fooey

I'd go for CanadianBakin's tarte rings. They can be used for all sorts of stuff, like English muffins and making perfectly round fried eggs. I use a 3" one to make hamburgers. I put a mold on the counter, drap a large piece of saran wrap over the mold, fill with mold with hamburger, press on the meat to mold it to the shape of the ring, then fold over the plastic wrap to cover, then I smack it on the counter, just because it's fun. J. B. Prince has 5 pages of rings, so hide you credit cards before clicking on Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4, or Page 5. What does this have to do with brownies, fooey? Oh, yes, re: muffin top pan. When I see mine in the pantry, I ask, "Now why did I buy this single-purpose thingy again? I don't even like muffin tops." Finding liners for the muffin top pan will be a task. If you can find them, buy a lifetime supply, as the muffin top fad is going, going, gone, to be replaced by bespoke cupcakes. Chocolate cupcakes filled with cinnamon-spiced vanilla custard, topped with tangerine buttercreme and garnished with candied orange peel, anyone? Oh la la! Small tart molds, while they can make all sorts of neat tart thingies (like Vongerichthen's Chocolate Chinese 5-spice tarts), are a pain in the bazooka to clean, they rust, you lose the removable bottom thingies (worse than losing socks to a hungry clothes dryer!), but they're cheap.

That's a muffin top pan. It just makes muffin tops, not whole muffins. I wouldn't recommend using tarte molds, because the sides of the mold are usually 45 degrees (slanted) whereas muffin cups are 90 degrees (horizontal). You could use buttered tarte molds alone, no liner. That would work well, albeit quite a bit of prep work (buttering the molds, portioning the batter, cleaning the molds after baking, etc.).

I'm guessing the topping is just a almond tuile that's made apart from the tarte. It's draped over the apple just after it's removed from the oven (when it's still malleable, as it hardens quickly), like this pecan tuile I made for a cake.

The dichotomy isn't clear (or I'm just too slow to grasp it). I think you're saying that if you're a truffles to truffles eater, then you're a relativist; if you're a truffles to everything-you-can-put-in-your-mouth eater, then you're an absolutist. If so, then I'm a relativist. There's just too much food in my head to be an absolutist. I'd never enjoy anything. I can always think of something better (especially the 75% of the time I want to return the entrée I ordered at a restaurant). I forget the chef who said this, but it sounded so limiting to me: Q: "Why don't you cook x dish?" A: "Because I don't know what it's supposed to taste like." I couldn't agree less. It's exploring dishes from their baseline that really gets me going. I love it when I make something (I've always read about) and confirm that there's a very good reason for its reputation, like the Noisettes de Porc aux Pruneaux I'm having for dinner.

The Bouchon cookbook, while I love it myself, is not one I'd recommended for someone new to French food. It's a cross-section of French bistro food, not French food as a whole. There's a lot missing, in other words. It also has a lot of recipes with sub-recipes, so the prep can take an astonishing amount of time. I made Bouchon's Quiche Lorraine a few weeks ago and it was a couple days in the making: onion confit, bouquet garni, pastry crust, custard, not to mention rendering the bacon, etc. Was it worth the effort? Yes, it's the best quiche ever, but... Would a newbie even dare after seeing a recipe with four sub-recipes, a couple days of work (or one really long day), and then the recommended several days rest before eating? I'd say probably not. For bistro food, have a look at Gordon Hamersley's Bistro Cooking At Home.

I have a 4' x 6' x 1" granite island in the kitchen. When pastry is in the works, all I have to do is turn down the air conditioning. It's the perfect surface for pastry, smooth and cold. Before I upgraded the kitchen (prepare to laugh) I bought a cheap slab of granite (2' x 4') from a company that made tombstones and just had it up on saw horses.

Here's a choice you won't regret for a second: James Peterson's Glorious French Food: A Fresh Approach to the Classics. He's revived all of the old classics and made them accessible to a modern audience. It's full of suggestions about what's necessary, what's not, where to be exacting, and where you can fudge it. I also find the ingredients much more accessible than MAFC, as sometimes Julia's read like they were pulled from Henri Babinski's Gastronomie Pratique d' Ali-Bab. And if your Mom gets into French cuisine in a big way, it's an easy jump to his Sauces book, now in the 3rd edition, and worth every penny. I second the opinion on The Way to Cook over MAFC. It's a better book, and it too has been updated for a more modern audience.

Puff pastry and croissant for me as well. I usually curse myself for making 2 or 3 batches at once, however.

DMS, or dried milk solids (i.e. powdered milk). OK, that would be Variation 1, p. 266. I'll try that one; I think I have milk powder around here somewhere.

I was flipping through Julia Child's The Way to Cook this morning. The first bread recipe is just plain white bread, made in bread pans. I can't say I've even made white bread, preferring the free-form artisan loaves; but, with that Tuna melt topic appearing this morning (and a brand new toaster), perhaps it's time for some of the plain ole' white stuff. So what's your go to recipe for white bread, by weight and/or baker's percentage if you have it?

Here's your best bet: http://liq.wa.gov/services/brandsearch.asp Once you find (if you find) what you're looking for, click on the "Find Store" button and it'll give you store addresses. It's a good idea to call the store if it looks like it'll sell out before you can get there. Pray it isn't Sunday and it's before 5pm on a weekday, and maybe, just maybe you'll find what you're looking for, but don't bet on it. My go to store was the University Village store. It was always stocked up due to the brisk business re: UW nearby, but don't expect to find anything especially special beyond specials, as in deals, on huge bottles of Jagermeister and cheap vodka and tequila.

Thanks v. gautam. I noticed all three varieties of noodles you mentioned at my grocer, so I will try all of them. It sounds like these are all very adaptable to a number of cuisines. I'll definitely take a look at the other thread re: Thai Home Cooking. I really love these noodles! They're so easy, so fast.

Hi bobmac,Are you using bread flour? What's the hydration (65, 70, 80%)? I doubt it has anything to do with your mixer, more likely with what's in the bowl. Much above 75% hydration and you can just about pour the dough out of the bowl, but is not pancake batter. That sounds like 100% hydration or more.

Hi sheepish. Mother says she buys an pork (arm) shoulder roast, what they call a "Boston butt" or "pork shoulder" in the states. It's ideal for long, slow cooking and is less expensive than other cuts. It's the cut in this image, colored orange. Here's a picture. It's usually a large roast, 6-10 lbs, and sometimes has a bone, sometimes doesn't. She asks the butcher to remove the bone, but a boned roast should work just fine. She was insistent that, to get the best possible flavor, after stuffing as above, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 days. Essentially, you're marinating the roast in onion, garlic, bell pepper, cayenne, etc. Skin off, but quite a bit of fat is OK. You'll be braising it for a few hours and most of the fat will render into the gravy, making it that much better. It sounds like a lot of meat, but leftovers are great! It makes great sandwiches, not unlike pulled pork sandwiches, which are also made from pork shoulder meat.

Pork roast isn't done until it's falling apart (should never be rubbery, should never have to be sliced with a knife). This is how we make it in central Louisiana: Finely dice 1 onion, cloves of (1 head) garlic, and a green bell pepper. I just put all of it in a food processor until finely chopped. Mix with 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 2 teaspoons black pepper, 2 teaspoons paprika (Hungarian, etc., but not smoked Spanish), and 1 teaspoon salt (careful with the salt; you can always add more later, to taste). Using a sharp, thin knife, poke holes all over the roast about 1-2" deep and stuff mixture into the holes. I've tried various ways (even a pastry bag once), but always end up just using my fingers to stuff it. The roast has many holes in by the time the stuffing is done, so don't worry if you have 30+ holes. (Mom says it should look like someone shot the pork roast with a shotgun at this point, as it's full of holes, stuffed with deliciousness. Season the outside of the roast heavily with paprika (regular, not smoked), black pepper, but no salt. Bring a large pot or Dutch oven to high heat, add some olive oil (or vegetable oil), and drop in roast. How high? When you put the roast it, it should be yelling! It should be sizzling. It should be smoking. You'll want the vent on high. Brown the roast on all "sides", maybe 5-7 minutes each or until the side is dark brown, just don't burn it, which could happen if you forget about it for 15 minutes. The idea here is to brown the outside really well and render some of the fat at the same time. When fully browned on all sides, lower the temp to medium, add about 1" of water, bring to simmer, cover, and braise** at medium heat until it's falling apart. Check the roast every 30 minutes and add water as needed. Braise until the roast is almost falling apart; the timing of which will vary depending on the size of the roast. When the roast is done, uncover and reduce the liquid to the consistency of gravy. This gravy will be unbelievably flavourful and is the reason you want to be careful with the salt at the beginning, otherwise you'll end up with a really salty gravy. The end result is a pork roast that doesn't require brining (gets its moisture and extra flavour from the stuffing) and doesn't need to be secured with string, although you can if you want. Serve a large piece of the roast with steamed rice, and spoon some of the gravy over the rice and the roast. Garnish with parsley if you feel like and maybe add a couple of shots of your favorite hot sauce to the roast. **Note that we braise on the stove top, not the oven.

OK, I have the rock sugar, pork hocks, mustard greens, and dark soy (and do I ever love dark soy!). I'm prepared for battle, although not until the weekend. This sounds so much like the rice and gravy I grew up with, so looking forward to it.

Thanks, Dave. I'll try all of them and report back when I can. House of Kebab is one I've heard about, so I'll try that one too.

I haven't read through the thread yet, so maybe someone's already suggested it, but what immediately came to mind was the NYTimes archive. It's subscription only for the 1929 era, but its chock full of food news, including tons of recipes. I once made a 1908 English pudding with candied fruits and rum that was just amazing, recipe pulled directly from the paper, with just minor modifications.

That was my mistake. I meant 10 lbs. of flour, not dough, so I suppose I can see how you would believe the machine so capable. I compromised with the new 20qt, because it has a capacity of 8 lbs. of flour with water at 70 F, so when you said the Electrolux could do 15, well, just imagine my incredulity. Amazing the difference one word can make... I've seen the DLX in action and knew immediately it's not what I wanted. I'm sure it'll work for for most home bakers, however. I doubt we'll ever know if it could do 10 lbs. of dough in a commercial situation, as no one would be crazy enough to buy one for such an application. As for specification, I would still be interested in seeing one, but not interested enough to look for it myself.

I asked about commercial mixers. Neither the Elecrolux nor the Bosch qualify, but thanks for the opinion.Out of curiosity, can you show us capacity guidelines for these from a manufacturer's specification?

My favorite is yam wun sen or Spicy Cellophane Noodle Salad. It has cellophane noodles, coconut milk, minced pork, shrimp, fish sauce, lime juice, pickled garlic (although I usually just use regular), shallots, red chilis, Chinese celery, tomato, black tree ear mushrooms, and cilantro. It's just remarkable and remarkably simple. Find it in Thai Home Cooking, p. 105.

I went with a Canadian manufacturer called BakeMax, and I'm impressed. The build quality, the price, the service. This machine is not just like a Hobart; it is a Hobart for 1/3 the price. I paid $1645 USD including to-my-door liftgate delivery. I certainly underestimated the size of the 20qt, though. It's gigantic. The wire whisk attachment is 1.5 times the size of my head. It weighs 250 lbs and stands to my waist.

Can anyone recommend a Middle Eastern restaurant or two in Denver? Greek, Lebanese, North African, Arabian, even tandoori 'staurants in a pinch! Thanks in advance.

There must be something to The Balthazar Cookbook. It's one of the only cookbooks I want, but haven't bought because the price refuses to drop.

Tell me all about your favorite glass noodle dishes, please, both hot and cold, hot, spicy, all ethnic cuisines, especially Southeast Asia. If you have books or links to recipes, that would be just spiffy!