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06-07-2015, 12:14 PM
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#161
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: S. California
Posts: 777
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Last night's dinner was wonderful, and certainly up to restaurant standards: Grilled top sirloin rubbed with a mix of kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and allspice, smashed russet potatoes with blue cheese and fresh thyme, and sauteed broccolini drizzled with aged balsamic vinegar and a sprinkling of blue cheese. We paired it all with an Argentinian Malbec. Dessert was a couple of blondies I made using whole wheat flour, caramelized brown sugar, toasted pecans and butterscotch chips.
No meat thermometer as of yet, but my steak did turn out a perfectly done medium rare - 5 minutes per side on med high heat, one flip, 1 1/2" thickness.
I do so enjoy putting out lovely food.
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06-07-2015, 12:22 PM
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#162
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,401
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElizabethT
Last night's dinner was wonderful, and certainly up to restaurant standards: Grilled top sirloin rubbed with a mix of kosher salt, freshly ground pepper and allspice, smashed russet potatoes with blue cheese and fresh thyme, and sauteed broccolini drizzled with aged balsamic vinegar and a sprinkling of blue cheese. We paired it all with an Argentinian Malbec. Dessert was a couple of blondies I made using whole wheat flour, caramelized brown sugar, toasted pecans and butterscotch chips.
No meat thermometer as of yet, but my steak did turn out a perfectly done medium rare - 5 minutes per side on med high heat, one flip, 1 1/2" thickness.
I do so enjoy putting out lovely food.
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That sounds absolutely delicious. It's so wonderful to have the time to cook good food and experiment. As my culinary skills improve, I find myself being more critical of restaurant food.
I've learnt how to make delicious pizza, too!
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06-07-2015, 12:47 PM
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#163
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: S. California
Posts: 777
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Meadbh
That sounds absolutely delicious. It's so wonderful to have the time to cook good food and experiment. As my culinary skills improve, I find myself being more critical of restaurant food.
I've learnt how to make delicious pizza, too!
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Me too, with regard to becoming more critical of restaurant food. The one thing, however, I am definitely not skilled, or even interested in really, is making good sauces. If a restaurant makes a beautiful sauce to go over an equally beautiful protein, I'm still very appreciative.
Question: How do you get your pizza dough crispy throughout? I've just started making my own pizza dough (much easier than I thought it would be), but am still trying to figure out how to get it cooked/crisp'd evenly. I do use a heated pizza stone, but I still have room for improvement.
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06-07-2015, 01:39 PM
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#164
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 11,401
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElizabethT
Question: How do you get your pizza dough crispy throughout? I've just started making my own pizza dough (much easier than I thought it would be), but am still trying to figure out how to get it cooked/crisp'd evenly. I do use a heated pizza stone, but I still have room for improvement.
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I'm hardly an expert!
As you can see from the photo, I don't have a pizza stone, though I believe they deliver the best results. My pizza pan has holes in the bottom. I oil it and work the dough right on the pan rather than the countertop, because I'm too lazy to clean a floury countertop. But who knows, that might not work next time.
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06-07-2015, 01:39 PM
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#165
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Northern IL
Posts: 26,887
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SDHiker
Depends on how much cooking/baking/grilling you do and how patient you are while waiting for the $10 thermometer to give you an accurate temperature. The Thermapen takes about 2-3 seconds versus up to 30 seconds waiting while the oven or grill is open losing heat. It's a very individual preference whether it's worth the $$$ to you. To my husband, it is entirely worth it.
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I don't have a thermo-pen to compare, but my cheap (~$15) CDN settles in less than 6 seconds. While the delta between 2-3 seconds and 30 seconds is significant, I can live with 6 seconds, and $75 in my (virtual) wallet.
On another note - the nice thing about souse-vide steak cooking - no need for fast temperature response, and no resting and guessing how much temperature rise you will get. Sear so fast that you avoid the rise.
I recently bought another temperature controller (home brewers use these for fermentation temperature control and kegerator control), and wired up a socket to it so I can control anything (110V AC, <10 amps). It has a waterproof sensor (they sell these for aquarium use), and I plan to plug my manual control crock pot into it to maintain the temperature w/o any hands on monitoring. I'll get it close to temperature first with warm/hot tap water, then the on/off cycle of the crock pot will maintain it.
-ERD50
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06-07-2015, 02:01 PM
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#166
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Recycles dryer sheets
Join Date: Mar 2013
Posts: 252
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElizabethT
Me too, with regard to becoming more critical of restaurant food. The one thing, however, I am definitely not skilled, or even interested in really, is making good sauces. If a restaurant makes a beautiful sauce to go over an equally beautiful protein, I'm still very appreciative.
Question: How do you get your pizza dough crispy throughout? I've just started making my own pizza dough (much easier than I thought it would be), but am still trying to figure out how to get it cooked/crisp'd evenly. I do use a heated pizza stone, but I still have room for improvement.
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Here is a great pizza making forum with everything you wanted to know and more about pizza dough and pizza making.
http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php
It can be very intimidating but there is a lot of good info here.
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06-08-2015, 06:34 AM
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#167
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: S. California
Posts: 777
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Meadbh - I roll mine out on parchment paper, which I then can easily and non-messily transfer to the pizza stone for baking. (The parchment paper can be folded & reused multiple times)
Quote:
Originally Posted by fidler4
Here is a great pizza making forum with everything you wanted to know and more about pizza dough and pizza making.
Pizza Making Forum - Index
It can be very intimidating but there is a lot of good info here.
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fidler4 - That is a great forum, thank you. From what I've read so far, it appears you could make a career out of perfecting at-home pizza!
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06-08-2015, 06:43 AM
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#168
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
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Quote:
Originally Posted by audreyh1
I have discovered that it is definitely worth eating out when you are traveling in France. What great experience! Good reason to return.
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I would add Italy and Spain to the list. Yes, food is a good reason to travel. It only costs money.
__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)
"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
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06-13-2015, 03:33 PM
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#169
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 584
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One of the simpler foods but very different when made at home. Not a bean fan, but I do like bean dip. Did some home made refried beans. Very different from the canned! Much better! Try it! These beans may never make the transition to bean dip.
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06-22-2015, 06:21 AM
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#170
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: S. California
Posts: 777
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Wild salmon in the freezer, ripe mango in the fruit bin, fresh mint in my garden, so you know where this is going . . .
Last night's dinner was grilled salmon topped with a Mango and Mint Salsa Recipe | Epicurious.com. I served it over some nutty brown rice along with a butter leaf and tomato salad topped with an oil and lemon vinaigrette. Dessert was my go-to Scripps Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies - Recipe - Cooks.com. I double the chips called for, because, well, chips!
My herb garden now has mint, basil, parsley, thyme, oregano and chives. Using fresh herbs almost exclusively at this point has really elevated what comes out of my kitchen.
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06-22-2015, 08:12 AM
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#171
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
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You are still missing sage, rosemary, tarragon, sorrel, lemon grass...
Just joking, of course. You have a decent herb garden.
__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)
"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
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06-22-2015, 08:50 AM
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#172
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 731
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Father's day I did up a big pork shoulder for pulled pork, 4 hours of smoke then finished in the oven to get to final temp
Some KC style bbq sauce, served on a big roll with fresh coleslaw and homemade cornbread.
Dad got the thumbs up from the family!
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06-22-2015, 09:01 AM
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#173
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
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It surely looks tender. I can see a bone falling off to the right lower corner of the photo.
__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)
"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
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06-22-2015, 09:09 AM
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#174
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Moderator Emeritus
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 17,774
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BBQ-Nut
Father's day I did up a big pork shoulder for pulled pork, 4 hours of smoke then finished in the oven to get to final temp
Some KC style bbq sauce, served on a big roll with fresh coleslaw and homemade cornbread.
Dad got the thumbs up from the family!
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You could sell a million cookbooks with photos like this one. Yum!
__________________
“Would you like an adventure now, or would you like to have your tea first?” J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan
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06-22-2015, 09:22 AM
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#175
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: S. California
Posts: 777
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NW-Bound
You are still missing sage, rosemary, tarragon, sorrel, lemon grass...
Just joking, of course. You have a decent herb garden.
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Oops - I forgot I have rosemary too!
I know you jest, but I do actually add herbs as I find myself using them regularly. I find that thyme, oregano and basil are the three I use most often at this point.
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06-22-2015, 09:58 AM
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#176
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Rio Grande Valley
Posts: 38,139
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NW-Bound
I would add Italy and Spain to the list. Yes, food is a good reason to travel. It only costs money.
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Yeah - I think my new rule is "Who needs to eat out at home in the US". The original rule changes quickly when you visit certain countries in Europe.
Of course if we travel to certain locations in the US there are regional specialties difficult to recreate at home due to availability of ingredients. Thinking of Elliot's Oyster House!!! (Seattle).
__________________
Retired since summer 1999.
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06-22-2015, 10:10 AM
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#177
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Moderator
Join Date: Jul 2010
Posts: 7,940
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElizabethT
Oops - I forgot I have rosemary too!
I know you jest, but I do actually add herbs as I find myself using them regularly. I find that thyme, oregano and basil are the three I use most often at this point.
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I'm another fresh herb fan. Mint, thyme, oregano, parsley, chives, and rosemary are all perennials here. For some reason, my basil has not reseeded as it usually does so I need to get another plant as I use it a lot - I pick all the leaves left before the last frost and freeze them on a cookie sheet, then put them in ziploc bags in the freezer to use all winter.
I don't use oregano as much as the others - what do you use fresh oregano in? I have a massive plant so pretty much an unlimited supply of it.
__________________
"One of the funny things about the stock market is that every time one person buys, another sells, and both think they are astute." William Feather
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ER'd Oct. 2010 at 53. Life is good.
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06-22-2015, 10:39 AM
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#178
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
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Quote:
Originally Posted by audreyh1
...Of course if we travel to certain locations in the US there are regional specialties difficult to recreate at home due to availability of ingredients. Thinking of Elliot's Oyster House!!! (Seattle).
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In our last RV trip, we stayed for a week at a timeshare near Ocean City. We had a chance to visit Lytle Seafoods to get the fresh oysters that they dig off their own farm right behind the shack, and source to restaurants. Ah, huge grilled oysters for the 1st course that night. And they happened to have sturgeon that was caught off the Columbia River! Talk about being lucky. When is the last time anyone sees sturgeon for sale in grocery stores? In restaurant dishes?
I did not have all the "stuff" I needed at that timeshare, but still managed to make a heck of a meal.
__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)
"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
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06-22-2015, 10:58 AM
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#179
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Full time employment: Posting here.
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: S. California
Posts: 777
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MBAustin
I'm another fresh herb fan. Mint, thyme, oregano, parsley, chives, and rosemary are all perennials here. For some reason, my basil has not reseeded as it usually does so I need to get another plant as I use it a lot - I pick all the leaves left before the last frost and freeze them on a cookie sheet, then put them in ziploc bags in the freezer to use all winter.
I don't use oregano as much as the others - what do you use fresh oregano in? I have a massive plant so pretty much an unlimited supply of it.
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Q: How do you reseed basil? I pretty much give up at trying to contain the sprouting seeds at the end of each year, cut off everything, make a hugh batch of pesto that I then freeze or give out as gifts, and replant it again in the spring.
Regarding oregano: I add it to salads, pizza, pasta dishes, lasagna, bruschetta, pesto and soups, all of which I make fairly frequently. Anything where basil would work, works for oregano pretty much.
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06-22-2015, 11:56 AM
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#180
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Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: East Nowhere, 43N Latitude, NY
Posts: 9,037
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ElizabethT
Q: How do you reseed basil? I pretty much give up at trying to contain the sprouting seeds at the end of each year, cut off everything, make a hugh batch of pesto that I then freeze or give out as gifts, and replant it again in the spring.
Regarding oregano: I add it to salads, pizza, pasta dishes, lasagna, bruschetta, pesto and soups, all of which I make fairly frequently. Anything where basil would work, works for oregano pretty much.
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Propogating basil by cuttings might be easier than trying to collect seeds.
Scroll down halfway on this page...my online search was "propogating basil by cuttings".
Basil Propagation: How To Propagate Basil
I grow the small bushy type in small pots, year round in my grow room. I find it has a more delicate flavor than the classic large Italian type. Whenever I need basil, or stems get too long, I get the scissors out and give it a haircut. I never let it go to flowers or seed.
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"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
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