What are you reading?

[limr30 3]

Nice KitchenAid on the counter, too. I want one of those at some point with the pasta making attachment.

Ooh, almost hit "Post" and saw the chinois up there on the left. Nice. Do you use a mortar and pestle, too? I like to grind my spices by hand.

 

[Designer]

A book exchange does sound like a good idea, but the OCD in me said; "What are some of the problems?"

If I didn't particularly care for a certain book, it generally goes in the "donate" pile.
If I really liked a book, I would be reluctant to see it go.
Sending books across the country would cost more than the book would be worth at a second-hand sale.
I'm guessing that almost nobody else on TPF would want to read what I read.

But it IS a good idea!

 

[Newtricks]

Nice KitchenAid on the counter, too. I want one of those at some point with the pasta making attachment.

Yep, that's an 8qt commercial mixer we just got to replace the 20+ year old 5qt commercial KitchenAid that just died.

Ooh, almost hit "Post" and saw the chinois up there on the left. Nice. Do you use a mortar and pestle, too? I like to grind my spices by hand.

I use mortar/pestle for some things, commercial spice grinder for others depends on what it is and how fine it needs to be.

 

[table1349]

Nice KitchenAid on the counter, too. I want one of those at some point with the pasta making attachment.

Ooh, almost hit "Post" and saw the chinois up there on the left. Nice. Do you use a mortar and pestle, too? I like to grind my spices by hand.

I would save my money on the pasta maker. Any good hand crank Marcato or Atlas pasta machine will work great. If you want electric powered you can add the motor for less than the Kitchen Aid pasta maker sells for. The Kitchen Aid Pasta Press on the other hand is IMO worth the money. Stand alone Pasta presses are expensive.

 

[limr30 3]

Nice KitchenAid on the counter, too. I want one of those at some point with the pasta making attachment.

Ooh, almost hit "Post" and saw the chinois up there on the left. Nice. Do you use a mortar and pestle, too? I like to grind my spices by hand.

I would save my money on the pasta maker. Any good hand crank Marcato or Atlas pasta machine will work great. If you want electric powered you can add the motor for less than the Kitchen Aid pasta maker sells for. The Kitchen Aid Pasta Press on the other hand is IMO worth the money. Stand alone Pasta presses are expensive.

Point taken, though I might have mistakenly given the impression that I would only want a KitchenAid to make pasta, or a dedicated pasta maker. What I meant was I want a KitchenAid stand mixer to make many different kinds of food, and then at some point, I would then want to add a pasta press attachment to use on the stand mixer. Good to know the press will be worth the money, because even the attachments ain't cheap!

It'll be a while before I even buy the stand mixer, so until then, I'll have to settle with trying to make hand-rolled pasta

 

[table1349]

Nice KitchenAid on the counter, too. I want one of those at some point with the pasta making attachment.

Ooh, almost hit "Post" and saw the chinois up there on the left. Nice. Do you use a mortar and pestle, too? I like to grind my spices by hand.

I would save my money on the pasta maker. Any good hand crank Marcato or Atlas pasta machine will work great. If you want electric powered you can add the motor for less than the Kitchen Aid pasta maker sells for. The Kitchen Aid Pasta Press on the other hand is IMO worth the money. Stand alone Pasta presses are expensive.

Point taken, though I might have mistakenly given the impression that I would only want a KitchenAid to make pasta, or a dedicated pasta maker. What I meant was I want a KitchenAid stand mixer to make many different kinds of food, and then at some point, I would then want to add a pasta press attachment to use on the stand mixer. Good to know the press will be worth the money, because even the attachments ain't cheap!

It'll be a while before I even buy the stand mixer, so until then, I'll have to settle with trying to make hand-rolled pasta

Make sure to go with the bowl lift 600 series, not the smaller 5 qt models. The major difference is the 600 series and up have metal gears where as the 5qt and smaller have plastic gears.

The Pasta machine attachment is nice if you just want to make pasta. Me I dislike single-taskers in the kitchen and to me it is a single tasker. When decorating a cake using fondant I prefer a Pasta machine that sits on the counter to sheet my fondant. To me at least it is easier to make sheet fondant that way than with a pasta machine hanging from the end of a mixer. Besides, I got my Atlas 150 pasta machine for $45, there about $60 now and a couple of years later I got the motor for $99. That is less than the $199 the Kitchen Aid pasta machine sells for.

The one attachment that surprised me from Kitchen Aid for working so well is the Ice Cream bowl. I was afraid it would not get cold enough to make creamy ice cream. Boy was I wrong. And the grinder is a steal. I love hamburgers that are pink inside but I refuse to make a medium rare burger from pre-ground beef. That's just food poisoning waiting to happen. Buying a nice chuck roast with enough fat on it to get an 80/20 blend. Now that is a different story.

 

[limr30 3]

Excellent! Thanks for the info. I've never worked with fondant, but I hear it can be quite tricky, so I can see why you'd be picky about what works best for you. And if you say the ice cream attachment is a keeper, then that's good enough for me

I don't eat meat, but I would be willing to use the grinder to make ground meat or sausage for my boyfriend who is an unrepentant carnivore. But he's going to have to pay for the attachment himself, and then I'll let him use the ice cream attachment so he can make some for me and return the favor!

 

[table1349]

Hate to tell you but I am a card carrying member of P.E.T.A.



People Eating Tasty Animals :mrgreen:


Fondant really isn't that bad and actually quite easy to make. Like most frosting's it's basically diabetes only in a roll form.

Easy recipe:

Total Time:
9 hr
Prep:
9 hr

Yield:
icing for a 9-inch cake, 4 inc

Level:Easy

Ingredients

2 pounds confectioner's sugar, sifted
1/4 cup cold water
1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin
1/2 cup glucose (found in cake decorating stores) or white corn syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons glycerine (found in cake decorating stores)
1 teaspoon desired flavoring ( vanilla will give the fondant an off-white color)
Cornstarch

Directions

In a large bowl (do not use metal), sift the sugar and make a well in the center. In a small saucepan, add the water and sprinkle the gelatin on top to soften for about 5 minutes. Begin to heat the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is dissolved and clear. Do not boil. Turn off the heat and add the glucose and glycerine, stirring until well blended. Add the flavoring. Pour into the well of sugar, and mix until all of the sugar is blended. Use hands to knead icing until it becomes stiff. Add small amounts of confectioner's sugar if the mixture is sticky.

Form the mixture into a ball and wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Place in an airtight container. This icing works best if allowed to rest at room temperature for about eight hours before using, particularly if the weather is humid. Do not refrigerate.

To cover a cake with fondant: Dust a clean pastry cloth, or a smooth, clean surface, with cornstarch and roll the fondant with a rolling pin until it is approximately 1/4 inch thick. Make sure that the fondant is large enough to fit over the top and sides of the cake. Slide both hands under the fondant and carefully center it on top of a cake that has been freshly iced with buttercream. (The icing makes the fondant adhere to the cake.)

Dust your hands with cornstarch and smooth the fondant, starting at the top and working down the sides until the entire surface is even and flat. Cut off the excess icing around the bottom of the cake with a pizza cutter or sharp knife. Decorate the cake with buttercream or royal icing. This fondant keeps a cake fresh for two days at room temperature. Do not refrigerate a cake with fondant icing.




This is a wonderfully fun recipe to get your feet wet with fondant and impress your guests. Great on the 4th of July or anytime. Cheeseburger Cake Recipe : Food Network Kitchens : Food Network

 

[limr30 3]

Nice, thanks for the recipe! I always liked the clean look of fondant on a cake. As for your P.E.T.A. membership, no skin off my nose, man I don't begrudge anyone else their eating habits as long as they leave mine alone as well. I know a few people - several in my own family - who still feel the need after 20 years to give me crap or make smartass comments about my choices, and that's extremely annoying, but otherwise, to each their own

 

[Crazydad]

Currently reading the Fire and Ice series. On book 2, "A Clash of Kings". I need to finish the books before I watch the show.

 

[SquarePeg37 8]

Currently reading the Fire and Ice series. On book 2, "A Clash of Kings". I need to finish the books before I watch the show.

Ive read them all and really enjoyed them. Finished the 2nd to last book the day the last book came out in .2011. Good timing right? I thought so, then I found out that it had been almost 6 years between books!!! Been waiting for the next installment since then, 3 years and still no release date. By the time he comes out with the next book I'll have to read them all again to refresh my memory.

I don't think you really need to wait to watch the show. There are actually a few scenes in the tv show that I wish I had not known what was coming. The books have so much more than they could possibly put in the show that you will still want to read them.

Currently I'm reading the Hollows series by Kim Harrison - a complete change of pace from GOT series.

 

[IByte]

Joseph Campbell's "A Hero's Journey"

 

[Patrice]

Mark Levy : Si c'etait a refaire
Mark Levy : Voleur d'ombre
Blonde : Dis Ouis

 

[pixmedic]

Curious George, a day at the zoo.

 

[skieur]

Afterlife 101 which can be read on the net. The content is something that everyone will eventually find out whether it is fact or fiction. Interesting.