Thanks for the Crepes

Josh71, Lobsters have no "hard bones", just an external carapace that can be quite daunting with bare hands, but it cannot stand up to any decent sharp knife. I still stand by my advice to use the broiler to get your desired Maillard reaction. But good luck to you!

Mercy, huiray, You are slaying me with your excellent renditions of clam pasta!

jrshaul, I used to make cakes with nothing but a whisk when I was younger, and before I was birthday gifted with a hand-held Sunbeam mixer in the late 80's that I still use to this day. I got this because I made a lot of the family's BD cakes, and happened to mention I didn't have an electric mixer. It's absolutely possible to make great cakes without any electrical equipment at all, after all they were made many, many centuries before lots of us had electricity, but if you have a hand-held, it's even very easy. You don't need a special recipe, just a whisk and some effort, or a hand mixer (much cheaper than a stand) works just fine.

Josh71, I just reread your original post and picked up on something else that would lead to your overcooked lobster results. Don't let it get "cold, room temp" if you intend to cook it further. Let it cool off just until you can handle it without scalding yourself, do what you want to do (split, empty the thorax), stuff it quickly or whatever with your already prepared stuffing, paint it with butter, and immediately throw under a preheated very hot broiler. Keeping it as hot as possible before it goes under your scorching broiler will help it brown quickly and keep it from toughening on you. Use paper towels or a clean cloth towel to protect your holding hand while you work with your knife with the other. I think you'll get better results. Lobster is a lovely and expensive protein, and it's always a crying shame to me when it's overcooked.

Wow Shel_B! Our US health inspectors would be having conniption fits over it, but that is one very glorious celebration of meat! I can only imagine how good the results of such a gargantuan effort put into producing good barbecue might be, but I am sure having a wonderful time doing it. Thanks, and I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one to appreciate more photos and backstory if you have it.

I made more dosa tonight and served them to my husband for the first time. I had kept the filling very capsaicin tame for him. He didn't join me last night because he was sick, and I could crank out a ham and grilled cheese quicker before he retired to bed. He liked them and agreed to have a couple more for lunch tomorrow. He did comment about there not being any meat in it, but acknowledged that they were very good anyway. I ate one plain, and I have to tell you, that the flavor was much better today. No longing for more salt, just plenty of flavor on its own. So I still conclude that if you want paper thin dosa, you should go to a restaurant. If you want a tasty, thin accessible wrapper make regular crepes. I agree with Suvir Sarin's (legacy member) comments upthread that usually dosas aren't really as good at home.

Josh71, I would just boil the lobster to doneness, unless I was going to stuff it after with a nice crab (crab is already cooked under US law unless they are bought live), tomalley or roe stuffing or something. Boiled lobster really can't be improved by "roasting" IMO. It just dries it out and toughens it. If you want to hollow out the throrax and stuff if with something lovely, yes, undercook as you have said, but IMO 7 minutes is most of the way to cooked. I only cook them 10 or 11 min. depending on size, unless they are truly outliers. Then, I would also paint the exposed surfaces of the lobster with melted butter after stuffing it to keep the drying to a minimum, and put them under a strong broiler, not a roast technique.

I love King Arthur's recipe for Quick Beer Crust Pizza: http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/quick-beer-crust-pizza-recipe It packs a real flavor punch for so little time and effort. I spread it thinner than the 10 to 12" rounds they call for in the recipe. It's made me abandon, at least for the time being, my recipe developed over the years that calls for a long, slow cold ferment. I also enjoy broccoli cheese soup with some beer added. Beer bread is good too. It's just a quick bread, usually made with self-rising flour, but is good enough that I made it for a big lobster fest we had for Christmas one year, and everyone loved it. Beer brings a lot to the table as an ingredient, I think.

I cooked some dosa tonight. The first one was way too thick and not salty enough, so I added water and salt. The next one was thinner and still not salty enough for me, but I was afraid to add too much salt and interfere with the fermentation. I kept adding water between cooking each one, but the last one I cooked still wasn't as paper thin and crisp as the ones from my Indian restaurant. Mine were also much lacier with bigger bubbles and holes. Maybe paper thin style dosa are better left to the experts, but mine were certainly satisfactory, quite good in fact. My potato filling was much tastier than the bland, soggy version I was offered and did not eat at the restaurant last time, so overall, I'm happy with my results, and will cook some more dosa tomorrow with the leftover batter. Many thanks to everyone who offered inspiration and advice.

I soaked the rice and pintos together, and then tonight I read through the stuff I'd collected years ago and filed away on hard copy in my permanent recipe file. I read just a little, then realized they all called for polished (skinless) urad dal so, I decided I'd better peel the pinto beans. I surely was grateful I'd decided to make a small batch for this experiment with only 1/2 c. pintos. I really wished I had read a little further at the point, when before I ground anything, I did read more and realized all the recipes/instructions called for the legumes and rice to be ground separately. Well that hadn't happened, so after I had fished every single bean out of the mixture and peeled it (ala Marcella Hazan), I had to go back and separate the beans and rice. After the peeling, which was accomplished while watching "Thelma and Louise" seated at the kitchen table, the separation was a cakewalk. Then I ground them separately in my old Osterizer blender. It wasn't much more difficult than a pitcher of frozen margaritas, but it did require some rests for the electric motor. It was actually harder to grind the rice smooth. I'd been scared of the beans, but they took a much shorter time. I soaked everything together for a couple of days instead of the recommended one to save my blender. I figured It'd be easier to grind and if it wanted to do any fermenting, it could do it whole instead of ground too. That seemed to work well, because it was only on the counter for about five hours before it started really bubbling. I've stuck it into the fridge for tomorrow night's dinner to delay the ferment. I plan to make a spiced mashed potato mixture with peas and separate spinach and Western cheese mixture to stuff them. ETA: Thanks again hummingbirdkiss for your laissez faire, laid back attitude toward this recipe. This would never have happened without your post. I get too scared of things, like crepes and Indian crepes. But I will walk to the Indian grocery and buy polished urad dal next time, because it's just easier and less time consuming than peeling pintos, even though they seem to be working well so far.

Hassouni, I have found Kumatos and also Campari's at my local Trader Joe's, although the Campari's are not as consistently available, and I prefer them. It's the only place I can afford them. I also like Scarlet Pearl grape tomatoes available from my regular grocery for a reasonable $2.79 for a 10 oz./1 pint package for off-season tomatoes. They taste good, seem to go further than larger tomatoes and make a colorful and tasty garnish, even when you use just a few. Let's face it; if we want tasty tomatoes off-season, we are going to have to pay for them. I'd never heard Smithy's Garrison Keillor quote before, but I've always (at least for the past few decades) referred to grocery store mainstream tomatoes as "styromates". I would rather go without than eat a pink, mealy styromate. I pick them out of restaurant food if offered. Edited: The Scarlet Pearls are labeled a product of Mexico, but also bear the name of Red Sun Farms out of Kingsville, ON. They are a staple at this time of year. It's very interesting to me that Canada, which I have always thought of as the "Great White North", is the king of North American winter tomatoes.

Wow, Anna N, Your egg and potato salad sure looks good. Mmmm! I never make potato salad without eggs, but have never seen such a high ratio of eggs, which turns your dish into a simple protein-rich entree. Excellent cook on the boiled eggs too. I'll be copying your idea this summer for sure. Did you dress maybe just the potatoes in vinaigrette or something? Did you serve it warm or cold? I suspect it would be delicious either way.

I'm with huiray on the heavy, greasy mouth feel of olive oil. I love it salads, but a little goes a long, long way. I use it to oil the pan when baking pizza, but sparingly. A little EVOO in a marina is good, but I never add it to meat sauce, which already has plenty of animal fat. I too would never use olive oil with Chinese or other Asian food. I use lots of butter too for cooking, harrysnapperorgans. It's especially good for seafood and eggs or sauteing vegetables. I'd still eat crab or lobster without melted butter to put in my candlelit butter warmers to dip it in, but it sure wouldn't be as much fun, and I can't think of a single thing that could successfully be substituted for the butter here.

Thanks for your reply and video bague25, I just knew that expensive electrical equipment wasn't necessary for this ancient dish!

Hello Ania Bielecka, Welcome to eGullet, and thanks for the pierogies recipe. It has piqued my interest to make them homemade, although I have access to good frozen ones.

Well, okay ya'll. There's been no more activity on this thread, and I suspect the people I really wanted to hear from are Indians without power or internet connections, so here goes. I just put one 1/2 c. pinto beans and 1 c. basmati rice because that is what I had to soak tonight. Following mostly hummingbirdkiss's instructions. I will risk my ancient blender to grind it. When I start to smell the motor, I'll give it a rest to cool off. Hummingbirdkiss, when you say, "let it sit on the counter until it looks and smells fermented (about 48 hours for me)" do you mean covered or uncovered? Anyone else who can provide input as to covered or uncovered (or anything else at all) is most welcome and appreciated to reply as well.

Way to save dinner, Chris! Glad you and yours are okay and no damage to your property. Tornadoes are very, very scary things.

This video is kind of long, but I found it pretty entertaining.

Hi Anna, The appetizer platter from Lemongrass looks most appealing. Like, rotuts, I can't identify and am very curious about the black outer wrapping of Kerry's wrap from your catered lunch. It almost looks like black inedible paper.

Norm, Deep-fried red bell peppers is something I have never heard of, and while I might prefer a little less breading than in your lovely photo, it's an idea I will keep well in mind for the next time I find good red bells. I love sweet red peppers, and what isn't improved by frying and then being well drained and blotted? Just curious, did you come up with the idea or have you seen it before?

Good to know on the white cheddar "baconesque" popcorn. I love white cheddar popcorn, but the "bacon-like seasoning" is surprising for TJ's which prides itself on natural real food ingredients and minimal additives at an affordable price.

Smithy, I used to grow tomatoes in containers, and the best containers I used were large square ones made by Rubbermaid, and had a water reservoir tray and a special wick you installed for transferring water from the tray to the soil. They were about 3' x 3' x 3 feet deep, and I've never had a problem with blossom end rot. I only grew one plant per pot. The containers were too heavy for me to move, so I placed them where I wanted them before filling and planting. My husband could move them. I don't know if they still make them, but they were more expensive than regular containers, last for many years, and are well worth it IMO. I think blossom end rot is caused by insufficient calcium being delivered to rapidly growing fruits. Tomatoes need plenty of space and well-drained, not too compact and dense soil in order to develop a sufficient root ball to deliver water, calcium and other nutrients to the plant. I never replaced the soil from year to year, but added some to top off the container if it had settled or the organic matter in it had decayed or been "eaten". A little bone meal mixed in with the soil helps if the soil you're growing in is calcium deficient. Also don't fertilize too much once your plants have set fruit and are growing rapidly. The biggest factor, though is to give the plant space and good soil or the roots won't be adequate to deliver nutrients to the plant no matter how available they may be in the soil. I don't know that I'd leave basil out below about 50F.

djyee100, Thank you so much for that link about pouring boiling water on poison ivy. You probably saved me a lot of pain. It sounded like a good idea in theory. Apparently a terrible idea in practice.

Deryn, Dandelions are good in a salad; poison ivy not so much. Oh how I hate that stuff, and I don't seem to be allergic. (Crossed fingers, and any other mojo I can muster.) I've been known to get in a tizzy about it, don gardening gloves, glasses, and start ripping it out wholesale. I always jump in the shower afterwards, but it's probably providence that I have not been eaten up by it. When I get in one of my tizzies, I rip it up from the ground by the roots and pull it down from the trees it climbs. The roots/runners grow twenty feet or longer. Its poisonous oils are of course, spraying everywhere. I'm really grateful for Dave W's idea about a much saner way to attack this horrible weed, because doc's will tell you that allergies may develop at any time in your life, especially if you push it, like I've been doing. This poison ivy actually killed my blackberry bushes and grapevines. I didn't know that was even possible, but they are kaput. The grapes especially were really good, and not something you could buy anywhere. ETA: I also tie a scarf around my nose and mouth to prevent breathing any sprayed oils, but do not try this at home or anywhere! I still can't believe I've gotten away with it so far. I knew a woman who could be downwind of the undisturbed weeds and wind up literally in the hospital.

Thanks Dave W, I will try this on a much smaller scale. I despise the poison ivy that grows so prolifically in my yard, and this sounds like a good way to kill the roots without creating a permanent biohazard. I'd never thought of this before, but at least in theory, it sounds like a really good idea. Once the water cools, it should have killed the unwanted roots, and pose no hazard at all to more desirable vegetation growing back.