Lisa Shock

I occasionally make simple syrup from a light brownish-color cane sugar we get here in Phoenix that's made in Mexico. It's not brown sugar or turbinado, just a less refined sugar -a bit like old-time loaf sugar. I like to imagine that my drinks taste a bit more like Jerry Thomas' this way. Sounds like panela: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panela Not quite. The stuff I use is just marked 'cane sugar' but is granular and light brown, with no stickiness. But now that you've reminded me that the local marked carries panela, syrup made from that is next up in my rotation! Thanks!

I occasionally make simple syrup from a light brownish-color cane sugar we get here in Phoenix that's made in Mexico. It's not brown sugar or turbinado, just a less refined sugar -a bit like old-time loaf sugar. I like to imagine that my drinks taste a bit more like Jerry Thomas' this way.

Agreed. I like to make mixed vegetable risottos, especially in springtime, and vegetable stock adds a pleasing light flavor. (I usually make mine with at leeks, along with other vegetable trimmings.) I also use it to make summertime minestrone, with more vegetables and fewer dry beans. For the dry beans, I tend to use dry mung and azuki beans in summer, just for a lighter feeling. I also have a great vegetarian pho recipe that starts with vegetable stock. What I do to make it a bit better is grill/char the vegetables then roast them before making the stock. It really adds depth to the final soup.

The leaves have varying strengths, and the two of you may have been using different sorts. That said, it's always best to allow 24 hours for this sort of dessert to set properly.

http://www.voedingscentrum.nl/nl/eten-veiligheid/schadelijke-stoffen/natuurlijke-gifstoffen/in-planten/peulvruchten-en-bonen.aspx http://paleohacks.com/questions/308/non-paleo-lectin-content-of-green-beans-vs-dried-beans It's difficult to know exactly what variety a particular person is growing in their garden. They aren't poisonous to the point of killing you immediately, but, they certainly aren't beneficial to health. They contain both Phytohaemagglutinin and lectins. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytohaemagglutinin

They are mildly poisonous, although not as poisonous as the mature beans, and I cannot really recommend their consumption.

The water content in fresh berries (strawberries are the worst) can fluctuate wildly. Many of your problems, at least in a sorbet or gelato, can be addressed by checking the brix of the final mix before spinning. You need to be at 26-27% for optimal texture.

I like to make flavored mayonnaise in my blender.

I tend to make pizza on the grill. (I don't have decent high-temp oven, so the grill works better.)

Roasted potato with Beurre Noisette.

You can always rig up an independent chilling setup with another sheet pan holding lots of ice that is cater-wrapped to hold the ice in. Just set the pan with the stencil on top of the wrapped ice, and then into the fridge, if possible.

Are you using the instant type puddings, or the regular?

Well, at least if the package is sealed well, the herbs will be potent and fairly fresh. I can recall visiting people's kitchens where they had jars/cans of spices that were a decade+ old, and had been purchased to make one specialty dish and never touched again.

Once you know more specifically where he'll be, we can recommend places he can go shopping. There are several dedicated Japanese shops in town, each with it's own fairly unique supplies. Plus, we have larger supermarkets that try and cover all of Asia and that have a fairly good supply of some of the more common Japanese foods and accessories.

It really depends on the family, as others have said Phoenix is huge and very cosmopolitan. One distinction we have is that there are more sushi restaurants per capita here than any other American metropolitan area. (yes, it's a land-locked state and it makes no sense whatsoever) We have all sorts of international dining available. Just near my house there's a Russian place, a Lebanese place, a Persian place, a Brazilian place, a Castillian place, a vegan Thai place, two Sushi houses, a teppanyaki place, and a Sicilian place. -Plus all of the ubiquitous chains and lots of Tex-Mex. What might be a good idea is some of the homestyle sushi-related dishes that are in fun shapes. I shared a house with two women from Japan while I was in college, and they taught me how to make temari balls, a sushi 'cake', and other fun items as well as scattered sushi. When I make these for parties at my house, people seem to like them. I try to use mostly vegetables and tofu (I'm vegetarian) that people recognize along with a few Japanese specialty items. People seem pretty impressed because they are used to fairly limited, traditional restaurant-style sushi menus with just fish and nori, and they've never seen anything made in the fancy shaped molds/presses, or the colored/flavored rices, like the rice balls that are often packed in bentos. Most Americans are also unfamiliar with most Japanese type salads, and the freshly made pickles. I hope this helps! I'm a huge foodie, and I have practiced these a lot, so these items are fun for me. I hope that I am not suggesting too much! Even chirashi would be received as very different and fun, I think.

Just a quick note here that AP flour varies regionally in the US. In the South it's closer to cake flour because of the high demand for biscuits, in the North it's closer to pastry/bread flour because it's used for more kneaded breads. The labels won't tell you what you have, you have to test it yourself. I don't know much about the rest of the world, but, if the packaging gives a % protein content, you can check this chart.

I agree that you should stay in school and finish the degree. You've got a good opportunity there to get a degree under your belt fairly quickly. Then, if you so desire, you can get more challenging degrees later. There are now master's degrees out there to be earned in culinary programs, and if you quit at one school, you may have to start from scratch if you decide to move ahead with education in the future. And, in the future, you will be competing for jobs with those people who have bachelor's and master's degrees. Also, your job can't cover everything you'll learn in school, like Willspear's example of baking. There will be things to learn, including discipline and the value of practicing. You've also got things to memorize (like the temperatures at which each of the three components of an egg cook, the temperatures for tempering various types of chocolate, and the effects of acids and bases to name a few) which can take you further into modern experimental cuisine. I'd also like to mention that there's always something to be learned in a situation. I'm in my 40's and I'm still learning a lot, even in situations I've lived through hundreds of times. You've got to be open to it, because it ultimately means that you'll keep growing and improving. Since you're doing so well in school, you've got the perfect opportunity to really hone your skills: perfecting your knife cuts, developing more speed, and of course, mentoring others. As an 'A' student you'll be first on everyone's list for referrals and future opportunities -something you may need if your relationship with the current boss goes sour. Fact is, the school will give you things on pieces of paper (transcripts, letters of recommendation, awards, etc.) that you'll have to show for the rest of your life. -Five, ten, twenty years from now, who knows where your current boss will be and if he'll be willing to send out a letter of recommendation. Then, there's the issue of your training as viewed by future employers. Just because one place does things a certain way doesn't necessarily mean that it's the best way. Employers want to know that you have learned the theory and techniques properly so that you can optimize their business, not run their kitchen just like someone else's. Many employers would rather help someone who just graduated get up to speed than have to break a know-it-all of a hundred bad habits.

When I was in Japan in 2008, consomme was a very popular flavor....

My thoughts are that pasta salad should be at least 50% salad ingredients. I like to have hearty amounts of sliced carrot (ok, I use a Japanese flower cutter to make flower shaped slices), celery, raw zucchini, red bell pepper, slivers of red onion, a few beans (garbanzo or cannelloni), and maybe cucumber. Then, I add preserved ingredients like olives and marinated artichokes and the vinaigrette. And, I serve it on a bed of greens with tomatoes and other, more delicate veggies and raw basil. (and assorted things from my garden) So, it can count as a meal.

I'd add them to pasta salad made with a vinaigrette dressing. I also enjoy them on 'salad sandwiches' that I make from lettuce and veggies on toast that I put a little mustard on and drizzle with a little vinaigrette dressing. I make pizza at home a lot, and they can be good in small number, well drained, on a pizza.

I'd say because I'd like to be taken someplace that I've never been before. -Pretty much the same reason why I'd visit a restaurant that features a regional cuisine I have never tasted, as well. (this is also why I enjoy new videogames...)

Thanks! Browned edges could be attractive, you never know...

So, let us know how it works out, ok?

That's really a wonderful use of the technology. I don't have access to such tools, but I am wondering if you've ever experimented with pastillage?

Thanks for the information, Lisa. When you say a heat lamp, do you mean some special kind of cooking lamp. You learn something every day. If I understand correctly, when the sugar solution becomes too thick to pour, it will regain its liquid state and be suitable for pouring again??? I'll try it anyway. Thanks. Any gooseneck lamp will work, you can buy a heat lamp bulb at a hardware store -the type that is sometimes used in bathrooms works ok. (they aren't cheap!) Pros use a setup similar to the warmers for french fries in fast food places. An adjustable gooseneck lamp means you can accurately aim the heat. Once the sugar is cooked enough to make lollipops, there's no real downside to reheating. It will, heat up faster and tend to burn more quickly because there's no water left in the pot. I have used a non-teflon electric skillet (yay thrift store!) to keep sugar warm and pourable. I am referring to the pan with a cord that has a thermostat on the cord. I was lucky enough to get a wok-shaped one for under $10 a few years back. Makes dipping cream puffs for croquembouche a snap! And, I am serious about the safety warnings. Please set up a bowl of ice before starting, and have a plan for handling burns if they occur. Hot sugar is really nasty in that it will tunnel into your body and keep burning as it goes, unlike, say, boiling oil, which dissipates and tends to stay on the skin surface.