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Suzzanne

Roasts - rest time impact on carryover?

My hunch says the internal temperature will not continue to rise with a long rest. We roast a whole rib eye once a year, and often the roast needs to be pulled from the grill way before all the sides are done and the roast has rested at least an hour. The roasts with the nice long rest have been delicious.

Bake the Book: Home Made Summer

Italian Ice made with my granddaughter.

SD- Mount Rushmore

We enjoyed the buffalo chili dog(both the chili and the hot dog made with buffalo) at the concession stand at Mr. Rushmore. If the weather is nice, there is plenty of outdoor seating at the monument. Maybe not gourmet dining, but the ambience is terrific. What is not to love about the 5 cents cup of coffee at Wall Drug? And their homemade cinammon rolls tasted to me to be home made. Our route took us through Colorado in the summer. If you can, stop at local orchards or farm stands for the fresh fruit. We purchased peaches directly from the orchard that were so good.

Over the river and through the woods... How'd you get here?

I was reading knitting blogs, which took me to ThePioneerWoman way back when she did some writing for this site, which took me to SE. I look at other food sites, but this one still feels like home.

growing herbs... I'm torn!?!

Some herbs such as chives, oregeno, tarragon, thyme, and sage will do best planted directly in the ground in a sunny spot. These herbs die off in the fall, but come back each year so you only make one purchase for many years enjoyment. Basil plants can be planted into the ground only after the danger of frost is past. For handy access, plant them right outside your kitchen door (if it is sunny).

Your Experience of Time While Cooking

Because timing and time is so important, I have come to depend on setting a timer so I don't cook the vegetables to mush or burn the dinner rolls. Whenever I have the burner on and leave the room, I set the timer because I might come pull up this site and forget about what I was cooking! I use the stove timer, because it goes off every few seconds and nags at me until I return. I have learned which foods can be done ahead and allowed to rest while tending to the last minute items.

What's the best chocolate chip cookie recipe?

I love the recipe on the bag of Nestle chips. To be consistent, I use the same flour and butter every time to get the perfect cookies.

Cook the Book: 'Try This at Home' by Richard Blais

Mac and cheese with corn and jalapenos.

How do you get out of a food rut?

I am laid up following ankle surgery, so my husband does the shopping. He will bring home ingredients that will get me to think outside the box. I am challenged with the task of making tasty food with little effort, which is also getting me to try new things. I am currently reading Garlic and Saphires which has gotten me to try a few things I otherwise wouldn't have thought of.

Do you knead bread in a mixer for the same length as by hand?

Kneading with a mixer takes a much shorter time. A friend burned out her new mixer by kneading for the 15 or more minutes stated in the recipe. Try searching for bread recipes using a mixer for the kneading step. Also, look at the bread recipes on this site posted by dbcurrie or check her blog Cookistry for bread recipes using a mixer. The best is practice and learning what it means to have your dough 'smooth and elastic.' Times always vary.

Separating iceberg lettuce leaves?

I remove the core with a knife (I never learned the bop trick). Then run cold water into the head of lettuce. Let drain until most of the water drips out. Then wrap or put in a baggie or one of those tupperware lettuce bowls. Put back in the refrigerator for a couple of hours. Then the head of lettuce comes apart very easily. This method also freshens up a limp head of lettuce.

Help! My roommate wrecked my bakeware!

I recommend the green nylon scrubber with liquid detergent applied directly on the surface. It will take some elbow grease.

Help! My roommate wrecked my bakeware!

I second the elbow grease. I use the green nylon scrubber with liquid detergent directly on the cookware applied with lots of determination. Good luck.

Know of any baking contests?

Still time to enter the Pillsbury Bakeoff! Search the StarTribune Taste section for contests. Their Christmas Cookie contest is always fun.

Supermarket Smackdown

Where I live in northern Iowa, I am loyal to Fareway for their butcher department. They grind their own hamburger daily and have the best breakfast links. For fresh produce, Cash Wise in Minnesota is the best for offering abundant, fresh, and reasonably priced produce. Byerly's in the Twin Cities is also a favorite.

12 of Our Favorite Food Movies

Animal Slaughter...Have you?! Would you?!

My grandfather and father earned their livelihood at butchers in small town rural Minnesota. What is sad to me is that most of America is satisfied with case ready injected chicken, pork, and beef. They don't know the joy of finding the oyster on the back of a whole roasted chicken compared to a frozen injected boneless chicken breast. Or gnawing the meat from the bones of a standing rib roast. Butcher shops and bakeries are disappearing from our landscape. I am not sure of the answer, but I don't think witnessing slaughter is the solution. Even with the popularity of food blogs and cooking shows on TV, most of America shops for food at the big box stores mostly for the convenience and lack of time or interest to source their food. @Pavlov, enjoyed reading the post about you today. Thanks for all the thoughtful comments over the years.

In Our Community Corner: Meet Michael Therieau (aka: 'Pavlov')

I've enjoyed Pavlov's comments over the years. This was fun to read. I can't buy a good loaf of bread in northern Iowa, either. Most of America is happy with what comes from the super store 'bakeries'.

Please Reminisce about Birthday Cake

To add to @Happy_Baker's description of 7-minute frosting is that 7-minute frosting does not stand up well. It is delicious and beautiful(glossy and thick) the day it is made, but on day 2 it starts to wilt. So best made for a cake for a crowd, as the leftovers don't keep well.

Care Package Suggestions? (International Shipping)

We recently sent a Care package and used ziplock bags of homemade caramel corn for the packaging. Our nephew reported he ate that first.

Cook the Book: 'From A Polish Country House Kitchen'

I love cabbage and potatoes in a nice beef barley soup.

Tiramisu Leftovers

Stir in a few mini chocolate chips and use to stuff purchased cannoli shells. I just saw a post for cannoli stuffed french toast. I am thinking your custard would work in a recipe similar to that. If you want to use with cookies, add after baking the cookies and fill just before serving.

What is the best cupcake recipe for valentines day?

I recommend the Life by Chocolate cupcakes from ThePioneerWoman. I keep thinking about them. Skip the Hershey Kiss, doesn't work, but everything else does. I have made these for my family and they never disappoint.
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/01/life-by-chocolate/

Please Reminisce about Birthday Cake

Similar to @lemonfair's cake, I remember a birthday cake made for my grandpa. It was a white cake baked in a 9x13, topped with a layer of lemon curd, then 7-minute frosting. I can get teary eyed thinking about it. So good.

Cook the Book: 'Vietnamese Home Cooking'

Having Pho when visiting Washington DC with family.

Looking for tips to melt or caramelize sugar.

I had trouble making the candied pepitas for my pan roasted Brussels sprouts and the caramel sauce for flan (1 cup sugar with 1/4 cup water.). Both times, the sugar crystallized into hard white clumps. I suspect something has changed in the processing of granulated white sugar. Does anyone have any tips or advice on how to successfully melt sugar? I followed the instructions using a medium heat and stirring often.

What's playing in your kitchen?

Today I'm baking Christmas cookies with the cooks of Create TV playing in the background. When I frost sugar cookies with my children, we always listen to the John Denver and the Muppets Christmas CD. What is playing in your kitchen when you do your holiday baking/cooking?

How do you avoid buying too much food so you don't waste it?

When buying food off a menu, at the grocery story, at the farmer's market, or from your CSA how do you plan your purchase so you don't have more than you can use? None of us like to waste food. When buying bananas, I will break off only one or two, rather than buying the whole bunch. I see California green grapes have arrived, now being sold in plastic bags with 2-3 bunches per bag? Is it OK to take just one bunch out of the bag? How do you split or share meals when eating out to avoid leftovers that can't be used?

The Gospel of Mashed Potatoes: can food be spiritual?

Last night David Letterman talked about the Gospel of Mashed Potatoes. I agree there is a spiritual quality to passing a bowl of mashed potatoes at a family meal. It truly is food for the soul. World peace, maybe not, but certainly leads to family harmony. Do you agree a bowl of mashed potatoes is soul food? What foods serve as a spiritual component at your gatherings?

Favorite food on "The Day the Music Died"

I am wondering if there are any Serious Eats readers who remember "the day the music died." What was your favorite food back then? Mine was Chef Boyardee pizza in a box. My girl friends would come over and we would make our own pizza, which involved letting the dough rise, opening the can of pizza sauce, and opening the package of cheese.

How Do You Handle Uninvited Guests?

I was fixing a lunch of ‘eggs over easy’, and my husband’s friend knocked on the door just after I flipped the eggs. It was time to butter the toast. Do I invite our friend to join us for a meal? Or do we wait and eat later? My grandpa would always say there is room for one more, so I feel guilty if I don’t ask the uninvited guest to eat with us. What would you do?

How do you glorify your leftovers?

How do you glorify your leftovers? What ways do you turn your leftover food into something other than it was to begin with? Example, the small amount of thick chili left after three days of reheating the leftover soup becomes wonderful chilidogs. A bowl of soup is now a sandwich. A delight we had today was the three day old casserole of make ahead mashed potatoes. On top of the potatoes, I arranged the left over link breakfast sausage and reheated in the oven. My husband added picante sauce to his serving of this weird shepherd's pie and called it sensational. What are dishes you create with your leftovers?

Sauced: Memphis-Style Barbecue Sauce

This "Memphis-style" is my favorite to make at home—it takes the aspects of sweet tomato-based sauces I grew up on, but by dialing back the sugar and amping up the vinegar, creates a sauce where seasonings and spice are more defined and achieves a pleasing balance between the main defining aspects of a barbecue sauce. More