Ciabatta

Ciabatta

Recipe by Daniel Leader

This is probably the easiest of the craft breads in Daniel Leader's "Local Breads". Just flour, water, salt, yeast and a little patience are all you need to produce a really wonderful couple of loaves or batch of rolls. Don't be scared off by the amount of water in the dough. The little bit of additional effort needed to work with this level of hydration is well worth it. Besides, making these rolls is much easier than forming baguettes.

Ingredients

For The Biga

• 65 grams Tepid Water
• 2 grams Instant Yeast
• 100 grams Bread flour

For The Dough

• 167 grams  Biga
• 425 grams Tepid Water
• 10 grams Instant Yeast
• 500 grams Bread Flour
• 10 grams Sea or Kosher Salt

Cooking Directions

The Biga

The Biga 12 Hours Later



1. The evening before you plan to bake prepare the biga. Combine the water, yeast and flour in a small bowl and knead briefly until its is fairly smooth. Form the biga into a ball.
2. Lightly oil the bowl, pop in the biga, and cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and leave it at room temperature for an hour. Then place it in the refrigerator overnight (12 to 17 hours).
3. Remove the biga from the refrigerator and scrape it into a mixing bowl. Add the water and stir it to break up the biga.
4. Add the remaining ingredients and mix by hand until the dough begins to come together.
5. Using the dough hook mix the dough in medium high (8 on a KitchenAid) for about 15 minutes. You'll have to occasionally stop the mixer and scrape the very wet dough off the hook and sides of the bowl.
6. After 15 minutes, turn the mixer up to it's highest speed for another 2 or 3 minutes.
7. Use the windowpane test and if necessary mix on high a few more minutes.
8. Transfer the dough to a straight sided container and note how high it will need to rise to triple in volume.
9. Cover the container with plastic wrap and allow the dough to ferment.
10. WARNING - This dough is very wet and contains a large amount of yeast - keep an eye on the dough as it can very easily overflow the bowl.
11. When the dough has tripled in volume scrape it out onto a very well floured work surface.
12. Preheat your oven to 475 degrees.





Be gentle - you don't want to lose the bubbles.



13. With heavily floured hands gently push the dough into a 10x12 inch rectangle.
14. Dust the dough with flour and using a pizza cutter slice it into rectangles about 2x3 inches.
15. Immediately transfer the dough rectangles to 2 parchment paper covered baking sheets, placing them 2 inches apart.
16. Let the dough rise about a half an hour. The rectangles will be puffed and and you will be able to see bubbles forming under the skin.
17. Bake in a 475 degree oven for 20 minutes or until the rolls are light golden brown.






Ready to eat!

Retirement Planning Italy - International Driving Permit

A few months back I posted a bit about our plans for a trip to visit Guardia Sanframondi, a smallish (about 5000 people) hill town in Campania. There's no easy way to get to Guardia. The nearest town that has train service is Telese Terme - not a bad choice (and the owner of the B&B where we'll be staying does seem willing to come and get her clients) but we wanted to have a little freedom to travel the country side and maybe even drop by some of our favorite spots in and around Napoli. So we'll be renting a car and that means driving. In Italy.

So, in the event you to decide to embark on such a perilous endeavor ...

The International Driving Permit

This was pretty much the easiest part of preparing for our visit to Guardia Sanframondi. All I did was fill out and print the online form, find my local AAA office (conveniently located adjacent to one of the better Indian restaurants in Philly) and head down with my driver's license.

The fee for the permit is $15.00. You need two passport type photos which you can probably get at the AAA office. They were $11.99 at the office I used.  Total cost including tax was $27.71. You can apply by mail as well but delivery can take 4-6 weeks according to the AAA website.

The IDP is not a driver's license.  It's a permit that in conjunction with your current state license (and passport) allows you to drive in counties that are signatories to the United Nations Convention on International Road Traffic of 19 September 1949.

One Quick Car Rental Note


As I browsed the various rental cars on offer through sites like Orbitz and Expedia, I learned the first important EU rental car lesson:

Know how to drive a manual transmission car

Except for the largest and most expensive vehicles, they're all manuals. If no one in your travel party can handle a stick, you're going to literally "pay the price".

NGD - Gibson 50th Anniversary SG

As a long time fan of The Who, I've occasionally thought I ought to get myself a Gibson SG just because Pete played 'em during what are arguably the band's most creatively productive years (mid-1968 - 1972). The model he played, an early 60's SG Special with P-90 pickups, has been difficult to find, particularly the iconic cherry finish model made famous at Woodstock. (Not to mention the cost of such a "vintage" instrument.) Even scoring a P-90 equipped SG has been difficult at times, as Gibson tends to focus on the more popular humbucker equipped models. That's all changed in the last couple years.

Late last year, however, Gibson issue a 50th Anniversary Pete Townshend SG in Arctic (Polaris) White at a fairly reasonable (for Gibson) price. Of course, some Who fans complained about the color (Pete played the white models only on a relatively short tour supporting Quadrophenia). I thought it rather attractive and started to watch the usual websites for deals. Most dealers had it for sale at about $1299 - not bad, but that was a little expensive given I already own three other electrics and don't have a band to "justify" buying another instrument.

About a month ago, some dealers started offering the Townshend SG at $999. I was sorely tempted. Then last week, Musician's Friend, the mailorder arm of Guitar Center, put the darn thing on sale for $899. Beth said OK, and three days later the big brown truck delivered.

Do not leave on porch...

So... it showed up about 3:00 in guitar size box with Gibson printed on the side, so it's a pretty good thing I happened to be home sick.  Inside, supported by bubble wrap, a black "thermometer" case, complete with "WHO" stencil:

and inside that:

Everything's fine, but of course the poor baby has spent the last 9 hours or more in the back of a UPS truck so she's a touch cold. So just a quick tune up to check that the electronics are OK. Fit and finish look excellent - no scrapes, globs of glue, or misplaced binding. The finish is fairly thin nitro, so a little of the mahogany grain is visible up close.

Three hours later...

OK, let's see what we've got here. First thought - order straplocks. Yes, SGs do exhibit neck dive. This one's no exception. Second thought: P-90's are hot. Volume wise, they're quite close to the pickups in my Santana III. Let's see... not as light as I'd imagined based on reviews and yep, you don't have to be Townshend to bend the neck.

Now let's try to sound like 1969. Set my little Blues Jr. (stock speaker, BillM mods) to "Who" tone (Bass 6, Mid 5 (Townshend's custom HiWatt amps didn't have a "mid" control), Treble 8, "clean"), a touch of reverb, and plug straight in. Yeah, that's it. P-90 is the live Who sound from the good old days. Which of course everybody knows, but it's still pretty cool to hear it coming out of your amp for the first time.

More thoughts: Intonation is pretty darn good for a fixed (though compensated) bridge. Gibson's specs say the nut is PLEK'd but it is tight - a few touches with a sharpened pencil cleared up a couple of tuning pings. I'm toying with the idea of an adjustable bridge - they cost less than $40 from StewMac, but I'll keep her stock for a few months before I make up my mind.

The all mahogany construction is very resonant. Back in the day, there was an idea that very heavy electric guitar bodies (e.g. solid maple or the massive Alembic style "hippie sandwich" construction) coupled with brass bridges and nuts would result in a guitar with a very clear tone and tremendous sustain. (And yes, I was a believer too.) It's pretty obvious that very few people actually sat down and compared instruments side-by-side.

This SG is noticeably more resonant than my PRS Santana III (a guitar built in the Les Paul style with a 2 piece maple top and mahogany body and neck). That's likely due to the fact that the SG is a couple pounds lighter and the PRS tremolo partially decouples the strings from the guitar body. I can feel a plucked open A string vibrating for 11-12 seconds on the SG as opposed to about 8-9 seconds on the Santana.

Conclusions: This is the best price/performance instrument Gibson makes outside of the studio line. Every guitar playing Who fan needs one of these.

Retirement Planning Italy - The Codice Fiscale

The Codice Fiscale

There are quite a few steps to buying property in Italy (not to mention establishing residence). But no matter what your goal, the first thing you're going to need is a magic number called codice fiscale. As the name implies, it's an Italian financial identifier and you need it for pretty much any transaction beyond normal tourist activities.

Naturally, there's a form to fill out and of course, it's in Italian. Everything is in Italian of course but it's pretty obvious what goes where. Three that aren't immediately obvious are stato, indirizzo and no. civco. Stato (if you live in the USA) is "Stati Uniti d'America", indirizzo is your street and no. civco. is your street number. So if you live at 123 Main Street indirizza = "Main Street" and no. civco. = "123". And remember, in Italy (and just about everywhere else) dates are in the form DD/MM/YYYY.

To get the form you need, find your state (or county for places that overlap like New Jersey) in the list of Italian Consulates below. Click the "English" button at the upper left, then click "Forms" and finally on the forms page click "Codice Fiscale application". The form (usually a PDF or Word document) will download and you're all set.

You may be able to visit your consulate, passport and proof of residence in the consulate's jurisdiction (i.e your driver's license) in hand and fill out the form there. But read your consulate's instructions carefully. The Philadelphia office asks that you apply for the codice fiscale by fax or mail, not in person.

The Philadelphia consulate returned my paper Certificato Di Attribuzzione Del Codice Fiscale about two and a half weeks after I mailed in the form and documentation. The Certificato is a simple printed form with the codice fiscale and it's bar code equivalent at the top, my full name, date of birth and the consulate's stamp and the signature of an official at the bottom. 

I've read elsewhere it can take as long as 3 months to get the official plastic card. Technically you don't need the card, but I've seen a few online comments indicating the paper version was not accepted. Conclusion... apply early so you'll have the card if you need it.

Italian Consulates:

CONSOLATO GENERALE D'ITALIA IN BOSTON

Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
CONSOLATO GENERALE D'ITALIA IN CHICAGO
Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Wyoming

CONSOLATO D'ITALIA IN DETROIT

Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee

CONSOLATO GENERALE D'ITALIA IN PHILADELPHIA

Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, West Virginia, New Jersey (only the following counties: Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Ocean and Salem
CONSOLATO GENERALE D'ITALIA IN LOS ANGELES
Arizona, California (The following counties: Imperial Valley, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Ventura), New Mexico, Nevada
CONSOLATO GENERALE D'ITALIA IN MIAMI
Alabama, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Florida, Georgia, Island of Saba, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius, South Carolina, Turks and Caicos, U.S. Virgin Islands
CONSOLATO D'ITALIA IN NEWARK
The following counties in New Jersey: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, Warren
CONSOLATO GENERALE D'ITALIA IN NEW YORK
New York and Connecticut and the British Territories of Bermuda Islands and the following cunties in New Jersey: Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, Warren
CONSOLATO GENERALE D'ITALIA IN SAN FRANCISCO
Alaska, California (except the following counties: Imperial Valley, Kern, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo and Ventura, which fall within the jurisdiction of the Consulate General in Los Angeles), Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Hawai'i. Also, the following American territories of: Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Samoa, Wake Island, Midways Islands, Johnston Atoll

Vegas Baby! Bargains

Las Vegas has long been known for bargains, particularly food related bargains. Although most buffets are no longer in that class, we did make use of three good food deals and and a nice spa offering this trip.

The myVegas Facebook Game

MGM Resorts has been running a promotion on Facebook called myVegas. It involves simulated slot machines and other games (currently only blackjack). Ordinarily that wouldn't be very interesting but this game offers actual physical prizes. There's even a support group called MyVegas Friends where the more obsessive users post links to free chips and discuss the best ways to take advantage of the opportunity.

I discovered the game rather late, less than a week before our trip, but I managed to scrounge enough "loyalty points" for $20 worth of food at Jean Philippe Patisserie in Aria. (The prize description says "Signature Pastry" but it's really a $10 comp good for anything at Jean Philippe.)

So Thanksgiving morning we wandered down to Aria and cashed in.

Two large coffees, a cherry tart, a chocolate muffin and a cinnamon bun. The total would have been $19.95 without the game.

Estiatorio Milos

One of the great "hidden values" in Las Vegas is the $20.12 prix fixe lunch at Estiatorio Milos. The menu is pretty straight forward with a few items like lobster and octopus carrying supplements. But given the quality of the standard items, there's no reason to pay extra.

Yummy Grilled Bread

It seems that every restaurant on the planet has some sort of bread service these days. Milos keeps it simple but adds a slightly unusual twist by lightly grilling the crusty slices. Olive oil of course accompanies the bread. Go ahead and eat some but be sure to save enough to soak up the juices from your later courses.

First courses: Tomato Salad and Scallop Skewer w/ cous cous.

Tomato Salad

Scallops

Darn near perfect. If I was a nit-picker I'd suggest the cous cous might possibly had not been made with the steam and fluff method - it was essentially identical with the quick cook technique I use on a weekly basis...

Main courses: Shrimp Saganaki and Lavraki:

Shrimp Saganaki

Lavraki

The mains were just about perfect. The only flaw was in service - the perfectly cooked broccoli was too firm to be cut using the fish knife supplied with the Lavraki. I had to borrow Beth's table knife to divide it into bite sized pieces.

Dessert: Walnut Cake

Very good, if slightly dry. If I had to suggest a change it would be to to warm the Walnut Cake and allow the ice cream to melt a bit.

Walnut Cake

We arrived just before their noon opening time and were seated immediately. However, the dining room filled up very quickly so you probably want to make reservations, particularly if you're dining on a weekend.

Restaurant.Com

Restaurant.Com's M.O. is pretty simple. You pay $10 for a $25 credit at the restaurant of your choice. There are (currently) 104 choices near the Las Vegas "strip". That's not a bad deal, but around the end of the month the powers that be publish (on Twitter and by email) discount codes that reduce that $10 to as little as $2. We're dedicated users of the service and since the certificates never expire and can be easily exchanged, we keep a few in our account for trips.

This time we had lunch at Tacos and Tequila in Luxor. The food is reliably tasty (though of questionable authenticity) and the pricing makes it pretty easy to hit the $35 minimum purchase the $25 Restaurant.Com certificate requires. They also have a particularly delicious margarita made with Los Danzantes Reposado Mezcal. It's the only tequila based drink I indulge in these days.

Groupon

Spa services in Las Vegas are expensive - often twice what you'd pay at a local spa, so we're always on the lookout for some kind of a deal when we're planning a vacation. This year Groupon came through at the right time with $59 for a 50 minute massage (normally $130) at the Golden Nugget on Fremont. There's not really much to say about this (and you wouldn't want to see pictures - trust me).

Vegas Baby! - Tuesday

Once or twice a year Beth and I make a run out to Las Vegas. We're not big time gamblers or anything like that but we like good food and enjoy the occasional Cirque du Soliel show.  Las Vegas is packed with both. We try to schedule our trips in the "down times"since Beth is a nurse and has to work around holidays. This year Thanksgiving weekend met her criteria, and also happened to include "The Game". So without further ado...

Tuesday

On time, completely full flight from Philly to Vegas - pretty much as usual. Grabbed a shuttle to our hotel (the super cheap Imperial Palace, soon to be known as "The Quad"). Check in took about 15 minutes. Caesars joints still hand out a "Fun Book". These days it's a sheet of coupons that looks like this:

After a shower to wash off the airplane funk we wandered down to the casino for some not terrible but not great video poker. (the best low roller VP in Caesars joints is 8/5 JoB).

By about 4:30 (7:30 Philly time) we're getting hungry so we wandered across LVB to Caesars to check out their new buffet. Everything you've read about Bacchanal is true. It is, hands down, the best buffet in Las Vegas. It's also expensive. $42.99 per person for dinner. We got there at 5:00 and there were only a couple people in line ahead of us.

So what's so great about it? Here are some starters:

Dim Sum

Healthy Shit

Charcuterie

 And of course there's lots of other goodies like pasta, and meatball sliders:

And of course meat:

Obviously they have loads of Italian and Asian stuff. They also have a more interesting than usual Mexican area that incorporates a big rotating comal (yeah, it's the same gadget they use in those "Mongolian" grills):

Mongol "Comal"

 Now everyone always wants seafood - specifically shrimp and crab legs:

They also have regular boiled shrimp

Chilled here - just ask and they'll heat 'em up...

And finally desserts... This is where Bacchanal really steps up:

By far the best desserts in a Las Vegas buffet. If you're a first timer to Las Vegas and want to do the buffet thing, Caesars is the buffet to hit.

More tomorrow...

Nautilus - Building a Mutron III Clone

One of my geek hobbies is building guitar effects. It doesn't cost a lot, it's not too difficult, and at the end of the day you have a new gadget to play with. Over the last few days I've put together a clone of the Mutron III envelope filter. This project is based on the newly released Nautilus PCB from Mad Bean Pedals.

The first step in any build is gathering the parts. For the Nautilus build I had almost all the parts required. I only needed  the two Vactrols that are the heart of the effect, a couple switches and an enclosure to house the electronics.

The build itself is pretty straightforward:

Start with the 27 resistors and 3 diodes - all stuff that lies flat on the PCB.

Then the 14 capacitors, the IC sockets, vactrols and the trim pot.

Switches and Pots

Wiring is always sort of a PITA. The Nautilus PCB is designed to use board mount pots, but since I happened to have all three in stock I decided to just wire 'em up and save a couple bucks.

The Nautilus documentation comes with a drilling template so preparing the enclosure is pretty straightforward. It does generate a lot of aluminum shrapnel so it's best done in a box to contain the mess.

Mark the holes with a center punch

Drill pilot holes

Drill the finished holes with a step bit

Foot Switch Wiring

It's Alive!

Finishing the enclosure is a job for the future. I've built 3 other late seventies effects (Distortion+, Mutron Octave Divider, and a Phase 100) and want to finish them in some sort of uniform/complimentary scheme with matching knobs and so forth.  When I come up with something I'll do a post on etching the enclosures.

The Complete Bocuse: An Autumn Dinner

Just last Thursday our copy of the long awaited "The Complete Bocuse" arrived. For foodies of a certain age it's a rather nostalgic look back to the 70s. The layout and photography immediately reminded me of the days when I eagerly awaited the arrival of each month's Gourmet magazine. It's a massive collection of famous and obscure recipes (500 according to the advertising) the "Chef of the Century" still serves throughout his restaurant empire.

By today's standard the recipes seem rather simple - just a few straightforward ingredients, carefully prepared. Indeed, Bocuse himself has described his cuisine as "grandmother's cooking" (you'll find her waffles on page 659). Whether or not Bocuse is still relevant in a world where once exotic ingredients are available at the click of a mouse and even home cooks can indulge in the complex artistry of Ferran Adrià can be left to the professionals.  I'll happily cook these recipes for another 40 years.

So... why these two recipes? It being November, all sorts of winter squash are readily available, they're horrifyingly good for you, and Beth loves 'em. So the soup was an easy choice. I decided on the Turbot with Mixed Vegetables because it can be assembled in the "down time" while the squash and potatoes are boiling and then baked while eating the soup. Both recipes are easy - the hardest part is peeling the darn squash.

Winter Squash Soup

Recipe by Paul Bocuse

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1.5 pound Winter Squash
• 2 medium Potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 medium Leeks
• 6 cups Water
• 1.5 Tsp Kosher Salt
• 4 Tbs. plus more for the croutons Butter
• 12 slices French bread
• 6 Tbs Cream
• Nutmeg

Cooking Directions

1. Peel and seed the squash, rinse, and cut into 1 inch cubes. Peel, rinse and dice the potatoes. Clean and slice the leeks.
2. Place the squash and potatoes in a large sauce pan with the water and salt. Bring to boil.
3. Melt the butter and add the leeks. Cook over low heat until they "melt". Add them to the squash and potato mixture.
4. Boil the soup over medium heat until the squash and potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.
5. Puree the mixture in a blender, food processor or food mill.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste and simmer over low heat another 5 minutes.
7. Brown the bread in the additional butter and place the croutons on a plate, covered, to keep warm.
8. Pour the cream into a serving bowl and stir in the soup.
9. Dust with nutmeg and serve with the croutons on the side.

Notes:

• You can use whatever kind of winter squash is on sale. Don't get a huge one - you want to have about equal amounts of squash and potatoes.
• The leeks will be ready in about the same time as it takes for the squash and potatoes to come to a boil.
• Chances are your blender won't hold everything in one batch. Don't over fill - boiling hot soup easily makes a painful mess.
• While the soup is boiling you'll have plenty of time to prepare the fish.

Turbot with Mixed Vegetables

Recipe by Paul Bocuse

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Total time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients

• 2 lb. Turbot or other flatfish
• 2 Carrots
• 1/4 Celeriac
• 1 Leek
•    Butter
• 1 Boquet Garni made with:
• 2 Sprigs Thyme
• 1/4 Bay Leaf
• 2 Sprigs Parsley
• 1 cup White wine
• Salt
• Pepper

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450.
2. Clean the fish and cut into 4 serving pieces.
3. Peel and wash the vegetables. Cut into fine julienne.
4. Bring a medium sauce pan of lightly salted water to a boil and cook the vegetables for 7 to 8 minutes, drain and cool under cold running water. Pat dry.
5. Butter a baking dish large enough to hold the fish in one layer.
6. Spread the vegetables in the dish and place the fish on top.
7. Season with salt and pepper and place the bouquet garni in the dish.
8. Add the white wine.
9. Bake for about 10 minutes until the fish is cooked through.
10. Carefully remove the bouquet garni and serve from the dish.

Notes:

• Bocuse calls for a 3.5 pound turbot, cleaned and divided into 4 pieces (true flatfish yield 4 fillets, the topside being substantially larger). The 2 pounds I show is just a semi-educated guess at the total "ready to cook" weight. 
• Chances are even a well stocked fish market is not going to have whole turbot. You can use any type of fish that has thin fillets - I used lemon sole.
• 2 lbs of fish makes 4 very large servings. I used 1 pound (i.e. about 4 oz. per person) and we found the serving size perfect.
• You'll end up with 3/4 of a celery root. It makes a nice addition to plain mashed potatoes or a rather tasty cream soup.
• Bocuse suggests serving the fish with rice or fresh pasta. We made neither and didn't miss it at all.

Sagre Near Guardia Sanframondi

So, I was browsing some Benevento and Sannio links this afternoon and I came across Sannio Turismo. They're dedicated to promoting food & wine and "agritourismo" in Benevento. Not that big a deal, but what really caught my attention was this group of four sagre or food festivals:

That's four food festivals, all within a small area, and all on the same weekend: Food and Wine, Truffles, Porcini Mushrooms, and Caciocavallo Cheese.

Having missed these by one week this year I poked around a little more and from what I can tell they seem to be on the third weekend of September every year.

So what are they like? Here's a video from the Porcini Festival in 2009:

If they have them the same weekend in 2013, that will be September 19 through 22, 2013. Who wants to go?

Sweet & Spicy Pickled Peppers

Sweet And Spicy Pickled Peppers

Recipe by Traditional

Ingredients

• 2 lb Hot Peppers
• 1 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 1/2 cup White Vinegar (5%)
• 1 1/2 cup Water
• 1 3/4 Tbs. Kosher Salt
• Pickling Spices To Taste

Cooking Directions

1. Prepare 6 half pint canning jars according to the manufacturer's directions







Slice Into Rings

2. Wash the peppers, discarding any that are soft or damaged. Stem and seed the peppers. Cut them into rings.
3. Combine the sugar, vinegar, water, salt and optional spices (I used a few whole black peppercorns, 3 crumbled bay leaves, and a broken up 2" stick of cinnamon) in a medium non-reactive saucepan and bring to a boil.



Bring to a Boil

4. Add the pepper rings, return to a boil, and remove from heat.



Fill Jars

5. Using tongs, fill the jars with the pepper rings, pressing them down. I got 5 half pints from 2 pounds of Calabrese peppers.



Top Off

6. Ladle hot pickling liquid into the jars, leaving 1/2 inch head space.
7. Seal the jars according to the manufacturer's directions and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
8. Cool the jars, wipe clean, label, and store in a cool dark place for at least a week before eating. Store any jars that do not seal in the refrigerator.