chemprof

I'm so glad y'all are doing this. I just bought the book and I've not gotten to the recipes yet. I will say, regarding Kindle editions - I have the Kindle edition of Pepin's "The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen" and there are a number of errors, especially in the recipes (some of them look like issue with OCR scanning). Also, reading David's blog post on "The Making of the My Paris Kitchen" will make anyone appreciate the difficulty of putting together something like this error-free! (http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2014/04/the-making-of-my-paris-kitchen-cookbook/)

So what are folks cooking up for Christmas presents? I'm thinking of making cheese straws w/ chipotle (adapted Southern Living recipe), chocolate hazelnut biscotti (Food Network) and gingerbread biscotti (Fine Cooking linked upthread) and some spicy pecans. I also might think make some spice rubs....I saw this one in Eating Well that looked interesting: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/tuscan_spice_rub.html)

Like many of my students, he has a hard time with the concepts of "atoms", "ions", and "molelcules". Salt (in this case sodium chloride, NaCl) breaks up into two ions (or particles) when it dissolves in water, a sodium (Na+) ion and chloride (Cl-) ion. Sugar (sucrose) molecules don't ionize, so you just have the one particle. So on a unit by unit basis, for every one "unit" of NaCl, you get two particles, and for every one "unit" of sucrose, you get one particle. This can make a difference in colligative properties like freezing point depression and boiling point elevation and osmosis (this last one is important in brining). Colligative properties depend on the number of particles in solution, and are not dependent on the identity of the particle. Now, having said all that, unless Mr. Kimball is determining the concentrations of sugar and salt of his brining solution, taking into account the different molar masses of the two compounds, that this really matters all that much. Sorry for the chemistry lecture, occupational hazard.

Hi Folks- I've always gotten a lot of great ideas from this thread so I thought I'd bump it back up for 2011 and see if folks wanted to contribute. The rolo/pecan/pretzels upthread, along with the butterscotch pretzels, have been very popular!

Whoo Hoo! Go Wolfpack! I'm also NCSU alum and W-S native. Looking forward to your blog.

And plus you have all the great containers leftover..."Eugene Tupperware"!

Hi Chris, There was a similar instruction when I made cochinita pibil from one of Bayless' other books. I just had the butcher saw the pork shoulder up for me. They were happy to do it. Anne

Rona, What does she like to eat? When I first went to Japan I thought I'd lose weight eating sashimi and bits of rice, but then I found the wonder of tonkatsu, not to mention all the great bakeries. And that's just the tip of the iceberg! I thought the variety of food, both japanese and non-japanese was pretty impressive. So yes, you sometimes eat salad for breakfast at a hotel buffet, but you can get used to that! Anne

The food service provider at Sidwell, Meriwether Godsey, just recently took over food service at our college (from Sodexho ). They are excellent. They try to buy as much as possible locally, and provide a healthy, varied menu for our students and I have been very pleased with events they have catered. They also make some great desserts! This is the first time in all my years at the college that I have eaten at our cafeteria voluntarily, as in "hmm...I forgot my lunch today, I think I'll go buy lunch at the caf".

Marlene, I've been doing roasts (both bone-in and boneless) on the Weber kettle with indirect heat (similar to what I would do for smoking a butt) with soaked wood on the fire but don't worry so much about maintaining a low temp. I pull it at 120° and let it rest a bit, then eat! I've never seared it before or after but it seems to get a tasty crust in the kettle. Takes about 2 hours and I've done from 5-10 lb roasts. Hope that's helpful...

I've been reading this thread for months, and finally got up the nerve to get a butt and fire up the weber kettle. I got a 7.7 lb butt at the Harris-Teeter, and it went on naked except for a sprinkle of salt and pepper: I used the "Minion Method" to get the fire started (20 unlit/8 lit briquettes) plus some soaked hickory. I also had a drip pan under the butt that I filled with about a quart of water. Put it on about 9 am, and everything went swimmingly, except that I was kind of a nervous nellie about temperature control, and so probably opened the grill more times than I needed to to add coals and soaked wood (about every 2 hours or so to keep the temp around 240-250). Note the instruments in the setup, one thermometer for the kettle and one for the butt. I am a science geek after all (and yes I do have a graph of butt temp vs. time if anyone would like to see! ) after 2 hours: after 5 hours: The temp of the butt increased steadily until about 4:30 pm, when it stalled and took from 4:30 to 8:00 to go from 165 to 172. Going into the stall after about 7.5 hours: In the interest of feeding people that night (I had only invited a few understanding folks for my "experimental butt") we pulled it off the grill and wrapped it in foil while we waited for the water to boil for corn. Calling it done at 11 hours (172 degrees): It wasn't falling off the bone, but it didn't struggle too much as I pulled it. Everyone gathered 'round the pull and much was devoured sans sauce, and more when we put out a bowl of North Carolina Eastern Style red pepper/vinegar/salt as a dip. There are not pics of this as everyone's hands were covered with grease! Next time I'll start earlier and try not to open the grill as often, smoke two butts and invite more folks! Any tips on keeping the temp regulated on an old Weber with two of the bottom vents rusted in the "open" position? Also, how much smoke should I see escaping the Weber? Thanks to everyone for all the great information in this thread! Thanks, Anne

Hi Merstar- If you pop over to the Southeast Dining thread, there are several threads on Greensboro dining. Here's a link to to the the most recent that discusses some of the things you're looking for: clicky You might try Boba House on Tate Street for vegetarian. Anne

I've been twice to the Super G now and still have not absorbed all the wonderfulness. My most recent visit I took a friend who is the Japanese professor at my college (she's also Japanese!). She was favorably impressed...I hadn't even noticed the first time I went, but there was an entire section of natto in the frozen food area. I didn't know Greensboro would have that much demand! Things I love so far: 1. Fresh veg...cheap! Some of it's a little beat up, but a red bell pepper for 80 cents? Two avocados for a dollar? 2. Fresh veg...unusual! What do I do with banana blossoms? What is this squash? Durian?? I thought that was illegal! Things I need to figure out. 3. Mexican cheeses. 4. Coffeebeat! A Lotte candy that tastes like coffee-flavored M&M's! Last seen in Uwajimaya in Portland, OR. I am so shallow. I'm sure there will be more. They have apparently been tres busy, which is good.

My brother had two dishwashers put in (one on each side of the sink) when he redid their kitchen. It's huge so he didn't give up any storage that I can see, and I cook in there a lot. With 3 boys under 10, it seems like one of them is always going (they could probably use two clothes washers too! )

iii_bake, I don't think that baking soda expires. Baking powder expires because the ingredients mix with humid air and cause a chemical reaction. But soda is a single ingredient - the most it can do is get lumpy. Is it possible that the leavenings were not well incorporated? For example if the soda were concentrated in one area that could cause exess browing. What about overmixing? That might explain the chewiness. One last possibility I can think of is the buttermilk. When I occassionally use a different brand of buttermilk, I notice that the consistency is not the same. Buttermilk also seems to thicken with age. Hope this is helpful. ← Hi thanks...about the baking soda...you really scared me because that is the only thing i can pot a blame on ( I tested it with hot water and it still bubbled though ) Over mixing...that should not be the case...as the chewy thing is just the top... Buttermilk...this is possible in the sense that i used frozen Buttermilk which was not smooth...( This brand of buttermilk says it is freezable). I have never thought about te buttermilk before... Thank you. Willkeep u posted. Thanks again ← Hey there- If you "tested" the baking soda with water and it bubbled, you've definitely mixed up the baking powder and baking soda. Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate, and it requires an acid or intense heat to give the CO2 which is the leavening agent. Baking powder, on the other hand, is a mixture of sodium bicarbonate and an "acid salt" which is a acidic solid that reacts with the sodium bicarbonate when water is added to give CO2. Baking powder can lose its omph over time if it comes into contact with atmospheric moisture...but baking soda does not because it requires an acid (vinegar, buttermilk, etc.) to activate it, or high heat. Sorry, I do go on. Occupational hazard. Take care, Anne