I’m not sure that the average home cook is capable of whipping up a lot of witty banter.Report
1) I wonder which type of cocoa.
2) regarding some of the dishes in the first link, even Alton Brown thinks that mass produced store bought cake mix is better than anything a home cook can make. Frosting is a different story, and perhaps so are brownies.Report
Another reader left a note on the cocoa:
Use good cocoa, not Dutch. I use Penzey. Mound the cocoa measurement a little and underfill the sugar a bit. Toast the nuts, preferably pecans. Throw in a couple more pinches of salt, and 1/8 tsp of espresso powder. Easy and amazing and very popular.
I’d probably use Hershey’s baking cocoa (since that’s what’s commonly available here,) and I might supplement it with a 4 oz. or so of unsweetened baking chocolate because there’s no such thing as too chocolaty when it comes to Brownies. Or cake.Report
Good share, Zic. I sometimes look at the ingredients on the few boxed/jarred items I own and sometimes I’m like, “Peanut butter has two ingredients? I could do that.” And I’m sure I could. But the current situation doesn’t allow for that.
ETA: And that is largely because of time. But also machinery. I have a pretty well stocked kitchen but some things I still lack. And while I don’t mind a more ‘rustic’ touch on certain foods*, some techniques are very hard to replicate well with home tools. And it can be more expensive, given the scaling issue.
* I actually prefer chunky peanut butter but I don’t eat alot of the stuff and BJ’s only sells the ‘Natural’ stuff in creamy plus I mainly used it for Mayo’s smoothies so creamy is better anyway. I like a rustic, thick pasta sauce, though.Report
Oh dear god, the nyt telling me what I should and shouldn’t buy…will Bloomburg be next to prevent me from buying premade ice cream?
When I went to the used bookstore today, I saw an Elvis cookbook titled “Are You Hungry Tonight?”, but I passed on it.Report
Cookbooks get FAR WORSE than that.Report
I’m not sure that the average home cook is capable of whipping up a lot of witty banter.Report
1) I wonder which type of cocoa.
2) regarding some of the dishes in the first link, even Alton Brown thinks that mass produced store bought cake mix is better than anything a home cook can make. Frosting is a different story, and perhaps so are brownies.Report
Another reader left a note on the cocoa:
I’d probably use Hershey’s baking cocoa (since that’s what’s commonly available here,) and I might supplement it with a 4 oz. or so of unsweetened baking chocolate because there’s no such thing as too chocolaty when it comes to Brownies. Or cake.Report
Party at Zic’s house!Report
Good share, Zic. I sometimes look at the ingredients on the few boxed/jarred items I own and sometimes I’m like, “Peanut butter has two ingredients? I could do that.” And I’m sure I could. But the current situation doesn’t allow for that.
ETA: And that is largely because of time. But also machinery. I have a pretty well stocked kitchen but some things I still lack. And while I don’t mind a more ‘rustic’ touch on certain foods*, some techniques are very hard to replicate well with home tools. And it can be more expensive, given the scaling issue.
* I actually prefer chunky peanut butter but I don’t eat alot of the stuff and BJ’s only sells the ‘Natural’ stuff in creamy plus I mainly used it for Mayo’s smoothies so creamy is better anyway. I like a rustic, thick pasta sauce, though.Report
Oh dear god, the nyt telling me what I should and shouldn’t buy…will Bloomburg be next to prevent me from buying premade ice cream?
The horrors.Report
If you wont listen to the bastion of liberal snobbery that is the nyt then there isnt much hope for you.Report
@notme
No…no there isn’t any hope for me. Thanks be to jeebus.Report