Patrick S

Mama always knows best . Though I don't want to, I may try to wean myself gradually, but I can't imagine how decaf tastes, any good? ← I don't think caffeine really affects a coffee's taste that much. Try to find a full-bodied decaf--flavored, perhaps--and you should be satisfied. Do they have Fourbucks® or the other coffee chains in Indonesia? ← Well, caffeine itself is a bitter, and a cup of coffee may contain over 100mg of it, so I imagine it could be a flavor component of coffee. On the other hand, Ive seen studies of cola in which consumers could not differentiate caffeinated from decaff. Decaf coffees can definitely taste quite different from regular coffee for reasons other than caffeine content. For instance, the solvents that are used to remove caffeine may remove some of the flavor compounds, or may degrade them in some way. Theoretically what happens is that the caffeine is removed from the coffee extract and then the extract is added back to the beans, but I doubt all of the non-caffeine parts of the extract actually make it back to the bean. For whatever reasons, Ive never had a decaff that tasted just like its caffeinated counterpart.

I tried this stuff for the first time last night, and I like it quite a bit. I mostly followed the recipe used by Dalvay by the Sea, a resort hotel on Prince Edward Island. I deviated from the recipe by using 8 rather than 6tb of butter in the cake, by using a 9" springform rather than a 8x8 pan, and I used Sherry Yard's caramel sauce recipe rather than the toffee sauce recipe. For the sauce, I used 3 parts white sugar to 1 part brown (the butterscotch variation), and sour cream rather than creme fraiche. This sauce is also my new favorite caramel sauce, but thats another thread. This stuff is really good. I'm eager to hear everyone else's thoughts, recipes, and experiences.

You wont overgrind as long as you are grinding it with plenty of dry ingredients.

Yes, I've gotten mine all the way to 180F each time Ive made it. I dont know how your double boiler is set up, but I used a large (6qt) metal bowl which fits into a pot of water, making a good seal. If you use a large bowl and a large pot of water, your temp will rise very quickly. If you dont have a seal, however, or if your are using a small bowl for the lemon cream, or if your lemon cream is too far away from the simmering water, it may take a long time or you may not ever get high enough. EDIT to add: Plunk, what did you think of Herme's flourless chocolate cakes? I ask because while the Riviera looks delicious, Ive wondered about whether I would used Herme's chocolate cake recipe or a recipe I already know and love. If you said you liked them, Id be more inclined to give Herme's a try.

Having studied the pathogenesis of tobacco-related illness quite a bit, I can give a partial answer to this question. My short answer is that aside from nicotine, there does not appear to be any property of tobacco that would make it undesirable for culinary use. Now, the long answer. First, let me point out that the primary health risk associated with tobacco use are cardiovascular disease (primarily CHD), cancer (primarily lung but also other respiratory sites --oral, pharyngeal, laryngeal, etc.), and obstructive respiratory diseases like emphysema. Again, those are the big 3 sources of tobacco-associated illness and mortality. Culinary use of tobacco would not be expected to increase risk of these diseases. Let me explain why. Cancer. most of the significant carcinogens in tobacco smoke are not naturally present in tobacco, but rather are formed by pyrosynthesis, are secondary combustion products created when tobacco is burned. For instance, the two classes of compounds in tobacco smoke with the highest carcinogenic potency are the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) like benzo-a-pyrene, and the tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNAs), primarily a chemical called NNK. Based on extensive evidence that I can not elaborate on in this space (but will if asked), it is clear that these two classes of compounds are the primary carcinogens in tobacco smoke. Normal, unburned tobacco has very little TSNSAs. An array of epidemiological studies have shown that persons who use smokeless tobacco has no increased risk of any cancers except oral cancers, and even with respect to oral cancer, the risk is far smaller than that associated with smoking. Moreover, persons who use a special kind of smokeless tobacco called snus, which has almost no TSNAs, there is not even an increased risk of oral cancer. As for obstructive respiratory diseases, this is caused by chronic inhalation of smoke, and this would not be a concern for culinary tobacco use. The last issue would be heart disease. Again, persons who use smokeless tobacco do not have anything like the levels of excess cardiovascular disease seen in smokers. There is still some debate as to whether there is any excess heart disease in smokeless users, but it is clear that if any excess disease exists, it is very small. Considering the small dosages of all tobacco alkaloids that would be achieved from occasional culinary use of tobacco, it seems a priori unlikely that it would be a risk for heart disease. As far as acute poisoning goes, I am not aware of any compound other than nictotine in tobacco leaves that is a cause for concern.

And yet I've never had a problem making angel food cake or even meringues with Just Whites (blue box?) bought here in Ontario -- even though the label says the same thing! ← Are there two products called Just Whites, I wonder? My can (made by Del El, same as in Jacque's photo) does not say this, and in fact has a photo of a big meringue covered pie and a recipe for meringue cookies on the tin itself.

Unless the manufacturing process has been changed very recently, the All Whites will not whip at all. The Just Whites will whip fine. They do not need to be refrigerated. EDIT to add that the can says "Store in a dry place/ No refrigeration required"

Josette, your cookies look great. I love the shine of the icing.

Yeah, good job Fern. I'm glad you found the cake durable enough to slice and ice, because I will use this cake again. Did you invert your cakes when they came out of the oven? They look quite flat in your second picture.

I used this one:

It's funny because I used the same chocolate (Scharffen Berger bittersweet) when I made the deep chocolate cream and the chocolate taste was too strong for me. So I was worried that would happen again in the mousse but it didn't at all. Anyway, I'll just eat and enjoy. ← I tried the deep chocolate cream too, though I didnt use the Valrhona (I wanted to get an idea for it with a cheaper chocolate first). It was alright. But I also made a different creme anglaise from Sherry Yard's book, the chocolate variation of the vanilla sauce (its a vanilla anglaise with 2.5oz bittersweet), and I like that quite a bit. Warmed, it is an awesome sauce for cake!

Its made out of white polyester, so it is actually plastic, but not the same kind as the disposable bags. In my neck of the woods, they are ubiquitous at cake decorating stores and such. But you can order them lots of places too. Just Google 'Wilton pastry bag.'

Looking good, Gary. I see that you have 'feet' now. I don't know what causes the wrinkles though. I get them whenever I used the Herme recipe.

I used my Wilton bag too. If you used a plastic bag, I bet you'd end up with high-velocity sable splatter on the ceiling.

The former -the batter should be just liquid enough to form discs just under its own weight. You shouldnt have to move the bag while you pipe, if that what you're asking. Once you pipe, it should settle only very slightly. To get rid of some of the bigger almond lumps, of course you can sieve, but you can also use a processor. Even when I start with almond meal rather than blanched slivered almonds, I grind everything together in the food processor for several minutes.

That's a good selling point, because using the other method I mentioned, you have the caramelizing sugar in the bottom of the pan, and apples slices on top of that, so you can't really see what's happening with the caramel. Plus you cant stir so you can end up with some over-darkened spots. Next time, Im going to try your way.

Thanks so much for making this tutorial with pictures, Allan. Tarte Tatin is my favorite apple dessert by far. With the method Ive used for Tarte Tatin, the apples are cooked together with the sugar and butter in a pan for quite a while, and then baked. This gives a very, very soft apple. I imagine that the apples in your recipe end up a little firmer in the end. Is that true? If so, do you prefer that firmer texture? Again, thanks!

LOL! How about the part with animated snake/flower/woman/monster chasing Bob Geldolf in the hotel room? Or the school kids marching off of the conveyor belt into the meat-grinder? Or Bob Geldof shaving his nipples off? Seriously, how did watching 'The Wall' on psychedelics ever become a tradition? Thank goodness the kids of today have more wholesome, less traumatizing movies to watch while tripping, like 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,' or Ren and Stimpy episodes.

Good job, Ajl92!

Well, it looks good Seth, even if you didnt find it particularly exciting. Good job with the photo.

You sure you're not thinking of 'All Whites'? I've used a powdered white called 'Just Whites', made by Deb El, which whip pretty good. 'All Whites' is a liquid white that doesnt whip.

Nicotine is indeed a fairly potent poison. In fact, it is a natural pesticide There are cases in the literature of fatal nicotine poisoning associated with large exposures from nicotine spraying (nicotine is used as a pesticide too). But I have not read of a case of fatal nicotine poisoning from tobacco ingestion. Ive read that a dose of nicotine 50-60mg can be fatal, which is the equivalent of nicotine is about 25-60 cigarettes. Actually, the tobacco in a single cigarette may contain 25mg of nicotine. However, when cigarettes are smoked, most of the nicotine is lost to pyrolysis or sidestream smoke, so that the actual dose from a cigarette is closer to 1-2mg. At any rate, a very small dose of nicotine definitely can make you nauseous.

That looks delicious, MobyP.

Oh, Im sure its real chocolate! I would guess that the chocolate is collected at the base of the fall, passed through a heated tube and pumped back out at the top, something like a tempering machine.

You could actually make your own cake strips. Just find an old towel, cut it into strips that fit your pan, soak them with water, and use a safety pin to hold the strips around the pan.