My three-day weekend came with a morning meeting on the middle day. Eh...could be worse.
75 thoughts on “December 11, 2016: The Catch”
Going to eat pancakes in about an hour in support of our local food emergency service, the Food Closet, sponsored by our local Mason's Lodge.
I have a monthly payroll contribution set up to benefit another food support service in my county (as well as a women's shelter), but haven't made this organization part of my monthly routine. I probably need to change that. My dad is the Master at his local lodge in northern Minny, and a regular volunteer here at the Food Closet when they are here for the winters.
I'll try not to get political -- every year is a good year to start supporting or increase your support for charity activities that you believe in.
Our family is foregoing gifts this year to help the church put attention to the startup to help support local families identified in the school district as needing various aid. We've been sending food weekly through the schools to 65 kids' families this past year, and we're looking to take it a step further. There's nothing I really need for Christmas anyway.
at my wife's instigation, we made new donations to a roster of charitable organizations that are targets for, let's just say "opposition", by supporters of the incoming administration.
whatever your motivation, we are a better society when those of us who can afford to help those who need it do so through voluntary action.
I'm heading out in a few minutes to move about 4 inches of snow off the driveway. Elder Daughter is with her boyfriend and virtual in-laws in Portland this weekend, they took the train down and she says the ride was gorgeous. She also reported that Bellingham had an inch of snow the day before they left. The town basically shut down and she got a snow day out of the deal. Damn cheap snow day if you ask me.
What's snow? I'm wearing my flip flops while raking some leaves this afternoon.
What is raking leaves?
That was actually fun, great weather for playing in the snow. Sunny, no wind, temp in the neighborhood of 20 degrees. About 4 inches of snow so fluffy I was able to sweep the deck with a push broom instead of shoveling. Harper loved it, this is our first significant snowfall of the season and there's no Frisbee like snow Frisbee. Of course, the novelty will wear off by tomorrow and I'll hate snow for the next four months, but today it was pretty nice.
No-knead bread is in the oven. Moong dal to go with it tonight.
Mrs. Twayn has had a chuck roast in the oven since 3:00 pm. Fork tested, fall apart perfection. Roasted herb potatoes and carrots, gravy from drippings, niblets corn, fresh baguette with cheese spread (red/green pepper, green onion, chopped olives, garlic) and a pear Gorgonzola salad from a kit. Alaskan Amber Ale and/or a Cycles Gladiator pinot noir to quaff. We had a Francis Coppola claret last night with some grilled beef tenderloins and baked Russets that was quite good. That was night 1 of the cheese spread, it's even better tonight now that the flavors have mingled some.
living high on the hog, there, Twayn. Kudos to you and the Mrs. That's a nice couple of nights.
Everybody's working for the weekend, Doc.
Mmm... I ought to make some of that tomorrow.
Start making it today, then. Needs 12-24 hours to edumacate the dough.
Hmm...I'll start tomorrow and make it Tuesday, then
Thumbs up.
3 cups flour. 1 2/3 cup tepid water. 1/4 tsp yeast. 1+ tsp kosher salt. Mix in big bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let ferment overnight at least. Work the dough gently with lots of bench flour, folding over a few times. Let rest a while covered in plastic wrap (in bowl). More bench flour and fold a few times. Back in bowl and covered. Let rise an hour or two. Dump into scorching hot Dutch oven. You can sprinkle with coarse sea salt if desired. Cover with (hot) lid and into 450 oven for 30 minutes. Remove lid for another 15-20 minutes or until it looks nicely browned. Turn out on rack to cool.
Tremendous flavor. Nice crumb. Sourdough-y but not quite. Great, complex, bready goodness.
In this application – uncoated Dutch oven, or no difference?
I don't think it makes a difference. If your pot is oven-safe to 500 degrees, you are good to go.
I've never had a problem with the bread sticking to my uncoated (but well seasoned) pot.
Good to know. Both of my Dutch ovens are Le Creuset.
So, if someone wanted to go about making this, how would they do that?
See above. This is a pretty wet dough, even after the second rise. Good to have a dough scraper and a good silicone spatula/scraper. You might think "this dough is going to be a mess" when you dump it into the hot pan, but magic happens while it is baking. The wet dough in a hot, covered pot simulates a commercial steam oven.
Yes, it's a wet mess of a dough, but also a super easy recipe. When I used to make this recipe, I found these notes quite helpful.
Good call, Pepper.
got the iron, but not the oven.
No oven? Who doesn't have an oven?
You could conceivable do this in a Weber grill, assuming you have an uncoated cast iron Dutch oven.
err, i meant no dutch oven.
Ahh. any pot that can handle the heat.
btw, I see that Walmart sells a 4-qt dutch oven for $35. They also have what looks like a pretty nice 6-piece set for only $46 (10" frying pan, 6-qt chicken fryer--I think that is mislabeled and it's actually a 3-qt--, 10" dutch oven, and a lid).
It's not Lodge, but I don't think that's a big deal. I would love to have one of those chicken fryers.
My go-to place for non-fancy, reasonably-priced cast iron cookery is Farm & Fleet. I've been known to bring Lodge pans as white elephant gifts at office functions.
Pepper to the rescue once again.
back to the cast iron. I bought a cheap set at a store in Chambana back in the mid-1990s. I probably paid less than $50 for the dutch oven, a couple of frying pans, and a couple of sauce pans. And although I never used anything other than the larger frying pan and the dutch oven, it was a steal of a deal. Made in China by "WKM".
lots of perfectly fine manufacturers out there for cast iron. that casting technology has been around for centuries.
CH, Lodge cookware is a hell of a nice white elephant gift!
My philosophy on white elephants is that unless the exchange is meant to be groan-inducing, it's always nice to bring something someone could actually use or would want. If you look during sales you can snag a 12-inch Lodge skillet at Farm & Fleet for less than a double sawbuck.
Today I made peppermint meringues, and french onion soup (broth via bouillon cubes... I don't consider that cheating), and I have a maple flan in the oven as I write this (hey, what else am I supposed to do with the leftover yolks from the meringue?)
Leftover yolks?
Carbonara!
Or ice cream! (Or creme brûlée if you don't have an ice cream maker.)
I mean, creme brulee, flan, you say potato...
But it counts as a totally different dish on the weekly menu if you call it something else!
(Also, flan is more analogous to creme caramel...)
Alas, I lack a blow torch.
Broiler and water bath?
Broilers (or salamanders*) work in a pinch, but you have to move quickly. Then again, a blow torch is cheap and is a legitimate multitasker if you get one from the hardware store.
* I don't know anyone who has a salamander at home.
I like this framing of a blowtorch as a cheap and legitimate multitasker.
The kids caught a salamander once, but I made them let it go.
Must be something in the air ... yesterday, I made key lime pie with a toasted almond graham crust. Set up in the fridge overnight and we inhaled about half the pie following lunch today. Niblet wasn't feeling adventurous, so I got his piece too.
Note, the recipe I used included yokes, no whites.
I first read it like this... brothvia bouillon cubes...
Arrgh: peppermint meringues, and french onion soup (bothvia bouillon cubes...)
BTW, how many other people have used them for years before discovering they weren't "bullion cubes".
Evidently me, since I just "discovered" this now...
bullion cubes don't taste very good, but who cares because you're rich!
gold leaf on sushi is A Thing in Japan. So, why not gold cubes in, say, Texas, where everything is bigger?
I baked Nutella cookies for my office's annual "Actuarial [Holiday]* Cookie Bake".
They turned out really well. EAR found the recipe for me from allrecipes.com, where there are comments from others. Those comments were very helpful.
*"Rules": bring 2 dozen, homemade unless you're sick. Spouses can help (EAR was a big assistance... this is the only time I bake each year)
All cookies are holiday cookies unless they're Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, or Peanut Butter.
(Almost every year someone makes Chocolate-chip anyways. One year, someone tried to make red-and-green frosted chocolate chip cookies. But not enough food coloring so they were pink-and-seafoam frosted.)
Candies are not cookies. (Our boss brings nut-clusters every year anyways.)
If you don't follow the rules, you may get teased. (Same as if you follow the rules.)
What would this Wild team's record be with a merely average goalie in the crease?
nibs - I'd guess with an anonymous* "average" goalie, their goals against would be closer to 80 (v. current Conference-leading** 56) and the team would still be well short of 30 points.
* I wouldn't necessarily rate Kuemper as even "average"...
**Tied for the League lead with Columbus
Hey, the wolves played a good third quarter...against the Warriors. Sure.
Sweet, sweet layup by Ricky there
Watching the Warriors offense with constant useful movement compare to the Wolves' is entertaining. Jordan Hill's body language in person is also great. He's happy to have a paycheck.
Jordan Hill can't even fake giving a tenth of a shit during the last timeout. Hilarious. It's really fun to watch.
That didn't take long.
Good grief these Wolves.
This is beyond inept.
This team knows how to fold in a heartbeat.
Sam Mitchell's offense was terrible and long term was probably not going to win, but at least his team last year fought hard.
Although I can now say I have yelled at David West for more than fifteen years, so that's... something.
So, Yellow Cat just showed up this evening like nothing had changed.
You were hoping he would explain?
No, he was hoping he'd bring beer.
OK. I am buying that.
You're buying the beer? Sweet.
If Yellow Cat shows up at my door, I will supply the beer.
Going to eat pancakes in about an hour in support of our local food emergency service, the Food Closet, sponsored by our local Mason's Lodge.
I have a monthly payroll contribution set up to benefit another food support service in my county (as well as a women's shelter), but haven't made this organization part of my monthly routine. I probably need to change that. My dad is the Master at his local lodge in northern Minny, and a regular volunteer here at the Food Closet when they are here for the winters.
I'll try not to get political -- every year is a good year to start supporting or increase your support for charity activities that you believe in.
Our family is foregoing gifts this year to help the church put attention to the startup to help support local families identified in the school district as needing various aid. We've been sending food weekly through the schools to 65 kids' families this past year, and we're looking to take it a step further. There's nothing I really need for Christmas anyway.
at my wife's instigation, we made new donations to a roster of charitable organizations that are targets for, let's just say "opposition", by supporters of the incoming administration.
whatever your motivation, we are a better society when those of us who can afford to help those who need it do so through voluntary action.
looks like somebody owes spoons some money.
Pepper wants a word, doc.
Hah!
totally forgot that reference.
You're a prime guy, meat. 😉
I'm heading out in a few minutes to move about 4 inches of snow off the driveway. Elder Daughter is with her boyfriend and virtual in-laws in Portland this weekend, they took the train down and she says the ride was gorgeous. She also reported that Bellingham had an inch of snow the day before they left. The town basically shut down and she got a snow day out of the deal. Damn cheap snow day if you ask me.
What's snow? I'm wearing my flip flops while raking some leaves this afternoon.
What is raking leaves?
That was actually fun, great weather for playing in the snow. Sunny, no wind, temp in the neighborhood of 20 degrees. About 4 inches of snow so fluffy I was able to sweep the deck with a push broom instead of shoveling. Harper loved it, this is our first significant snowfall of the season and there's no Frisbee like snow Frisbee. Of course, the novelty will wear off by tomorrow and I'll hate snow for the next four months, but today it was pretty nice.
No-knead bread is in the oven. Moong dal to go with it tonight.
Mrs. Twayn has had a chuck roast in the oven since 3:00 pm. Fork tested, fall apart perfection. Roasted herb potatoes and carrots, gravy from drippings, niblets corn, fresh baguette with cheese spread (red/green pepper, green onion, chopped olives, garlic) and a pear Gorgonzola salad from a kit. Alaskan Amber Ale and/or a Cycles Gladiator pinot noir to quaff. We had a Francis Coppola claret last night with some grilled beef tenderloins and baked Russets that was quite good. That was night 1 of the cheese spread, it's even better tonight now that the flavors have mingled some.
living high on the hog, there, Twayn. Kudos to you and the Mrs. That's a nice couple of nights.
Everybody's working for the weekend, Doc.
Mmm... I ought to make some of that tomorrow.
Start making it today, then. Needs 12-24 hours to edumacate the dough.
Hmm...I'll start tomorrow and make it Tuesday, then
Thumbs up.
3 cups flour. 1 2/3 cup tepid water. 1/4 tsp yeast. 1+ tsp kosher salt. Mix in big bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Let ferment overnight at least. Work the dough gently with lots of bench flour, folding over a few times. Let rest a while covered in plastic wrap (in bowl). More bench flour and fold a few times. Back in bowl and covered. Let rise an hour or two. Dump into scorching hot Dutch oven. You can sprinkle with coarse sea salt if desired. Cover with (hot) lid and into 450 oven for 30 minutes. Remove lid for another 15-20 minutes or until it looks nicely browned. Turn out on rack to cool.
Tremendous flavor. Nice crumb. Sourdough-y but not quite. Great, complex, bready goodness.
In this application – uncoated Dutch oven, or no difference?
I don't think it makes a difference. If your pot is oven-safe to 500 degrees, you are good to go.
I've never had a problem with the bread sticking to my uncoated (but well seasoned) pot.
Good to know. Both of my Dutch ovens are Le Creuset.
So, if someone wanted to go about making this, how would they do that?
See above. This is a pretty wet dough, even after the second rise. Good to have a dough scraper and a good silicone spatula/scraper. You might think "this dough is going to be a mess" when you dump it into the hot pan, but magic happens while it is baking. The wet dough in a hot, covered pot simulates a commercial steam oven.
I use my cast iron Dutch oven.
the recipe
Yes, it's a wet mess of a dough, but also a super easy recipe. When I used to make this recipe, I found these notes quite helpful.
Good call, Pepper.
got the iron, but not the oven.
No oven? Who doesn't have an oven?
You could conceivable do this in a Weber grill, assuming you have an uncoated cast iron Dutch oven.
err, i meant no dutch oven.
Ahh. any pot that can handle the heat.
btw, I see that Walmart sells a 4-qt dutch oven for $35. They also have what looks like a pretty nice 6-piece set for only $46 (10" frying pan, 6-qt chicken fryer--I think that is mislabeled and it's actually a 3-qt--, 10" dutch oven, and a lid).
It's not Lodge, but I don't think that's a big deal. I would love to have one of those chicken fryers.
More ideas here.
My go-to place for non-fancy, reasonably-priced cast iron cookery is Farm & Fleet. I've been known to bring Lodge pans as white elephant gifts at office functions.
Pepper to the rescue once again.
back to the cast iron. I bought a cheap set at a store in Chambana back in the mid-1990s. I probably paid less than $50 for the dutch oven, a couple of frying pans, and a couple of sauce pans. And although I never used anything other than the larger frying pan and the dutch oven, it was a steal of a deal. Made in China by "WKM".
lots of perfectly fine manufacturers out there for cast iron. that casting technology has been around for centuries.
CH, Lodge cookware is a hell of a nice white elephant gift!
My philosophy on white elephants is that unless the exchange is meant to be groan-inducing, it's always nice to bring something someone could actually use or would want. If you look during sales you can snag a 12-inch Lodge skillet at Farm & Fleet for less than a double sawbuck.
Today I made peppermint meringues, and french onion soup (broth via bouillon cubes... I don't consider that cheating), and I have a maple flan in the oven as I write this (hey, what else am I supposed to do with the leftover yolks from the meringue?)
Leftover yolks?
Carbonara!
Or ice cream! (Or creme brûlée if you don't have an ice cream maker.)
I mean, creme brulee, flan, you say potato...
But it counts as a totally different dish on the weekly menu if you call it something else!
(Also, flan is more analogous to creme caramel...)
Alas, I lack a blow torch.
Broiler and water bath?
Broilers (or salamanders*) work in a pinch, but you have to move quickly. Then again, a blow torch is cheap and is a legitimate multitasker if you get one from the hardware store.
* I don't know anyone who has a salamander at home.
I like this framing of a blowtorch as a cheap and legitimate multitasker.
The kids caught a salamander once, but I made them let it go.
Must be something in the air ... yesterday, I made key lime pie with a toasted almond graham crust. Set up in the fridge overnight and we inhaled about half the pie following lunch today. Niblet wasn't feeling adventurous, so I got his piece too.
Note, the recipe I used included yokes, no whites.
I first read it like this...
broth via bouillon cubes...
Arrgh:
peppermint meringues, and french onion soup ( both via bouillon cubes...)
BTW, how many other people have used them for years before discovering they weren't "bullion cubes".
Evidently me, since I just "discovered" this now...
bullion cubes don't taste very good, but who cares because you're rich!
gold leaf on sushi is A Thing in Japan. So, why not gold cubes in, say, Texas, where everything is bigger?
More like New York City.
I baked Nutella cookies for my office's annual "Actuarial [Holiday]* Cookie Bake".
They turned out really well. EAR found the recipe for me from allrecipes.com, where there are comments from others. Those comments were very helpful.
*"Rules": bring 2 dozen, homemade unless you're sick. Spouses can help (EAR was a big assistance... this is the only time I bake each year)
All cookies are holiday cookies unless they're Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin, or Peanut Butter.
(Almost every year someone makes Chocolate-chip anyways. One year, someone tried to make red-and-green frosted chocolate chip cookies. But not enough food coloring so they were pink-and-seafoam frosted.)
Candies are not cookies. (Our boss brings nut-clusters every year anyways.)
If you don't follow the rules, you may get teased. (Same as if you follow the rules.)
What would this Wild team's record be with a merely average goalie in the crease?
nibs - I'd guess with an anonymous* "average" goalie, their goals against would be closer to 80 (v. current Conference-leading** 56) and the team would still be well short of 30 points.
* I wouldn't necessarily rate Kuemper as even "average"...
**Tied for the League lead with Columbus
Hey, the wolves played a good third quarter...against the Warriors. Sure.
Sweet, sweet layup by Ricky there
Watching the Warriors offense with constant useful movement compare to the Wolves' is entertaining. Jordan Hill's body language in person is also great. He's happy to have a paycheck.
Jordan Hill can't even fake giving a tenth of a shit during the last timeout. Hilarious. It's really fun to watch.
That didn't take long.
Good grief these Wolves.
This is beyond inept.
This team knows how to fold in a heartbeat.
Sam Mitchell's offense was terrible and long term was probably not going to win, but at least his team last year fought hard.
Although I can now say I have yelled at David West for more than fifteen years, so that's... something.
So, Yellow Cat just showed up this evening like nothing had changed.
You were hoping he would explain?
No, he was hoping he'd bring beer.
OK. I am buying that.
You're buying the beer? Sweet.
If Yellow Cat shows up at my door, I will supply the beer.
Mags: Make it so!
CC to DPWY: WHO DAT!