I am thinking about getting a yogurt maker so I can make my own. Is it good? worth it? any recommendations on what kind of maker? I tend to be a low or no fat vanilla yogurt kind of person but would like to branch out a little if I am making my own. I read the labels of the zillions of yogurts out there that claim to do so many things, but kind of worry when I can't pronounce half of the ingredients. Thanks for any advice!
We will be going to the first of several cookouts this weekend. I generally bring a dessert to most cookouts (pretty much expected now) and I usually find a new "favorite" and make it for several parties (works well as long as there is no overlap of people!)..citrus butter cookies, inside out carrot cake cookies, rolo cookies, orange cardamom cookies have been my cookie of the season in the past couple years but I haven't come up with any brilliant ideas yet this summer. Does anyone have anything good for a cookout, does not have to be a cookie but for ease of eating it's what I usually end up with.
Thanks so much to all who wrote about chicken stock in the slow cooker...such a great idea. A "why didn't I think of that idea". I did a chicken stock yesterday, 10 hours in the slow cooker and then strained and simmered on the stove for another 1.5 hours to reduce. I had a very nice gelatinous 8 cups of stock this am. Currently in my mini muffin tins freezing.
I have some shrimp shells and lobster legs in the slow cooker now, hopefully I can do a seafood stock the same way.
I bought some Blue Agave nectar this weekend to help in my ongoing attempt to decrease the amount of refined sugar I eat (so hard with the huge sweet tooth I have). Now I do not really know what to do with it. I can easily see it's use for things like sweetening tea or coffee but I do not drink either one. I can also see using in sauces and marinades that call for sugar. In thinking about where I could use it most I realize that most of the sugar I eat is in fact from baked goods. Can it really be used successfully in baking? What ratio to substitute, I have seen 1/3 - 3/4 cup for 1 cup of sugar, that's a pretty big range. Does anyone use anything else to substitute for sugar in baking. I am generally of the mind that anything in moderation is ok and will use real butter, sugar, cream etc... but moderation is my problem. love sweets and do not have great willpower. I think if I could use some natural substitutes with a lower glycemic index it could only help.
I don't eat a lot of beans but I know how good they are for me. I picked up some red lentils at Whole Foods the other day but now don't really know what to do with them. I admit I got them because they are a nice color and look more appealing than the green. Any good ideas for what to do with them for someone who doesn't eat beans because I 'think' I don't like them?
I went to a Pampered Chef party last week and ordered a set of bamboo spoons and spatulas (nice and smooth!!), my sister-in-laws reaction was "More spoons?" Does anyone else have what seems to most people to be an excess of utensils and such? I don't mean the gimmicky gadgets which I have spent plenty of money on and then hardly ever used, but stuff you have a lot of because you actually use it. I have 2 sets of measuring cups (plus the odd size set) and 4 sets of measuring spoons, three or four whisks, and who can have too many spoons or tongs? Maybe I am just lazy and don't like to have to wash as I go, but I really do feel like I "need" them all. My friends look at the canisters on my counter and just shake their heads. Oh yeah, I bought a whisk at the Pampered Chef party as well.
I did it!! They look so cool!!
An update for those of you who were so supportive of my initial attempt at croissants. I used a recipe for "Authentic croissants at home" from Cooks Illustrated. I chose this one for several reasons, it is fairly simple - a shorter time frame because of less folds and doing two folds at once (fit into my schedule today perfectly), no steam bath involved (sounded quite scary), I have always had great luck with everything I have made from them, and of course there were good pictures.
So while not totally authentic I must say I enjoyed making them and they really did come out good! Very flaky appearing from the outside, many visible layers, the chocolate stayed nicely inside. They taste yummy but unfortunately a little doughy in the bottom layers. I am hoping this is because I did not wait until they cooled all the way before I cut one in half an sampled. Maybe I should have let them rise a bit longer, I ran out of time. I hope my friends enjoy them tonight.
I am inspired to try more of this sort of baking and will not hesitate to try a more complicated version now.
Thanks for the encouragement.
I am going to try my hand at croissants this week - first time. I am going to do chocolate filled ones cuz why not? (they are for dessert for my cooking club, the theme is to make something we have never made before) Does anyone have a recommendation for a fairly foolproof recipe. I bake a fair amount and have conquered my fear of yeast bread but the thought of puff pastry and croissants is daunting. I have looked at Rose Levy Beranbaum's recipe as well as King Arthur's, they seem similar but King Arthur's seems a little easier to follow (maybe because it has pictures?) Any suggestions would be appreciated!
I hope to get a new oven in the next 6 mos or so. It needs to be an electric range (would love gas, but not an option) and work in the confines of my kitchen (would also love a new kitchen, but not an option). Any suggestions? I want something that will bake bread well. Glass/ceramic top? Convection vs conventional?
This will be my first time actually picking out an oven so I want to do it right! Thanks for any suggestions.
I will be taking 4 1/2 hour flight next week and need to get a new book to read. I am looking for something good but a relatively easy read ( I have a hard time really concentrating on a plane which is why it's usually the only time I read Cosmo and other "trashy" magazines!). I enjoyed Heat by Bill Buford and have considered getting Kitchen Confidential. I also considered another cookbook since I can read one like a novel...read The Bread Baker's Apprentice start to finish in two sittings, but they are a bit bulky for a plane. Thanks for any recommendations!
There is never a bad time for chocolate, and unfortunately I am not picky when it comes to eating it. I tell myself I am only going to eat the really good stuff in an attempt to decrease my consumption but then I will find myself with a handful of empty hershey kiss wrappers at work... Right now I am on a kick of the Dove mini squares (variety pack), trying to eat only one or two a day.
@sadiepix and jenilowrance
both the orange cardamom and carrot cake cookies come from epicurious.com. I did not use the cream cheese filling from the recipe, I have a cream cheese frosting I love (probably because it is just about equal parts butter and cream cheese...very healthy!). I have made the orange cardamom cookie recipe as is but I also have a citrus butter cookie that I substituted the lime and lemon juice and zest with orange and added some cardamom...tasted just as good and the cookie itself may have been a little better.
Thanks to everyone for the great suggestions!
My twin sister passed away two years ago. She had made a cookbook as a Christmas gift about 5 years ago, with favorite family and friend recipes (best gift ever) We had a memorial service and made many of the recipes from the book to serve at the service and included copies of the recipes for anyone who wanted to take them. As a result we served great food and were able to honor her in a special way.
Captain Crunch was the best..but would always scrape up the roof of my mouth. I really did not like it when it got soggy so I would suffer with the discomfort! I haven't had it in years but would probably be my first choice it I was going to get one of those cereals with sugar listed as the first ingredient that mom would never let us get as kids!
I also use The Bread Bible and the King Arthur books but my favorite is The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. Excellent book, I brought it home and read it cover to cover. I started making bread about 3 years ago after going to a bread baking class at King Arthur (highly recommended if you are ever in Vermont) and have become a bit addicted to bread baking books. The bread Baker's Apprentice is pretty detailed and involved and just about all the recipes take two days to make but well worth it I think.
Nuts and Berries
1 part Chambord 1 part Frangelico 2 parts cream
Yummy, tastes like black raspberry ice cream
I was just on Weight Watchers website (trying to learn some portion control, seems to be working) and saw something about substituting fat free evap milk for whipped cream. Came over here and saw this posting, funny coincidence. I do not know if evap milk helps you at all but I am wondering if whipped fat free evap milk is a decent substitute for whipped cream. I have always been a whipped cream purist, don't like the taste of Cool Whip. It seems like if I am trying to lose weight and eat healthier why would I eat something as processed as fat free Cool Whip just to save a few calories...who knows what they put in it. I am thinking of doing an angel cake this weekend with fresh berries (ok, will prob have to put choc frosting on half for my husband, I have never understood that) and a little whipped crean would be nice.
I had french toast made with bagels at a place in Montreal a bunch of years ago. It was delicious, served with fresh strawberries and blueberries. I have made it myself several times and it is always a big hit. Also had banana bread french toast recently, very good as well.
No celery in any salad ever!! I can eat celery plain but HATE it in anything, salad or otherwise. The perfect way to make a wonderful lobster roll inedible. Definitely more of a texture thing than a taste thing. Wow, I just realized this is one of the food things I feel most strongly about.
I have posted here before that I have a PEEP addiction...yes I know how gross they are but I will eat them still I feel sick and then could do it all over again the next day. If the chocolate was really good this could be the perfect Easter food, even with only ok chocolate I will have to give them a try.
I used to crave it when stressed or sad- it was one of my comfort foods before January of this year. The last really intense chocolate dessert I had upset my stomach so I've only had small amounts of chocolate since then. I am curious to see if my love of chocolate comes back in 10 weeks. Maybe this pregnancy has totally quashed my desire for all things chocolate!
i crave pasta when sad- how weird is that? but chocolate i can take or leave.
Stressed, happy, or in between, I reach for...cheese!
I like chocolate a lot, but I don't think I crave it any more than any other food. Chocolate is a favorite for desserts, and I've been known to munch chocolate bars, but I also like other flavors...So it's not ALL chocolate all the time.
Odd thing, though, is that I can go months without any chocolate, but once I have some, I'll want it again, soon, where I might have opted for a different treat if I hadn't had the previous chocolate.
Neither. When I'm stressed or excited, I usually have no desire to eat anything at all (I may have a glass of wine:-)).
I do love chocolate however, and have been known to consume an ungodly amount of it in one sitting (an entire 200 gr bar!) when a craving hit. Come to think of it, this hasn't happened in several years, but still.
@izatryt.........I can also relate to the steak and "lobsta" big time.
I love chocolate! unfortunatley the feeling is not reciprocated :( even the small amounts of milk solids in chocolate upset the "balance" when i was growing up i never ate chocolate, just never had a taste for it. when i hit puberty, oh wow they threatened to send me to chocoholics annonymus. i practicly lived on the stuff, funny thing is i never had a problem with acne. now adays i find the only choc i can handle is dove dark mini's and then only one and on rare occasions. But to get back to the original question, i grab it mostly when stressed.
I'm extremely picky about my chocolate--only dark, preferably 70%+ (88% is my favorite).
But there is never a bad time for it--I'm afraid I'm not much of a savory person. I rarely eat dessert now, but if I do I want to really enjoy a small portion, so I will have a good chocolate dessert. If things are rough, I tend to snack on small pieces of highly concentrated chocolate.
My hands-down favorite, if you have access to a freezer to store it until dessert-time, is lemonade pie with pretzel crust. Make a pretzel crust just as you would a graham cracker crust - except use pretzels, of course. Crushed pretzels, butter, sugar. Pat evenly into pie plate. Bake, then cool. Then, slightly soften 1 quart of vanilla ice cream and mix until smooth with one 6-oz. can of lemonade (or limeade, or pink lemonade). If you can stand not to eat the entire frosty bowl while you're standing there, pile the filling in the cooled pretzel crust and freeze several hours until firm. These are incredibly addictive and we eat them all summer long. They are PERFECT with cookout food. You can garnish with little puffs of whipped cream and lemon zest, or paper-thin lemon slices, or a little of the pretzel mix that you've held back. Enjoy!
Subscribe to our feeds:
All of Serious Eats, Talk, Required Eating, Videos, Eating Out, Recipes, New York
Subscribe by email:
Website:
Location:
About:
Favorite foods:
Last bite on earth: