merrybaker

I use a crock from Pommery mustard. It's heavy, dishwasher proof, holds a lot, and has a wide opening. I keep a plastic spoon inside to keep it clean.

If I'm buying fish in hot weather, I'll take a plastic produce bag and fill it with ice from the soft drink dispenser and make a little ice-pack to keep the fish cold. But that's not stealing, it's protecting my investment.

Yes, now that you mention it, there don’t seem to be separate menus. I’ve seen such in Chinese restaurants, and have even pointed to another diner’s food (not on English menu) and ordered “that.” Yet when I go to Indian restaurants with Indian friends, everyone orders off the “standard” menu.

What do you think accounts for the large number diners from the Indian subcontinent (seemingly enjoying themselves) in curry houses? Is it a guilty pleasure, the way I'd eat a junky donut even though I could bake or buy a fancy pastry instead? Is it because the spices are familiar from home, even though the dishes aren't? Is it the camaraderie thing again -- casual, omnipresent, late license places to hang out, the food may be secondary? Are BIRs thought of as a completely different cuisine, such as Chinese or Greek?

Good company and good Indian food -- what's not to like there! Meanwhile, you might make some converts by posting recipes in the “Authentic Indian Recipes” section of that forum. There was a recent discussion on that exact topic, and members showed a genuine interest in learning more. Where do you think it will end? I wish I had said that!

Waaza, I have eaten many authentic Indian dishes, both in homes and in restaurants, and they were, as you said, distinctive and delicious. But I have also had many, many curries in British-Indian restaurants, and those meals hold a special place in my heart. They’re associated with good friends, much beer, and great camaraderie. It’s that experience that I long to duplicate in my own home. And that's why I was so happy to find the Real Curry Recipes site. It’s rather like pizza. Sometimes I want a pure, Naples-style pizza to eat with knife-and-fork, along with a bottle of good red wine. Sometimes I want nothing more than to fold “a slice” and scarf it down with a Coke. Life is good. V. Gautam, interesting post! Yes, the BIR menu is getting complicated. I think that’s profit-driven: to be the first restaurant to offer a new dish, or to play catch-up with the others. But if customers like it, well, isn’t that what restaurant business is all about?

No responses? I take that as a sign you were all waiting for the weekend to make your sauces and curries. I expect to smell the spices very soon, lol. BTW, I forgot to mention a couple things. When you try the recipes: Measure accurately, using leveled measuring spoons. The ratio of spices is very critical, and the recipes were written with level measurements in mind. I've had my best results with accurate measuring. Don’t skimp on the oil, as much as you may want to. A certain critical mass is needed to “fuse” the spices. Excess oil can be spooned off the top just before serving. Start by making a base sauce, and use it as a base for the curries. Surprisingly, all the dishes have distinct tastes. (Same method as The Curry Secret, but, unlike those recipes, these are good!) Be sure to read the section on fusing the spices and oil. Very important! That’s all for now.

Anyone looking to duplicate the taste of Indian food as its served in British Indian restaurants, this site’s for you: http://www.realcurryrecipes.co.uk/ Real chefs are sharing their recipes for every Indian restaurant dish you ever heard of, and then some. The site’s not very old, but already it’s causing somewhat of a sensation in England. This is not some gimmicky thing. They’re not trying to sell anything. If a brand is mentioned (and that’s only rarely), it’s to help members duplicate a dish exactly. The site has an eGullet mentality -- members cook, post photos, ask questions, experiment, and debate. They're very dedicated curry makers, LOL. And the food? OMG! Start with the Chicken Ceylon and Saag Gosht. I bet you won’t be sorry.

I fail to see what's so great about saffron. $68 for 1/4-ounce at Penzeys? Why, think of all the chocolate I could buy!

Hi, Alexis, I just found this topic. I hope you went to the lecture and got her autograph. I was there and even got one of the free cannolis (no longer crisp ). I thought the lecture was interesting and surprisingly scholarly. All in all, I thought she was just adorable, and with the dramatic appearance I'd expect of an Art History major!

Your oven is so clean!

Fun site! I love to watch other people cook.

I made the Rustic Potato Loaf, and it was out-of-this-world. Considering it had 1+1/4 lbs. potato for 3 cups flour, I thought it would be a dense lump. But it was light and delicious. It was also a good keeper. I found some that had been in the fridge for maybe a month , and should have been hard and stale, but a little warming in the microwave or toaster, and it was still good. BTW, when I first got the book, I emailed the bakery to find out how to measure flour and which Kosher salt they use. They answered almost immediately (and that impressed me): All of our cook book recipes measure flour with the dip and sweep method. We don't have a standard weight measurement. And we use Diamond Kosher salt in out cafe. Hope that helps. -Mary

I've always thought that parsley is an underappreciated ingredient. It also makes a nice sprinkle on top of turkey soup with Penn. Dutch egg noodles.

When I visited my son in London last year, I dragged everyone around looking for creamed coconut that I needed for British/Indian recipes. I finally found it in a Thai store, and brought home several packages. It's neat stuff. The taste is like that of good quality coconut milk, but the texture is like pure fat! You can use a little without opening a whole can of coconut milk. The funny part is that I've since found it in my local Indian grocery store. So if your mom has an Indian or Thai grocer nearby, she should check there if she hasn't already. Otherwise, I'm sure Nakji's idea would work fine.

Well, of course! Why hadn't I thought of Panettone Flavour Spray? http://www.embassyfoods.com/flavours_embas....asp?prodID=926

I LIKE this idea! That would explain why the flavor of the candied citrus permeates the whole loaf. You do come up with interesting ideas!I tried vanilla+orange zest+lemon zest yesterday. That was nice, but still missing something. Also, I could see the zest in the cake (even though I used a Microplane), and don't recall seeing that before in a panettone. Abra, how right you are! 3/4 tsp. is much too much. No way the flavor could mellow that much. I may try it again, using less, just to convince myself one way or the other. I see that Peter Reinhart uses lemon and orange extracts, which is another set of experiments.

I forgot to mention that the F di S does have a very perfumey taste/scent which permeates the bread. It reminds me of orange flower water, which I'm not fond of. That's why I think vanilla + zest/oil would be a good alternative. That's all for now... unless I think of something else I forgot.

That was so much fun! Time magazine knew what it was doing. I hope we get to see it. The topping makes it look extra special. Thanks, I've made notes for future experiments. I didn't think to look in her book. Good idea! So I got my F di S from KAF and made the recipe exactly the same as the first time, but with F di S. (I overbaked the second one, also, although that hadn't been my plan!) I calculated the amount of F di S based on a KAF recipe. It worked out to 3/4 tsp., which is probably a little high. The raw dough didn't smell strongly of it, but it did taste strongly of it. After baking, the taste is less and is mellowing every day. Is it "the flavor"? It certainly tastes like a lot of (cheap) panettones that I've had. It tastes like vanilla mixed with very bitter orange rind. I candy my own orange rind for these things, and the F di S reminds me of the flavor of the rind before all the bitterness has been boiled out. KAF says a substitute for 1/2 teaspoon is 1 teaspoon vanilla + 1/8 tsp. orange oil. I might prefer that -- could use top-quality vanilla plus Boyajian orange oil, which has a pretty good flavor. Grated zest sounds good, too, although I haven't seen that as an ingredient on any labels. Part of the problem is that my taste is changing. I'm not sure I want that "all taste alike" panettone flavor any more. The flavor of butter and real fruit is more appealing at this point. Where I once looked at my husband in stark terror when he suggested adding chocolate chips, I'm now actually considering it. I still plan to try recipes from Sunset, Artisan Baking, Gale Gand, Italian Cooking magazine, and a few others. They range from simple one-day recipes to 9-yolk, several-day affairs. By that time we'll be really, really sick of panettone, and I can turn to something else! -Mary

Cocoa butter is an intriguing idea. I've used it in candy making, but never as a separate ingredient in baking. I'm thinking it could add flavor to many non-chocolate desserts. Thanks for the idea. This task is beginning to look even more impossible/complicated than I had thought. -Mary

Well, I broke down and ordered the Fiori di Sicilia from KAF. I guess that's the only way I'll know for sure. Meanwhile, I made this panettone that was adapted from Nick Malgieri: http://www.annamariavolpi.com/glazed_panettone.html I used a touch more salt and baked it in a taller-and-thinner pan, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Used KAF-AP flour. Unfortunately I baked it a little too long, but I warm it in the MW, and you'd never know. No, it doesn't have "the taste," but the taste it does have is very nice and buttery, and it has that nice panettone shred. And I gotta tell ya, the topping is fantastic! It's a thin, crisp layer like an almond-macaroon, and with sliced almonds and powd. sugar on top of that. Oh my, I think I'll have another piece right now... -Mary

I saw one reference that said fior di sicilia contains jasmine, citrus, and vanilla. Jasmine could account for the "fior" name. And I just googled and found out that jasmine does indeed grow in Sicily.

This is my Year of the Panettone, in which I plan to finally perfect making it. Commercial versions have "that flavor" that I haven't been able to reproduce. Is it really fior di sicilia, or is KAF just trying to make a buck? Is it rum? (Not sure). Is it honey? (Don't think so). Is it grated lemon rind (That's probably part of it). Orange oil? (Maybe). Orange flower water? (If so, not much of it). Help! Does anyone have thoughts on this? -Mary

I just ate my first slice of no-knead Olive Bread, which quickly turned into three slices of Olive Bread. Yes, I like it! I made a half-recipe of the NYT bread with a touch of rye flour and a lot of olives: 7.5 oz. KA-bread flour 1.0 oz. Bob’s Red Mill rye 1/2+1/8 tsp. tablesalt 1/8 tsp. instant yeast 7.0 oz. water I mixed it with my hand and it was very sticky, but kept its shape and didn’t ooze. Let sit 14 hours. Then I poured it onto a Silpat sprinkled with rice flour, moving the bowl as I poured it, in order to make the largest “pool” of dough. (Insert poolish joke here). I sprinkled the middle third with olives, and folded as in the video, adding more olives on top of each fold (except the last). In total, I used 1 cup of whole, pitted olives -- combo of Kalamata, Israeli green, and oil-cured. After 15 minutes, it was still fairly round from the folding, so I just tucked it under a little and put it smooth-side down into an 8” round, coiled brotform dusted with rice flour. I let it rise almost 2 hours (That was a little too long, but I got stuck in line at Shop-Rite) and placed a round of parchment on top of the bread in the brotform. I upended it onto my hand, and lowered it into a 2.5 liter CorningWare round casserole dish which had been preheated at 475 degrees. Since the smooth-side was now up, I slashed it with a razor blade. Baked it at 450 degrees for 30 minutes with preheated glass lid on, then 20 more with lid off. (Using the glass lid, I could see bread as it baked.) It tested 210 degrees at that point. I waited until it was only warm, not hot, to cut. That’s as long as I was willing to wait. Thoughts: I didn’t add olives right away because I was afraid their salt might retard the yeast. Also, afraid the dark olives would give dough an ugly color. Used 1 cup olives for a half-recipe. That’s 2 cups for a full-recipe. I like olives. With all those olives, it’s plenty salty. Good bread. Amazingly light. Not as crisp as my first loaf, probably from lower baking temp. Would bake it longer next time. I’m not sure about that 210 degrees -- recently dropped my thermometer. If I had some fresh thyme, that would have been nice. Is it my favorite Olive Bread ever. No way, but sourdough takes a lot more time and fussing. Considering I decided last nite at 10 pm to try this, and that by mid-afternoon I was eating a tasty bread from only a couple minutes work, I’ll settle.

I'd be wary of Pyrex, too. But do your daughter & stepdaughter have any traditional Corningware? I've been using a Corningware French White casserole with its heavy glass lid, and have been happy with the results. It's one that can go from freezer to oven. I don't think I'd try one of their their stoneware pots without consulting their customer service, though. BTW, with the glass lid, I can see how the bread is rising without opening the oven or removing the lid. Neat, huh?