Smithy

The cake filling comment threw me, and looks more like a throwaway (no pun intended) comment in its current location. I'd suggest establishing a separate paragraph, if you can make the room. It only needs a couple of sentences, possibly along these lines: "Note: the pudding can be used as a cake filling with the addition of 3 sheets of silver gelatin...." then adding 1 or 2 sentences about blooming and when to add. I wouldn't know about blooming the gelatine sheets, but I'm not an advanced pastry / confections cook. Aside from that, I agree with Kerry that it looks pretty straightforward. It also looks delicious.

Amen. Readers may be interested in/amused by this blast-from-the-past conversation: In praise of out-of-season fruit. I was particularly amused by Jinmyo's icicle.

I've been reviewing this topic - a good exercise for me, because I'm relearning things I learned once already - and there's a lot of good information here. I recommend going through it. Maybe we can get a good conversation going again.My tests indicated two differences in the results of cooking a tagine in a glazed clay pot vs an unglazed clay pot. The glazed clay pot had slightly less liquid loss due to evaporation, meaning slightly more sauce from the glazed pot, at least until it was concentrated by boiling down. The far more important difference to me was that the meat was noticeably more tender when cooked in the unglazed pot. You can read about the specific test in this post: #98. A fair amount of discussion ensues. I also tested cooking the same dish in enameled cast iron vs. unglazed clay pot. There was much, much less loss of liquid - hence more sauce, as well as more fat thrown off - in the enameled cast iron. I posted about that here: #58. Again, there was a lot of discussion afterward. I haven't read as far yet as when I actually got the rifi tagine. If you're interested, I recommend going back to the beginning and reading the topic through. You may come up with questions as you go. Unfortunately many of the original participants are gone, but there are bound to be new people who can contribute.

Zucchini

That makes sense. Thanks for the curing information.

I'm not sure I follow the question. We did a lot of tests comparing the outcome in different materials and finishes, but I don't recall comparing what happens in an oversized tagine vs. a small one. I have no plans to get a souss tagine, but only because I don't have storage space without getting rid of something else. It's smaller than my rifi and the cone geometry looks like it would provide less overhead volume even if it were the same size.

That yolk technique sounds very interesting, and I'm looking forward to trying it. I'm sure at some point you'll be discussing possible substitutions, but I'll ask about one now. I had to look up Okinawa black sugar. It's obviously a different color than piloncillo, which is readily available. How different are they, aside from the obvious color differences? Would the Mexican sugar cone be a workable substitute? I ask this because I'm also dying to try the cured egg yolks!

You're going to treat Anna to the casserole! The damson jam looks plum wonderful. (I had to do that.) It's good to see you both back; I was beginning to worry that Hydro had gone down. Did you get any advice about how to grow wasabi?

I think it's mostly understandable. I have a few nits and questions - and I know you said this is 'pre-editing', which I presume means an editor or three may have something to say about wording. I've spotted two misspellings that I'll point out. Please let us know whether you'd like the spelling commentary left out of future posts. 1. It's 'xanthan', not 'xantham', gum, and in the acorn crust it should be 'coarse sand', not 'course sand'. 2. At the acorn crust, where you have made a coarse crust, what is meant by "Spread organically"? 3. I'm confused about the egg yolks. The first step tells how to cure them until firm. They are presumably the cured yolks that are grated onto the finished dish just before plating. The Axta Yolk with Mushroom 'Broth' recipe (third set of instructions) calls for egg yolks to be punctured gently with the syringe so the broth can be put into them until cooked. I don't see more egg yolks listed for that step. Are the cured yolks not firm, or is the ingredient list incomplete? It certainly sounds interesting. I'd be up for trying this, once I found all the ingredients. Edit: sorry, two more questions: 4. What do you do with the egg yolk interior of the plated yolk? 5. Do you use the same syringe for extracting that yolk and inserting the hot broth? I'd be concerned about yolk poaching inside the syringe and plugging the needle when the broth contacted it. Do you need two syringes?

Why, has someone given you grief over the Dole salads in your Aug 31 post in this topic? I'd expect the answer to be 'whatever works best for the eater'.

It's the same in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Like you, I have come to think of 'hen' as the female of any bird species because of the distinctions made in hunting regulations and other wildlife management documents that I've read. It's clear from this topic that the word's interpretation depends (at least in part) on linguistic experience, context and perhaps region. By "linguistic experience" I just mean the general use to which one's been exposed. Who knew such a simple word could cause so much debate?

Wow, dejah. It isn't right that I should be hungry this early in the morning, but - thanks to you - I am now ravenous.

Based on your description, I'd consider tossing some with freshly-cooked pasta, lightly sweated garlic and grated hard cheese (parmesan, or pecorino romano). I'd also consider using it as a topper for slices of broiled eggplant and mozzarella, or an ingredient for an extra kick to eggplant layered in a moussaka, eggplant parmesan or eggplant cutlets. It might also be a good element in a bruschetta topping. I've never had it, so these are guesses.

I thoroughly enjoyed that course. It's finished, but the archives are available here: Science & Cooking: From Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science

Welcome to eGullet, richichi; we're glad you stumbled over here! It sounds like you'll fit right in here, with the chocolatiers and bakers and chemists, biologists and random opinionated food enthusiasts.

Yes, I have the extra-large rifi tagine. I've fed 4 people from it with leftovers. I've never fed 6 people from the tagine but it might be possible, since there are usually additional dishes making up the meal. (In other words, I don't know whether it was honesty or attempted upselling on the saleswoman's part.) I wouldn't in any case get two rifis, when there's that beautiful souss tagine calling out to me also. I'd start with one and use the Japanese tagine for extra volume if the Moroccan tagine weren't big enough. I predict that you'll have fun comparing the results of cooking in an unglazed and a glazed tagine. You can always get a second unglazed tagine later if you want.

This, and allowing the ingredients to separate before beginning, did the trick. I have a successful batch of immersion blender mayo, some of which went into tonight's tuna salad. Thanks to you both for the elucidation.

Great find, Willie! How big is that grouse? It looks quite a bit larger than our ruffed grouse, which weigh in well short of a pound.

Well, of course you do. ;-) Glad you've found the other gear you need too.

It's beautiful! I'm not sure the rifi tagine I have would hold any more. I think it's advertised as a 13" tagine because that's the outside dimension of the rim. The working interior (excluding the rim) of the bottom half is 10-1/2" at the top, tapering to 8-1/2" at the base, and 2-1/2" deep. One difference between them is that my tagine is unglazed, and that seems to affect the way sauces develop. Your Japanese tagine has a glazed interior, doesn't it?

That is a beautiful pot! Is that the donabe pot? When you get around to attaching more photos I'd love to see the interior, or see the post in action. You aren't the only person whose kitchen collection burgeoned as a result of these forums. I have a fairly large kitchen, but the stuff has still overflowed into a spare bedroom.

Let me add my welcome, and thank you for posting that recipe! It's good that you've decided to stop lurking and join in. :-)

That's a good tip, Thanks for the Crepes. 3M, who makes a blue scrubby that does not scratch steel or teflon, will not thank you. But I will. ;-)

This IS gripping. It's useful to see how you handle the revival process, and what you do when the process isn't going as expected. You mentioned that the starter you'd left behind in France had gone 'down the drain'. I'd have expected it to be too stiff for that. Were you writing literally or figuratively?