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Post in Moroccan Tagine Cooking
No, wood is incredibly rare and expensive. A brazier such as in the photo below holds coals and the tagine is set on top.
The reason there are so many steamed foods in Moroccan cooking is cost effective: the double decker effect of cooking. For example, couscous steamed in an upper chamber with the stew bubbling below.

Post in Making Marmalade: Tips & Techniques
I couldn't resist. There were more calamondins at Specialty Produce this morning when I picked up my produce box, and I had to get some...
In the box there was a Buddha's Hand, so I am thinking of combining the two for marmalade. Should I add a third citrus? Any advice is welcome!
 
 

Post in The Bread Topic (2016–)
Two focaccia...focacce? Started out with the foacccia recipe in Ottolenghi, subbed in 50% stone ground whole wheat flour (Sonora/Red Fife blend) and  divided it into two 1/4 sheet pans instead of one 1/2 sheet.
Topped one pan with red onion and goat cheese, one of the 3 topping choices in the Ottolenghi recipe.   Used the other one to make the Fried Kimchi Focaccia from Everyday Korean available online here) in which a heaping cup of chopped kimchi is fried in butter until the edges start to brown, then used to top the focaccia.  I added a sprinkle of mozzarella to that one. 

 
Messy crumb photo

 
The kimchi focaccia is surprisingly good. After being fried in butter than baked, the flavor is still tangy and funky but not harsh at all.  Next time, I'll drop the temp or turn off the convection so it doesn't brown so quickly. 
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Post in Breakfast 2020!
Turkish poached eggs on herbed yogurt with spiced butter and some flatbread from the freezer
 
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Easter chocolates 2020
I didn’t see a thread for this year so decided to start one. I had a disastrous round of bunnies, followed by the first eggs of the Season. Have finally cleaned all of my bunny moulds ready for another go shortly. I’d love to see what everyone is doing with their eggs/bunnies.
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Post in The Bread Topic (2016–)
Haven't baked in a few weeks.   Ended up working 15 days out of the last 18.
 

Baked last night. 

Dough had been in the fridge since Wednesday. 
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Post in [How] Do You Garnish Your Hot Dog?
Today – Dietz & Watson natural casing beef dogs, "dirty water" style; brioche buns slathered on each side with coarse-ground mustard containing jalapeños, dog nestled in bun, topped w/ Kühne Barrel Sauerkraut straight from the bottle (with juices).  Pickled scallion bulbs (rakkyo) (Allium chinense) [Nishimoto Trading], trimmed standard green onions/scallions .
 
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Easter 2019: chocolates, confections, and baking
So, what is everyone doing for the pastry & baking side of Easter?
 
I'm working on the following chocolates: fruit & nut eggs, hollow bunnies, Jelly Belly filled bunnies, coconut bunnies, dragons (filled with rice krispies & chocolate), peanut butter hedgehogs, and malted milk hens. Hoping to finish my dark chocolate production today and get started on all my milk chocolate items.
 
My father-in-law will be baking the traditional family Easter bread a day or two before Easter. Its an enriched bread and he makes two versions -- one with raisins and one without (I prefer the one with raisins).
 

 
And I was lucky enough to spot this couple in the sale moulds stock at last year's eGullet chocolate & confections workshop in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. These love bunnies help so very much with Easter chocolate production!  ;-)
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Escoffier's 40 minute scrambled eggs
I have seen referenced in several places on the internet, including Wikipedia, a stat about escoffier recommending 40 minutes for scrambled eggs in a Bain Marie. I cant find where this number is from. On Wikipedia it refers to the book I currently own, the "Escoffier le guide culinaire" with forward by Heston Blumenthal by h. L. Cracknell...specificly page 157 for the 40 minute cooking time of scrambled eggs but it's not in my book on that page! Even tho there is the recipe for scrambled eggs on that page... I've seen the 1903 first edition online.. And it's not in there either.... Where is this number from?? Id like to know in case there is some even more complete book or something out there that I'm missing. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you. 
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Post in Drinks! 2018
A new original:
2 oz Cappelletti aperitivo 1 oz Tattersall aquavit 2 dashes Regans' orange bitters Served on the rocks with an orange twist. Sweet and refreshing but also interesting. Next night I tried the same but topped with an ounce or so of soda, which brought it into the territory of an Aperol Spritz. 
 
I'm calling it Cap & Snaps. 
 
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Heirloom Beans by Rancho Gordo (Steve_Sando)
Steve- can you tell us more about your upcoming book?
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Post in Food Funnies
Post in Food funnies
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Post in Starting a high profile new restaurant (after closing another)
Two weeks of service under our belt and we're settling in pretty quickly. Last night was packed in the dining room and Justin and I handled the crowd efficiently. The biggest challenge we're facing right now is for our Bev Mngr to keep up with pairings. In a traditional restaurant with servers this room would be broken up between at least two servers, but for us, Justin and I set and clear, and Chris, our Bev Mngr, handles all things liquid with the support of our Hospitality Lead/Hostess. We're not too far off what we need for service quality, but it just takes one person to talk to Chris as he's preparing drinks at the bar to slow him down enough to clunk up the works. I think much of that is simply learning each others' pacing/timing. Justin and I already have that down having worked together for two plus years, but Chris is a new pacing.  The other thing that is happening is folks lingering. We're mostly fine with that (after all we did set things up for people to watch and engage with us), but I think its a bigger issue of us needing to do something to help guests know that the experience is over and they can leave or move out to the bar. We do all the normal things like deliver the ticket and receipts, clear dishes, verbally thank...but at least half are hanging out as if they're waiting for something else - so we're working on our speech at the end of the night.
 
Next up is getting more people to eat at the bar. The press is most excited by the tasting menu, but we crafted a bar menu that can grab equal attention, yet we've only had maybe a half dozen bar diners a night so far.
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Post in The Soup Topic (2013–)
Chinese style hot-pot broth (incl. carrots, celery, onion, ginger, chili, cinnamon, anise, licorice root, Sichuan peppercorns, bay leaves, coriander, soy sauce, rice wine, gochujang, sugar, MSG).
Tofu, mushrooms, kombu, spinach, alkaline noodles.
Dry Sacha sauce (more like powder).
 
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Post in Dinner 2020
Khoresh bademjan. Eggplants, split yellow peas, tomatoes, onion, spices (inc. garlic, turmeric, coriander, cumin, paprika, cinnamon). Persian dried lime, orange zest. Yogurt, almonds, mint, pomegranate molasses.
Khoresh sabzi. Beans, chard, spianac, parsley, cilantro, onion. Persian lime, spices (inc. garlic, turmeric, fenugreek, coriander, cumin).
Rice.
 
 
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Post in Your Daily Sweets: What Are You Making and Baking? (2017 – )
Basbousa, with semolina, coconut, pistachios and walnuts. Flavored with orange zest, orange blossom water, cardamom, clove.
 
 
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Post in Chocdoc Revelling in Rimini
In my attempt to find the water closet - I instead discovered the catacombs under the restaurant
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Metal griddle here for the piadini - Bianca’s nonna says only iron!
 

 
 
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Post in Trader Joe's Products (2017–)
I had some friends over last night and picked up a few snacks from TJ's.  Among other things, these little Langres cheeses were $6.99 each and absolutely delicious.

Murray's describes this cheese thusly: "The elegantly wrinkled rind adds textural interest and develops a dense cream that is cakey at the core with a luscious creamline and distinctive porcine savoriness."  
They went on to offer this serving suggestion, "Langres's signature, though, is its concave cap, designed to cradle a splash of terroir-appropriate Champagne. Cut a small slit into the middle to allow the bubbles to transform its demure fudginess into a brioche-laden creambomb," which I neglected to read about. I went back to TJ's and picked up 2 more so maybe I'll try it with them. 
Everyone was taking pictures of the cheese so they'd remember what to ask for. 
 
The rosemary mixed nuts were good, too.  The label says, "subtly sweet," which concerned me but I found the sweetness barely detectable and not off-putting at all. 
 
 
 
 
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Post in Food Funnies
Post in Food funnies
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Post in All the Tea in China
Talking about flower teas, here are a few of the dried flowers and other plant bits used to flavour teas, as stocked by my local supermarket. It isn't only Jasmine and Chrysanthemum!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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Post in The Bread Topic (2016–)
Today's bake.   This was a same day bake.   I fed my starter this morning, but rather than use the discard to make a Biga and make the dough later today and bake tomorrow, I just tossed the discard into 1000g of flour, along with 700g water, 29g of salt, and 3g of yeast. Baked five baguettes. Two loaded with cheddar, three plain, and three small rolls, one of which also was filled with cheddar.    
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Post in Chocdoc Revelling in Rimini
La Belle Époque for breakfast pastries 
 

 

 
 
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Post in Your Best French Bistro Dishes
One of the most predictable items on a bistro menu is "potage du jour", a delicious, often haunting, soup made from rescued kitchen tidbits, costing almost nothing and guaranteed to assuage the diner's hunger without costly ingredients.     A staple in French homes as well as a personal stand-by for days when I've not shopped...as well as relief for the vegetable bin.  Possibilities are endless.     One or two vegetables, something from the onion family, water or broth and a blender plus oddments either dairy,veg or seafood or porky as decoration.    This is truly one of my go-tos and is even requested by family.    And leftovers = lunch.


Les Papilles, a popular Paris bistro/wine bar, includes a tureen of this kind of soup with every meal.    You are served a soupplate with a mirepoix of crunchy vegetables and crispy bacon  plus a scoop of creme fraiche or fromage blanc in the bottom and you serve yourself soup as you please.     Always different, always the same, always a highlight.
 
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Post in Food Funnies
Say cheese!
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Philips Avance Grill
I have been working the restaurant show for the past 3 days - and take every opportunity to check out the other booths. 
 
I happened across this IR grill at the booth sampling Sterling Silver meats. The chef cooking on it said that the year before one of his standard tabletop grills had packed it in at the show and he'd run out to Hudson's Bay and found it and he couldn't be more pleased. 
 
 

 

 
A little research led me to Philip's site - here.
 
Does not appear to be inexpensive - but it did a lovely job on those kalbi cut short ribs he was sampling compared to the standard grill you can see behind it. Of course I'll program it in to Canadian Tire to see when it goes on sale - not that I need it mind you!
 
 
 
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  • 342 replies

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