aidensnd2

How much are they charging for it?

Superfine just melts faster/easier.

Nutella on waffles. mmmm....

What else can it be used for? Just curious... Drying french fries before frying... That's pretty much all mine gets used for except for salad.

I believe in the States they would be freshwater crayfish. Dan

I would chop the carcass up, easier to extract all the flavor from it and less of a floating problem... Easier to use, but it doesn't have the same thickening power as a roux...

Are you saying that when you cut them on the plate the juice runs out, or does the juice run out without them being cut? How hot of a pan are you using? How long are you cooking them for? Dan

As the above post says, caster is just superfine sugar. The butter helps the nuts to not stick together. Dan

They actually have a special branch of the Australian equivalent of the FDA devoted to live animal boiling related issues... Just kidding. I have no idea how they enforce it, I've never heard of anyone getting in trouble for it yet.

Sounds good. Personally I would leave out the garlic and fennel as they are pretty strong flavors and could always be added later when making the final product, but that's just me. I also leave the carrot out of the mirepoix for fish stock as it could discolor the stock. There are so many different ways to make fish stock but I would play around: Sweating the mirepoix, adding bones for a few minutes and then adding water. Sweating the mirepoix then adding the water and then the bones. Starting all ingredients in cold water. Each method will give you a different flavor and different level of clarity. The first will be the most flavorful but the least clear, the last will be the mildest and the clearest and the middle one will be in the middle. Just depends on what you are doing with the finished stock. For lobster/shrimp etc. I would roast the shells, it seems to give a richer flavor and a nice color. Yup. You could also strain through a cheesecloth if you want it super clear and it's better to ladle the stock into the strainer, as opposed to pouring from the pot, so you stir up less of the sediment. Hope this helps Dan

Here in Australia it is actually against the law to cook crabs/lobsters/yabbies, etc. while they are awake and alert. You have to freeze them first or you can face animal cruelty charges...

There are special skimmers you can buy for skimming the foam off stocks etc.. They look like a spatula with a super fine mesh in the middle, you just run it through the stock and Bob's your uncle... In Australia and I believe in some other countries, 1 Tablespoon equals 20 ml or 4 teaspoons, compared to 15 ml in the US with a teaspoon being 5 ml... If you have good quality pasta you shouldn't need to add oil to the water, just plenty of salt... Dan

Personally I would simmer for NO more than 20 minutes. I agree with removing the gills, eyes, skin and as much blood as possible. Wash the carcass/head/bones under cold water first to clean it out. What else are you putting in the stock? Dan

Here's my recipe for Vienna Almonds- 250 nuts 125 caster sugar 60 ml water vanilla Cook all the ingredients, without stirring, to 124C. Start stirring and the sugar will crystalize. Sift off the crystalized sugar and heat the nuts again until they caramelize. Take off the heat and stir in 10 g butter. Dump onto an oiled tray and shake them to seperate while they cool. Then you can do the chocolate as Neil explained. Hope this helps. Dan

Okay, I think I understand what you are wanting to do. Basically you want a brownie that has a thin layer of hard set chocolate on top, correct? Thin the chocolate with cocoa butter. It might be easier to pour the chocolate over the brownies before they are cut to get a thin coat, letting the excess run over the side. Just remember to cut them before the chocolate sets completely or it may crack when you do. As for the fat bloom, your chocolate might have been a bit too warm, try letting it cool down a couple more degrees. Did you dip a test strip first? Were the brownies totally cool before you coated them? Let us know how it goes. Dan

No, white chocolate just has no cocoa solids.

Abra- Laminated doughs are those which have the butter/fat layered into the dough such as puff pastry and croissant. Without going into too much detail you make a basic dough, roll it out, put a layer of fat on the dough and then fold the dough over encasing the fat. Then you roll the whole thing out and give it 'turns' folding the dough over itself so you end up with many layers of fat and dough. When the dough bakes steam from the fat layers causes the pastry to rise and gives you nice buttery layers of pastry... Dan

I agree with the Anzac cookies. You could spread Vegemite and butter on Carr's Water Crackers. My mom used to do that with Marmite (English Vegemite) and I loved it when I was a kid. Bascially any bread or cracker with butter will work, and just one more time because it is so important SPREAD IT THIN!!!! BBQ'd shrimp perhaps? I know it sounds stereotypical but every BBQ I've been to here has had them. Let us know how it goes. Dan

Like Neil says, it's not something that can really be decribed, even watching someone do it doesn't help much it's something you have to do over and over and over again until you get the feel of it and learn how it reacts and changes during the process. There is a difference between shine and sheen. Tempered chocolate should have a sheen when it sets, free from streaks, not shiny but not dull. The shine that it sounds like you are looking for comes from moulding the chocolate or spreading it on a clean shiny surface to set, acetate, plastic, etc... The chocolate side which is in contact with the shiny surface/mould will result in a shiny surface on the chocolate, the other side of the chocolate will have a sheen. Just my $.02 Dan

Just fill up a suitcase with Monster Munch, preferably the Pickled Onion flavor, and Hula Hoop crisps(potato chips)... seriously....really, I'm not kidding. I think the potato chips and candy bars are the best reason to visit the UK. Then again I grew up there and candy and chips are my fondest memories of home... Damn it, now I have the munchies.

I agree with Sinclair, you could dip something but the boxes won't turn out uniform at all. Making the boxes like in the picture above shouldn't take much more time than dipping would and the results will be so much better. Just my $.02 worth. Dan

I've found the best way is to either poach them in a flavored chicken stock much like you would for a whole bird, or to steam with a marinade over them which you can then use for the dressing. Either of these methods should get you from pan to table under 15 minutes.

I agree with SiseFromm, my local butchers have veal bones for the same price as beef...

Hopefully I will never again strain the oil from the deep fryer into an empty oil bottle, place that bottle next to the new oils and then give that bottle to the neighbors making brownies for their kids. The neighbors were smart enough to suspect that something was wrong, but unfortunately trusting enough to assume that if I gave it to them it had to be okay.... Lets just say they weren't the best brownies...

Roast shells, break up in food processor and add to flavorless oil. Heat oil and let shells infuse, strain.