Williams Sonoma always seems to be advertising a "special" color, and I have checked LC's website and that color wasn't there.
Quality wise, LC seems pretty keen on protecting their enameled cast iron's reputation. I've bought some not quite perfect stuff from TJMaxx/Homegoods and I still haven't figured out what's "wrong" with it.
PLF burgers on the grill, sangria, and not a veggie patty in sight!
they have waffles just right. Such an great go to for the "basics" when you are drawing a blank on how to make a "basic"
The tahini might have salmonella, forgot to mention that part. 3 jars sitting on my table right now. They will issue a refund if you send in the lids.
When I do such a thing, I cook down about half of the bag, and then freeze it in the ice cube trays I used to use for my daughter's baby food. It made one tray I think, but then I always had some greens around to pop into things like the ricotta for lasagna or defrost one for an omelette.
Or my regular kefir and frozen berry smoothie went green for day with a handful of fresh leaves added
Back when Wisconsin went .08, some of the restaurants would re-cork and seal your bottle of wine so you could take the rest home with you and didn't feel pressured to finish it so it wouldn't be wasted. Some places reported bottle sales went up cause people didn't have to worry if they could take the last glass or two worth home.
no seasoning vs over cooked
Mom never let us have them, but I soooooo wanted crispy critters "the low sugar ceareal with lots of Crunch!" how sad is it I remember the jingle and never ate the product
Favorite was Austrian style in both Vienna and Salzburg. Very similar to German style but just not the same. Or maybe vacation food just tastes better. . .
Cooked in a grill basket over an open fire in the Tetons. Best steak I ever had was the next night:)
come on rhubarb, GROW! I've been rationing my rhubarb infused vodka from last year, and I need a fresh batch. Going to try a gin infused with rhubarb this year
This will be our 4th year with our CSA (Salad Days!) in MN. It works out to a bit over $20 per week. We chose this one initially because of the smaller sized bags with a bigger variety, really designed around what a small family could eat reasonably in a week. They are really good about putting stuff "in the bag" (we get bags not boxes) that works together for meals, so if we get asian greens, there is probably some daikon in there, etc. I did a lot of shopping around before choosing this one. The rules for each one are different. Ours lets us get a "make up" bag if we tell them at pick up the week before we will be gone, and then produce overload after vacation. They were willing to relax that rule when I was due with Toddler Ecca in season, just call them 2 days prior:), first thing we did home from the hospital with her, go pick up the bag. . .
@truff: freezing them is preserving them
I use a paper towel instead of the cheesecloth. Just toss it afterwords
Thanks for all the great ideas everyone! I'm leaning towards a pavlova right now cause that should travel fairly well and be pretty quick to deal with there and I can serve it plated. Just will have lots of egg yolks left over. . . maybe I'll try a lime curd, since I have a bag of those around here
I miss @willgordon! Sorry Maggie, he just handled this genre better. . .
And as far as strawberry daiquiris go, frozen strawberries, rum, lime, pinch of sugar, blend. Comes with a serving of fruit, thereby making it a health drink
someday if it ever warms up, the rhubarb will start to do its thing.
I'll be doing 3 basils, oregano, mints, thyme, some peppers, and maybe tomatoes. THose I do in planters. Might put down some cucumbers and squashes just to keep the ground covered where we had some shrubs removed last fall.
Would LOVE to do lettuces, but the bunnies would love that too.
Not a pizza expert, but a coal fired pizza definitely has a different flavor than a wood or gas fired. A little smokier, more intense back ground note which needs to be managed with the toppings, etc. Not a bad thing, my favorite pizza place is coal fired, but they are kinda too far for regular consumption. Note to self: Black Sheep!
Most of the drinks to disappear besides the mojito, which is a pain to make correctly and quickly, are what I would consider entry level/college booze. The get drunk quick stuff or the I don't want to taste the booze category. Most of the bartenders polled seem to work at establishments catering to a more upscale clientele/mature booze consumer who would presumably past vodka red bulls and LIITs.
For the record, I have an appletini with the sour pucker every christmas when I wrap gifts. I add a splash of goldschlager to make it an apple cinnamon tini cause it's just so festively colored with the sparkly gold, bright green and bright red cherry!
I like sangria as a cheap way to get lots of booze to people. if you have a TJ's around, their 3 buck chuck works perfectly.
I really like the starfruit sangria from this site. Nice peppery note from the gin in it really clears the palate
As long as you have some nice fresh strawberries to feed each other for "dessert" you will be good:)
If something could be buttered, I always wanted a bit of butter on the side "just to eat"
Dairy farming family I guess it was in the genes, cause I don't fit well in my jeans
Haven't tried any Cap'n flavors after being grossed out by the peanut butter one as a kid, and my mom made me finish the box cause she bought it for me as a treat.
Go with the basic 4, a favorite now banned from our nut-free home
Honestly, I don't tip then. Or if I were to, I would hand a buck or 2 to whomever brought the food to me, rather than putting it on the card. That way I know the money is going to whomever did the work.
My little public service announcement. . . only found out about this after reading about 2 toddlers getting sick from tahini. No hummus tonight in our house.
Krinos brand tahini is being recalled. The one pretty easy to find in most regular grocery stores. Only certain dates are included, but if you bought yours around the super bowl you are probably involved. For more details:
http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm351630.htm
The in-laws are having a mother's day "brunch" with a potluck style lunch (grilled chicken) menu. I was assigned desert. No problem, but I'm just stumped on what to make. I made a lemon cake for this crowd last time.
The catch is, it has to be gluten free/celiac friendly and nut free. And easy on the dairy for the lactose intolerant branch of the family. Serving 18-20 adults and 2-3 kids. I would prefer to just make one thing cause otherwise everyone wants a little bit of both.
The restrictions aren't the problem, just my creativity and inspiration are just not there!
So earlier this week I posted/lamented about the inches of snow we were having (please dear God do not make this a jinx!) and now it seems spring has remembered us! We celebrated with strip steaks on the grill, smashed garlic potatoes, and lightly steamed pea pods. I had a rhubarb gin drink thing and mr Ecca had a St Lupilin. Spring was here! What did you have?
I live in MN where it's currently snowing, and 4-6 more inches are expected tonight. I'm reading SE and the grocery flyers and other food blogs and everyone all about Spring Recipes and foods! And it looks like Christmas here. All Mr Ecca wants is something on the grill which is currently being buried again. I'm sick of the wintery type foods, but it's hard to get motivated for light and fresh with 5 inches of fresh snow on the ground.
Our CSA is due to start deliveries in a month. . . It seems so far away. What's a Minnesota girl to do to help with this never ending winter, in a culinary sense?
So Mr Ecca can take a hint and bought me the lovely, swoonworthy Shun chef's knife I've been coveting for Christmas. He said there wasn't anything in the jewelry store that he liked (but how hard are diamond solitaire earrings, but I digress) I'm beyond thrilled and sporting my first flesh wound from it too from trying to keep the kid out of the garbage and follow a football game while chopping happily.
Here's my question: He also gave me the Shun honing steel, cause he was told my existing (wustof though he didn't know the brand) steel wouldn't work with this knife due to the different metals, etc. My question is: is this true, do I need a separate type of honing steel for this knife or was he taken for a ride by the sales person? Google was very vague, so I'm hoping someone might have some inside info. This is a big ticket knife (but cheaper than those diamonds;)) so I really don't want to ruin it. But otherwise I have the gift receipt and some store credit potential that I don't want to go to waste either.
Serious Eaters, Please help me with my dream knife problem! (for the record, I also have the same brand slicing/carving knife I found on killer clearance from Williams somoma a while back so it wouldn't be my only Shun knife using said steel)
So there are lots of dishes out there made by well intentioned family and friends we will politely choke down in the coming days in the spirit of Thanksgiving. In my case, turkey cooked to 180 and greasy stuffing. It's kinda fun to vent about the bad, but how about the good and better?
What's something that you are looking forward too that you aren't making? (Obviously us SEers would have the perfect meal every time;)) That the host just always gets right? Me: MIL makes a good gravy (thank God!) and these amazing pumpkin cranberry muffins. Her pie isn't bad either. And my mom's mashed potatoes. . .
Baby Ecca is a spunky one year old gal who likes to figure things out, including how to get into places she doesn't belong. Mommy Ecca likes to cook and has lots of "toys" not appropriate for baby who will suck on everything she finds. (seriously, fresh CSA peas, icky, peas somehow found on floor a week later, YUM!)
Right now I have a 24 pack of diet coke blocking access to the pots/pans that are too heavy for her. She has free access to the rubbermaid cabinet. I have some looping handle latches on the other cabinets, but it seems like only time before she figures them out. The knobs for the gas range are all in a cabinet (plus side my MIL can't reach them either:) stay our of my kitchen!) but the kid is still trying to open the oven door. I'm pretty careful about watching her, but I want to know about other's solutions, cause sometimes mommy just has to pee and the kid roams free
So my new range has a convection feature, which came standard with the 5 burners that I really wanted. I figured hey, that's neat and I'll figure out how/when to use it eventually. So I tried it out and after a few colorful metaphors I got it to work. I know read the stupid instruction book and my cookies came out awesome. And fast. I knew to lower the temp 25 degrees, but wow! The whole double batch of peanut butter cookies in 40 minutes! Yippee!
So do you convect for everything, or just somethings like cookies? What about pizza? I can't see how a low and slow braise would be enhanced by it, but I look to you, the serious eaters with the nice ovens for advice. Or those who have done more research on the topic as they dream of convection capabilities:)
My kitchen mini-face lift is almost done, yippie. I am generally loving the new floors and new appliances, but I'm having some technical difficulties with the griddle insert thing for my new 5 burner stove.
I washed the thing up, switched it in instead of the regular burner grate, lubed it up well, and proceeded to watch all my pancakes stick or under cook and GAAAAH! We wound up having blueberry pancake scramble. Is there a trick to using those types of griddles? It's not really cast iron, not really enameled, definitely not non-stick, and not dishwasher friendly. The temp was right cause the little drops of water acted correctly, so I know it wasnt that. Or do I just use my regular pan. . .
Long story short, dishwasher died this weekend, fridge is older and making funny clunking noises after every motor run, and I just hate the range in the house that is probably older than I am.
So we are getting new appliances, and while I know what I want for the dishwasher and range, I'm torn on the fridge. I have a standard top freezer bottom fridge right now, which is what I grew up with, so it's familiar to me. I also have a full size upright freezer and a mini beer fridge in the basement. I really miss the french doors with lower freezer drawer we bought at our previous house, but we have limited space so it would be a smaller model. I'm not really a fan of side by sides, so I'm leaning towards a top fridge, bottom drawer freezer. I'm hoping for around a 20 cubic foot option. What do you serious eaters have for fridges, and what would you buy next time if given a $1500 or so budget ?
I know the Serious Eats drinks team has posted some Amazing looking sangria recipes. So what are your favorites? I'm having a social summer gathering this weekend and thinking of offering one white and one red sangria. It will be held after a local beer fest so I'm guessing most will be done with beer for the day.
I usually do rum and triple sec with berry flavored juice and fruit with a red wine, but I don't have a really good white option. Any recommendations? (I have a chardonnay and merlot in mind to mix with)
So I'm not a fan of baked egg dishes, so quiche, frittata, "the brunch recipe" (an in-law fav) are not my thing. Mr Ecca tolerates these items, partially cause he travels for work and has to eat them for business breakfasts. Somethings are more palatable when properly paid I guess.
My question is: Do people really like egg pie/quiche etc? or is it one of those foods that everyone pretends to like but really wouldn't miss if they never had to eat again?
So I have a le creuset grill pan that I Love, except for the clean up. I have a few other grill pans that I tolerate, including the clean up. How do you get rid of the funky build up that happens when a something should be grilled outside but a severe weather warning suggests otherwise?
We are getting ready to teach Baby Ecca about the joys of solid food. What did people feed their kids first? I'm reluctant to have her first foods be processed rice cereal since I'm trying to decrease the processed stuff in my diet (aside from coke zero and triscuits, every mom has her vices) and it just doesn't seem right. I have some frozen squash from last summer that I'm leaning towards, but I'm curious to read what other serious eating parents have done.
Thanks!
My SIL whom I love dearly was recently diagnosed with celiac, and she has been feeling much better with her new gluten free diet. I've cooked for her a couple of times, and I'm terrified that a stray gluten molecule has jumped into my carefully planned gluten free menus to make her sick. She once told me that she was sick after thanksgiving at her aunt's, but didn't say anything because she knew how hard her aunt had tried to make "safe" food for her. I'm just concerned because I am cooking gluten free 2% of the time, but there isn't any room for error. It makes vegan cooking in my omnivore kitchen seem easy.
My question to y'all is would you want to know if someone was "contaminated" after eating what you prepared? I would be mortified, but I think I would want to know so I could fix the problem. Any advice on dealing with an occasionally gluten free kitchen would be appreciated as well.
I have some healthy productive kefir grains, but I'm wondering about their usage. I'm getting almost a quart every other day. Some of what I have read on the great inter web have said that home kefir is interchangeable for commercial buttermilk. Have you SE'ers had good luck with this exchange or should I live dangerously? I hate to waste good food in a not so good exchange. . .
About a month or so ago I posted about cleaning my pizza stone after I left it out overnight accidentally and a mouse used it for a toilet. Well, that mouse has died via drowning in my rice cooker insert I was soaking, but another mouse has used my pizza stone for a toilet again. With the pizza stone stored in my oven. My question is, do other people have mice getting in their ovens? And is there something I can do to prevent it?
For the record, we have traps out that 5 other mice have used. And my kitchen is usually pretty clean.
I accidentally left my pizza stone on top of the stove last night and came out to mouse droppings on it and the rest of the kitchen counter tops. I can clorox everything else, but how does one disinfect a pizza stone? I brushed off the droppings, but any sanitation advice would be appreciated. Right now I'm thinking a rinse (no soap) and then a nice hot bake.
Over thanksgiving we exchange gift list ideas with the family during the name draw, and I'm at a blank. What I really want is a Thermapen, or a kitchen renovation, but that slightly exceeds the $50 limit. My kitchen is pretty well supplied, but I'm always looking for ideas. Anything on your Christmas list to help inspire me?
I'm going to be doing mac and cheese for dinner for us tomorrow, and I'm going to be making individual ramekins. Since my recipe makes about 6 servings, but there are only 2 of us eating, how many do I bake? Do I bake all 6 knowing 4 will be leftovers going to the fridge, or do I just bake 2 and bake the others when we are ready to eat later in the week? Could I freeze 2 for later unbaked?
Thanks for the advice, I'm kind of a rookie with mac and cheese not from a blue box
Aside from wearing gloves, does anyone have a good way to not get beet juice all over your hands when working with them? And if you get the beet juice on them, what's a good way for removing the stain?
I'm the operator of a set of fingers with a slight purple tinge and I have a load of white laundry I really don't want to have purple spots on. And I'm out of gloves right now. . .
This is just a little rant/vent with people who might feel similarly. . . or not
I really like to cook (hence I'm posting here) and I'm pretty protective of my kitchen space, even with it's blue laminate counters and vinyl floors. Last week my MIL insisted on bringing over dinner when they were coming to see the baby to "help" me. She brought lasagna, which wasn't bad. We won't comment on desert though.
While I was nursing said baby, my MIL proceeded to empty the dishwasher and clean up and "organize" my kitchen. I was livid. I don't let Mr Ecca do anything more complicated than make cereal or a sandwich cause it's MY kitchen (he doesn't mind, he knows he's spoiled). He does take out the trash:) Just cause I have a newborn does not an invalid make me.
Am I crazy or are there others of you who are rather protective of your turf?
So I was going through the fridge today and realized the date on the one pound container of lump crab meat from costco has a use by date coming up really soon. And I know this has been in the fridge for at least 7 months, so I'm wondering if I can just pop the whole thing in the freezer.
I know people will say to make something with it, and if I weren't 9 months pregnant with a pregnancy induced seafood aversion I would. I can't have seafood open in the house without major GI distress. (Mr Ecca has been pouting about no grilled fish all summer). I'm also guessing that crab probably won't be the first thing I want to make after having the baby so some longer term storage might be needed.
Advice please!
If any one is wondering, my experiment in turning no knead bread into sandwich rolls worked, and was delicious.
I made the bread dough the usual way, then after the "rest" period, I divided it into 6ths. 4 of those I shaped into rolls/sandwich buns for my stoneware mini-dutch ovens (16 oz with little lids) and the rest I stretched into bread sticks. Let the whole mess rise again for the next 2 hours. I pre-heated to 400, just cause I was nervous about heating empty stoneware much hotter. I baked everything for about 25 minutes at 400, then pulled the bread sticks, and let the rolls go for another 18ish minutes.
I know the original Bittman recipe says 450, but that seemed really hot for such little amounts of dough. They turned out Beautifully! Like little baby ciabetta rolls for pesto and grilled balsamic chicken sandwiches.
So I was wandering through Williams Sonoma today as my reward for going to the dentist, when I found this Le Crueset set of a 4 quart dutch oven (cast iron) with 4 minis (16oz) dutch ovens (stoneware) on sale for $99! I totally don't need it, but I couldn't walk away at that price.
So once I had it home and started thinking how I would explain it to Mr Ecca, I was thinking the little ones could be great for mini-loaves of bread in the Bittman no-knead variety, but I'm wondering about how much dough I would put in each one. I'm not the greatest bread baker when not using the bread machine, so I stick with Ecca proof recipes.
Do I just divide it in quarters and see what happens, or would that be too much and create a mess? Has anyone tried something similar to this? I'm thinking the finished product would be rather good for some sandwiches, if I can make it.
Just because gluten can't be a part of your life doesn't mean you have to live without pizza. Our own gluten-free guru Elizabeth Barbone has created a rice flour based Yeast-Raised Pizza Crust that can take on any topping combo without cracking or drying out, the way so many GF adaptations do. More
They probably aren't at their best, but the vanilla would probably still be root beer float friendly.
Also like the milkshake idea, where texture doesn't matter after Blend!