Channa's Profile
Hot Lime Pickle/Relish
Ooh, I Iove that stuff! I've tried to make it, but American limes have tough, thin skins and don't pickle well (at least for me). I've had more success with lemons.
You might want to look at this Julie Sahni recipe. You could change the spices to your taste --
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/656231#5074521
IIRC, this recipe turned out well, too --
http://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=13434
In the end, I tired of my hit-and-miss approach, and went back to buying Patak's.
Oh, another thing, it's brilliant cooked INTO a curry, not just as a condiment.
Experiencce with KitchenAid KUDS301V dishwasher??
I was hoping others would respond -- to help YOU, and to reassure ME. All in all, the dishwasher seems acceptable.
My former dishwasher (Maytag) was nicely recessed under the counter. Yesterday's installer insisted on using the same installation holes, resulting in a dishwasher that sticks out beyond the edge of the counter.
And there are some annoying "features." The noise is more than I had anticipated. Besides the usual "whoosh" sound of water, there's a sprinkling sound every few seconds. I'll either get used to it, or go quietly mad.
When closing the door, one must be careful not to inadvertently touch the buttons. I found my light load going through a sanitizing wash! It seems my hand had touched that button when closing the door, and changed the cycle!
Also, unlike other dishwashers I've used, once a cycle has begun, a "Resume" button must be pushed if the door is opened. This is VERY hard to learn, in spite of a blinking blue reminder light. Before bed, I went to empty a load, and there was the washer with the light blinking, and the dishes still sitting in soapy water.
That ProScrub feature, where casseroles face special jets at the back of the washer, requires one to choose a special ProScrub cycle. It won't work with Normal and other cycles.
I was surprised how cool the wash water is. Although my water comes from the tap at 131 degrees F, mid-cycle I felt the wash water and it was only lukewarm. I suppose that's part of the Energy Saver -- longer wash with cooler water.
I find the top rack difficult to load properly. I'm still learning the best position for each item. The owner's manual shows a useful cutlery tray, stemware rack, and cup holder, but the small print says "may have some or all," and mine included none of those. Handy little clips on the top shelf, though, for plastic lids.
But the important thing is the washing, and it seems to do that quite well. My dishes had a baked on, soapy film acquired during the final days of my Maytag, and after only one washing, some of that has disappeared. So I'm hopeful about that.
Let me know if you have any more questions. And good luck with whatever you choose!
Experiencce with KitchenAid KUDS301V dishwasher??
Funny you should ask. At this very minute, I'm waiting for delivery of my KA KUDS30IV. I'll let you know. . .
Cookbook of the Month: Baking for the Holidays [DISCUSSION]
Perhaps! For me, it depends on which cookbook is chosen. If it has any recipes for breads, muffins, and coffeecakes. . . then YES. If it's only cakes, cookies, and pies. . . then probably NO.
recipes using endive (not Belgian), chicory , escarole and/or chard
For real comfort food (and fast and easy), there's Escarole and Beans. It's something like this:
http://almostitalian.com/escarole-and-beans/
I use only one tin of beans per head of escarole, and two large cloves of garlic chopped. Of course, you could cook beans instead of using tinned. I cut the greens in fairly large pieces, as they shrink during cooking. Important -- be sure to stir in a few teaspoons of lemon juice just before serving. That really brightens the flavour.
Weber Charcoal Grill Question
We recently got our first grill (charcoal), and the most helpful thing has been watching grilling shows on TV. Primal Grill with Steve Raichlen is brilliant. He grills everything from whole animals to tofu, and really stresses details. Some of his food has been cooked directly on the coals (eggplant, corn, steaks), and it looks amazing. Bobby Flay has some good shows, too. So as they say, check your local listings.
*May/June 2010 COTM - GOURMET: Salads and Vegetables
Grilled Zucchini and Tomatoes With Feta Sauce, p 559
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grilled-Zucchini-and-Tomatoes-Wth-Feta-Sauce-232146
In addition to zucchini and cherry tomatoes, I grilled orange bell peppers, fennel, red onion, and sliced Japanese eggplants. That made it more colourful, and turned it into the main course.
I found the feta sauce tasty, but felt it over-powered the vegetable flavours. Would I make it again? No.
Online Sources for Baking Supplies?
I don't think they have cupcake papers, but I was pleasantly surprised by their parchment ($4.95 for 50 large sheets) and flours. Many hard to find flours like unbleached All-Trumps, several rye flours and meal, and a good assortment of baking ingredients and equipment. Flours were very fresh, and service was quick and personalized.
Don't be fooled by the name -- they're located in San Diego!
http://www.nybakers.com/index.html
SOS : RIGHT size of soup cans for baking brioche???
I'm not sure that's a good idea. Some (all?) Campbell's soup cans contain BPA, and I fear that heat could cause it to migrate to your brioche dough.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37592661/ns/health-food_safety/
http://www.examiner.com/x-10171-Philadelphia-Environmental-News-Examiner~y2009m11d10-Consumer-Reports-study-finds-elevated-BPA--levels-in-Campbells-and-Progresso-soups
*May/June 2010 COTM - GOURMET: Breakfast and Breads, Sweets
Raisin Bran Muffins, p 664
(The recipe makes 32 muffins, and can be baked over two weeks. I'm not comfortable with keeping raw batter that long, so I made a half recipe and froze the extras.)
Wheat bran is baked in a 400 degree oven until golden, then mixed with WW flour, AP flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and raisins. Wet ingredients are buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, honey, applesauce, and vanilla.
First -- toasting the bran. Not as easy as it sounds. After burning it on my first go, I watched the second very carefully. Even so, it baked unevenly, and I can't say toasting added much to the final taste.
The recipe said to fill each cup with 1/4-cup batter. The muffins weren't very tall -- I'd recommend using more batter.
The taste is okay. On the first day they tasted a bit soapy, but after that they improved. They're very moist, with a mild flavour. My personal preference is for a darker, stronger, more molasses-y flavour. Would I bake these again? No.
Looking for tasty cottage cheese recipes for a non cottage cheese lover
Top it with slices of avocado, some pico de gallo, and shake on (lots of) Cholula sauce. Mmm-mmm.
My search for a Non-Stick alternative, my results, and THANKS!
These look great! Can they go into a hot oven?
*May/June 2010 COTM - GOURMET: Breakfast and Breads, Sweets
Thanks. I hope you enjoy it. Some reviewers on Epi made it with half molasses/half honey, so that's an option.
Chemical Reaction or Mold?
According to Harold McGee, it's from a reaction between the sunflower seeds and the alkaline baking soda. It can happen when the balance of soda is off -- too much in the recipe, or not mixed in properly. Other foods that can change colour in the presence of soda are carrots, blueberries, and walnuts.
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/food/2009/12/16/what-are-those-green-specks-in-my-biscuits/
I've had it happen with carrot muffins. The carrot shreds looked mouldy, so I told everyone I had used part zucchini. :-)
*May/June 2010 COTM - GOURMET: Breakfast and Breads, Sweets
Oatmeal Wheat Bread, p 671
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Oatmeal-Wheat-Bread-232825
This is an easy bread to make, and healthy as well, with 1/2 cup oatmeal and 1.5 cups wholemeal flour in each loaf. It has a sweet, pleasant flavour, though I'm not sure how it would taste with savoury foods. It makes superb toast -- both in texture and flavour. It may well become our everyday breakfast bread.
FWIW, I didn't knead the dough at all. I mixed it well, leaving the dough quite sticky, and did stretch-and-folds at 10 and 25 minutes instead. That doesn't make for the finest texture, but it sure is easy.
Seduction by cornish pasty
Perhaps brown lentils, cooked and smashed a bit, could sub for the meat.
But are you sure you want a lass that can be bribed so easily? :-)
*May/June 2010 COTM - GOURMET: Breakfast and Breads, Sweets
Linzer Muffins, p 665
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Linzer-Muffins-231396
I thought twice about reviewing this recipe, because I made so many changes. But the result was so luscious that I have to share.
The original muffin is made with ground toasted almonds, flavored with cinnamon, lemon zest, and almond extract, and is filled with raspberry jam. I made the following changes --
Hazelnuts instead of almonds
Omitted cinnamon, lemon zest, and almond extract
Added 1/4 tsp vanilla,
Filled with Green & Black's hazelnut chocolate spread (like Nutella).
They turned out even better than I had hoped! Although full of hazelnuts, the muffin had a lovely, light texture, and of course, a prominent hazelnut flavour. The chocolate spread was a good addition -- it was fudgy around the edge, and gooey inside. I had filled two muffins with plum jam for comparison -- they weren't as good, and were awfully sweet.
Next time I'd increase the flour a bit because my batter was rather thin, and the filling sank more than I'd like. (I measured unbleached AP in cups, then weighed it. It came to 170g. I'd use 180g next time.)
Any interesting enchilada recipes?
Sour Cream Enchiladas, from a Sunset Mexican cookbook. They're adaptable -- you can use homemade sauce, yellow onion, aged cheddar, roll rather than fold, etc. The combo of sour cream and spicy sauce is lovely. Serve with sides of beans, and rice, and an avocado salad.
Scroll down:
http://homeandgarden.blogazine.org/?p...
*May/June 2010 COTM - GOURMET: Breakfast and Breads, Sweets
(Oops, I put this in the wrong place, and can't move it now. Sorry.)
TDQ, your macaroons look SO good! And with all those toasted almonds, they must taste divine.
I'm not keen on buttercream. Do you think they'd be overpowered by a bit of chocolate between?
*May/June 2010 COTM - GOURMET: Breakfast and Breads, Sweets
Fruit and Nut Chocolate Chunks, p 704
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fruit-and-Nut-Chocolate-Chunks-107771
Easy! Delicious! Chocolate!
Melt chocolate, mix with raisins, dried cranberries, cashews, and pistachios. Chill until firm.
I made 1/4 recipe, using odd bits of chocolate. And I made individual portions, rather than one large block.
This was much better than anticipated. The standouts were cranberries and pistachios, and I could see using only those two in future batches.
*May/June 2010 COTM - GOURMET: Breakfast and Breads, Sweets
"I beg your pardon? Cinnamon takes a back seat to no babka. People
love cinnamon. It should be on tables in restaurants along with salt and
pepper. Anytime anyone says, 'Oh, this is so good. What's in it?' The
answer invariably comes back, Cinnamon. Cinnamon. Again and again.
Lesser babka - I think not."
Heh, heh, I vote for chocolate!
griddle-- stovetop or electric?
There was a similar thread a few weeks ago, and it may help you.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/696833?tag=boards;topic-696833
In that thread, I was infatuated with my new electric griddle. My infatuation has since evolved into love eternal!
*May/June 2010 COTM - GOURMET: Breakfast and Breads, Sweets
Chocolate Babka, p 675
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chocolate-Babka-236707
This was a hit! The dough was very easy indeed, although I should have added a bit more flour. (It's hard to tell where "very soft and sticky" ends, and "TOO" soft and sticky begins.) That stickiness made the babka very light, although more difficult to roll and shape. Next time I might chill the dough before rolling.
Procedure: make a rich brioche-style yeast dough in the mixer, let rise, roll out, spread with lots of butter, sprinkle with chopped dark chocolate, sprinkle with sugar, roll up, twist, place in bread pans, rise, bake.
I made one-half recipe, and I'm sorry now that I didn't make two loaves. It wasn't a tall, beautiful loaf, but it was a welcome breakfast treat.
*May/June 2010 COTM - GOURMET: Salads and Vegetables
Hijiki and Carrots with Sesame Seeds, p 586
This was very easy, and was a nice addition to a Japanese-style meal. It would be a good introduction for those who think they don't like seaweed.
Hijiki is soaked, drained, and sauteed with carrots (part sesame oil). Then it's simmered with soy sauce, sugar, and mirin until nicely glazed. When cool, it's sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds.
It's very sweet and salty, and altogether delicious. I'd recommend using Japanese soy sauce for the proper flavour. The recipe seems to make a lot, but we kept refilling our bowls, so I was glad we had so much.
Home made pickles (moved from General Chowhounding Topics board)
I made these Moroccan Carrot Pickles yesterday morning, and by the time I got home from work, they were already quite tasty.
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2010/05/pickled_carrots_moroccan_style
REAL Pad Thai recipe?
I used to have that problem at the Chinese supermarket. Now I translate the food's name into Chinese on Google Translate, print it out (large), and take the printout to the shop. It works a treat. Google can also translate into Arabic, so that's a possibility for you.
Favourite uses for sumac?
Have you made za'atar?
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/620471?tag=highlight-4691340;post-content-4691340#4691340
Weighing v measuring in baking
I should think a cookbook author would want his recipes to be foolproof. Weighing overcomes variations in measuring, and results should be similar for everyone.
Hot Dog cooking/preparation/topping(s)...Your favorite way?
You've not had a Chicago-style dog? Otherwise, you'd say a proper dog has diced onions, day-glo green relish, sport peppers, yellow mustard, pickle spear, fresh tomato wedges, a sprinkling of celery salt, all on a steamed poppy seed bun. No ketchup -- ever.
http://www.zeldes.com/lthpix/vdog.jpg
Please help me improve my pizza further
I should think steam would work against a crispy crust. For breads, early steam is followed by further baking without steam. Pizzas aren't in the oven long enough for that further baking without steam.
Try leaving the dough in the fridge for two or three days.
When you get your stone, test it on different shelves of the oven, until the bottom and top of the pizza are baked properly in the same amount of time.
Put your oven at its hottest temp, and preheat the stone at least 45 minutes, but an hour is better.
I myself am not keen on sugar in a pizza dough.
When you remove the pizza from the oven, put it on a cooling rack for a minute or so, before you put it onto the pan. Otherwise, steam can form under the pizza and make the crust less crisp.
