srhcb

A fish goes "swish" .... as it gets away! SB (which "the big ones" often do!)

I love to make it with my 2.5 yr old Grandson when Mom and Nana are gone. We both use his little blue plastic bowls and eat while sitting on the couch, which Nana would not approve of! SB (and he puts Ketchup on his)

Pig, cow and sheep probably all originated as onomatopedic representations of the sounds the animals make? SB (or maybe not)

For instance, King Arthur's Pie & Pastry Flour is an unbleached flour with 9.2% protein. Their cake flour, appropriately known as Queen Guinevere, is bleached and has only 8% protein. SB

King Arthur resisted producing a pastry flour for many years, and they suggested substituting 2 Tbl of cornstarch for an equal amount of flour in each cup used to lower the gluten. SB (has done it with moderate success)

I started buying donuts at the bakery every morning about the same time I quit smoking. I often choose the colored sprinkles because they're so cheerful. SB (didn't gain any weight though)

Personally, I like Emeril and give him a lot of credit. However, there are an awful lot of people, many of whom post here, who don't care for his personality and unfortunately allow that to color their judgement of his culinary talents. SB (cook and let cook, that's all I say)

yes SB

I've been hesitant to chime in too much on the smoking bit, even though I was a heavy smoker for many years, because my "quitting" was more like an epiphanic cessation than an act of will. The subject has taken on so many political and social implications it's easy to lose track of the basics. It's difficult to seperate anecdotal from statisitcal information when it comes to smoking, but on the theory that any odd bit of information might prove helpful to somebody, I offer these thoughts. Nicotene is, in it's own way, a wonder drug. It's one of very few substances that can act as either a stimulant or a depressive. It's cheap and easily administered, and therein lies the problem. Most of the harmful effects are inherent in the delivery sytem, ie: smoke. Most of us have our first experience with tobacco courtesy of a "friend". Often these cigarette were purloined from someone's parents. (My parents didn't smoke, but I remember my friend Sootch's Mom smoked Salem 100's and his Dad Chesterfield straights. Quite a combination!) Many people's experience with smoking never advances beyond this stage, but .... Nicotene is such a powerfully addicting substance that when you reach the point of actually purchasing your first pack, the odds are one in ten that you will pretty much be a smoker for life. You can make pretty good money betting against people trying to quit. In fact, you used to be able to give 10-1 odds and still come out ahead! Of those who manage to quit via various methods, (cold turkey, patch, gum, hypnosis, group therapy etc), the percentage who are successful long term is about the same. People who are of average weight and smoke moderately don't exhibit significantly more health problems than those who don't smoke. However, smoking seems to multiply any other health risks exponentially, especially being overweight. Since we never know what health problems we may develop in the future, not smokling or quitting is the safest way to go. I don't claim my opinions are based on the latest scientific information, but neither is most of the quit smoking information we see. You have to wonder when most of the anti-smoking ads we see are funded by tobacco companies after they, the government, and the plaintiff's attornies cut themselves a mutually profitable deal at smokers expense? I don't mean to play devil's advocate, or discourage anybody. The point is, lots of people have quit. It ain't always easy, but it can be done. SB (best wishes)

It's not so surprising when you think about it? Smoking is about taste! Sure, it's a nasty, addicting habit when done to excess, but initially you do enjoy the flavor. The olfactory aspect of tasting would seem to play a prominent role. (Smoke tastes different when exhaled through the nose or mouth.) Certain other flavors, like coffee, go especially well with tobacco. Chocolate too, if I recall correctly. I can't off the top of my head remember any foods that didn't go particularly well with a smoke .... milk maybe? That's why there are so many different brands of cigarettes. And then there are cigars smokers, and you don't even want to begin to thinking about pipe tobaccos. After not smoking for many years I still maintain that one of the freshest, most delicious tastes extant is the first Pall Mall taken from a new pack. Even the second one isn't nearly as good. Then you have to smoke 18 more before you can open another pack. That's where the problem begins. SB (If they sold Pall Malls individually wrapped I'd probably still smoke)

Here are more "secrets": http://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/fruitcakesec.htm I really think most pros and/or competitors use a glaze during baking, or a wash afterwards, to seal the top. The tip about putting foil over the loaves so the don't dry out too fast would also help in this regard. SB

Here's a story about a fruit cake competition: http://www.abc.net.au/stateline/sa/content/2005/s1453430.htm It's not much help. but it does mention cracking. SB (still suspects there are "tricks of the trade")

Competitions have rules. Rules are subject to interpretation. A glaze is not icing .... so maybe brush the loaves with honey? If you don't want to push the envelope, at least take a close look at the other entries and see if they may have resorted to such trickery. SB (also good at uncovering cover-ups)

Add a nice honey glaze and pretend the cracks are intentional! SB (expert at cover-ups)

I agree. Reality based culinary competitions are like giving the Super Bowl trophey to the team that knows the most Rolling Stones lyrics. But most people apparently can't come to grips with the idea of Emeril being "Top Chef"! SB

[ FLASHBACK! I haven't thought of this in many years. My Mother used to make us a "special treat" called Toast Boxes. It was just toast cut into squares and served on a plate! SB (has a clever Mother)

I have no regard for lipstick, and very little for etiquette, but in consideration of decency I tear messy or sloppy items into smaller pieces so as not to mess up my luxuriant Fu Manchu style mustache. I suspect other men with facial hair do the same thing? SB (hasn't been able to eat an ice cream cone in many years)

How about Bologna? SB (not a big Proust fan)

What does the cornstarch have to do with this? SB (at first glance thought you said "Velveeting"!)

Besides being a chef and tv personality, Emeril is a very successful businessman . He has feduciary responsibility to his financial backers and associates that can complicate matters under unusual circumstances. Unfortunately, in business as in personal dealings, some issues can never be resolved to the satisfaction of all parties. I don't know what size shoes Emeril wears, but I've walked nary a step, let alone a mile in them.

When I stopped smoking, (which is a more accurate way to describe it since "quitting" implies a conscious decision), I didn't gain any weight. But I didn't save up any money either. It's never bothered me when others smoke, (GF smokes about a half pack a day), but even if it did I'd need a lot of nerve to complain after all the places I smoked up over the years. About the only residual behavior I can trace back to smoking is carrying a toothpick in my teeth during long distance driving. And, just in case you might think I was one of those people who smoked but wasn't physically addicted, I used to actually dream about how many cigarettes were left in my pack for the next morning! It didn't kill me; you should be able to do it! SB (noticed almost all the "quitters" were on this thread a few moments ago)

An old GF worked at a resort on the Canadian border one summer. The owner's wife was a notoriously heavy smoker, and my GF claimed to have witnessed her keeping one arm outside the curtain with a lit cigarette while she showered. SB (never was that bad)

Smoking I smoked off and on for most of my life. My cousin Mac taught me how to smoke when I was about fifteen and staying with his family at their lake cabin one summer. At my peak I smoked between three and four packs of Pall Mall straights per day! I actually considered smoking to be as much a hobby as a habit. I enjoyed visiting tobacco stores and trying foreign brands of cigarettes. I'd smoke a nice cigar on occasion, and even tried a pipe, but that was too much fussing for me. One of the oddities about my smoking, which people still see fit to comment on even though I quit nearly ten years ago, is the way I used to keep my ashtrays. I always stacked up the butts, smoked to nearly equal length, in neat little piles like firewood. I just figured this was efficient, and posed the least risk of an unwanted ashtray fire, but everyone else found it fascinating. It became a strange kind of trademark, and people could always tell when I'd been around. {Aside: When I was involved in covert activities I would consciously abandon this practice, and even took the additional step of switching to Marlboros, which I would mark with an "X" on the filter end using my thumbnail.} One morning on my way to work I stopped at a local gas station/convenience store and purchased my usual three packs of Pall Malls. I got to work, made a pot of coffee, and started some bookkeeping work on the computer. (This was in my pre-internet days.) About twenty minutes into the day I turned around to reach for the recently opened pack of cigarettes, and just decided I didn't smoke anymore. As simple as that! Of course, like everyone else who smokes, I'd thought about quitting, and had even stopped smoking for months or years at a stretch since starting at fifteen. I hadn't consciously considered it that morning though, or had any particular reason to choose that day. I'm not even really sure what the exact date was, only that it was just prior to Labor Day. The only thing I recall distinctly about the experience was remembering a story Old Joe Terzich had once told me. Joe was retired from the iron mines and owned a corner grocery store in a small community where he also served as a Township Commissioner. When my family had our engineering business we handled various projects for the Township, so Joe would stop by our office every now and then. He was a nice guy, and a real good talker. My Father was always happy if I would take care of bs'ing with Joe so he wouldn't lose a couple hours of work time. Since Joe liked to talk about money, politics and stock car racing I was happy to oblige. Joe used to call me "Smokey", and gave me a bad time about my smoking. He was an ex-smoker himself. Joe had been a shovel runner in the mines, and that job entails plenty of down time waiting for the next truck or train car to load. This provided ample opportunities to have a smoke, and Joe had gone through several packs a day for most of his thirty years on the job. The story of how he had come to quit smoking is what I remembered that morning. As Joe told it, he'd been mowing his lawn one evening when he spied his neighbor across the street who was also out doing some yardwork. Never one to pass up a chance to talk rather than work, Joe shut off his mower and set out across the street. In preparation for the conversation he reached into his shirt pocket for a cigarette and discovered his pack was empty. And he just never smoked again. Since quitting I've had countless opportunities to relate this story, and it's surprising how many people who quit successfully had a similar experience. I've concluded that will power, self-help groups, hypnotism, patches, gums and other gimmicks notwithstanding, it's either your day to quit smoking, or it ain't. SB (offering Best Wishes to the "Quitters")

There are several good observations here, in addition to the advice about "collapsing" the dough, which is often called punching it down. (And some days that feels real good!) Most breads should rise until (roughly) doubled in volume. How long that takes is not the point. Even surrounding air temperature can make a lot of difference. Generally longer rises develop better flavors, and some doughs are even designed to be refrigerated overnight. The sagging could have been caused by an air bubble that built up beneath the crust. Improper rising time can cause this to happen. Checking for doneness with a thermometer is good advice. Just like rising time, baking time just plain takes as long as it takes. (checking your oven temp is a must too) Lots of bread books have trouble shooting sections which offer some help, but there's still a lot of live and learn involved. SB (still living and learning)

Since I'm SUCH a novice bread maker I don't rightly understand the purpose of multiple risings. As per the recipe, after kneading I let the dough rest (and ME ) for about 15 minutes, shaped and dropped them into the pans for their final and only rising. After your first rising did you punch down the dough? If so, what does this do, exactly? For such a "simple" bread recipe it sure gives rise ( ) to lots of questions. ← As several other respondents have pointed out, there's something "fishy" about this recipe. It may be the salt, the yeast, the rising time, or .... In basic terms, rising gives the bread it's lift as the yeast eats and gives of carbon dioxide. It develops the flavor,(ie: gets rid of the "yeasty" taste). Most breads use two rises, one in a bowl and one after they're shaped into loaves, but many recipes, especially sourdough breads, use even more rising periods. The only one-rise, in the loaf pan recipe I use is for English Muffin Bread (posted on RecipeGullet), which includes a heavy yeast to salt ratio plus the addition of baking soda to give it an extra boost. Even at that, this bread has kind of an odd taste until its toasted., then it's great! SB