u/frostmas

I did an experiment with Cook's Illustrated's chocolate chip cookies. I chilled the dough overnight and halfway through baking I flattened them with a spatula to see what happened and they turned out close to my ideal cookie shape, not too thin and with a flat surface. Normally my cookies end up either too thin, or they'd have a domed/rounded middle, especially when chilled.

I plan to experiment with this method more, and I might need to mess with the oven temperature but I'm wondering if I should change when I flatten them. I've seen some people flatten them right after baking and others flatten them before baking.

What differences would there be if I flattened them at a different time? Have any of you experimented with that?

My cat is 11 years old and about 3-4 pounds overweight.

She only eats dry food and has absolutely no interest in wet food no matter what kind I try. She eats IAMS weight control dry food which hasn't really helped but I know it's because we have always free fed her.

I'm planning to switch her to timed meals, but I'm not sure how to. I definitely don't want to risk underfeeding her or anything and plan to do it very gradually. How many times a day should I put the food bowl out? Should I stick with the weight control food or feed her regular since I'm going to put her on timed meals? Any other suggestions?

I don't mind doing it, I'm just wondering. The magazine says the reason for the stopping and stirring step is to dissolve the sugars, but I have also read chilling the dough overnight is to dissolve the sugars too.

So if I'm going to refrigerate the dough overnight, is it even necessary to do that stirring step or is there something else it accomplishes?

A lot of people recommend culinary text books and my favorite is Wayne Gisslen's "professional baking". The only issue I have is that his default flour in most recipes is pastry flour.

I'm just a hobby baker so I use all purpose flour (gold medal unbleached or King Arthur). Do his recipes work with all purpose flour or should I just find another resource?

I made rose levy beranbaum's lemon meringue pie.

The ingredients are 85 grams cornstarch, 300 grams sugar, 2 1/2 cups water, 8-10 large egg yolks (149 grams), 3 tablespoons butter, 1/2 cup lemon juice, 9 grams lemon zest, and a pinch of salt.

While the filling seems to have turned out like the picture and it tastes good, it seems kind of thick. I wouldn't say it's jello, but any thicker and it would be similar to it. A couple slices also "broke" in half if that makes sense but it could have been from me not being gentle enough with it.

How thick is the filling supposed to be? I'll probably try another recipe next time because they seem to use less cornstarch, but I'm wondering if that's just how it's supposed to be.

I've made a lot of tortas, but I feel like I make them quite basic with just beans, ham, cheese, Avocado and mayo. I'm obsessed with making bread, but I usually make boules instead of teleras or bolillos though.

I want to learn more about Mexico's sandwich culture and any new trends with it. Most cookbooks I've read only have a very small section or don't give much information, while the YouTube channels I've found only have a couple videos on them.

Where can I learn more about Mexican sandwiches? Do you have any YouTube channel or website recommendations?

I've never used the joy of cooking but I just got the 2019 edition and my first impressions are pretty good. Assuming the recipes are reliable this will be something I use a lot.

What do you guys think of it? Are there any mistakes I should be aware of? What are your favorite recipes?

I'm reading "the joy of cooking" and the milkshake recipe calls for 2 cups ice cream and 2 cups milk. Other recipes from like America's test Kitchen call for 4 cups of ice cream and only 1/2 cup of milk which is a lot less.

I'll probably start with the smaller amount of milk, but I'm wondering if anyone has tried that ratio from the joy of cooking? Is that too much milk?

I'm planning to make Milk Street's 8 ingredient chili. I've never made chili before, but I'm making my own chili powder with ancho chiles instead of buying it from the store.

The chili recipe doesn't call for garlic or anything and just uses 1/4 cup chili powder, 2 tablespoons cumin, 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, salt, and pepper as the spices.

Since I'm making my own chili powder, should I add garlic powder and oregano to it to make it more like the kind you get at the store or should I just use the ancho powder with nothing else in it?

I might be losing my insurance in a few months so I need to start thinking about getting my impacted wisdom teeth removed since I've been putting it off for so long. I'd like to wait a couple months to give myself time to mentally prepare, but I want to make sure I don't wait too long.

First I'll need to make an appointment for a cleaning, and then I think make an appointment with a surgeon? Is there anything else I'll need to do or do I get them removed during that same appointment?

I live in ohio and get Medicaid. I don't have a job because of undiagnosed mental health issues (something I'm working on slowly). Earlier this year I saw that Ohio was trying to pass something that would put work requirements on Medicaid. I also saw that the federal government passed something last year that would also put work requirements on it.

So I'm just confused as to when I should expect to lose it. My annual renewal is in October, so is that when I'm losing it or some other time?

I've been playing on an OG Xbox one for like ten years now and haven't really paid much attention to the differences between newer consoles.

I mainly play overwatch, but I really want to play GTA 6 when it comes out and the new assassin's creed games. Just newer games in general I guess.

Used Series S consoles are around $150-$200, while used Series X consoles are $300-$400.

Is the Series X worth the extra money or will the Series S be fine for newer games?

I'm 27 and my wisdom teeth have needed to be removed for quite a while, but I've been putting it off because of my OCD and anxiety. They are impacted and are under my gums. They do hurt every now and then. I have a small mouth so I know they are likely pressed against my molars.

I do plan to get them removed sometime in the future if I can get my mental health under control, but I feel a lot of pressure because I'm scared they will ruin my molars and I will lose them.

How likely is that to happen? How long would it take to happen?

All of the gelato recipes I use call for adding water back to make up for evaporation and then blending it with an immersion blender before churning. I don't have one so I've just been using a whisk. My gelato turns out pretty decent, but I do have a couple issues with it that I'm working on.

I'm just curious how important an immersion blender is for blending it before churning? I imagine that introduces more air than me whisking it, but does that make a noticeable difference? Would it be better to just pour it in a blender instead of using the whisk?

I have both of his resolving OCD books and I do like them a lot, but there is so much information in them and it's hard for me to grasp. The Doubt Illusion seems to be a more compact version so it might be easier for me to understand.

I'm a bit skeptical though, because I read a few people say the book feels like it was written by AI. I'm not sure how to feel about that and it kind of makes me doubt I-CBT in general if that's true, but I do feel like the resolving OCD books are good.

Does anybody have The Doubt Illusion? Is it easier to understand and worth getting? Is it actually written by AI?

I'm growing basil and thyme in 1 gallon containers, rosemary in 3 gallon containers, and cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, and lemon grass in 5 gallon containers. They are outside in the sun sitting on a table.

I haven't had to water any of them in like a week and a half, and the soil still feels moist in the top 1 inch. I got the containers from the greenhouse so they already have drainage holes cut into them. It hasn't rained or anything either. The containers are just filled with potting mix.

Is there not enough drainage or something? Could it be because the plants are still kind of small? The basil only has 5 sets of leaves. The peppers and tomatoes don't have any fruit yet, and the lemongrass isn't grown enough to harvest.

I made them and struggled with the marshmallow. I accidentally whipped my egg whites to stiff peaks before adding the syrup because I often under whip them. I added the syrup and whipped it for about 20 minutes or so in my hand mixer. It got thicker, but it was still slightly runny and never got stiff peaks like meringue.

Is the finished marshmallow supposed to have stiff peaks after mixing or should it still be slightly runny? Luckily it seemed thick enough to use for the cookies because it seems to hold its shape after setting for the 10 minutes like it said, so I'm not actually sure if I did mess it up.

I'm just wondering what the consistency of the marshmallow should be after whipping?

There's a lot of recipes that interest me, but I'm hesitant because I read a couple reviews saying there are a lot of errors in her books. I'm reading her vegetarian cooking for everyone and I found a few small errors but nothing bad.

Have any of you cooked through her books? Did you find any errors? What do you think of the recipes?

I didn't really grow up eating beans, so I don't really know what to do with them and I'm not sure if they meant to be a main course or more like a side dish.

Alice waters has a recipe for white beans with rosemary and garlic I'm thinking about making, but are those enough for dinner or do I need to make something else with them? Would a loaf of bread go with them or something else? What are some things I can eat with beans?

I'm a beginner and got a giant bag of black gold potting mix from the greenhouse for $20 and I used it to fill all of my containers for the herbs and vegetables I'm growing.

Once this season is over and I start growing next season's vegetables, do I have to replace this soil with new potting mix or can I reuse it and just remove the old plants and add the new plants?

If I can reuse it, how many times can I reuse it before I have to replace it?