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Pazuru

The Perfect Scone?

Hmm I was thinking that after just looking through recipe photos as well CJ. I'll have to give that a try! And after countless google searches, I've found recipes for scones that have been adapted from Savoy, Harod's and Fortnum and Mason's however they are, of course, in metric. Does anyone know of a decent metric to US measurement calculator out there?

The Perfect Scone?

sarar - Thank you for all of the information! Oddly enough on the butter and height though, I've seen many different recipes that look beautifully high and fluffy. For instance, when looking through photograzing I would see a recipe with 1 1/2 c butter with a lovely height and on the same page a recipe with 4-5 tbsps and still look the same. I wonder if it just has to do with the handling? And thank you for the recipes!

The Perfect Scone?

annzee - Ooo these sound delightful and such a lovely story behind them too! The ratio of baking powder to baking soda is different from any of the scones I've tried so far as well so this one looks promising. I'll put this on the top of my to-try list. Thank you so much for sharing!

- Eve

The Perfect Scone?

CJ - I'm glad I'm not the only one searching! Interesting tip on the baking soda - I'll have to try that. I've read about barely handling (although some recipes suggest some kneading) and I've found that the turn out method greatly helps with many of the recipes I've tried too. I have not, however, tried pulling them apart. I usually just cut them into wedges one the baking sheet and put them in the oven. I'll have to give that a try - thank you!

England! Where should I eat and -above all- what to bring back!

Oh and another question - even though I love cooking in general, I am a huge fan of baking. Because of this, I'm trying to think of what I could possibly bring back from England that I can use in baking. Does anyone know of any specific flours, waters (like rose water) or anything I might find fun to bake with that I should bring back? I know that that is kind of specific but I thought I might as well try to ask!

Thanks again!

- Eve

England! Where should I eat and -above all- what to bring back!

Oh goodness, thank you for all of the links ermintrude75! I'll check all of them asap. And I agree entirely with all of the food suggestions. I can't wait to try local ales (maybe even mead?) pork pies, bacon sandwiches (mmmmm) and, of course, fish and chips and sausage rolls. I second you on the candy Vera and I have never even heard of fortnum and mason jam or the barley water or oaten biscuits So many new things to consider - thank you! And philandlauren - I've actually never tried marrow although it's been high on my to try list for a while.

Thanks again for all of the pointers everyone! Keep em comin, I'm writing everything down.

England! Where should I eat and -above all- what to bring back!

Ok, I'll definitely have to put Harrod's on my list thank you for the tip! For some reason tea had not even crossed my mind although it's the most obvious thing that should have come to mind. Ooohh I remember lemon squash now. Only vaguely, but I remember how good it was. Also to cyberroo - I already had visiting the Cadbury plant on my list! I could, of course, be biased but I don't think that any chocolate could beat Cadbury's sweets. To healthytouch - Oh my goodness what another obvious thing that I most certainly should have thought of. I check the BBC website for recipes weekly so looking there for ideas should have come to me beforehand but thank you for pointing it out and letting me know what to look for! And thank you to everyone that has helped out so far!

- Eve

England! Where should I eat and -above all- what to bring back!

Oh PS- I was debating whether I should post this in the dining or food section but I figured that because in my opinion the food/ingredients/snacks(and everything else)-to-bring-back part is a much higher priority to me than the where should I eat part, I would look for answers here.

- Eve

Best of the odd combinations?

Not really that unique but my favorite classic combo (that unfortunately not many people that I've met know of :( ) is a few drops of balsamic vinegar with sliced strawberries and a dash of sugar. And since strawberries are at their peak now it's just simply amazing. Mmm... I think I know what my lunch will be today.

Goodbye, Dumpling

Oh my goodness what an awful shock this must be, mostly for you Kenji, but I am sure also to every serious eats devotee who visits this site daily including me. Love and best wishes to both you and the goofiest, humourous and overall best food model I've ever seen grace the foodie interweb. Keep your head up and stay strong! And thank you for posting such a long slideshow - it honours Dumpling in the best way. He will be able to give people more smiles and laughs no matter where he is.

Father's Day Book Giveaway: 'Eat Like a Man: The Only Cookbook a Man Will Ever Need'

Hmm.. Well I don't know if these would be considered manly but here goes. My father is British and he hopped the pond to the US about 30 years ago. He is renowned for three foodstuffs in my family:

1. His absolutely scrumptious homemade fresh black currant jam. How did he get the black currents all the way up here in Minnesota? He ordered them from a small farm in Oregon and lovingly grew them of course. When it came time for us to move from our little town house out to the country, my dad being the insistent person he is dug the huge bushes up and transplanted them here. In two sad jamless years, the currants finally started growing again and he now cooks up 40 pounds of the little sour berries into his wonderful jam yearly.

2. Easter ham. I don't know why but my dad has some magical way with it. It always ends up the most desirable and savored dish on the table and he even managed to somehow convert my every-pork-item-despising boyfriend into a ham lover. But only my dads of course.

3. This dish I sadly don't see all that often anymore. He used to make an incredibly delicious mint sauce with roast lamb for special occasions but unfortunately he stopped making it a few years ago. What did he say when asked why on earth he would force his poor family to live without this delectable dish? We are no longer a member of sams and that is the only place he has ever found new zealand lamb (the only kind he will ever, ever use) in Minnesota. And also unfortunately, although I have ventured to all sorts of odd venues in search of the meat I have had no luck finding it either.

Foodies in The Nude for Japan

Haha, I don't blame you Adam. I can't imagine how much pumping up these brave foodies must have done to get themselves in the right mindset to pose nude.

Meet & Eat: Faye Leong, Serious Eats Intern

Hehe I do the same thing with the whipped cream. Sometimes while I'm cooking I'll suddenly feel the urge for something sweet and sidle over to the fridge to get a "puff". This always seems to be followed by "ewwwws" by everyone who might be standing nearby.

ARGH!! I'm out of .... What ingredient can you not live without?

Sugar and flour. I've had several times (sometimes late at night) where I'll have a sudden recipe idea that I dash to the kitchen try out only to find I'm out of one of those two ingredients. This often leads to me cursing under my breath (or out loud depending on who's within earshot) and dashing off to the store.

And I agree with Shrew as well, I love fruit so I always keep some type of dried on hand just in case I run out of the fresh stuff.

Cook the Book: 'Rose's Heavenly Cakes'

Wow, this post brought back some memories! After a lot of grueling debate, I have to my favorite was found at a friend's birthday party about seven years ago. Her mom had made what she called a "sour cream chocolate cake with marshmallow icing" - It was so very good: Moist, fudgy and still somehow light. I'm still on the hunt for that recipe, all of my attempts to make it thus far have failed miserably.

You might be a foodie if....

God, I can relate to almost everything written above lol!

Here's a few more -

You carry around a small notebook to write down new recipes or ideas with you everywhere.

You have trouble falling asleep because you can't stop thinking about food (what you're cooking tomorrow, what restaurants you're going to go to tomorrow, what you should get from the store, ect).

If almost every page of what should be a notebook used exclusively for college has multiple food-related notes in the margins.

If you smuggle around a knife with you just in case you find a fruit you haven't tried yet and HAVE to try it ASAP. (This happened to me yesterday after visiting an Asian Food Market)

When you're visiting a new town instead of asking a local where the best places to sightsee are, you ask where the best places to eat are.

The Perfect Scone?

Hello again everyone! Even though I've always been kind of shy about posting on any website, I made a post on here a few days ago about my trip to England that is coming up and I got many amazing suggestions so I figured I would try my luck again. This is a question that has been baffling me for a while. Well, more specifically has been baffling me even more so since last Sunday/Father's Day. Because my father is British, I decided to make him clotted cream and scones. So last week, after I got the clotted cream method written down (pretty easy - there's only a few recipes out there), I started on the scones. Now, I thought this was going to be as easy as pie. It's just a scone, right?

Of course, I was entirely wrong. While browsing through photograzing and the BBC website, I came upon dozens of recipes with several different base ingredients and methods used: Lots of butter or just a bit, baking powder, baking soda and buttermilk, varying amounts of flour and sugar, milk, half and half or cream and different shapes - circles or wedges. I've tried three recipes since I started my search but I still have yet to find that perfectly tall and fluffy scone.

So, now I'm here. Do any of you have a favorite scone recipe? Or have you tried different variations with one coming out on top? Does the shape matter in how high the scones get and what about the space between them on the baking sheet?

- Eve

England! Where should I eat and -above all- what to bring back!

Hello everyone! I feel kind of awful for asking about this because... I'm a British citizen. And an American citizen. Mostly American. Okay, I was born and raised here to a wonderfully lovable British father. Unfortunately it's been almost five years since I've visited my family over there and now (gasp) I'll be on a plane destined for heathrow in less than a month! So, this is what I need help with. The last time I was in England I was very sadly neither a foodie or a cook at a restaurant so I have absolutely no idea of where to eat and, of course, far more importantly what to bring back with me. I'll be staying in Swindon for the majority of my trip but I'm planning on going to as many areas (London included of course) as I can while there. Is there anyone out there who could give me a few pointers?

Much thanks in advance!

- Eve

Foodies in The Nude for Japan

Hello everyone, this is my first time posting on serious eats although I have been an avid reader here for years. Today, however, I found something so intriguing and amazing that it prompted me to finally make my first post.

While browsing my usual food blogs today, I came across an odd sight. It was a link to a website called The Nudie Foodies.

http://www.thenudiefoodies.com/

According to their about us section, this is a group of food bloggers who are baring it all for the creation of a book that will contain pictures of the nude bloggers as well as accompanying recipes. All profits received from the sales of the books will go to a yet to be decided charity for Japan in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit them.

Take a look and post what your thoughts on this are!

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