Katherine

If you didn't call it to their attention, they probably wouldn't notice. No chunks of ice in it. It's so much better than no homemade ice cream. We can make it in the quantities we need (our old ice cream maker that became non-non-stick was too small, but an old-fashioned ice-and-salt would be too big), with no equipment or planning (aside from the restriction that I need to do it sometime when I'm hanging around the house). It's lots better than most store-bought ice cream. Besides, it's right at the fat and sugar level I like, so too-sweet store-bought doesn't stand a chance. It also helps that I was able to make it from fresh local glass-bottled milk and cream.

I just made this: Freezer ice cream: 1 cup milk 1 cup heavy cream 1/2 cup sugar vanilla or other flavoring as desired Mix the milk and sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add the cream and flavoring. Put in a large metal bowl (the larger the bowl, the faster the freeze time), put a whip in it and put in the freezer. Set the timer for 30 minutes. After the timer goes off, remove and stir, scraping the edges to remove and mix in any ice formations (there may not be any at first). Set the timer again. When the ice starts to build up around the edge, cut back the timer to 15 minutes. When it gets thick, take out the whip and substitute a heavy spoon. When it is as thick as a soft ice cream, scrape into a covered tub, and place in the freezer until solid. Or eat it all soft, like we do. Stirring time: up to 3 hours. Variation: chocolate Place milk in the microwave until hot. Put in the blender with 2 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate. When smooth, pour into the bowl, add cream and vanilla. Good with bits of homemade marshmallow and toasted sliced almonds, too. Variation: chocolate chip When ready to pack into its container, add 2 oz chopped bittersweet chocolate. Mix in, pack and freeze solid.

The real "cheater" solution is to take a can of whole tomatoes, crush them into a pan containing sauteed onion and garlic, and cook down until all the liquid is gone. Blend, sieve, and finish with heavy cream. Also good when you saute a red pepper in there, too.

My father told the story of a co-worker, a man of Italian heritage who grew up on his mother's pizza. He had never again experienced pizza like that, neither in this country nor in his travels abroad, although he had searched for it. Finally, he decided to have his aging mother come visit him to make pizza again, so he could learn her secrets before she passed on. He stocked the kitchen with everything he could imagine, the highest quality imported meats and cheeses. She went in the kitchen, and after a few minutes she came out again. "Where's the Velveeta?" He was in shock. He ran out and bought her a package. She made the pizza, and it was just as he remembered it, after all those years.

If what you're saying is that chefs deserve a living wage with benefits, and none of the other people working in a kitchen do, I'm disagreeing with you. It's the whole crew, not just the chef that produces food in a restaurant. There is a fine line between the different levels of employees in a kitchen. Cheap labor is the only thing that keeps most restaurants going. I believe in the concept of the living wage, that people who work full-time should be earning enough to live on. If you don't, then we disagree.

Almost impossible to do, because the benefits that come with a job (or lack thereof) are a major factor in whether an employee feels valued or exploited. Switching to a job that provides sick days, vacation pay, health insurance, professional development, and retirement at the same pay scale would be like getting a huge raise in pay. On the other hand, agencies do have various ways of calculating the cost of living in an area to define the living wage there. Around here, a typical kitchen worker earns much less than that. Not to mention the fact that most people, regardless of how much they are making, think everything would be fine and dandy if they were making 35% more.

If the only reason you feel that way is because you don't like to drive in traffic, I drive like a crazy person. I've driven to Florida probably a dozen times. I can get us to the open road south of DC, and you can pick up from there, in the boring part.

Yes, my grandmother was present. She also cleaned the ceiling. If the water bath had gone dry, it's unlikely the "explosion" would have happened as there would have been just heat to the bottom. But, who am I to try to figure all this out? Let's get back to white trash delicacies. A truly delightful subject. Actually, if the pan had gone dry, it would have been more likely to blow up, because in just a few minutes of dry heat the entire can could have become superheated. (I think processing tops out at 260 degrees.) Gotta get some of that country ham down there.

The cans are sealed and air is driven off by the heating process, resulting in collapse on cooling again. Was anybody actually present when the can exploded? Perhaps the water bath went dry. That would do it for sure.

I'm in a graduate level teacher training program. That's extremely vocational, but there are plenty of people in the program that want the certificate for reasons other than teaching in the public schools that require it.

I don't know what your school experiences were like, but I can tell you that the number of students in most any conservatory who intend to work professionally in music is a lot more than half. And I have to believe that the same is true for most law schools, medical schools, etc. Wow, that's a big "etc"! Most of my educational experience is in universities. (I have 2 undergraduate degrees in the sciences, and am doing graduate work now.) Most people in higher education are not studying medicine, law, or music. They have a clear idea of what they want to do when they start, but by the time graduation comes, they just want to hit the road. I have never studied in a conservatory, my music training having ended after HS graduation. Music schools are a good example of diversity of training here. Some are extraordinarily selective; others accept all comers, allowing those who should've known better than to apply to drop out after one expensive semester. Berklee's the second kind. If you graduate, you get a good education, but you know it was subsidized by wannabees who couldn't have gotten accepted at a community college. I also have a degree in Culinary Arts, that I got when I was young and impressionable. After graduating, I only worked in the field during periods of extended unemployment. Everyone who started that program wanted to cook professionally, but many had changed their minds by the time they graduated, or redirected into a semi-related field.

Sorry, Katherine, but many years ago (many, many years ago) my grandmother put a can of brown bread into a water bath to heat it. She'd always done this, but this time she forgot to punch a hole in the top. End of the can blew off, resulting in brown bread all over the ceiling. This is a true story, not a myth. The can was probably defective.

If you were to put the can in an oven at 450 degrees, it might explode at some point, but the net effect would be contained in the oven, ie., a godawful sticky/smoky mess.

There is no danger that the can will explode. Canned goods are processed under much higher temperatures and pressures than you can achieve in a regular pot on your stove. Sorry to explode your myths.

This is what I do, too. Actually, you can trim off the lean portion of the bacon and reserve it for recipes requiring a more ham-like substance. Then you just have the pure bacon fat to work with, and can control the quantity. If you grind the turkey yourself, you can grind the bacon into it, for the perfect blend. Another option is to add bread crumbs, heavy cream, and egg yolks.

How many amateurs are really taking classes like this? What percentage of students in your class are amateur? Also, we must consider the fact that different schools will differ as to the percentage of amateurs in such programs and the degree to which such programs accomodate them. It's probably about the same as in most courses of study, where half the students intended to be working only peripherally to their study matter, and even the students who were clear about what they wanted to be doing are now considering a variety of options as graduation finally approaches.

Indeed, higher education in general is much higher in the US than in many other countries. I can get a masters degree in Australia for 10% of what tuition would cost here at the school I was accepted at (but could not afford to attend). Plus, because the degree is offered online, I would be able to do it without relocating, etc, and supporting myself through loans. So overall, I would pay $5500 instead of $100,000. That's affordable, and it's they same degree they offer to resident students.

I've got leftover sushi rice sitting out on the counter right now, and I'm dreaming about making morning maki, with bacon and egg. The rice is calling to me. -must-stop-thinking-about-it-

The blender makes a smoother nut butter. Best of all, buy raw nuts, toast them yourself, and blend hot, adding a stream of oil to the blender container as needed. Better use a blender with a glass container, though.

Don't rich young housewives who will be managing a staff of servants need to know more than just "how to cook"? I thought that was the traditional reason they attended a quality cooking school If culinary education were compartmentalized into strict vocational (skillset) tracks, I could see some of Leslie's points (but not others), but the type of well-rounded education a person gets in a typical degree program at cooking school means that it attracts not only potential hands-on cooks, but food and travel writers, would-be restaurant owners and managers, people with a love of food who want to get their feet wet in the business, and dilettantes of both sexes. Just as many people go back to college later in life, intending to get more education, but without a clear idea of where it will lead them. Schools encourage this, on the theory that it is good for you to learn a variety of things along your path. Sociological issues aside.

Black or green tea is great with mint tea cubes. Good to the last drop.

Hey, nickn, there's a Chinese restaurant in Parsippany we have to be driving by at mealtime...

Wagstaff's sounds great, though I don't think I'll be running a meat deficiency on the way back... I need to get out of here more often.

I believe I have cooked nut macaroons at that temperature, and with even more nuts, but they are done when they are light brown, which will probably be a lot less than 45 minutes.

Beware the wrath of the Lunch lady!