cookie monster's Profile
Strangest Starbucks Drink?
A Starbucks employee once misheard my order (soy chai extra hot) and a got a chai with an extra shot of espresso in it. Yuck. But apparently there are people who actually order that.
How Do I Make My Brownies More Over the Top?
Yes, like an icing basically. So good, if you like peanut butter.
How Do I Make My Brownies More Over the Top?
+1 for peanut butter. Last time I made brownies that I thought were kind of average I added a layer of peanut butter cream (peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, a little milk) and they became delicious.
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (Venice) - brief , happy report
PS - they're there at Capri til mid-February.
Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (Venice) - brief , happy report
Had dinner this week at Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, the pop-up restaurant in the Capri space on Abbot Kinney that opened a couple weeks ago, featuring former chefs from Joe's and Axe. No reservations accepted; place seems to fill up by about 7pm and after that they take names on a waitlist. Service was friendly, informative and perhaps a bit too efficient - I like to take my time at meals, and I find that with small plates "we serve it as it's ready" menus the food can come out too fast for me to savor everything. That said, the meal was fantastic overall, and I'm looking forward to going back.
Dishes we loved:
biscuits with pimento cheese and apple butter - baked to order, and so very good
lamb sirloin - a bit small at $21 (the most expensive item on the menu), but delicious
kale salad
hangar steak
collard greens
dishes we loved slightly less but they were still quite good:
sprouting broccoli - good, but nothing thrilling
pork fritter - basically like a deep-fried ball of pulled pork; good concept, but a bit one-note, and maybe it needed more in the way of sauce besides a little pool of hot mustard
Beer and wine list is brief but interesting and reasonably priced.
what to do with non-brittle brittle
Thanks for all the great suggestions. Topping/filling for brownies or cookies sound like a good plan. I'm still trying to wrap my head around Trish's chicken coating idea . . .
what to do with non-brittle brittle
I've made brittles before without a problem, but yesterday I clearly messed up by not cooking it long enough, and my brittle didn't get brittle. It's more like thick caramel sauce with nuts in it. I didn't want to throw it away, plus it tastes quite good, so I'm looking for ways to repurpose it. If nothing else I'm thinking I can warm it up and serve it over vanilla ice cream. Any other creative ideas?
yes, I made my own birthday cake (plus an observation about recipes)
Inspired in part by the recurring "your dream birthday cake" thread, this year I made my own cake so that I could have exactly what I wanted - yellow cake with chocolate frosting. No adornments other than some chocolate chips in between the layers, just because more chocolate is good. My plan was to use the Smitten Kitchen Best Birthday Cake and Fudge Frosting recipes - halving them because wanted to do 2 smallish 8-inch layers. As I started doing to calculations to halve the cake recipe, it seemed awfully familiar. And that's because I was ending up with the January 2008 Gourmet magazine Caramel Cake recipe - exactly the same except for the amount of baking powder. And the directions were identical as well. I know there's been some discussion here in the past about the adapted recipes on blogs like Smitten Kitchen, but as far as I can see this one doesn't include any mention of the Gourmet recipe.
Anyways, I love that caramel cake recipe, I just never thought about turning it into a layer cake with chocolate icing rather than caramel, so i happily proceeded with my dream cake, and it was beautiful and delicious. Next year, chocolate cake with white icing - my inner 10 year old is alive and well when it comes to cake.
crispy spicy cookie with dried cranberries
I processed them so they were very finely chopped. I didn't measure how much (or course), just kind of eyeballed it to add as much as possible without being so much that the cranberries would prevent the cookie dough from holding together, if that makes sense. 3/4 cup maybe?
crispy spicy cookie with dried cranberries
Absolutely. I just couldn't resist mentioning it.
crispy spicy cookie with dried cranberries
lilgi, just wanted to follow up and let you know I used your recipe and the cookies came out great! i didn't monkey with the spices at all, just added some finely chopped dried cranberries and pecans, and I'm very pleased with the results. I may have slightly overbaked the first trays because I was going for crispy and my oven is temperamental, but I'm very pleased with the results. And my house smells amazing. Thanks again.
Accidental graham crust for my pumpkin pie
I've used gingersnaps in place of graham crackers for the crust of a pumpkin swirl cheesecake and it was delicious.
stuck with dessert, help.
Second the pumpkin cheesecake bars. I do a lot of baking, but since I'm not a huge cheesecake fan personally, I had never made it until a friend requested it for her birthday a few weeks ago. I used this recipe, recommended on a Chow.com thread, and they were super easy and a huge hit. I used gingersnaps for the crust to add some extra spice.
http://www.chow.com/action/rd2/d122e62a7ce8bb029c92412ee5fd41f9/jessicaburns.com/2011/10/pumpkin-swirl-cheesecake-squares/
You could also do pecan squares, brownies and/or lemon bars, all cut into small squares so that people can taste a couplethings without commitment to a big piece of pie or cake.
crispy spicy cookie with dried cranberries
Yes, I'm thinking that finely chopping the cranberries in the food processor may be a good idea.
crispy spicy cookie with dried cranberries
Yes, I've made those previously. Delicious, but not as spicy as I'm looking for. Thanks for the suggestion though.
crispy spicy cookie with dried cranberries
Does such a thing exist? I have an image in my head of a thin, crisp cookie (probably a roll/chill/slice bake dough) with cinnamon, ginger, molasses, dried cranberries, maybe some nuts . . . Any recipe suggestions? I suppose I can also adapt one that uses raisins or dates. Thanks.
Help please with my pulled pork cooked in low oven
Pulled pork postscript - my inaugural effort was a big hit! 12 hours of cooking time to get it to the falling apart point. Next time I may try the crockpot method for comparison purposes, but I really liked the crunchy spicy carmely crust that one gets with oven cooking. Thanks again to all of you who offered advice and reassurance.
Help please with my pulled pork cooked in low oven
And this is (one of the many reasons) why I love Chowhound. Thanks everyone for all the reassurance. I have indeed read about "the stall," and now I know it's for real. I know no one asked for a play-by-play, but I'm now at 180' and climbing, so all is good. But I am glad I put the meat in last night, rather than waiting til first thing this morning. No worries about it being ready in time for Sunday night football (go Pats!), and I will get my oven back in time to cook some other things this afternoon . . .
Help please with my pulled pork cooked in low oven
thank you fourunder! Your advice on this process in prior threads has been very helpful.
Help please with my pulled pork cooked in low oven
My first time attempting pulled pork. Following the suggestions from several previous threads, I put my 5 lb boneless pork butt in the oven at 225' last night, intending to slow cook it to an internal temp of 195-200'. at 7 hours my meat thermometer said 160'; at 8 hours - 160'; at 9 hours - 165'. Is it possible the pork is still far from done? It seems cooked through, but definitely not falling apart tender. I don't mind leaving it in the oven longer, but I don't want to turn it into very expensive pork jerky. And I do need to leave the house eventually, which I'd rather not do while the oven is on . . . thoughts?
I bake because?
I bake because it fascinates me that the same basic ingredients (flour, sugar, butter, eggs, chocolate . . .) can be combined to make so many delicious things.
I bake because I love hearing people say "you made that? From scratch? OMG!"
I bake because the processes of measuring, mixing, rolling, icing, etc. destresses me.
I bake because the nature of my day job is such that it may take months, or years (if ever), for me to see any tangible results from my efforts. But when I bake, in an hour or two I have a beautiful and tasty finished product that makes me and others very happy.
Skinny/Slim/Healthy BMI Chowhounds
Definitely not genetically blessed. But I work out 6 days a week, and try to follow an 80/20 plan: 80% of my meals are very healthy - lean protein, whole grains, tons of furits and vegetables; 20% of the time, or about 4-5 meals per week, I eat whatever I want. I never go hungry, and like Chemicalkinetics said, as my eating habits have changed I find that I'm generally satisfied with smaller portions, particularly when it comes to fatty, rich foods.
I don't want to share my dessert!
I agree that's a good answer, and I'm the person who always orders dessert, and always suggests sharing. But if someone says "I love the apple tart here so I'd like to get one for myself" it's all good - I'll order one of what I want, and my dining companion[s] can have a few bites, or not.
Melody, in your specific situation, if the server puts the dessert plate in the middle of the table, can you move it in front of you, and then offer to pass the plate to your friend for a taste? Or is that too subtle (or passive/aggressive)?
It's interesting to me thet people view dessert differently from other parts of the meal. If you ordered a salad and your friend didn't, neither she nor the server would assume that you're going to share it 50/50.
Delegating the green veggies on TDay? Is it possible??
Roasted brussels sprouts are my standard bring-to Thanksgiving dinner green vegetable - they're not delicate, and they taste good at room temperature.
Drive between Vegas and LA
Yup - In N' Out Burger in Barstow is the traditional stop.
Dining Alone - Los Angeles
Yes, I'm still very fond of Joe's but I know other people have had bad experiences there in recent years. The other way to do Gjelina without a reservation is show up 5/5:15, order a pizza and drinks to start, then order some more dishes once the full dinner menu becomes available at 5:30. Usually works as long as you promise to vacate the table for their 7/7:30 reservations.
Dining Alone - Los Angeles
Gjelina is my favorite restaurant in Venice, but the wait can be annoying. Also on Abbot Kinney - Tasting Kitchen, Hal's, Joe's, Axe are all good spots for solo dining.
Is there anyway to tell when an egg has 2 yolks?
Isolda - someone else who shares my chalazaphobia. I'm compelled to remove them, no matter how many eggs I'm using. And yes, I know that I'm eating them all the time when the eggs have been cracked by other non-phobic people, but I can't help it . . .
KitchenAid stand mixer - brown ooze
Thanks for the follow up. It's very possible I tipped mine at some point when I was moving it from closet to counter (I don't have enough counter space to keep it out all the time). I'll try the speed 10 for 2 minutes remedy.
