Picture: Burger and hot dog buns, by Deb Lindsey
The Washington Post Food staff and Kara Elder, a Martha Holmberg, a writer and recipe editor, recently answered questions about all things edible. Here are edited excerpts from that chat.
Any suggestions on using up leftover hot dog or hamburger buns? Yesterday I had a toasted, buttered hamburger bun with cinnamon sugar for breakfast and a hot dog bun filled with zucchini planks and caramelized onions for dinner. I know freezing is better than the fridge for longer-term storage, but my freezer is already jam-packed, so they won't all fit. And I don't need any more bread crumbs. Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Funny you should ask this. A friend of mine just told me he made bread pudding with his leftover buns.
Ann Maloney
Buns are a good substitute for bolillos (a type of Mexican roll) when making molletes (a Mexican open-faced sandwich with refried beans on top)! They're different in that they aren't as crusty, but with the time spent under a broiler they'll have that nice crisp-top-squishy-inside thing going for them.
Kara Elder
I was given about a half a pound of garlic scapes. What does one do with them?
Blitz them in a food processor with basil, nuts, cheese and olive oil to make pesto.
Joe Yonan
I have a vacuum sealed pouch of halibut in the freezer. The pouch has more than one dinner's worth (for my family) of halibut. Per mercury charts, halibut is a once-a-week fish. Can I thaw and re-freeze what I don't use? Saw a portion off without thawing, and keeping the remainder frozen? Something else?
Yes, if you thawed it in the refrigerator it's safe to refreeze. (But don't thaw it in cold water or in the microwave.)
J.Y.
My 25-plus-year-old Cuisinart food processor died recently, and I ordered a new version of the same 14-cup size. It's not nearly as good as the old one. It's difficult to get the work bowl on correctly, and when it's not right the lid doesn't snap into place and it can't operate. It doesn't mix as well at the old one, and is generally not as sturdy. Before I return it, I welcome feedback from others - have you had these issues with a new Cuisinart? Is there a better brand of large capacity food processor? Or do I just have a lemon that needs to be exchanged? Thank you for any advice.
Compared to your old one, mine is a new vintage, though maybe pushing a decade at this point. I've not had problems with mine. It is hard to say whether you got a bad one or it's just not living up to your old one. FWIW, America's Test Kitchen did in fact rate the Cuisinart 14-cup its winner in its most recent
Becky Krystal
