AlaMoi

anyone tried reducing the fat content of pie crust to a minimum? (it's the LDL thing....) the typical old school recipes use one stick of butter (4oz) per crust.... I've reduced the butter in - for example - drop biscuits from 6 T to 3 T - the only effect noted is less butter dripping off the sheet and smoking up the house when it burns on the oven floor.... taste/texture seems to be unchanged at 50% we enjoy homemade pot pies of every sort - so I've been looking for a way to avoid two full stick = 1/2 pound of fat/butter in a double crusted pot pie.....

heated oil / fat in a pan, any pan, will "crawl" into a pattern, the pattern varies quite wildly by gas/electric/induction/quartz light/etc. the pattern makes itself more/less evident with the depth of oil/fat in the pan. deep = no pattern the basic reason is: liquids gather together - aka coalesce - based on their surface tension, which varies by temperature. on a gas top with fingers/grates to support the pan, you get a pattern resembling the grate. coiled electric elements - you get a spiral == coil pattern induction leaves the middle dry as the edges heat more.....

soft doughs in "pans" always rise fast/quicker/more around the edges. makes common sense - that's where the heat is..... is is also not at all uncommon for doughs to "rise up then sink" as they finish cooking / and or cool. except that around the edges, doughs may stick to the walls. an issue noted in souffles, for example - butter/sugar the wall of the pan/pot so the souffle can more easily "climb" . . . multiple xxxxx-berry buckles and xxxx-fruit cobblers exhibit that behavior. if I don't turn back the oven temp when the edges are set to a 'pretty& browned' stage - the middle eventually gets done but the edges wind up burnt/dry/crispy/un-nice..... the mini-craters on the bottom is likely due to water content in butter in / near directly in contact with the baking surface aka pan/sheet/stone.... the water "explodes" when turning to steam and makes a hole....

mentally we try to do two "out" dinners a month. I do most of the cooking, from scratch, so it's a nice treat for me to sit down and order something that takes lots of detail and effort and have it plated up for consumption.....but only if it's really good. nuked frozen stuff I can do at home..... some of the best restos in our area have gone belly up - closed, not reopening.... pretty serious OMGs. we simply have not been able to maintain a 2x/mo routine. we did manage to sneak in a really super anniversary dinner between the cracks of 'closed' - 'partial' - 'somewhat' covid restrictions. the good news is one of (my favs) restos that folded (Milton Inn) will be reopened by spectacular Chef Cindy Wolf of Baltimore fame. she got biggie shoes to fill from prior - but I have mucho faith - she's good, really good.... lunch po' boys better than NOLA and/or DelMonico

hmmm. eel skinning clamp. eel is much more popular in Europe than US....

looks to squeeze or hold something that - that is already tapered in width and thickness or to squeeze&taper&elongate in thickness like a dough. the mechanism appears to "lock" at specific 'thickness' - so squeeze&taper&elongate would be tedious. 'holding' a cheese wedge comes to mind - but I doubt it....

the oven light bulb does a decent job of bread rising.... should work gas or electric.

here's a mini-pullman, bit pricey.... https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tiger-crown-Steel-Square-Bread-Mold-with-Lid-baking-pan-2375-shipfree-from-Japan/143385827346?hash=item2162761812:g:UksAAOSwGKBdgNtw or, just get some alum sheet cut&fold it up into any size you want....

it's an adjunct technique to the main bit of "roasting" used with proper "technique" it works - has benefits - yadda-yadda as a magic procedure for anything going into the oven as some unspecified temp . . . not so much

dead simple. keep the eggs in the same spot in the fridge all the time. bring a pot of water to the boil. poke a hole in the big end of the egg(s) put them into the boiling water set a timer. for me, 4 minutes 45 seconds. DW needs 5 minutes 30 seconds - she's not fond of gooey.... adjust boiling time to your personal preferences. there is also the "steaming method" double boiler put eggs in the top basket lid on steam for x.y minutes steaming is 'more gentle' than boiling - but it takes longer ...10-15 minutes, adjusted to preference. go 'fer it - whatever works best for you is the absolute softboiled egg BOMB! ignore the critics. they don't live in your kitchen.....

there's a difference in using "stuff" for aroma - vs. "taste" if you want something to have the 'taste/nuance' of celeriac, add it early on. if you want the dish to steam the aroma of celeriac to the diner's nose, add it at the end. or both . . . for desired result . . . most stocks are about the taste thing. ala minute preps tend more to using stuff that already has 'the taste' and just pimp up the experience with the aroma.

methinks the whole situation is a whole lot simpler than the issues presented. cook any protein to a too high finish temperature and you get tough/dry/stringy/chewy/inedible/(whatever) this is true for beef, chicken, fish, pork, eggs, etc etc etc. sous vide a usda prime steak to 190'F and it won't be all to juicy, tender, tasty or edible..... not the method, it's the temp..... larding is similar to basting - keep the meat moist by flooding it with liquid fat..... for 'not basting today'.... the trick is to use a temperature that melts the larding but doesn't kill the meat. poultry - larding aside, I slow roast poultry at 145'F because it takes about 135'F to render out chicken fat.... for beef - I use 155'F because it takes about 145-150'F to render out the beef fat. for those who get home at 6:30 and pop a roast in the oven at 475'F so it's ready to eat sometime 'today' . . . . nothing applies.

"Bored of my usual eggs, I decided to try the dish — and loved the elevated brunch recipe." says everything your need to know about the life experience of the author.

I prefer the 9x5 size pans for sandwich size slices. just bake it in a 9x5, let it cool, cut in half, freeze one half.

say Hello! to our dinner . . .

ah yes... yea olde Microsoft interface "to turn off, press the Start button...." looked (partially) at the link. while any of the videos are playing, right click - "copy video URL" paste to Notepad and or other to bookmark or . . . far too many options to describe/detail in the blind.

in short said, yes. most any video file can be played/viewed on any device. find the video look for the download link - for some, right click, menu, download download to your preferred location. navigate to that location double click to launch video if it's some strange format, you'll have to download/install a video player for that weird format.

I treat mine like cast iron - haven't had any of those issues...

I have the n.27 thick error from the original batch. super pan - definitely recommended. has steeper sides = more floor area for same "nominal" diameter

birch is similar to maple - dense, very close grain - used by many makers. btw -The Boardsmith will do 'custom sizes' and Boos board have had quality issues for some years now.

".....realms of the obsessive......." indeed. I've spent lots of time in Italy - Turin/Piedmont/Sicily/Naples/'east coast'/ Venice-area-into-the- Dolomites . . . methinks the issue is a local pride issue - which is actually unrelated to "tastes good" regardless..... wood auto-ignition temp is 451' Fahrenheit. there's a book about that..... the vastest majority of home ovens design for install around wood do not exceed 500'F - for safety reasons..... our most recent replacement says it will go to 550'F - done that - display reads 550'F - does preheat a baking stone super well.

has anyone found a good reference for herb solvents as in cooking? i.e. some do better extracting in oil some in water.... some in alcohol.... I've not come up with a good guide/reference as Jo said above, bay leaf is one that does well coming out with oil. for example doing chili with diced beef or ground beef I always put the bay in while the beef is rendering its fat - @MokaPot - bay is a very subtle flavor. you'll likely not notice it until it's 'over done' - and too much can be objectionable.... did a dish recently, forgot the bay leaf.... DW opined it wasn't as good as she remembered. when I did a left over reheat, added a couple bay leaves and it improved by magic.....

the debate on stone/steel/aluminum rages on. seldom is asked the question: why must a pizza bake in less than two minutes? I use a stone, it takes 10-12 minutes. I don't have an issue with that.

I'm not too sure I could count all the free/reasonable cost recipe sites that have done the Photobucket suicide thing or simply gone out of business. remember Kodak's free forever photo storage? I capture recipes in .pdf, or .doc or .rtf formats - as dictated by the easiest "capture." when I do them, if it's worth keeping I translate into .txt files with my own notes. I'd go out on the limb and suspect that .txt files will be the last format abandoned by our computer masters..... now, backing up your stuff - whole 'nother issue. Cloud/external drive/CD/DVD . . many options.

aka The Kitchen of Unintended Smoking . . .😄