Rouxbe

I can't get thick yogurt in my area. And sour cream isn't cheap. In place of these, I strain my yogurt first.

Put an amount of yogurt in a cheesecloth or old dish-towel and knot the top with a twist tie. Then hang it in the fridge above a bowl to catch the water.

This method results in a thick yogurt that can take a bit more moisture from lemons, etc. And with the addition of vinegar and salt, it makes a great sour cream substitute.

I don't think Rouxbe should be using pre-mixed seasonings unless they do a corner on prepping your own series of such. Carmen makes a good argument (see above).

My guess is "Greek Seasoning" is probably a blend of salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, dried onion & garlic with maybe some dried lemon peel.

It reminds me of a processed-food recipe printed on the box ; Just add OUR BRAND this, with a touch of OUR BRAND that. It doesn't teach you about flavours.

I hope we keep using just ingredients and not pre-fab stuff.

Respectfully,

This is wonderful with the Tortilla de Patatas!

You are right-on when you say be prepared and don't rush. Can you imagine using a microwave oven to temper the eggs?

As for the torch, it's a propane gas torch you want to get. This tool is in the top 5 of most often used in my kitchen. I use it to bring the flavour of BBQ grilling to my stove-top dishes. If I am stir-frying a bit of pork & veg., I always hit the meat with the torch while it fries in the wok. This flavour (the caramelizing of the sugars on the surface of your food) reaches way back in our primal minds. And the message is FOOD! GOOD! Try one for a while and see what you think.

This recipe (and others) would be even easier if we had metric weights and measures! Not asking to replace the ancient ways, but equal air-time would be a lifesaver, thanks!

This turned out to be a great birthday cake for my son's 14th. I subbed 2 Tbsp of the veg. oil with peanut oil. There was a subtle nuttiness about it. I used the thick ganche for the crumb layer and then whipped the final coat.

When I was shopping for chocolate, I saw chile infused bitter chocolate so I suppose chile oil could be interesting, too. Or how about any of the nut oils?

Easy to make and well presented, thank you Dawn!

I was able to make the calamari with sushi-fresh squid! I love the spice and smoky combo.

As Dawn suggested, I used a Chinese red-chili paste along with a few dashes of liquid smoke.

Loved it!

Iain

After a day's brining and 2 hours rest in the fridge before roasting, my Christmas turkey turned out a winner. The depth of flavour was astounding. And the juiciness of ALL the meat was outstanding.

My daughter brought her boyfriend 'round for dinner and now I'm a legend in HER mind as well as mine.

I'm boiling the carcass now and the soup I'm sampling (after adding only celery leaves) is blowing my culinary cranium cortex (hereafter referred to as CCC)...

Brine on!

I find most brands of tortilla are under cooked, as is. I like to grill the torts over an open flam (or stove top) to bring out the flavour and fully cook them.

Great recipe and just in time!

And did I mention how much the turkey brining made my year?

I muddled through with a 12 year old scotch and brown sugar. Holy Mother Mary and Joseph! Just fantastic!

John, you're right about that flame!
Why that happens: In a cold torch (just turned on), the gas from the cannister is cold and dense and can't burn all at once. Therefore it burns at a low temp and FLARES!

Once the torch is warmed up (a few minutes) the gas can vaporize and burn more efficiently.
If you shake the can, you can get the same effect; huge flame shooting out like a circus act.

N.B. Don't freak out and drop the torch, just point it away from you and maybe over the stove. It'll settle down and after a couple of minutes will be warmed up and ready for anything!

My kitchen (country) doesn't even have gallon measurements! I had to go over to my neighbour's, borrow his imported Chevy and siphon out 99% of his gas. Then I drove it to a gas station and put in 1 gallon exactly. Then, after pushing the car home, siphoned off the gas and was finally able to see what a gallon is. What a cumbersome process!

This dish turned out very well. Despite the fact I had to make the main flavour ingredient! I combined a deep red wine with a splash of vodka and then added a bit of brown sugar... I think I got it right as the recipe really was a hit. Thanks!

Fantastic stock. I've used it in meat dumplings and almost anywhere "water" is needed in a recipe. I too have a gelatinous mass in my fridge which I enjoy scooping out and enriching my, now superior, dishes. Thanks guys! 100%

I had to use ketchup as I didn't have paste...