andiesenji

For black and oolong teas, I prefer the 2-pot method as that way the tea does not "stew" it is the way I learned as a child in a very British household. Your tea measurements are correct, The best way is to fill the pot with water to within an inch or so of the top, then pour it into a measure and see how much it holds. Most teacups are 6 oz but most mugs are larger so this way you know exactly how much the pot holds and can figure accordingly for the number of people you want to serve. First measure the appropriate amount of tea into a dry dish or cup. Have two pots of the same size. Boil enough water to fill one of the pots plus enough to heat the pots. When the water is boiling, pour some into each pot. Swirl it around in the first pot and pour out. Add the dry tea to the pot, fill the pot with the water and stir briefly with a spoon to make sure all the leaves are moistenend. Set your timer for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how strong you like your tea and cover the pot with a towel or a cozy if you have one. Meanwhile swirl the water around in the second pot and discard. Place a strainer over the opening and as soon as the timer sounds, pour the brewed tea into the new pot. Cover this pot with the cozy to maintain heat and serve. Tea made this way will not "stew" and become too strong to drink. I have tried many of the infusers and have yet to find one that allows the tea to infuse as it should. The leaves swell as they soak up the water and the water does not circulate well throughout the tea leaf mass. Try both ways and see if you don't notice a difference. I certainly can.

I use Cambro containers as they are inexpensive, last for years and many have interchangeable lids. I probably have over a hundred. Here are just a few. In the photo you can see a range of sizes from 1 quart to 22 quarts/20 +liters and just about every size in between. I also have a few of the clear square acrilic Cambro containers for certain things, such as pickles and soaking mustard seeds so I can see how they look as they are "working". I still have the first one I ever bought, probably now nearing 20 years old. I buy mine at Smart & Final, I have not found a better price anywhere. You can see here what they cost. Compared to Tupperware they are dirt cheap! Cambro round containers The 1 quart size in on the previous page at the very bottom. The square containers are more expensive.

I have used agar agar, xanthene gum and other compounds for jelling candies but I have no information if they are kosher.

You are so right! When I had my kitchen extended and remodeled I had both incentives and penalties included in the contract. Of course I had spent months getting everything that was going into the kitchen, appliances, fixtures, cabinets, countertops, flooring, etc., and putting all of it in storage, except for the lumber/pipes/wiring provided by the builder, etc., but everything else was on hand when they started. They finished a week early and got a substantial bonus which meant that the hourly workers got the wages they would have received had they worked the additional week plus extra. They did a terrific job and cleaned up as they went so that there was no residual mess.

My local health food store sells a kosher product identified as fish gelatin made from kosher fish. I haven't tried it myself but one of my friends uses it for preparing a tomato aspic. Her family is Orthodox so I assume it is okay. I an not at home so have no access to the information in my computer and I don't have her phone number with me so can't call her to get the name. I believe it come from Israel.

I pulse them 5 or 6 times, perhaps a couple of more pulses if there are big chunks hanging about. I have been doing them that way for years, never had a problem. If they are larger than the ones shown in the photos I cut them into halves or quarters. They should all be about the same size to start. I wish I was home now so that I could have some on toast under a poached egg.

First of all I would invite you for brunch. In preparation I would make some fresh duck sausage which is excellent for breakfast or brunch. I would have prepared ahead of time one of my special bread puddings in a large, deep loaf pan. This would be sliced in 3/4 inch thick slices and placed on a griddle on top of browned butter. Prior to turning it to cook the top side, I would brush it with cream and sprinkle with granulated maple sugar which, after turning it over, would form a carmelized crispy crust on top of the "mock" French toast. This way it needs no syrup to make it soggy. The center is like custard under the carmelized maple sugar crust. Since this is something I originated I do consider it a "signature" dish. With fresh fruits in season, this is a simple, yet satisfying morning meal.

As long I live, I'll remember a piece of advice given to me when I visited very, VERY rural upstate NY in the fall. "Allan, if you go out walking, try to look as little like game as possible". no comment. :) ← I can relate by personal experience. I have a large scar where my left thigh meets my hip where I was shot while deer hunting when I was 16. We were on private land, and there should have been no other hunters around. Fortunately the shot came from a great distance as it was a 30:30 slug and didn't do any serious damage. Actually the doctor who removed it did more damage than the shot itself. Another fortunate thing was that it was near zero (Wisconsin) and I didn't bleed much initially. I was wearing bright orange!!!

I think that is wonderful Varmint, soonest started, soonest finished. I know we will all be looking forward to reports of the progress, with photos, of course.

Oh goodness, I didn't intend my mention as a criticism, other people mentioned them also. I just wanted to say how surprised I was that people hadn't known of them when I knew of them all my life, particularly when they make a tedious job so much easier. I also use them for cutting into the rind of the odd citrus with very thick skins, such as pomelos and the odd shaped ones such as Buddah's hand, etc. Much easier to control than a regular knife.

To slow the oxidation and keep cooking oils from becoming rancid so rapidly, you can simply make sure the bottles are tightly closed and invert them. This effectively seals the contents away from ambient air as even the tightest closure will allow some air exchange unless vacuum sealed. I have been doing this for years (with the inverted bottles in a container that insures that any small leaks are confined to it and do not anoint the cabinet shelf. They should also be kept away from light as that also tends to degrade the contents. If you buy oil in large containers, transfer a small amount to keep out on the counter for ready use. I also do not see any point of having an excessively high temp oil as when one reaches a certain point the food placed in the oil is incinerated rather than cooked and some foods, containing a certain level of moisture, can virtually explode. If you doubt this, I can give you the name of a person who has a shrimp-shaped burn scar on his left cheek after dumping a handful of raw shrimp in the shell into oil that was much hotter than he thought. Several shrimp were blasted out of the wok and one happened to stick to his cheek long enough to cause a 3rd degree burn.

It could be the type of potatoes you used. I prefer Yukon gold, since they have become available. However, once in a while I end up with a potato soup that lacks "something" in the way of flavor. My "fix" is simply to mix up a batch of herb dumplings - a basic biscuit dough with the addition of salt, pepper and a herb mixture. I scoop it out of the bowl with a #30 disher (ice cream scoop) and drop them onto a sheet of parchment paper until all are formed, it doesn't hurt if the surface dries just a bit. Then I make sure the soup is bubbling, stirring well to keep the bottom from scorching. I then shovel in the dumplings, cover tightly and turn the heat down to a simmer. After 5 minues I uncover, turn the dumplings over, separating the ones that have stuck together, cover again and continue cooking for about 8 to 10 minutes. I have found that the flavor of the dumplings, in the soup, gives it a depth of flavor far beyond that of the basic soup.

It is in the instructions just before "add Port to the mixture"

Duxelles is simply a mushroom/shallot paste that is used to flavor all kinds of foods that are complimented by mushrooms. There are numerous recipes which involve much less effort and cooking time than my version. Whole Foods market has their own version as well as some uses for it. This food glossary link has several sites with various recipes. Here is yet another recipe. If you like mushrooms, you will like this. It has an intense mushroom flavor that lends itself to all type of meats and vegetables and even cheese. One of my friends prepares a brie en croute with a layer of duxelles under and over the cheese before closing the pastry. It is an exceptional combination of flavors. Sublime!

Frankly, I have never considered the meaning, literal or otherwise. I learned to make it 30-some years ago when I took a gourmet cooking class from a French chef in Encino, Calif. His opinion was that the "quick-cooked" method was an abomination and the only way to do it correctly was to cook it for a prolonged period at low temperature. This is the way I have done it and I like it this way. What is the literal translation?

I mentioned chestnut knives in this thread a while back. I was surprised that so few people had heard of them. We had them when I was a child, back in the dark ages. (40s) I have several and find they are handy for other tasks also. I use them for removing the ribs and seeds from very small hot peppers. They work better than a regular knife with less damage to the flesh of the pepper.

We have a middle eastern market here in Lancaster (Calif) and the wife of the owner has given me several recipes. She has a large crock in which she keeps preserved lemons - with a sort of plastic mesh liner with a perforated top that fits down into the crock. She showed me how she lifts the entire thing out of the crock, opens a section at the bottom to extract a couple or more lemons, then put the entire thing back into the crock. She just keeps adding new lemons to the top and it goes on forever. She said she started it when they moved here 4 years ago. She gave me some to try a year or so ago and they were just wonderful so I began making my own. She also gave me a bag of dried lemons to play with. I am a steady customer at the store and they seem to be intrigued by the fact that I try so many "ethnic" foods and often give me samples of new items to try. Sometimes we have a bit of language problem but with sign language we get along quite well. I took them some of my candied ginger as this was a confection with which they were unfamiliar.

Explanation. Yesterday I made a batch of duxelles and took photos of the process. I neglected to upload the photos to my computer yesterday and since last evening, I am at the home of an acquaintence, babysitting a basenji bitch who is ready to whelp at any moment and the owners are away from home, the wife at the dog shows in Palm Springs and the husband, an L.A. County firefighter, on duty because of the storms. I brought my camera along to take photos in case the pups are born on my watch. Unfortunately I needed to clear the memory card to make room so had to upload the photos so put them into image gullet. With not much else to do, I have edited the photos and uploaded them to my album. Fortunately they also have a Mac, and since I had already posted the recipe to my notepad in eG, I have decided to post this now. First the recipe: Duxelles Mushroom paste, a condiment/sauce. 1 1/2 pound Crimini mushrooms or Italian brown mushrooms. Minced finely in food processor or by hand. 6 ounces of butter 2/3 cup finely minced shallots (You can substitute an equal amount of mild onions with a large clove of garlic if shallots are unavailable.) 2 teaspoons Herbes de Provence 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt - use less if you have regular table salt. 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 2/3 cup Port, ruby or tawny are okay, Sherry can be substituted if Port is not available. 1/2 cup heavy cream Mince the mushrooms fairly fine in a food processor - do a small batch at a time so as to avoid over-processing. Line a colander with muslin (or a thin cotton dishtowel) and squeeze the mushrooms to extract as much liquid as possible. Squeeze liquid into a bowl and save for later.. In a large, heavy-bottomed, skillet or sauté pan melt the butter until it just begins to brown. Add the finely minced shallots, sauté, then reduce heat to a low simmer and cook until shallots are translucent and just beginning to show a light tan color. Add the Herbes de Provence and continue cooking for one minute, stirring constantly. Bring the heat up to medium and add the mushrooms. Stir constantly to mix the mushrooms thoroughly with the shallots and until the mushroom began to express some liquid. Reduce heat to low simmer. Continue cooking, stirring well every 5 minutes for 30 minutes. Add the salt and pepper, stir well. Bring the heat up to low medium. Sprinkle the flour evenly over the top of the mushrooms and stir well to mix thoroughly. Continue cooking and stirring constantly for at least one minute so the flour is completely incorporated and browned. Add the liquid squeezed from the mushrooms to the mixture. Add the Port and stir well. Continue stirring often for 2 to 3 minutes, the mixture should be bubbling well. Reduce heat to low simmer. Blend in the cream. Taste and add additional salt and pepper if needed to balance flavor. Continue cooking at a low simmer, stirring at 5 to 10 minute intervals for 30 to 40 minutes, until the mixture has the consistency of a thin paste. It should hold its shape for several moments when scraped into a mound. Cool and transfer to a container and store in the refrigerator. Use within a week. The mixture can be frozen in small amounts in airtight containers for up to 3 months, vacuum sealing is best. This recipe is my own interpretation of several recipes tried over the years and significantly altered from the originals. This condiment can be used as a sauce for meats, spread on toast or crackers. A dollop can be added to hard-boiled or deviled eggs. It can be spread on crepes and rolled up with other fillings. It can be added to meat mixtures for savory tarts. And, when combined with onion confit, is a wonderful complement to just about anything savory. Scalloped potatoes, with alternating layers of potatoes, onion confit and duxelles, is a wonderful side dish for a cold, rainy day. And, you could always use it in the traditional way, in Beef Wellington. And now, the picutres: First the mushrooms, brown Italian or Crimini are the best to use. Mince in small batches in food processor. they should look like this. Now mince the shallots The liquid has to be squeezed out of the mushrooms. It should look like this - save the liquid. The mushrooms don't have to be completely dry. Now melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy-bottomed saute pan: Add the shallots: and the mushrooms after the shallots have been cooked: Watch for the mushrooms to release liquid: Reduce heat - now begins the first reduction - 2/3rds of the way there: First reduction is done and the flour has been stirred in: Now the Port has been added: Now the cream has been blended in: Now begins the final reduction, half way there: Finished! We have achieved duxelles.....

The bread or cracker crumbs are not a "filler" per se. They have a purpose, which is to keep the fat distributed throughout the mixture which makes the product a little "lighter" or more tender, less dense.

No, she gave me a gift receipt so I could exchange it if I wanted to but she bought it at Macy's and the store is just not handy for me to get to. Also, one of her patients is manager of that department so it would probably get back to her that I exchanged it and I would rather just keep it in the office. She also gave me a check, the gift was something she just happened to see while in the store. (Why she was in that department is a mystery to me, she doesn't cook at all.)

This is rather OT, but a short answer is that it is something my great grandmother called Lemon Shandy and had the cook prepare for her in a large crock with a spigot so the liquid could be drawn off the bottom. She had it mixed with seltzer, or plain soda or tonic water. I have been making it myself since I left home, except for my time in the ARMY when such things were not allowed. It is just lemons, cut up and layered with sugar. They give off enough liquid that one rarely has to add additional lemon juice but I have from time to time, if the lemons were not very juicy. I use it as a base for lemonade - I keep a batch going, with the addition of more lemons as the ones in the bottom soften and can be compressed, for several weeks. I have one of those big glass beverage containers (sometimes shown as a "sun tea" container) with a spigot at the bottom which works quite well. It is slightly green and is hexagon or octagon-shaped. It is put away at the moment and I am not sure where it is (housekeeper puts things away quite well.) Anyway, it is barely alcoholic, has more flavor than regular lemonade, in my opinion, and is also handy for flavoring salad dressing, marinades, etc. I scrub the lemons well and dip them in a very mild bleach solution, then rinse. I cut them into thick slices and for every 4 lemons pour in a cup of sugar - in layers. I buy my lemons at a Mexican market as they are far cheaper than at regular markets. Sometimes I throw in a few limes, just to make things interesting.

Well, mine doesn't seem so bad. One of the doctors at work gave me one of the Pizza "Pizazz" cookers that is intended only for baking commerical frozen pizza, 12 inch size. I was really flabbergasted. She knows I have a commercial oven, do a lot of baking and make my own pizza. I have discussed having a brick, wood-fired pizza oven built onto my kitchen. I guess she meant well, but it really floored me. I think I will keep it in the office and the girls can use it to bake pizza for lunch. That is about the only way it will ever be used. Even my housekeeper thought it was an odd gift for a dedicated "from scratch" baker or cook.

Well, if you want a frameless door and maximum entry space, you could always go with one of these. I had no idea they still made them but saw one just a couple of weeks ago when my friend and I went to her neighbor's home. This is not a "hippy" thing. (This is in an exclusive area of Yorba Linda, the house is 7000 plus square feet and was just remodeled in a "country" style) She has a little office off of her kitchen and has one of these curtains, with a rooster pattern, red on natural wood, like the butterfly, reversed color on the bottom half. She had a brochure that showed them with all kinds of pictures, some like Tromp l'Oeil pictures, including one that looked like shelves of books. In her case the doorway is arched and she did not want to lose the arch but wanted to screen her office from people in the kitchen. I had her send me the URL as I think this is a neat idea.

This place has hardware for pocket doors: Pocket door hardware.

Try the one I make with Campbell's condenced Cheddar Cheese soup. My kids loved it and would even fix it themselves. They especially liked it with the small shells, rather than the elbows.