RonC

I was thinking more about Shaya's experience with the avocado and was reminded of a couple of personal experiences. A few years ago I was having breakfast with some people who were going to be in a course I was teaching in Texas. I was having lox with capers and one of the fellows looked at the capers and asked "Are those peas?" No one at the table had ever had capers before, so (obviously) I had to let everyone sample. The look on a few of the faces was classic but I'm not sure what the incident's experience was on the course. The other experience concerns of (past) foster son that we're now legal guardian for. He has VERY severe autism and has been a member of our family for 18 years now. Because of that "membership" he's been exposed to a vast variety of foods and tastes and has developed into his own foodie world. He doesn't speak, but we're confident that he knows the diet during these last 18 years has been far superior (and certainly more varied) than it would ever had been at the institution where he was before joining us. The "Message": Go forth and create more foodies in the world! Sidecar Ron

We'll expect many more posts from you Shaya and let me add my welcome to you into the group. Sidecar Ron

Rona, thanks for the offer. I have a friend who is a flight attendant for American and has the Asia route quite often. I may see what she can do. If that doesn't work, I may take you up on your kind offer. Sidecar Ron

BigBear, I'm not sure what THAT is. It sure doesn't look like my Yama, but thanks for the lead! Sidecar Ron

I keep seeing notices that the Yama is no longer being imported to the US. I was going to buy a second one to serve as a backup to the one I have -- especially since I still have a few packs of their filters . Anyone know if it's still available anywhere? If not, hmmm what should I move on to? Thanks, Sidecar Ron

I jokingly refer our group of motorcycle riders as "The French Chef Gang" since we include four great chefs and a sommelier. Others of us (myself included) as just along for the ride (pun intended) and the wonderful food. Hey, smoked salmon, creme brulee, and bottled water ain't a bad lunch by the side of the road. Fortunately, the sidecar serves as the lunch wagon so no one laughs at us being foodies. Sidecar Ron

DT, to a large degree, we agree with you! Usually our crab cakes are VERY simple and basic since we truly like the taste of crab, but on those VERY RARE occasions when we'd like something a "little different" I've been known to taint that great taste with a wee bit of other ingredients. Sidecar Ron

Scuba, that's kinda what I thought. I'll just get a nice crust in my iron skillet and then put them in the oven for a few minutes. Thanks, Sidecar Ron

Wow! Thanks folks!! Keep the comments coming! Sidecar Ron

Tonight I made Wolfgang Puck's "Bite Sized crab cakes with sweet red pepper sauce." They were quite good (especially the sauce) -- BUT -- the bread crumb/ground almond coating burned quite badly. (Medium heat in a cast iron skillet for 3 minutes) We've had a similar experience with nut-covering on chicken and discovered that by just slightly browning the nut-covered chicken first in a skillet and then transferring it to a high over for 10 minutes, we have success -- Yummy nuts w/o the burining and moist chicken. I'm going to try this with these crab cakes next time, but does anyone have a suggestion about how long to cook them in the oven and at what temperature? I'll adjust as I get experience. Thanks much! Sidecar Ron

Hope this is the best place to offer this quiry. We're undetaking some modest kitchen remodeling and would welcome comments on two issues. First, we're replacing the sink and my leaning is to go with one of those that has a large basin on one side and a small (disposal) basin on the other. We've never had one, but think it would be useful. What's been your experience? BTW, I'm like to go with enameled cast iron, but my better half is just leaning toward stainless. Second, we're debating between a separate spray faucet versus one of the build in types. Again, what's been your experience? Oh -- sure -- biases are welcome too. Thanks! Sidecar Ron

I found mine at http://www.jlhufford.com Sidecar Ron

Thank you. Again, it sounds like a temp issue/problem. I'll check that more carefully next time. "Barm" is just my wild yeast, flour and water mixture. I save beer for my drinking.

The recipe is Reihart's from "Baker's Apprentice. Start with 4 oz. of barm and 4.5 oz of bread flour plus a little water. Then let rest/ferment until doubled (often longer than 4 hours) and put in fridge overnight (sometimes two days) Let warm up to an hour. and create final dough (20.25 oz of flour and about 1.5 cups of warm water. I stand-mixer kneed for 5 min., let rest 10 min. and kneed another 5 min. Let rest until doubled. Form loaf and let rest another couple of hours. Bake at 450 until internal temp is around 200. ← Well, there's experts far more knowledgable than me here, but here's my observations.... While the 20 oz. of flour and 1.5 cups of water is about 60% hydration, I'm concerned about the 4oz of barm, 4.5 oz of flour, and a little water. I'd like to see that "little water" be just over 5 oz. to maintain the 60% hydration. As to the 1.5 cups (12 oz ?) of "warm" water, how warm was it? Wild yeast is more delicate that store bought, and temps substantially above 100 F will kill them. After you formed the loaf, how far did it rise? Did it double again? Did it appear as if it reached full proof? Lastly, temperatures are far more important than the degree of attention demonstrated by your recipe. You should be using an instant read thermometer and adjusting the water temperature to meet your final dough temperature. IOW, if your flour is 60F and your room temp is 60F, you probably need water of 90F to reach a final dough temperature of 70F (subject to the friction resulting from your mixer so really maybe 85F) The barm may not have reached room temperature after an hour...... ← Thanks for your suggestions. Let's see ... by "little water" I meant just an oz or two. "Warm" for me is 90-100 with an instant read. What I've NOT been reading is dough temps throughout the process. I'll try that and add a little more water at the start. I believe that my proofing times have been okay.

I believe so.

The recipe is Reihart's from "Baker's Apprentice. Start with 4 oz. of barm and 4.5 oz of bread flour plus a little water. Then let rest/ferment until doubled (often longer than 4 hours) and put in fridge overnight (sometimes two days) Let warm up to an hour. and create final dough (20.25 oz of flour and about 1.5 cups of warm water. I stand-mixer kneed for 5 min., let rest 10 min. and kneed another 5 min. Let rest until doubled. Form loaf and let rest another couple of hours. Bake at 450 until internal temp is around 200.

I've been into wild yeast bread baking recently and while the taste is pretty good, I'd like a better crumb. My loafs tend to be very dense. Any suggestions? Much thanks, Sidecar Ron

My Yama pot just arrived and there are NO -- ZERO instructions. Can someone help? What grind do I start with? Hot high on the burner (gas)> etc. etc. Much thanks! Sidecar Ron

Hmmmm, I was all set to get a Yama since I want to try a vac pot and its price is right -- but, sigh -- our morning cups hold more than 10 ozs. each. Shall I go to smaller cups or ... Sidecar Ron

Thanks! Price is down to low $50s now. Guess I'll spring for one and share my opinion after a few cups. Sidecar Ron

Okay, I'll admit to drinnking far more "juice of the grade" than I do "fermentation of the wheat" (in this case), but I'm surprised that no one seems to have mentioned my favorite -- Hacker-Pschorr Weisse. Maybe its unique taste is an acquired one. Sidecar Ron

Anyone have experience with this coffee maker? If so, whatchathink? As I recall, Cook's Illustrated liked it. Thanks, Sidecar Ron

WTG, Right on! Isn't it a tasty fast meal? We, too, tend to use penne and prefer Muir Glen -- hey, it's even and easy pasta to eat. Sidecar Ron

Hmmmm, guess this is a topic of some debate. Probably my best hope is to consume the entire bottle at one setting. Worse solutions are probably out there but probably not nearly as enjoyable. Sidecar Ron

Kangarool, that's essentially it. We add some Parmesan cheese too. Sidecar Ron