doojable

I would have said, "A bad day in H E L L is better than a "good" day in TWI!"

gotta go to work I'll post later unless someone really is biting at the bit dooj

Benson

Ahem! Anybody out there?

Try it! I forget if it works for those things as well. I had a dear friend that told me about the faucet trick. All I know is that I don't always have lemons on hand - but I do always have a faucet - and then I don't have to worry about getting lemon juice in any tiny little cuts. OUCH!

space stan darths/ vaders

It's a "Sit n' Spin" Sit-n-spin cane Very nice, Tom!

YAY! Tom got one!!!!!

Bow, Try to make this bread by hand first. I would not bake it in a bread maker, I tried to post some photos of the bread in process - but it didn't go over too well. I'll try again tomorrow

Ok Let me think I'll come up with another Sorry - I saw Tom's comment and assumed.....that's what I get!

It's because I'm sooooo cute!

D cape frown gnu I'll take a guess that its got a sound like "york" Escape From New York

I have never liked having to stop and get salt out of the store bought container that it comes in. There you are, in the middle of something and you need a tsp of salt. (Or in the case of spaghetti water - TABLESPOONS OF SALT.) You have to stop, get out the container of Morton's and dig your nail under that silly little metal thingy before you can get what you need. RIDICULOUS! Soooooooo.....I went out and bought one of those "diner'style" sugar containers. You know, the kind that you just pour sugar from. I actually have three of them now - one for salt, kosher salt, and black pepper. It's a perfect solution! Whenever I need one of the three, I just reach out and there they are - ready to pour. The only thing that I need to watch out for is the occassional person that mistakes the salt for sugar and starts pouring it in the coffee. I should solve that by labeling the lid in permanent marker - but I like the laughs I get. Seriously, I usually just keep these three in a cabinet just above my stove and get them out when I need them - they're still in easy reach.

Oh happy day!

Yep! ;)

Now, for the OTHER region I hail from....as a New York Italian I feel it is my sworn duty to educate a lot of you on.... Tuscan Country Bread ( that's real Italian bread for you folks out there in the supermarkets...) This bread works best if you have a baking stone. In Italy they bake this bread in a brick oven - the stone helps to simulate that oven. The recipe makes either one large loaf or two smaller loaves - I prefer smaller loaves. There are two risings - if you let the bread rise a third time it is very light and airy. This is a great bread with wine and cheese, to make bruschetta, to eat with minestrone. The "Sponge" (First Rising) 2 packages active dry yeast 1/2 cup hot water (115 F degees) 1/2 plus 1Tbs unbleached all-purpose flour The Dough (Second Rising) 5 cups unbleaches all-purpose flour 1 3/4 cups how water (see above) Pinch of salt Dissolve yeast in the water in a medium small bowl, stirring with a wooden spoon. Add the flour to the yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until all the flour is incorporated. Sprinkle the additional tablespoon of flour over the mixture, then cover the bowl with a cotton dishtowel and put it in a warm place away from drafts. Let stand until the sponge has doubled in size, about one hour. (Hint - I turn my oven on to 150F and when I feel the heat I turn it off and then place the mixture in there.) Arrange the 5 cups of flour in a mound in a very large bowl, then make a well in the center. place the sponge from the first rising in the well, along with the salt and 1/2 cup of hot water. With a wooden spoon, carefully mix together all the ingredients in the well, then add the remaining water, and start mixing it with your hands, absorbing the flour from the inside rim of the well little by little . Keep mixing until all but 1/2 cup of the flour is incorporated (about 15 min), then knead the dough with the palms of your hands, until it is homogenous and smooth (about 20 min), incorporating the remaining flur, if necessary, to keep the dough fomr being sticky. Give the dough the shape you prefer ( prefer two long loaves and I make slits with a knife) then place on either a floured dishtowel or a peel (that long wooden paddle in the photo if you have one.) I put cornmeal under the loaves to keep them from sticking. If you opt for the dishtowel, wrap the loaf tightly in the towel and set aside in a warm place to rise. If you happen to have a peel, just cover and put it in a warm place to rise. It should take about 55 min to double in size. Preheat oven to 400F. When the dough in the second rising has doubled in size, quickly remove from the towel and place immediatley in the oven - if you don't have a baking stone - put the loaf right on the rack. Bake for about 55 minutes for one large loaf, about 40 min for two smaller loaves. Do not open the oven for 30 min after you have placed the dough in the oven. When the bread has finished, remove it from eht oven and place it on a cooling rack it must cool completely to cut well - so don't get impatient. Bon appetito!

Sushi, I'm still listening - It'll take some time to think about what I already use and what I would consider implementing. Patience, patience......

Sometimes criticism is just yelling and screaming and telling folks they don't know what they're doing. What you described above is productive criticism. Most commentators have played the games themselves. I may need to go back to the kitchen now......I know what I'm doing there.

Dagnabbit! Now that the true Texan in the family has seen the recipe in print he wants to have some tonight...... I'll be working out every night this week.....

Spicy version... For those of you that like your food spicy, I found this recipe as well: BRUCE'S SPICY CHICKEN FRIED STEAK 4 cube steaks 3 eggs 1/2 c. milk 2 tbsp. Louisiana style hot pepper sauce (not Tabasco) Dixie fry 3 tbsp. oil 2 tbsp. butter GRAVY: 2 tsp. flour 1/2 tsp. chicken soup base 1 1/4 c. half & half 1/2 tsp. pepper Beat eggs, milk and hot pepper sauce together. Soak steaks 45 minutes. Turn to coat both sides. Dredge generously in Dixie Fry. Wrap in plastic or wax paper. Refrigerate 1-2 hours. Heat oil and butter until it sizzles. Fry steaks until light brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Drain oil from pan. Add flour and chicken soup base to pan drippings. Add half & half and pepper. Stir until thickened. Serves 4.

Chas - that has always been my complaint about the name. Apparently folks wanted to say that its steak that has been breaded like chicken - but they wanted fewer words.... Texas-Style Chicken Fried Steak with Cream Gravy It is hard to get much more Texan than Chicken Fried Steak. Quality of the beef really counts in this dish. This recipe calls for cube steaks, but good round steak that you have asked the butcher to run through the tenderizer or that you have tenderized yourself with a mallet (no big deal and can be a real stress reliever) can be even better. * 4 tenderized beef cutlets (known in supermarkets as "cube steak") OR 1 round steak, with fat removed, that you've tenderized yourself (see above) * 1 egg * 1/4 cup milk * all-purpose flour * cooking oil or melted Crisco * 1/2 teaspoon salt * 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper * 1/4 teaspoon paprika * 1/4 teaspoon white pepper Beat together the egg and milk and set aside. Mix together the salt, black pepper, paprika and white pepper and sprinkle on both sides of beef cutlets. Dredge the cutlets in the flour, shaking off the excess. Then dip each cutlet in the egg/milk mixture, then back in the flour. (You're going to get your hands messy here, so take your rings off.) Set cutlets aside on a piece of waxed paper. Heat the cooking oil in a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes. Oil should be about a half-inch deep in the pan. Check the temperature with a drop of water; if it pops and spits back at you, it's ready. With a long-handled fork, carefully place each cutlet into the hot oil. Protect yourself (and your kitchen) from the popping grease that results. Fry cutlets on both sides, turning once, until golden brown. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook 4 or 5 minutes until cutlets are done through. Drain cutlets on paper towels. Cream Gravy After the cutlets are removed from the pan, pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of oil, keeping as many as possible of the browned bits in the pan. Heat the oil over medium heat until hot. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons flour (use the left-over flour from the chicken fried steak recipe (waste not -- want not) in the hot oil. Stir with a wooden spoon, quickly, to brown the flour. Gradually stir in 3/4 cup milk and 3/4 cup water, mixed together, stirring constantly with the wooden spoon and mashing out any lumps. Lower heat, and gravy will begin to thicken. Continue cooking and stirring a few minutes until gravy reaches desired thickness. Check seasonings and add more salt and pepper according to your taste. I have been known to add a drop or two of Worschestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce, each. Note to Cream Gravy novices: Gravy-making is an inexact science. Cream gravy is supposed to be thick, but if you think it's too thick, add more liquid until you're satisfied with it. Add some mashed potatoes or biscuits and you've got yo'sef a meal. (If and when I make this I double or even triple the gravy because then I can re-heat it and make biscuits and scrambled eggs the next morning and have a fairly easy breakfast.

There were originally two photos of Jude Law.....

Thank you! Ca Dreaming - you're up next!