Smithy

I tried this recipe last night, massaging and all. Artichokes are fiddly to begin with, and I rarely mess with them because the finger-food aspect doesn't appeal to the other human in the household. Nonetheless *I* like them, and indulged myself when I found some on sale.I ended up discarding a lot of outer leaves (more than I'd have predicted) that were tough, despite long cooking; a lot of the onions got a bit too caramelized for my liking (read: it took forever to clean the Le Creuset gratin dish afterward). Despite these issues, the dish was a hit. "I like these!" said my darling, spearing yet more artichoke, and I hardly got any. The melted butter for dipping may have been a factor. In fact, next time around I may add melted butter as a garnish before serving. I do think I overcooked it in the hopes of getting more edible artichoke fraction. Next time, if there is a next time, I'll use a different pan and more liquid so that the artichokes are sitting atop a deeper reservoir of liquid. The flavors were good.

Perhaps just adding an additional egg yolk would do the trick. Egg yolks tend to moisten; egg whites tend to dry and leaven.

Mjx, for about how much time, and at what temperature, should this be baked? Does the answer change if it's flattened to make schiacciata? If so, what would the new numbers be?

rotuts, if I didn't already have a kitchen nearly bursting with gear, you'd be driving me to it. Circulator. Cuisinart Steam Boy (or Girl). Next thing I know, you'll be buying a rotovap and I'll want that too. Sous vide eggs: glorious! Enjoy that lusciousaise, and have a little extra for me.

ElsieD, did you have any better success this time around? I'm wondering, based on your description, whether the layer of egg is too thin so that the yolk isn't adequately protected from heat by the white, or the ramekin. It's normally my experience that the white sets first, not the yolk, and if I'm reading your first post correctly you've had the reverse happen. Another thought is that the temperature and/or time are wrong. There's been a lot of research posted about the results of cooking eggs (still in the shell) at a precise temperature in a warm-water circulating bath. Dave Arnold has put out a chart showing the uses and 'doneness' of eggs cooked at specific temperatures for an hour. Although you're trying to cook these in dishes using a more conventional method, you may find information here that helps home in on your target. Perhaps cooking for a longer time and lower temperature would help. Here's one link to the chart and a discussion: http://www.splendidtable.org/story/theres-more-than-one-way-to-cook-an-egg-dave-arnold-has-11 Googling "Dave Arnold" and "eggs" will get a great deal more, many of them including the same chart.

What a great machine! I've never seen one like that before. Good find!

I had to go look at their web site to see what it looks like: http://www.cuisipro.com/en/Cooking/Cordless-Herb-Chopper-plu74-7190.html. Clearly, I haven't used one, but I have questions. The photos make it look like there are 2 main blades and a third, stationary? pointed blade coming off the top of the axle. Am I see that right? If so, what's that all about? I take it you've tried the "shake while chopping" that they say is so easy. What happens with the wet herbs: do they clump up, like trying to mow wet grass?

I like your style, Matthew. ;-)

Welcome, Annealment! There are quite a few people here who've made the transition; I expect they'll be along soon to welcome you also. What sorts of things do you like to cook and bake?

Shelby, can you describe the flavor? Was it more like mint, oregano, both, or neither? Sour, bitter, tart, bland,...?

That looks wonderful. What is the purpose of the champagne?

One of my favorite upscale cafes uses flatbreads that they make on site. The bread is soft and pliable enough to serve as a wrap if one wishes, but it can also be cut with knife and fork as part of an open-face sandwich. Since it nearly covers the plate and the 'filling' almost covers the flatbread, I've usually chosen the latter option. They wouldn't share their recipe with me, alas, but their bent is Mediterranean. If you wanted a more local twist, might you use mesquite flour as an element in a flatbread? I don't know whether it would be difficult to source in quantity, and I know it isn't *quite* from your neck of the woods.

You're welcome. By the way, SobaAddict's recipe above shows another great way to keep the bright color: blanch the beans in boiling water, then stop the cooking in ice water, then go on with the rest of the dish. I don't know whether that would help keep the color with your sous vide strategy. I do know I plan to cook his recipe soon. :-)

The lemon juice, or any acid, will make those beans lose that bright color. I wonder what would happen if you waited to toss the beans with the lemon juice and zest until after cooking?

It all looks beautiful, Soba. Thanks for this information. I'll have to renew my library loan to continue cooking on this topic myself, but if you keep it up I may end up making the purchase. ;-)

What an interesting question! I've been through all my recipes and my "Date Recipes" cookbook; all the recipes for bar cookies call for layers. I wonder what would happen if a "date bread" recipe, for quick bread or coffee cake, were spread out into a 9x13 pan? Do you recall whether the recipe involved chocolate, nuts and/or fruit other than the dates? I haven't looked into my quick bread recipes, but your answers may help focus the search.

I assume he's talking about the Cuisinart Combo Steam and Convection Oven (Williams-Sonoma link here, but available through other vendors also) that's causing such a fuss in this topic: Cuisinart Combo Steam/Convection Oven. Some of the members are really putting it through its paces.

I've had yogurt develop a grainy texture when frozen and thawed by itself. I can't remember whether the fat content mattered. I don't think I've ever tried freezing something that contained yogurt as an ingredient. This doesn't answer your questions, but may provide a workaround: could you, perhaps, freeze the rest of the gazpacho and then stir the yogurt in just before serving? Then you could carry the yogurt separately in a sealed container suitable for the refrigerator or an ice chest.

It's never occurred to me to use a pressure cooker on eggs. I don't own a pressure cooker, so even if I'd thought of it I couldn't have tested it. It does seem as though steamed eggs are easier to peel than boiled eggs, but I haven't done a careful study. This topic pops up occasionally; the most recent discussion about steaming vs. boiling is here: http://forums.egullet.org/topic/148583-steaming-hard-cooked-eggs/ Thanks for bringing up this technique. I was going to suggest you'd come up with a new method, but in searching the forums I found some discussion about it in the Pressure Cookers topics. Laura Pazzaglia (Society member 'pazzaglia') posted a blog entry on the very topic, and a few people have tested it and included links. Here's another link to her blog entry: http://www.hippressurecooking.com/cracked-soft-medium-and-hard-boiled-eggs-in-the-pressure-cooker/ Of course, I still can't test it, but it would great to see some side by side testing of 'steam' vs. 'pressure cook' to see what difference the pressure makes.

Thanks very much for that recipe, CatPoet. I love gravlax; your procedure looks a little easier than mine, and I look forward to trying it. However, I think we may be missing a point here: your father says that if the juices are reabsorbed the fish will be salty; andrestorrubia says he vacuum seals the fish. He clearly isn't removing juice before serving. However, he may not be waiting as long. It's also possible that the brown sugar helps draw and hold the fish juices so they can't reabsorb. andrestorrubia, in addition to my earlier questions, I'll also ask these: How does your procedure and recipe compare to CatPoet's gravlax recipe? When your marinated salmon is done, does it have some coating that you rinse or wipe off before serving?

I'd like a bit more information about quantities and time, if you don't mind telling. When you normally do this, about how much brown sugar and how much salt do you use, on approximately what size piece of fish? Are you saying that you usually just sprinkle a little of each on the surface of the fish, then vacuum pack it? Or is it a small amount of seasoning sprinkled on one small patch of the fish? (That's what your salt-only photo looks like, to me.) Are you adding no liquid? Finally, for how long do you usually marinade, and at what temperatures? I don't know whether that information will help troubleshoot and offer ideas, but it may. Besides, I'm curious to try it myself. ;-)

Franci, you could invite me to your table any time, and I promise I wouldn't need a blindfold to enjoy it. Those look beautiful, and I'll bet they tasted even better than they look!

...and those both of strong Arab heritage! I got a kick out of their listing beef kababs as Egyptian; beef is expensive there, and lamb or chicken are far more common. Thanks for your translation of the contents; it's a lot of fun to read, and worth some giggles. I've had the idea that beef and mutton are expensive in China. Is that true? If so, do you think this cookbook makes heavy use of them to make the dishes seem more exotic? Giggles aside, I'd love to know about the Feta Cheese Salad (representing Greece) on page 118. That's a good question. I don't recall celery in any of the Middle Eastern dishes I've eaten, nor do I recall seeing it in the souks in Egypt. I'm no authority on the topic (I'm hoping Hassouni or FoodMan will pop in), so I checked with several of my Middle Eastern cookbooks, including my Egyptian cookbooks. No mention of celery in salads that I could see. There IS an Arabic word for celery, so it isn't a complete unknown. Still, I'm inclined to think this recipe writer has made use of artistic license.

I can't get very excited about the fiberglass in this context. Note that the discussion in the link above is all about fiberglass as an inhalation hazard. The exposure to the threads in the margin is very, very small, and very finite in quantity. (I do like rotut's trick of smoothing with a torch.) If I were a professional cook using these mats in large quantities all day, every work day, I might try to find a fiberglass-free mat to cut. For casual use my only concern would be the aesthetic displeasure of seeing an expensive, rather pretty piece of matting become disfigured and asymmetrical.

Wow...those are beautiful, Elizabeth! I'm very impressed.