cut underground Steve S.

If it helps the refrigerator pickles we made last fall are still good. We made up several jars following a recipe that was rather sweet. We have about 1/4 of the last jar left. I was rather surprised how good they still were when I found one more jar of them a few weeks ago tucked back behind the molasses.

highalttransplant - we aren't going to be able to make you happy today and I understand why but please don't go looking for problems where none exist either. The real problem is that you jumped into a recipe you didn't understand upfront and then, rather than postponing it, you went ahead. And then when msdonnie and annie gave you the proper instructions within just a few minutes, you disputed their advice and went ahead and did it your way rather than follow their advice. We have all been there and done that and yes, it is frustrating, but it serves no purpose to blame or question the validity of the recipe or the assistance offered by the other posters. For future reference, understand that needing to make extra brine for a recipe has absolutely nothing to do with the safety of the recipe or whether or not it should be trusted. Extra brine may be needed for any number of reasons beyond the recipe author's control - the size of your cukes, the size of the slices, the way you fill the jars, the way you measure, etc. etc. etc. And making an additional batch of brine, as it is called for in the recipe in use, does not alter the safety of the product in any way. It is just more of the same stuff. This need has been discussed here often and is discussed at NCHFP and last I looked in the front section of BBB etc. books. And unless it is a recipe you have made before and so know that extra brine will be needed and made a note to yourself about that, it is not a batch you make ahead to have on hand. You fill the numbers of jars that you can, seal and process them, keep the rest of the pickles hot in the pan and whip up a second batch of brine in another pan then fill and process those jars. These are all things that are learned with experience and patience but we learn best when we own up to our own screw ups and move on. Dave

Chilling the dough after it's in the pie plate helps. So does making sure you don't stretch the dough as you're putting it in the pie plate. The best thing is to use some pie weights. You can use any kind of dry beans for pie weights. Just put some foil on the dough in the pan then put the beans in. Good luck.