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My mother-in-law is driving me crazy. Help!
Ever since my daughter was born, I?ve been fed up with my mother-in-law. Everything she does annoys me: The way she refers to my daughter as 'our' little bundle of joy. The way she insists we call her 'Granny' and her husband 'Pop-Pop.' And the way she drops by for surprise visits and calls us every day. I know she's excited about her first grandchild, but she?s driving me nuts. I?ve told my husband how I feel, but he doesn?t agree. Are my hormones making me feel like this? Is anyone else this annoyed by their mother-in-law?
Posted: 03/16/2001 by a BabyCenter Member
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Miranda, I have officially HATED my mother-in-law since my son was born 5 years ago. I have had 2 more children since and with each child she gets worse!!!!! When we lived 20 minutes away from her, she expected us to go see her every sunday... or else she would give my husband the ultimate guilt trip. Now that we live on total opposite sides of the country she makes my life a living hell when she is here. She comes in and rearrainges my entire house the way she likes it, if she feels something needs to be thrown away, she takes the liberty to do it with out asking, she dresses my children how she sees fit, tells me how I should run my house, and when I try to talk to my husband about it, I'm the bad guy. If I try to put my foot down, She runs (literally) hysterical crying to my husband and again, yes I am the bad guy. The funny thing is, she does not do it to her other children and their spouses, just me.posted 02/20/2006 by labebe247
My mil is driving me crazy too! My husband has an older brother with a boy 9months older then are son, and he is her first grandchild and he is her favorite when we had my husbands family over for dinner at our house his mom went into are baby's nursery I was still pregnant at the time and started taking stuff brand new stuff still in packages, I asked her what she was doing and she said that my husbands brothers baby needed it and she was going to give it to him besides my baby didn't need it he wasn't even here yet and I already had to much stuff she claimed, I told her she needed to ask before taking and giving my stuff away, besides her other son has a job and so did his girlfriend so why can't they buy their child that stuff? And she said he has that stuff but yours is nicer. My son is now three years old and wears the same size as my husbands brother's son and everytime I take him to stay with my mil she will keep all the cloths I take with him and she'll return him in cloths that are not his and not nice at all and take his nice cloths and give them to her other grandson. Just once I'd like to go to her house and not see my sons nice cloths on my husbands brothers child. Don't get me wrong my husband brother makes good money so there's no reason to take my son's stuff away from him! I've talked to her about it and she said oh I forget whose is whose but I write my son's name on all his stuff including the tags on his cloths and she still does it. I just gave birth to my second son and right after I did my husbands brother told us his girlfriend is now expecting I hope its a girl soo bad I don't wanna put up with this all over again!posted 03/14/2006 by a BabyCenter Member
I CANT DO ANTHING RIGHT WHEN IT COMES TO MY MIL.IF I GET SOMETHING SHE HAS TO GO OUT AND GET SOMETHING BETTER.I TELL HER THAT IM GOING TO GO GET MY HUSBAND SOMETHING SHE WILL GO GET IT FOR HIM BEFORE I CAN.MY HUSBAND THINKS SHE IS BEING HELPFUL,I KNOW SHE IS DOING IT TO MAKE ME MAD.I TELL MY HUSBAND AND ALL HE DOES IS ROLL HIS EYES AND TELL ME THAT I AM TRYING TO START SOMETHING. I HAVE FOUR ANGELS WITH HIM AND IM ABOUT READY TO PACK UP AND LEAVE WITH THEM. HOW DO I GET MY HUSBAND TO CUT THE CORD.HELP MY LIFE IS LIKE EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND BUT WORST. HELP WHAT DO I DO.posted 03/16/2006 by a BabyCenter Member
I have had similar issues with my mother in law throughout my pregnancy. I finally had to discuss the issue with her, with my husband present so there would be no way for her to twist my words around, and cause more trouble. I told her I didn't appreciate her disrespecting our wishes towards the baby ( whether it be not to feed the baby certain things, or keeping certain things to herself about the baby, i.e. the neighborhood did not need to know he had a hypospadias). I had to tell her that if we couldn't trst her with little things, then we couldn't trust her alone with the baby. Things changed fast in our favor.posted 03/30/2006 by giggles7221
How does that saying go.... A son is a son until he takes a wife.... but a daughter is a daughter for all of her life! I have an interfering, bossy..know it all, MIL and the only fights my husband and I have stem from her. He thinks I want to block his family from our life...thats not true...but I don't need them running my life. My family is very good to us..financially, babysitting etc. His does nothing but cause grief. For instance: She wore white to my wedding, tried pulling me out of my daughters christening photos, brought her friends round to tour our new house without asking me if it was ok she was just doing it, comes up every other weekend since the birth of my dd, brought christmas gifts for my daughter and took home all the giftbags, brings up small bottled water and takes it home again, brings an apple pie..we eat one slice, she takes it home. Cheap, cheap, cheap...She walks around my home as if it were her own. His should go on Gerry Springer cause they are like trash!! Whats worse, my husband sides with his dear mamma!! whatever mamma wants!! Forgive my ravings..guess it feels good to vent!posted 03/31/2006 by a BabyCenter Member
Oh, my MIL is too much. She justifies every interference by claiming her right to WORRY about all of us, and wanting to do things so she is able to act, rather than brood. Unfortunately, nothing stems this obsessive worrying, just adds to it. So until we wised up, we were always wasting energy consoling her, making her feel reassured. Now we just do not answer the phone if we are having a tough day with the kids because we do not want to explain that the baby has gas, or the older child is having a jealous tantrum while adjusting to her new sibling. Then she will start fretting and telling us we dont know anything, and say Oh, I should come and live near you. She wants me to get back to work so she can take over. I hate her so much that I just avoid focusing on her because if I do, it makes my anger get out of control.
My MIL opened the gifts for my baby while I was asleep. She always opens gifts before I can do it, even with my second child. Then she wonders why I am not excited to paw through them while she gloats that she has already seen them. She favors my son over my daughter very obviously, wants me to stop nursing so she can bottle feed, and generally manages to make me wish for a gun to blow my head off.... One thing makes me crazy--she will ask me very often what size my daughter wears, and I explain each time very patiently that it varies by store. I say that most of her clothes come from Target and there, her size is--but before I can say the size, my MIL will say Oh no, I shop at better places. The conversation never leads to what size she should buy, which makes me see that she is trying to say she can do better at clothes shopping because she is more well off. What a clear indication that money does not equal class.
Oh, I forgot to mention that my MIL will sit next to me, with her thigh pressing up against me when I am talking to my baby. Then she will grab him from me and imitate me exactly, saying whatever I said. And she will turn to me and say See, he likes me so much. I try to tell myself that it all works out in the end. But my mother was bossed around and tormented by her MIL for years, and then had to look after her till she died at the age of 91. Oh Lord.
Ok, I'm going crazy, and I don't know what to do anymore. My MIL was originally kind and affectionate towards me, until I got pregnant. Then she turned into a psycho freak, and I realized that the whole sweet demeanor was just an act. What I originally thought was generosity on her part has turned out to be a way of trying to control our lives. We absolutely adore our dd, but she came at a time when my fiance went back to school for a PhD and I had just finished my masters but didn't have a job secured. So things are a little tight these days. But it's nothing we can't handle and it's temporary. My MIL has been taking advantage of this situation by always offering to buy everything for us in order to control us. I have now realized that she thinks that her son is still 5 years old, and she is terrified of not being top woman in his life. She therefore will offer to pay for various things as a 'present', but it has to be exactly as she likes in order to maintain control of our lives. She bought absolutely everything for my baby despite me asking her not to (including crib, stroller, etc), thus taking the joy of buying things for my own new baby away because my fiance didn't want to return what mommy bought and didn't see the point of buying things that I liked since we got his mom's 'presents' for free. Back then I still thought that maybe she had misplaced kind intentions at heart and din't realize what she was doing, so I went along with my fiance. Boy was I stupid! But that's only the tip of the iceberg. When we announced that we were getting married, she offered to pay for our wedding. That's been such a mistake! She didn't want to include me in anything, and would find excuses as to why I couldn't be a part of my own wedding. I finally exploded when I found out that she had hired a wedding planner and had met with her all along to plan MY wedding without my knowledge. So I made an appointment to talk to the wedding planner in order to tell her to run any final arrangements through me first. When she found out, she flipped. She told me that I wasn't allowed to talk to the wedding planner about my own wedding, and that if I had anything to say to the wedding planner it had to be through her,and then reminded me that she was the one paying. I couldn't believe it!!! I totally lost it. I told her that in that case I could pay for my own wedding and make the decisions, because one way or another I was going to be involved. Ever since then we haven't been talking to each other. I have gained control of my own wedding back. However, this whole situation with his mom has taken a huge toll on my relationship. My fiance and I had one of our biggest fights ever because of his mom, since I accused him of making excuses for her all the time, which he definitely does. Now she's turned into a stalker. She can call her son either at his office or on his cell, but instead she calls the house every day and then hangs up on me whenever I answer the phone (she doesn't know that I have caller ID). This whole situation has made me start to doubt whether I should really be marrying my fiance. I really don't want this crazy woman in my life, but I really love him and we have a child together. I don't know what to do....he does tell me that he 'supports' me, but that's only in private. In front of his mom, he officially doesn't take sides. I'm so tired of all of this!posted 04/07/2006 by a BabyCenter Member
hey anonymous --- my boyfriends mother has a dog that could take my four month old apart in three bites and i have seen it growl at people. am i over reacting when i won't let my son go to her house? i'd never forgive myself if something happened to him knowing what i know. please comment! --- I wouldnt let your child go over there. my husband and i had a puppy for two weeks and by the end of that 2nd week my mother in laws dog bite it. we took it to a vet and we had to put it to sleep cuz both Bottom and top jaws were broken as well as the puppys left eye. his name was scrappy and he was a mini pincher. a red one. the dog of my mother in law has indeed growled at several children. i would advise that your child dont go over there... cuz imangine.. if my mother in laws dog could do that to a puppy think of what the dog would do to my child. i hate that dog.. i wanted to kill it...posted 05/01/2006 by kittie_kat_19
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You've tidied up the house, cleaned the yards and purged every unnecessary item to make sure the entire package looks better than ever. Now, you're ready to list your home.
So, here's the big question: Is there a day of the week that's best to list your home in hopes of a higher selling price?
According to a story in The Wall Street Journal, the answer is yes.
Using data generated by real estate brokers Redfin compiled from Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2012, the WSJ reported that homes listed on Fridays sold for 99.1 percent of the seller's original asking price — possibly a significant chunk of change.
According to the WSJ piece, it "could mean a difference of nearly $5,000 on a $500,000 house."
So, TGIF?
Not so fast, says Dan Bosch, a Realtor Associate with RE/MAX of Chico. Bosch believes it's easy to spin information like this to make it sound simple to sell a home when it's listed on a Friday. And when he uses his acumen to dig further in the numbers, he sees right through them.
"The statement about the extra $5,000 is about the most misleading thing I can recall hearing in a long time," Bosch said.
The study also says that 57.5 percent of the houses listed on Fridays sold, and only 51.5 percent of houses listed on a Sunday over the same period sold.
Additionally, the survey states that houses listed on Fridays spend, on average, the fewest number of days on the market at 81. In the WSJ piece, Redfin President and CEO Glenn Kelman emphasized that listing a home on the right day "gets four times the traffic on the day of debut than any other time of the week, and you only get one chance. Soon, you're yesterday's news."
"The funniest thing is the fact that they state how critical it is to be on the market a certain day because 'soon you're yesterday's news,' " argues Bosch. "Yet, the average time to sell a home in the markets surveyed was over 80 days — even when listed on Friday.
"How quickly does this 'yesterday's news' phenomenon occur? Nearly three months later?"
When all is said and done, the importance of which day a home is listed may actually be minimal. Just like any home that's looking to sell, a number of different factors may be more important.
"While all of this is interesting and food for thought, I still firmly stand behind the fact that nothing is as important to the success of your home sale as ensuring the property is priced properly for the market, has been prepared and is showing its best when buyers tour the home," Bosch said, "whatever day of the week that might be."
Until next time, Happy Home Improving!
Sean Murphy is a copywriter for Build.com in Chico. Visit the company's website for more home improvement tips at http://build.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-174227132014-10-28T01:36:20.480-04:00Beyond SalmonEverything you ever wanted to know about fish and other musings on all things yummy: by Helen RennieHelen Renniehttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-44421993006533055002014-10-27T16:41:00.000-04:002014-10-28T01:36:20.493-04:00Braised Turkey Thighs
YouTube Link: Braised Turkey Thighs
More Videos: Helen's Kitchen Channel

Inspired by Kenji Lopez-Alt's recipe on SeriousEats.com

Ingredients
4 turkey thighs
Salt
1 Tbsp oil (grapeseed, safflower, canola -- anything with high smoke point)
1 large carrot, large dice
1 celery sticks, large dice
1 large onion, large dice
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 rosemary sprigs
10 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
2 cups red wine (not too tannic)
2 cups salt-free or low-sodium chicken or turkey stock
3 Tbsp butter at room temperature
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp pomegranate molasses or to taste

If you can't get your hands on pomegranate molasses, try a splash or balsamic vinegar. Another (probably most traditional) method of adding acidity to the braising liquid is to add 1-2 Tbsp of tomato paste along with your red wine. If you do end up buying pomegranate molasses, you can keep it at room temperature indefinitely and I am sure you'll find plenty of uses for it. So don't feel like you are buying a whole bottle just for this splash and wasting the rest.

Braising time and temperature:
This dish takes 1 h 45 min and up to 3 hours in 275F oven. Why such a big difference in timing? At low temperatures, a 25 degree difference makes a big difference. When you set your oven to 275F, it might really be 300F or 250F, so the timing will vary depending on the oven, the size and shape of your pan, and the size of the thighs. Start it assuming it might take 3 hours. If it's done quickly, you can always rewarm it.

If we were to cover the skillet, the timing would be more predictable. When braises are cooked covered, the pressure builds up in the pot and eventually the liquid boils, so whether you set your oven to 250F or to 300F, you are eventually cooking in 212F liquid. When the pot is left uncovered, the temperature of the oven starts playing a bigger difference. But a covered pot will result in flabby skin, that's why we cook this braise uncovered.

Rewarming
If your turkey cooled off, it's easy to rewarm by setting it back in the strained and degreased braising liquid and simmering it gently to warm back up. Just make sure to keep it skin side up.

Re-crisping the skin
You'll notice that the skin will lose its crispness very quickly. Right before serving, I like to brush the top of each thigh lightly with neutral tasting oil (grapeseed, safflower, or canola) and pop under the broiler. You want to be very far from the broiling element, and give it good 3-6 minutes. In my oven, I set it in the bottom third of the oven while my broiling element is on top of the oven. Watch it very closely. I suggest you do this on one thigh to get an idea of a good setting for you. Even if you don't manage to re-crisp the skin, the turkey will still be delicious

Scaling the recipe to feed more people
4 thighs should serve 8-10 people. They should fit nicely into a 12 inch skillet or a large dutch oven. If you want to cook more thighs, you can brown them in batches in a skillet, and set aside. Then make your sauce in the same skillet and pour it into a large oven safe baking dish or two (like a turkey roasting pan). Put your thighs on top and put in the oven.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Helen Renniehttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-80964840349687743272014-10-21T09:17:00.000-04:002014-10-21T09:30:56.332-04:00Brussels Sprouts Video (oven and stovetop methods)
YouTube Link: Roasted Brussels Sprouts
More Videos: Helen's Kitchen Channel

Ingredients:
1 Lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
salt and pepper
3 Tbsp olive oil (or as needed)

Optional glaze:
1/2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 and 1/2 tsp Maple syrup

In the video, I double the glaze since I am making the recipe twice (once in the oven and once on the stove top).

Toppings:
I love cruciferous veggies (anything from the cabbage family) with thick Greek yogurt or sour cream. Pomegranate molasses is another favorite ingredient. Barberries are nice, but not essential. You can get pomegranate molasses in most Whole Foods markets and any Middle Eastern Store. Both of these products will be a lot cheaper in a brick and mortar store, so I don't suggest you buy them on Amazon unless you have no other option.

Other fun topping ideas are roasted grapes and pine nuts. The possibilities are endless so feel free to experiment. Helen Renniehttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-77854758890863408862014-10-15T12:28:00.000-04:002014-10-15T20:46:12.388-04:00The story of the Boston Globe picture"Oh no! They want pictures and they want them by Sunday night!" I said to Jason in a panic. It was Saturday and we were spending the weekend in the Berkshires with my in-laws. Somewhere between hiking and cooking, I decided to check my e-mail and found the request for pictures from the Globe correspondent who interviewed me for a story about chefs and YouTube over a month ago. I have very limited media experience, but one thing I know about media is that they don't give you much notice.

I had no access to my pictures from the Berkshires. Even if I did, I didn't have what they wanted -- a picture that includes my face and a demonstration of some cooking technique. In desperation, I googled to see what food celebrities do for their PR pictures. If you have a cool rustic kitchen to show off, you can do from the waist up shot posing by a cutting board with some big hunk of meat, colorful and plump produce, and a knife (my favorite is when they hone a knife while looking at the camera). My kitchen is very functional, but not photogenic, which left the option number two -- lift up the food to your face and fuzz out the background.

After the drive back to Boston, we stopped by Whole Foods and got a bunch of "whole" food, no pun intended. Wholeness seems to be big in food PR these days. Chefs pose with whole pigs, whole cows, 300 Lb tunas. I settled on a whole chicken, whole fish, beets, and chard. We got to work. Getting the food and the face in the picture felt ridiculous. We couldn't stop laughing and started making up funny captions for the pictures as we went along. "Look -- I am Julia! Do I get brownie points if I drop the chicken on the floor?" By 8pm, the pictures were in the e-mail. I told them to choose which one they liked the most. Here are all of them. I like our captions better than the Globe's.

A huge thank you to Jason for the pictures and his endless patience.

Julia Child and Rosie the Riveter in one.
Don't ask what your chicken can do for you. Ask what you can do for your chicken.

Local, organic produce makes me so happy!

Fishmonger: "You want me to clean it?"
Helen: "No, I need it to look pretty for a picture."

Aw -- it's a Swiss Chard wedding.

Can you believe this egg has a yolk?

Kneeling down by the cutting board is so comfy.
I should chop like that all the time.

Don't mess with me. I am a tough Russian woman
who does biceps curls with beets.

Now I am a friendly chef who grows beets in her back yard.

Helen Renniehttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-47331872570245787312014-10-14T00:35:00.001-04:002014-10-14T00:36:40.569-04:00Roasted Butternut Squash (Video)
 YouTube Link: Roasted Butternut Squash
More Videos: Helen's Kitchen Channel

Pimenton (Spanish Smoked Paprika) is available at Whole Foods. They often have both sweet and bitter-sweet options. I prefer the bitter-sweet.

For the Squash:
1 medium squash
Salt to taste
Pimenton or black pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil or as needed

For Berry Topping:
1/3 cup dry cranberries or cherries
1/3 cup water
1 and 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp maple syrup or honeyHelen Renniehttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-53897984285181688032014-10-14T00:04:00.000-04:002014-10-14T00:04:31.394-04:00What if you hate to cook?

An article caught my eye in the New York times written by Virginia Heffernan -- a Mom who hates to cook. She was lamenting today's obsession with feeding your children "real" food, the importance of family dinners, making your own yogurt, only buying organic ingredients, and other culinary antics promoted by the latest avalanche of family-oriented cookbooks.

I feel her pain. Surprised? Sure, I love to cook, but not everyone does. The guilt trip parents are put through these days for all their shortcomings -- this includes their culinary inadequacy -- drives me nuts. Here is a quote from Ruth Reichl "I don't think there is ONE THING MORE IMPORTANT you can do FOR YOUR KIDS THAN HAVE FAMILY DINNER," the caps are Reichl's, not Heffernan's. If that's the case, my kids are in serious trouble. I am a culinary instructor and our family sits down to a family meal only 3 times a week. I wonder how many times Reichl sat down to a family meal while she was a restaurant critic.

Here is what happens most of the nights in our house. My husband works late three nights a week, so the kids have dinner in the kitchen with me while I am doing some cooking project or tidying up the kitchen. I am teaching a cooking class the other two nights a week, and the kids have dinner with my husband downstairs in the playroom. The remaining two nights, we have dinner together. We eat, we talk, life goes on. Sometimes, Jason and I will eat dinner in front of the TV while watching Seinfeld after putting the kids to bed. Dinner is not the only time to have a "how was your day" discussion. Sometimes, we'll talk late into the night, but sometimes we just need a good laugh with our dinner instead of a discussion on current events.

I'll tell you another dirty little secret. I don't pack my daughter a healthy, nutritious lunch. She eats whatever they serve in public school. Why? Because I hate packing lunches. Simple as that. I am probably starting to scare many people right now. No family cookbook publishing deal is coming my way after this blog post. You have to choose your battles and packing lunches is not one of mine.

I've noticed that in the US people are very motivated by it's-good-for-you value of an activity while in European countries whose joie de vivre we admire, people are motivated by pleasure. Even the idea of pleasure strikes fear into the hearts of most conscientious Americans. People imagine that pleasure is all about gobbling up cake for breakfast, potato chips for lunch, and ice-cream for dinner. If we gave in to pleasure wouldn't the world dissolve into hedonistic anarchy? The first question I get when I pull out a celery root in class is "Why would I eat it? What's its nutritional value?" When I explain that I am cooking celery root because it tastes good, some of my students look surprised. The idea of eating vegetables for pleasure seems foreign to many people.

I don't cook to optimize my nutrients, to feed my children a healthy diet, to help my local farmer, or to save the environment. Those I serendipitous side effects. I cook because I love it. If chopping onions after a day of work is not your idea of love, there are other options. In France, they have a chain of stores that sells fabulous frozen meals. In Japan, the prepared meals in 7/11 are better than most American home cooked meals both in taste and nutritional value. Of course, we have our Whole Foods take out, but it tastes like crap. Could we make delicious, nutritionally dense take out food in the US? If consumers demanded it, we could. But we care more about the food being low-salt, low-fat, low-carb, and low-fad-of-the-day, than about it tasting good.

Before we give up on cooking, let's consider a hypothetical scenario. What if we got rid of the pressure to feed the family and stopped worrying about vitamins and nutrients. What if we just focused on the fun of cooking a particular dish. Heffernan's antipathy to cooking is not unlike the antipathy I felt towards exercising while growing up. My parents go so tired of writing notes to excuse me from gym class that they gave me a carte blanche to write my own notes and sign for them. They didn't feel that physical activity was more than a nuisance either, so we were on the same page. It wasn't until I tried ballroom dancing in college that I realized an enjoyable form of movement existed. One thing led to another and over the course of 15 years, I've become addicted to zumba, running, and even weights. Group setting definitely helps, and so does a good personal trainer. What would have been impossibly boring to do alone, is not so bad with other people.

A similar transformation can happen with cooking. Being alone in the kitchen while trying to figure out dinner might be painful, but cooking with a friend might not be so bad. Feeding your children a balanced diet might give you a headache, but learning to make one dish (maybe something simple like frittata) might not be so intimidating. The beautiful thing about cooking the same thing over and over again is that eventually you don't need a recipe. There is nothing worse after a day of work than having to follow directions, but if you stick to just one dish in the beginning, you won't need those food writers to tell you what to do.

Nothing gives encouragement as much as success. When I could finally run 2 miles, I wanted to see if I could run 3. Turns out I could. You might be cooking that frittata for a month, but don't be surprised if by the end of the year, you'll be able to roast a chicken, cook a fish fillet, and make a salad. When you get rid of pressure and guilt, you just might discover your inner cook.Helen Renniehttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-85598406145158568242014-10-07T10:42:00.000-04:002014-10-07T10:43:03.841-04:00Broccoli Makeover
YouTube Link: Broccoli Makeover
More Videos: Helen's Kitchen Channel

Here are the ingredients. You can watch the video for the steps.

Must have:
1 large head broccoli
Splash of water
Salt (taste and adjust)
2 Tbsp olive oil (or as needed)
1 tsp fresh squeezed lemon juice (taste and adjust)

Optional:
1 garlic clove, minced
pinch of chili flakes
2 Tbsp toasted pinenuts
2 Tbsp golden raisins, plumped in hot water for 5 min, drained, dried
Pomegranate molasses (just a drizzle -- it's very sweet and tart)

I love cooking in vacation home kitchens. Don't get me wrong -- it's a painful experience. The reason I find it so educational is that it reminds me what it's like to cook on an electric stove with old style coils that never seam to get hot enough and don't heat evenly.

I finished making this broccoli video right before going to the Berkshires for the weekend. Since the large cooking area of the skillet was very helpful for this dish, I was going to tell you to buy a pan with a huge cooking area. It didn't need to be expensive. The one I used in the video was from a Christmas Tree Shop and it cost me $17.

That pan is a poor choice fore searing a steak, but I find it invaluable in pan roasting vegetables. Since I don't need to deglaze the pan after browning my vegetables, I don't mind the teflon coating. It provides a huge cooking area because the sides are not sloped, yet is light enough that I don't dread washing it. On my large gas burners it heats up like a charm and cooks very evenly, but on that dinky vacation home stove, it was a challenge. The burner was too small to heat up the periphery of the pan and I had to play musical chairs with my broccoli to make sure every piece had its chance to brown.

When I got back, I edited the part about the huge pan recommendation out of the video. You know your stove best. If you don't think it will handle a 12 inch pan, do this dish in batches in a smaller pan. Keep in mind that every cooking advice should be taken with a grain of salt. I find that many cooks (including professionals) concentrate a lot on dos and don'ts instead of on why. If you understand why the recipe is asking you to do something, you can make it work in your kitchen.

Why doesn't mean we need to get into molecules, enzymes, or other food science gibberish. For example, if your chicken stuck to the pan, you don't need to know why that happened on the molecular level. You simply need to make an observation that damp proteins stick to stainless steel skillets. Once you know that, when to salt becomes obvious too. If you start paying attention to your ingredients, you'll notice that proteins get damp within 5-10 minutes after you sprinkle salt on them. This should lead you to a conclusion that it's probably best to sear that protein quickly before the salt makes it damp. When I explain the salting procedure in class, everyone is concentrating very hard on memorizing the following:

Salt the day before, refrigerate, dry, cook

OR

Dry, salt, cook immediately

Instead, it would be helpful if people memorized the goals instead of procedure.

Protein needs to be salted (this gives it flavor and helps retain moisture)

Protein needs to be dry (this helps it brown)

You can derive the procedure if you understand the goal and adopt that procedure to your constraints.

Sorry for this little philosophical diversion. So, how did that broccoli taste on vacation? Awesome! I simply had to move it around until every piece was brown. I know, I know. In the video I explicitly say, "Don't move the broccoli." But instead of thinking about it as a step in the procedure, let's think about it as a goal. The goal is to brown the broccoli. Once it browns, you can move it around all you want. So I simply had to wait for some pieces to brown and then move them out of the way to free up hot spots for other pieces.

The inquisitive readers among you are probably thinking, "So Helen, why does browning makes broccoli taste good?" Oh, I am sure there are molecules doing all sorts of crazy things and creating flavor compounds. Is this Maillard reaction or caramelization -- I am not sure, and I really don't care. I have just noticed that browning = yum on most of the ingredients, and that's good enough for me.

Helen Renniehttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-35996589501559271412014-09-25T12:29:00.000-04:002014-09-25T12:29:54.202-04:00Sunny Side Up Eggs with Soy Reduction (Video)
YouTube Link: Sunny Side Up Eggs with Soy Reduction
More Videos: Helen's Kitchen Channel
Helen Renniehttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-52471932097785750642014-09-19T16:11:00.000-04:002014-09-19T16:11:15.580-04:00Soy Reduction (Video)
YouTube Link: Japanese Soy Reduction
More Videos: Helen's Kitchen Channel

Soy Concentrate
(adopted from Washoku Cookbook by Elizabeth Andoh)

5 g kombu (20 square inches)
8 g dry shiitake mushrooms (1/2 cup)
340 g soy sauce (1 and 1/3 cup - that's one 10 oz bottle)
157 g sake (2/3 cup -- buy the real stuff, don't use "sake for cooking")
65 g mirin (1/4 cup)
80 g water (1/3 cup)
75 g granulated sugar (1/3 cup, plus 2 tsp)
10 g thin bonito flakes (1 cup lightly packed) (or 25g thick bonito flakes, atsu kezuri)

In a small saucepan, combine everything together except for katsuo-bushi (unless you are using atsu kezuri, in which case, add it right in). Let sit for 1 to 12 hours at room temperature.

Bring to a boil on the stove top and regulate heat so that the mixture bubbles, but doesn't bubble out of the pot (watch out, this sauce gets foamy, so don't leave it unattended). Simmer until syrupy. Take off heat.

If using thin bonito flakes, stir them into the sauce and let sit for 3 minutes.

Strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer forcing it through with the back of a ladle.

Cool until barely warm and move to a jar or squeeze bottle. When the sauce cools completely, cover tightly and store in the fridge. This sauce doesn't spoil, but is best if used within 3 months.

Helen Renniehttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-75855916524790898572014-09-09T21:14:00.000-04:002014-09-09T21:14:13.685-04:00Brown Chicken Stock Video
YouTube Link: Brown Chicken Stock
More Videos: Helen's Kitchen Channel

For 4-5 quarts stock

2 salt-free rotisserie chickens (Whole Foods carries them)
1 carrot in large chunks
1 onion in large chunks
1 celery stick in large chunks
10 sprigs of thyme (optional)
1-2 bay leaves
1 tsp whole black peppercorns

Break up the chickens into legs, wings, backs and breasts. Put everything except for breasts in to an 8 quart pot. Breasts are not really necessary, but if you don't have another use for them, you can add them in. Cover with water by 2-3 inches and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low.

Skim off any foam that rises. Add the vegetables and aromatics and simmer gently for 3-5 hours.

Cool slightly. Strain through a colander into a large bowl and let sit for 15 minutes to let impurities settle. Thyme leaves will float, but the strainer will catch them.

Strain into a 4 quart pot through a fine mesh strainer pouring slowly not to disturb the impurities on the bottom.

Cool to room temperature and refrigerate overnight.

Skim off the fat and it's ready to use. Can be stored in the fridge for a week or frozen. I prefer to reduce it 4 times for more compact storage.

Helen Renniehttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-40783929268798081592014-09-02T14:48:00.000-04:002014-09-02T14:48:50.321-04:00Scallion Oil Video
YouTube Link: Scallion Oil
More Videos: Helen's Kitchen Channel

Other dish components in this video:

Seared Fish

Quinoa Cakes

Sliced Raw Fish (make sure you understand how to serve raw fish safely)

Helen Renniehttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-23896734528694973862014-08-18T19:58:00.000-04:002014-08-18T19:59:09.844-04:00Removing Skin from Fish Fillet (video)
YouTube Link: Removing Skin from Fish Fillet
More Videos: Helen's Kitchen Channel

Does the fish skin keep you up at night? Here are answers to all your fish skin questions and a video on how to remove it.

Where can I buy a good boning knife?

In which cases should I remove the skin from a raw fillet?

When serving the fish raw

On fish with very tough skin (swordfish, tuna, mahi-mahi, etc)

For recipes that don't crisp up the skin (steaming, poaching, baking) -- in many of those cases, the skin can be removed after cooking, but if the fish is cooked with other ingredients (potatoes, vegetables, sauces, etc), it might be less messy to remove the skin before cooking.

In which cases should I *not* remove the skin from a raw fillet?

When cooking smaller fish (under 20 Lb or so) with direct heat it's best to keep the skin on. The skin will turn crispy and delicious and will prevent the fish from falling apart on the grill. Examples of fish in this category are: salmon, trout, arctic char, striped bass, black bass, red snapper, bluefish, branzino, sardines, mackerel. Examples of direct heat cooking methods are: pan searing, grilling, pan frying, broiling.

When poaching fish or roasting it slowly in a very low oven (250F), it's best to keep the skin on and remove it after cooking. It will insulate the fish from direct heat on the bottom of the pan and make it cook gently and evenly. In both of those cases, the skin can be easily peeled off after cooking.

When cooking halibut steaks, it's best to keep the skin on. It won't be as tasty as a skin on a salmon steak, but it will prevent your halibut from drying out and/or falling apart. You can easily peel it off after cooking.

Helen Renniehttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-29814899722530910852014-08-13T11:21:00.002-04:002014-08-13T11:22:22.872-04:00Does fairness = bad cake for all ?

If you are a parent, "That's not fair," is a familiar phrase. "Why does she get to stay up and I don't?" "Why do I have to do homework if he doesn't?" As adults, we know deep inside that life is indeed not fair, but that is something we often feel uncomfortable telling our kids.

Recently, I had an interesting dilemma. We were having a joined birthday party for our 2 kids, ages 4 and 7. The younger one is allergic to eggs, which rules the cakes out for him. Usually I bake a tart for his birthday, which he loves. But for many practical considerations, it would have been good to have a cake as well. A cake can be decorated, a cake can feed lots of people (it was a large party), a cake is recognized and understood by normal kids. While my kids love what I make for their parties, their friends turn up their noses at anything that doesn't look like a normal sugar loaded cake. My daughter was surprise that none of her friends last year were willing to try the plum cake I made for her. "There is no icing," they declared. "We don't want it." I've learned my lesson.

This year, we decided to have a normal cake. Well, almost normal. I get my cakes from a Cordon Bleu instructor who can make these kiddie cakes taste as good as possible. She told me she could make a vegan cake so that my younger one wouldn't feel left out. I've had my share of vegan cakes, and quite frankly, they suck. Most likely the other kids wouldn't notice. If it looks cute and tastes sweet, I am convinced that most kids would eat a cake made out of play dough. But my kids might notice. Especially the allergic kid. I'd tried to bake egg-free muffins for him before and his reception was lukewarm at best. I decided against the vegan cake. If my older one gets one cake a year, why shouldn't it be a good cake?

Does this kid look devastated about missing out on the cake? Who knows, he might have to work it out in therapy when he is 30, but for now he seems ok.

I think that vegan sausage, veggie burgers, and gluten free pasta are futile ways to achieve fairness. I don't understand why every cookout needs to include veggie burgers. Some good vegetarian food would be wonderful, but bad vegetarian food shaped into a hockey puck seems ridiculous to me. Does the hockey puck shape make vegetarians feel included? We just attended a family event for my husband's work held at a baseball stadium. The food was hot dogs, mac and cheese, etc. All pastas and buns had eggs, but they dug up some egg-free, dairy-free, gluten-free roll for my younger one. It was their kill-all-birds-with-one-stone allergy food, and it was inedible. Boy, how we would appreciate some veggies. Allergy friendly food doesn't need to be shaped like a hot dog bun to make us feel included.

Fairness doesn't mean sameness. There is an enormous and very natural human desire to fit in, to be just like everyone else, and not be the one person left out. But that is not what life is like. We all have different needs, different limitations, and different abilities. Learning to make the best of your situation is one of the most important life skills. I wonder if we sometimes deprive the kids of that in our pursuit for fairness.
Helen Renniehttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-87866789511358333092014-08-11T14:40:00.000-04:002014-08-11T14:41:49.622-04:00Grilled Chicken Thighs
YouTube Link: Grilled Chicken Thighs
More Videos: Helen's Kitchen Channel

Here are the recipes for two marinades to use with this technique. Both are for 2 Lb of chicken thighs.

Yogurt Marinade (shown in the video)
4 oz plain yogurt (1/2 cup)
11 g salt (4 tsp Diamond Crystal Kosher or 2 tsp table salt)
1 garlic clove grated on a microplane zester (or turned into a paste using some other way)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
a few grinds of black pepper

Mix everything together in a large bowl and add the chicken.

Pomegranate Soy Marinade

Don't let the exotic ingredients in this marinade fool you. The final result is deeply savory and not really exotic tasting. Any American 5 year old would eat it without questioning what's on this thicken. Pomegranate molasses is simply very concentrated pomegranate juice. Zaatar is a blend of dry mint, thyme, sumac, and sesame seeds. It's slightly tart but not spicy at all, so don't be afraid to use a good bit. You can buy both pomegranate molasses and zaatar at Middle Easter stores and most Whole Foods Markets.

1 tsp soy sauce (ideally Japanese style)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove grated on a microplane zester (or turned into a paste using some other way)
1 tsp pomegranate molasses (sold at most Whole Foods)
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp Zaatar spice blend (optional)

Whisk the soy sauce, mustard, garlic, and pomegranate molasses together in a bowl until well blended. Slowly drizzle in the oil while whisking constantly. Stir in zaatar if using.

Salt and pepper the chicken on all sides, then add to the marinade.

Both marinades need at least 4 hours, but can be applied up to 2 days ahead. The ideal time is 8 hours, but do what's most convenient. Wipe off completely before grilling the chicken. Zaatar can be left on, but all the moisture needs to be dried off.

Helen Renniehttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-36853017814516399192014-07-31T21:54:00.001-04:002014-08-11T14:42:51.311-04:00The recipes you crave with personalities you loveIf you enjoy my content, but can't stand my personality, I have great news. I have been chosen to beta test a technological breakthrough from Google called Personality Personalization (PP). This feature allows you to watch any of my YouTube videos in a different personality mode. For now, there are 3 personalities to choose from. Check it out:

YouTube Link: YouTube Personalities
More Videos: Helen's Kitchen ChannelHelen Renniehttps://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-17648052264258344192014-07-25T09:52:00.000-04:002014-07-25T09:53:50.856-04:00Eclairs

I have advice for your first attempt at eclairs or any other component based French dessert. Don't try to do all the components in 1 day. Bake the shells and freeze them. They are just as good if you pop them in the oven to re-crisp for 5 minutes. Make pastry cream some other day. It will be happy in the fridge for a couple of days. The day you are ready to assemble your eclairs, make sure you are equipped with at least twice as much heavy cream as diplomat cream calls for. In case you over-whip your first batch of cream, you'll have a back up. Now all you have left is ganache, and even I won't tell you that it's hard. Ganache is indeed easy-peasy.

In case you are wondering what corn syrup is doing in ganache, let me explain. We are using ganache as a glaze and although we want it to solidify in the fridge, we want it to stay soft and maintain a light sheen. If ganache is left to its own devices it will become hard and the texture balance of the eclair will be off.

Makes about 16 eclairs, 5" long

1 recipe pate a choux baked into eclair shapes
1 recipe diplomat cream
1 recipe ganache (see below)

Ganache

Note: you can buy the chocolate in chip form to save the time chopping it.

4 oz bittersweet chocolate (55%-65%), chopped
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 Tbsp light corn syrup

In a small saucepan, bring the heavy cream just to a simmer or microwave it in a bowl. Take of heat. Add the chocolate and syrup and let sit for 5 minutes. Whisk until smooth. Make this right before using since it's not easy to reheat. If you do have leftover ganache, warm it up over a bowl of hot water whisking constantly.

Assembly
With a sharp paring knife, poke a 1/2 inch hole in each end of eclairs. Cover one hole with your finger and pipe diplomat cream into the other hole using a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch tip (or smaller). The exact size doesn't matter. As long as the tip fits the hole, you are fine. You'll know you put in enough cream when the finger covering the other hole can feel the cream. Dunk each eclair into ganache and refrigerate for about an hour to let ganache set. Keep refrigerated before serving. Ideally, serve in less than 6 hours to prevent the pastry shell from softening too much, but they should hold for up to 24 hours.Helen Renniehttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-58761880531822022002014-07-21T21:30:00.001-04:002014-07-22T19:34:18.595-04:00Medium-rare Burgers (Video)
YouTube Link: Medium-rare Burgers (grilled or seared)
More Videos: Helen's Kitchen Channel

Burgers in the oven? Don't knock it till you try it. I wish I could take credit for this brilliant method, but it was inspired by Kenji Alt's slow roasted steak method that was published in Cook's Illustrated in 2007. It became a master technique for how I cook all meat to medium-rare.

How does this weird method work?
For even doneness, we want to do most of our cooking with air and not with metal or flame. Metal is a great conductor of energy and air is not. By transferring the energy to the burgers slowly using air, we ensure perfectly even cooking. If we put the burgers directly on a baking dish, they'll be in touch with a metal object which will cook the bottom faster than the top. It will also make the bottom surface damp since the moisture won't have a chance to evaporate and this will inhibit browning during the grilling or searing stage. Since the burgers are thinner than the steak Kenji's recipe was optimized for (1 inch vs. 1.5 inches), I drop the oven temperature from 275F to 200F to ensure even cooking.

What's the fat percentage of the ground beef?
In the video, I am working with 85/15 from Whole Foods. Ideally, it would be 80/20, but my health obsessed Whole Foods in MA doesn't carry it. I've seen in at Whole Foods in other states. Of course, I can stop by a regular supermarket and pick up 80/20 beef, but for medium-rare burgers, I choose my source of beef very carefully. To tell you the truth, I think I got cheated out of some fat by Whole Foods this time. 85/15 means that it's at most 15% fat, so the actual percentage will vary batch to batch. I could barely feel any fat on my hands as I was shaping. Not a good sign. But this method is so forgiving, even lean ground beef will taste good.

July 22 update on safety
Ever since this post, I've been getting a lot of e-mail about the terrible danger of my burgers, so here is the scoop on safety.

There is a difference between a med-rare burger and a med-rare steak. Bacteria is only found on the outside of the muscle and when a steak is seared, they die instantly. So if you like your meat cold inside, you are not taking any risk eating it that way. However, after you grind the meat, some of that bacteria ends on the inside, so an under-cooked burger is a tad risky. The question is how big is this "tad." You take plenty of risks every day. Driving is probably one of the biggest for an average civilian. How many people do you know who were injured in a car accident? How many people do you know that were injured with a med-rare burger? Of course, you could argue that you drive more often than you eat a burger. But let's look at some numbers. An average annual death toll from E. Coli is in the low 20s. An average annual death toll from automobile related accidents is more than 30,000. So in the grand scheme of things, that burger is unlikely to significantly change your risk of getting hurt.

To reduce the risk further, you could grind your own meat. This way, the grinder touches only a few pounds instead of a few hundred pounds of meat, which will reduce the risk of cross-contamination. You could take it even further and briefly sear the meat on the outside before grinding thus killing most of the bacteria.

Besides e coli, there are other, not so dangerous bacteria that grow on meat when it decomposes. My conclusion is to buy meat at a reputable place, keep everything (meat, grinder, bowls) extremely cold, and stop worrying. Helen Renniehttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-19448021877185097562014-07-17T15:03:00.000-04:002014-07-17T15:04:11.174-04:00Diplomat Cream

Fold whipped cream into pastry cream and you get diplomat cream. I don't know how this pastry filling got its name, but I can tell you that if you arm yourself with some diplomat cream all conflicts would melt away because everyone would be too busy swooning and licking their fingers. It's one of those fabulous kitchen marriages where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Use it to fill cream puffs, eclairs, fresh fruit tarts, brioche style cakes, or just layer if with fresh fruit and leftover cake for a beautiful trifle.

Diplomat Cream

1 recipe pastry cream

1 recipe whipped cream stabilized with creme fraiche

Important: Don't reuse the bowl or whisk after whipping cream to whip your pastry cream! I once made that mistake and the remaining whipped cream that was clinging to the bowl and whisk turned to butter and made the pastry cream grainy.

Fold about one third of the whipped cream into the pastry cream to lighten it. Then fold the rest of the whipped cream in. The proportions are not set in stone. You can adjust the ratio of whipped cream to pastry cream to your liking and application. Use immediately or store in the fridge. Best if used the day it's made. It will start to thin out after sitting in the fridge for more than 24 hours.
Helen Renniehttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-55858376507443878642014-07-17T08:00:00.000-04:002014-07-17T14:57:42.560-04:00The Easiest Stabilized Whipped Cream

Whipped cream is as easy to make as it is to ruin. What could possibly go wrong with a recipe that has 1 ingredient and take about 1 minutes of work? If you over-beat it by as much as 5 seconds, it can become grainy and there is no going back. If you let it sit in the fridge longer than a couple of hours, it will become runny.

The remedy for over-whipped cream is yet to be found, but there is a solution for the gradual thinning out. For years I've been stabilizing whipped cream with gelatin when using it for icing, but it's a finicky procedure and a pain if you just need a bit of whipped cream as a topping. Gelatin poses another little issue. Gelatin is a meat product, and as I was testing diplomat cream recipes for my upcoming Pate a Choux class, I wanted to find a way to do without gelatin so that my vegetarian students wouldn't miss out. I've tried all sorts of tricks with variable level of success. But none were as tasty or as easy as Nancy Silverton's technique of adding a small dollop of creme fraiche.

The first benefit of this little addition is that cream became easier to thicken without over-whipping. Most professionals use extra heavy cream. The higher fat content helps the cream thicken before it over-whips giving you a larger margin of error. Unfortunately, I can't find extra heavy cream in stores. I read an explanation of this technique saying that creme fraiche helps because of its higher fat content. This might be true, but I couldn't find a way to verify that since the differences are slight and nutritional information on the packages is rounded. I did however notice that my cream wasn't over-whipping in a split second, which made me happy. The added tang from creme fraiche is delightful. It's actually a tastier whipped cream! And after 24 hours in the fridge, it didn't thin out one bit. It might have lasted longer, but we ate it all.

For icing a cake, I would still use the gelatin or Rose Levy Beranbaum's corn starch technique, to ensure your icing won't start running at room temperature. But for most other purposes, this whipped cream is my go to recipe.

Creme-Fraiche-Stabilized Whipped Cream

1 cup cold heavy cream
1/4 cup cold creme fraiche

Chill the bowl and whisk style beater in the fridge for at least 15 min. Everything needs to be very cold. Warm cream doesn't whip.

For 1 cup or less, I prefer to use the whisk attachment of my immersion blender or some other hand mixer since the KitchenAid stand mixer is not great with small quantities of whipped cream.

Combine heavy cream and creme fraiche in a cold bowl and beat on low speed until small bubbles form on the surface. Gradually increase speed to high and beat until the cream thickens and the whisk leaves trails in it. Err on the side of softer rather than firmer cream. Scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula to redistributed the cream and make sure the bottom of the bowl is not runny. If the cream is too runny, finish beating it on medium-low speed.

Helen Renniehttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-60468443139690192642014-07-15T12:08:00.002-04:002014-07-15T12:08:28.980-04:00ThermoPop -- great thermometer for $25

I am not a type of cook who spends her disposable income right and left at William and Sonoma. Most students are pleasantly surprised when they find out how much my pots, pans, and knives cost. But I always get a bit embarrassed when they ask me about meat thermometers. I used to use flimsy little digital thermometers from Taylor and Maverick that cost $15. They were functional, but infuriating. The electronics were flimsy and the display would sometimes flicker. They took as long as 15 seconds to come up to temperature once you stick them into something. They have a thick probe that is hard to stick into meat.

One day, Jason surprised me with a Thermopen for my birthday. It's $100. "What an extravagance for a thermometer," I thought. But I am addicted and can't go back. The temperature stabilizes 3 seconds after you are in the meat. The probe has a slender tip that goes into meat like it was butter. The body is water resistant. Using this thermometer is pure joy.

You can imagine my excitement when Thermoworks put out a $25 version called ThermoPop. With all the features of Thermopen, but slightly toned down precision and response time. It should stabilize in 5-6 seconds and the reading should be within 2 degrees Fahrenheit. The range is still huge -58 to 572°F. I ordered one right away. I tested it in a glass of water against my expensive Thermopen at 40F, 100F, 120F, and 160F. I got the same reading on both the $100 and $25 thermometers. The difference in response time was negligible. Thermopop was a couple of seconds behind.

Don't be surprised if the readings you get when you turn both of your thermometers on is quite different. They are not designed to measure air temperature. The cheapy ThermoPop stabilizes very slowly in air and was 5 degrees higher than Thermopen. Not that I would trust Themopen with air either.

At this point, I don't know how well Thermopop will hold up. I'll try to give you an update in a year (or earlier if it breaks ;)Helen Renniehttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-3189020520840711912014-07-15T11:31:00.000-04:002014-07-15T11:32:20.367-04:0012 inch Winco Stainless Steel Skillet

It took me a long time to buy a 12 inch stainless steel skills -- 5 years to be precise. It wasn't for lack of trying. When we moved from our little condo into our current house 5 years ago, I thought that I'll finally have space for a few large pans. But after trying a number of 12 inch skillets, I realized that large pans came with a few unexpected problems.

Problem 1: They are not as large as they look.
Pans are sold by the size of the diameter from rim to rim. The cooking surface depends on how sloped the sides are. I found that many brands like to slope the sides so much that the cooking area of a 12 inch pan is barely larger than that of a 10 inch pan.

Problem 2: The bottom warps causing the oil to go to the sides.
Many large pans tend to warp a bit as they heat up forming a slight bump in the center of the pan. This causes the oil to flow towards the sides and the food doesn't cook evenly.

I gave up on the idea of finding a 12 inch skillet and was happy with a few 10 inch skillets instead until I walked into China Fair in Newton. I saw a large, thick, and heavy Winco pan with an oven-safe handle and it had my name all over it. For $60 it was too good not to try. Turns out I didn't need to spend $60. It's available on Amazon for $40! So before I tell you about the virtues of this pan, I want to remind you to do as I say, not as I do -- buy your cooking equipment on-line. Why didn't I take it back even though I haven't even unpacked it? Because China Fair doesn't take anything back even in its packaging. The whole reason I was going to this store was to see what the hype was all about. Everyone in Boston loves China fair and it's hard to get a good feel for the store without buying something. Considering their prices, I think the return policy is unacceptable and customer service and knowledge about equipment was non-existent.

Enough about China Fair, let's talk about the pan.

Pros:

Large cooking area that's almost twice as large as a 10 inch pan.

Even heat distribution.

Excellent browning. By the way, don't listen to a few people on Amazon who say that food sticks. They don't know how to cook. The pan and oil need to be hot, the protein needs to be thoroughly dried, and it should't be disturbed until it browns. It behaves like any other stainless steel pan

The handle is oven safe up to 450F.

Affordable price

Cons:

The pan is heavy. It doesn't bother me, but if you don't like heavy pans, this one is not a good option.

The silicon handle stops pretty far from the pan. My guess is that it's to protect it from heat on restaurant burners. It's not a biggie. I just use a towel or mitt to help myself lift it when it's full and hot.

Helen Renniehttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-9346031981967384542014-07-07T14:33:00.000-04:002014-09-13T15:35:35.425-04:00Pastry Cream

Pastry Cream is the mirepoix of desserts. Just like the sweated mixture of carrots, celery, and onions is more functional than delicious in and of itself, so is pastry cream. Pastry cream might not taste like much, unless you think vanilla pudding is exciting, but it's one step away from becoming a fabulous filling with the addition of chocolate, praline, whipped cream, or butter. I have a soft spot for diplomat cream: pastry cream with folded in whipped cream. Add a little ganache to that and it's a wicked chocolate mousse. The possibilities are endless and can be whipped up in minutes once you get your pastry cream right.

Last week, I made batch after batch of pastry cream until I got the answer to the persistent pastry cream questions that were bothering me for years.

Flour or Cornstarch?

Cornstarch! The pastry cream made with all flour had a starchy taste after chilling even though I cooked it for 8 minutes to help get rid of that unpleasant taste. The only downside to cornstarch is that you can't freeze the cream, but pastry cream takes 10 minutes and can be made 2 days ahead, so I don't see a reason to freeze it unless you run a wholesale pastry business.

Is it ok to cut down on sugar?

Messing with amounts of ingredients is a recipe for disaster when it comes to pastry, but in this case the amount of sugar is flexible. I cut it down a bit and nothing terrible happened. You can even skip it completely if folding in a very sweet flavoring, like dulce de leche.

Why does my pastry cream thin out after sitting in the fridge?

This is a classic beginner mistake. Intuitively, overcooking a custard seems wrong, so I always waited just until my cream thickened and took it off the heat. Turned out that was a big mistake. Amylase enzyme present in eggs gradually breaks down the starch and thins out the pastry cream. But this enzyme can be destroyed if the pastry cream is allowed to simmer for a few minutes. How can you let a custard simmer without curdling it? That's where the starch comes in. It interferes with cross-linking of egg proteins and doesn't allow them to coagulate. How lucky is that?

Vanilla Bean or Extract?

I know some people obsess over the little specs of real vanilla, but I don't feel that it's a deal breaker to use vanilla extract in pastry cream if it is one of many components of a dessert. When I was doing my tests, I certainly wasn't going to sacrifice $50 worth of vanilla beans, so I used extract. When I finally got a perfect batch of diplomat cream (pastry cream with whipped cream), I filled some eclair shells with it, dunked them into ganache and my husband proclaimed them the best eclairs even without the real vanilla bean. I suggest you don't waste real vanilla beans on your first try, but once you get the hang of pastry cream, go for the bean.

Do you need to strain the pastry cream?

Most recipes instruct you to strain the custard before heating it up. The reason for that is the presence of chalazae in the egg yolks. They are white cordlike strands of egg white protein attached to the yolk that can't completely dissolve. For larger batches, straining is certainly more efficient, but when I am working with just 6 yolks, I pinch the chalazae off the yolks before using them and don't bother with straining.

How thick should the pastry cream be?

This depends on the application. If you want to pipe it, it needs to be thick.Beware that the chilled pastry cream will thin out with stirring and whipping, so if you need to fold or whip something into it, it's best to make it on the thicker side. I find that 2 Tbsp of corn starch per cup of half and half gave me the best base for diplomat cream (pastry cream + whipped cream) or mousseline cream (pastry cream + butter). The cream comes out very stiff after chilling, but becomes perfectly thick and supple after re-whipping in a mixer.

Pastry Cream

484 g half-and-half (2 cups)

1/2 vanilla bean split lengthwise (optional)

90 g egg yolks (6 yolks from "large" eggs or 5 from "extra large")
84 g sugar (scant 1/2 cup)

32 g corn starch (1/4 cup scooped and leveled)

56 g unsalted cold butter (4 Tbsp), cut into 4 pieces

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (if not using vanilla bean)

Line a small baking sheet (roughly 13"x9") with plastic wrap.

If you don't want to strain the cream later on, pinch off the chalazae from your yolks.

Place half-and-half into a glass measuring cup with a pouring spout (ideally a quart size). Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean and add both the seeds and the bean to the half-and-half. For maximum flavor, do this the day before making the cream and keep in the fridge. Microwave half-and-half until it comes to a simmer watching it carefully so that it doesn't overflow.

In a heavy 2-quart saucepan, beat the egg yolks with a whisk until smooth. Stir in the sugar and whisk until the mixture is pale yellow. Whisk in the cornstarch and whisk until thick and smooth.

Pour the hot half-and-half mixture from the glass measuring cup into the egg mixture very slowly while whisking constantly to prevent the eggs from curdling. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve back into the measuring cup (if your measuring cup is only a pint size, you'll need a bigger bowl). You can discard the vanilla bean or dry it out and use it to flavor sugar.

Return the mixture back to the saucepan and set over medium-low heat*. Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens. Take it off heat and whisk thoroughly for 30 seconds to make sure there are no lumps. Return back to medium-low heat*. Cook whisking constantly until the mixture starts to bubble. Keep cooking for 1 minutes whisking constantly. Take off heat.

Whisk in butter 1 piece at a time, whisking vigorously until the piece is completely integrated before adding the next one. If not using vanilla bean, whisk in vanilla extract.

Immediately pour the pastry cream into the plastic lined baking sheet. Spread it evenly and press another piece of plastic wrap on top. The entire surface of the cream should be in contact with plastic to prevent the skin from forming. Place in the freezer just until the center of the baking sheet is cold, about 15 minutes. Do not leave the cream in the freezer as it will get ruined. The goal is to chill it quickly, not to freeze it. Move to the fridge and refrigerate until ready to use. Pastry cream will keep in the fridge for 2 days.

Re-whip in a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment until smooth and shiny before using, about 1 minute.

* Take all the heat settings on your knobs with a big grain of salt. What's medium-low on one stove is medium on another. Most recipe say to use medium heat, but I err on the side of caution and say medium-low. If it takes you more than 5 minutes to progress to the next stage, turn up the heat slightly. But keep in mind that you want the cream to cook very slowly and very evenly or it will separate.

Troubleshooting

My pastry cream is grainy
You might have poured the hot half-and-half mixture into the eggs too quickly. Do it one little drizzle at a time, especially in the beginning.

My pastry cream is greasy and looks like broken hollandaise
The heat might have been too high when you were cooking it. Another possibility is not having enough cream in the pot. I tried to make half the recipe and kept getting this problem because the cream was overcooking on the sides in spite of my persistent stirring.

My pastry cream thins out after sitting in the fridge
You didn't cook it long enough. After the bubbles start breaking the surface, it needs at least 30 seconds of cooking (a bit more is always safer). Otherwise the eggs break down the starch.

My pastry cream is very stiff and not creamy after it sits in the fridge
This is perfectly normal. Remember that it needs whipping before use.

Helen Renniehttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-64650783843144943902014-06-24T21:02:00.000-04:002014-08-12T10:26:09.657-04:00Pâte à choux

Few French pastry techniques are more versatile or more overlooked by American cooks than pâte à choux. To begin with, no one bothered translating the term pate au choux into English. We have terms for pâte brisée (pie dough), pâte feuilletée (puff pastry), but the only English translation of pâte à choux that I've seen is "choux pastry." Even if you know that choux means "cabbage," it still doesn't help you much unless you are familiar with classic French pastry repertoire. But as soon as I mention eclairs or cream puffs, people's eyes light up and they immediately recognize which dough I am talking about.

The rewards of learning to make pate a choux are numerous:

fancy savory hors d'oeuvres

eclairs, Paris-Brest, cream puffs, and a huge number of desserts

container for brunch dishes (poached, sous-vide, or scrambled eggs)

do ahead versatility -- the shells can be baked and frozen and it only takes a few minutes in the oven to defrost and crisp them back up.

The basic process is laughably simple. Pate a choux can be made, shaped, and be ready to bake in 15 minutes. Are there pitfalls? Yes, lots. This is a classic French technique, not cake out of a box. If you can weigh your ingredients and follow directions, you will produce decent results. But you know me -- "decent" has never been my ambition. Pastries are something I allow myself very rarely. If it's not the best, why even bother? When I set out to perfect my pate a choux, I combed through as many recipes and videos as I could dig up. There was no shortage of advise. The trouble was that besides the basics, no one agreed on anything. Should you use milk or water? Should you cook the panade for 1 minute or 10? Should you beat in the eggs with a spoon, food processor, or mixer? Should you pipe and bake immediately or is it ok to wait? Should you pipe straight down or at an angle? Should you egg wash or not? Should you smooth with a fork or not? The only way to answer these questions was to spend 2 days baking batch after batch of pate a choux.

By Hand vs. Mixer vs. Food Processor

When dealing with a finicky technique, it helps when you pay attention to the dough and not to the excruciating pain in your biceps. If you think beating egg whites by hand is hard, wait till you try pate a choux. No beginner should do this with a spoon in my opinion. The machines make incorporating eggs extremely easy and reliable. Hand mixer, Stand Mixer, Food Processor -- they all work equally well.

Milk Vs. Water

Milk makes the puffs more brown and tender. Water makes the puffs more crisp as it can withstand a high temperature longer without burning. Milk gives you better flavor. So where does that leave us? Using all milk for pate a choux is very uncommon for a good reason -- you are unlikely to get a crispy shell before burning the puffs. The two real contenders were 100% water or 50% water and 50% milk. I've tried both. 50/50 had better color and slightly better flavor without sacrificing the crispness. But if you don't have milk on hand, using all water is perfectly fine.

Egg Wash, Water Spray, or Both

Most of the recipes I found used an egg wash. I am not sure why. Pate a choux is naturally shiny, so it doesn't need much help. It might keep the top of the dough wet preventing it from setting prematurely in the oven and giving it a good expansion, but so would water. Julia Usher used both a spray of water and an egg wash in her video. Joe Pastry used just a spray of water with no egg wash. I tried both and found that the egg wash was completely optional, so I stopped using it. The water is very helpful in creating a huge lift. If an egg wash is used, you have to be careful not to let it drip down the sides. There is enough to worry about with this dough, so I am skipping the egg wash from now on.

Pipe at an angle or straight down

Piping is the most difficult part of working with pate a choux. No matter how much you read about it, until you pipe 100 cream puffs, it's hard to get good at it. Most professionals pipe at an angle and swipe the tail up. You can watch Jacques Pepin doing this. I am guessing on my 300th puff, I'll start to get good at this, but in the meantime, my puffs easily turn into eclairs when I pipe that way. I've had the most success with Julia Usher's piping technique where she pipes straight down.

Smooth out with a fork or just tap down the tails

No matter how you pipe there'll be tails to smooth out. Do you just dunk your finger in water and pat them down or do you take the extra step of smoothing the top with a fork? You can see the fork technique in the end of Pepin's video. I tried both and here are the results. Using a fork produces slightly less puffed, but more even final result. When left to their own devices, some puffs come out in an organic but beautiful shape and some look like they have 2 heads.

Oven temp

Let's start with the fact that it's hard to tell what temperature your oven really is. Even if you have an oven thermometer, the oven temperature fluctuates and is almost never the same throughout your oven. From what I've seen from my experiments, higher is safer. This dough doesn't burn easily, especially if you splashed it with water. For large shells and eclairs, I bake at 400F for 30 minutes, reduce the temperature to 350F for another 10, then poke holes in the sides and let them dry out in turned off oven. If you don't get good color and lift after 30 minutes, bake your next batch at 425F. But remember, you can't check up on them! If you open the oven door before they full puff, set, and crisp, they'll collapse. I only risk opening the door after the initial 30 minutes for large puffs and 20 minutes for small. Another crucial variable is how much stuff you put into your oven. I find that a half sheet (18x13) is the biggest sheet my oven can deal with. I made a mistake of putting a bigger sheet into my oven and the results were not as good.

How long to dry

Everyone agrees that you should poke holes in the sides and return the choux shells into the turned off oven to dry out. The question is for how long. Recipes suggest anywhere from 10 minutes to overnight. I found that if you are planning to cut the shells in half and scoop out the leftover wet dough, 10 minutes is sufficient (that's the ones in the picture). If you want to stuff without cutting in half (this is sometimes done for eclairs through a hole), 45 min to an hour will completely dry the inside out for large eclairs (will probably only need 30 minutes for miniature eclairs). Of course, my "large" might be different than your "large" eclair, so the only way to be certain is to break one and take a look.

Now that I've answered all the question you never knew you had about pate a choux, here is the recipe

Pâte à choux

1/2 cup water (118g)

1/2 cup whole milk (121g)

1/2 tsp table salt or 1 tsp Diamond Crystal Kosher (2.8g)

1 stick butter at room temp (113g), cut into 8 pieces

142g unbleached all-purpose flour, sifted (1 cup scooped and leveled, then sifted)

4 large eggs (200g), beaten with a fork in a liquid measuring cup with a spout

Preheating the oven and preparing equipment

Preheat the oven to 400F with the rack in the middle of the oven.

Fit a pastry bag with a coupler (that's the plastic thing onto which other attachment are added) or a 1/2 inch round tip. If no pastry bag is available, you can use a large zip lock bag (only cut the corner off after you fill the bag with dough).

Invert a half sheet (baking sheet that's roughly 18"x13") and grease with butter or line with parchment paper (I prefer using parchment paper). Baking on the back of the sheet makes it easier to pipe and easier for the heat to circulate evenly.

Cooking Panade (flour butter paste)

Put water, milk, butter, and salt into a small saucepan and heat on medium heat until butter melts and the liquid comes to a full boil. Take off heat. Immediately, add all the flour at once and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until all the flour is incorporated. Put back over medium heat and cook stirring constantly for 5 minutes. This helps evaporate excess moisture. The bottom of the pan will become covered in a film of flour. This is normal. Make sure no part of dough sits on the bottom of the pot for long so that it doesn't scorch. If a little fat oozes out, that's normal too. In the end, you should have a shiny ball.

Option 1: Incorporating Eggs with a Stand mixer

Fit mixer with a paddle attachment. Place the dough in a mixer and cool for 5 minutes, turning the mixer briefly on low speed for a few seconds couple of times to release the steam. Turn the mixer on medium-low speed (4 for KitchenAid), pour in roughly a third of the eggs. The dough will break and gradually become creamy again. Pour in the second third. Wait for it to become creamy and pour in the last third. Beat until consistency slightly thinner than creamy peanut butter at room temperature. If at any time during the addition of the eggs the dough on the bottom of the bowl is not being mixed evenly, stop the mixer and scrape up the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Option 2: Incorporating Eggs with a Food Processor

Place the dough in the food processor and run it for 10 seconds with an open tube to release the steam. Keep the processor running and pour the eggs through a feeding tube. Run the processor for 10 seconds and stop. Scrape up the sides of the processor with a rubber spatula and run it for 30 seconds to incorporate the eggs.

Piping the Dough

Move the dough into a prepared pastry bag or zip lock bag. If using parchment paper, dab the baking sheet with dough in the corners and then put the parchment paper on it. This will hold the parchment in place and make it easier to pipe. I find it extremely helpful to weigh out a puff or two. Line the scale with a piece of plastic wrap and pipe a puff onto it. Miniature puffs should be 14 grams, large puffs should be 22 grams. Don't sweat 1 or 2 grams, but this will give you a rough idea of the size. When you pipe the real puffs onto your baking sheet, periodically stop and compare them to the sample on the scale to make sure you are consistent.

Pipe the dough into desired shapes. This is easier said than done. Watch Pepin's video for eclairs and Julia Usher's for puffs. Dab up the tails with a wet finger. Spray the whole sheet with water. If you don't have a spray bottle, wet your hands and shake them all over the baking sheet. Run a wet fork through each piece if desired. You will only be able to bake half of the dough at one time, but it keeps beautifully at room temperature for hours. Just put plastic wrap over the tip of the pastry bag. Don't pipe more until you are ready to bake more.

Baking

Place in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes (20 minutes for miniature shapes). Don't open the oven door during this first stage of baking or the puffs will collapse. Check for color. At this point, the puffs should be risen and golden. If not, continue at 400F. Otherwise, turn down the oven to 350F and bake another 10 minutes. At this point the puffs should be firm and brown. Remove them from the oven and turn the oven off. Prop the door open with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Poke 2 holes in the sides of each puff or eclair to release steam (I like doing it with a meat thermometer) and return to the turned off oven for 10 minutes to dry (you don't need to prop the door at this point). This will yield puffs with a bit of wet dough inside that you'll need to scoop out when serving, but I find the shell consistency to be most pleasant. If you want no wet dough at all. Dry the puffs and eclairs for 30-60 min depending on the size. This will produce slightly tough shell. Not a problem if filling with soft filling (like eclairs) and letting it sit in the fridge for a few hours to soften.

Storage

Cool completely on a wire rack and use that day or freeze in a zip lock bag. Defrost frozen puffs for 30 minutes and re-crisp in a 350F oven for 5 min.
Helen Renniehttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-35315188202631625052014-06-11T17:01:00.002-04:002014-06-11T17:01:54.852-04:00Sous-vide Halibut with Scallions, Coriander, and Lemon

Fish cooked sous-vide is moist and custardy. Too bad it's a bit... dare I say it… boring. Fancy vocabulary aside, it's poached fish, and that's one cooking technique I am ambivalent about. Not that I don't love the creamy sauces it produces, but the fish itself seems nothing more than a vehicle for sauce. But I don't give up on an idea that fast. I've been experimenting with sous-vide fish on and off for a few years and finally have a dish that's too good not to share. Here is what makes this work:

Fish type
Halibut is extremely easy to dry out with conventional methods, so if you got your hands on a thick snowy white sparkling piece of halibut, this method shows off its texture like no other. Of course, there are other fish good choices, like striped bass or red snapper

Temperature
I've seen temperatures for sous-vide fish from 104F to 140F and have tried almost all of them. For halibut, the magic number (for my taste) is 128F. Of course, at this temperature you are not killing either bacteria or parasites, so your halibut needs to be fresh (to deal with bacteria risk) and you need to be willing to take a tiny risk that it might contain parasites. Of course, even if it does, the odds of them making you sick are tiny.

The timing is crucial. No, you can't keep things indefinitely in the water bath without changing the texture, and it is particularly true of fish. 15 minutes per inch at 128F works well.

Cooking medium
I've tried cooking fish in zip lock bags with no additions, and with oil. Oil turned out to be very beneficial. It's not just the temperature that counts, but heat capacity of the cooking medium. Oil transfers heat a lot slower than water and produces more supple results. Normally, you'd need a lot of oil to poach fish, but zip lock bags pack the oil very efficiently and let you get away with very little.

Flavor
Since we'll be cooking fish in oil, why not flavor it? I love a mixture of scallions, lemon zest and coriander seeds. Not only do I infuse the oil with them, but save them, crisp them up, and use as a topping. For the finishing touch, I broil halibut for just a minute with Dijon mustard butter. It was wasabi/sushi combination that inspired me to try it, and this topping was a definite keeper.

If you want to try this dish, here are the details.

2/3 cup (150g) grapeseed oil
2/3 cup (40g) scallions (green and pale green parts) cut into ½ inch lengths
1/2 tsp (1g) coriander seeds, crushed with a skillet
zest of 1 lemon removed with a coarse zester or peeled with a veg peeler and julienned.

Put oil, scallions, coriander seeds, and lemon zest into a small pan, bring to a gentle simmer, reduce heat to low and let cook for 5 minutes swirling the pan occasionally. No color should develop. Cool.

Strain and reserve both the oil and the solids. Don't wash the pan yet.

Salt 4 halibut pieces (about 6 oz each) 1-24 hours before cooking and refrigerate.

Set up a waterbath to 128F.

Dry halibut, put into zip lock bags (1-2 pieces per bag), separating by thickness. Divide oil between bags. Submerge into a bowl of water to push out the air and seal. Cook at 128F for 15 min per inch.

Put the scallions and other reserved solids back into the skillet and cook over medium-high heat stirring occasionally until brown.

1 Tbsp (14g) melted butter
2 tsp (10g) dijon mustard

Mix melted butter and mustard together with a fork. It will want to separate at first, but will come together after about a minute of mixing.

Eventually, it should look completely smooth.

Turn on the gas broiler or use a plumber's torch to finish the fish.

Remove halibut from bags and place on a paper towel to catch the drips (do NOT dry the fish all over). Place in a broiler safe dish, top with a thin layer of mustard butter and pop very close to the broiler (about 2 inches away) to make it golden as fast as possible, 1 min tops. Or torch the top if you don't have a gas broiler.

Divide the scallions / zest / coriander topping equally between fish pieces and serve.
Helen Renniehttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-49482249010309301062014-06-05T14:49:00.002-04:002014-06-06T08:17:02.760-04:00Thin Crust Pizza: Baking in the Oven (Video)
YouTube Link: Thin Crust Pizza: baked in the oven
More Videos: Helen's Kitchen Channel

If you are in need of a pizza stone, here is one on amazon.

All-purpose tomato sauce
This recipe makes enough sauce for about three 10-inch pizzas. The leftovers taste great on top of pasta, fish, etc. You can make this with either crushed or diced tomatoes. If using diced, you'll have to puree the sauce in the end with a food processor or blender.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp fresh rosemary, minced (optional)
14.5 oz can of crushed tomatoes with juice (preferably Muir Glen)
A pinch of chili flakes
1/2 bay leaf (optional)
Salt
<o:p></o:p>

Set a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add olive oil, onions, and a generous pinch of salt. Cook stirring occasionally until completely translucent, very tender, and golden brown, about 15 minutes. <o:p></o:p>

Stir in garlic and rosemary and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. <o:p></o:p>

Add tomatoes with their juice, chili flakes, and bay leaf. Simmer until most of the liquid evaporates and the sauce thickens, stirring every 10-15 minutes or as often as necessary to make sure the sauce doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. This will take anywhere from 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on your pan. Remove bay leaf. <o:p></o:p>

If you used diced instead of crushed tomatoes, puree with a food processor or blender (I use immersion blender) until slightly chunky. Cool completely and use as needed. The sauce will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.<o:p></o:p>

Helen Renniehttps://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-17422713.post-43747565921923018572014-06-02T23:05:00.001-04:002014-06-05T14:47:45.007-04:00Grilling Thin Crust Pizza (Video)
YouTube Link: Grilling Thin Crust Pizza
More Videos: Helen's Kitchen Channel

If only you knew what I'd been through for this video, you'd drop everything and fire up your grill right now. I am a bit rusty with filming on the grill, and my first try came out so overexposed, you couldn't tell if I was grilling a pizza or a paper plate. The second try was better, except that I forgot to record one of the steps. The third try was finally good and I was patting myself on the back for finally getting this pesky video done. I downloaded the files to my computer, almost finished editing them and was happy as a clam until all the files disappeared the next day. I have only two explanations for this supernatural phenomenon. Either my computer crashed at night while the video software was in some bad state or the video was jinxed by He Who Must Not Be Named. Luckily, I was able to find out how to recover the previous day's version of my files (thanks to YouTube of course) and finish editing.

Well, at least my kids and neighbors were happy. There was no shortage of pizza in our house last week. Helen Renniehttps://firstname.lastname@example.com


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Conveners: Mischa Honeck (GHI Washington), James Marten (Marquette University), Andreas Gestrich (GHI London), Arndt Weinrich (GHI Paris)
Call for Papers
We are looking for presenters who can enrich our understanding of the place and role of children and youth in war during the first half of the twentieth century. The goal of our conference is to come to grips with a fundamental paradox: How was it possible for modern societies to reimagine childhood as a space of sheltered existence and mobilize children for war at the same time? And how did modern warfare disrupt or accelerate rites of passage in the realms of gender, sexuality, national loyalty, ethnic and racial identity, and military involvement? We ask these questions on the assumption that young people experienced war in ways that were age-specific and different from how adults endured it. Usually, these differences found some means to express themselves, and despite the devastation suffered by real children in wars, the power of youth as a symbol of renewal outlived them.
Rather than merely investigate adult representations of youth and childhood in war, we are just as much interested in uncovering the historical processes by which young people acquired agency as historical subjects. This means paying attention to the voices and actions of children in the different locales of modern war - from the home to the homefront; the bomb shelter to the battlefield; the press to the pulpit; the school to the street. On the level of representations, we want to examine how adult institutions (governments, civic organizations, social movements) utilized images of children for wartime propaganda. These images could be deployed for various purposes: to mobilize patriotism and popular support for the war effort; to discredit and dehumanize the enemy; but also to subvert the logic of escalating military and political violence.
We invite contributions that address the nexus of childhood, youth, and war across political and geographical boundaries. But we also encourage proposals from scholars whose research revolves around a group of people, a region, a nation, or a certain cultural space. We do this in the spirit of practicing a "connected history," a history that is aware of global influences on local events without losing sight of local particularities in an interconnected world. We want to attract historians specializing in various fields (military, political, social, economic, and cultural history) who can help us develop a comprehensive and exciting synthesis of the historiographies on war, youth, and childhood from roughly 1910 to 1950. We will give particular, but not exclusive, preference to proposals that focus on the following areas:
The deadline for submission is November 30, 2013. Participants will be notified by early January 2014. The conference, held in English, will focus on discussing 6,000-8,000 word, pre-circulated papers (due April 30, 2014). We intend to publish the contributions.
Expenses for travel and accommodation will be covered.