Jenn Dolari @dolari@driveinsaturday.org

I'm walking that very fine line between "Putting my money where my mouth is" and "putting my foot right into my mouth."

Quite the tightrope, especially when involving Very Public People.

It has been a hectic, but productive, five hours. I'm taking the rest of the day off.

"I've been unemployed for eight months. That's what makes me a writer."

So I finished the overlay of my bootlegs to the Season 1 DVD versions of Spartakus, but I was missing three episodes. I went online to see if anyone else out there had the three episodes I'm missing and...

Guh.

These look SO much better than my DVD set, too!

https://lostmediawiki.com/Spartakus_and_the_Sun_Beneath_the_Sea_(found_English_dub_of_French_animated_series;_1985-1987)

This Week's Fancy Pants Meal: Hungarian Beef Stew

This recipe must have a misprint in it, because after seeing the amount of leeks versus the amount of broth the stew called for, it just wasn't going to work.

I cooked the meat with the amount of broth it called for, and that was fine, but once the leeks went in, there was no way the leeks were going to wilt up with that little broth. I ended up doubling the broth, which is fine as that's one quart of broth, and what I usually use in stew.

And it came out amazing. Who knew the problem wasn't going to be "three leeks is a LOT" and instead was "this is NOT enough broth?"

The recipe below has the correct amount of broth.

# Hungarian Beef Stew
Easy Basics for Good Cooking

2.0 tbsp vegetable oil
1.5 pounds beef chuck (cut into 1 inch cubes)
1.0 quart beef broth
1.0 clove garlic (minced)
1.0 tbsp paprika
3.0 whole leeks
1.0 whole bell pepper
0.5 pound small mushrooms
0.25 cup whipping cream
1.0 tbsp cornstarch
2.0 tbsp sherry
salt
pepper

1 - Heat oil in a 5-quart kettle over medium-high heat.
2 - Add meat, a few pieces at a time, and cook until browned on all sides.
3 - Stir in broth, garlic, sherry and paprika.
4 - Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer until meat is tender when pierced (about 1 hour).
5 - Meanwhile, trim and discard tops from leeks, leaving about 1 1/2 inches of green leaves.
6 - Split leeks lengthwise, rinse well, then cut into 1-inch lengths.
7 - Seed pepper and cut into 1-inch squares.
8 - Add leeks, pepper, and mushrooms to meat.
9 - Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender when pierced (15 to 20 minutes).
10 - Stir in cream and cornstarch mixture; cook, stirring, over high heat until thickened.
11 - Season to taste with salt and pepper.

#cooking #thisweeksmeals

I get all the jokes now!

Indiana Jones and the...and the...wha'd I come in here for?

#MiddleAgeAMovie
#HashtagGames

Thank you, Drew. Bring it back AFTER the strike.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/09/17/entertainment/drew-barrymore-pauses-talk-show/index.html

This Week's Bread: Struan Bread

So, after figuring out the problem with the yeast LAST time, I tried the struan bread again, and found ANOTHER problem. The recipe calls for INSTANT yeast. I don't use instant yeast, I use active dry yeast. I didn't know there was a difference, so I was just dumping my yeast into the ingredients like the recipe said.

This time, I bloomed the yeast in water first. I also did the first rise in an oven where I turned the heat on for two minutes, and when I took the bread out, IT FREAKING FILLED THE PAN FIRST TIME. :D

I punched it down, did a quick knead, reheated the oven and let it rise again. Again, it filled the bread pan. And then I baked it for twenty minutes. I couldn't get it to bake for some reason, and left it in for another ten miinutes. At thirty it was done.

I could tell it was WAAAAY better just taking it out of the pan. IT was bouncy, squeezable, and not dense at all. I cooled the bread down and cut it in half - and it's super moist, with Big Crumb. Very happy.

I'm not calling it mastered yet, mainly because I keep screwing up one thing, and that's an egg. I added an eggwash at the end of the recipe to make the sesame seeds stick. The problem? I keep reading my instructions and they say "Add all the ingredients to the mixing bowl." Annnnnd, I forget to read the next part: "Except the egg and sesame seeds." So I keep adding an egg where it's not supposed to be.

I think this is why the bread is INCREDIBLY moist. To the point that it almost seems like the dough is soggy. And I freaking keep doing it.

So this loaf will last me two weeks, so I 'll try it again then. Remind me to not add the freaking egg next time. :)