Water roux for chocolate chip banana bread tastes just as great as the replacement of 1/4 cup of sugar.

I celebrated getting a pound of yeast some days ago by immediately putting together this very simple recipe (which I’ve used many times before as my daughter loves them)
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/bread-rolls

My husband happened to see/smell the finished rolls on his way out to the shops and decided to buy beef burgers and use them as burger buns. Genius idea - they were sensational!
Sure, they didn’t have the heft and integrity of a brioche type bread made with a water roux, but they did manage to stay intact with all the burger fillings wedged inside. They made already good beef burgers into great hamburgers. I highly recommend this recipe as the low effort to high return ratio is impressive and it is relatively fast from start to finish.

What burger place are you going to and how many people are you feeding for $75? Mr. Kipper and I can go out to dinner at burger places and get burgers, fries, and beers and only spend $40 plus tip, if that.

Wow. He must really be a meat lover!

Start on direct to crisp the skins, they should be darker than a golden brown. Then move them off the direct heat. Or just a lower heat if using a gas grill.

Are they still crispy? I start on direct high heat to get them crispy, nearly the same as a fryer. As I've said though, most of my "recipes" are just trial and error, so I may not have the best method.

lol...having some mild reactions to yeast, that's my kind of burger!

Oops! You caught that error. ☺️

Mind you, meat as sandwich wrap was pretty commonplace up until a few weeks ago when I was still on a low carb diet. But it was me doing that, not him.

I was thinking burger on bottom, toppings, cheese, etc., then burger on top.

Cooking from scratch is becoming more frequent as the isolation continues. Where we'd once have a curry from a jar now it's mixing and grinding the spices and using the best available ingredients. There is no comparison. There have been the occasional miscues however. A Thai soup ended up being right at the limit of my heat tolerance and well beyond my wife's.

I've learned that one can usually add heat at the end of the recipe if it isn't hot enough but it is more challenging to mellow it.

Homemade Bagels
 

Or maybe a half dozen bagels and a couple croissants.
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Where are you getting burgers and fries...The French Laundry?

This!!
I was going to say that even $40 was high but then I saw that you included beer.
He is feeding 2 adults and one kid...I would say $45 at the most for all 3 of them unless they are getting burgers from a white tablecloth fancy wagyu beef burgers. What's wrong with Red Robin or Five Guys or something similar?

2 burgers, a kid's burger, 3 fries, and 3 shakes from my local gourmet burger place (in Brooklyn) would end up at ~50 before tax and tip.

Even Shack Shack carry out would be $48 before tax and tip (Double shackburger, double cheeseburger, single cheeseburger, 3 fries, 3 shakes)

Edit:

Just priced the Five Guys down the block, $49 for 2 cheeseburgers, 1 little cheese burger, 1 large fry, 3 milkshakes

To be fair, before this I rarely did takeout or delivery, and I've been a little shocked by the prices, which I expected to be lower. Delivery charges, "service fees", tips, and what I suspect in some cases are increased menu prices are adding up. It probably depends on where you live as well. Here in Chicago, I could see a takeout burger meal for 4 people from a non-chain restaurant ending up in the range of $50-60 pretty easily, or even higher.

Five Guys down the street from me sells a cheeseburger for $9.05 and regular fries for $4.99. A bottle of Coke is $2.79. Total = 16.83 + tax = about $18.50. Multiply that by 3 people and you're over $55.

We usually go to Red Robin, and while their beer is expensive, their soft drinks are as well.
Except at Five Guys, an order of large fries is enough for 2-3 people.

it’s San Francisco - $15 for a regular burger; $7 for milkshake (probably $9 for a beer??); $5-9 for fries depending on steak fries or truffle fries. 9%-ish for tax and then 20% tip. It just adds up. I’d rather just pay $12/lb for organic ground and another $1 worth of cheese and the $0.50/slider bun. But no real fries and we could make milkshakes but our child just enjoys his Haagen daaz for dessert.

5 Guys isn’t that tasty for me - I’d probably just not eat it. Plus our child gets their regular cheeseburger (double patty).
even shake shack wasn’t that great.

This was the regular. The large is $1.50 more. But you're right, there are ways to save money. My point was that Five Guys is just a step above fast food -- although one of my favorites in this space. Getting a burger from a true sit-down restaurant will often cost more. In any case, it's not difficult to get to a high price for burgers. I paid $76 for Mexican takeout last weekend for 2 people. Although I'll admit it included a $20 growler of their beer :).

This doesn't surprise me at all. If I would have guessed where burgers for 3 people cost $75, San Francisco would probably be my first guess, followed by several other cities in California, and then maybe NYC. It's why a lot of corporations with daily meal cost limits in their travel policies make exceptions for NYC and California.

Thanks for the link. This website also looks fun for me.

big yay on your yeast. I never once imagined that I would have 3-plus pounds of active dry yeast.

I was just showing that your price range wasn't outrageous. I don't like 5 Guys here, it's far too greasy. Shake Shack is great, I lived by the original for quite awhile.

Don't you have a Red Robin out there? Fries are free with the burger. While adult burgers are probably $15, the kids burger is $7 or less. A kid's milkshake is $3. Adult milkshakes are $5/each. That's $50, plus plus tax and tip, and you are at just under $65. That assumes both adults get the most expensive burgers.

also I can grill burgers nicely so I wouldn’t order a burger for myself. I’d get a grilled chicken sandwich with toppings. And I’m sure my spouse would get something also with interesting toppings. And for a family of 3, we would get 2 of the fries choices below.
I’m pretty positive that these are correct menu prices despite being DoorDash. These prices aren’t inflated from what I recall.


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I will check but i haven’t heard of Red Robin. We have Chili’s and BJ’s Brewpub.

I have to figure out how to make French fries...

If you are complaining about costs, you need to realize that fries are optional, or order fries and grill burgers.
Chili's doesn't make bad burgers.

But even Red Robin will be expensive. The cost of a burger in San Francisco does not equal the cost of a burger in Texas, Florida, Wisconsin, Colorado, etc. There's a core price, then there are all kinds of state and local taxes too. The taxes are a big part of what makes Chicago expensive, although not nearly as bad as San Francisco.

You ordered from Door Dash. I've never used them, but the two I'm familiar with (Uber Eats and Caviar) both increase the price of food and often add a delivery fee or service charge (whatever that is) too. For instance, the burger price I quoted from Five Guys is about $1 more if I order it through Uber Eats. Realistically, for the 3 person meal I quoted above, the price would go up by about $10-$15 + delivery tip on Uber Eats. But if I want the better price I have to get in my car and drive 4 blocks to Five Guys for curbside delivery instead :).

Why don't you try frying them in a dutch oven before investing in the deep fryer. See if it is worth it to you to do all the cutting work and then double frying and having the splatter and oil smell in your house and then storing the oil. Have you tried frozen ones that you can put in the oven? Maybe you want french fries often and it would be worth it to you. If it is just once a month or so I would go pick some up somewhere and bring home to have with the burgers you are grilling or try the frozen.
I love Red Robin but before it was going out for a burger for 3 people and now you say that you and the wife probably wouldn't get a burger! Are any of those shakes in the freezer burger and fry flavored? :p

I wouldn’t get a burger but my spouse might. It’s just luck that the place where we’d go has chicken breast as a sandwich option.

the whole reason for this is for the French fries. My family enjoys my grilled cheeseburgers but the lack of fries is an issue.

it’s also amusing that regular burger buns can cost from 2.99-5.99 for a 4-pack of buns at supermarkets.

Oops it’s actually time to prep/cook supper for tonight. I’m in love with the Kitchn recipe of chicken with apricot and almonds.
https://www.thekitchn.com/moroccan-r...-kitchn-175757

They're not as crispy as fried chicken, but the skin does crisp up. I do them on a hot indirect grill (let's say around 210c) if they haven't crisped by the time they're close to being cooked then I put them directly over the flame for a minute or so. I have to say, since I've discovered reverse searing I haven't gone back to starting a cook direct then finishing indirect.

Living in a semi-rural region of Southern Ontario delivery is not available. Take-out is possible if we want to drive into town but it's just as easy to cook at home. The more I'm cooking the more I'm convinced that there isn't anything I can buy that I can't make equally as well except for sushi. Going out for a burger would be a serious step down.

I'm coming to that realisation too. Although I live in the inner city, and as I want my favourite neighbourhood restaurants and pubs to be there when this is over I do continue ordering/supporting them. But it's made me realise that a lot of home delivery restaurants are pretty awful (price wise, health wise, every which way wise) and only exist because generally we're too lazy to do it ourselves. I can make myself a great meal for $10 or I can get a below average meal delivered for $20+. Plus cooking gives me something to do, and I've rediscovered my enjoyment of it.

The prices I quoted are for the Red Robin in San Francisco. I then used the 9% sales tax figure provided above.

I love Five Guys normal fries, but their regular size is enough to feed all three of us in my family. They fill the cup full, and then have an equal amount in the bag.

If gaobest’s kid eats the Five Guy cheeseburger, he must have a pretty big appetite. I am only able to finish mine if I’m pretty hungry. It’s pretty large!

My wife and daughter often only finish half their small cheeseburgers.

Costco has nice large sesame seed hamburger buns. An 8 or 12 pack is $2.99 I think. Or you could make little sliders on Hawaiian bread rolls.

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Rack of lamb
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Finished product. I took the advice from this thread and guided teenager on marinade. This was the highlight of our week.

Nice although I like my lamb a bit less well done. But that is an interesting thermometer you have in there...what's the deal? Costco rack of lamb?
And that asparagus is perfect...this not running all over shopping is killing me...that is the asparagus that I want but mostly see the skinny stringy stuff.

Yes we let it go to 135* bc some of the fam like it medium rather than medium rare. Teenager was in charge! Next time may need to cut the rack in half to please everyone. Nevertheless we all were gnawing on the bones as we sipped wine and chatted as the sun set late.

That thermometer is my favorite kitchen gadget. Called the MEATER. It’s worth every penny of the $70, perfection every time. And yes I got the rack at Costco. I want to get several more but they don’t always have it. Asparagus came from Kroger. I agree the fat ones are so much better. Tossed some Penzeys Chicago steak seasoning on them and grilled in the lamb juice. We use those grill sheets and I must say they are a favorite household item now.

I am craving duck now. Need to see if I can acquire from Costco or Whole Foods.

I agree with the sentiment that most things can be made at home and done as well as about 80% of restaurants. Even before the current situation I cooked every lunch during the week, either prepped or made in the morning, and dinner 4 days a week. We don't suffer for ingredients so I have just ramped that up. We do order a weekly meal kit from our favorite Korean restaurant but it's a high end place that makes dishes I can't even come close to replicating (yet). This week's menu is wagyu galbi, double fried wings, full banchan set, and aged kimchi stew, along with other surprises and 2 quarts of rice. We usually do a big dinner the night it arrives (tonight) and then have the other bits and bobs as lunches during busy days.

As to cooking, I've got a giant london broil (top sirloin) that's due for a sous vide starting at lunch today and it'll be dinner tomorrow along with root vegetables and hopefully some fresh crusty bread.

If there's one good thing coming from this pandemic, it's that people are realizing that cooking the dishes they order in restaurants is generally easy, delicious, much less expensive, and can be rewarding. I love good restaurants too, but for me they're something to look forward to for a night out, not a way of feeding my family. It seems, to me at least, that there is a generation or two that see Uber Eats, et al, as their personal chef rather than learning to shop and cook for themselves.

I'm not saying people should forego restaurants, even the fast food variety, just that the balance between cooking and going out was a little off before this.

My apologies!

I agree completely. I was brought up helping my mom/dad/grandma/aunt/uncle cook. My SO's mother cooked as a chore instead without any passion and never included her in it. Her mom also refused to use black pepper or really any flavor enhancement (New England Bland). As a result I absolutely love cooking and find it therapeutic and relaxing. She is still hesitant in the kitchen and I've used this time to bolster her confidence and get her stir-frying and searing with me.

I always looked at restaurants as a supplement, not a base. Something to be enjoyed when times were good but never relied on. That's distinctly the opposite of most of the folks I know here (Brooklyn) and it's obvious the transition is tough for a lot of those folks. I'm honestly just very happy that things like Bon Appetit and Serious Eats exist with such a healthy online presence so people have easy access to good cooking advice. That was not the case when I started scouring the internet for recipes in the mid-00's.

Same. I cannot do a cheeseburger and even a quarter of the fries at Five Guys.
That looks amazing.
I enjoy cooking, but appreciate being able to take a break.