cyalexa

This was not even on my radar and now I'm thinking about it. I have a rarely used pressure cooker, a rarely used slow cooker, a rarely used deep fat fryer and a frequently used rice cooker. I occasionally make yogurt in my proofing box. If I could get rid of all of those (except the proofing box) and replace them with one item it would open up space on my shelves. I will continue to watch this thread with interest, especially looking for rice reports.

Terminal harvest of one basil plant that was starting to make flowers. The salad spinner contains slightly damaged leaves that will be used over the next couple days. The colander contains most of the plant. Most the the big leaves will be stacked (10g each stack), rolled, wrapped in plastic and frozen. The smaller leaves will be pureed with olive oil and frozen in ice cube trays. A few stems are in a glass of water. Hopefully one or more will root and I will replant and/or try to limp a pot or two through the winter.

The berries are pokeberries and yes, they are poisonous. The young leaves are apparently safe to eat if boiled twice but I have no intention of trying. http://www.poison.org/poisonpost/aug2012/pokeberries.htm

The original recipe is on the King Arthur website, http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/beautiful-burger-buns-recipe. I have changed it slightly to incorporate some whole wheat flour and slightly decrease the amount of yeast and salt. The picture I posted was a double batch. Note that the orientation of the buns in relation to the pan is different than when making a single batch in a quarter sheet pan. Hamburger/Hot Dog Buns modified from Moomie’s buns on the KA Flour website Makes 8 hamburger buns or 10 hot dog buns 1 cup boiling water 2 TB soft butter 1 egg 280g bread flour 120g whole wheat flour 48g sugar 1 tsp fine sea salt 2¼ tsp instant yeast Pour boiling water over butter in metal bowl of mixer. Stir to melt butter. When cooled to a yeast-safe temperature, add all the other ingredients. Start kneading with dough hook on low speed until combined then at a slightly higher speed until a soft, somewhat tacky dough is formed. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let it rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. For hamburger buns, transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and pat/roll it into a 12" x 17" rectangle. Starting with a short (12") end, roll the dough into a log, sealing the ends and side seam. Cut the log into eight slices. Place the buns on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten the buns till they're about 3" wide. For hot dog buns, divide dough into 10 (75g) portions. Shape each into a 4”x1” mini-loaf (see below) and arrange in 2 rows on a quarter sheet pan (long axis of the roll parallel to the long axis of the pan). Cover the shaped buns and allow them to rise till they’re very puffy, about 1 hour. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 375°F. Uncover the buns, brush them with beaten egg white/water, and sprinkle with seeds, if desired. Bake the buns for 25 to 30 minutes, until they’re brown and feel set when you poke them. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack. Hot dog shaping notes: I shape the mini loaves much like the video recently posted. Cut all the portions then shape. Pat each portion into a rectangle, about 4x3 inches. Fold the top of one of the 4 inch edges down about 1/3 of the way and push down on the edge a bit to seal it. Rotate the rectangle 360 degrees and fold the new top down to meet the old top. Press to seal. Fold in half at the crease and seal the new edge tightly. Push the ends towards each other if the mini loaf is too long. Place in the pan with the seal on the bottom. The biggest problem I have is getting them evenly spaced on the pan. I should probably draw lines on the underside of the parchment.

I can only serve tongue to my husband heavily sauced in gravy (another "pot roast") or on a sandwich with jus on the side ("french dip"). Even peeled I think he might recognize the musculature if it wasn't covered up.

Thanks.They would be prettier if I did an egg wash and seeds but I don't bother. They are therefore not perfect (plus some are not shaped perfectly) but they are very good and I can no longer eat a store-bought hot dog or hamburger bun. After they are completely cool I wrap them individually in foil and freeze. Ten minutes in the toaster oven and they are almost as good as they are the day they are baked.

Thanks for starting this thread - I might learn some helpful pseudonyms!

Try calling it grits, or grilled grits. I have to call souffle "baked eggs", braised lamb shoulder "pot roast", etc.

When you get a chance will you post a pic or 2 of your tomato peeling trick? Thanks

hot dog buns

Remington park opens on Friday and the meet runs well into the fall/early winter. I think It is closer to either of you than you are to each other! If you come when one of my husband's horses run you can come in the saddling paddock and if we are lucky, the winner's circle.

Last year while driving home from visiting family in Atlanta I was lucky enough to stumble upon the Music City Food and Wine Festival. I enjoyed it so much that I am planning a trip to attend this year as well. I have a question that is not addressed on the website and I did not get a reply to my email inquiry sent almost one month ago. I'm hoping someone here has attended both days in the past or is otherwise knowledgeable about the event and can tell me if the food offerings at the Grand Tasting are the same both days. http://www.musiccityfoodandwinefestival.com/

Kerry - thanks pbear - good points, will keep them in mind andie - will be doing squash as you describe

Will a food mill successfully remove the skins from corn kernels? I've been making a corn soup and like it velvety so have been using a strainer. It works but takes a long time.

thanks. Parm and pepper jack. Recipe called for parm and Fontina but I needed to use up the pepper jack.

Foccacia using a modified Tartine country dough and the oil and water emulsion technique I learned on this site. Sorry I forgot a crumb shot.

Tomato pie - so good!

Never heard of such a thing. Unless that's what you would call what I eat while I clean up after the meal.

Thanks for recommending this recipe. I made it tonight and it was delicious. The poblanos I used are the hottest I have ever tasted. I only used half as much as called for in the recipe and it was plenty. Too bad because poblanos are generally a favorite. I didn't have crema so used 2:1 heavy cream:sour cream and thought it was an acceptable sub. Do you have the original Mexican Everyday? I made the creamy corn soup from that book and was a little disappointed. It wasn't "corny" enough.

Many others have addressed the slicing issue. Re. the water issue, I frequently use my salad spinner to rinse and dry both broccoli and cauliflower.

I lived in central Michigan from the mid-70s to mid-90s and bought milk in a bag from a chain called "Quality Dairy". They were half-gallons and were put in a pitcher for pouring. I have no idea if they are still sold. Loved their Death by Chocolate ice cream and ingested many a cone while driving between horse farms. They had really good chocolate chip cookies too. Those were the days when I could (and did) eat anything!

I use slivered blanched almonds or sunflower seeds. Cashews is a good idea - might try that next.

Just used it to see if my oven had cooled enough from baking bread (the ugliest loaf of rye imaginable) to put in my thinly sliced zucchini for my zucchini chips experiment.

I bought a very inexpensive one quite some years ago and have found it useful for a couple things: - checking the temp of liquids (while or immediately after stirring); useful for knowing if it's safe to add yeast to the milk I scalded - checking the surface temp of my pre-heating non-stick skillet after posts here freaked me out; don't remember the number but was surprised at how low it was

I learned a new word recently - "hangry". I can get that way.