Moopheus

I think FG's original question was valid--two very similar products, made by the same company in likely the same facility. How much of a difference is there? Now I am intrigued to go out and try some. I'm pretty sure I can easily get both here, and it's been a while since I've had a Heath bar that didn't come in a pint of Ben & Jerry's ice cream (I wonder if the relative softness makes it better for freezing?).

A few weeks ago I was able to get some fresh curry leaves for the first time, which I was able to use in a few recipes. I have to say, it was a really noticeable difference over dried ones. The only problem was the place were I can get them packs them into 4 oz bags, which is rather a lot, more than I can use in a short time.

That is disappointing. Peterson is one of the best cookbook writers around, but I have enough baking books that I can skip it on principle if it doesn't include weight measures. Not only that, but feel inspired to send a note to the publisher to tell them they lost a sale because of it.

There's at least one or two mail-order specialists worth mentioning. Jessica's Biscuit (ecookbooks.com) is great if you live someplace without a good cookbook store. It's a real independent bookseller that is mail-order only.

That happened to me, too. The first printing must have been seriously defective, like they just forgot to put any binding in the binding. When I was living alone and getting back into cooking, this was really useful for me, now only occasionally so. Hopefully the new edition has glue.

A good reason to prefer eating Heath bars only when they are enrobed in ice cream. They're quite crunchy when frozen.

No, they're gone. Those were my wife's favorite. They've been sort of replaced by chocolate-covered mint Oreos, but those are not as good.

Yes--up until about 10 years ago they were made with lard. Then they switched to vegetable shortening. This was done, in part, to get kosher certification. My favorite mass-produced cookie used to be Freihofer's chocolate chip, when they were still made in Troy, but they're gone now. The Entenmann's cookie is a pale, tasteless imitation. Nothing else in the cookie aisle comes close. They're all crap. I like some of the UK products--Smarties and Hobnobs. Jelly Belly jelly beans are good, and I never say no to M&M's.

That's funny--around here Whole Foods usually has Valrhona and Droste. In fact, I recently got some Valrhona cocoa powder on sale for like $10/lb. I would say that Ghirardelli is definitely preferable to the Hershey's. I've never used the SB cocoa powder, so I can't say how it compares.

As a consumer, I consider it a cheat. A cupcake is an excuse to eat a pile of frosting. If you're going to cheat on the frosting, the cake had better make up for it, and it usually doesn't.

I'm just glad to see I'm not the only one with this problem. The last time I tried, I managed to get it on the peel okay, but then getting it off was a problem. Cheese went onto the stone and the oven bottom. Instant charcoal. Sounds like I may have been not generous enough with the cornmeal. I'm curious about the parchment method too. It does seem like the stone would be too hot for the parchment, but if it works, then maybe not. Do you notice any difference in the way the stone cooks the underside of the pizza?

I suppose "simply messing about with food" doesn't have quite the right intellectual ring to it.

To me, a truly deconstructed restaurant experience would be one where you, the customer, go into the kitchen and cook, and the chef sits out in the dining room and eats. Who pays? Unfortunately, I've had more than my fill of deconstructionist stuff in the literary world. I give Derrida credit for being on to something; I would not say the same for many who followed in his footsteps.

Also, it's an excuse to buy another gadget for the kitchen. Who's not into that? Maybe if Kitchenaid brought out a "Professional" series scale in designer colors that cost $300, people would think it was cool and want one?

That's funny, I just made a big Indian dinner using that book--a friend's husband is allergic to onions, and I knew there were none in the book. I thought the dishes I made came out rather well, and everyone enjoyed the food. Peter Berley's books on the other hand, have sat largely unused on my shelves.

Actually, the default is the other way around in the US. Unless you sign a specific work-for-hire contract, any copyrighted works are owned by you by default. cite "Works Made for Hire. -- (1) a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment" No, if you're an employee of a business, it's assumed work-for-hire. Where it gets tricky is with freelance and contract workers. In which case it is best for all concerned to have agreements explicit on paper.

I don't think anybody is saying they should stop giving volume measures (not going to happen anyway, I agree), but that it's not impractical for publishers to provide weight measures for those who want it.

I've made the version given in Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, which involves broiling the eggplant slices before layering with the sauce and cheese. In fact, I made this for Thanksgiving dinner one year, and it went pretty fast. In fact, I think my aunt's in-laws hold a grudge, because they brought a more traditional version, and everyone liked mine better.

I've recently started using my old pasta maker again (a Marcato) after several years of dormancy. So far I've had the best results starting with the procedure in Bugialli's Fine Art of Italian Cooking. I only mix the ingredients just enough to make a ball, then let it rest for a while, then run it through the machine. A few passes at the #1 setting is usually enough kneading. I cheat and use the outboard motor, which leaves the hands free for guiding the dough.

I'm pretty sure I've seen them at local farmers' markets, so somebody must still be growing them. Not cheap, though.

Or you take and bite and you do like it. So you eat it. It's not paid for. And it's gone. Now, I suppose there's a limit to how many you can eat. I think the last time I did this, it was around seven or eight apples. On the other hand, we once did pick-your-own strawberries, and came away with 35 pounds (yes!) of berries at what seemed like a reasonable price at the time.

My first couple of tries at pizza were very mixed results. The first time I used the procedure outlined in Silver Spoon, managed to actually make a pizza, but it was very difficult to form the crust. The second time, I used a different recipe, and had results like KennethT's--I made goop, not dough. Also, like KennethT, I was using Italian tipo 00 pizza flour, not a high-gluten bread or AP flour. Now I'm not sure what to do with this. Less hydration? Longer fermenting? I've done a lot of dessert baking, but not so much bread baking, so I could use some advice.

Does anyone know how these compare to a grinder like the Sumeet Asia Kitchen machine? I'm seriously tempted to get one or the other, and not sure how to decide.

Oh, yeah, I remember corn-flavored corn--where did it go? It seems to be almost completely replaced by sweet and mixed yellow-and-white corn. Who asked for that? Not me. Yes--good (i.e., not ultra-pasteurized, not adulterated) cream is hard to find. Or actually not that hard to find, in the sense that I know, at least around here, where I can find it (Whole Foods and Russo's). But I have to have it to make ice cream.

Rivers and oceans that are full of fish, and not PCBs and oil.