Woops! Erm, that’s awkward. My brain is clearly tricking me. Time to go back and read more carefully :)
Aww. now I’m sad because my actual santa doesn’t seem to visit anymore :(
Ooo, I like that. I may have to give it a shot next time.
Yeah, cake flour and ice-cold seltzer rather than water are the most common techniques to get the crust really light. I never fry, but I read all the cooking blogs!
You could also try substituting some frozen vodka for the water, as alcohol doesn’t create gluten. That’s a common recommendation for pie dough.
I’ve shared the Tragedy of the Pasties on here before, right?
Yeah, but you must’ve messed up somewhere. Cook’s Illustrated doesn’t make mistakes!
Sorry about missing the temp. Those are both good tips but it reminds me I should actually VERIFY that my fryer temp setting is correct by using a thermometer that can accurately verify what it is. I bet it is way over what the dial setting is.
I also appreciate the batter recipe and procedure. Now I need to round up some things to try this with.
You know they invented the wheel, right? I love the magazine and web site, but I hate the near hubris in the reading.
If they had ever steered me wrong, I would join you in sneering at them mightily. But they haven’t.
Their testing and proof reading is unsurpassed as far as I know. I just don’t care for the tone of the opening paragraphs in the recipes. Maybe its a personal thing.
They offer great advice. As an aside, so do a lot of other great places for things like that (Alton Brown, Kenji Lopez-Alt, etc.) But they do things as a proof. Example: “What is the quickest way to achieve crispy wings.”
Well, what if you don’t need them crispy, you need them variable? What if you like chewy wings? What if you don’t need a better fryer to do it that costs $$$, you need to know how to do it with one pot and one pan? There are a million variables.
I’m not saying Cook’s Illustrated is bad or wrong, it’s just that they ARE RIGHT for what they specifically are establishing as the problem to solve, which, thankfully, is pretty clearly explained in each of their articles. Example: “German Pancake - What’s the secret to achieving a tender, custardy base and a crispy, puffy rim …”
They solve for that. And they post sometimes modified recipes to get that result. Perhaps to most that is the perfect description of a German Pancake. Maybe not all though.
And similar to other good science style explorations, they go back and revisit things pretty often and update to note when they were wrong or there is a better way. I love the magazine. It’s full of small tips that add up to a great whole.
Yeah, they’re great. Note Kenji, who I also really enjoy, used to work for ATK.
I also love that the articles almost always point out the attempts that resulted in failures (or “not-quite-right”).
And I love that. I need to get that book I got for Armando by Harold McGee, just another to add to the collection.
On Food and Cooking, yes, that’s a classic.
So great. One of the early sections I’ve read is just this giant diatribe on the culinary uses and history of eggs and damn if it’s not great.
Speaking of eggs, today’s lunchtime product: omurice!
As someone that loves eggs, that looks delicious. But is that ketchup or sriracha?
… please say the latter, please say the latter please say the latter …
Ketchup, I’m afraid! The homestyle recipes call for it both as sauce and as one of the ingredients of the fried rice, believe it or not. Some fancy upscale recipes sub in a complex tomato and veal fat demiglace or what have you… But usually just ketchup. I have seen marinara as a happy medium.
I detest ketchup, unfortunately. It’s way too sweet for me as a condiment, sauce, or unless drowned by something else, a flavor. Strangely, I like tomatoes, tomato sauces and pastes, and what have you. Just not ketchup.
I even eat fries plain or with various other things that are more savory in taste.
I use a mix 2-1 of ketchup and hot sauce for my eggs. It helps temper the sweetness of the ketchup which I’ve never felt worked great for eggs. To be honest Ive found myself using this “hot” ketchup for almost everything I put ketchup on now. Burgers, franks, etc all get the heat now.
Try Maggi spicy ketchup, (or don’t because it’s pretty much what you describe you’re already doing):
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0095XVRP0/
Catching up and this intrigues me b/c we grow a lot of butternut squash & love to use it, but your recipe has a few gaps.
How much squash, how much chicken stock, how much shredded cheese to mix in, and how long is the first baking time?