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 Posted By: jglass 
Feb 28  # 1 of 18
You have trouble with?

For me it is home made biscuits. My Mom made great ones but she use lard and I will not. I can make other bread fine but biscuits give me grief lol. I think it is because I lack patience.
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 Posted By: chubbyalaskagriz 
Mar 1  # 2 of 18
I can identify with your biscuit issues, janie. There are so many delicate intricasies that make biscuits perfect. And these subtle issues are easy to flub-up. I screw'em up frequently! Though, when a bisuit is indeed perfect- golly-moses... there's nuthin' better! I like'm angel-light, flaky and full of buttery goodness. Sometimes they just melt in your mouth!
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 Posted By: chubbyalaskagriz 
Mar 1  # 3 of 18
In restaurant kitchens, I was always the worst at trimming large cuts of meat. And pulling pin-bones out of countless fillets of salmon. I knew how to do it- but I didn't have the patience to stand there and actually do the delicate knife-work for hours. I can crack a ga-zillion eggs for omlets for Sunday brunch... I'm happy to peel 250 lbs. of potatoes... or decorate a 4-tier wedding cake... or peel 'n de-vein shrimp 'til the cows come home. But give me a case of beef tenderloins and tell me to trim the fat-cap and silver-skin and cut them into a couple hundred filet mignons and I get as antsy and wracked as a one-armed paper-hanger!
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 Posted By: The Ironic Chef 
Mar 1  # 4 of 18
Chinese Boneless Crispy Chicken Breast with vegetables.

Around here it's a standard item on any Chinese menu. The chicken is a breast cutlet and there is a crispy crust on the exterior. I have tried to make this so many times in the past 30 years. I have tried so many different types of tempuras like they use for sweet and sour pork and chicken. I have tried rice flour, I have tried egg whites and corn starch, I have tried different dredges, I have tried different coating combinations. The perfection of this dish eludes me. The closest I have come is with the egg whites and corn starch. Most Chinese restaurants get these chicken fillets frozen and just deep fry them.
I have searched countless hours for the recipe, lol. It's like a secret guarded ancient Chinese recipe.
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 Posted By: jglass 
Mar 1  # 5 of 18
Quote chubbyalaskagriz wrote:
I can identify with your biscuit issues, janie. There are so many delicate intricasies that make biscuits perfect. And these subtle issues are easy to flub-up. I screw'em up frequently! Though, when a bisuit is indeed perfect- golly-moses... there's nuthin' better! I like'm angel-light, flaky and full of buttery goodness. Sometimes they just melt in your mouth!

I was watching diners, drive in and dives last night and he was at a place really close to here in a little town called Olive Hill. It is about 15 miles away from here. A diner/truck stop. The woman who was doing the cooking was making biscuits and man oh man was she using the lard! The biscuits looked wonderfully thick and fluffy lol. When she made the breakfast gravy she started with tons of lard melted in a skillet that she added flour to and then browned. Then she added the milk and her sausage last. I always saw my Mom and her Mom make gravy by frying up either bacon or sausage then take out the meat and add flour to the grease left in the pan. Brown that up and then add milk. I bet that woman at the truck stop buys lard by the 50 pound buckets. I make gravy with turkey sausage and then add a little canola oil to finish it out.