Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Jamestown1630]

Santa brought me a nice new crepe pan for Christmas. I haven’t seasoned and tried it out yet, but my first endeavor will be this recipe from Allrecipes for crepes with crab filling, which looks like a pretty classic one, and would make a nice late-night supper on New Year’s Eve:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/233544/crab-crepes/

And here's a link to a video from the French Cooking Academy on crepe-making technique. This is for a sweet crepe with rum, but adapt the technique to your recipe:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DiFXFeOU1nI

Many recipes that I've seen suggest letting the batter rest for a few hours or even overnight, and here from fchem101 (a great food chemistry site!) is the reason why:

http://www.fchem101.com/2014/12/why-rest-crepe-batter/

What did Santa bring you; and what are you doing New Year’s Eve?

-JT

[leaning conservative]

We stay home& have good food & enjoy not being in any scene. On a waiter blog I read a while back he said if you want rushed service & overpriced food go out to eat on New Year’s & Valentine’s day.

Plus I usually conk out earlier ; ) enjoy your evening at home.

[boatbums]

What did Santa bring you?

A new water heater. :o(

[Jamestown1630]

Did you have a bad cold or flu?

[boatbums]

I experienced a loss of taste, too, a while back. It took time and daily 50mg of zinc but it’s coming back. It really does stifle the desire to cook.

[Jamestown1630]

That’s interesting, because those zinc cold medicines tend to take away my taste.

[CottonBall]

That sounds awful. How did you lose your sense of taste?

[CottonBall]

Thanks for your time and dedication in keeping this going. It is always a bright peaceful spot in the midst of the usual chaos here :-)

[boatbums]

Maybe it’s not the zinc part of the medication? It’s worth a try.

[Jamestown1630]

The zinc works great to shorten the duration of flu. I just notice that things don’t taste right when I’m on it...

[boatbums]

I was just saying that maybe it’s not the zinc part in the cold medication that takes away someone’s sense of taste. But the zinc supplement DID help to restore mine and I continue to take it. There are other medications that affect taste as well as allergies and sinus issues. As we age, they can diminish, as well.

[boatbums]

Also:

Zinc is an essential mineral needed by the body for growth, immune system function and catalyzing certain enzymes. Insufficient dietary zinc or medical conditions that inhibit zinc absorption can result in a deficiency, with potential health consequences that include taste disturbances such as hypogeusia, or blunted sense of taste, and dysgeusia, or distorted sense of taste. You should not take zinc supplements without consulting your doctor, however. https://www.livestrong.com/article/524848-does-zinc-deficiency-affect-our-taste-buds/

See also http://www.pathwaystohealing.biz/zinc-improve-senses/

[pugmama]

I made this for Christmas dinner. It was wonderful.
Hope everyone had a great Christmas.

http://www.closetcooking.com/2017/12/butter-tart-cheesecake.html

[pugmama]

I got one too and really like it. Your recipe sounds great.

[pugmama]

There was a great crepe restaurant in my prior home town. I loved to go there as their crepes were so good and quite unique.

This is a good article re crepe making:

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2017/03/french-crepes-ham-cheese-eggs-recipe.html

[pugmama]

My mom made these every Christmas season. We loved them.

https://natashaskitchen.com/2010/11/27/nalesniki-with-cheese-and-pineaple/

[Jamestown1630]

You’re probably correct; and I’m sure our modern diet probably leaves many of us somewhat deficient in a lot of things.

[Jamestown1630]

You never know what’s around the corner - especially when it comes to romance ;-)

[Jamestown1630]

Is that the Amish Market in Laurel?

We’ve never gotten around to going there.

[Jamestown1630]

I never thought of pineapple in crepes, though it’s my favorite fruit. I’m going to save that for my first ‘sweet’ try.

[Yaelle]

You can use your regular knife blade for that pulsing. I don’t think I have EVER gone and gotten that plastic dough blade out for crusts or doughs. I make my pie crust in the processor but I am careful to semi freeze the butter bits and not pulse too far. Back in the day the instructions were “ mix until the dough forms a ball.” That is too mixed for pastry.

Oh and good luck with the keto! The first few days could be hard. Push past those weird unpleasant feelings or powerful cravings because after day 4 they pretty much stop. Cooked dark leafy greens (feel free to cook with bacon and garlic) do amazing to block sugar cravings too. Keep some in the fridge and micro them in a pinch if feeling desperate for sugar.
Good luck to you all.