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AlaMoi

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  1. AlaMoi

    Berkshire Pork

    in our area,,,, at least,,,, seeking farms that raise heirloom pork is a pretty short search. there aren't a lot of them, they focus on pastured pork, not magically 'finished' with grains etc. and their annual production is rather small. they are not into industrial pork production..... one fellow told me just 2-3 (higher end) restaurants could completely absorb his total annual production - he actively restricts sales to them so that he has something left to sell at retail (with obviously better margins...) - heh, they gotta' feed their family! altho Rooster Street has "fresh" - when I put a pick-up order it is frozen. because they do not do 'industrial' they slaughter at specific times of the year. outside of those time windows, it's frozen only.... usually I'll pick up a fresh/thawed tenderloin + a raft of frozen chops + 1-2 frozen tenderloin. they raise only Berkshire; to get / try the other heirloom breeds is only via mail order.
  2. well, if they don't have small cartons to pack it, why are the coffee creamers and half-half, etc, etc, . . . all on the shelf in larger containers? if they're not packing heavy cream in small or large containers, are they just pouring it down the drain? seems to me there's some mega-lies in circulation . . .
  3. ... how can there be . . . indeed - "news" sources blame it on supply chain issues and labor shortages . . . apparently when the tanker trucks bring the raw milk from the dairy farm to the creamery, somebody steals the cream bits enroute. I found some from a small local creamery - they are strictly organic - and it's a small operation so I guess they've managed.
  4. I have - the potentially not accurate... - impression most Asian cooking uses coconut "cream" vs cow cream?
  5. yeah. I have shelf stable ultra pasteurized (Amazon) whipping on order.... not something I need every week, but as there some artificial shortage in vogue, I opt to do best for me and screw the high demand price nuts.
  6. been searching . . . apparently the shortage of heavy cream dates back into 2022 - thought would be resolved by 2023.... obviously didn't happen. all the usual mouth music - supply chain issues, labor shortages . . . all total BS - cream comes from raw milk, and there has never ever been a milk shortage - trifle hard to believe creameries are simply throwing away the cream because they have some supply chain / labor issue with putting it into cartons....or finding a truck to move it to markets alongside the milk . . .
  7. anyone seeing empty shelves with no heavy (whipping) cream available? this has been an on going issue at our local Giant. DW checked with Weis this AM - no stock - employee stated no stock and nothing 'coming in' what are the dairies doing with all the cream from the no-fat, low-fat, 1%, 2% milk? there is no shortage of those . . .
  8. follow-up to the Balocco . . . [[[please note: no one in this house is any kind of expert on panettone - our experience is limited to the crummy cardboard supermarket stuff - bought once, never went back . . .]]]] got the Amazon order of the Balocco panettone. excellent stuff - fresh, moist, tender, good taste and texture. I really can't name a 'common pastry' in USA that is similar. obviously, no cardboard was harmed in the baking of this brand. tad pricey - but good stuff.
  9. AlaMoi

    Berkshire Pork

    with minor differences . . . spot on to my madness. 7.5% brine - but not more than three hours quick brown, low oven finish - that's my usual for 'supermarket" pork - if one can get heirloom pork, the difference in taste & texture is pretty big . . . but heirloom varieties are typically not in the supermarket. I've been on our butcher's case for 10 years about retailing heirloom - but with no success. it's a stand alone butcher shop - the customer base are folks looking for 'a cut above' - personally I think he's missing a big boat... fwiw, these are the widely recognized 'heirloom' varieties / sources: heritage pork Berkshire www.heritagepork.com heritage pork Berkshire + (?) www.dartagnan.com heritage pork Berkshire fossilfarms.com NJ heritage pork Berkshire pig, Kurobuta is a heritage pork that comes from Japan. heritage pork Berkshire Rooster Street 54 N Broad St, Lititz PA Thur 11a-3p Fri 11a-6p Sat 8a-5p Sun 8a-3 heritage pork breeds berkshire(UK) / Duroc / Old Spot / Tamworth / Large Black heritage pork Duroc www.creekstonefarms.com "Duroc meat is crisp and clean known for great marbling and polished texture its taste is approachable on the palate." heritage pork http://www.heritagepork.com/aboutus heritage pork https://cairncrestfarm.com/ heritage pork https://www.allenbrothers.com/category/shop-pork heritage pork https://www.canterhillfarm.org/heritage-pork - Malvern PA Duroc & Berkshire heritage pork https://www.dartagnan.com/ heritage pork https://www.snakeriverfarms.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=pork heritage pork Mangalitsa pigs, Berkshire www.pastureprimewagyu.com FL heritage pork red wattle "Described as a cross between pork and beef, Red Wattle is floral and robust, concentrated and bold" heritage pork Red Wattle and heritage Gloucester Old Spot cross devonpointfarm.com CT heritage pork Tamworth & Red Wattle - heritagefoods.com NYC heritage pork Tamworth owensfarm.com (PA) 1/4 pig sampler $300 heritage pork www.wagonwheelranch.org - Mount Airy MD
  10. AlaMoi

    Berkshire Pork

    never done stuff sous vide - I prefer the old fashion way . . . . we have a semi-local source for Berkshire pork Rooster Street Butcher in Lititz PA it's a hike but we generally go twice a year and stock up on really good pork.
  11. AlaMoi

    Berkshire Pork

    Lidia does Milanese style and explicitly likes Berkshire pork . . . here: https://www.today.com/recipes/lidia-bastianich-s-pork-chops-milanese-recipe-t174227
  12. indeed - raw egg as a stuffing binder seems would produce something bordering on a bread custard. "my stuffing" is more frangible - it does not combine to a solid mass.
  13. I'm a smidge confused . . . "eggs in stuffing" in my childhood-family-realm meant chopped-hard-boiled-bits mixed in with the stale bread / et.al. stuff. my fav is Pepperidge Farm - with diced onion + celery + mushroom added - using a not-specified stick/115g butter melted in the (usually) chicken broth liquid add. it is pretty 'sticky' - not sure how an egg binder would help....
  14. I insist on stuffing the bird. and since I'm the cook, that's how it happens around here . . .
  15. mercy . . . I would never have guessed I'd carry these around so long . . . some may not be there anymore. www.traditionaloven.com http://www.mnn.com/the-home/household-products/stories/from-laid-off-to-bread-winning-baker-thanks-to-a-100-diy-oven-0 http://www.motherearthnews.com/Modern-Homesteading/Clay-Oven-Bread-Business.aspx http://www.scribd.com/doc/8451084/Building-A-Bread-Oven http://www.scribd.com/doc/46547439/Clay-Oven-Building-Instructions-Web http://small-scale.net/yearofmud/2009/09/12/build-your-own-20-outdoor-cob-oven-for-great-bread-and-pizza/ http://www.ovencrafters.net/ http://www.gulland.ca/homenergy/brickoven.htm http://www.nakedwhiz.com/firebricks.htm
  16. bagging is a science perfected by experience and absence of "I don't give a rat's xss" - and frankly imho the success of any bagger also depends on the sequence of how items are put on the belt. there's only so much they can do when you put 20 cans of vegetables on the belt after the potato chips have been scanned and bagged . . . one market here has a turntable bag holder - so the checker can check&bag in one fell swoop (almost...) another has - sometimes.... - checkers and baggers. more frequently checkers no baggers. the management moved all the peons - who actually make things work . . . - to part time. so,,, count thee not on any specific level of service . . . I have no beef with their reaction "You want me to come in for two hours and micro$$ to do what?" for self-scan . . . the sequence you shop and sequence you pull things out of the cart . . . drastically affects your success in getting home with 12 unbroken eggs....
  17. there are a number of pecan types - they do differ! I like the papershell variety - they are thin enough to crack in your palm (two pecans squeezed against each other....) went looking for the list - this is a decent write up: https://thepecannation.com/blog/different-types-of-pecans/
  18. yup. green onion / scallion / .... creme fraiche + "real" speck another dressed with diced ham & mushroom & basil & black olives . . . many many variations on 'authentic'
  19. this does a good job at producing intact halves - I see it's labelled 'vintage' - so not sure if they're still available...
  20. try parchment paper - I got some rounds - bakes up like as soon as it comes out of the oven it goes on a rack - so that the bottom does not go soggy from steaming...
  21. AlaMoi

    Crab Cakes

    broiled or fried, either way they have to be flipped . . . so "binder" can be essentially same. what really makes a really bad crab cake is too much filler - it's a crab cake, not a bread crumb cake . . .
  22. AlaMoi

    Crab Cakes

    arrrgh! been to the west coast. done had dungeness crab. made a point of it . . . on the plate, in a sourdough bowl . . . symps to the west coast crowd - but dungeness just ain't real crab..... panko will work as crumb - as would (staled) white/french/whole wheat . . . bread . but me thinks the corn flake crumbs be one of the nuances of this recipe. then again, I'm pretty dang sure no one on the Delaware Bay side of the world used corn flake crumbs . . .
  23. almost 100% of searches for "stuffed dates" turn up all manner of cheese&company approaches. these are 'non-ueber stuffed' dates . . . old time holiday "sweet treats" - goes along with stuff like "Christmas goose" - a dish rarely done in "modern" Christmas days . . . .
  24. AlaMoi

    Crab Cakes

    for decades I struggled to make crab cakes ala "my kid recollection" tried bazillions of "recipes" - and pretty much all of the mayo approach types failed "uber miserably" DW found a 3x5 car tucked in as a bookmark in a totally unrelated book, from her mother.... it's working . . presented here with a few undocumented updates and 'tasty' extrapolations. 1 lb / 450 g steamed and picked crab meat 2 eggs - large 1/4 c finely diced onion 35-40g 1/4 c "crumbs" side notation, and highly recommended: Corn Flake crumbs 20-25g(*) 3 T / 39g mayo 1 T / 15g yellow mustard light sprinkle of Old Bay for seasoning, approx. 1 teaspoon per pound, to taste. recommended: "blue claw" aka Callinectes sapidus; "lump" size, "Jumbo lump" not needed explicitly DIS-recommended - swimming/asian/south american = Portunus armatus formerly Portunus pelagicus. (sigh) this is the typical supermarket crab, pasteurized in cans .... it does not have the same taste as real blue claw crab; if you grew up with Delaware/Chesapeake Bay crab - you'll be sorely disappointed with the 'swimming crab' and I wasted a lot of $/fake crab can and time trying to replicate the 'real deal' technique: drain the crab meat. depending on vendor/source, it will have more/less water content. put into an overly large bowl, cursory check for shell "oops." use a fork to break up any clumps of crab meat. sprinkle the diced onion/crumbs/Old Bay over the crab meat, use a spatulas or spurtle to fold and blend with the crab meat. "stirring" is not a good method - avoid breaking up the crab meat. in a smaller bowl, use a hand/electric whisk to combine / beat eggs + mayo + mustard a homogeneous mixture works best. spread the liquid mix over the crab and toss to coat and combine. the crab mix is "loose" - portion it out for 4 to 6 crab cakes, lightly hand squeeze to compact into patties. (*) I crush extra corn flake crumbs 'just in case' more are needed to eliminate free liquids in the patty mix. (recommended) refrigerate the patties for at least two hours, so they "set up" tasty option adds: - diced pimento - capers - 0.5 tsp creamy horseradish to egg/mayo/mustard mix looks like: (+ pan steamed spinach + cornbread . . .)
  25. oh, , , it's the recipe that is . . . my grandmother related making this "holiday treat" as a pre-teen - she was born in 1898 - "Christmas" was celebrated with slight differences to today . . . pitted medjool dates are recommended - due to size and shape. the recipe is incredible difficult and time consuming . . . NOT! roasted salted/unsalted whole almonds as one stuffs, do check the pitted dates for those few that did not get pitted, and more often,,,, a piece of the stem still attached. stuff the dates with an almond nut, drop into powdered sugar / toss to coat / store in bowl of powdered sugar . . . here's the remainder of the thousand words:
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