tim

Again, this is getting silly. 1. Look at any ice cream recipe. One Quart of Ice Cream: 3 cups of dairy, 3/4 cup of sugar and 4 large eggs. Not a lot of room for air for the 4 cups of ice cream. 2. Test this at home: Carefully dissolve 3 Tbsp. of sugar into a large egg. Measure the volume. Whip the egg/sugar to pale. Heat a cup of dairy to 180. Temper and mix and return to 180. Cool the base overnight in a cold refrigerator. Measure the volume and compare the results. Note: Measuring the volume of the finished product is not relevant to the question. Tim

Hi, It is possible that the dramatic increase in the price of stainless steel may have lead to a decision to use thicker aluminum layers and thinner linings. Tim

Hi, Your thickness references are prior to roll bonding. The patent states, "After roll bonding with the outer layers 8 of stainless steel, the 5-ply composite 10 of the present invention, in a presently preferred embodiment, has an overall thickness of about 0.072 inch which is particularly suitable for the manufacture of various sizes of cookware. By way of example, such a 5-ply composite 10 of 0.072 inch in thickness would have a copper core 2 of 0.036 inch in thickness, having pure aluminum layers 4 having a thickness of 0.004 inch each, and outer layers 8 of stainless steel of 0.014 inch in thickness." The picture seem to show the aluminum layers as much thicker than the stainless linings. Interesting. Tim

Hi, I attended a large rehearsal dinner at Lake Park Bistro, two years ago. The food was wonderful and served beautifully. This is not easy when 60 people are served at the same time. The restaurant is absolutely beautiful with tremendous energy. They were about to host Jacques Pepin for a fund raiser for inner city cooking scholarships. It would have been a wonderful opportunity, but I do not live in Milwaukee. Tim

Hi, I am certain the density is not a factor of the whipped egg mix. The commercial gelato is probably made only with milk and slow churned to reduce incorporation of air. Your gelato picks up air in the ice cream machine. Low fat, dense gelato also dictates higher temperature than ice cream. If you cool it to 15 degrees, like ice cream, you can get an icy texture. Serving it at about 25 degrees provides the creamy mouth feel and that instant burst of flavor from the rapid melting. Tim

DJ, Is the "typically dense gelato" made by you in the same machine, or purchased? If this is gelato you made, a solution would be to let the yolk mix rest for an hour or so. In my experience, the typical ice cream machine incorporates more air than is desired in a gelato. This is from a combination of quick churning and larger paddles set at strong angle. One solution is a hand crank ice cream machine churned at very low speed. Tim

Hi, You should focus on expanding your culinary horizons and working in a kitchen that offers a newer menu and allows for new ideas. Tim

Hi, This is getting ridiculous. I think that the article points out that foaming the egg yolks stabilizes them for cooking. You do cook the egg yolks. And, yes cooking the egg yolks eliminates the foam. Remember when you learned to cook a custard and the disappearance of the foam meant you were coming to temperature? Yes, you can have "chewy" ice cream. Add a supply of guargum to assure this quality. What kind of gelato maker do you have? I have not seen gelato makers in the US. Tim

Robyn, Some of the "best" restaurants can be a "dud". Some of the better street vendors serve "great food" You ask, "Who knows?" The answer is eGulleteers and if you only have a day or two, why not ask for a reference, you might avoid that "dud". Just asking does not mean you are unwilling to take a risk. It is a shame that you sometimes have to suffer less than the "best" or "3 star restaurants". But then, that would be taking a risk.

Hi, I have always wondered about the bitterness in orange juice. When I was a kid, they served very bitter orange juice at school. I assume that this was a result of squeezing oranges that had a lower sugar/higher acidity content. In example, California oranges as opposed to Floriday oranges. As far as orange peels, I am also perplexed that longer steeping of microplaned orange peels (no pith) in vodka, yields an orangecello that needs more sugar to eliminate bitterness. Longer steeping of lemon peels improves the limoncello. Any experts out there? Tim

Shelby, Morel stems can remain very tough after sauteeing. Many people discard them or save them for the stock pot. I chop the stems and stew them in butter for 30 minutes, they become tender and have wonderful flavor. The caps may be sauteed on medium for 5 minutes in butter. You may then add a little cream and reduce as desired. A longer saute in low heat does not reduce the flavor or damage the texture. Just do not let them dry out in your pan and they are very forgiving. Tim

Sam, I now clearly recognize that your idea of measuring from a picture is clearly the best way to achieve accuracy in these measurements. If you compare our measurments, you will realize that I suffer from a wondering decimal problems. After correcting my math, we agree that the pans are 1.905mm thick and the copper layer is 0.89mm thick. I completely agree with your statement that the bottom layer is not easy to see. I blew up both pictures by 400% and measured both on the screen and compared the percentages of each layer to the total thickness. Measuring the blow up of the pictures hints that the linings may be the same thickness as on Falk's cookware, .20 mm. I also think the outer layer of aluminum/stainless may be thinner than the inner layers. Tim

Hi, The Extech 3972 seems to match the base Thermapen at less than one half the cost. Edit to add: This thermometer does not have a thermocouple sensor. I therefore assume that its performance does not match the Thermapen. http://www.extechstore.com/browseproducts/...cket-Style.HTML The Thermapen Combination has infrared. Kind of cool. Tim

Sam, Sorry, I measured the Copper Core pans. My idea on weight is predicated on two pans with very close measurements. The hardwear differences, handle weight, can be estimated. The detailing difference, pouring lip can me measured. This is not rocket science. We are trying to estimate the weight differential in a layer of metals with an area that may be estimated within reason. This will allow for a reasonable verification of results from a blow up of a picture. Tim

Seriously, Who is Harold? Does he have a last name? Does he have a CV? Tim

Hi, The Copper Core pans are 0.075" (1.905mm) thick, measured on my micrometer. I am confused about the thickness of the interior and exterior linings. We know that Falk uses an interior lining that is 0.008" (0.02mm) thick. I remember reading that the stainless interior/exterior linings on All-Clad pans is approximately 0.0175" (0.045mm) thick. I cannot imagine that the linings (.00175" X 2 = 0.035") would account for almost half of the Copper Core's total thickness. Let's assume that the linings total 0.016". At this point we know that the assumed remaining thickness (0.075" - 0.016" = 0.060") totals about 1.52mm, quite a bit less than the professional standard of 2.5mm. Assume that the remaining thickness (0.075" - 0.016" = 0.060") includes three layers with 60% being copper. That would indicate a copper layer that is only 0.035" (0.089mm) thick. We can verify these calculations by weighing and measuring a Copper Core pan and same pan in All-Clad Stainless. If the pans measure exactly, the difference in weight will be due to the volume of copper. With the measurements, we can easily calculate the area of the copper layer and inpute the volume of copper in inches or milimeters. Any volunteers with two pans? Tim

Chris, I admit my slight error (editor vs. publisher) in remembering the story. Nevertheless, the editor's statement is a confirmation of the same tale. Give me strength! Tim

Hi, I'll never forget their article which compared and tested kosher salts. The article was written by an expert with many years experience and her recommendation was to use only Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. Fine Cooking failed to note that the writer was an employee of Cargill, Inc, the manufacturer of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt. Even worse, the Publisher isisted there was no appearance of a conflic of interest. Tim

Hi, This is very easy. Chunks of dried brown sugar are wonderful mixed into whipped creme fraiche. Spread the sugar in a sheet pan and place in a convection oven at 150 to 200 degrees. Stir it, break up the chunks and check the moisture level every 20 minutes. When it has cooled you can break it into a finer texture with a fork or run it briefly in a processor to your desired texture. Store in a tight mason jar. Tim

Hi, All of the restaurants that I mentioned do fit our budget. Their are two problems with Amada. No noise control and the event coordinator will not return calls. For those reasons, we visited Tinto and talked to the GM who was very accommodating. They have two new rooms with excellent noise control that seat 46 people. Unfortunately, their events coordinator (shared with Amada) insists the restaurant only seats 23. Obviously, she has not been to Tinto since their expansion. Who does SHE work for?????? Garces is in Chicago opening a new hit restaurant. The owner of Fork was imperious and aloof. My son owns a restaurant in NYC and was really turned off. Fork her! Supper seems really willing to work with us and they do have the room. I don't know much about their food. Osteria may just be too busy to respond. Kind of a bummer. Tim

I'm wondering why there has been no mention of Tinto, Supper, Fork or Osteria. Any thoughts? Tim

HI, That pan lists for $245 with a lid with irregulars normally costing $166 at Cookwarenmore.com Tim

I was wondering if we would ever see him again or if Bravo completely pissed him off with the blog fiasco. ← ???? Inquiring minds want to know???

Hi, We have been seeking a Philadelphia restaurant about an October rehearsal dinner. It has been very frustrating in that restaurants are not willing to talk about hosting a private party. We get no response after repeated phone calls and emails. We have been repeatedly ignored or treated with houghty condecsension. A recommended BYOB wanted four times their normal pris fixe for their room. We cannot get information because the manager is working on this weekend and could care less about October. One restaurant event coordinator claims the restaurant only seats 23 after we counted over 40 chairs in their private room. Most BYOB's do not have web sites. What's the deal? Any ideas? Any contacts? Any recommendations? How about a really fun, casual and inexpensive bistro? Tim