prasantrin

I read that entry, and thought that cake sounded delicious! But just a note...it's not a dessert cake, but a savoury cake meant to be eaten as a snack or during cocktail hour.

What about me!?!?!??!?!

There's a German(?) salad spinner with a pull-cord that I saw at my local Costco the other day. I forgot to take note of the brand (starts with a "W", I think), but I tried it out (on the shelf) and it seemed to work quite well. Next time I go I'll write it down, so if people are interested in the pull-cord type, they can research it.

Not well done? Darn. I actually like that part when it's well-done--not dry, but not pink anymore. It creates a nicer balance when you eat it with the fat. I'm all about the fat, doncha know! I miss the gravy. I've been craving it like crazy, and seeing yours would have been a good substitute!

I'd cut off the top well-done part plus the fat of each piece and eat all of them by myself dipped in nuoc cham. Because the fat's the best part! Where's the gravy?

I made this tonight. It was good, but I think it would have been awesome had my kabocha not been so frickin' dry! I should have added some cream like Pookie did, but I just wasn't thinking. Randi, is it possible your seniors behave the way they do because you're an "outsider"? Small-town folk are hard to crack. What were they like with the previous person? Kinda sounds like they're just a**h****, though.

Thanks Ptipois! I hope they're still there when I go back. They had very limited quantities (only 1 or two each of three different sizes). Felice--keeping in mind that I visited Carrefour in Japan, the 20cm pot was Y7900 and the 22cm one was Y8900. There was also an oval one, but I can't remember the details on that one. I would imagine the prices in France would be quite a bit cheaper than in Japan.

I bought some kabocha the other day, and when I unwrapped it today I noticed the rind was pale green. Odd, I thought, but I proceeded to cook and cube it. Then I noticed that pale green stuff wasn't rind, but there was some kind of opaque coating on the rind which I probably should have peeled off before cooking it...or at least before cubing it... Since when did kabocha have coatings on the rinds?

Mark Bittman played around with the no-knead bread recipe and has come up with faster no-knead bread and whole grain no-knead bread. You might have to register to read the article, and the recipes are linked in the side-bar. The whole grain bread, by the way, is 100% non-white flour!

When I first started reading, I thought you were preparing for being stuck in a snowbank during a blizzard! It is Manitoba, after all!

It helps to have one of those lazy daisy-type things for cake decorating! In baking class we learned to score the outside of the cake first, then once that's done (and the scoring is relatively even), cut all the way through one side. Keep one hand on top of the cake, and keep you head (eyes) at the same level of as the cake so you can see if your knife is straying. And make sure you use a long enough knife to slice through the cake without having to reposition. That's what I learned, but I still sucked at it!

I have yoghurt! Would you suggest mixing it milk or water, or just use yoghurt straight up?

My mother fell in love with LuckyGirl's Beet Fritters at the Heartland Gathering, and she has since made them twice to rave reviews! She really loves them, especially since they're so easy to make (and they're fried!), so thanks LuckyGirl!

The last time I was in Korea, I went to a restaurant called Gung in the Insadong area. Although your friend won't be able to partake in their specialty (mandu which is made with pork), they also made very good pajon (sort of a savoury pancake--like okonomiyaki if you know what that is). According to the link I posted, you can also watch them make kimchi on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. There are also some nice tea shops in the Insadong area. It's a very touristy area, but it's quite nice for walking around. Also visit Mary Eats' Korean Food Guide. She's no longer based in Korea, but I'm sure many of the restaurant reviews still stand, plus she's got ZenKimchi's list of 100 Korean foods to try. The explanations will help eliminate any foods your friend won't be able to eat.

I want to make Bakesale Betty's Fried Chicken Sandwich which tupac(many numbers) has posted about elsewhere. The recipe calls for a buttermilk soak. Japan, however, does not have buttermilk. My choices: 1) Use milk soured with vinegar 2) Use Saeco buttermilk powder 3) Use regular milk 4) Skip the soaking altogether and find some other way to get the coating to stick I would prefer number 1, 3, or 4, as I only have so much precious buttermilk powder. But if number 4 is preferable, should I use egg? If I double dip, as the recipe suggests for making a thicker crust, should I double dip in egg twice, or find something else for the second dip?

I've posted this in the France forum rather than Kitchen Consumer because I think distribution is rather limited, but moderators, feel free to move the topic! I was at Carrefour today and found Paul Bocuse enameled cast iron pots. They only had a few left, and I was very tempted to pick up the 20-cm pot. It's about the same weight as Le Creuset, but it has a metal knob (so no worrying about the knob melting in a very hot oven). I haven't been able to find any information about Paul Bocuse cookware, specifically the enameled cast iron pots. I found that he endorses Staub pots, but these are not Staub and are most definitely branded "Paul Bocuse". Does anyone have any knowledge of or experience with these pots? They're about 1/3 the cost of Le Creuset (at least at the store I went to), but since I'm trying to be frugal, I don't want to spend the money unless I'm fairly confident in the quality of the product. (I should clarify that I was at Carrefour in Japan, and although it is no longer owned by Carrefour, it still gets many of its products through Carrefour channels.)

The chefs... Do any of the names ring a bell?

I think it depends on your recipe and the type of leavening. If you do hold the batter, the cakes made from that batter won't be as high, and if you've had to hold them for a long period of time, they may not rise at all. Personally, I'd scale the recipe down, then make three batches. It will take you longer (and let the pans cool before starting the second batch), but you'll get better results. (If you do decide to scale down, a large egg is about 52 grams--if you're using whole eggs, just beat the total number of eggs you need together, then weigh out however much you need for 2/3 of a recipe.)

The buttons are different from the peppercorns. picture I can't imagine how one would use them in a sweet application because they look as though they should be used whole (prettier that way). Maybe chocolate dipped szechuan buttons?

That looks sooooooo good! I bet if you could crumble it up into smaller pieces, it would be really good straight on top of some freshly cooked rice. Freshly cooked rice is a good foil for crispy salty things in small doses (like salted fish).

A big bowl of popcorn with butter and very soft and fluffy roll with butter. Butter makes everything better. Now I'm going to bake some Korova cookies for dessert. Also made with butter, because it makes everything better. I am clearly in the mood for healthful eating these days...

How does Gavin Kaysen (who competed at the Bocuse d'Or and in The Next Iron Chef) touting Uncle Ben's Rice rank on the sell-out scale? For that matter, how does the US Bocuse d'Or Team being sponsored by Uncle Ben's rank?

I was browsing around Fanny's blog, and there was a pictures of a cupcake that looked like it might fit your needs. It might be a bit dense, since it's really more of a brownie, but it looked delicious, anyway! The recipe can be found here.

Sounds good to me! But don't go puttin' any new-fangled fancy herbs or spices in your stuffing, now. You know they'll find a way to b**** about that, too! What's your butternut squash casserole like? Do you think it could be made with kabocha? I'm feeling the need to do TG dinner (can you believe I forgot all about it?), and I think it sounds good enough to make! hint, hint... ETA: Mashed potatoes? Weren't there mashed potatoes on your shepherd's pie last week? Be afraid...be very afraid!!!

I think, but am not 100% sure, that an authentic Italian meal would not usually have pasta as the only main course. It might be the primo, but not usually the secondo, and it's usually a much smaller portion than what most North Americans are used to eating as a pasta course. This is an interesting read on traditional Italian meals (how accurate it is, I do not know, however). That sausage pasta looked awesome! Do you remember what brand of sausage you used? I generally don't buy Japanese sausages (I think most of them aren't suited to my taste buds), so I would have been inclined to leave it out, but if you found a good one, I'd try it! (There is one kind of breakfast sausage found at Costco that's quite similar to American-style breakfast sausages that's OK, but I don't think it would fare too well with pasta!)