hungryk9

[hungryk9]

Homecooking tips. - lasagna layering - fusilli (needs a drier dough for curls) - trick to delay apple browning - maple-balsamic vinegar for roasting veg - maple-balsamic vinaigrette for salad

[hungryk9]

Unfortunately didn't get to try the pie as I hoped, due to hosts' timeline... (But their elaborately written gratitude still makes me glow every day!!!) Notes

Used the "If You Care" paper pie pans. Doubled up for sturdy handling, then placed on a baking sheet. The doubling up may/may not have affected baking time. Because the pan had a preferred depth, I was able to fill it up more for thicker slices. This did affect baking time from ~50min to nearly 2hrs.

With the low+slow baking approach, don't rush to brown (ie broil) the crust. Leave this to be a last-minute decision. Also, the sweet potato filling was affected; it should be a beautiful, lighter orange than brown.

Definitely use the pie ring for the edge. The middle crust pieces needed attention for browning; perhaps don't place too close together in the future. Because the pie did puff during baking, the "s" drifted further than anticipated.

Try 1egg+1Tmilk to brush the crust (1egg+1Twater was used here).

Try to make crust thicker than you think.

[hungryk9]

(Thankfully) successful vegan chocoflan for friends. The collective+Sparknote recipe in my notebook was of 3 different recipe sources, but the meat of it was from Dora's Table. https://dorastable.com/vegan-chocoflan/comment-page-1/#comment-13538 Notes

Made in a 10-cup bundt pan (10-12 was rec'd).

For some reason, my ratio of flan:chocolate cake came out 4:1. I followed the recipe, so I'm not sure what happened. I'd be more mindful if I do this recipe again in the future since I'd want the 1:1 ratio. I'd consider halving the flan/doubling the chocolate cake, and pour any excess into a small mold — but ultimately just really observe the proportions and keep a watchful eye on the amount that's poured into the cake pan.

I foolishly forgot to grease my bundt pan. Thankfully after some superficial knife cuts around the cake edge-pan, then letting the pan sit in a waterbath for a random 5 minutes to help with release, and then flipping it onto the plate+shaking the pan+plate a little vigorously till I felt a THWUMP — the release THANKFULLY came out as a whole!!! The modern Nordic Ware bundt pans are naturally non-stick but in the future I would still grease the pan, haha. To avoid a mini heart attack.

I went with a traditional heating of granulated sugar+bit of water to pour caramel into the bundt pan first (before the flan and cake batter). I'm glad I did since it gave the flan top the traditional gorgeous caramel coloring.

I eyed out about 1.3 teaspoons of tumeric to color the flan, giving it a pseudo-eggy appearance. I added it into the blender step. And nope, it's not detectable tastewise in the end. Alternatively, one could use yellow food coloring at one's discretion.

The recipe calls for 15oz of coconut cream but the cans I encountered were 13.5oz. (Ultimately I went with Trader Joe's high-fat content at ~114g vs two other brands that clock in at 81/84g. Higher fat lends to richer taste.) I already had a pint of soy-heavy-cream, which I used as a supplement. The coconut cream is still liquid at room-temp, but I have a very-very-very vague memory that it could thicken up in the fridge. See my note on agar agar powder next.

I added 1.2 teaspoons of agar agar powder to the step of heating coconut milk. I was really paranoid about the flan holding up for the flip release+subway commute to my friend's. I tried asking the recipe author if she thought agar agar would still work after baking & for chilling, plus I also tried Google'ing if agar agar powder would be ineffective due to baking at 350F, but ultimately I think it helped for the flan to hold together, for me. Phew.

After baking, the cake sat at room-temp for 1 hour before I put it into the fridge for 8 hours before flipping it. I just left it for that amount of time due to sleep, so I can't say for certain if it'd be fine the same way after 4 hours. It shooouuuld be fine.

You could subtly taste the coconut cream in the "flan". Not a bad thing, just a note. The flan could use more vanilla extract? I used 2.8t.

Remove the hardened caramel at the bottom of the cake pan by soaking in hot water. Use the wooden end of a kitchen utensil (like the tiny Le Creuset spatula) to use force to slide the still-hardened-but-loosened caramel.

[hungryk9]

For documentation. Colored kettle corn popcorn! Made ~4-5x 1/2C kernels that filled the XL+L cookie sheets. Wasn't enough for 7 (originally planned for 8) bags. Crisping suggestions: 200F 1hr (tested & successful) / 250F 5-10min or 30-35min (not tested).

[hungryk9]

Air-fryer grilled cheese notes.

[hungryk9]

Challah French Toast sparknotes

—just <1C milk —1-2 eggs (depending on richness) —2T sugar (white, brown, even honey/maple) —1-2t v.e. —1t+ ground cinnamon —pinch of salt optional: .5t ground nutmeg, zest of lemon/orange fancified: richer milk, egg yolks, splash of bourbon/rum/brandy —butter for cooking (tastes better vs oil) —warmed maple syrup - Slice bread to stale overnight/lowest oven temp for 15-20min with flip halfway. - Mix ingredients for custard. - Dip slices for 20-30(-60max)sec per side. - Heat 2T butter in a pan on medium/med-low heat. Fry the slices (2-)3-5min/side. - Keep slices warm & with a slight crisp crust in 350F oven, while rest of the slices are being cooked. - Have warmed maple syrup ready. Top plated slices with powdered sugar. Fun fact: french toast is called “pain perdu” in France, = “lost bread”. It’s also sometimes referred to as “le gâteau du pauvre” = “the cake of the poor”.

[hungryk9]

Clinton St Baking Co-inspired blueberry pancakes — sparknotes.

Blueberry compote.

.33 maple syrup: .5 butter

1:2 can be excessive but gauge coloring.

[hungryk9]

Cast iron seasoning care.

[hungryk9]

Nacho concept.

[hungryk9]

Simplified hummus recipe.

[hungryk9]

[hungryk9]

Toast: oil, brie, apple, honey, thyme.

APPLE NOTES Honeycrisp, fuji (but browns), red delicious (least desired)/gala (though bakes grainy), envy (mild, slow to brown). Ambrosia (juice, sweet, fruity, slow to brown). Golden supreme/delicious for pies.

[hungryk9]

‘Cheeses for Backpacking’ Notes

- disregard concept when temps 90F+ - do not pre-cut; it maximizes surface area, optimizing molding - avoid fresh unaged/high-moisture cheeses: mozz, chevre, brie - aim for aged/less moisture, though crumbly - wrap in wax/parchment (porous to breathe), then plastic (retain moisture) - sheep’s milk has a higher fat content, which lend to oily surface in warm temps - semi-firm to firm ideal - personal gravitation: cheddar, gouda (aged years ideal), asiago (cow), manchego (sheep), comte (cow), Babybell - less likely but optimal due to especially minimal moisture content: parmigiana reggiano (cow), pecorino romano (sheep), grana padano (cow)

[hungryk9]

Hi! I wanted to go camping sometime these next few weeks and I was thinking of going up to the Catskills! Your pictures on the summit were so beautiful, I was wondering where you favorite places to hike were in the Catskills/what are some of the essential food gear you bring?

Hey! Sorry to get to this later, but happy to answer your q w/ mirrored enthusiasm! This ‘summit’ was the Catskills’ popular Giant Ledge. Definitely accessible and rewarding! Another favorite is Wittenberg Mountain (maybe even Slide Mountain) — that trail can include Cornell Mountain too. They definitely put you to work to hike the elevations.  Essential food gear... Cooking source like a gas stove/skills to prepare a fire, ideally a light/backpacking pot, spork/chopsticks, a water source (whether you’re carrying with you/filtering from nature), and personal food choices. That includes dehydrated food packs/something like ramen/creative prep of fresh ingredients, snacks like trail mix/crackers/dried meat. One of my favorites are the cheese/peanut butter crackers, which pack a good amount of delicious calories for fuel.  Happy adventuring!

[hungryk9]

$7 sweet milk (condensed milk-inspired) ice cream in a jaggery cone at Malai. Yummo! New normals on Smith Street. Lotsa outdoor dining being established on the street.

[hungryk9]

When you have mixed feelings seeing that your family member is feasting on your Chinese food...

[hungryk9]

An easy, crowd-pleasing green smoothie! Handful of spinach, (baby) kale, banana, 1/2-3/4t grated ginger (inspired addition from R), mint (inspired addition from Mom), ice, water. Super good.  Improvised a few rounds with oat milk, ice cream (lol), and that bread pudding from Magnolia. That last one left a weird & gross aftertaste. Don’t do it. Also, that smoothie setting is a gamechanger on the Vitamix blender. Yowza! Yeeeah, buddy!