prasantrin

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!)

Pineapple jam is not readily available in Canada, which would account for Ling not having heard of it. I've never looked for pinapple jam in the US, so I haven't noticed if it's easily found there, but the only places I've ever seen it have been SEAsian countries. (Canada doesn't get much grape jelly, either, and I remember feeling very envious of those kids on Smucker's grape jelly commericals.)

This won't answer your question, but... you got the book? In Canada? Did you get it from Amazon or Costco? I'm going home for Christmas, and I'm planning on bringing this book back with me!

I think before deciding basic pans to buy, you should consider what you most want to make. I bake cookies, muffins, loaf cakes, and carrot cakes the most. So for me, sheet pans, muffin tins, loaf pans, and a 9x13 pan are the basics. I rarely make layer cakes so my round cake pans mostly go untouched, ditto for my pie pan (I suck at pie crusts). I've never even used my tart pans, but I do use an 8x3 round cake pan with a removable bottom (exclusively used for quiche). My square pans get used once in a great while (I don't make brownies or bars as often as I used to). If you start with the pans you think you'll use most, you can expand your inventory as you expand your baking skills.

(bolding is mine) Do I really want to know?????

I'm Canadian, too, but I also associate maraschino cherries with pineapple upside down cake. However, I've never used maraschino cherries in my pudc since they don't seem to be as readily available in Canada (plus I just think they're nasty!) as they may be in the US. Maybe Canadians just don't like the way they taste?

$15.99?!?!??!??!! That's crazy! But oh so cool! Maple pretz came out in Japan in 2005 (around summer or fall, I think), and I tried it once but I wasn't crazy about it. I love maple syrup, but the maple pretz tasted too fake. I wonder if the Canadian version might taste better...

I think all of these suggestions for packing wine in checked luggage would apply.

I'm up to 76C, so it's plugging along! I've had to re-set my oven timer three times now! (Japanese ovens often require the setting of the timer for them to work, and the max time on my oven is only 90 minutes). It's a good thing I have naturally-tanned SEAsian skin to hide my dark circles, 'cause they're gonna be big ones! (And it's a good thing I have a 2-hour massage/facial already booked, too! ) At least I have eGullet to keep me company... [HOST'S NOTE: This topic continues in Behold My Butt! (2007– )]

Do a search for "pure maple extract" and you'll find some sources--one of which is Surfas. It's not too expensive for a relatively large bottle (it's cheaper than vanilla!).

Use a rubber spatula to scrape the rest out. I have a few small spatulas, and they work well for that. I've also heard that coating the spoon with a bit of oil helps, but I've never tried it (works for stuff like peanut butter, too, I hear).

I've turned it up to 130C. So you have to pull when it's ready? I can't set it aside when it reaches the right temperature, and pull tomorrow morning? Darn! I'm going to be up for another few hours, at least then! Perhaps I can just take a little nap... Thanks for your quick help!

This might be the wrong place to ask this, but please be kind! I've got a craving for pulled pork, so I'm trying to do a little teeny tiny "smoked" butt in my oven (it's not really smoked, since I don't even have any woodchips in the oven, but I'm using very low heat and a long cooking time, so it's pretty close!). I looked it up, and it seems 190-195F-ish is the best temperature for pulled pork. I set my polder-style thermometer to 89C (192F), my oven to 100C (212F), and I've been "smoking" for the last 2 1/2 hours. It seems my thermometer has been stuck at 69C (156F) for the last hour or so. I'm not sure what I should do. It's a little butt--only about 500-600 grams, and I'm very afraid of it drying out. It should make decent sliced pork sandwiches at this point. Should I just pull it out of the oven? Or hope that its temperature will starting rising soon? I'd also like to go to bed soon, so the sooner I can turn off my oven, the better!

I love chicken katsu, and actually prefer it to tonkatsu. Tonkatsu will sometimes be too dry and chewy, while chicken katsu is, to me, more consistent in its texture. Plus who doesn't love fried chicken skin? Some of my friends, though, complain that we go to Katsukura and I order chicken katsu--"We're going to a tonkatsu place and you order chicken katsu?????" they say. But hey, I'm the one who introduced them to Katsukura, so I think I can order whatever the hell I want!

I'm not even American, but I was thinking it was because the free offer is being sponsored by a beer company. Maybe there's some law in CA that prohibits promotional give-aways (even non-alcoholic ones) by alcohol companies? I should also add that the give-away is while quantities last. I can't remember when it started, so for all I know, they're all gone already.

While reading an article on Anthony Bourdain and barbecue on msn.com, I noticed a link for a free book (which just happens to be The Nasty Bits). It's only for people in the US, which I am not, (nor do I have anyone whom I can use in my place and who can then send it to me). So, for all you lucky US residents, here's the link. No strings attached, but you must be of legal drinking age (it's sponsored by a beer company). Oh, and from what I can tell from the fine print, Californians do not qualify, either.

My aunt regularly bakes chiffon cakes in rectangular 9x13 pans. I think she bakes at 325F for about 25 minutes. I would imagine you could do the same with angel food cake. You could also use your tube pan, but usually tube pans as you describe are non-stick, and that wouldn't be a good idea to use a non-stick pan. Editing yet another post (it's late for me here!), because I forgot to mention that even when using a rectangular pan, you still have to invert it. In this case, only for about 5 minutes, then use a knife to very gently pry the cake from the pan before it cools. If you wait until it's fully cooled, you own't be able to get it out in one piece.

I've seen different proportions, but it seems about 1 1/2 tablespoons of molasses plus 1 cup white sugar will give you light brown sugar. For dark brown, about 3/4 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup molasses. You can use those proportions as a base, and play around with them. Just wanted to add, according to another website, use 1 tablespoon of molasses per 1 cup of white sugar for light brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons per cup for dark. Those might be easier proportions to start out with.

I felt the same way. It's a shame they put out a lot of the novelty flavours in those bags. I don't mind spending Y120 on a bar, but Y400 on a bag where I might only eat one is a bit much for my ever-shrinking food budget. I was initially going to search for them, but got too lazy! The pictures on the bag looked familiar, which is why I thought they might have had them last year. But the same kind of picture is used on so many kuri products--they all blend together after a while.

The other day I noticed my local Coop had KitKat bitter. They used to only come as little bars that came in a special box (they appeared at the same time as wine KitKat), but now they come in a regular KitKat size. I also saw what I think were mini kuri KitKats in bags. I can't remember if they existed last year, too. I wonder if chestnut KitKat would be any good (I'm not willing to buy a whole bag to find out!). Now if only they'd bring back the plain matcha ones, and cafe au lait, too!

Mmmmmm....roll kasutera! I love roll cakes of all kinds (as long as the fillings use real dairy products), so perhaps that will be omiyage for work (of course I'll get one I really want to eat, too!). I'm not a big yakiudon (or yakisoba) fan, but my friend likes it, so maybe it will grow on me. I found a couple of websites with English, but they're woefully out of date. If I'm lucky, I may get to eat at a good Mexican place, and a good Egyptian place! I found mention of a famous ramen shop, so I'll see if we can make it there, too.

I'm going to Kitakyushu for the JALT conference (near Kokura Station). Does anyone know of any good restaurants, bakeries, breakfast places, etc. in the area? We'll only be there for maybe one breakfast, two lunches, and one dinner. Cake shop recommendations are welcome, too! As for price, we're probably looking at maybe Y1000 for lunches, and Y2000 for dinner. Pretty much anything goes in terms of food styles--we're not looking for any style, ethnicity, or food-type in particular. We just want good food!!

I've had very good pizza with potatoes in Japan at Italian restaurants (complete with wood-fired ovens). It was most common with gorgonzola pizza. Actually, I don't think I've seen it with any other kind of pizza (at the traditional Italian places, anyway. Pizza Hut...well...that's another story!).

Yes! That's it! I'm so used to calling it "the foreign food store at Umeda" that I forget what it's really called. Does your Seijo Ishii have fresh chives? I've never noticed them at mine, but I don't usually look at the produce section there (way too expensive!). They do have a lot of dried herbs and spices that you can't find at other places, and they're a little more reasonably priced. They also have a great selection of snack foods!

Very late coming in here, but fresh chives are sometimes available at Ikari supermarkets, and dried chives can be found at the foreign food store in Hankyu Umeda station--I think it's called Seijosomething, but I can never remember the name.