Hi all!

Hope you had a great 4th of July!

I have a question regarding hard boiled eggs.

It seems to be hit or miss around my house, sometimes they turn out perfect and peel without a problem, but most times it seems that the yolks are slightly undercooked and a bitch to peel, losing most of the whites, cracking, etc....

I thought maybe it was the method I use, (or the pot, a nonstick interior, and all clad type) boil H2O, as soon as it starts to bubble from the bottom of the pan, add eggs, set timer for 10 minutes, take out and put in cold H2O, once cooled peel.

Hubby says you should put them in the fridge to cool, then peel?

I normally buy the brown organic cage free eggs (not that it should matter) and yesterday I was making potato salad, boiled the eggs (brown) and they were horrible, I could not even peel them! So hubby ran up to the little store and bought another dozen, and this time he boiled them....pretty much using the same method (his) but he placed them in the fridge to cool.

Once they were cold, he tried to peel them (these were regular white eggs) and same results, slightly undercooked...but a PITA to peel!

Thank goodness I was not making deviled eggs...they would have been pretty ugly looking! ~haha~

So, my question is pretty obvious here.....

Please tell me your method of making Hard Boiled Eggs!

edit: I forgot to mention, that when hubby was making his dozen, he upped the time to 12 minutes (since they were not done...I think he put them in a bit too soon and the H2O was not at a rapid boil)....but it's the peeling part that was a nightmare!

[18:24] < Soahc> 16 hours to remove Toad Proof from Cala's arm wrist... with mods, 80% chance with 100% base skill.
[18:25] < Soahc> Cala, sokay if I go ahead and roll?
[18:25] < Cala> Works for me.
[18:25] < Reisma> Don't do it
[18:25] < Reisma> DOn't do it![18:25] !roll 1d100
[18:25] < Highwind> Soahc - 1d100: 91 ( Total: 91 )
[18:25] < Soahc> ...motherfu- gf.
[18:25] < Soahc> !roll 1d100
[18:25] < Reisma> If you fail in the roll you fail in life
[18:25] < Highwind> Soahc - 1d100: 96 ( Total: 96 )

Hey Everyone!

I'm hosting a birthday party next weekend for a good friend- it's a western themed costume party.
I'm planning on making a taco bar, and a big bowl of chili with all the fixings.

My question to you all is this: what is your favorite chili recipe?
Here are my restrictions- it's can't be too spicey. I'd like to have some sort of spice or pepper ready when I serve it in case people want to make it spicier, though.
I have a large hunk of flap steak from Costco that I'd like to use, instead of ground beef or something.

I don't care if it has beans or not- we're not going to be purists about things. ;)

So... any ideas?

Well I finally get some days off and my back goes out. I have tons of projects I want to knit but no desire to move and go to the store! I have quite a stash but its all the things I am stuck on. Anyone have some good free online patterns?
I have a skein of magnum cascade which I would love to use up (yes Its summer here...) any suggestions of something cute and easy? Its a beautiful peacock color! I just need some inspirations!
I also really want to make something with all the lion brand homespun I have bought (when I first started knitting.
Also I am looking to lace knit a skirt. I have done plenty of shawls but wonder if there is a pretty skirt anyone could suggest?
Thanks so much!

So last night I got little to no sleep because I was being INCREDIBLY bothered by the ghosties.  Dorks....they weren't playing fair *at all* and poor Matt was not able to help.  Anyway, I think I got about 10 minuets in there.....

This morning Matt and I went to Crawford Lake to do some hiking.  We had a great time, save for the fact that most of our hike was spent walking amongst swarms and swarms of mosquitos.....next time, wear bug spray.  Big time.  We had a great time, took some fun pictures (on facebook) and are looking forward to going again.

When we got home, I lasted for maybe an hour then literally passed out.  I barely made it to my bed before I just fell asleep.  I woke a couple hours later to Thor licking my toes....sheesh.  So here it is, nearly 5pm, I've got dinner almost made (although tonight seems to be one of those nights where dinner is made and we eat at our leisure) and I'm ready for bed again.  

Tonight I plan on lounging around until about 8, then off to bed.  Tomorrow, Matt is at the dojo all day, so I'll be able to get through my list of stuff that I usually do on weekends.  I'll have a busy non-relaxing day, but a productive one.   

Last night/this morning, I installed a bunch of games. Why not right? Put that 170 GBs of free space to use.

So I've got Europa Universalis 3 (with Napoleon's Ambition), GalCiv 2, Imperialism, Master of Magic, Master of Orion, Oblivion (and Shivering Isles), and Alpha Centauri (with Alien Crossfire) all installed since I started going at it.

Which brings me to what this post is about. I already know for EU3, I need to go buy the new In Nomine expansion, and/or install the latest Magna Mundi mod. So for Oblivion, what are the good mods? I've got all the official plug-ins (...even horse armor), and am planning on getting Oscuro's Oblivion Overhaul. But there's roughly ten majillion other mods and considering what gets a 10 out of 10 rating at Planet Elder Scrolls, it's hard to tell which ones are cool.

I've decided that seriously for real, I am going to write a column for the Quest next year. I friggin' swear. The topic of this column will be food; namely, the cheap and easy but artful acquisition thereof, primarily in terms of recipes that lazy and broke college students can make. I've already illustrated in my own journal that it is possible and interesting to me to write recipes up and talk about them, so all I have to do is elaborate on this theme with enough wit to make it readable, and there, I have a column.
I think it would be fun, and it would give me an excuse to make food - not that I will need one since I'm off the board plan next year. Plus, it might get me actually writing for the school "newspaper", which I did always enjoy.

That, and I think I'm going to start my own little digital cookbook for ease of use.

i made a tart... ~White Balsamic Custard Tart with Fresh Berries~

i think next time i'd rather make a homemade mealy dough for the crust. i wasn't happy with the short dough method. it browned really quickly on the edges. totally wasnt pleased.



people loved it! my sister (who doesnt know much about cooking) was like "it tasted a little tangy... but still sweet" and i said "honey its made with balsamic vinegar" "EW VINEGAR!?" lol people were really iffy after telling them its made with vinegar.

i really love the play on sweet and sour.

btw, i wish i could take amazing pics. tho its prob my lack of photography skills and my shitty digital camera. any suggestions for taking better pics?

I made an Italian Berry Pie for Independence Day yesterday.


( pie means doodads... )

I used the Amy Sedaris cupcake recipe, and divided the batter & dyed them different colors & then spooned them each into the cupcake liners.

No pictures sadly, this didn't survive the evening.

Ingredients:
5 ears of fresh sweet corn
Cup and a half of fresh(or frozen Green Giant) summer sweet peas
one large yellow onion
two medium potatoes
5 rashers of double smoked bacon
9 cloves of garlic
5 cups of goat's milk
1/4 tsp of black pepper
1/2 tsp of thyme
1/2 tsp of basil
1/2 tsp of Old Bay
1 tsp Becel or butter
handful of instant potato

Clean and cut off the corn kernels from the cob, as close to it as you can get without cutting the cob. Break cobs into smaller pieces and reserve.

Put milk into saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add corn cobs and cook for 10-15 minutes, then remove. Add pepper, thyme, basil and Old Bay.

While cobs are cooking, mince onion, bacon, garlic and slice potatoes thinly(about 4mm) after halving or quartering(peel on or off is optional, depending on condition of tatties). Cook these in a frying pan with Becel/butter until potatoes are tender, but still have some firmness to them, then add to heated milk. Add instant potato to thicken up to desired consistency, and serve!

This was AWESOME chowder. It smells somewhat like pizza, and was sooo good.

My husband and I take an annual trip to our favorite family-owned orchard in Cecil County, Maryland (near Elkton). The orchard is Milburn Orchards and the fruit last week was you-pick cherries.

( Photos this way: )
We wound up getting 18 lbs for about $49. not the cheapest we've ever had, but certainly the tastiest!
He made two completely from-scratch pies the next day. They were eaten way too fast for photos, though!

I want to do something with the cucumber. I would love to have a cucumber Salad. Hit me with your best cucumber dressing or salad recipes.

at bd's mongolian bbq, they serve these wonderful, thin warm tortillas but all I can find at the stores is thick mexican ones. is there such a thing as a thin tortilla or is it just something i'll have to learn to make myself?

thanks in advance

Good riddance, you racist son of a bitch. Rot in Hell.

http://www.dailykitten.com/archives/1932-tuxedo-munchkin.html

http://www.dailykitten.com/?p=1932

Location: Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA

Here is another Munchkin baby… this handsome devil is a wonderful Tuxedo boy, looking for a forever home!

Yo bitches.

I leave for my flight in about 3 hours. Just enough time to clean up my room, throw some close into my suitcase and grab a shower and shave. I'll be gone for approx. 10 days, so probably no updates until then. I promise to take lots of videos and pics for you chumps though! :)

In more awesome news, my bank decided to be all ninja on me and increase my MC limit by 3500. I don't know what the crap they are thinking, and I have no idea when they did it. Kinda creepy that it happens right around my vacation... maybe they're trying to tell me something?

Anywho, since I wont be able to spam you with videos like I normally do until I get back, here are 2 videos to tide you over. The first is one of my cat, Muriel. She woke up just as I was starting to record it, but 5 minutes up to it she was twitching and chiping in her sleep. Probably chasing birds. I was also able to move her head around and she stayed asleep, it was creepy. Steve, you'll remember that time when I though she was dead on the back of the couch because how lifeless her head was when I moved it, well, it was the same thing again, only this time I knew she was alive so I had some fun with it. :P

The second video is probably the only reason I'm even thinking of buying the iPhone 3g: Remote Desktop.
Connecting to my PC and loading WoW so I can AFK in AV? Heeeeelllls yeah. :P
Not sure how it would work over long distances, but looks cool at least. :)

Video 1


Video 2
 


Alright, I'm out. 
Have a good one peeps!

- Nyk

ps: If I die on my vacation:

Steve: You get everything, except Muriel. Congrats!
Mike and Angela: You two get to fight to the death over who gets Muriel. Dirty fighting is encouraged! :)

It's 700k, so it's behind the cut.

( Read more... )

Today I made deep fried tilapia for dinner. Came out great but the skin/meat kept falling off when I tried to pick it up to flip it. My question is this: When I flip it how do I keep the skin from sticking to the pan, what's the best weapon of choice (spatula, tongs), and how long should I cook it?

<3

 

or at least a variation thereof. It's been a while since I thought something I cooked looked nice enough to post so here you go. The "recipe" (ingedients and method, no measurements) is on flickr.

Crossposted to cooking

My bro in law invited us to dinner next Sun. He was planning to pick up some Chilean Sea Bass and wants me to "do me the honor of cooking it up".

So, fellow foodies, hit me with some recipes.

I have an extensive array of herbs, both dried and fresh, as well as spices. I can get almost anything if I really look around for it.

Just picked up some Sake, Mead and Rice Wine for another recipe(not all three in one, I was out of Mead and needed more}:P), so I'll have some of that left as well.

Thanks in advance!

 For the 4th my husband and I made like true red-blooded Americans and fried shit up. Deep fried pickles...

I've NEVER fried anything before, but have more compelled to since my husband is Southern, and I fell in love with fried pickles when we got married in Mississippi.

It's basically Alton Brown's Recipe
But used a mixture of flour and grits for dredging and salt and chipotle seasoning. In the end tossed on some salt, pepper, and paprika. 


We dipped them in ranch dressing with salt. I wonder what I'll deep fry next?

It's been cold and rainy outside, so what better way to spend a day indoors than to bake a yummy, healthy fruit loaf?

( recipe )

I am after two patterns!

First, I need pretty things for a 9 year old girl. Most of the patterns I've found are generally for babies and toddlers, not much cute stuff for the age range I need! I've looked through Ravelry, but maybe I'm not using the right words, as I really can't find anything.

This same 9 year old has a bunch of American Girl dolls, and I was wanting to knit something cute for them as well. I'm sorry to say it, but most of the patterns I've found have been awful (see: http://www.knittingonthenet.com/patterns/dollsaglegwarmers.htm ). Does anyone know of any nice patterns that AREN'T huge and bulky?

Thanks!

Fortunately, I had my phone - had to take at least one picture. :D

After driving down to Cinci, finding parking near Great American and walking to one of the automated ticket kiosks, we made a guess about where to sit and went for the outfield bleachers. (I admit - I made a bias call when I was asked for ideas. We've sat behind home plate on on the baselines for a ton of Clippers games this year, and I wanted to see the game from the other side of things.)

We got fantastic seats - concealed under the upper deck awning so we didn't get rained on during the hour long rain delay, great field of view (and GAB is an -amazingly- beautiful new park compared to my memories of the cold, immense concrete slabness that was Cinergy Field), and some pretty entertaining bleacher creatures who all apparently had it in for Elijah Dukes. (And by the end of the game, Dukes was jawing back at them fairly goodnaturedly whenever he wasn't fielding).

Our party for this expedition ended up being Dave, myself, Crystal, and my Mom. In addition to getting a chance to hang out with Crystal in about 400% saner state than the last time I saw her, my Mom had a really great time and I think I made good on actually doing a bit of "family time" that didn't end in awkward silences and hasty exits.

We hit a BBQ place called Burbank's for dinner on the way back that I had vaugely remembered from some childhood trips with Dad, but Mom had either never been with us or simply had forgotten about it , so it felt like I was getting to show it off to everyone - we ended up smelting the mind of a waitress, but the food was both ample and fantastic, and their sauces, while good by themselves, truly sang when mixed together in carefully reasoned amounts. Mostly determined by squirting bottles at random.

Fantastic day. Happy 4th of July.

Man. Sometimes it makes a big difference.

On another forum that one or two of you might also pay attention to, there's been a small discussion over Chrono Trigger, with its recent remake revitalization, and Chrono Cross. For lolz, I'm going to transplant most of what I've said there, to here, and string it together a bit more coherently. Thar be spoilers, in case you haven't played one or both of the games.

( Trigger Cross... Break? )

Ha, you can see fireworks from the back balcony! That's one thing I'll miss about being up here on the fifth floor.

These ribs? *So* good. (Please note there is a mistake in the recipe. The tomato paste should be added to the onions and garlic before adding the rub slurry). My sont got off work early, but the meat was already perfectly cooked (and will hold, wrapped in foil, in a 200F oven for just about ever). I made baked corn (corn kernels, milk, butter, egg, salt, pepper and a bit of nutmeg) and we had a green salad to start.



( more pics and recipe discussion behind the cut )

So my bro in law sends me an email, inviting us to dinner next Sun.

Says he's picking up some Chilean Sea Bass and wants me to "do me the honor of cooking it up".

So fellow foodies, hit me with recipes. I've never cooked it before.

I have an extensive array of herbs, both dried and fresh, as well as spices. Just picked up Sake, Rice Wine and Mead for another recipe(not all three in one, I needed more Mead for other stuffs), and can get almost anything if I look hard enough.

What ya got for me?

Thanks in advance!

Crossposted to food_porn