AlaMoi

... I'm doing old fashion crank meat grinder - no 'food processor' involved . . . tips on the adds / etc are appreciated! tomorrow is 'start day' - will post results....

I fried it "my mom's way" - and next event was requested for "more crust" - it's definitely like mac&cheese - _very_ dependent on prior experiences . . . those who gag - well, they're missing some stuff . . . same as Spam - it's a savory product which those who never ate it, hate it. albeit . . . scrapple is a huge more variable product than mass produced Spam . . . weird side bars . . . . I was a weekend house guest . . . and the host served up scrambled eggs . . . and, as I wolfed into it, he asked 'do you know what that is? calf brains, said he . . .' expecting I suppose some 'shocked' reaction - but my grandparents, where I spent half-summers, were late age pioneers - no phone, no electricity, farm it, raise it, butcher it, or starve . . . so . . . basically: 'been there done that" so I asked for seconds.... my host was a Rhodes Scholar and family scion,,, of Bilger Brewery (Germany) - currently those recipes being 'brought back' as mega-breweries seek to establish a niche position.

grew up eating Spam now and then - I like it - sometimes found on local buffets. I rarely buy it because the can size is too much for two people.... now, let's talk scrapple! that'll get things going. a cousin, now living 'down under,' came for a extended visit - and requested scrapple. everyone identifies scrapple as Amish, but it's a bit more pioneering spread that just Amish. she remembers her grandmother making it, big pot in the backyard . . . they lived on the Maryland east shore, and they were not Amish.... 'back in the day' people used everything - they did not have the luxury of 'not bothering.'

I have a round one -very similar to the pix - fits the 10" fry pans. had a rectangular one - which worked fine on a griddle, but not so good in a round pan. bacon, sausage, grilled sandwiches, burgers, ham steaks . . . the usual length of bacon is too long for a 10" pan - I cut the strips in half, the round press then handles the smaller pieces much better - bearing in mind I'm cooking for two . . . not a useful trick for a family of xx ....

our butcher does super ham hocks. got one on the simmer, last 4 hours..... beans (cannellini ) / onion / whole black peppercorns . . . included. there will be leftovers. I'm thinking to process the leftover ham hock meat into "deviled ham" any ideas / experience in doing that?

if one substitutes "liver wurst" for spam - search engines produce near identical hate posts. my all time favorite: them: "I hate liver!" me: "how was it cooked?" them: "don't know, never had it."

I've had it go both ways - people starving pre-dinner, ate-out whole platters . . . people grazing before lunch , , , lots of left-overs . . . camping excursion . . . limited fridge raids opportunities . . . I'd go to the higher side. btw, cheese and cold cut snacks are appreciated by wild life. so pack out the trash, but the weighty contents can be tossed - presuming it's not some ultra-human populated trail/area and there's a plentiful bear population to greet you, not a good idea. smaller omnivores are much less a problem.

' . . . melding of flavors . . .'

veddy interestink . . . I've done the peeling thing - semi-success(i) depending on stalk . . . do you split the entire 'tip to stalk-end' in half - or just the stalk portion? (creating a Y-shaped tip&stalk thingie?) I have a couple favs that do best with trimmed tips - I save the stalks for 'other' ala soup kinds of stuff.... the tips are rarely anything but super-tender - stalks can run to other descriptions . . .

that recipe and many similar are just fine - many 'fillings' will work. the one area I'm careful about is the asparagus spears. the lower / stalk ends can be tough / hard - and when the guest tries to cut into the dish, the effort often 'destroys' the careful construction. 'woody ends' are a definite no-no for asparagus wrapped spears.... unless the stalk are extremely tender, I like to steam cook the spears 4-6 minutes rather than relying on the oven bake to cook them tender. ........and if that does not "work as expected" - serve with very sharp steak knives . . .

short version of long story . . . my grandparents had five children. during the depression/WW2, my grandfather raised rabbits as meat for the table. with some success, they all survived and he traded rabbit meat for . . . all manner of other things they needed . . . fast forward to 1986, my parents and grandmother were visiting us in Germany. at a restaurant specializing in 'wild game' - my grandmother ordered Hasenpfeffer - and then added she had not had rabbit in 40+ years . . . having eaten her fill 'back then' - later asked my uncle (their youngest child) about that and he quite readily confirmed . . . 'we ate a lot of rabbit' anyway a good time was had by all . . .

. . . .the kid has talent . . . fur' sur'

just checked the receipt, yesterday - mid-central PA - Giant supermarket . . . one dozen USDA Grade A white eggs - $1.80

"expiration / best by / use by" dates in USA (note: USA is not the whole world...) are - with a single exception - dates established by the manufacturer, typically cited as "timeframe for best quality" being a bit non-conformist, I don't hesitate to use stuff that is days to months "out of date" (depending on the foodstuff) - but two years on a (non-pasteurized) meat product most definitely exceeds my bounds. I would not use/eat the stuff at this point.

regrets I have no specific info - obviously the qty would depend on "and how many loaves are we making next week?" for a single loaf, attending various 'historical re-enactments' - I'd say something on the order of 40-50 grams.

yup. there are items which make a tasty lunch - e.g. flat iron steak typically comes in at 12 ounces , , , remainder thin sliced makes really nifty sandwich . . . salmon/steelhead - filet chunks make a yummy lunch . . . etc etc but this kind of 'leftover' is too small for 'dinner-for-two' certain/some stews / casseroles do produce dinner size leftovers - and those need to be incorporated into the 'week menu planning' cycle. example: went to Costco. cannot leave without a rotisserie chicken . . . which is two meals for us, , , and with left over tuna noodle casserole already in the fridge,,, menu plan adjustment(s) required....

unbaked - 'raw dough' baking kills the yeast.

. . . .this video . . . well, that really nothing different than saving a chunk of starter from one week to the next - as bakers have been doing for literally centuries. once you have a starter going, and using it regularly, there is no need for the 'add&discard' bashed in the video. you can make your own starter - it takes about ten days, and 'from scratch' does 'require' the add&discard routine to build up the yeast colony in the starter. the issue whot occurs to me: how many people are baking a sourdough loaf every week? I see posts where people produce stunningly beautiful loaves - 3,4,5,,,, we can't eat that much bread in a week . . . it's a reality issue.... one can buy a sourdough starter packet/powder . . . well, thinking that will continue to produce 'genuine SF sourdough' is not exactly correct. for many years the theory was 'wild yeasts' drifting through the atmosphere and into your kitchen were responsible for "flavor drift." now that the DNA types have joined the fray, seems yeasts in/on the flour itself are responsible. another batch of scientists recovered - and propagated - yeast from multi-thousand year old Egyptian tombs, then brewed "the real beer of the Pharaohs . . ." - and promptly pronounced it 'terrible beer' so, , , , yeast is really sturdy stuff, which put me onto the idea of freezing a starter for multi-week/month later use. . . . like - make your starter, keep it in the freezer for (pre-planning req'd) - dang good sourdough 'as needed' put some saved bits of the last loaves in the freezer for next 'as needed' . . .

recipes need a sanity check for serving size, and serving quantities. I've seen it go both ways - 20 servings @2 ounces each (!) and the other extreme, , , four pounds of potatoes for 4 servings . . . just made an apple crumb pie - it's in the oven - recipe from Food Network. note to self.... don't try to put three pounds of apples in a 9 inch pie pan - it does not work . . . with a couple of intentional exceptions, I try to reduce recipes to two-people-no-left-overs. tonight is pork chop & spaetzle - so food waste has been rescued by an apple compote side dish. apples and pork are a good combo. actually I'd just baked the remainder and eaten it with a spoon comma anyway . . .

yeast is pretty dang sturdy stuff . . . while back I did a 10(?) day buckwheat pancake starter ala' my/our grandmother (in the 60's) - worked splendidly.... cousins were into it for seconds.... apparently buckwheat pancakes with homegrown yeast starter be still a thing.... altho.... they all turned down the black strap molasses and went for real maple syrup instead . . . . wimps were them, mused I . . . has anyone tried freezing 'starter' in ice cube tray size for later use? seems would be pretty low maintenance method . . .

I've tried the multiple cheeses thing - the results are not impressive . . . two is my limit, 100% cheddar is my usual. Colby was once a fav, but the store brand changed (?somehow?) and the new stuff did not melt well - picking the 'right' cheese can be trial&error . . .

jeesh, all I get a crummy plastic bag . . .

rule of thumb: soaked beans from dried beans are 2.0 - 2.2 heavier. (one big exception is black beans - they increase 8x in weight....) one pound would become 2-2.2 pounds soaked the problem with canned beans is the net weight includes the juices. to get 35 ounces of drained canned beans , , , my guess would be at minimum three 15 ounce cans, I'd get four cans - start with three cans, do the drain and weigh bit . . .

there are quite a few different "scallop" edge designs - below is my Wuesthof bread knife - which I sharpen/"touch up" using a round pencil/dowel (of suitable diameter) wrapped with fine grit wet/dry sandpaper. strokes on an angle, one gullet at a time. some scallop designs are essentially not possible . . . you could likely do the wavy bits in similar fashion - but two separate operations. first the gullets, using a round device, then the peaks using a very narrow flat piece (wet/dry paper glued on...)

check the definition of macaroni . . . it is a definition equally as defined as bow-ties, spiral, penne, ziti, rotini, etc, etc, etc. my mac&cheese does actual include the tomato issue. . .