eG Foodblog Tag Team IV: Marlene, Dave, snowangel - Cold Turkey, Three Ways

[jackal10]

Snowangle:

You might find it easier to handle the wet dough by using some spray oil on the workbench and your hands instead of flour. Also cut the bulk fermentation time before you divide and shape

[Marlene]

The brownies look wonderful, Susan. (Actually, everything everyone has been making looks wonderful.)

Is there a link to Chufi's butter braised beef? I tried searching for it, but the search function and I don't get along very well.

(Also, I think it's great that you're doing so well, and that you're sharing your less than successful moments. That shows a lot of character.)

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Janet, here's a link to Chufi's recipe

Butter braised beef

and Here is the link to the actual post with pictures.

Chufi, this is a stovtop braise, right? Or can I braise it in the oven after browning?

[Marlene]

Morning all. Up and ready to get going. Ry made a salami sandwhich for lunch (I think he's fixated on these) and is eating the last two doughnuts for breakfast. Yeah I know, terribly healthy, but I'm just not inclined to argue with him this morning. At least he's having milk with them.

He also polished off the last bowl of peach soup last night and then when I was making a bowl of the French Onion for Don when he finally got home, Ry decided he needed a bowl of that too.

I'm cleaning the kitchen (I swear fairies come in the night and mess it up). Then I'm going to drop Ryan at school and go get my nails done. That should leave me plenty of time to come back and get the braise started. Oh, and I guess I should shop for ingredients for tomorrow's dinner.

I'm thinking pommes frites which means I would actually have to get my mandoline out and use it! ack.

Oh, and let's do a mid week check on the weight thing. Remember I started out at 160. This morning, I weighed in at 157. I'm one of those people who can gain weight just by looking at food, so I'm relieved to note that not smoking is not having an impact on that particular challenge so far.

[snowangel]

Good morning all.

My oven is clean! I do need to vacuum the leftover incinerated junk off the floor, but it is clean. Even my round cracked pizza stone is clean. The house sure stunk when I went to bed last night as the oven was going through it's cycle.

I've got to take Diana to the dr. this morning (ear ache; swimmer's ear which plagues her) and then do a couple of other things, so I won't be around much until after noon.

[Daddy-A]

So Daddy-A, if you're reading along......Racks in or out?

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You know ... I usually charge for this sort of consulting!

Dacor says racks out ... because of the way the racks slide into the range (I'll upload a picture if I have time) there is a danger of the racks sticking if they warp even a little bit ... which they're prone to do if subjected to the heat of the self-cleaning mode.

I take mine out too.

A.

[Milagai]

Have these questions been addressed upthread:

1. has quitting smoking changed your ability to taste food?

Do you enjoy food more or less or no different than in smoking days?

2. Anyone who smokes or is quitting: what got you started?

Did you enjoy your first cigarette or three? I ask because like

many curious teens I did try smoking but found the taste so awful

that I never persisted. I now have other drugs .

I wonder if anyone enjoys their first few cigarettes? and if not,

I wonder if people who persist to develop a smoking habit somehow

taste the cigarette differently and can actually enjoy it

(kind of like broccoli and supertasters or cilantro lovers vs haters)?

Thanks and I hope this is not too offthread.

Milagai

[cakewalk]

Ok, tonight was really hard. I was bouncing off the walls, thinking that if I had one little cigarette life would be dandy. I didn't, so my record's still clean. Would someone please tell me when this gets easier?

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Oh boy do I remember that stage. (Important: it is truly only a stage. It goes away.) I can remember sitting at my desk at work and feeling that I wanted to literally climb the walls. I really thought I would go nuts. Just one cigarette, that's all, just one. (I didn't.) That was about 13-14 years ago (I smoked 2 packs a day for many years.) It does get easier, it really does, and sooner than you'd think. Those killer physical cravings subsided after about a week or 10 days, not more. I got through it by telling myself I'd have the cigarette "later." The cravings would come, and I'd say, okay, I'm going to have that cigarette, but I'm going to finish this letter first. And by the time I finished the letter, the cravings would have subsided. It is exhausting, but it worked. It is hard as hell, but you can do it. You really really can.

And I'm loving the food!

[eJulia]

Susan:

May I offer a bit of unsolicited advice? The patch is like pain meds - by the time you think you need it, its a bit too late. As most physicians will tell you, if you're prescribed pain meds for an acute situation (broken bones, surgery recuperation) you should take the pain meds on the prescribed schedule to keep pain at bay.

I think the patch is the same way. By the time you are really jonesing for a cig and don't think you can manage, slapping on the patch will not help you much.

In contrast to that is the gum. That is an instant nicotine route of administration - nearly instant relief from the physical cravings.

If your choice is the patch, I say give yourself every advantage and slap that puppy on now and every day for a while!

Just my $0.02.

Good Luck!

Julia (celebrated seven years smoke free on 1/1/06)

[fifi]

. . . . .

Dacor says racks out ... because of the way the racks slide into the range (I'll upload a picture if I have time) there is a danger of the racks sticking if they warp even a little bit ... which they're prone to do if subjected to the heat of the self-cleaning mode.

I take mine out too.

A.

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Drat. High temp silicone lubricant won't help that. I am going to have to check the racks on the GE Monogram range. I hate cleaning any kind of rack. Well, at least the house kitchen will have a sink that they might fit in. That Dawn Power Dissolver really helps a lot. I am now using it on the De Longhi racks. I let the Dawn stuff sit for a while then plop them in the dishwasher.

[Marlene]

Arne, I send you extra yogurt. .

Here's a good way to not smoke for a couple of hours anyway. Go get your nails done, then go grocery shopping. Come home and commence to put things away and realize that you've got nowhere to put the 7 bags of chips you just bought.

Immediately start cleaning out dratted pantry. Crackers. I have crackers. I counted em. 20 boxes of different kinds of crackers. Good grief.

[Kouign Aman]

originally  posted by snowangel:

I realized that the beating myself up was allowing the smoking to control me all the more.

Da-amn. That's big. I need to remember that in my life. (Substitute "x" for smoking.) Thank you.

[Chufi]

Janet, here's a link to Chufi's recipe

Butter braised beef

and Here is the link to the actual post with pictures.

Chufi, this is a stovtop braise, right?  Or can I braise it in the oven after browning?

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Ooh, I'm so excited that you are going to make this!!

yes, it's a stovetop braise. Just make sure that the heat is at the very lowest simmer, the liquid should be barely moving, and keep the lid slightly ajar so that evaporation won't fall back into the gravy (who would want diluted gravy )

I think I say in the recipe in RecipeGullet to brown the meat slowly for at least 10 minutes, last time I made this I was closer to 20 like Abra mentioned upthread. I think I should edit the recipe.

Also, really use the full amount of butter. It seems like a lot and it is a lot.. but it's butter so it's good

[Marlene]

Ok so even though I'm Canadian, I'm somewhat metric challenged. 75 grams of butter seems to be about 3/4 of a stick of butter?

[Jason Perlow]

Just put the whole damn stick in. It'll taste better.

[Marlene]

Just put the whole damn stick in. It'll taste better.

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yeah that's pretty much what I did. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing the conversion wrong and using enough butter. Browning beef now.

[fifi]

Just put the whole damn stick in. It'll taste better.

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That's what I did. I made the excuse that my package of chuck steak was a tad over the weight called for.

[Chufi]

I think I'm gonna stay up all night to see the fate of the butter braised beef across the globe..

ofcourse, put in as much butter as you like. As long as you don't throw away the leftover gravy. Freeze it in small portions.. add it to onion confit.. to spoon over mash when you've grilled some meat.. or just to dip some crusty bread in.. it's a gem to have in your freezer.

Edited February 9, 2006 by Chufi (log)

[Marlene]

I think I'm gonna stay up all night to see the fate of the butter braised beef across the globe.. 

ofcourse, put in as much butter as you like. As long as you don't throw away the leftover gravy. Freeze it in small portions.. add it to onion confit.. to spoon over mash when you've grilled some meat.. or just to dip some crusty bread in..  it's a gem to have in your freezer.

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Sounds good to me. Of course, the meat (even though I dried it) seems to be releasing a lot of water as I'm browning. So it seems to be simmering in liquid rather than browning, as I understand browning. Is this ok? nothing like having your very own instructor on line with you!

[Chufi]

I think I'm gonna stay up all night to see the fate of the butter braised beef across the globe.. 

ofcourse, put in as much butter as you like. As long as you don't throw away the leftover gravy. Freeze it in small portions.. add it to onion confit.. to spoon over mash when you've grilled some meat.. or just to dip some crusty bread in..  it's a gem to have in your freezer.

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Sounds good to me. Of course, the meat (even though I dried it) seems to be releasing a lot of water as I'm browning. So it seems to be simmering in liquid rather than browning, as I understand browning. Is this ok? nothing like having your very own instructor on line with you!

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in that case I would raise the heat.. it should really be brwoning, not stewing in liquid.

Edited February 9, 2006 by Chufi (log)

[Marlene]

Duh. of course. Somebody tell me my brain will come back after a few weeks of not smoking.

[Jason Perlow]

I think it needs more butter. Like a full pound.

[Marlene]

Ok I confess. I added another half stick of butter. Now simmering.

[Jason Perlow]

Is there any reason why you couldn't make butter braised beef, with say, an entire Beef Tenderloin?

[Marlene]

Is there any reason why you couldn't make butter braised beef, with say, an entire Beef Tenderloin?

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I doubt if tenderloin has enough fat in it. Brisket maybe.

[Jason Perlow]

Is there any reason why you couldn't make butter braised beef, with say, an entire Beef Tenderloin?

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I doubt if tenderloin has enough fat in it. Brisket maybe.

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Isn't that the point of using a whole pound of butter as the braising medium?