Smokeydoke

Here's the final loaf, did not get a nice rise like the Modernist photo, but my crumb was nice and soft. Flavor was good. I could've cooked a bit longer but the top was browning too much. I recommend 10 mins at 400, then 25 mins at 350. It's a good snacking bread, it reminds me of a rich, cakey, sweet cornbread. I can't wait to top it with ham and Mornay sauce for dinner tonight. Sidenote: I'm not too sure about the instructions as written, I don't think 14 hours in a cold fridge would've proofed my dough. Maybe my fridge is too cold? I've made brioche before and the hardest thing is to get them to proof (at least with this method). Next time I'll try the traditional method, where you slowly add the butter and see which I like better.

I have to get into chocolate, just so I can meet all you lovely people.

Here's what it looks like before the final 2 hour proof.

Alrighty, forging ahead. Three more hours till show time! I don't know how this is going to fill an bread pan, but I have faith!

I'm thinking the osmotolerant yeast is a must.

I'm having the same problem as @Eric Srikandan the dough is more like a pie crust, it's crumbly and it's not coming together and it's definitely not rising. But it looks like his final bread was good, so I'm pushing on. I took it out of the refrigerator after 8 hours, it was not rising at all in the refrigerator. I had this problem with Flour's (the cookbook) brioche dough, I finally got it to rise after blooming the yeast in some milk and sugar, then adding it to the wet mixture, then the flour. Then I let the whole thing proof outside for half the time. I think the yeast needs a headstart before mixing with the other ingredients. I could not get her dough to rise as the recipe was written. If it doesn't rise in 6 hours, I may scrape and try another time.

I made Croque Monsieur for the first time tonight. Very tasty! I put cheap cherry brandy in the mornay sauce and it was delicious!

On a closer read, I was mistaken, this does not make two loaves, it's one loaf that has been divided into two balls in the same loaf pan. Instructions are bit confusing. I'm just making the loaf tonight and I'll try the ramekins later.

I admit, I've eaten it before. I'm not ashamed. It's ok, definitely not something I'd want to eat all the time, it tasted like spicy mush. I put it in eggs with onions. Now that I know it's pig nodes, I probably never eat it again. No loss here.

@heidih It's nothing like the Cacique product, which seems to melt when taken out of the package, but it didn't seem completely hard like a kielbasa either.

Another small haul for me. Shelf-stable whipping cream. I love these, they're so handy. Whipping cream seems to be the one thing I always forget at the store, when I go to TJ, I buy 2-3 at a time and keep them around for a long time. Soy Chorizo - they had this out as a sample with roasted potatoes, it was delicious. $2.99 Silvered Almonds - per someone on the cocktail board, I made my own orgeat a few days ago. Delicious! I want to try it again with Death & Co's recipe, hopefully these silvered almonds are the way to go. I also bought a package of the Gigli pasta, how could I not after @blue_dolphin photo with the mushroom sauce? I can't wait to try it, maybe beef stroganoff will work?

Pink Lady: 1 1/2 ounces plymouth (bombay sapphire), 1/2 oz Laird's Bonded Apple Brandy (Osocalis Apple Brandy, and I don't regret it one bit), 3/4 oz lemon juice, 3/4 oz simple syrup, 1/2 oz housemade grenadine, 1 egg white I agree with Tom Chadwick, "most delicious thing I'd ever tasted". Ok, maybe not "most" but it's up there. Housemade grenadine made all the difference, it is fantastic!

I think it was $40 here around NYE.

Shipping of spirit alcohol is prohibited to this state. You will need to remove all products with spirit alcohol from your shopping cart to ship to this address.

My bad, the 750ml is 29.99, I must've been looking at the 1L for $45. http://www.totalwine.com/spirits/liqueurs-cordials-schnapps/citrus-triple-sec/orange/cointreau/p/532750?igrules=true&defaultPosition=532750-1&s= (I wonder if this will link you to Summerlin's Total Wine or your Total Wine) But the 375ml is $19.99, at least the one in Summerlin is. http://www.totalwine.com/spirits/liqueurs-cordials-schnapps/citrus-triple-sec/orange/cointreau/p/532375?igrules=true&defaultPosition=532375-1&s=

I picked this up today. Kirkland brand prosecco, 750 ml, for $6.99, at the Summerlin Costco. Someone gave it a good review, so I decided to give it a shot, how could I not for $7?! I'll try it tonight and report back.

I'm amazed at the prices of Kirkland brand alcohol. I was wondering if the quality was just as good or better than a popular competitor? Lets put our collective experiences together and reviews Kirkland brand wines and spirits. Type of alcohol, size, price and location will all be helpful. If you can compare with a leading competitor, that'd be great too.

I'm a Total Wine and Costco devotee, I love both places, if you don't mind buying Kirkland brand alcohol, Costco wins in price, hands down. I love Total Wine's selection and they sell rare cordials in 350 ml, but they're not cheap. They're actually pricey, if not on sale. For example, I saw Cointreau, 750ml for $40, and down the street at Lee's Liquor, Cointreau, 750 ml was $34. But Total Wine sells the 350ml for $20. Of course, Costco's selection is so limited, but if you need a specific alcohol, I might know the price.

I don't know if that was a mistake or not, but I love the look of that bread. It's almost Gothic.

It's spicy and sweet. I like mixing it into ground beef then adding rice cakes.

I can't believe the price, they were $2 each at the bakery.

I really like @Niko version. That may be the way to go. I'll try the loaf version sometime this week. Would a typical 9"x5" work? Nope. It's 8 x 4.5 pan. I don't have two 8 x 4.5 pans. I think I'll try one half in the loaf and the other half in the ramekins. Excited.

Looks amazing. I may make some Coquilles (not) St. Jacques later this week. I just got an amazing deal on some bay scallops.

My favorite book or 2017, hands down, is Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat. It's just a great book, a great resource to have. Nosrat writes so well, she's so engaging without sounding pretentious, and most importantly, she's useful. She's a seasoned chef that's worked under Alice Water's at Chez Panisse, so she knows her stuff. There's not a lot of recipes and the recipes she includes are tried-and-true recipes that highlight her techniques. But even a jaded homecook as myself, whose seen a hundred recipes for Caesar salad, was excited to try her recipes just to give her newly-read techniques a try.