Lisa Shock

I liked it before they added the gum. It used to be the only ice cream I liked because of the unique texture. I am old enough to remember the company before it was sold, back when each pint of strawberry had a large whole berry in the center of the carton. When I moved to Santa Fe in 1982, it wasn't available, so I didn't eat any commercial ice cream until I moved away in 1995 and had access to Breyer's. I am not fond of the new 'snappy' texture. (anyone recall the old Breyer's commercial where they talked about not using gums and had the sound effect of someone popping their chewing gum?) I recall buying some, noticing the texture change and then reading the label and discovering the gum in the ingredients list. I don't eat commercial ice cream any more. I make my own.

Honestly, a bowl of punch looks very attractive on the counter and can practically sell itself. I recently made one for an event that was essentially an un-aged, high-proof vin d'orange with rosè of tempranillo and it was very successful with a wonderful dark pink color. (I managed to infuse the spices and oranges in grain alcohol for a week prior to serving) And yes, aged cocktails are kind of trendy right now... Are you going to be dealing directly with people, or, will servers be talking to them? If it's you, then make up a list of easy things to serve and suggest them upfront when talking to people. Try to have one easy drink for each major type of liquor. Instead of saying "what's your poison?" open with "we've got a killer applejack in stock, if you're a whiskey drinker you'll like it, it's great straight up." If they decline, they'll probably state what type of liquor they like and you can quickly come back with your easy drink for it before they can name a complex cocktail. If you'll have servers, gather them beforehand and tell them the 'house specials' so they can help you by making suggestions to guests instead of just accepting orders from them. Aside from things served straight or on the rocks, I'd try to suggest easy non-shaken drinks like gin & tonic, amaretto and tonic, The Dead Date, cuba libre, screwdriver, etc.

Thanks! I'll get some of those blade guards, I'm always afraid that something will happen with the pizza knife.

I've got edge guards on mine and it hangs from two hooks on the end of a wire shelving unit. I tried it on two parallel magnetic knife bars but after bumping it once, while reaching for another blade, I put it in a more secure mount. It fell onto the butcher block counter and made a deep cut into it. The mag bars are fairly strong but this blade does not seem to cling to the magnets as others do. Is this one similar to yours? Yes! I call it my Bat'leth; it's the largest blade in the house. I have a cloth napkin over my blade because I couldn't figure out how to get a guard on it. I like your hook solution! At my current house I have more room for metro racks out in the former breakfast nook, now known as the test kitchen, and, a very small kitchen proper so less wall space. My old place had a lot of cabinets and lots of unused under-cabinet space above the counters so I liked using the magnets there. Anyway, as much as I love this tool and would never part with it except to replace it if it broke, it's a pain to store safely.

The inaccurately manufactured measuring spoons, cups, etc. are rarely mentioned in conversations regarding use of a kitchen scale. However, they are very commonly found and are still being sold in stores -in all sorts of odd variations. Most consumers don't realize just how inaccurate their equipment is or how much it varies from other people's equipment. We're not that far ahead of the days when recipes called for 'teacupfuls' when using volume measurements. The kitchen scale is the best measuring device to use, and weight-based recipes are the only accurate way to replicate results consistently. I wish that Recipe Gullet had guidelines requiring amounts be expressed as weight only.

Agreed. It doesn't leave a residue like Goo Gone can, and, it will remove almost any adhesive without damaging paper. It's a favorite in collector circles because it won't damage packaging -for items where the package may represent half or more of the value of the item.

For metal knives, I learned years ago to not wash in hot water as it supposedly affected the metal and the edge. I also dry mine carefully, drawing the towel down the spine of the knife starting at the handle. I don't recall where I picked it up, but, the motion is a bit like using the steel but reversed. I'll scrub my ceramic knives almost any which way, being cautious of the edge, or course.

In the past, units were not sealed, or built as well as they are today. There were cases of people being burned in the 1970's. I personally recall being in a tiny regional airport in 1975 and seeing a woman heat up something in a public microwave on a counter near vending machines while having the door wide open. I always wondered what her health was like later...

Torta Pasqualina, Pizzagena, Pizza Rustica, etc. Then there's always ricotta cheesecake.

I got a couple of stainless milkshake mixer cups on ebay to use with my immersion blender. I have also seen them show up at thrift stores. My Delonghi mixer (now available as Cuisinart) has an attachment that's a mini chopper/blender which sits on top the mixer and has a small glass jar enclosing it. This is convenient and the small jars have lids, so you can puree then store in it. It's designed for making baby food but works for any small task.

Ikea has magnetic strips that are mounted in stainless strips designed to be wall-mounted. I use one to keep my 22" rocker pizza knife safe.

It's also good to know that sometimes, when they are stuck, you'll need to stick a broomhandle or something in there and push a little and turn to get it to move a bit before the reset switch will allow you to click it.

Some online sources state that they don't actually sharpen it, they just knock crud off. But, I think that LoftyNotions has the real answer. After a couple of years without moving, but with water and grease being poured over them all the time, something is bound to seize up. (edited for clarity)

I do okay with melon rinds, I slice them up a bit before disposing them. What I always avoid are banana peels, artichoke leaves, nut shells, pineapple tops, and, anything that would be difficult to run a knife through. The first three of these items I have personally witnessed others clogging and ultimately destroying disposals with, so I am certain they should be avoided. If you don't use it for a while, you should at least run some ice cubes in it about once a week to keep it sharp. I knew a woman who never used hers and it became uselessly dull after about 2 years of inactivity.

I'd separate and weigh the yolk and white and then adjust. The standard large US egg for formulas is 2 liquid ounces. The yolk is .75oz and the white is 1.25.

I grew up eating halves with a grapefruitspoon. I now eat them peeled out of hand by the section, as I eat my oranges. If I were to serve them to others, I might serve halves with grapefruitspoons, if I wanted them as a course, or, I would supreme them for use in a dish.

I have made hundreds of variants on mayo from scratch in the past couple of years as part of a project, and haven't had this happen. I did run a bunch of formulations using pureed sun dried tomatoes, and never saw anything like this. It wasn't by chance the Hellman's Light version, was it? -That product contains xanthan gum and starch in fairly precise amounts to maintain the consistency. My only other thought, if it was the regular mayo, is that tomatoes do contain pectin, and the batch you got was very high in it.

Heating shouldn't make the FoodSaver harder to use; the seal is made with canning jar lids, the FoodSaver Jar Sealer slips over the canning jar lid. Preheating is a good idea, these can be kept in a water bath or on a heating pad as long as the room temp isn't too cold. I always use wide-mouth jars, it IS easier. The smaller ones, quilted 8oz, are the easiest to get things out of because the sides are straight. This size is probably too small for you, unless maybe you want to use circles of that diameter as the finished product.

You could try canning jars, there are regular and wide-mouth attachments for FoodSaver, and the jars are meant to be boiled for sealing so they can withstand higher temps than the canisters.

Sounds underbaked, you see this characteristic in all sorts of short doughs like cookies.

I hadn't heard of the procedure, either. I've been trying for the past hour or so to research this online, to see if I was out of the loop on a regional technique or something. I haven't been able to find a precedent yet. I have to agree with Deb & The Doctor. Caramelization changes the properties of a sugar, and, I suspect that caramelizing the glucose before adding the sugar is inhibiting its positive effects on the sugar.

Chef Rubber has them.

I've had some great meals served at communal tables. Perhaps my favorite memory is eating at Cantler's just outside of Annapolis in the 1970's. The place was a warehouse-like building out in the woods (but on the water, it has its own dock so you can arrive by boat if you'd like) that had three rows of wooden picnic tables pushed together making three long communal tables -all covered in newspaper. You ordered at a little counter and got crabs by the dozen handed to you in the shallow cardboard boxes that hold 4 six-packs of soda. You could get cold soda in cans, and that was about it. Rolls of paper towels were provided along with mallets when you got your crabs.

So, we'd like to see pics of the event, if possible...

The recipe giving you times for steps may be part of the issue. Room temperature, humidity, and, to a lesser extent, barometric pressure can all affect fermentation. Even in a commercial kitchen with proof-boxes to give us controlled environments, we check the volume of the dough and use that as the indicator to move on to the next step. I agree with jackal10, that shape is definitely an indicator of being over-proofed and under-baked. And, the hydration % is very high -it's like a ciabatta, not a sandwich-loaf type bread. Some of your crumb structure is a result of the AP flour, it can make a bread a bit more muffin-like. But, depending on your region, AP flour can be very close to bread flour in gluten content. The only way to test it is to do a Hand Test, which is very approximate unless you're used to handling a lot of different flours regularly. I think with a few changes you'll have a great loaf on your next try!