Enzian

The best dogs I've been able to purchase locally are Pearls. Unfortunately, availability has been hit-or-miss, with the emphasis on miss, lately. Matter of fact, I don't think I've been able to find a single package of Pearls so far this summer! I just did a quick search, and I guess they're a New England (Boston) brand, that has yet to crack into the NY market. They've yet to break into the Cape Cod market - which is decidedly less competitive - so maybe the folks at Pearl should set thier sights a little lower.

I don't get it. Why would bread pudding do that. Was it rotten? If my poopie stories can prevent just one accident, then my mission is complete. I think Skat said it best when s/he said, "Dude. ".

In an experiment of mine to understand the difference between shallots and onions, I caramelized a handful of shallots and then a whole white onion. I had a lovely shallot and onion brunch. Man alive, it was good. Good enough for more? SURE! I caramelize even more shallots and another white onion together and then toss in a buch of mushrooms. A lovely shallot/onion/shroom brunch! Delicious! And then the gas hits. Oof! Like a punch in the gut. Room-clearing, eye-watering, silent-but-deadly gas. For two and a half days. ============= In college, my gradfather gave me a gallon tank of apple juice. Okay. I wasn't a big apple juice guy, but I kept in on hand. Sure enough, I'm out of food. Nothing in the apt. but my huge tank of apple juice. I drink it in about an hour. Spastic stomach-wrenching for the rest of the day. It was like a giant was wringing the excrement from my bowels like he was twisting out a sopping dishtowel. I had no idea apple juice would do that. ============== I never had bread pudding, before, but a friend brought a tray of his Mom's beloved recipe to my place for a Bachelor's Thanksgiving. Much drinking and Ken Griffey Jr. baseball later and the guests leave and I crash. I wake up and see the tray of bread pudding on the counter. I eat it. Three days of agony. Lying on the couch too ill to watch TV because it would make me dizzy and sick. Shaking, sweating, freezing. Bi-directional vomitting. Complete and total incapacitance.

I was apprehensive, too, to post my bandwidth choking pics, but I really love to see others do it, so I figured I'd go for it. If I caught any flak, I could remove them. No harm, no foul. Meh. I'm thrilled to hear everyone likes them! Wow! :D Thanks! I'm a kitchen voyeur, too, and it's strange to realize I've become an exhibitionist. ;) I'd post more pics of my awesome French bread (I've yet to try Mr. MacGuire's advice - but soon!) but I've got to find the digital camera. I guess I should be glad my wife took four long months to lose something so expensive. She's usually much more efficient. The higher the pricetag, the quicker it's gone. I wub her, still. The fact she can't find her car keys on a daily basis is part of her charm.

I'll vouch for Chau Chow City as being excellent. However, I realize that individual pallettes for Asian cuisine are hinged greatly upon where you were raised. To counter that, I'll add that I grew up on the North Shore of Massachusetts. From what I've heard, Chau Chow City is as authentic as you can get, this side of the Pacific. I ate there ~ 4 years ago, when I was fairly oblivious to food appreciation - but I knew it tasted great! I had never had crab rangoons before, but they were recommended by a friend, and I wasn't disappointed. Crispy outsides and creamy insides with a light crab flavor. I need to go back there! :D

Well, Shirley says that bean flour "improves dough performance, and enhances flavor, nutriton, and probably yeast growth." Why does Raymond Calvel slam it? Does it not do these things, or does it hinder other beneficial properties of the dough. Mr. McGuire just answered a question I asked, and he said that the French use bean flour in their pain ancien. I don't have a problem questioning authority or tradition, but I'm just asking for further info.

I'd like to say thanks, also. I'm just a food guy - not a chef or anything. I've always wondered how a gourmet could describe labels like sweet, bitter or sour to foods I used to deem simple. My wife prepared a snack for my nightly drive to work of watermelon and cantaloupe balls. I thought of this lesson and really enjoyed the crispy texture and light sweetness of the watermelon and the creamy sweetness of the cantaloupe as I drove in the dark. Every bite was enjoyed and savored. So, yes. Thank you for showing me how to taste!

Gah! You mean I've been messing up dishes and taking mad flack from my wife for nothing!!!!

I've been wrestling with a different problem, but I've not had a problem with ovenspring. I use the steam "trick". I place a shallow pan on the bottom rack (actually, the very bottom; I have a gas oven) filled with boiling water 5 minutes before I put the first loaf in. You want a full oven of steam in there. The idea is that the steam will keep the top moist and prevent a crust from forming too rapidly, therefore constricting the loaf from rising. Also, shaping and slashing. A taut loaf shows less surface area, and therefore, more mass beneath it. Anything jagged would crust over too fast and not uniformly. Slashing is important, too. The crust may not be hard-set, thanks to the steam, but it's still almost like a freezer burnt ice cream pellicle; rubbery but inelastic. Slashes act as pleats that further allow for expansion. For a boule, I like 5 slashes that make it look like a sand dollar. For baguettes, I like a few (3-5, depending on size) bias slashes.

My mom is a kitchen designer! Heh. While I can't offer her services, I can impart a few design elements I've seen: A rack made of vertical dowels for baking sheets. Stored vertically. Large pantry is ubar l33t. The stove, fridge and sink should for a triangle, and each "node" should be no more than 3 paces from the other two. Roughly speaking, or course, I've seen many exceptions to that rule. When you stand at the sink, you should have the trash on your left and the dishwasher on your right. The first element to place should be the sink. Everything else goes around that. Be creative. Uh. One thing I've heard her say is that she envisions every accesory in a functional kitchen and then plans a space near where it will be used. Baking sheets would go by the stove, with a drawer for utensils, pot holders/dish towels, etc. Hope I've sparked some thought. If you're near the South Shore of Massachusetts, lemme know. She's been flown around the world to design kitchens for People Who Know, yet she can work within most budgets, too. Good luck! Have tons of fun!

Mr. MacGuire, I've read descriptions about shaping baguettes but I can't seem to wrap my head (or fingers) around the concept. Could you explain the basic motions and possibly share any tips? Thanks

I love this! Congratulations and my condolences! My mom opened her own business (kitchen design) ~ 15 years ago. I remember the scariness she went through. The first couple years were slow(er) and really had her on the ropes for a while. She's made it, though. You are doing it! You must be so proud! (and tired and scared and... and, proud!)

I baked this not too long ago... a Lemon Merengue Pie for my grandfather, who loves them. The Flour The Fats Fridge bound! Chill the fat and let the flour absorb some moisture. Rolled A thing of beauty, if I do say so myself. I didn't have any pie weights... but I have a ton of 6-penny common nails! Stiff peaks. "GBD," as Alton would say. Squozen. Do professional cooks use mise en place when they're baking at home? I'm just trying to cultivate good habits, but my wife teases me mercilessly. Pre-Boil Post-Boil I've always had a temper problem. I'm allergic to alcohol - I break out in a case of handcuffs. ;) Naah, not really. I'm just reading "A Cook's Tour" and I must be channeling Anthony Bourdain. (Great read, by the way) Fill'er up. Top'er off. Baked. Before the Missus kicks my ass. F@#$'in good habits are hard to form. Fin. (gratuitous shot of new fridge) I feel all improved already!

I was watching Alton Brown on Good Eats make a batch of mayo. He filled a regular store-bought mayonnaise jar with his homemade concoction and proceeded to say that We should use it within a week. A week!? That's not a lot of time to mow through some mayo, man! I make a ton of egg salad sandwiches, roast beef sandwiches, tuna fish sandwiches - I use a lot of mayo - yet a regular store-bought jar of mayo still seems to last an eternity on the door of my fridge. Are there additives to the store-bought variety that can increase it's longevity so much, or is my beloved AB watching his 6 and erring on the side of his lawers?

The pan is shaped like that! Whew! I thought you had to shape those from the dough! What a feat that would be! The look fantastic, by the way. What is that pan called?

I can't wait to try the salt and pepper on watermelon, this summer. Am I the only one who thinks that a nuked "baked" potato is nothing more than a pepper delivery system? A little fleur du sel, and a ton of black pepper. For the record, I have a 12" Mr. Dudley for black pepper and a small mill for white pepper. I like the flavor of white pepper; it seems more subdued to me, and I use it at the table - but not on baked potatos. However, when I grind it, I get a strong scent of, well... a barnyard. Matter of fact, that's what my wife calls it - "The Barnyard", as in, "Please pass The Barnyard." I've chalked it up to the "aromatic" quality of white pepper, and have grown to enjoy it's scent, to a degree. I can't help but feel like I'm playing the part of Townsman #5234 in "The Emperor's New Clothes"... Is this the normal aroma of white pepper?

What's a "pluches"?

I'm replying to this thread before reading it, so... pardon me. My second son is now 13 months. He doesn't talk, yet, or walk, yet, and he's only got 5 teeth in his tender, drooly head. One of his favorite snacks are grape tomatoes cut into 3 or 4 slices. Just yesterday I had just finished feeding him lunch and broke out the tomatoes to finish his appetite off. But, this time, I took some $7 balsamic vinegar, some virgin olive oil, some Ken's Steakhouse Italian salad dressing (very acidic, my favorite prepared salad dressing) and some mayonnaise. I cut up a tomato and put a few drops of the Ken's on. He liked it very much and didn't even flinch at the acidity. Next, a tomato with the olive oil. He didn't like it! I was surprised. I figured it would add a nice flavor and smoothness to the tomato. I think he liked the taste of the salad dressing, and was therefore his palatte was spoiled. Next up: Balsamico. He absolutely loved it! I wound up giving him two tomatoes covered in the vinegar. Lastly, I smeared a round with a little mayo. He ate it, unlike the olive oil one, but there was no enjoyment like the acidic tomatoes. Then, I prepared five slices: Plain, and one with each of the condiments. Which did he prefer? The balsamic! He loved it! --------- Whenever we have sliced lemons or limes around, we let him suck on them. Oddly, he recovers from his initial reaction fairly quickly and then sucks on them vigorously. --------- He loves eggplant parmesan and has already eaten an entire stuffed artichoke! He recently ate a sundried tomato paste/sauce that was very acidic as a topping to some elbow macaroni. When he was real small, we fed him a lot of pastina with butter - but now he balks at it. Not enough flavor, I bet. He's named after my father and my deceased paternal grandfather. I'm not a religous man, but I can't help but imagine that my baby is my grandfather, reincarnated, or something. Kinda lame, but, what can I say? I kinda like imagining it.

I've been contemplating a career-change, lately. But, I just turned 30 and I have a wife and two beautiful kids, so the intensity and labor of a culinary job has become a fantasy. Thank you for writing. I really appreciate it.

IIRC, Aton Brown recommends washing the herbs, wrapping in a few sheets of paper towel and then that in a plastic bag in the fridge. I've done that with some dill and it's still good after a week. It's been two weeks, now - I gotta check on it!

I have done it. I have created wonderful Crusty French Bread. Flaky and crusty on the outside; tender, soft and wonderful on the inside. I am happy. Side Note: When I told my Mom what I was trying to accomplish she said that she makes the best French Bread in her food processor. I just couldn't believe some recipe she pulled from Better Homes and Gardens is gonna perform as well as something by Shirley Corriher, so I started talkin' a little smack. Competition: Bread Battle! I brought over half a loaf of the "good stuff" I made today and made her some toast. "You win," she said with one bite. So anti-climactic.

I baked two loaves, yesterday, but my experimentation is far from over. Mistakes: Too much oil coating dough in the first rise. Poor punching down. Abysmal shaping. Too much butter on top of loaves prior to baking. My wife actually did the baking part, but she did not mist them during the last 10 min. Results I wish to change: Ultra-buttery, rubbery crust - would've been great on a brioche. I would like to have a harder, crunchier crust. Flat loaves like deflated footballs. Perhaps my wife slashed too deep? I would like to see sleek baguettes. Results I liked: Crumb flavor was very good. Since this is the majority of the bread, it's not a waste by any stretch. Overall: A great product, but not Crusty French Bread. Questions: What does "proper kneading" looks like in a KitchenAid stand mixer? At times, the dough looked like it was just hanging onto the hook for a planetary twirl around the bowl. It was hard to make out any action, so I could be wrong. And, um... How do you shape a baguette? I can't quite understand what Mrs. Corriher is getting at with her description. I feel I'm close - but not there.

So, by degrading the gluten, bean flour allows the dough to be more easily kneaded? If I'm right, that would be "improved performance" in my book! Thanks!

I'm reading Cookwise and trying a number of Mrs. Corriher's recipes. In her Crusty French bread, she uses 2T of Lima bean flour, which "improves dough performance, and enhances flavor, nutriton, and probably yeast growth." I don't grind my own coffee beans, so I used my food processor ( ) to grind my Lima beans. The blades still seem fine, thanks for asking. ;) Flavor and nutrition are obvious results of using the bean flour. Makes sense. There are probably a ton of simple sugars in the beans for yeasts to divide and conquer, so that's probable, too. But how does 2T of bean flour improve dough performance - and just what is "dough performance"? I imagine that "dough performance" is a matter of gluten, which is glutenin and gliadin, which are only found in large quantities in wheat flour. So, my idea of "dough performance" must be wrong. What is Mrs. Corriher speaking of when she says bean flour improves dough performance? ======== This is one of the greatest forums I've ever seen.