Re: Half-Baked

1

A thread about experimental baking could be titled Test Fire.

It is easier to sample eating cooking in progress than baking.


Posted by: Econolicious | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 8:34 PM
horizontal rule
2

A thread about experimental baking could be titled Test Fire.

It is easier to sample eating cooking in progress than baking.


Posted by: Econolicious | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 8:35 PM
horizontal rule
3

I do it! I love fucking with baked goods.


Posted by: A White Bear | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 8:38 PM
horizontal rule
4

Harold McGee knows.

At lunch I read that article (and the recipe) in the dead-trees edition. Made for a sad contrast with my food from Panda Express.


Posted by: md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 8:38 PM
horizontal rule
5

Panda Express.

The name is like a money-back guarantee that your food will suck.

I think it's worthwhile to note that the only real innovations in that whole long article are:

1. Let the dough rest (not even an innovation, the Nestle people just don't talk about it).
2. Make 'em oversized.
3. Sprinkle a little salt on top.

That's it. There's some stuff on the chocolate, but that's pure distraction. Oh, and I noticed that they use cake + bread flour. I swear to god that cake flour (lo-protein) + bread flour (hi protein)=all-purpose (mid-protein). Regardless, I bet most people couldn't even taste the difference between that cookie made with the flour blend and with all-purpose. I mean, shit, it's 40% chocolate, and I'm supposed to be impressed by 11% protein in the flour vs. 12% (or whatever)?


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 8:50 PM
horizontal rule
6

OK, I checked, and there are also some gluten differences among the flours. I still say Big Deal.

Which isn't to say that I won't make it their way. Hell, maybe I'll make two batches using their flour blend for one and all-purpose for the other.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 8:51 PM
horizontal rule
7

I improv baking recipes. It just takes a little trial, really. I swear there was a thread where this came up not long ago.


Posted by: Sybil Vane | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 8:52 PM
horizontal rule
8

Panda Express.

Yup.

Y'd think they could serve some real Panda every now and then too.


Posted by: md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 8:59 PM
horizontal rule
9

It just takes a little trial, really.

I gotta say, mixing, baking, cooling, then tasting a "trial" sounds to me like a recipe for a bad fucking mood.

"How was the flourless chocolate cake you made with unsweetened chocolate?"

"[unprintable] *kick dog* [unprintable]"


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:00 PM
horizontal rule
10

The trial stuff is why I like CI. They do it for me.

I can't explain my liking for McGee's stuff that way. No trials. But they are fascinating.


Posted by: md 20/400 | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:03 PM
horizontal rule
11

9 made me laugh.

I only bake in certain specific moods. I have to be ready to take on an hour and a half project with good humor.


Posted by: NickS | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:06 PM
horizontal rule
12

I like to bake, but I don't do a lot of experimentation with it. There are enough recipes out there that I haven't tried that I don't see any reason to muck around experimenting with old recipes.


Posted by: CJB | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:14 PM
horizontal rule
13

People often describe the difference between cooking and baking as something like the difference between art and science, but I think that's wrong. They're both chemistry; it's just that cooking is a chemical reaction that you can fix easily and is easier to save if you screw it up.


Posted by: Cala | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:22 PM
horizontal rule
14

I do it! I love fucking with baked goods.

It's just all revelations all the time with you, isn't it?


Posted by: Jesus McQueen | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:22 PM
horizontal rule
15

I still say Big Deal.

Some hardened souls want to drain all the magic from the universe.


Posted by: John Emerson | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:24 PM
horizontal rule
16

Iand I totally condone that! I wasn't criticizing JRoth! Or anyone!


Posted by: John Emerson | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:25 PM
horizontal rule
17

And yes, Panda Express sucks hugely.


Posted by: Jesus McQueen | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:25 PM
horizontal rule
18

Eg-fucking-zactly.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:25 PM
horizontal rule
19

I guess John heard what happened to the dog.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:26 PM
horizontal rule
20

16: Emerson a natty dread mon?


Posted by: CN | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:26 PM
horizontal rule
21

I wouldn't just completely make up a recipe out of the thin blue air, but once you know yer basics--the rough proportions in cookie dough, the rough proportions in a cake, etc--it's not that difficult to switch out ingredients and come up with, say, a lemon cake rather than a chocolate one.

I think that the idea that baking is some tetchy exact science is completely exaggerated. Sure, there are some things, like souffles or whatever, that sometimes go wrong. But I mean, once you know how to whip an egg, you know how to whip an egg, and it's not that big a deal.


Posted by: bitchphd | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:27 PM
horizontal rule
22

Panda Express is good if you like MSG headaches.


Posted by: Cala | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:34 PM
horizontal rule
23

Actually, apparently souffles aren't as hard as reputed.

But this:
it's not that difficult to switch out ingredients and come up with, say, a lemon cake rather than a chocolate one.
is just a recipe for mediocrity.

I suppose that sounds snobbish, but it's not like there's something fancy or technical in making, for instance, Cook's Country's devil's food cupcakes. They just happen to be much, much better than any other chocolate cupcakes I've ever had, anywhere.

Cooking at other people's houses is often quite good; I never expect much from other people's baking (except people I know to be very good bakers, obvs., but they tend to be trained).


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:38 PM
horizontal rule
24

BTW, 18 to 13.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:40 PM
horizontal rule
25

I think that the idea that baking is some tetchy exact science is completely exaggerated.

Yeah, I agree. I've never invented a baking recipe, but I certainly feel comfortable improvising. I think some baking book authors want to scientize the whole process (it's all a matter of exact chemistry), while also trading on some weird domestic goddess mystique. I have an aunt who just mixes up pies and cakes in her kitchen without ever looking at a recipe, all based on the trial and error of past experience, I guess, and also on just knowing the basics and having a feel for how things work.


Posted by: Mary Catherine | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:44 PM
horizontal rule
26

I wouldn't just completely make up a recipe out of the thin blue air, but once you know yer basics--the rough proportions in cookie dough, the rough proportions in a cake, etc--it's not that difficult to switch out ingredients and come up with, say, a lemon cake rather than a chocolate one.

Agreed. I guess what got me thinking of this was the NYT article about the woman making up the recipe from scratch-ish vs. the controversy about someone like Cindy McCain taking a recipe and then tweaking some of the proportions and calling it her own. What more than that does any home cook do? If I have an idea for a baking recipe, I find something close and modify it a little. Or, I'll make a recipe and try doubling the amount of coconut the next time or throwing in some nuts. I'm not going to come up with a baking recipe completely from scratch, like I might with a dinner made out of leftovers.


Posted by: Becks | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:45 PM
horizontal rule
27

I've invented baking recipes. The key thing is keeping the acid/alkali balance correct. You just need to know which ingredients will cause the balance to shift (watch out for milk), and adjust from an existing recipe's proportions accordingly. For example, I made some cookies with chopped apple, and used the proportions of a sugar cookie recipe except with some baking soda subbed for baking powder. I guessed at the necessary adjustment but it worked fine.


Posted by: xyzzy | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:47 PM
horizontal rule
28

Oh, I did once substitute mayonnaise for the eggs in a sugar cookie recipe out of desperation once, guessing that the science would make it OK since eggs are emulsifiers and contributers of fat and moisture and mayo is all full of emulsifiers and is moist and fatty (and made of eggs), and nobody could even taste the difference. Roxxorz.


Posted by: Becks | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 9:50 PM
horizontal rule
29

Messing with recipes is easy, since most of the bases are the same and you just swap out flavors and adjust for texture, keep the proportions, etc. And I will argue against those food science people that you can't mess with the leaveners. I had this "best cocoa brownie" recipe from Epicurious, but it seemed really dense--no leaveners mentioned in the recipe! I lightened it up a bit with baking soda, and made slightly fluffier, but still chewy brownies. Also, while gluten content makes a difference, not a huge one unless you are making drastically different things (bread v. cake). Plenty of cooking sites say that they swapped in all-purpose for cake, and regular cocoa for dutch process, etc. etc. Experimenting is key, because some recipes are not made to everyone's taste. I usually always reduce or increase the sugar, double the amount of flavoring (say, for lemon cake), etc.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:02 PM
horizontal rule
30

But, you know, I can't imagine coming up with a new mixture of ingredients to make a completely new thing. I wonder who invented the souffle, the flourless cake, angel food cake, pound cake, etc. It seems like it's not that hard if you get the basic principles of food science (add more eggs = dense, whip up egg whites = fluffy). Now that's baking innovation.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:06 PM
horizontal rule
31

Is this the place to mention that my sour cherry pie, in pursuit of a cherry pitter for which I hied me all over the city and back (ending up with two, and some congee in my belly) is, despite having possibly my worst crust ever, pretty fucking good?

I think it just might be.

I ♥ sour cherries, not just for their culinary uses, but also because this particular variety, at least (Montmorency—good name!) looks prettier than Bings, with their cinnabar dullness, or those damn Ranier cherries, which seem to be the only other two one sees around here. Just look at that pellucidity!


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:11 PM
horizontal rule
32

I guess I'll soften my stance in 23 to say that, once you've made a recipe, modifying it more to your tastes for the next time around isn't a big deal. And if you've done enough baking, you can even modify the first time if you suspect the recipe is off.

I consider that a wholly different beast from opening the pantry and mixing a cup of this, a tablespoon of that, and a pinch of the other to conjure up something new. Some people can pull that off, but most would get better results with a good recipe. In a way that isn't true with, say, a pan sauce.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:12 PM
horizontal rule
33

"How was the flourless chocolate cake you made with unsweetened chocolate?"

If it was high-quality chocolate, this could be really good.

High-quality unsweetened chocolate is expensive, though.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:13 PM
horizontal rule
34

I've messed with recipes, which is actually mainly what I do for cooking too. And I've made up fillings & sauces, but why screw around with the basic flour-leavening-fat ratios when you have a version that you know is delicious & you don't know what effect screwing around will have?

Speaking of which, this isn't really baking, but related to the last food thread, I present to you, ridiculously simple & easy rice pudding from the Joy of Cooking, which is on my stove right now:

3/4 cup rice
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 tsp salt.

Combine in saucepan. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low, cover & simmer for about 15 minutes.

Stir in:
4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar

cook, uncovered over medium heat, for 30-40 minutes. Stir frequently, esp. towards the end.

Remove from heat, stir in 1/2 tsp vanilla.

Transfer to bowl--put saran wrap on top if you don't want a skin.

Can't speak for the results this time yet (and I'm hoping you don't really need the vanilla, because I'm out) but I made it a couple of years ago & it was good.


Posted by: Katherine | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:15 PM
horizontal rule
35

Just look at that pellucidity!

They look disturbingly like maraschinos.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:15 PM
horizontal rule
36

Mmm, cherry pie. Were I absolutely without appetite these days, and were it not too hot to turn on the oven, I would be making a peach-blueberry galette, which is surprisingly pretty and tasty.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:16 PM
horizontal rule
37

I believe Marasca cherries are also a sour variety.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:17 PM
horizontal rule
38

and I'm hoping you don't really need the vanilla, because I'm out

Surely you should add something for flavoring. Amaretto? Grand Marnier? A bit of brown sugar/cinnamon?


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:17 PM
horizontal rule
39

Panda Express sucks hugely

You want to make Panda Express look good? Try eating where I ate this evening: "Asian Chao" at Hartsfield Airport. If that place went out of business, the demand for corn starch and canola oil would drop to levels that ethanol and biodiesel would become economical substitutes for fossil fuels.


Posted by: Knecht Ruprecht | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:19 PM
horizontal rule
40

I can't imagine coming up with a completely new recipe for something cooked that would a) work and b) not start out with some other recipe as a base to work off of. I mean, it's all been done. And I doubt the lady in question received the chocolate chip recipe as divine relavation.

OK, I checked, and there are also some gluten differences among the flours. I still say Big Deal.

You know what makes a difference between a good cake and a great one? Cake flour. (I am thinking of handmade genoise cake with from-scratch butter icing &etc.)

But I mean, once you know how to whip an egg, you know how to whip an egg, and it's not that big a deal.

On the other hand, what B said... except in the case of bread. Bread: the McManus of food.

max
['Thousands of experiments later, he discovered he had made Wonder Bread.']


Posted by: max | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:19 PM
horizontal rule
41

I ♥ sour cherries

You cutesy-emoticon sour cherries, eh?

Okay, who kidnapped w-lfs-n, and just what are they asking for in terms of ransom money? I'm willing to organize a funding drive, if it will help return young Ben to the fold.


Posted by: Mary Catherine | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:20 PM
horizontal rule
42

I've ♥ed things before and I'll do it again, Lord willing.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:21 PM
horizontal rule
43

You know, sometimes Epicurious recipes seem needlessly complicated and trying too hard to be gourmet-y. Maybe because most of the recipes are from Gourmet. But it's my go-to place because it's online and I can search by ingredient or dish really easily. What recipe resources do people use? Should I be subscribing to Cook's Illustrated?


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:23 PM
horizontal rule
44

Ben believes in hope and the Power of Love.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:24 PM
horizontal rule
45

There's this, BL, but you can't view the recipes anymore. (I can, through the power of wget, but you can't.)


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:25 PM
horizontal rule
46

Thanks a lot, Ben. So helpful.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:26 PM
horizontal rule
47

No prob.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:26 PM
horizontal rule
48

43: I rarely use Epicurious recipes straight; I almost always modify them using techniques I've learned from Cook's Illustrated. So i think my answer to your final question is obvious.

You might consider skipping the actual paper subscription and instead subscribing to the website, which gets you all the content from the magazine from the first issue til now. The downside, obvs., being that once you give up the web scrip, you've got nothing (except what you've downloaded, of course).


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:26 PM
horizontal rule
49

Cherries.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:27 PM
horizontal rule
50

(except what you've downloaded, of course)

The power of wget compels you! The power of wget compels you!


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:27 PM
horizontal rule
51

Okay, not to push the panic button, but the situation is now sounding rather dire. Apparently w-lfs-n is suffering from Stockholm Syndrome: he's begun to close all letters and emails with the generic "Luv Ya'."


Posted by: Mary Catherine | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:28 PM
horizontal rule
52

Once, in a drunken response to a good-natured drunken challenge from another guest at a neighbor's house, I whipped up a dessert that was completely improvised. However, although it involved flour and leaven, it was not exactly a baked dessert (it was a kind of crepe with apple-calvados filling). I pretty routinely improvise variations on baked desserts, e.g. taking the basic building blocks of one recipe (say, for a cobbler crust) and add another flavor or substitute one kind of fruit for another.

I once went on a kick of improvising recipes for individual upside-down cakes, using only the rudiments of other recipes. I've done the same with jelly rolls. In all of these cases, while the result was edible, I can't honestly say that the resultant "recipes" were worthy of wider dissemination.


Posted by: Knecht Ruprecht | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:28 PM
horizontal rule
53

I was once party to the devising of, but not the actual execution of, a modified frangipanish tart—but the actual executor of the plan was an experienced improviser on baked goods.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:31 PM
horizontal rule
54

43: My usual strategy (for non-baking projects) is to read the class of epicurious recipes that I'm interested in. So, for example, if I wish to make ceviche, I will read about 12 different recipes to figure out what makes a ceviche a ceviche, the rough proportions and flavors that people use, what steps have to be done and what can be omitted, and then I'll do my own thing. I do this mostly because many online recipes are full of reviews that say, essentially, 'this was really good, I'd make it again, except that I substituted half the ingredients and doubled the other half and then made it low-fat.'


Posted by: Cala | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:32 PM
horizontal rule
55

54: This is what I did to develop my recipe for kik alicha. There are way too many conflicting recipes in existence, but a survey of them gives a good sense of what is necessary to make kik alicha.


Posted by: A White Bear | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:33 PM
horizontal rule
56

I carve nature and recipes at the joints.


Posted by: Cala | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:34 PM
horizontal rule
57

and then made it low-fat.

Call me crazy, but I'm presumptively suspicious of any and all efforts to make it low-fat. Just put down that bag of Doritos, and then go ahead and use real butter and cream when you actually make stuff at home.


Posted by: Mary Catherine | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:37 PM
horizontal rule
58

Word, Mary Catherine. I had a roommate who made "banana bread" but took out all of the good stuff and added flax and protein powder crap. I do not get purposefully "healthy" snack food.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:40 PM
horizontal rule
59

You're not crazy, MC, you're right-thinking, because the truth is, low-fat versions of things meant to be high in fat, generally taste like ass.


Posted by: Cala | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:41 PM
horizontal rule
60

Okay, who kidnapped w-lfs-n, and just what are they asking for in terms of ransom money? I'm willing to organize a funding drive, if it will help return young Ben to the fold.

Just hold tight. I predict we'll be in Ransom of Red Chief territory within a few days.


Posted by: Knecht Ruprecht | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:41 PM
horizontal rule
61

49: I can testify on behalf of recipes 3, 4, & 12, as regards cherries. I've also enjoyed non-cherry recipes for 7 and 13. I wanted to have 7 tonight (Garlicky Lime Sauce with Cilantro), but I can't find the tenderloins that I swear are in my deep freeze. I've been storing up for the impending birth, so it's pretty full right now.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:46 PM
horizontal rule
62

54: I've done exactly that, for instance for conch fritters.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:48 PM
horizontal rule
63

You cutesy-emoticon sour cherries, eh?

A heart is not an emoticon.


Posted by: redfoxtailshrub | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:49 PM
horizontal rule
64

Thousands of experiments later, he discovered he had made Wonder Bread

The WSJ did a great piece on WonderBread around the time of the bankruptcy of International Brands, the makers of Wonder Bread, Ho-Ho's, etc.

Basically, IB reformulated WonderBread to become more shelf stable, so that they could replenish the stores less frequently and save on distribution expense. According to the WSJ, this came back to bite them because the bread displays ended up looking really uninviting about a week into the delivery interval, so sales began to drop. But worse yet, the bread was actually staying fresh longer in the consumers' homes. It turns out that a non-negligible proportion of bread demand was to replace spoiled consumer inventory, i.e. when you buy a fresh loaf because you've let the last 1/4 or 1/3 of the loaf go bad.

The father of an acquaintance of mine was an executive at IB, and the friend said his father had confirmed the basic thrust of the story.


Posted by: Knecht Ruprecht | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:50 PM
horizontal rule
65

the truth is, low-fat versions of things meant to be high in fat, generally taste like ass.

Cook's Country has a regular feature of lower-fat versions of things, but their goal is to reduce, not to achieve any particular goal. So their slice of lemon pound cake went from ~540 calories down to ~330. Still reasonably decadent.

I haven't actually made enough of these to judge their overall success rate, but the 1-2 I've made were fine.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:50 PM
horizontal rule
66

Man, the thought of Wonder Bread is squicking me out.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 10:52 PM
horizontal rule
67

A heart is not an emoticon.

True enough. And the heart is not really a lonely hunter, strictly speaking.

Yeah, Belle Lettre, I have very little patience for "healthy" versions of stuff that is supposed to be a nice little treat. If I make a tasty blueberry crisp, for example, using regular flour and and oats, please don't ask me if the recipe can be duplicated using ancient effing artisanal grains.


Posted by: Mary Catherine | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:01 PM
horizontal rule
68

If I make a tasty blueberry crisp, for example, using regular flour and and oats

Why would you make a blueberry crisp for a horse?
/Samuel Johnson


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:05 PM
horizontal rule
69

low-fat versions of things meant to be high in fat, generally taste like ass

Now, now, let's not get all crazy. There's not a damn thing wrong with substituting milk for cream in quiche, say. It won't taste like the quiche you're used to, but that's a challenge to reorient your palate.


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:06 PM
horizontal rule
70

Why would you make a blueberry crisp for a horse?
/Samuel Johnson

The triumph of hope over experience, naturally.


Posted by: Mary Catherine | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:09 PM
horizontal rule
71

Maybe MC is Scottish.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:10 PM
horizontal rule
72

It won't taste like the quiche you're used to, but that's a challenge to reorient your palate because it'll taste like ass.


Posted by: Josh | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:10 PM
horizontal rule
73

Maybe MC is Scottish.

They do say there's none more Scots than the Scots abroad.


Posted by: Josh | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:12 PM
horizontal rule
74

At most I substitute 2% for whole, or half and half for heavy whipping, mainly because I am too lazy to walk 3 blocks to get little pints of things just to make pudding, but that's rare and I feel bad about it. It doesn't taste bad, but I think "not the same." So yeah, adjusting the palate, but also, expectations. Sometimes, you really think "but it could have been better with ___." Since I mostly bake/cook when I entertain, I generally go all the way. These past couple of weeks I've been eating on my own and it is sad, sad, sad. Like cereal twice a day sad. I need to go back to cooking well for one.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:12 PM
horizontal rule
75

Maybe MC is Scottish.

Certainly not. Though I do love a Dundee cake...


Posted by: Mary Catherine | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:14 PM
horizontal rule
76

72: Wanna fight, wanna fight, eh?

Nah, really, it's a question of whether you want to develop lower fat ways to make some things, or do without them altogether out of some misguided sense of purity. All or nothing? For the birds. It's not like you can't tell the difference between the lower and full fat versions, it's just that after not a very long time at all, less fat tastes perfectly delicious.


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:16 PM
horizontal rule
77

Nah, really, it's a question of whether you want to develop lower fat ways to make some things, or do without them altogether out of some misguided sense of purity.

Nah, really, it's that the full-fat versions taste better.


Posted by: Josh | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:23 PM
horizontal rule
78

In my experience the recipes from CI's Best Light Recipe are uniformly mediocre. I generally consult both CI and Bittman and meet somewhere in the middle, depending on ingredient availability.

Belle, make quiche. It gives all the satisfaction of full-sized baking but keeps long enough for a single person to eat it all.


Posted by: Amber | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:24 PM
horizontal rule
79

Oh yeah. And as good as fresh quiche is, it's even better after it's been in the fridge overnight.


Posted by: Josh | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:27 PM
horizontal rule
80

I generally follow the Pioneer Woman's ethos, which seems to be, basically, BUTTER!


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:27 PM
horizontal rule
81

77: Whatever you say, honey.


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:28 PM
horizontal rule
82

Triple on the advice to Belle Lettre to make quiche: it'll last a few days, good for any meal, warm or cold. And really variable in ingredients, degree of cheesiness or vegetable-y ness.


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:32 PM
horizontal rule
83

Or you could make a cherry pie and eat the whole thing in about a day.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:33 PM
horizontal rule
84

Dude, what are you doing up? Mmm, quiche. I make a fantastic spinach mushroom quiche. The last time I made that was for brunch, like, months ago. Perhaps it is time to quiche again.

Lately I feel like my cooking has sucked, because nothing tastes good. I made bittersweet chocolate pudding yesterday, thinking it would make me hungry on a hot day, and threw it all out today. Blargh.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:33 PM
horizontal rule
85

83: no more pie left?! Damn.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:35 PM
horizontal rule
86

What I really need is to find the right meat and a giant pan for my quiche Lorraine. I bought some once that was about 2 inches thick and was full of roughly torn chunks of pork with long muscle fibers. Even cold, it was so much better than thin quiche with plain bacon (which I am out of). Perhaps one could make do with some lovely tomatoes from my grandmother's garden.


Posted by: Amber | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:37 PM
horizontal rule
87

As the Baron St. Fontanel said: "A woman happy in love--she burns the souffle! A woman unhappy in love--she forgets to turn the oven on!" Or just cooks really badly.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:38 PM
horizontal rule
88

Dude, I am researching res judicata. Come to D.C. for my birthday and make me some pudding.


Posted by: Amber | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:38 PM
horizontal rule
89

Oh, there's still about 5/8ths left. But it's only been out of the oven five hours, and one of those it had to cool.

The very helpful woman at the totally crazy kitchen supply store where I got the second pitter informed me that sour cherries should still be available from some people at the ferry building, even if the dudes at the civic center market won't have any after Saturday.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:39 PM
horizontal rule
90

I am researching res judicata too. I am sure you are right, despite traditional definitions. Ok, I will stop doing your work and look at Expedia.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:39 PM
horizontal rule
91

roughly torn chunks of pork with long muscle fibers

Shoulder or the like, braised.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:42 PM
horizontal rule
92

Pancetta also sounds yummy.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:46 PM
horizontal rule
93

Tasted hammy. I defer to your greater expertise, though.


Posted by: Amber | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:47 PM
horizontal rule
94

Wev.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:48 PM
horizontal rule
95

I make a fantastic spinach mushroom quiche.

There is but one true quiche, and its name is Lorraine.


Posted by: Josh | Link to this comment | 07- 9-08 11:51 PM
horizontal rule
96

Bosh, Josh.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:01 AM
horizontal rule
97

The best quiche I had was with w-lfs-n--that ham and gruyere one from Tartine. The crust was super crumbly and like a burnt croissant, and I don't know how to make it. It was like 5 inches deep. It was awesome.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:05 AM
horizontal rule
98

Ben, if you're still there, can I ask an ignorant question: what is this sour cherries? As opposed to just cherries?

I have no doubt that there are different sorts of cherries, but I've never studied up on them, and I did have one recently that tasted somewhat tart, and I asked (stupidly, innocently): is this a particular type of cherry, perhaps a sour cherry?

I got an amused look. Answer: that's what cherries taste like, in my experience.

I ask because you have been going on about them, and I haven't had fresh cherries much, and I also haven't checked any references you may have given.


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:05 AM
horizontal rule
99

95: Does anyone actually laugh at the "quiche lorraine?! I hardly know her!" joke, or should I stop making it.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:11 AM
horizontal rule
100

There is no substitute for Kobe.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:11 AM
horizontal rule
101

Becks, for what it is worth, I tend to think of baked goods in a spectrum from pancakes to cake to cookies, going from proportionally more to less liquid. I mean, your cake isn't going to be >i>wrong. It'll just lean more toward the pancake or cookie side of things.

Leaveners do make it more complicated. But the real solution is to find non-picky eaters.


Posted by: Megan | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:20 AM
horizontal rule
102

Ben, if you're still there, can I ask an ignorant question: what is this sour cherries? As opposed to just cherries?

Sour as opposed to sweet, of course.

This is a rough way of sorting them, naturally, and presumably the underripe sweet cherries are also sour, but what can you do? Bing and Rainier cherries are sweet (eat one and see!); Morello, Montmorency, and I speculated above Marasca cherries are sour (eat one and see!).

The sour ones are more suited for culinary purposes; cooking the sweet ones makes for too much sweetness (they're also better for brandying, I think). 'Course I also like eating the sour ones plain, but that's because I'm a big ol' sourpuss myself, and like attracts like.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:21 AM
horizontal rule
103

Pancakes aren't baked, even if they do resemble baked goods in other respects.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:22 AM
horizontal rule
104

Neither are crepes. I made this cake for a friend's birthday, but it wasn't really a cake. Perfect for a hot summer day.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:24 AM
horizontal rule
105

That looks like a good cake.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:29 AM
horizontal rule
106

102: Thanks, just what I wanted.

I'm chiefly interested in fruits for the raw eating, and have disliked some cherries (plain) in the past, but also favor the sour. thanks.


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:32 AM
horizontal rule
107

It was delish! Next dinner party, w-lfs-n. Or perhaps for your birthday. You can look just as happy as she did.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:35 AM
horizontal rule
108

She looks kind of tense and frightened.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:38 AM
horizontal rule
109

108: When you're used to seeing women look at you, tense and frightened, it's easy to begin to see all women that way, ben.


Posted by: Stanley | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:41 AM
horizontal rule
110

Aw, w-lfs-n. You take that back. That is her cute and demure pose. She was also drunk on champagne. See, happy.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:41 AM
horizontal rule
111

Do not comment on how I look, Ben.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:42 AM
horizontal rule
112

Meaning, in the picture.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:43 AM
horizontal rule
113

It's more that I am used to looking at women, tense and frightened.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:43 AM
horizontal rule
114

This past weekend I made non-ham-hock green beans, an orange-cranberry bundt cake and a triple-chocolate cake for a friend's housewarming party. The chocolate cake came out looking weird and lumpy and gross but tastes fantastic. Last night as he took the cover off the cake saver to cut a piece Rah paused and said, "It really does look malevolent. It really does."

"That which is iced may eternal lie and with strange aeons even cake may die," I replied.

It is a mighty good cake, though.


Posted by: Robust McManlyPants | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:43 AM
horizontal rule
115

Wait, I just put a picture of myself up. Crap. No law profs here, right?


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:43 AM
horizontal rule
116

I told someone your pseudonym is the best one I've ever come across, and they agreed, Robust McManlyPants.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:45 AM
horizontal rule
117

Oh, but what I originally thought of is that my mother very rarely uses measuring spoons and endeavored with some success to teach us to cup our hands in a certain way and use our creased palm as a measuring spoon. As a kid I thought this was the ultimate hallmark of my mother's limitless genius.


Posted by: Robust McManlyPants | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:46 AM
horizontal rule
118

A tactfully suggested cake for RMcMP's next shindig.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:47 AM
horizontal rule
119

Ew, and yet, coooool.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:48 AM
horizontal rule
120

That's a lot of fondant.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:48 AM
horizontal rule
121

A treasure at our house has been a very old Montmorency cherry tree from which we just collected the annual harvest. These photos are from a few years earlier. Unfortunately the tree is struggling and we barely got one whole pie from it this year. Trying to get a couple new ones going is my current #1 priority battle with the deer. I do not care for the cherries straight, but then I lack the sophisticated palate of some. If you leave them on the tree longer they do get a bit sweeter, but then it becomes a race with the birds.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:49 AM
horizontal rule
122

Thanks, Belle! And now sleep for me.

(And, on preview, I want to make a Cthulhu cake, like, so bad. Baking is so much fun.)


Posted by: Robust McManlyPants | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:49 AM
horizontal rule
123

I like sweet Rainier cherries, so I must be a philistine.


Posted by: Belle Lettre | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:51 AM
horizontal rule
124

in pursuit of a cherry pitter for which I hied me all over the city and back

I feel your pain. If you read my blog, you'd have known what kind to get and where to get it, by the way.


Posted by: bitchphd | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:56 AM
horizontal rule
125

cup our hands in a certain way and use our creased palm as a measuring spoon. As a kid I thought this was the ultimate hallmark of my mother's limitless genius.

I'd have loved to have learned something like this. Surely it could work -- builds the instincts and all that. No baking like that in our family. Therefore baking is foreign to me (and also I just don't like sweets very much).


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:57 AM
horizontal rule
126

Cthulhu cake? Bah. Make this.


Posted by: bitchphd | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 1:00 AM
horizontal rule
127

Did I mention that we'll have a bumper crop of plums this year? I'll try to link a pic tomorrow, but it's late.

fruits for the raw eating, and have disliked some cherries (plain) in the past

My experience is not to bother except at the very height of the season - no matter how good they look in the store, wait until the price comes down. I'm less strict with strawberries for some reason - probably just more tolerant for underripe strawbs. But for years I thought I didn't like cherries due to a bad experience with underripe ones as a kid.

Cherries from roadside stands in the Mösel valley in early June are just absurdly sweet (Rainier-looking, but surely not actually that).


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 1:03 AM
horizontal rule
128

126 reminds me that I have a pic of a Myron Cope cake - I should save it for when likely appreciators are awake.

The last few years, AB & I have been "celebrity" judges for a cake contest run as a fundraiser by the local midwives' center. Chocolate, people. Please stop wasting my time with your non-chocolate cakes.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 1:06 AM
horizontal rule
129

Ben, you are in for a treat tomorrow night. Sleepytime Gorilla Museum is not my kind of awesome, but it is indubitably awesome.

And the middle guy made us all twirl around for his drinking song.


Posted by: Wrongshore | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 1:06 AM
horizontal rule
130

121: A treasure at our house has been a very old Montmorency cherry tree

Thanks, JP, cool information and great pictures.


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 1:06 AM
horizontal rule
131

128: JRoth, I just posted, over on a probably dead thread, a seeming incredible Steelers pander from McCain that deserves to blow up in his face. Read the comment at the link, but basically he told KDKA that he would name the Steelers D-line as his squadron mates under interrogation. Trouble is: 1) No one knew the pathetic Steelers D-line of the late '60s, even in Pittsburgh and 2) in his book he said it was the Green Bay Packers offensive line.

He's meta-mavericky!


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 1:18 AM
horizontal rule
132

Lamberts. Or And Lapins.


Posted by: Nápi | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 4:54 AM
horizontal rule
133

23: We'll be needing that recipe, JRoth.


Posted by: Sir Kraab | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 6:48 AM
horizontal rule
134

I made chocolate chip cookies with less butter than the recipe called for, because someone had used some of the butter I thought that I had. They were still good.

I'm generally not into the "make everything low-fat" movement, but low-fat sour cream is pretty good. It might not work in an actual recipe, but it's fine on a baked potato or nachos.

Does anyone know of a good place to take cooking classes. I'm not good at doing manual things like cooking off of recipes. I need some practice where I get to see it live. There are too many cooking shows now for me to watch them, though I used to watch Julia Child and the Frugal Gourmet. Actually, I also watched Yan Can Cook, although I never attempted the Asian foods when I was 11. (I wouldn't watch that now. I've heard that he's perfectly capable of speaking unaccented English, really American English which means that he's playing up a stupid stereotype.)


Posted by: Bostoniangirl | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 6:53 AM
horizontal rule
135

Nah, really, it's a question of whether you want to develop lower fat ways to make some things, or do without them altogether out of some misguided sense of purity. All or nothing?

It's not all or nothing; it's 'take a slightly smaller portion.' Or 'enjoy it and don't worry about it because it's a special occasion.' Or 'if you don't generally eat processed foods you can really get away with eating banana bread whenever you make it.'

Like Belle Lettre, I won't have a problem with using 2% or whole milk unless the recipe really needs it.

But a couple things to consider:
1) Fat is actually a nutrient. Not having the fat also often means not feeling full, and then overindulging on what's left: sugars, mostly. I can have a few oz. of Greek yogurt and be set till lunch; no-fat, no-sugar Yoplait will hold me for about an hour.
2) Low-fat versions of things are often filled with crap to make them taste like real food. I don't think this is a net benefit for health.
3) There are plenty of things that are actually low-fat on their own that are tasty to eat, and this is what it mostly comes down to for me. If I want a low-fat dinner, there are plenty of things that I can cook that are not lasagna that fit that bill. If I want a low-fat dessert, there are things that are tastier than low-fat cheesecake.


Posted by: Cala | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 7:02 AM
horizontal rule
136

No-fat greek yogurt is still pretty darn tasty.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 7:28 AM
horizontal rule
137

ts are back!
my thinking is eat anything in any natural combination, even fast food, but limit calories
except the known carcinogens of course


Posted by: read | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 7:33 AM
horizontal rule
138

Also, copyrighting of recipes: pro or con?


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 7:37 AM
horizontal rule
139

137: different computer, I'm sad to say. The home laptop was still t free this morning.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 7:38 AM
horizontal rule
140

Low fat potato chips taste like crunchy cardboard. I don't even like potato chips, but I'll always remember the time I grabbed the wrong bag at the store on my way to some event.


Posted by: John Emerson | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 7:38 AM
horizontal rule
141

Con copyrighting recipes. Do you want the IP police coming to YOUR HOME and confiscating the dish you lovingly made from a pirated recipe?


Posted by: John Emerson | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 7:40 AM
horizontal rule
142

con, i even submit one
the only cake i knew how to bake was a plain vanilla cake with raisins, it required condensed milk and two eggs, a vanilla stick
could use some sugar powder for decoration
we used a round bread-maker with a form inserted so the cake always looked like a giant donut


Posted by: read | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 7:44 AM
horizontal rule
143

141: well of course I don't. Logical next question: how is intellectual property protection for recipes different from IP protection for software?


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 7:46 AM
horizontal rule
144

143: Baking's less replicable than software?


Posted by: Cala | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 7:50 AM
horizontal rule
145

I knew that behind Tweety's sly rhetorical question lay a fiendish trap!

Software has a lot less sugar and lard, for one thing.

Mmmmm. Lard.


Posted by: John Emerson | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 7:56 AM
horizontal rule
146

Be careful Tweety. You have Bill Gates in your sights, I know, but when his lawyers are done with this, recipes will by copyrighted and you'll have to sign for ingredients at the grocery. Nobody fucks with Microsoft.


Posted by: John Emerson | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 7:59 AM
horizontal rule
147

144: well, why? Because the underlying conditions are different in each case? You could quite easily make the same argument for e.g. software ported to different platforms, yet that's still covered by copyright law.

(Why am I making this argument in this thread? Who cares about software when there's baked goods full of fat to be discussed? Mmmm, baking.)


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 7:59 AM
horizontal rule
148

forgot to add 1/4 tea-spoon baking soda, to make the dough raise, if to put more it becomes yellowish, if less it'll be very thin, i also had trouble with raisins sinking all down
i think it was just basic spongecake, so can decorate or add whatever, but i don't remember adding butter into it, or maybe we added, forget


Posted by: read | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:05 AM
horizontal rule
149

146: eh I've taken those fuckers on before. It's Chuck Schumer I'm worried about.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:08 AM
horizontal rule
150

Anyhow: moving on: GIANT DONUT!


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:09 AM
horizontal rule
151

BG: The BCAE has a bunch of decent cooking classes, at various levels. I have some friends who took the super-introductory one, which used a lot of relatively prepared ingredients (frozen chopped onions, for example), but was nevertheless real cooking. Something above that level might be better if you don't have a fundamental fear of the kitchen.

(Why did we have to be discussing this today? It's been too &%^$&%^$ hot to cook for several days now, and it's making me cranky)


Posted by: Nathan Williams | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:11 AM
horizontal rule
152

giant donut b/c if not put the form, then in the center it would be still raw, but the edges'd start to burn
i think every household had that breadmaker


Posted by: read | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:13 AM
horizontal rule
153

to


Posted by: read | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:13 AM
horizontal rule
154

"Mr Tweety, I see that on July eighth you bought lard, white flour, shaved almonds, confectionary sugar, vanilla extract, and poppy seeds at the Thrifty Value Super Grocery. Are you aware that those are the ingredients for the MS almond-poppyseed cookie 3.2 (TM)? Now if you'd just come with us....."

It will be your fault, Tweety. Let sleeping dogs lie.


Posted by: John Emerson | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:15 AM
horizontal rule
155

154: "Officer I get baked, I don't bake! Er, wait, that came out wrong."


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:16 AM
horizontal rule
156

Low fat potato chips taste like crunchy cardboard. I don't even like potato chips, but I'll always remember the time I grabbed the wrong bag at the store on my way to some event.

Cape Cod Potato Chips reduced fat chips are very good. They don't leave a grease stain, but other than that I can't really tell the difference between them and the full fat version.


Posted by: Bostoniangirl | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:16 AM
horizontal rule
157

156: no different but the poopin'.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:17 AM
horizontal rule
158

BCAE? I assume that's a Center for Adult Education, but are you talking about the Brookline one or the Boston one?


Posted by: Bostoniangirl | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:19 AM
horizontal rule
159

135 gets it exactly right.


Posted by: bitchphd | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:21 AM
horizontal rule
160

Boston. I know the Brookline one is out there, but I don't have any experience with their courses. The Boston one has been pretty good to me (and has a lot more stuff than the Cambridge one).


Posted by: Nathan Williams | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:21 AM
horizontal rule
161

If you understand the principles of baking, of course you can invent a baked goods recipe. It's really not that difficult. You just start by baking from the recipes for 10 years, then once you've got the hang of that, you start tweaking the standard recipes, and after 10 years of that, you know enough to begin with the basic principles and invent your own.

And everyone starts making cakes and cookies at 5 years old, don't they? I mean, what else do you do when you're stuck in the house on a rainy day and none of your friends have come round and your mom looks like she's going to kill you slowly if you whine one more time that you haven't got anything to DO.


Posted by: Jesurgislac | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:21 AM
horizontal rule
162

1) Fat is actually a nutrient. Not having the fat also often means not feeling full, and then overindulging on what's left: sugars, mostly.

This seems to be the message of the Atkins diet book. Seriously, if you replace "fat" with "fat and protein", this is the only message of the Atkins diet book.

Wait, there's another one. Simple carbohydrates are equivalent to sugars even if they aren't sweet, so avoid them too.

But anyway, that's all you need to know about the Atkins diet book.


Posted by: CN | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:23 AM
horizontal rule
163

156: There is no Olestra in the Cape Cod ones. They fry them and then flash bake them. They're not a low-fat product, so much as one that's lower in fat.


Posted by: Bostoniangirl | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:23 AM
horizontal rule
164

157 cont'd:

In RuPaul's movie Starrbooty, one of the supporting characters is named "Ol' Lestra." Despite explaining that her name means "half the motherfucking calories!" she is the most overweight character in the movie.

Sometimes I love wikipedia so, so much.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:24 AM
horizontal rule
165

Is alcohol a simple carbohydrate? Sometimes it seems simple, but if you drink enough of it the complexities become evident.


Posted by: John Emerson | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:28 AM
horizontal rule
166

I love fucking with baked goods.

Here's a flickr group you might enjoy, then (from here.)


Posted by: JL | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 8:55 AM
horizontal rule
167

We'll be needing that recipe, JRoth.

Done.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 9:16 AM
horizontal rule
168

As has been said above, once you have a basic baking recipe, adapting it is really not all that hard -- mostly just adding or subtracting things from the basic dough. My favorite recipe started out as a Joy of Cooking plain sour cream coffee cake and turned into whole wheat blueberry streusel coffee cake. Swap yogurt (plain or flavored!) for the sour cream, whole wheat for white flour (maybe a little less since it absorbs more liquid), toss in blueberries and yum! I've had a few sorry batches of cookies taking this approach, but some pretty damned amazing ones too. Like anything else, willingness to experiment is its own reward.


Posted by: Di Kotimy | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 9:19 AM
horizontal rule
169

My favorite recipe started out as a Joy of Cooking plain sour cream coffee cake and turned into whole wheat blueberry streusel coffee cake.

Piracy funds terrorism, Di.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 9:20 AM
horizontal rule
170

163: Yeah, heartier chips hold up pretty well to the less-fat treatment.

In principle, I'm with Cala's 135, but in practice I've enjoyed a number of reduced-fat recipes/products. Cook's Country's reduced-fat mac-n-cheese recipe uses, among other things, blue cheese to make up for the lost fat; it's really not a sacrifice to eat.

Oh, and BG, reduced fat sour cream does work for recipes (as a general rule). I think the key - esp. for dairy - is that reduced fat can work, but nonfat rarely does.

I've always been a firm whole milk partisan, but organic milk tastes so much better than regular that I prefer 2% organic to whole regular (and organic whole is luscious, but, well...).


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 9:27 AM
horizontal rule
171

Diet coke makes a better mixer.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 9:29 AM
horizontal rule
172

If you read my blog, you'd have known what kind to get and where to get it, by the way.

Your blog would have told me what store in SF to go to?

And I did get a perfectly great one for $2.50.


Posted by: ben w-lfs-n | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 9:44 AM
horizontal rule
173

organic whole is luscious

Rory went through a phase where she'd only grudgingly and under duress drink anything other than Horizon whole milk. I naturally assumed this was mostly packaging, but she proved to me in repeated side-by-side blind taste tests that she really could distinguish between that and other brands of organic whole milk.


Posted by: Di Kotimy | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 9:48 AM
horizontal rule
174

drink anything other than Horizon whole milk

Which is funny because Horizon is really a factory farm that follows the letter of the organics law (we're an Organic Valley family). We used to switch week-to-week based on pricing, and I don't ever recall tasting a difference, but I only drink milk with food, so really subtle differences would be missed unless I paid attention.


Posted by: JRoth | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 9:57 AM
horizontal rule
175

In college we played a game where everyone went to the grocery store and in teams, spent a predetermined amount of money on whatever random and unusual ingredients we could find. Then the teams traded groceries and had to come up with meals using all the crazy stuff plus whatever was in the house.

Then, break! Split up to different houses to prepare! And then we all had a dinner party.

Some of the results were more noteworthy than others. I recommend playing this game mainly while drinking: everything seems more edible.


Posted by: Cecily | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 9:58 AM
horizontal rule
176

135:

2) Low-fat versions of things are often filled with crap to make them taste like real food. I don't think this is a net benefit for health.

Without reading the thread past this: Ah, we are talking about different things. I wasn't talking about premade lowfat foods, prepared foods. Just what you do in your own kitchen.

We're on the same page, except that I still maintain you can shift your palate from a taste for higher fat content (if you don't feel full, your stomach is trained in a certain way) to lower fat content. Obviously have the fat stuff on occasion. But swinging back and forth between high-fat lasagna or naturally low-fat foods is bound to leave a huge middle ground that I don't see any reason to eschew.


Posted by: parsimon | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 10:10 AM
horizontal rule
177

The best quiche I had was with w-lfs-n--that ham and gruyere one from Tartine. The crust was super crumbly and like a burnt croissant, and I don't know how to make it. It was like 5 inches deep. It was awesome.

Yeah, see, this was why I was "meh" on Tartine, even after B asked me if I'd had their quiche. I don't *want* a super-crumbly and flaky crust, I want a nice firm crust. But I realize I'm firmly in the minority on this one.


Posted by: Josh | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:20 PM
horizontal rule
178

I'm going to have to stick up for Tartine here. I mean, sure, I imagine there are other bakeries out there just as good and maybe even better. But mmmm, the croque monsieur with smoked ham and asparagus and gruyere on that bread...


Posted by: Di Kotimy | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:44 PM
horizontal rule
179

While comercial, non-organic milk has some pus in it, it's pasteurized and actually more nourishing than pus-free milk.


Posted by: John Emerson | Link to this comment | 07-10-08 12:47 PM
horizontal rule