prasantrin

I forgot to mention... I remembered reading your posts about appearing on Sara Moulton's show, but I didn't know who you were. But after seeing your pictures, I remembered you! I can't remember many details (what you cooked, or what you talked about) about your appearances, but I have a vague memory of two things--your voice, and that I really enjoyed your segments. You were great on that show!

Did you use fresh or dried chives? They look mouth watering delicious, and I think I need to make some tonight! But I only have dried chives, no fresh! And that melted butter....if any had dared drip off my biscuit, I'd licking the plate to get every last drop! (I really like your plates, btw. They remind me of our celadon from Thailand.)

I've had bechamel-filled croquettes (Japanese-style) and the only "pasty" ones I've ever had were the bad/cheap ones, or the ones served too cold (not necessarily served cold, but colder than such a croquette should be served). A properly made one is never pasty, but creamy, light, and smooth. Maybe some of those "decent Spanish restaurants" are providing decent croquetas, but "decent" is very different from "good", "great", or "amazing". You might want to take a look at helenjp's method for chicken cream croquette. I've not tried it, but it's very much in-line with what I've seen on TV from the cream croquette experts (I'd go wtih the slightly thinner sauce, though, and take greater care with chilling it).

Great story, great pics. You've got an extra http:// in your pic links, though, so they aren't showing up in your post.

]]Puke[[ oh man that hurt. Though I do like the breakfast sausage idea, maybe not like that though. ← Sorry 'bout that! I've been thinking a lot about a can of haggis (who knew haggis came in cans!?) a friend gave me, and I wanted to share the joy. But seriously, doesn't haggis have a bit of oatmeal in it? Someone could do a sheep stomach stuffed with oatmeal cookie dough, with some chocolate chunks to mimic the internal organs usually used (kidneys and liver??). Don't know what to do for the lungs, though... Some pics I've seen for haggis actually look very chocolate-y to me.

I wonder if you could do some kind of sweet-ish stuffed animal stomach, a la haggis.... But it might be interesting!

Thanks! I was thining of doubling the recipe, so I might need two pans, too! I actually have some of those sisposable paper pans lying around. I like using them a lot for gifts or for bringing things into work. I think when I finally move back to Canada, I'm going to bring a whole lot of them back with me. Only Y100 a pack! How can you go wrong? My mother loves the sugar, though! I haven't decided yet what fruits to use. I have some dried fruits that I always have on hand (raisins, cranberries, assorted other dried berries, prunes, mangoes...) but I feel I need some dates or figs. As for the candied fruits--there doesn't seem to be a huge selection, even at the foreign food stores. So I may get stuck with mostly candied cherries since I'm avoiding mail-order. That's OK. My mother will still love it!

When roasting chicken, you're supposed to measure the temperature by sticking the thermometer in the thigh. But where exactly is the thigh? I know where the leg is, so I would assume the thigh would be right above it, but in which spot would be the best place? Just above the thigh/leg joint? A little more above? In the inside or outside? Anyone want to post a picture for me? I'm anatomically challenged, apparently.

I never use margarine, but given the price of butter in Japan, I'd say go for the margarine. I think Tabasco would be too vinegary. I can't remember what Frank's tastes like, though, so I could be wrong. I used to mix. I haven't made them in years, though, so I could be remembering incorrectly. I used to bake my wings, too, instead of frying them.

I've seen "shows" at Japanese teppanyaki places in Japan, too (although they tend to be lower key than in the US/Canada). But teppanyaki is different from hibachi, and I've never seen a show at a hibachi place here (I don't think I've ever been to a hibachi restaurant here, unless your idea of "hibachi" is different from my idea of "hibachi").

Yup. That would definitely make me take Susur off my list of places to dine. How did they ever keep staff on at that place? Or did they have a high turnover?

What would "well below acceptable limits" be? Even lower than minimum wage? If I found that an establishment I frequented were paying less than minimum wage, were breaking labour laws, or were treating their workers unfairly, I would probably refrain from dining there (at least until things were straightened out). However, having a meal cost more than what most of the workers made wouldn't bother me. I've worked in retail where I sold things that cost more than what I would make in a month. I wear clothes that most definitely cost more than what some of the peole who made them would make in a year (as do most people in the West), and I don't wear very expensive clothes.

I've seen a few of her shows, though I'm not sure if I saw her "Simply Magic" shows or another of her series. I didn't really care for her as a TV personality, and the food in the few shows I caught didn't really float my boat, either. I can't remember why, though. I just remember not wanting to eat any of it.

But you could still use the stovetop oven for things liked baked potatoes, other breads. roasted vegetables, etc. You could probably even use it for things like large prawns (my favourite Italian place uses their wood-burning oven to do prawns--and they're delicious!). After some practice, I'm sure you could even use it for making things like cakes (heavier ones, like pound cakes or quick breads). It's still an oven, though it doesn't have a precise temperature control.

I've always though that scoop and level means you use a spoon (or similar object) to scoop the flour into the measuring cup, then use a knife (or similar object) to level the flour. Dip and sweep is a little different, in that you dip the whole measuring cup into the flour bin to fill it, then you level the flour with a knife (or similar object). That's always what I've thought, but I could very well be wrong!

Wow! That's like a pizza stone deluxe! Maybe I need that one, instead...it's a lot more, though (a set of 2 8" stones is about Y3000). But I could use it as an extra oven for baked potatoes while I'm roasting in my regular oven. Hmmm....must think more....

I do have a fish grill! But it's awfully small. I took a look at that page, and I couldn't understand all the instructions--how would you get the bottom of the crust crispy in a fish grill? Would you have to turn it over? The nice thing about a pizza stone is that it will make the bottom of the crust crispy, too, because of the heat generated by the stone (I think that's how they work...) I prefer the control of using an oven--I can set the temperature to what I need it to be, and I won't have to watch the pizza while it's cooking. But until I get a pizza stone (if I ever do), perhaps the fish grill will be the way to go!

It's about time for me to make fruitcake, which I'll be taking home for my mother at Christmastime. I'm using a recipe which makes 17lbs of fruitcake, but the recipe doesn't say what sized pans to use, or how many pans it makes. I was thinking of making 1/8th of the recipe. About what sized pan would a 2-lb fruitcake need? Would a loaf pan be big enough? Too small? To give you an idea, I'll post the ingredient list. The full recipe quantities are to the left of the ingredients, and just to the right of each ingredient is roughly 1/8 of the original quantity. I'm planning on using a total of 100g nuts, 200g candied fruit, and 285g dried fruits. 454g blanched almonds 1/2 cup brandy plus more for pouring---15mL 227g pecans 8 to 10 ounces jam (blackberry preferred)--28g 114g walnuts 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon---1/2t 454g shredded citron 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice---1/16t 227g lemon peel 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg---1/4t 227g orange peel 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves—1/16t 227g candied pineapple 454g butter at room temperature---57g 454g candied cherries 454g brown sugar---57g 908g seedless raisins 1 cup molasses---32mL 454g dried figs 12 eggs, beaten until foamy---1.5 eggs 454g pitted dates 454g all-purpose flour---57g 454g dried currants 2 teaspoons salt---1/4 t (Sorry it's so difficult to read, but I couldn't figure out how to make the tabs work!)

I'm the opposite--I prefer tocino to longganisa! But I love a good longganisa, too! Mmmmm, longganisa with freshly cooked rice. I wonder if I can find some Filipino grocery stores around here...

I do have shelves in my oven--upper and lower, but the lower shelf is akin to the middle shelf of Western ovens, so it wouldn't better hotter than, say, the upper shelf. My oven is a gas oven, but I don't think I have a grill/broil function. There aren't any coils or anything at the top of my oven to provide heat. It goes up to 300C, though, so that should be hot enough to use a pizza stone even if the stone isn't at the bottom of the rack, shouldn't it? I was thinking I could put the little pizza stone right on the turntable (without the turntable pan). It would definitely fit on it, but it wouldn't necessarily make the stone hotter. Just what is the purpose of putting a pizza stone on the bottom of an oven, anyway? Is it supposed to get hotter more quickly down there?

Feeling very envious of Shaya's pizza crusts, I have resolved to pick up a baking stone when I'm back in Canada for Christmas. I found some 8" round stones which will fit in my oven (I can't fit anything more than 12"), but I'm wondering how it will work in my oven. My oven (which is this model)has one of those round rotating things at the bottom, which I can't stop from rotating. Also, since the bottom of my oven isn't any hotter than the rest of the oven, will the stone really get hot enough to make a good crust? Has anyone in Japan used pizza stones in their Japanese-style ovens? If yes, what kind of results are you getting? Do you use your stone for breads, too?

Use a better quality mask--like the ones promoted during the SARS epidemic. They're more expensive, but they work better than the cheap ones. If you really don't want to use a mask, I think your best bet is to use a Neti Pot several times a day. If you go to the link, on the right side of the page you'll see a link to a video on how to use one. It may seem gross, but it's works very very well. It might take some practice, though. I've been using one for about a year and I still shoot water up to the back of my head sometimes (ouch!). About cake scraps, there's a filipino sweet called silvanas that uses cake scraps mixed with buttercream. It would be a more expensive way to use up your cake scraps, but man, is it good!

I have found that many online stores will accept money orders if you e-mail/call and explain that you don't have a credit card. They'll usually ship once they've received your money order. Just do an online search for "rice bran" and I'm sure you'll find something. If nothing else, Bob's Red Mill has online sales. so you could contact them or ask them for the closest retailer near you (which will probably be out-of-state, but depending on where you live it might just be do-able).

I had all four out when I was about 20, too! I remember going out that night and being so hungry that I ordered pizza. It was so good, but I could only chew little bites with my front teeth, so it was a PITA to eat. I think I only had one slice.

Not quite in the kitchen, but I will never again try to take a picture of soup with my camera by holding the camera with just one hand (and after having an alcoholic beverage or two). Or rather, I'll never again drop my camera into my soup, getting pumpkin soup all over the lens, and knocking the bowl of soup over. (Thank god for charger plates!)