gives multiple recipes for different ovens. She also states that one can't just double or halve recipes, or change pan sizes. BUT most of her recipes are for 650 to 700 watt microwaves. Any idea how I should translate that to a modern microwave? FWIW mine is 1200 watts.

Took me a while to find the forum! Good plan nonetheless, @dcarch.

Hi Ann, How do you stretch your pizza? (In spite of making pizzas for years, I have a fairly clumsy way of stretching out the dough). Your pizzas (again) look fabulous. It seems to me that you have very little dough gumminess (?) where the topping intersects the dough. How do you manage this? Thanks.

LN, @btbyrd?

My mum used to store the deep fry pot (with oil) on a shelf in the kitchen, and then reuse it. I now imagine that I would find the taste of the old oil off-putting. I can't remember when I last did any deep frying. Also, of course, deep fat frying is probably unhealthy. Are people satisfied with the "air fryer" alternatives?

@Shelby. did you treat the surface in any way? (E.g. OO, vinegar, lemon)

Hi @Shelby. Re: frozen avocado. Did you peel it before you froze it?

When I was first away from home, I had a great time cooking. I think I owned a few cookbooks, however, I've always liked to ad lib. At one point I realized that all my food ended up the same: some version of tomato-based pudding or stew. So then I bought Joy of Cooking and carefully followed the recipes. (I sometimes reference JoC, in part because I know where things are, or at least, that they exist). When I got married, I got two versions of Julia Child's How to Cook. It never got the same treatment JoC got though. Now I have a bookcase of cookbooks. Which I read for entertainment. When I'm trying something new, I peruse my book shelves and online, and collect a thrice or two of recipes. But I usually close all the books before I start cooking (except baking). My B-I-L, a good cook, is horrified by the idea! Works for me though.

From a person I used to work with, I learned about adding Worcestershire Sauce to the hole from the pit. Don't peel the avocado and eat with a spoon. Quite tasty! (I guess this is a riff on fish sauce?) What about avocados which have started to turn, i.e. they have brown/grey streaks through the flesh. Do you eat them? And would you serve them to company?

Hi Rob, your photos are lovely. FWIW, I don't use much social media, but I do use websites, so please rethink your idea of not putting information exactly where some people would look for it.

You sauté the mushrooms ahead of time, yes? And the sauce?

Here is Douglas Baldwin's post (though not very informative).

@EatingBen, once I had had lamb leg/shoulder done at 143F (62C) for 48 hours, I was hooked. Lately I've been using 131F (55C) for 24 hours following something Douglas Baldwin wrote about on an eGullet thread. Finish with a broiler or a blow torch. Divine, I tell you, divine!

Ann, that looks so totally delicious! I can find the three words (Parmesan, Crusted, Halibut) in search, but not the method. Could you please describe this method?

How did you cook them? On the stovetop? Setting? Oven? Oven temperature?

I'm very curious how this turns out. My long practise is to SV the lamb at low temperature for multiple days and then, a couple hours before dinner, to cook the rest of the tagine on the stovetop with a little pre-made stock.

@Raamo, looks intriguing! What are the ingredients? Title and author of the cookbook?