Abra

If you look here King Arthur cake flour they explain that bleaching promotes a fine texture and higher rise. It's the only one of their products that is bleached, and I think of them as an impeccable source, so my thought is that if they bleach it, it has to be bleached!

In all my years of making shrimp stock I've never thought of infusing them into cream - great idea!

Sounds delicious! You can also make meatballs, roll them in a square of caul fat, then fry them up. The caul helps them stay together and gives the exterior an interesting bite.

In David Lebovitz' book The Perfect Scoop there's a recipe for what he calls Lean Chocolate Sauce. It's made with water, as opposed to cream, and although it sounds weird, it's probably the most versatile and delicious sauce out there, providing you use exceptionally good chocolate.

I'm so glad you're finding it helpful, and Sharon and Brent are the greatest. Say hi to them for me if you have the chance. You can really get a lot of help from the newbie forum, and of course I'll be glad to give you any advice I can. And my first bit of advice is that for holiday baking, you really need to be able to rent a commercial kitchen, unless you're allowed to sell baked goods that you've made at home. In the US that's rare, but you're in Vancouver, right? What you don't want to do is to try to do holiday baking in a client's home, as you're certain to lose money that way.

This discussion is great. I did buy the waterstone when I got the knife, but then it stayed sharp, even though it's my main knife, and I so didn't learn to use the stone. Thus I didn't pack it to France with me, and now really don't want to buy another. Hmmm, what to do? It seems unlikely to stay sharp for another year without some attention. Personally I love the wooden stand/shrine because the edge never touches anything that could dull it, and because the knife is a thing of beauty and I like to look at it. Sure, it's a tool, but it's the prettiest tool I own and I like to see it. The grip thing is very individual - it fits my hand like it was custom made for me, but I've had several friends pick it up and not feel comfortable with it. I have really huge hands, not just for a woman, but bigger than many/most guys' hands.

Wow, that's quite cool. I only understand a word here and there, but I'm going to watch it all the way through, because some of the tips explain themselves just by watching. Thanks for this link!

I have to say that "fallow deer" is one of the most exotic ingredients I've seen referenced here, but caul fat in general is really useful. How about using it to line a terrine pan and making a venison terrine from bits of that deer?

Hey, Markk, that's a cool story. That's what I need, a letter of introduction...maybe from a well-known online food forum?

P'tit and Markk, you've given me the confidence to try it out here soon. We don't have any starred places here, so people may be less used to bloggers, but if needed I'll try to explain that I'm going to make my lunch internationally famous via the Internet. I can't wait to see how that goes! So far we've mostly been eating out at lunch time, so no flash worries in any case.

Now that I'm finally living in France, I'm having many crises of conscience about la politesse. In the US I don't hesitate to discretely photograph my dinner in a restaurant, but so far I haven't dared to do it here. Are there some guidelines about how it should be done, i.e. ask permission first, no flash (of course not) and so on? Or is it considered really a weird and rude thing to do in any case?

Just so you don't feel all alone, Rose, I might be the only other person in the world who's not a fan of the World Peace/Korova cookies. Mine came out fine, looked nice, but all I really get from them is chocolate and salt. If I want chocolate and salt, I much prefer some lightly toasted crostini brushed with olive oil, then melted chocolate, then sprinkled with salt. It's a Spanish thing, I think, and I like the balance better.

Chris, did you get the wooden holder with your knife? I did, and have always kept it there, even bringing the holder to France. That's undoubtedly contributed a lot to its sharpness, since the blade never touches anything unless it's in my hand.

It looks like any recipe for pink peppercorns would work fine with these. When I look at French recipes using them it's just as one would use pink pepper, and with a few of the usual notations that they can be toxic in large quantities.

Let me say this about that knife. In my move to France last week, that knife was definitely packed deep in my luggage. When the luggage was lost, I was really sweating about the knife. Now that it's found, I use it all day long. I bought mine about a year ago, and let me admit it here, I haven't sharpened it yet. It's blazingly sharp still, but I'm longing to learn exactly how to sharpen up to its original level, it so I'll be glued to this thread.

Funny, I just read about La Tupina this evening on Dorie Greenspan's blog, and I'm already planning a visit. It sounds really lovely.

Oh, I love the idea of using fiori di Sicilia in ice cream. Instant creamsicle!

I'm so glad you started this topic, Chris. There's merguez in every shop here, but so far I haven't found one that's really lamb-y or spicy. I'll be enjoying this thread, albeit far from my grinder and stuffer.

Second on Mora Ice Cream. It's exorbitant, but worth it once in a while. And don't eat any pizza on Bainbridge, it's all horrid!

I invite you all to check out my new blog French Letters. We're just about to leave to live in France and I'm blogging the getting ready to go, and then the food life there.

So, uh, it didn't work for me. After 20 minutes at 500 and just about 1 1/2 hours at 225, my 2.89 lb pork loin was already at 180. And yes, it was dry, as pork loin usually is. The flavor was good, but it had to be doused liberally with gravy. I wonder what accounts for the difference.

I have this in the oven now, and I have a question. Normally with a lean cut of pork I'd cook it only to 145. And with a fatty cut I'd take it all the way up to 190-195. So I'm wondering about the 165 - what's the deal with that?

I confess to being a snail virgin, but since I'm going to be in France next week, and for some weeks to come, I'm going to try to get over it. You snail lovers out there, where is the best place to break a lifelong snail fast, Burgundy?

Every time I go to Walla Walla I hear about how good the Whoop Em Up is - did you like it?

Ok, I'm convinced - I'm trying that one today!