Smithy

The chocolate tools fooled me, too! These "chocolate letter" kits also look like a fun and clever idea: Can you tell more about what's included in the kit, and what the 'ink' is? I'm fairly sure that if someone sent me such a letter it would sit around, too precious to eat, until it bloomed.* It would be a cool gift, though. *(I kept a chocolate relief map of California, sent by my parents, for around 20 years before I gave in and ate it. It was still good, but there was snow on the Sierras by then.)

Hm, I thought the point of sourdough was that you didn't use commercial yeast at all. I admit to boosting a slow culture with it for my last loaf, because I'd decided to bake too late to get the culture fully revived, but I felt like I was cheating. :-) All that said...when I use yeast for bread baking, I have come to prefer Red Star. Whether my bread has improved because of some quality superior to Fleischman's yeast, or because I have been improving my bread techniques, I leave as an exercise for the reader.

I had no idea vanilla bean cultivation was so labor-intensive! I thought it was only the bad storms - especially in Madagascar - affecting production, but your comment about rising wages makes sense. If you haven't already, you may be interested in this topic, to which cakewalk just referred: Imitation vs Natural Vanilla Extract.

Welcome! With the exception of the sweet potato fries (sorry, I haven't warmed up to those) that sounds like an outstanding burger - and just the right size! If you care to tell, how did the Bar and Grill put you into the hospital? There may be some good stories there - or, less entertainingly, a discussion of the stress involved. Be sure to check out the Restaurant Life forum, if you haven't already. I hope you'll c'mon in, check out the forums and make yourself at home. If you have questions about how to find things or where to post something, feel free to ask a host (I am one) by PM or ask in the Moderation and Policy Discussion forum.

Thanks, @shain. I'll be trying that soon. I think having it warm sounds especially appealing.

I had to look that one up, then specify food in order to get past the 'prayer beads' translation. Then - surprise! - I ran into multiple descriptions of masbaha: hummus with whole chickpeas added; whole chickpeas with tehina and other additives; and so on. I liked the suggestion that masbaha originated as balila with added tehina. What do you think, and what's your preferred way of making masbaha?

Hellmans: Piknik: The Piknik has proportionately less egg than the Hellman's and has no sugar. The fat, oil and vinegars are different. Eventually I'll get around to a side-by-side taste test. My real question is: what makes Piknik a Southern-style mayonnaise?

This topic inspired me to try Duke's Mayonnaise last fall when I found it in a Texas grocery store. I liked it. I used it up. I think I did a side-by-side taste test of Duke's vs. Hellman's, my usual, but I can't swear to it. Nonetheless when we got home I began to check the Duluth grocery stores for Duke's. I never found Dukes, but sometime this summer, this product began to appear in our grocery stores: Piknik Real Mayonnaise. Southern style, it says. Duke's is a southern style mayonnaise, and I liked it. I overrode my contempt for cutesy misspellings and bought a jar. I like it. It may replace Hellman's in our household, although I haven't yet done a side-by-side comparison. My question is, what makes Piknik mayonnaise a Southern style mayonnaise? The label implies that its lack of sugar is the qualifier. Is that true? The label says it's made in Alabama, so technically it's a Southern mayonnaise regardless of its style. Piknik lists its ingredients as: "vegetable oil (soy and/or canola), water, eggs, distilled vinegar and cider vinegar, salt, paprika, natural flavor, calcium disodium EDTA added to protect flavor."

Here is the recipe she posted.

Chris, the two photos above show a different bubble pattern. To my eye the upper photo, of the classic French Lean Bread, has a hint of a spiral pattern due to the elongation of the outer bubbles. In addition, the size distribution of the bubbles in the Modernist loaf seems more random than in the classic loaf. Do you suppose that's because of the folding technique used for the classic loaf, compared to (minimal) kneading for the Modernist loaf? If not, what? Thank you for this early exploration of the book.

That dough's windowpane translucence!

You might enjoy this early eGullet discussion of people's attitudes toward raisins. It all began with this post: The Eternal Raisin Debate: Innocuous Dr. Jekyll or insidious Mr. Hyde?

You are not alone in your dislike of raisins.

That's how I feel about slicing them finely with a mandoline. Your finished product looks delicious, though. Do you think you'd get as good a result if you simply trimmed the sprouts and sliced them in half without coring?

Today's Foxtrot: PIZZA as an acronym

It isn't too late, but be sure to note at the end of the post that you edited it to correct an error. I came to enjoy cheesecake later in life, and haven't made it often. This recipe is wonderful, and something I plan to repeat many times. It's easy and inexpensive enough that I will probably test small changes like using Neufchatel cheese instead of cream cheese, to see how forgiving it is. Do you have any comments on the flexibility of the ingredients?

I'm quoting this in its entirety for 2 reasons: first, to repeat the recipe I used and second, because this picture is better than mine. My dinner guests have gone home and I'm taking a break before cleaning up to thank you (and thisoldgal, before you) for this recipe. I made it using a graham cracker crust rather than shortbread cookies, and failed to follow the cooling instructions to the letter. Nonetheless the result was outstanding. One item gave me heartburn: the ingredient list for the filling lists sour cream, but the instructions for the filling list heavy cream instead: "Blend together cream cheese, sugar, heavy cream,...." Which was it supposed to be? I dithered. Then I found mention of sour cream again in this note at the end: "If you want a creamier cheesecake whip the cream cheese sugar and sour cream together,..." I used sour cream, and judging by the result it was the right choice. I was also pleased at how quickly this came together for me. As a rule I'm an inefficient cook, and new recipes take a long time. This was no more than 1/2 hour's worth of preparation before I could leave it on its own. This recipe is a keeper!

Shelby, I hope you'll show us the rest of the enchilada-making process as well as the finished results. I still have some peeled and roasted Hatch chiles, and some tomatos. How would I get from there to enchiladas?

Welcome, philrobertson023! Tell us a bit about yourself: what do you like to cook, or eat?

Paper towel holder? I've seen some similar, but they usually have a central spine to fit up the cardboard roll, and no circular holder at the bottom.

Would that knife be useful for peeling palm to get the heart? My first thought was a bamboo peeler, but I've never heard of eating bamboo that large.

@rotuts, I don't see a link to the manual. That said, I've been perusing the Q&A on Amazon regarding the Ultra Pot. Two sources (so far) have said that the slow-cooker mode can be set from 104F to 208F. The saute function can be set from 104F to 338F, according to 1 source. (I don't see an explanation as to how 104F could be considered a saute function.) There is also an altitude adjustment, as noted above. It seems to be a very flexible machine. Again, whether it's worth the extra $70 depends on the intended uses.

If I'm reading the description correctly, the IP Ultra allows you to adjust the temperature instead of just having it on Low, Medium and High. I have been looking for that feature in a slow cooker for a long time, and I wish I had it in my current IP. Whether that's worth an additional $70 to you is something only you can answer.

All right, you lot, you enablers, I cooked my first meal in the Instant Pot Duo Mini tonight. I was skeptical when I opened the box and realized that 3 quarts (the volume of the inner pot) is what I consider medium-to-small, and I rarely use my 3 quart pots for dinner. I mentally prepared to return the pot. Then I thought about space in our trailer, and how the 6-quart unit won't fit. I tested it: first the steam function, as specified in the instructions. Then a series of "use it or lose it" ingredients from the refrigerator became dinner: butt bacon, onions (including the tops), potatoes, chorizo, green beans past their prime. I fiddled around with steaming and sauteing, then leaving the mixture alone. The resulting photograph doesn't live up to the high standards of this community, but we loved the result. It was well-balanced to our tastes - no salt, pepper or spices to be added. Only one cutting mat, one knife and the IP's inner pot were dirtied. Better still, there are enough leftovers for another meal - something I'd doubted when I began this exercise. Yes, it's too small to be our favorite slow-cooker when we're home, but it's a versatile space saver when we're on the road. It's staying. Thanks, I think.

My Anova can run from an app or by manual control. It has a bright, easily read screen with a thumbwheel control. Although I prefer the size and quiet operation of my Joule, I agree with Anna N that the Anova would suit your needs better.