pastrygirl

When meats are mixed, you need to cook them to the higher of the safe temps for the meats. If the minimum safe cooking temps are beef 140F, pork 145F, and chicken 165F, then a mix of beef and pork should be cooked to 145, and a mix of anything with chicken should be cooked to 165. And all ground meats require a higher cooking temp so no, pretty much nowhere in the US is a medium rare burger technically allowed. That said, sometimes you can simply put a disclaimer about potentially hazardous foods on the menu and denote dishes that may be served raw or under-cooked. Check with your local and state health food health departments. https://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/charts/mintemp.html What kind of professional cooking experience do you have? I would expect someone consulting on a menu to know the safe cooking temps for meats and their local health authority requirements!

Some people use actual decorated transfer sheets. Nice but adds to cost. I have some of these, they are a little soft but work ok - https://www.jbprince.com/pastry-tools-and-equipment/polyethylene-sheets.asp The acetate might be worth the added expense if it is less floppy and easier to work with - https://www.jbprince.com/pastry-tools-and-equipment/acetate-sheets.asp You can re-use it once or twice, but you'd have to wipe it down if you want the second use to be as shiny as the first.

Maybe better to use/serve it slightly warm.

Here is a more local version - http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/05/19/ten-hospitalized-after-gas-station-nacho-cheese-botulism-outbreak/ "Inspection reports for the Valley Oaks Food and Fuel station show that on May 6 and 7, officers impounded bags of Montecito nacho cheese tortilla chips and closed the facility. On May 8, health officers from the state Department of Health impounded four bags of Gehls cheese sauce and reopened the store to sell prepackaged food items only." I bet Lisa is right, cheese staying in the warmer too long. Sad, it may have killed at least one person.

They could have been making their own - house made (station made?) nacho cheese? That's a fancy gas station, but it is California ... I was thinking it was this product and wondering if it was a bad batch or contaminated on site. https://www.amazon.com/Ortega-Bueno-Nacho-Cheese-Sauce/dp/B002YGR0XI

Saw this yesterday, a botulism outbreak linked to nacho cheese. Horrible for the people affected, but nacho cheese? I wonder what had to happen to get botulism into nacho cheese. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-39989138

Fun idea, Kerry! Things I've learned in classes: Hold chocolate molds upside-down to scrape when making the shells so you're not pushing chocolate back into the cavities. It's ingrained now, but I don't think any of the books I was learning from at the time mentioned that. With slabbed ganache, cut on the guitar then chill before separating the pieces to get cleaner, sharper edges. If you are totally obsessive, you can use rubbing alcohol to clean your molds. I hate the smell of rubbing alcohol, so I skip that one. For chocolate decor that is shiny on both sides, lay one sheet of acetate/guitar sheet, pour some tempered chocolate, top with another sheet, spread thin, allow to just crystallize then cut into shapes through the plastic with cookie cutters, bicyclette, etc. Remove from both sheets when ready to use. The microwave really makes it easy to temper multiple colors of cocoa butter. Using acetate/guitar sheets to close molds. This is not something I do as regular practice because I don't want to use all that extra plastic, but it is helpful when a mold is over-filled and difficult to cap the regular way.

Hi gardeners, I have a few questions about berries. I love berries! Gardening, however ... my thumbs are only green when I'm messy with food coloring Seattle is what, Zone 5? The micro-climate here is favorable, things in my yard routinely bloom a week or two before my parents' yard 10 miles north. I have some blueberry bushes that I should try to revive. Can blueberries get too hot? These are on the SW corner of the house and get full sun from noon to sunset, which can be intense. Plus, there is a section of concrete foundation behind them that holds a lot of heat. Would some shade cloth help, or do I just need to water them more? They are 4 or 5 years old and I didn't take very good care to get them established, is it too late? I also have some raspberry canes, which have been here forever and manage to survive as long as I clear the morning glory off of them every now and then. Since I can't do chocolate events in the summer (well I could, but it's not worth it), I was thinking I should grow more berries - a little gentlewoman urban farming to keep me occupied. Is there a good way to grow lots of berries with little maintenance? Raspberries, marionberries, maybe a currant or something, strawberries in one of the raised beds ... I have two rather old raised beds and plenty of space. thanks!

@gfron1 thanks for the info. So properly done, vegetable "ash" should not actually be ashes from lighting the veg on fire? Rather a name for ingredients dried at a higher temp to achieve deep color? What method do you use? I still think the activated charcoal thing is goofy and irresponsible at best. But I can think of many foods on which I appreciate char - Neapolitan pizza comes to mind - so maybe I would appreciate "ash" more if I wasn't privy to the making of it, or at least these guys' making of it

You could do more nuts or more oil, or milk fat if you're not already using milk chocolate. Is your nut paste already very smooth? How dark is your chocolate? If you choose to add liquid and emulsify it into a ganache, consider using water or liqueur. There is so much fat in gianduja already, more fat from cream can be overkill.

When all else fails, Amazon.com

OK, so as a chef, when do you decide to use leek ash for flavor instead of fresh leeks? What does being charred into oblivion add? Flavor, presentation, just being different, copying someone more famous ... what is the appeal to you as a chef? I love Maillard reactions as much as the next person but generally stop before things turn black. Leek ash still tastes like leeks but so much more? Smoky complexity and deep caramelization? I think the frozen dessert people adding activated charcoal are trying to be uber healthy, at least in terms of trends - they're vegan, gluten free, have a turmeric flavor, etc. Probably not the same reasons a modernist chef would char leeks. Full disclosure: another company in my commissary uses the one decent convection oven to make their ash. It stinks for days and they leave bits of charred onion to blow onto everything the next person (usually me, with delicate macarons) bakes. Smoke billowing everywhere, not pleasant. So I'll admit to a personal grudge against these specific people and their ashes. I have a hard time believing that it is so delicious as to be worth my nightmare in the kitchen, but I'll admit that maybe it's not the ash itself but the lack of consideration for others in its production.

I was thinking of this thread tonight. I was invited to a reception at Food Lifeline's new Hunger Solutions Center and was able to tour the facility. They collect and re-distribute about 40 million pounds of food annually to 275 food bank in Western WA. The place is very large, about the size of an average Costco and they turn everything over at least once a week. They take in food in any form from half-ton pallets of coffee beans that need to be packed into pound bags to 5 gallon buckets of sour cream that were over-produced to a carton box full of assorted produce. They have multiple prep rooms, at least two of which can be adjusted to refrigerator or freezer temp and can be completely hosed down. Huge refrigeration and freezers with storage plus more warehouse space with dry goods & non-perishables. At first I thought they had a ton of bananas, but apparently banana boxes are their standard unit. A food bank will order a box of potatoes and get one of these very boxes. They also do a lot of meals for kids, packed into lunch bags for school. Figuring out government standards for children's meals is apparently kind of a pain and smaller food banks can't always keep up. They had banana boxes full of shelf-stable, government-approved lunches. It does seem that distribution is a huge part of the issue. Having the large central hub allows them to take things individual food banks can't. A farmer with excess apples wants to move them 5000 lb at a time, not 50, and the smaller facilities may not have the time or space even to re-pack one huge bucket of sour cream. Hundreds of volunteers a week help break down, sort, and re-pack, and inventory all of the food coming in. The individual food banks then order to suit their own clientele in terms of what they like and is practical to cook. In terms of rural populations, I think it's just hard to get out there. But it is good to see people trying!

Interesting! I did try some bamboo charcoal covered peanuts once. And there are cheeses with ash that I forgot about - that's probably an anti-fermentative or anti-bacterial use? Oh and someone on Instagram had a burger on a black charcoal bun, that's where else I'd seen it lately. It just seems like it should taste like dirt or otherwise horrible.

I've noticed charcoal being used in food - this local company puts activated charcoal in their vegan "ice cream". I used to have a theory that you could put anything in ice cream and people would still eat it - but charcoal? So you can have your frozen dessert and cleanse at the same time? Is this really a good idea and not another way to increase your cancer risk? I like a little smoky grilled meat but I'm not sure I need more charcoal in my diet. What say eG?

I met her in Melissa Coppel's class back in September! Lovely woman, really passionate.

Gelato holding cabinets are apparently a few degrees warmer than scooping-style ice cream holding cabinets. It's not just the recipe, serving temp will affect texture as well.

After years - years! - of peeling, cooking, and ricing potatoes for potato bread, I finally switched to Bob's Red Mill potato flakes. Since this particular recipe had lots of olive oil and rosemary and the potatoes mostly added fluffiness, I don't think you could tell any difference. Or chefs throwing huge amounts of veg into the large Hobart and mix with the paddle to break them down smaller for stock. I definitely remember chefs doing this with mushrooms, pretty sure they did it with other veg because I was worried about them warping the paddle. Actually, that may have been what one chef was doing when he did break the paddle on a stand mixer - I wouldn't have been as annoyed if it happened during routine pastry work, but he was mashing up carrots or chicken bones or something hard.

I was just thinking, that's not a shortcut, it's just not dicking around wasting time! Not just you

Is there no molasses in Germany? How about black treacle?

Shhh, don't tell millennials! I have to agree on the generations though. I associate the cooked to death thing more with people of my late grandparents generation (they were both born in 1910). My parents ('34/'43) are/were much more adventurous. Dad has passed, but my sister and I took my mom to Thai food last night and she was wishing it was spicier. The idea of sushi creeps her out but she's definitely not into bland and mushy. Julia Child and Jacques Pepin were influencers too. "Gourmet" cooking, imported ingredients and techniques became available to boomers as they were entering their prime. So marketing may be a factor, but also the shifts in global commerce and imports. Wasn't the low salt thing bigger in the '80s or so? Older people may have more issues with hypertension etc and need to watch salt, but I think salt got some unfair demonization for a while and was seen as unhealthy for everyone.

To extend it and make it thicker. The colors are expensive - $40+/lb, way more than chocolate. If you're airbrushing, there's more limit to how thick you can work with, but for finger-painting and Jackson Pollock-ing I like it with a little substance. This may be a quirk limited to me

Thanks! The yellow & green were mixed with a little white chocolate and just dripped/flung from a spoon. Yes, the yellow on the hemisphere was (gloved) finger-painted. I do have a little cheap set of brushes that I use sometimes. The trouble with brushes is that the cocoa butter quickly cools and forms thick chunks in the bristles. It helps to keep them on a heating pad and wipe out the bristles every now and then.

There's only so much that stabilizer can do. If you don't have enough sugar, it's going to freeze harder.

A couple of thoughts I don't think have been discussed - Is it a gas or wood/charcoal grill? If the latter, consider how much grilling you can do while the fire is at its prime. Hubby may need to re-build the fire or have extra fuel to maintain it if you're going to be grilling all day long - if he's the grill master, make sure he has a plan so it will be good for burgers for an hour or two plus whatever else you want grilled for dinner. If you want to do a grilled salmon entree for dinner, just quickly mark the pieces on the grill to get the char marks, then refrigerate on sheet pans and heat through in the oven for dinner. Much easier to get them all cooked & on the plates faster. Are there any dishes that can do double duty for both parties? Maybe the teens prefer chips and the adults prefer crudite with their dips, but both parties could get hummus and guacamole as an appetizer. Make a big batch and divide into a few bowls so you can refresh and have a nice one out as needed. Or sides - maybe cook a enough new potatoes for both parties, turn some into potato salad to go with burgers and crisp the rest in the oven with olive oil and herbs for dinner. Likewise with green salads, fruit trays, grilled or roasted veggies - maybe they get a slightly different garnish or presentation but it's easier to prep more of fewer items. Add goat cheese and pecans to the dinner salad, dress, and plate it vs. a bowl of mixed greens on ice with a few bottled dressings with the burgers. As much overlap in ingredients as possible will make it easier.