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Post by pantsgoblin on Mar 4, 2024 12:15:57 GMT -5
This head of cauliflower from Coke Farm of San Juan Bautista, CA is blatant false advertising.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Mar 4, 2024 12:18:16 GMT -5
Food? food.
Sunday: Chicken parm meatball subs
Monday: Mexican lasagna
Tuesday: Cheesy potato soup
Wednesday: Taquitos
Thursday: Chicken tikka masala
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Mar 5, 2024 8:26:05 GMT -5
We also eat sometimes.
Monday: Bean tacos with cheese, sour cream, and tomatoes. Very intentionally a "bean burrito supreme" kind of thing, but no lettuce of course, because warm iceberg lettuce tastes like sad. Genuinely don't know why I went YEARS without making my own refried beans, because they are so easy and such a vast improvement over anything you'd get at a restaurant. Made Tex-Mex rice and corn to go with. My daughter ate a few bites of rice and some tortillas. My son ate almost nothing.
Tuesday: Breakfast for dinner with homemade buttermilk biscuits, bacon, and fruit. For myself, I pulled some breakfast sausage out of the freezer and will again make myself the world's smallest pot of sausage gravy for biscuits and gravy, and some eggs to go with.
Wednesday: Smashburgers on the griddle. Haven't decided on the exact make and model., but I've got some sliced onions in the fridge already, so I'll probably keep it simple with griddle onions and some kind of sauce. Oh! I've got that new W sauce. Maybe like a quick mayo-W sauce mix? With oven fries.
Thursday: Speaking of the W sauce. On BBQ YouTube, where this stuff is all the rage, I found a recipe for a roasted chicken thigh sandwich with the chicken marinated in the W sauce. Been wanting to try the recipe for months. Cleaned my pellet grill over the weekend, and it's ready for a high heat roast. No idea on the side dishes here, but I'll be back to store before then anyway.
Friday: Pizza.
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Post by liebkartoffel on Mar 6, 2024 13:03:53 GMT -5
My favorite sandwich is: pastrami, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and honey mustard on pumpernickel, grilled. Is this:
A) a Reuben-ified pastrami on rye, or...
B) a pastrami-on-rye-ified Reuben?
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Post by The Sensational She-Hulk on Mar 6, 2024 13:23:37 GMT -5
My favorite sandwich is: pastrami, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and honey mustard on pumpernickel, grilled. Is this: A) a Reuben-ified pastrami on rye, or... B) a pastrami-on-rye-ified Reuben? It's more of a riff on a Rachel. Sounds delicious, at any rate!
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Post by The Sensational She-Hulk on Mar 6, 2024 16:24:57 GMT -5
It is raining and disgusting here (lousy Smarch weather), so this morning I made a Polish honey cake that a Polish friend has since informed me is likely Ukrainian in origin because it resembles nothing she has ever heard of in her life, ha. But it made the whole house smell amazing, so I'm looking forward to trying it. Yes, it's another unfrosted Bundt cake. I am excited to try it! If it's as good as I think it will be, I'll take in a good-sized piece to my boss tomorrow. And maybe my favorite coworker. It's a LOT of cake.
I also have chicken broth with mirepoix, garlic, and fresh dill and parsley going as my matzo balls simmer. I only made four small ones, so this amount of soup will be enough to eat twice and no more, thus saving me badly needed freezer space. I needed a way to use up the celery left over from my friend's visit this weekend (she makes the most incredible jambalaya) and I basically had everything on hand to make matzo ball soup with. It also smells delicious, and I am looking forward to having some.
Tomorrow I am going into the office, but I have very little to do so will cut out early and hit up Chinatown Express (my beloved) to bring home dinner for both tomorrow and to share with my parents on Saturday night. My dad is beyond excited for his Peking duck.
I'll do a steak with a baked potato and some Harvard beets on Friday. Not terribly imaginative, but it sounds good to me as an end-of-the-work-week meal. And not difficult. I can make Harvard beets in my sleep at this point. I wanted to make Georgian-style beets with sour cherries, but I couldn't find any sour cherries. I'll go to a better supermarket next time I get the urge for that recipe.
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Post by Floyd D Barber on Mar 6, 2024 18:54:20 GMT -5
My favorite sandwich is: pastrami, sauerkraut, swiss cheese, and honey mustard on pumpernickel, grilled. Is this: A) a Reuben-ified pastrami on rye, or... B) a pastrami-on-rye-ified Reuben? It can be two things?
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Mar 11, 2024 8:42:14 GMT -5
As I stare down another week's worth of planning, I as ever feel consumed by an uncaring universe. But, like, with sausage and pasta and stuff.
Sunday: Made pork belly burnt ends. A "BBQ Tube" staple. Cube up some fresh pork belly and season with your choice of bbq rub, usually something on the sweeter side, then smoke to tenderness. Sauce to your preference and place back on the heat to "tack up" the sauce. Outrageously delicious, if rich. Nobody wanted any, which I kinda figured would be the case, so I didn't plan much of a meal around them and ended up just eating them as is with a side salad. Kids had leftover pizza.
Monday: Spaghetti and meatballs, by the boy's request. More salad maybe. Bread.
Tuesday: Smoked sausage with buttered corn, a TBD side dish, and cornbread. I find myself wanting smoked bbq sausage, and since the smoker is already uncovered (which sounds trivial, but seriously the Traeger's cover is a bitch-and-a-half to put on), that'll be the plan.
Wednesday: Crispy chicken, rice, edamame.
Thursday: Out of nowhere I'm craving a toasted ham and cheese. Not something I would usually go for. So it'll be sandwich night with chips. I might do this on the griddle. Probably I will, weather depending.
Friday: Waffles, bacon, fruit.
Kind of a meat-forward week, huh?
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Mar 11, 2024 8:45:30 GMT -5
Food for the week:
Sunday: Chicken cheesesteaks and fries
Monday: Baked ziti, garlic bread, salad
Tuesday: Chicken enchilada soup
Wednesday: Brinner (pancakes and sausage)
Thursday: Chicken soft tacos, salad
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Mar 12, 2024 7:20:22 GMT -5
Monday: Spaghetti and meatballs, by the boy's request. More salad maybe. Bread.
...
Wednesday: Crispy chicken, rice, edamame. 1. The boy only ate one meatball, so that was a disappointment since he'd requested this meal. I, on the other hand, ate several and thought they were goddamned delicious. After trying a J. Kenji Lopez-Alt recipe some months back which incorporated a little powdered gelatin into the meat mixture, I've started bringing that idea over to other meatball recipes. In this case that recipe and last night's were both Italian meatballs, but instead I went with my go-to: Chef John's World's Fastest Meatballs. I already love this no-chop, barely-stir recipe, and I think the powdered gelatin really took it to another level. (That or I just nailed the proportions better since I always eyeball everything.) They really are my platonic meatball: firmly set but giving, juicy but not springy, just meltingly tender. And my god the flavorful grease that comes out of these things as they roast on the baking sheet! During my "quality assurance", I might have dunked half a meatball back into the grease and if that wasn't the best bite of food I've had in awhile! (And two bags of meatballs headed to the freezer for future meals.) 2. My kids do this thing that irks me where they talk about how much they love a certain food they have for school lunch, and it's something that I know if I served it or even got it for them from a restaurant, they wouldn't touch it. My daughter, who hates spicy food and pretty much all beef, is enamored with her school's "spicy beef taquitos", which she says are so spicy but so good. The bomb my son dropped on me last weekend was that he loves his school's orange chicken and wants me to make some. What?! I know for a fact that if we drive to one of the TWO Panda Express locations we have in our town and ordered their iconic orange chicken, not only would he not like it, he would refuse to try it. I also know that if I wanted to serve orange chicken at home, I'd be far more likely to have success with him by buying a bottled orange sauce (I think you can even get Panda Express brand) instead of making my own. But ... I'm me. So on Wednesday I'm going to serve the crispy chicken plain like usual, ketchup on the side like usual, but I'm also going to make a homemade orange sauce for dipping. If nothing else it'll make MY portion more interesting.
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Post by The Sensational She-Hulk on Mar 12, 2024 8:45:01 GMT -5
I'm cracking up a little at Chef John's magic meatball recipe because except for the milk and garlic powder, it's pretty much exactly how I've made meatballs since I was 10 years old. I love that it's like "it's easy because you don't have to fry the meatballs!" I've never fried a meatball a day in my life. They always go into the oven on a sheet pan lined with nonstick foil. I guess it would go faster with an ice cream scoop, but rolling out meatballs gives me the opportunity to keep them from being packed too tightly and thus getting tough.
My parents had me over for dinner on Saturday night. Alas, Chinatown Express was temporarily closed, so they just brought back some extra food from this BBQ joint up in Lancaster instead. The ribs, mac and cheese, and green beans were outstanding. I'm going to have leftovers of that tonight.
Last night I had part of the BBQ half-chicken my parents also bought for me there, along with some beets and a baked potato, but my dinner was delayed when I needed to take my dinner plate back into the kitchen, rinse off the chicken quarter, and bring it back. Why? Because in the 15 seconds it took me to get a drink in the kitchen, my cat managed to stand on his hind legs and swipe the chicken from my plate to knock it onto the floor, where I found him happily snarfing it. Yeah, I ate it anyway. I said I rinsed it!
Tomorrow: spanakopita and salad.
Thursday: Lemon pepper meatballs in gravy, egg noodles, something green.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Mar 12, 2024 9:03:07 GMT -5
I'm cracking up a little at Chef John's magic meatball recipe because except for the milk and garlic powder, it's pretty much exactly how I've made meatballs since I was 10 years old. I love that it's like "it's easy because you don't have to fry the meatballs!" I've never fried a meatball a day in my life. They always go into the oven on a sheet pan lined with nonstick foil. I guess it would go faster with an ice cream scoop, but rolling out meatballs gives me the opportunity to keep them from being packed too tightly and thus getting tough. Haha, yeah. Roasting meatballs on a tray is the way. Vastly superior to a pan fry. Cleaner, faster, easier, everything-ier. I've been making Chef John's meatballs for years. I normally use panko for all breadcrumb related matters, because I always have them on hand, but I keep a canister of regular breadcrumbs around just because this recipe calls for them. I do like the ice cream scoop though: one, because using a disher is fun, and two, because for me it makes a semi-tedious job faster and more consistent. In his recipe he doesn't shape them post-scoop. He just leaves them all scraggily, which is fine, but I like to do a quick pass and smooth out the balls by hand.
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Baron von Costume
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Post by Baron von Costume on Mar 13, 2024 9:54:03 GMT -5
I'm cracking up a little at Chef John's magic meatball recipe because except for the milk and garlic powder, it's pretty much exactly how I've made meatballs since I was 10 years old. I love that it's like "it's easy because you don't have to fry the meatballs!" I've never fried a meatball a day in my life. They always go into the oven on a sheet pan lined with nonstick foil. I guess it would go faster with an ice cream scoop, but rolling out meatballs gives me the opportunity to keep them from being packed too tightly and thus getting tough. He just leaves them all scraggily, which is fine, but I like to do a quick pass and smooth out the balls by hand. Normally that costs extra I'm just back from a couple weeks in Greece and while the food was great I don't want to see any souvlaki or pita for months.
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Post by The Sensational She-Hulk on Mar 13, 2024 13:47:47 GMT -5
I think I'm going to make a pineapple sour cream pie. I love pie, tomorrow is Pi(e) Day, and I have a pie crust in the freezer. I think I might jazz up the recipe with a glug of ginger brandy and some chopped candied ginger that I have on hand.
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Mar 14, 2024 11:39:31 GMT -5
I don't care about St. Patrick's Day at all, but the super sales on corned beefs are nice. Picked one up for under 10 bucks that I'll pop on the smoker on Sunday to pastrami-fy.
Though it is annoying the way they pack these things, because the top is usually covered by the package art and you really only get a look at the meat side. I more or less trust the meat side to be fine on a store bought corned beef. What I want to see is the fat cap. That's always hidden by the packaging. Grrr.
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Post by The Sensational She-Hulk on Mar 14, 2024 13:18:59 GMT -5
I think I'm going to make a pineapple sour cream pie. I love pie, tomorrow is Pi(e) Day, and I have a pie crust in the freezer. I think I might jazz up the recipe with a glug of ginger brandy and some chopped candied ginger that I have on hand. Done! Also added a pinch of salt, a glug of maraschino liqueur, and a little vanilla extract along with the ginger and brandy. It's currently chilling in the fridge. I'm annoyed that the crust slumped on one side when I baked it - that's never happened to me before! But, to be fair, it's been in the freezer since Thanksgiving and was an off-brand pie crust anyway because that's all I could find (due to waiting too long to buy pie crust). But I'll just eat that part first. The filling tastes delicious! I bet it'd be good decorated with some halved maraschino cherries and/or some toasted shredded coconut, too.
Whatever I don't eat will get hauled to my parents' house on Sunday when I go there for dinner. We're having corned beef for St. Paddy's, but in reuben form. I don't think my parents have ever made corned beef and cabbage in their lives, mostly because they don't much like it. (I do, though.) I won't complain. We found a grocery store that still sells the Russian dressing I remember growing up, which is sort of a more tomato-y French dressing, and I like it so much more than the pseudo-Thousand Island stuff you find nowadays.
Honestly, I'm really excited to have more of those lemon-pepper meatballs tonight. It's sort of funny because I've been running the AC nonstop since yesterday afternoon (the weather has been topping out at about 74 F but living on the third floor means it gets very hot up here very fast when everyone comes home and cooks dinner), and that's more of a cool-weather dish, but I am dying for some comfort food and a nice big salad tonight.
Tomorrow I have no idea what I'll do. I should call my friend T and ask him to come over for dinner. I haven't seen him in ages.
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Baron von Costume
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Post by Baron von Costume on Mar 15, 2024 9:24:12 GMT -5
I don't care about St. Patrick's Day at all, but the super sales on corned beefs are nice. Picked one up for under 10 bucks that I'll pop on the smoker on Sunday to pastrami-fy.
Though it is annoying the way they pack these things, because the top is usually covered by the package art and you really only get a look at the meat side. I more or less trust the meat side to be fine on a store bought corned beef. What I want to see is the fat cap. That's always hidden by the packaging. Grrr.
I annoyingly haven't seen any real deals here this year and had planned to pastrami as well. Perhaps just as well as I have other stuff to catch up on post trip but bah!
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Mar 18, 2024 8:08:45 GMT -5
My pastrami dinner turned out well, but for this week I have no ideas at all. Which is frustrating, because I usually build my shopping list after writing out my menu here.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Mar 18, 2024 8:21:16 GMT -5
Well, my ideas for the week will probably not be much help, but here they are:
Sunday: Chicken sliders, waffle fries (note to self: the Trader Joe's Waffle Fries are not great. They don't crisp up well. The Alexia are far superior.)
Monday: Homemade taquitos, salad
Tuesday: Creamy tomato soup, cheese curds
Wednesday: Pupusas, rice or beans as side?
Thursday: Buffalo chicken mac and cheese
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LazBro
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Post by LazBro on Mar 18, 2024 8:33:00 GMT -5
Alright I can rally. I can do this.
Monday: Breakfast for dinner. Steel cut oatmeal with bacon, fruit, and homemade biscuits. I've got some cream on hand, so I'll do Serious Eats' 2-ingredient drop biscuits.
Tuesday: With inspiration from PET, tomato soup and grilled cheese. Using more of that cream. And I never got around to my ham and cheese scheduled for last week, so I'll do that instead. With chips.
Wednesday: Bro-family nacho night.
Thursday: ? ? ?
Friday: Pizza (or something. It's a weird night, because it's Mother-Son activity at school night, but also my daughter's choir has a performance. Really crappy timing. I'll go to the performance so Mrs. Bro and the boy can do their thing.
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Post by Liz n Dick on Mar 18, 2024 10:10:45 GMT -5
I spent this past weekend at the Non-Hugs sister's. We generally eat fine there because there are some great takeout options that she's as excited to eat as we are. But there was one culinary situation that will haunt me for the rest of my days... Her birthday was the weekend before we were there, a milestone one. We'd kicked around the idea of having a local-to-her bakery make a fancy cake for when we were there, but then her husband had mentioned to us that he was looking to do a pull-out-all-the-stops kind of celebration for her so we assumed that meant there'd be a nice cake the weekend before we were visiting. And knowing Non-Hugs, that would mean she'd be all caked out and wouldn't want another one. So no cake for us, whatever, no big deal. BUT. On Friday afternoon after we arrived, as she opened the gifts we brought her, Hugs asked how the actual birthday celebration had gone, and what kind of cake had they had. Oh no... ...turns out Non-Hugs decided just to make cupcakes for herself. There was a convoluted story about someone staying with them (she always assumes we know who everyone is in her social circle, and I never ask for clarification when she mentions people I don't know because it'll turn into 90-minute conversational tangents) and she wanted to have cupcakes for that person, but she was also bringing them into work, and blah blah blah, she made two batches, one vanilla and one chocolate, and they turned out (in her estimation) not too bad, but also they were kind of terrible because she forgot to put eggs in the vanilla ones (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and the chocolate ones turned out strange too, but the person staying with them got to have a cupcake buffet (she made various flavors of buttercream frosting) and loved it, and she took the rest into work, and they were really great even though they were really not that great, and that was the story of the cupcakes. I seriously could not follow what she was telling us, but I got the impression that the cupcakes, which were likely awful, were all gone. BUT NO. Turns out she still had, like, 18 of them in her freezer. WHY? Why were there so many cupcakes?!? They were, mercifully, not the vanilla ones that were baked without eggs (aside: spare a thought for her poor, beleaguered coworkers who had those foisted onto them), but the chocolate ones were probably not much more of a step up. She happily thawed them out and made a very bland buttercream. After dinner we were invited to prep as many of them as we wanted. I picked one up and was immediately puzzled: they felt like... muffins? They felt firm and dense to the touch. I was skeptical. After glopping on a little frosting I told her one was plenty, thanks ("But we can each have three!"), and sampled a bite... of what felt like sand? The crumb was insanely dry, and the dense muffiny build of the thing quickly crumbled when broken into. The flavor was so bland that calling it "flavor" was an overstatement. They were literally inedible. Just awful, awful, awful. There was clearly a lot of user error involved in the execution of the recipe, but it was obvious that the recipe itself was highly questionable. The next morning, as she gleefully dug into more of the cupcakes and we all politely declined, it became clear what the problem was. She explained that the recipe came from one of her grad school roommates, some 25 years ago, and has been her go-to chocolate cupcake ever since. The source was that roommate's favorite childhood book series which involved characters that baked, or something like that. And it is, sure enough, a recipe for chocolate chocolate-chip muffins. "Ha ha! We always laughed that they just call them muffins to be able to eat them for breakfast! Because they're chocolate! I didn't put in the chocolate chips because (husband) doesn't like them in it. But it's just like a cupcake!" Fact: no matter how much you think a muffin is very dessert-y, it is NOT a cupcake, and you're fooling no one but yourself with it. And it's 2024, so maybe time to give that 1970's childrens-book muffin recipe an update.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Mar 18, 2024 10:14:09 GMT -5
I was wondering that whole story how you fuck up cupcakes too badly (because boxed mix!) but oh noooo....
also how do you screw up buttercream? it's 90% butter and sugar?!
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Post by Liz n Dick on Mar 18, 2024 10:20:21 GMT -5
Food for the week! I also put my shopping list together after sorting my plans here, and am drawing a lot of blanks. I made a pot of chili last week, so we've got lunches all set, so at least I don't have to worry about that...
Monday: I signed up for a winter CSA box from a new-to-me farm this year, and the box has been nice but also hilariously consistent. I realize there's not a lot of variety going on around here this time of year, but every week since mid-January I've gotten 1.5 pounds of onions, 1.5 pounds of sweet potatoes, 1.5 pounds of apples, a huge butternut squash, and an acorn or spaghetti squash. (They also include a green that rotates between kale and chard.) It's nice to have the steady onion replenishing, and the apples have been great. But I'm not keeping up with the squashes, and now I've got an enormous pile of sweet potatoes. So tonight I'll either do another butternut squash risotto, or I'll just patchwork a dinner of roasted sweet potatoes and maybe some scrambled eggs with the chard? I'm honestly not feeling either, but I need to eat some of this backlog and I will NOT be interested in doing anything high-effort.
Tuesday: I'm thinking about doing some chicken fingers with mashed potatoes (and maybe also some sweet potatoes for those who partake).
Wednesday: A quick bean taco of some kind.
Thursday: Chinese takeout.
Friday: Possibly either manicotti or lasagna from the fresh pasta place. Or maybe pancakes. Only time will tell.
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Post by Liz n Dick on Mar 18, 2024 10:25:40 GMT -5
I was wondering that whole story how you fuck up cupcakes too badly (because boxed mix!) but oh noooo.... also how do you screw up buttercream? it's 90% butter and sugar?! As she was regaling me with the failures of her beloved from-scratch cupcake recipes, I did mention to her that I always just use boxed mix (and was encouraged to do so by no less a baking authority than a chef instructor at the Culinary Institute of America!) and her response to that was, "Yes, they have great texture, but you just can't get the same flavor from a boxed mix." And I have to agree, after eating her "cupcakes", that you absolutely will not ever get that same flavor from a boxed cake mix! HA! As for the buttercream, she mixed together just butter and sugar, with only the tiniest hint of vanilla extract. She did not include any salt, so it was just a wall of unmitigated sweet. Also, she's got bad-cooking alchemy -- she can start with the same ingredients and the same recipe as a competent cook, and she'll end up way off base when she's done.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Mar 18, 2024 10:36:06 GMT -5
I was wondering that whole story how you fuck up cupcakes too badly (because boxed mix!) but oh noooo.... also how do you screw up buttercream? it's 90% butter and sugar?! As she was regaling me with the failures of her beloved from-scratch cupcake recipes, I did mention to her that I always just use boxed mix (and was encouraged to do so by no less a baking authority than a chef instructor at the Culinary Institute of America!) and her response to that was, "Yes, they have great texture, but you just can't get the same flavor from a boxed mix." And I have to agree, after eating her "cupcakes", that you absolutely will not ever get that same flavor from a boxed cake mix! HA! As for the buttercream, she mixed together just butter and sugar, with only the tiniest hint of vanilla extract. She did not include any salt, so it was just a wall of unmitigated sweet. Also, she's got bad-cooking alchemy -- she can start with the same ingredients and the same recipe as a competent cook, and she'll end up way off base when she's done. Every baker I met at Wilton uses box mix like 90% of the time. Sure, you can doctor it up a little (I always add vanilla and a pinch of salt) but box mix is where it's at! But you are correct - you will never get weird muffin texture and odd eggless flavors from a properly made box mix
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Post by The Sensational She-Hulk on Mar 18, 2024 10:54:03 GMT -5
As she was regaling me with the failures of her beloved from-scratch cupcake recipes, I did mention to her that I always just use boxed mix (and was encouraged to do so by no less a baking authority than a chef instructor at the Culinary Institute of America!) and her response to that was, "Yes, they have great texture, but you just can't get the same flavor from a boxed mix." And I have to agree, after eating her "cupcakes", that you absolutely will not ever get that same flavor from a boxed cake mix! HA! As for the buttercream, she mixed together just butter and sugar, with only the tiniest hint of vanilla extract. She did not include any salt, so it was just a wall of unmitigated sweet. Also, she's got bad-cooking alchemy -- she can start with the same ingredients and the same recipe as a competent cook, and she'll end up way off base when she's done. Every baker I met at Wilton uses box mix like 90% of the time. Sure, you can doctor it up a little (I always add vanilla and a pinch of salt) but box mix is where it's at! But you are correct - you will never get weird muffin texture and odd eggless flavors from a properly made box mix Liz n Dick, I need you to know I just read this entire saga doing the most involuntary impression of Cletus the Slack-Jawed Yokel you've ever seen. Your sister is the kind of person who would make me feel better about my own abysmal cake-decorating skills (which you'd think would be great, considering I have a degree in cooking AND baking, but no, I have no artistic ability whatsoever) if it wasn't so depressing to think about her walking around in this world, unleashing herself on the kitchen like that. I'd suggest you submit her to Nailed It!, but those contestants tend to be more...self-aware. I get not being good with improvisation, but I don't understand people who are bad cooks/bakers because they're incapable of following very clear instructions.
I rarely bother to make brownies from scratch. I like the Ghirardelli mix and doctor it up with a little extra vanilla, salt, and instant coffee; it's absolutely as good as homemade, if not better because it doesn't depend on the ambient conditions and making sure to exactly duplicate my methods and ingredients every single time.
I do prefer making cakes from scratch, though, but that's just because if I'm baking a cake, it's a stress-reduction method and I need to go through the actions of measuring ingredients and using the mixer and so on to achieve catharsis.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Mar 18, 2024 11:03:12 GMT -5
The Sensational She-Hulk I will also verify that baking skills and decorating skills are two totally different things; I'm a pretty great baker but my decorating skills are ... just a step above beginner, which is amusingly enough to impress most people, even though I can always see where my technique needs work.
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Post by Liz n Dick on Mar 18, 2024 11:38:48 GMT -5
I have a favorite devils food cake recipe that I use when I want an actual cake. But for cupcakes I'm all about cake mix, all the time! And honestly, I have yet to find a brownie recipe that tastes as good to me as brownie mixes do; I like a cakey brownie, though, so my fave is the King Arthur Flour brownie mix, mixed for the cakey variant. I always add a splash of vanilla extract (I can hear Sandra Lee chirping, "Add vanilla for a homemade flavor, so you can take all the credit!" HAHAHA!), but sometimes get a little wild and use almond or hazelnut extract instead. But I can't remember the last time I made a brownie from scratch. Hugs gave me a subscription to a sprinkles of the month club for Christmas, which are, honestly, more fun on cupcakes than on cake proper. So we've been doing a lot of cupcake decorating over the last couple of months. Pedantic Editor Type posted some EXTREMELY impressive-looking cupcakes last year on IG that were a total lightbulb moment for me -- thanks to that I've realized that the key to a fancy-looking (by home standards) cupcake is nothing more than just piping the frosting. Our sprinkles-of-the-month, though, are taking our cupcakes to the next level. They are the kind of high-end sprinkles that come in mixes of different shapes and sizes, and we've learned to take a "dip" or "dredge" approach to applying the sprinkles, rather than, well... sprinkling. And it's been a complete game changer! So that's my pro decorating tip: get fun sprinkles and let them do the work for you. You get to take all the credit! (I fully put forth that my cupcake decorating skills are rudimentary, but have at least advanced from my old schmearing days.) As for actual cake decorating, I once had a minor grasp on how to do it passably, thanks to a couple of week-long Culinary Institute of America baking and pastry courses. I really wanted to get better at it! But decorating cakes well requires a LOT more effort than I'm ever willing to expend, so I've let that dream go.
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Post by Pedantic Editor Type on Mar 18, 2024 11:52:14 GMT -5
I have a favorite devils food cake recipe that I use when I want an actual cake. But for cupcakes I'm all about cake mix, all the time! And honestly, I have yet to find a brownie recipe that tastes as good to me as brownie mixes do; I like a cakey brownie, though, so my fave is the King Arthur Flour brownie mix, mixed for the cakey variant. I always add a splash of vanilla extract (I can hear Sandra Lee chirping, "Add vanilla for a homemade flavor, so you can take all the credit!" HAHAHA!), but sometimes get a little wild and use almond or hazelnut extract instead. But I can't remember the last time I made a brownie from scratch. Hugs gave me a subscription to a sprinkles of the month club for Christmas, which are, honestly, more fun on cupcakes than on cake proper. So we've been doing a lot of cupcake decorating over the last couple of months. Pedantic Editor Type posted some EXTREMELY impressive-looking cupcakes last year on IG that were a total lightbulb moment for me -- thanks to that I've realized that the key to a fancy-looking (by home standards) cupcake is nothing more than just piping the frosting. Our sprinkles-of-the-month, though, are taking our cupcakes to the next level. They are the kind of high-end sprinkles that come in mixes of different shapes and sizes, and we've learned to take a "dip" or "dredge" approach to applying the sprinkles, rather than, well... sprinkling. And it's been a complete game changer! So that's my pro decorating tip: get fun sprinkles and let them do the work for you. You get to take all the credit! (I fully put forth that my cupcake decorating skills are rudimentary, but have at least advanced from my old schmearing days.) As for actual cake decorating, I once had a minor grasp on how to do it passably, thanks to a couple of week-long Culinary Institute of America baking and pastry courses. I really wanted to get better at it! But decorating cakes well requires a LOT more effort than I'm ever willing to expend, so I've let that dream go. Honestly, a swirl of piped icing and a few sprinkles and people treat you like you're Martha Stewart! cakes are definitely a lot more involved than cupcakes, though. I have made brownies from scratch in the past year, but only because I had a ton of really good cocoa powder to use up and honestly, brownies are pretty simple even without a mix; it was a one-bowl kinda deal.
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Baron von Costume
TI Forumite
Like an iron maiden made of pillows... the punishment is decadence!
Posts: 4,660
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Post by Baron von Costume on Mar 18, 2024 11:52:19 GMT -5
Yeah I took the cake deco course once and it definitely made me a bit better... but at the same time I don't make enough cakes to keep up whatever skills I gained.
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