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Favorite Pizza Condiment??
Italian dressing. When I get close to the crust end I split the thing open, pour in some dressing, squeeze in some lettuce and tomatoes, fold it over and eat.
help: tips for making turkey gravy
betterirene: A thousand thank you's. This is exactly what I was looking for.
What is wrong with my yeast rolls?
Just a suggestion - Check the way you're measuring the flour - using a scale rather than measuring cups may make the difference here.
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Recent Comments | Response to Comments
T-day Menu Challenge: Give Me a Timeline!
Tonks442 - you might also consider delegating the pies. If there's anyone in your BF's family who is known for them, let them bring them. That gives them a chance to share and saves you oven time and work.
I've found over the years that inviting guests to bring something always, always enriches the meal - not to mention reduces the head cook's burden.
Favorite Pizza Condiment??
Italian dressing. When I get close to the crust end I split the thing open, pour in some dressing, squeeze in some lettuce and tomatoes, fold it over and eat.
help: tips for making turkey gravy
betterirene: A thousand thank you's. This is exactly what I was looking for.
What is wrong with my yeast rolls?
Just a suggestion - Check the way you're measuring the flour - using a scale rather than measuring cups may make the difference here.
Pie Crust Advice?
Here's another vote for the Cook's vodka crust recipe. It truly makes an outstanding crust - flaky, light, perfect.
And now the cake dilemma...c'est finalement l'ennui gateau
Ok, Jerz...I have a cookbook here called "Grand Finales" by Dick Taeuber (Barron's 1982). It contains nothing but desserts using liqueurs, rums and brandies. Everything in it sounds gorgeous - some of my pages are stuck together (you know why) but there are some great cake ideas - esp. the Sacher Cheescake, the Brandy Alexander Cheesecake, and the Mai Tai Cheesecake. There are also some classic cakes to try, but if you can get a hold of the book (or try looking into desserts with, you know, spirits, it might be the thing you're looking for.
Personally, no matter how full I am after a huge meal, if I know the dessert's got that extra zip ("cordially" speaking) I always want at least a bite.
First Home! What Should I Make First??
Apple pie, but make sure you protect your new oven floor with something. Last thing you want is the smell of charred pie juices wafting through your home for the next 24 hours.
Kin in YOUR kitchen....good or bad?
@dbcurrie -
"What's good for efficiency is not so good for gawkers."
How true!
Kin in YOUR kitchen....good or bad?
I love having help but it better be Skilled.
Assign brainless tasks (handing out appetizers, refilling drinks, collecting empty coffee cups, emptying the trash can, etc) to the Unskilled. This includes husbands, sons of a certain age, non-domestic SIL's, etc. As soon as their task if done, I thank them effusively and tell them they can go relax. (Code for leave the kitchen now, please.)
To the Skilled Help be very clear about the scope of the job. Keep their wine glass filled as they work and you'll bond as you work together.
What I dislike are people hanging around distracting me, offering unsolicited advice while hovering uselessly, unaware that a major, complicated meal is being prepared without their advice right under their noses. To them I assign the task of taking the dog out to pee.
Is dating a picky eater a dealbreaker for anyone?!
Why do you insist he eats what you like? When I cook for others, I take their likes/dislikes/allergic sensitivities into consideration. I'ts not enabling - it's called being practical and considerate.
Why do you cook for others? Who are you trying to please when you cook "for others"? The question you need to ask yourself is this: marriage is comprised of doing for another out of love. If you love the beloved other, you will do what pleases him. (not in an oppressed way - don't freak out here) - so think long and hard about why his palate needs to be so tightly coordinated with yours.
On the other hand, this eating conflict may be a sign of deeper incompatibility and you're looking for a way out by focusing on something that's ultimately kind of unimportant. My suggestion is this: if you love him, really really love him, and if his other qualites are golden, then you will want to prepare the foods that he genuinely enjoys because you will want to make him happy.
If my husband, who loves runny fried eggs, had insisted while we were dating that my loathing for them was a deal-breaker, I would certainly interpret that as a sign that he was shallow, rude, and selfish. Ridiculous, too. After 26 years of marriage, he now seeks "texture" in his food, which drives me nuts, and makes me want to sprinkle his meal with gravel. But - butbutbut - his other qualites are golden, and I mean that sincerely, so I tolerate his fussiness about the texture thing.
Experiment with what he will eat and likes, and engage him in the preparation. If you truly enjoy cooking, then learn to cook what he likes and perfect that. If he's polite about communicating his preferences, fine - he's gracious, at least. If he acts like a jerk and makes faces and complains noisily and grandly about his likes, ditch him. But really, do think about why you cook, and who it is you're really doing it for.
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
Oyster stuffing.
Everything else is gravy.
Come on in 'The Kitchn'
As for the black bean & chocolate combo....my goodness, I'd be in the bathroom the next 24 hours....
what's for dinner 11/4?
Ina's Chicken Picante, leftover mashed butternut squash, and green beans almondine.
For dessert - picked through the remaining dregs of the Halloween candy - stuff like Milk Duds and the toffee things (the chocolate's long gone).
Living on the Edge: Gas Station Junk Food
My DH, while out on Saturday errands with the kids, thinks it's gourmet fare when he takes the kids for breakfast at the local Sunoco station. (Egg sandwiches on a hard roll.)
For me, it's a cuppa hot chocolate after pumping gas on a bitterly cold day.
Skipping school, acting cool--Dinner Monday Nov. 2?
Homemade minestrone soup and tuna melts. Leftover Halloween candy for dessert!
It's Fall but these loose-"leaf" recipes are outta control
I have 2 sturdy 3-ring binders with wipe-able covers- one for baked goods (breads and things) and desserts, the other for meals. It holds computer print-outed recipes and clipped recipes from magazines or wherever - they all go in clear plastic page protectors. The binders have pocket things on the inside of each cover and that's where I stash the recipes I haven't "filed" yet on a page.
The system works for me because it's humble, usable, and corrals my disorganized self into some kind of order.
Cooking for a family who recently lost a member.
One more thing. Thirty years ago I lost my dad (car accident) right before Thanksgiving. (leaving 4 kids ages 15 and under). We had plenty of food delivered in the weeks following (and got sick of deli meat and lasagna big time) but it was the holidays right after (Thanksg. & Christmas) that were awfully hard. Please do remember that the deep grieving and need for food (and the comfort it brings) continues well into the year. It does taper off after that (can't say it ever really leaves you completely- it just changes into something manageable) but the first year is really tough.
Cooking for a family who recently lost a member.
A bit costly, but maybe two co-workers can go in on this:
Roast a whole beef filet (or half if the family's kind of smallish). Deliver with a big bag of assorted hard rolls, a potato or pasta salad, and fresh fruit or really interesting bottled juices. Add a sumptuous homemade apple cake or pie and/or some good coffee. Also think of breakfast and visiting relatives- assorted muffins or coffeecakes are also practical.
Roast can be sliced for sandwiches or whatever. The suggestions to bring paper products are also good.
how to make a Fluffernutter sandwich?
For a decadent variation, spread Fluff on one slice of bread, Nutella on the other. Place gently together, admire, and eat.
Cook the Book: Chocolate Sheet Cake
After it cools it holds together well. Any cake just out of the oven is going to be falling-apart tender and not-quite-together.
I make this cake frequently for our big family and it's a lifesaver of a recipe. You can pour the frosting on while warm and quickly smooth it over with a long icing knife, but the hard part is staying away from it while it's finishing cooling.
For the next day or so it's hard not to keep cutting little slivers of it to see if it still tastes good. It just gets in your mouth, you know?
Embarrassing food question. Need help with foods I love.
Seek out a respected nutritionist who can help you devise menus and choose foods that are suited to your body's needs. They're around - and perhaps your insurance will even cover the cost if your primary doc will refer you.
Any food you could eat daily til' you kick the bucket?!
mashed potatoes with gravy
mashed potatoes with a pool of melted butter and salt on top
mashed potatoes with sour cream
mashed potatoes with buttermilk & chives
mashed potatoes with roasted garlic
mashed potatoes with cheese
What desserts do you crave?
Lemon meringue pie.
Flan or creme brulee.
Frosted brownies.
Best Halloween Candy?
Kids are masters at trading and wheel-dealing, so to those who worry about disappointing the peanut-allergy types, let go of your worries. Their parents wouldn't let them out to collect free random candy if it was that serious an infraction.
When all my kids were young enough to go out trick-or-treating, they'd come home, dump out their bags, and the trading would begin in earnest. Kids are pretty capable of managing their wants and needs.
Is dating a picky eater a dealbreaker for anyone?!
I canNOT stand a picky eater. His attitude will have a negative effect on your love of food and cooking, and might (ohGod) produce picky offspring as well. Life is to be enjoyed in full - to me, especially if you love cooking and eating and have an adventurous outlook on it. Damn right you need someone to fight with over the last piece of cheesecake. Keep looking - somewhere out there is your soulmate who will give you joy in your life.
Is dating a picky eater a dealbreaker for anyone?!
it sounds as if the problem is as much how his pickiness presents itself Vs the actual fact of the pickiness.
you need to negotiate how he goes about tasting and reacting. instead of filling his plate hiding the uneaten, he should take a bite only, then only take more of what he will actually eat. He also must accept that if he rejects what's for dinner, he makes his own substitute.
You, OTOH, have to deal with adjusting your daily cooking to reflect some of his opinions. Cooking can be fun, but the day in day out feeding of your partner & family isn't so much about the fun for you as about the fact that people need to eat. Plus, if he rejects your food in favor or cornflakes or PBJ for days on end, you can't be hurt.
if you someday are having kids, he needs to have learned to reject in a low-key fashion so as not to 'teach' his pickiness to them. I won't go so far as to expect him to sometimes noticeable eat something he is known to dislike, to model polite behaviour. But it would be handy.
PS I was in a relationship in which we had very different food cultures. our inability to appreciate each others standards was but one of many problems. But 3 times a day one or both of of us being annoyed or mad or disappointed sure didn't help. If you cant fine some way to enjoy meals together, some compromises, then hang it up now.
help: tips for making turkey gravy
Bourbon. When I make the roux, i initially deglaze with some good bourbon, and finely minced herbs and then put it the stock. Yum.
help: tips for making turkey gravy
I have made delicious gravy all my life and my mother and grandmother before me and my daughters and granddaughters too! We don't sweat the small stuff. We use a few drops of Kitchen Bouquet to darken it. I always make a cream gravy rather than the gravy from stock or broth. We add the giblets to the gravy and the neck meat to the dressing.
"dinner" vs "supper"
I think it depends on what's served. We have "chicken dinner," "lasagna dinner," "steak dinner," "breakfast for dinner," "chili supper," spaghetti supper," "soup and salad supper." "Lasagna supper" just doesn't sound right.
T-day Menu Challenge: Give Me a Timeline!
salpico, yes! In my personal handwritten cookbook, I've got menus, timelines and checklists going back to 1970, the year I got married. You'd think after all this experience, I'd be able to do Thanksgiving blindfolded and one-handed. We've had many meals when no one's noticed for 20 minutes that the sweet potatoes are still in the oven, the rolls haven't been put into the breadbasket, the salad's still in the fridge, the Jello hasn't been unmolded, etc.
"dinner" vs "supper"
I have lived in Missouri (St. Louis) all my life. We always called the second meal of the day "Lunch", and the last meal of the day, "Supper". Although Dinner and Supper could be used interchangeably My husband's family did the same thing.. I notice my older siblings are now calling it "dinner" when they invite us over. I have always used the word Supper unless we are going out to a formal meal, then I will call it Dinner.
We have always used the word soda. My uncle used to call it sodie.
Is dating a picky eater a dealbreaker for anyone?!
We all have our food preferences. I don't like fruit mixed with foods that are supposed to be savory, savory stuff with raisins, or chocolate mixed with fruit (though separately, I love them both). Other than that, I'll eat anything at least once, maybe twice (I believe it second chances for everyone and everything). I think the thing that bothers you the most is that he doesn't share your passion for food and he doesn't want to even try. The point is: can you live with this? or will it be a thorn in your side that digs deeper with time? If you can't make peace with yourself on this, then walk away. If you can deal with it and have it not affect your dignity and self-worth, then I don't see that it's a real problem.
Is dating a picky eater a dealbreaker for anyone?!
My first wife hated eggs, bananas, mustard, my watermelon fruit salad, my top secret recipe 6 grain pancakes, didn't like breakfast in general. Of course, I'm more of a breakfast cook, but her idea of cooking is heating up canned soup (mac and cheese was a highlight of her cooking skills). In fact, when we first got together, the only thing she ate was McDonald's cheeseburgers and fries. (I did get her to eat fresh cut up strawberries.) So when we split, I vowed that I would avoid dating picky eaters.
So of course, my last (I'm planning it that way, anyhow) wife is a great cook - an amateur chef IMHO, but she's vegan (and I'm allergic to the entire legume family). We have great fun trying to create dishes that we can both eat (the entree is always veggies, the protein ends up a side dish for each of us), and she has decided that fried rice with eggs is ok (she is having trouble getting enough protein in her diet). And as a bonus, she loves my pancakes (which I modify by substituting coconut or almond milk for sour milk and/or yogurt), and never complains about my potatoes.
So, as to your problem, drag the bum into the kitchen now and again and make cooking a shared activity - fun-shared, not chore-shared. If he is a good kitchen companion (maybe not entirely his cup-o-tea, but as a special activity), then it will lessen the anti-everything you seem to interpret from him right now, and some of his ideas might end up being useful in figuring out how to feed him when you are cooking without him. If you two can't get along in the kitchen, I'd have to vote for a quick exit strategy.
Favorite Pizza Condiment??
At our pizzeria we have red pepper flakes and parmesan on every table. We also have Tabasco and similar sauces and we have two homemade sauces: creamy chipotle and chimuchurri. This last one is intended to go with "empanadas" but a lot of clients request it to have it with their pizza, it has a strong lemony/parsley taste. They some times ask for our (also) homemade Italian dressing, but creamy chipotle is the most requested of all.
My favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal...
@julea
I'm with you - all my friends know that I'll be bringing the "shape of the can" - it has become a minor competition to see who can dump the cranberry sauce out in perfect "can" shape. However, my favorite part is the other thing no one else I know likes but me - mincemeat pie.
help: tips for making turkey gravy
"THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE RECIPE: Immediately put half the gravy into a storage container, let it cool down, then hide it in the refrigerator so that you'll have enough for pot pie or hot turkey sandwiches on Saturday."
betteirene- love that piece of advice. *L*
T-day Menu Challenge: Give Me a Timeline!
A written checklist is helpful, and this starts with a shopping list. Print out all your recipes beforehand, and make one list of everything that you need to buy.
One oven is a common problem that I share, so I prep/assemble as much beforehand as possible. The homeade cranberry or applesauce is made a couple days in advance. The sweet potatoes can be roasted or parboiled up to a day in advance. Likewise, the pumpkin, or other, custard pies.
The stuffing/dressing can be assembled the night before and refrigerated, then baked while the turkey rests. Obviously, the salad can be made in advance, and dressed just before serving.
Do the gravy, mashed, and veg on the stovetop while the turkey rests, and while the dressing and sweet potato casseroles heat through.
Have someone assist in putting all the dishes out for service, while you concentrate on carving the turkey at the last minute.
T-day Menu Challenge: Give Me a Timeline!
This is wonderful!! I think I can put together a good schedule for cooking and just pray that everything goes according to plan and nothing surprises me. Thank you all for your help and advice! =]
T-day Menu Challenge: Give Me a Timeline!
Thanks BananaMonkey.
I went ahead and created a document with the type of discussion I have in mind. I'll start a new thread, and if it is a repeat, hopefully it can be moved. 8)
help: tips for making turkey gravy
Well, I must say @maryannm (and echoers) and @betteirene gave some great answers.
Me, I have so much pre-cooking going on, I usually don't get to the stock beforehand. Plus, I like the way the aroma of gravy fills the house as you make it on T-day.
So, I just throw the neck and gizzards in a sauce pot on the stove first thing in the a.m., with all the celery and onion end bits from making the stuffing, a half carrot, and some peppercorns, bay leaf and a pinch of sea salt. (Note: DO NOT include the liver, as it will make the stock bitter.) I let that simmer gently all day, and add more water as necessary.
If you go this route, the key is scoring numerous cross-hatch slices into the neck and gizzards to extract as much flavor as possible. In the last hour of cooking, I scoop pan drippings with a ladle (and strain for fat), and add that to the stock - a little at a time - stirring and tasting as I go. Once the gravy is rich enough, I add white white wine (or sometimes, vodka) to add depth of flavor and cut through the fat.
Then I add fresh herbs to the pot (like sage and thyme - you can add other herbs or spices to your liking, of course)). From there I simmer and let the fat and alcohol mingle and cook off together for another 20-30 minutes. Stirring and tasting, and adding more drippings, herbs, seasoning or booze, as necessary for balance.
When the flavor is perfect, thicken with a golden roux of butter and flour, that has been diluted with gravy until smooth. Simmer and stir for 5-10 minutes longer, adding more roux, if necessary.
Important Tip: I always have at least 32 oz. of boxed or canned chicken stock on hand (turkey would be better of course), in the event that the gravy is to rich and needs diluting, or when more liquid is needed. This has saved me more than once. Also, it can make extra gravy in a pinch for leftovers, in the event some crazy fool tossed the extra gravy down the drain while doing dishes, which happens more often than you would imagine. Just add saved drippings, a turkey wing and/or bones and some skin from the carcass, and aromatics (onion, garlic, celery, carrot, herbs, spices). Simmer 20-30 minutes (or more, if you have time), thicken w/ roux, season to taste, and you're all set.
Hope this helps. Happy Thanksgiving!!
T-day Menu Challenge: Give Me a Timeline!
@gatorpam--the search function is borked. once you type into the search bar, you may need to select 'search all of serious eats' from teh drop down menu that appears after the results are shown.
It's a bug the eds are apparently still looking into.
help: tips for making turkey gravy
The key to terrific turkey gravy is drippings, drippings and more drippings! It is essential that you use drippings from the turkey for the best taste.
Canned gravy is NOT the way to go; if you can cook a turkey then homemade gravy shouldn't be too hard.
Favorite Pizza Condiment??
I don't mind the condiments on my pizza, but I don't go dipping. What I want on the pizza is already there.
I like a pizza that's smeared with garlic butter, basil pesto, artichokes and oven cured tomatoes.
Favorite Pizza Condiment??
I've started eating pizza by choice recently. The place near our house serves their pizza with honey packed on the side.
On my pizzas, I add a lot of crushed red pepper flakes and dip the pizza in honey, even the chicken ranch pizza.
Favorite Pizza Condiment??
Sometimes honey for the end crust. I read "condiments" to mean liquid things—like ranch dressing, hot sauce, etc. If that's the case, no. (Except for honey on end crust.) But if you're going to count red pepper flakes, oregano, and Parmesan, then, sure. Who doesn't use that stuff every now and then?
Favorite Pizza Condiment??
High quality extra virgin olive oil (I like Colavita) for dousing and also chili pepper oil made with red pepper flake and olive oil.
All other condiments IMO just mask of the true flavor which is fine if you're not paying a premium for the pizza you're slathering in hot sauce, ranch, bacon, mayo, ketchup, etc.....
Favorite Pizza Condiment??
Crushed red pepper or cayenne, sometimes Parmesan and on occasion sliced, fresh tomatoes.
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Tonks442 - you might also consider delegating the pies. If there's anyone in your BF's family who is known for them, let them bring them. That gives them a chance to share and saves you oven time and work.
I've found over the years that inviting guests to bring something always, always enriches the meal - not to mention reduces the head cook's burden.