Wagyu beef burgers on the grill. Homemade ciabatta rolls.
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In a continuing effort to use up items in the freezer, tonight’s dinner was leftover (cooked) turkey from Thanksgiving. “Thanksgiving in January” consisted of Turkey, gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, peas and cranberry sauce.
There is one “Chocolate-In-Between” treat left, so Sunshine can have that for dessert.
Bring on February!!
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New month’s thread is here:
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Off to the liquor to look for creme de violette. The Sprout would love this cocktail. She is a big gin fan and got a bottle of Aviation Gin as a birthday present. No comment on who gave it to her 
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I love that you have proper fish cutlery!
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3 posts were merged into an existing topic: What’s for Dinner #90 - the Days are Lasting Longer Edition - February 2023
As a child, every birthday and xmas I would get an addition to this set from my uncle, while my older sister got gold coins. I was terribly jealous of her gold coins and honestly couldn’t give two Fs about the cutlery, but now that I am an adult(ish) I definitely appreciate it… although I am down to only 5 dining forks out of a set of 8 
There’s mocha spoons, ice cream spoons, tea spoons, and cake forks, too 
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I count my silverware after parties (well I did in the pre times) so I know what to look for in the trash. It is astonishing how often there is a fork in there. I have had pretty good luck picking up single replacement pieces (although it can take a long time) and it gives me a mission at antiques places.
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OMG, I honestly can’t imagine any of our guests being that stupid. I fear the forks “walked out the door” with some of the people who’ve stayed in our house over the summer while we are in Berlin.
These are tough and very expensive to replace, so I just cry about it occasionally ;–)
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How sad.
And tipsy rather than stupid I think.
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They look amazing!
Thanks! It’s a Cook’s Illustrated recipe - one of my favorites.
For a true-to-the-original version with no paywall, click here.
ETA: you can use active dry yeast instead of instant, just double the amount.
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We don’t throw out the garbage until the silverware has been counted.
I’ve caught friends throwing out cups that were clearly reusable plastic cups, when they’ve tried to help out (voluntarily, usually without telling me they’re helping).
I’ve also had friends who don’t cook enough, throw out freshly-cut lime and lemon slices that were resting on a cutting board, thinking they’re garbage, BEFORE the other guests have arrived. LOL. Same friend that has done that has put away bowls and snacks I had on the counter because they’re about to be used at the party.
Another time, a former friend ( former for other reasons) poured the lime juice I had just squeezed into a measuring cup, down the drain when my back was turned , before I had a chance to add it to the ceviche I was making.
If you can’t cook or bartend, don’t try to help in my kitchen.
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Does doubling the amount risk over-proofing - maybe like in more hydrated doughs, or if the kitchen is quite warm?
I’ve rarely had instant on hand (except like 30 years ago when using a bread machine), but a lot of the recipes I’m using specify instant. A lot of them indicate blooming active dry in liquid with a bit of sugar makes it a 1:1 substitute for instant.
Doubling and tossing it in there with the dry ingredients would be a simpler option than blooming/proofing it.
Blooming yeast in liquid with sugar is completely unnecessary. This is a holdover from when all yeast was fresh, and one didn’t know if it were too old or not. Dry yeast and instant yeast can be mixed in with the other dry ingredients. I do it all the time.
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With friends like that… Seriously, I am the same. I’m always having to do things after people do things. Guests in particular always doing the wrong thing in my kitchen. Throwing things away that could be washed and reused. I am very environmentally conscious, so I try to avoid anything single use when I can, especially when I’m hosting - it’s pretty easy. The last party, I made a mistake. Usually it’s very hard for people to know it’s their cup when they put it down. Since we had 30 people, I didn’t have enough permanent cups, so I put out reusable plastic with sharpies so they could write their name on. Solved one prob, created another, as sharpie doesn’t wash off. So, sadly, those were all recycled.
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This particularly recipe - CI’s Ciabatta - was originally written calling for Active Dry Yeast mixed directly in with the dry ingredients (no proofing). That is the version I have at home and follow. The blog version has changed this to Instant Yeast, in half the amount. Pick your poison.
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Thanks MunchkinRedux, and also thanks @bcc, for replies.
Re blooming, a couple of online bakers had given me the impression that doing so with active dry was a way to make it perform like instant yeast, and that’s why I’ve been doing that to active in recipes calling for instant.
Or, the rare occasion when a daughter brings home a 1+ year “expired” packet - that’s the only time I’m blooming in order to ensure the critters ain’t kaput. For the (local household) record, a nearly 2-year expired packet performed just fine.
I still proof my active dry yeast with a pinch of sugar just to be on the safe side. Only takes 5-10 minutes. It does seem to jumpstart the rising process so you’re really not out any time.
What, you’re never inviting any of those 30 guests again?
I mean, unless they have super-rare names I don’t see why the cups couldn’t be reused 
