mktye

I realize I probably sound like a broken record, but consider investing in a couple of pizza stones.

I always leave them in the oven (except when making macarons!) since their thermal mass helps with nearly all baking (a big exception being macarons!) -- cakes, cookies (except macarons!), breads and so on. Just be sure to let them heat up long enough. I aim for 30-45 minutes when baking things at 350-375 degrees and preheat for a full hour for anything hotter.

Thanks again for the kind words -- they really mean a lot to me.

Today is a personal milestone... I started doing membership 17 Aug 06 and just in the last ten minutes validated my 1000th membership. Looking forward to DR.com hitting 2000 total members soon!

roasted olives with herbs (stolen from 2AMYS)

warm mascarpone stuffed dates (stolen from Komi)

endives with mandarins, almonds, and goat feta (stolen from Jaleo)

Good thing you all have a fast getaway car and excellent driving skills!

4) AFTER COOKING

Shape the dough, top the pizza, then toss it in the oven for about half its usual cooking time. Take it out, freeze it. When you want it again, just toss it in the oven!

So... what's the best stage to freeze the pizza? Will you end up with textural or flavor differences at any stage? #4 is obviously the most convenient for reheating, but what do you lose in exchange for convenience? In #3 and #4, should the dough/pizza be thawed before going in the oven, or can the frozen pie go right in?

What say you?

My vote is for #4, but don't top it. Partially bake it until it is set and just starting to color. Remove, cool, wrap well and freeze. Then defrost, top and bake. It works especially well with thin-crust pizzas.

As for defrosting -- I've found that with a thin crust, if you take it out of the freezer when you start to prep your toppings, by the time you slather them on, it is defrosted enough to go in the oven. For thicker crusts, I'd make sure to fully defrost it before topping and baking (pull it out of the freezer when you leave for work in the morning?).

Does anyone have any strategies for retaining heat, or otherwise duplicating the environment of a commercial or brick pizza oven using a conventional home oven?

Use two pizza stones.

Place the racks containing the stones as close together as you can, but far enough apart so your pizza (or bread) fits between them (if baking bread, be sure to take into account space for the bread to rise) and put your pizza (or bread) on the lower one.

It works like a charm with pizza (and I noticed nearly a 50% increase in oven-spring with my free-form loaves of bread).

(And the only time I ever remove my baking stones from the oven is when I cook macarons -- a lesson I learned the hard way. )

It’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day and I’m wondering where to celebrate. Long John Silver’s comes to mind of course, but maybe Bahama Breeze, Island Jim’s Crab Shack and Tikki Bar (if still open), or maybe The Quarterdeck.

What say ye, mateys?

Yarr,

Kevin

Hook.

Happy International Talk Like A Pirate Day 2007!

(One day early! I'm just too excited to wait! )

I was hoping it would be Sara, but I knew it was going to be CJ with editorial foreshadowing in the early part of the show.

A parody showing (among other things) the usual Top Chef foreshadowing.

Two non-DR members are also "intrigued." Would they have to join to participate?

I had this same question last year regarding a very popular $20 Tuesday dinner. The answer I was given: If there is room, they might be able to attend, but they cannot be guaranteed spots since DR.com members have precedence. I ended up just getting my friend to join DR.com.

Direct link to registration is here and an overview of the registration/validation process is here. HTH!

The existing threads on cooking classes (including those offered by restaurants) are listed second from the very bottom of the Shopping & Cooking Forum Index.

I've not tried the Hershey's, but due to a whim of rwtye's, I did taste the Trader Joe's Organic Super Dark 73% and Valrhona 71% last weekend. To my admittedly non-chocolate-liking palate, the TJ's was just plain old nasty and far too bitter. The Valrhona was smoother, but had very strong coffee overtones. I ended up taking the remains of both bars and making hot fudge sauce (added sugar, cream and some tahitian vanilla) which pleased rwtye much more. Especially when eaten cold with a spoon.

Previous seafood shopping discussion here.

Cucina Vivace recently opened in Crystal City next to Cafe Pizzaiolo. According to their website they are only open for dinner (Tues-Sun).

For all you Bourdain fans, a little birdie tipped me off that he'll be at the Smithsonian on 7 November to talk about "No Reservations".

Not sure if this link will work, but try here for more information.

Mr. MV hanging with some of the pups, gathering my purchases as I go.

I see he is parked on the "husband wall" where they all sit when overcome by market sensory overload.

We had another wonderful meal at 2941 tonight. While all the fish dishes looked oh-so-tempting, my heart still belongs to the Love Letters (currently served with chanterelles). And just when I thought it could not get any better, along came the Banana Croustillant (banana fritters with a passion fruit citrus custard). Warm. Crispy. Fritters. The best restaurant dessert I've had in recent memory and alone worth the trip.

(P.S. CF & GT -- same waiter! )

While it's more of a post-cooking sauce for something like pulled pork I like a root beer based sauce for which you boil down til reduced by half 2L bottle of root beer, add 1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar, 1/2 cup ketsup, 1/4 cup yellow mustard, 2 Tbl lemon juice, 1 Tbl Worcestershire sauce, 1 Tbl Tabasco, 1 tsp each S&P, finish with 2 Tbl unsalted butter. The root beer gives it a nice sweet-herbal note.

This showed up this morning in my email inbox from "Cook's Illustrated":

Kansas City BBQ Sauce

Makes about 4 cups

Kansas City barbecue sauce is very sticky, sweet, and smoky—far more so than most tomato-based sauces. We like our barbecue sauce extra-thick. If you like a thinner, smoother texture, the sauce can be strained after it has finished cooking.

* 2 teaspoons vegetable oil

* 1 onion, minced

* 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

* 1 cup root beer

* 1 cup cider vinegar

* 1 cup dark corn syrup

* 1/2 cup molasses

* 1/2 cup tomato paste

* 1/2 cup ketchup

* 2 tablespoons brown mustard

* 1 tablespoon hot sauce

* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

* 1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)

Heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Whisk in remaining ingredients, except for liquid smoke, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until mixture is thick and has reduced to 4 cups, about 1 hour. Stir in liquid smoke, if using. (Sauce can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 1 week.)

I have a Kenmore chest freezer we bought at Sears ~12 years ago. It has been to California and back, is in its fourth house and is still going strong. It is 13 cu. ft. and I've always been very happy with that size.

The problem with chest freezers is accessibility. Stuff that winds up on the bottom is almost lost forever, or until you empty the freezer to defrost.

What I find helps with this to use large plastic storage bins with lids. A couple of squarish ones for stock and tomato sauces, a medium flat one for meats, a large flat one for breads & cakes, and so on. Yes, you lose some space in the freezer, but being able to pull out just a couple of bins to access the stuff on the bottom is worth it for me.

I also initially freeze stocks & sauces in zip-top baggies on their sides on a sheet pan (with a layer of paper towels between them so they won't stick to each other). After they are frozen solid, I put them upright in a deep plastic bin for compact storage. It is easy to grab the sauce I want, peel off the baggie and dump it in a saucepan for defrosting.

My stuffed-pasta plans for the sheep milk ricotta have been foiled so far. With running out of time & energy the first night, I mixed some of the ricotta in with pasta, basil and uncooked wonderful home-grown tomatoes (thank you again, Tomato Fairy!) for a rather decadent and totally delicious mac & cheese.

The stuffed-pasta plans last night were put on hold by the appearance of an adorable stray dog named Noah. By the time we reunited him with his dog-sitters, my dinner ended up being toast with leftover caponata topped with a bit more of the sheep milk ricotta.

So at this point, I am now running a study on the perishability of sheep milk ricotta. If it still tastes okay by this evening, I plan on making simple basil/ricotta ravioli from a recipe in "Lorenza's Pasta" by Lorenza de' Medici. But cannelloni is also a tempting thought...

I've looked far and wide and cannot find the answer. If anyone can help me, you guys can.

What is the effect of substituting skim milk for water in a bread and/or pizza dough recipe?

Probably not a huge effect, but it will depend on your bread recipe. You'll be adding a little more additional fat (which will most likely not be noticeable at all if the bread already contains butter/fat), some protein and some sugar. All can make a difference in the taste and texture (tenderness), but the biggest difference will most likely be that the bread will brown more because of the added sugars.

Scalding the milk (bringing it just to a simmer) before using it in bread is usually recommended because some say that one of the proteins present in the milk can inhibit gluten formation in bread dough. Other people do not think it makes that much of a difference. Since I generally want the milk to be warm anyway, I nearly always scald it (in a pyrex measuring cup in the microwave). Just be sure to let it cool sufficiently if you plan to add the yeast directly to the milk. However, if you use instant/quick yeast and are adding the hot milk to the flour/yeast/salt/whatever mixture, then cooling is not necessary.

Go for it! If you like it, great. If not, you can always make croutons.

Panzanella made with excellent, home-grown tomatoes so graciously provided by a very nice and generous person.

More Open Table discussion here.

I make some killer hot pepper jelly every summer. I want to branch out using some fresh herbs and other summer bounty. Anyone have some ideas and/ or recipes? I am thinking of things with frsh basil, rosemary, mint, tomatos, oregano, etc.

You might want to check out "Mes Confitures" by Christine Ferber.

And the is more DR.com canning discussion here.

Count me in!

Maybe even +1. Anytime that day is fine with me.

I've never tried making butter with it, but I like Garelick heavy cream from TJ's. Click.

Leftover strawberry/blueberry trifle. Without coffee.