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Open Thread #109

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Busy week? What are you cooking to keep you going?

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I can't tell enough people about this website:

www.savorytv.com

It's like getting a personal tour of the restaurant and getting to meet the chef.

It started with NYC (like most of other cool things) and has picked up Chicago and San Francisco.

posted by art on September 11th 2007 at 10:59am
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http://www.savorytv.com/

posted by art on September 11th 2007 at 11:00am
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I need a great recipe for a vegetarian burger, something with a bit of a crunch and great flavor. Anyone?

posted by kari-anne on September 11th 2007 at 11:49am
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Chow ran a feature and recipe for veggie burgers recently. I didn't take a look (seems like a lot of trouble), but you might. They seemed to have put a lot of effort into it:
http://www.chow.com/recipes/10988

It's not vegan, though (egg).

posted by renata on September 11th 2007 at 12:08pm
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Kari-anne, Mark Bittman had a couple of recipes in the NYT in 2003. I tried the bean-based burger and it was quite tasty. I think the article was titled "Big Flavor On a Bun."

posted by bubble on September 11th 2007 at 12:32pm
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kari-anne,

My Mustards cookbook is in storage so I searched high and low for Cindy Pawlcyn's mushroom burger recipe online and I found it.

The burger is sauteed so that should give you a little bit of the crunch you are looking for.

http://www.ochef.com/r86.htm

posted by art on September 11th 2007 at 12:36pm
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Kari-Anne:

Heidi of 101 Cookbooks has a few, one lentil based (http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/vegetarian-lentil-burgers-recipe.html ) and one chickpea based (http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/001567.html ).

Her idea to overcome the starchiness of veggie burgers is to lose the bun and split the patty in half and stuff it. I haven't gotten around to making them, but they sound delish!

posted by erin in indy on September 11th 2007 at 4:59pm
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Ohh, poo. That first link is screwed up, but that's her first entry right now.

posted by erin in indy on September 11th 2007 at 5:00pm
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You all are fantastic, thanks!

I'm not a vegetarian, but I love a good vegetarian burger. I will make sure to check these out.

Thanks again.

posted by kari-anne on September 12th 2007 at 7:12am
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Anyone making challah for Rosh Hashanah? I've been making bad challah for 5 years now and I've been given a "fool proof" recipe to try tonight. Luckily, my family knows not to rely on my yearly challah experiments. Honestly if the recipe "works' for me tonight, I might just be a bit disapointed.
:)

posted by alisa k on September 12th 2007 at 12:51pm
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i'm making challah, I use the recipe from vegetarian cooking for everyone (by deborah madison)

it's very goopy to make, so I rely on my kitchen-aid stand mixer for it (or a friend to dump flour on my hands)

also- the one from joy is pretty good as well; but madison's is better

why is it bad? maybe your technique or recipe interpretation is off- first off: do you have an oven thermometer? that can really help

posted by jillrenee from boston on September 12th 2007 at 2:02pm
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Your question about challah just reminded me of this amazing recipe passed along to me by a co-worker. I believe this may have been developed by Whole Foods for a mailer of some kind (she worked at HQ), but it was adapted from Gourmet.

Perfect for brunch.

crème brulee french toast

3/4 c. unsalted butter (1.5 sticks)
1-1/2 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. maple syrup

1-1/2 loaves challah, ends removed, cut to 1" slices

8 large eggs
2-1/4 c. cups half and half
1 T. vanilla
1 T. Grand Marnier
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 T. sugar
1 t. cinnamon (optional)

In a small heavy saucepan melt butter with brown sugar and syrup over low heat, stirring, until smooth. Spread into the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish. Arrange bread slices in one layer in baking dish, squeezing them to fit. Some slices should be torn and put into the 'holes'.

In a bowl whisk eggs; then add half-and-half, vanilla, Grand Marnier, sugar and salt. Whisk until combined well and pour evenly over bread. Chill bread mixture, covered, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day. Preheat oven to 350° F. and bring bread to room temperature. Bake bread mixture, uncovered, in middle of oven until puffed and edges are pale golden, 35 to 40 minutes. Serve hot.

posted by kari-anne on September 12th 2007 at 2:10pm
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Probably my technique is off somehow. I made awesome challah senior year of college and then made flat, heavy challah in three different ovens over the next 5 years. Any pointers on kneading? i don't have a dough mixer, so I've got to do it by hand.

posted by alisa k on September 12th 2007 at 3:57pm
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kneading: you want to keep kneading till the dough is elastic- when you press it down, it springs back up.

10 minutes is a good amount of time to knead.

also- you fold the dough in half over itself, press down, and then rotate 90 degrees; and use the "heel" of your hand.

definitely get an oven thermometer, they can help an awful lot.

let us know how it turns out! (and l'shana tova)

posted by jillrenee from boston on September 12th 2007 at 5:35pm
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Who's going to win Top Chef?

posted by art on September 13th 2007 at 8:59am
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I was looking through the new Martha Stewart collection on the Macy's website, and found this helpful page - it's under the "More from Martha" link on the Kitchen page, and it's a pretty thorough explanation of how to clean all the different areas of your kitchen - oven, fridge, countertops of different materials, small appliances, etc. She might be a little over-zealous with it - she recommends cleaning some things once a week that I clean once every few months - but I thought it was a really helpful guide, so I printed it out for future reference - http://tinyurl.com/2dyqtn

posted by Rosie on September 13th 2007 at 9:51am
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Ugg, sorry! the link doesn't work. But if you go to the Macy's website, and then to the Martha Stewart Collection, click on Kitchen, then on "A Clean Kitchen from Top to Bottom" under "More from Martha."

posted by Rosie on September 13th 2007 at 9:56am
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