sanrensho

I have to say, I almost cringed when I saw your dorayaki denuded like that. I think a simple cross-section photo would have sufficed.

Yikes, this really calls for an audio file...just kidding. Great work, at least you can say you did it once. And we can take comfort in knowing that this is a job best left to the pros.

Thanks for the links. Let us know if you get stuck with the translations and I'm sure some of us could help out.

Thanks for the reminder about the magazine thread. Completely slipped my mind. I've posted a question in that thread.

Has anybody checked out Wasabi yet? Any thoughts? On my short list of foodie magazines to purchase: Elle a Table, Shokusai Roman and Tennen Seikatsu.

I'm pretty late to this thread, but RLB's mousseline BC recipe works fine with just lemon juice added. I did a batch a few weeks ago and thought it tasted great. (I haven't tried the MBC with lemon curd yet.)

Great suggestions, everyone! I've bookmarked all the links and will be exploring them over the coming weeks. Any more suggestions, particularly along the lines of "ethnic" influenced food, desserts using wagashi ingredients, and Japanese bread/pastries would be appreciated. I agree that CookPad is similar to AllRecipes and would seem to suffer from some of the same drawbacks (untested recipes). However, one of the strong points of the Japanese recipe sites is their extensive use of photos. One of my pet peeves are cookbooks that lack photos. The same criticism could be leveled at the Epicurious and the FoodNetwork/FoodTV recipe sites. As a visual person, I find images to be very inspiring. I will also ask my wife to pick up a copy of Shokusai Roman and Elle a Table when she visits Japan next month. Are there any other good foodie-oriented magazines? I'm a little bored with the usual magazines such as OrangePage, Kyo no Ryori, etc.

Thanks Hiroyuki. Large is good, too. What do you think about the quality of the recipes on Cookpad? Are there any other recipe sites that you can recommend with a good selection of Japanese recipes? Kiem Hwa: Are you looking for Japanese buns and pastries?

Yes, it's kasutera or "Castella Cake" as it's usually rendered in English. Mmm, I'm getting hungry already.

Can some of the posters recommend their favorite Japanese recipe sites (not English language ones)? Obviously, I could Google up a million Japanese recipe sites, but which are the best ones? Something along the lines of a Japanese version of Epicurious or even RecipeGullet would be nice. The following features would be pluses: -Directed at serious home cooks/foodies (or professionals) -User ratings and comments, as found on Epicurious -Either focused on traditional and modern Japanese cooking, or contains a good selection thereof For example, I'm not looking for a bunch of Italian and cake recipes in Japanese, but Asian-Japanese "fusion" recipes are OK. Examples of the latter would be Japanese takes on Korean and Chinese food. Wagashi recipes would also be of interest, either the traditional kind or modern variations. Thanks.

Thanks for the excellent tutorial. I've read that the sugar should be added at the soft peak stage, rather than at the beginning. Has anyone found this to make a noticeable difference? I look forward to the additional photos showing the separation results.

As a home baker, I've never baked from a cake mix (and I probably never will). I simply don't see the point in it and wouldn't gain any satisfaction from it. As a child, my house never saw a cake mix of any kind, since my mother was an old school baker. I can honestly say that I've never had any inclination to buy a cake mix.

Does the "dry" or Greek rib method work well with "long and slow" cooking? YIKES! Never mind. All my questions were answered in the Baby Back Rib thread.

Just one box? Surely you jest? I was imagining multiple boxes, Christmas gifts, huge group buy with other V-gulleters... Certainly, our lovely seasonal weather calls out for many cups of warm tea.

Well, what about this place in NY (US$6.99 per box)? http://www.kalustyans.com/catalog.asp?menu...145&currpage=11

Please don't. Your opinion is as valid as any opinion can be, and provides us with a different perspective and insight into the situation.

I've done it and it worked very well. To tell the whole truth, the cream also had cocoa in it; I don't know if that has any effect of its own. I frosted a tall layer cake with it and it held beautifully for several days, if I recall correctly. This weekend, I tried RLB's method using 33% cream enriched to approx. 50% BF content. Two layers of genoise soaked with syrup, then frosted and filled with whipped cream, including a middle layer of strawberries. Indeed, the whipped cream held up well after 24 hours of refrigeration (zero "squishing" when cut). However, at that point, I found the butterfat enriched whipped cream had a grainy texture/taste that wasn't there when I served the cake right after frosting. Not to my liking, but it wasn't an issue the day before. Also, I should have let the cake sit in the refrigerator to set after frosting, rather than cutting it immediately. I've read that whipped cream frosted cakes are best cut and eaten right after frosting, but didn't find this to be true.

The "brew to normal strength and chill" method also works wonderfully for most other teas. My current faves are chilled jasmine, oolong and rooibos teas, as well as various types of black teas. One of these days, I'll have to try a chilled Moroccan tea steeped with fresh mint leaves.

It seems like most instructions for iced tea recommend a strong brew brought down to temperature with ice. Personally, I just brew a large pot the normal way (to my desired strength), filter out the leaves and let it cool to normal temperature before refrigerating. Of course, this needs to be done the day before. In Japan, they sell teabags specifically used for cold-brewing iced tea. Those are quite nice, but are limited in terms of variety.

You can definitely use it here in Canada, provided you purchase a step-up voltage transformer. (We use a variety of Japanese electronics in our household including a rice cooker, stereo equipment, keyboard, etc.) However, the unit you mention is a 1400W model. A 1400W transformer will cost you a pretty penny, like these for around US$120 (shipping extra): http://transadapt.com/voltage-vr.html http://www.buytravelconverter.com/transfor..._100v/index.asp Of course, you may be able to find a cheaper large capacity step-up transformer in Akihabara, but these units can be quite heavy so are best shipped by sea/container with your household goods.

North Shore, please! (I must be the only one here who has yet to try one...)

Agreed. Size is important--in this case, don't get a large rice cooker to cook small quantities. A bit of Googling of Japanese sites shows that the newer IH cookers produce a noticeable improvement in quality of cooked rice compared with pre-IH cookers. The pre-IH cookers tend to produce softer rice with a slightly higher moisture content. (Not good for Japanese rice, which I assume the OP is interested in.) This confirms my anecdotal comparisons. The chief difference between the National cookers appears to be the steam option. It doesn't say if it has a removeable lid like the Zojirushi, which is handy for cleaning.

I simply used Rose Levy Beranbaum's Mousseline Buttercream recipe (from the Cake Bible, I'm sure you have it) and added the puree to taste at the end. For the puree, I just whizzed the raspberries with a few teaspoons of sugar and a tiny squeeze of lemon. I've found this buttercream stores well at room temperature for 2-3 days.

Did you push the puree through using a spatula? I made a raspberry buttercream just last weekend, and removing the seeds took no more than a few minutes. Best to do it in a few portions, so you can remove the seeds as they collect.

Here are some photos that will give you a better idea of the texture. Looks to me like choux pastry inside of a flaky pie type crust, although I have yet to try one. Photos are from this blog: http://onokinegrindz.typepad.com/ono_kine_..._papas_cre.html