Lisa Shock

When it's really hot (I live in Phoenix AZ, and I've seen the outside temp get to 126°F.) sometimes I make a frozen version. I keep the gin in the freezer, the tonic in the fridge. I put gin in my glass, squeeze in the lemon or lime, add shave-ice from my Hawaiian shave-ice machine then add the tonic water. One day, I'll remember to freeze some tonic in the ice forms for the shave-ice machine....

I was taught to do this in culinary school, with vegetable oil spray, especially with most cakes. I think there are two reasons: 1) If there's a failure of the spray and the item sticks, it's better for it to stick to the parchment, which can then be removed with care outside of the pan. If a cake or something similar sticks to the bottom of a pan, you cannot get to it easily while in the pan and you risk tearing it up. I think this is why we use parchment rounds but don't use parchment side-liners; you can easily slide a spat or knife around the inside sides of a pan. 2) The parchment creates a structural element that helps keep some baked goods in one piece, like roulade cake where you may have a thin cake the size of an entire sheet pan.

How do you milk a buffalo? Water buffalo maybe? Or maybe the question should be why would you milk a buffalo? Educate me please. I am guessing that this is the same sort of milk that is used for the highly prized Mozzarella di bufala campana, buffalo mozzarella, which is made from the milk of water buffalo.

It's both a magazine and a TV show. If you join the website, you get access to both (Illustrated and Country) sets of information: recipes, equipment tests, product reviews.

I'd avoid it, most manufacturers instructions say to avoid high heat, and, to avoid a dishwasher because that's too hot. I also see notices warning users to avoid hot stovetops. Hot sugar is quite a bit hotter than a dishwasher, so, I'd say it's a no-go. If it worked, you'd think that sellers would advertise them for use in hard candy making, and they don't.

I'm thinking that you could use an electric skillet, the type that has a temperature control on the electrical cord. I have an older one in the shape of a wok which I use to keep caramel sugar at the correct temp for dipping things into. But, they come in all sorts of configurations and sizes, like this Rival model s16sg with a digital display that seems a lot more advanced than mine with just a knob. But, using a probe thermometer with an alarm is also useful. I have done sous vide in glass jars on my electric stovetop with just a double boiler setup and the thermometer.

'Charred' made me think of a crime scene instead of a delightfully delicious dinner. 'Blistered' reinforced the crime scene scenario...

I agree. Since dairy inhibits the heat effect of chiles, I'd avoid using any sort of cheese or dairy product. I'd just grind a little bit of each in a clean mortar & pestle, mix with water and sniff and taste each one. Then, I'd use something bland and dairy-free, like a tortilla, to cleans the palate in between tastes. I'd be afraid that mixing with too many other flavors (like acid) might skew the sampling.

Well, aside from you being close to death from hunger, looks like everything went very well! I'm glad it worked out and you didn't have to deal with a group of pouting faces complaining that the food wasn't 'right.' Feeding someone else's kids can be one of the toughest foodie challenges, and you did a great job! Now, they'll probably ask if they can come over again....

Parents often joke about the beige food group, but that's what's safe. A quick bread like biscuits or cornbread is usually pretty good, plus they would enjoy helping make it. Wait, are you in Japan? My Japanese friend's child always asked for rice balls when he was a kid. Just sushi seasoned rice with a little furikake sprinkled on usually worked. (There was this Anpanman furikake he really liked...) He also liked those scrambled eggs made with a little mirin and cooked while moving chopsticks really fast so it winds up looking a little like roe. (so sorry, I do not know the Japanese word for the eggs.) Most will eat salads of raw vegetables, mildly flavored ones like carrot and celery. They also like fruit, usually. You can cut one apple into smaller wedges and remove the core for easy eating.

I had one of those, and it never seemed to do a great job popping the corn. A few years ago I bought the Presto 04830 PowerPop Multi-Popper from Amazon, and my family has been very pleased and had me donate that glass one to charity. It pops quickly and we only wind up with one or two unpopped kernels at the bottom. I don't use any fancy corn, just the stuff from the bulk bins at the local Sprouts store. The popcorn winds up very light and fluffy Yes, it has a part that needs to be replaced every twenty batches or so, but, that intensifier really makes a difference. It does generate a lot of steam in the bowl and you have to be careful removing the lid.

It's also good for making hushpuppies.

Tonight, BBC America is showing one of two UK episodes which originally aired in January 2009 under the title 'Great British Nightmare.' They have been advertising it as 'all new episodes!' so, I was kind of disappointed to find out that it's just two episodes. Oh well, I'm glad for something new to watch!

Not directly, no. But, my husband makes a custard pie that's assembled cold with almost the same ingredients, then baked. And it always comes out with yellow patches and an uneven texture. There is probably a way to make the mix better and faster using some machinery, I just haven't seen it done. I have seen creme anglaise made in 45 seconds in a carefully tended, constantly stirred container in a microwave. (for competition) So, I suspect that it could be done that way instead of on the stove, but, since every microwave is different, it's difficult to give absolute directions and, I suspect that you'd have to run the mix through a chinois prior to baking to insure that the microwave didn't create any lumps by overcooking tiny areas.

The process guarantees that you've killed anything living in the cream. Since the custard itself won't go to the boiling point, getting the cream up to a high temp ensures purity. This practice does pre-date pasteurization, but is prudent, especially if using manufacturing cream and/or if you plan to hold the un-sugared custards for a couple days prior to serving. The process also ensures that the egg is really thoroughly mixed in, so that you get an even and smooth texture. And that the sugar and flavorings are also evenly distributed. It also means the mix cooks faster once in the oven. If you start cold, the egg has a tendency to separate out into yellow spots and the sugar may not fully dissolve -both situations resulting in poor quality product.

I'd be careful in your use of terms. A chocolate maker is generally someone who starts with beans and makes the actual chocolate. A chocolatier or confectioner buys couverture and other chocolate and uses it to make various candies. If you aren't making the chocolate from beans, I'd be careful about saying they are all 100% handmade. I am also wondering if you use any molds.... Honestly, I'd focus more on the fact that you are, presumably, using the freshest real-dairy (organic?) cream & butter without preservatives. 'To experience our genuine cream-filled confections at their peak of freshness, please enjoy before day/month.'

Whoops! I missed that preview button on the right side of the page! I like the step by step photos, they may be helpful to some readers.

My biggest reservation about The Fundamental Techniques is that usually, in America, talk of books for the home cook invariably means that the recipes are written in volume measure with cups and tablespoons instead of weight measure. I have heard that most UK cooks have scales at home, which is an excellent situation to be in. I would not take a step backwards to the outdated use of volume measurement.

Most restaurant reviewers are not trained chefs. Most film reviewers are not filmmakers.

As I stated, milk chocolate scorches at 115°, so microwaving it dry to 120° is burning it -even if you are 100% certain that you have no hotspots. Even dark chocolate starts to burn at 120°. People melting chocolate to temper it, etc. shoot for temps of 104° to 113°. But, you don't melt the chocolate for a ganache unless you are adding a really, really super-small amount of liquid. The chocolate chunks are presumed to be at room temperature, which for candymaking is 72° or a bit cooler. The chocolate is usually in amounts equal to or greater than the cream. The bowl is also at room temperature and serves as a considerably large heat sink. If it's a metal bowl, it conducts some of the cream's heat to the air and the table surface. The cream cools fairly quickly as it is poured, and continues to cool as it sits during the waiting period in ganache making. The chocolate chunks contain a lot of cocoa butter which is a fat. Fat is an insulator. It takes several minutes for the chocolate to get to the melting point because of the insulative qualities of the fat. Hot cream poured on the exterior of chocolate is a much gentler type of heating than exciting individual molecules from the inside-out.

The first book was very recently released and I have not had a chance to look at it. The CIA's most recent Baking & Pastry book (white marble cover) is ok, but, it's oddly lacking in basic recipes. It opts, for example, for banana or chocolate tuile instead of a basic plain one. And, it's got a lot of artisan breads, but no basic white or wheat bread. It's also lacking some classic cake types in favor of modern hybrids. So, I would not recommend it to a beginner attempting to learn on their own. Are you looking for a book with which to learn the basics of pastry-making (which I suspect) or, is she already comfortable and knowledgeable in things like making croissants, puff pastry, danish dough, cooking custards and creams, tempering chocolate, pulling sugar, assembling entremets, and piping classic forms? Honestly, the basics haven't changed much over the past 20 years or so. We have a few scientific discoveries on our side (adding all the sugar at the beginning when beating egg whites is best) but they are small finessing touches. I am glancing through my collection of books, and honestly, my first editions of several books (aside form typo issues) hold their own against many newer books. (there's only so many ways to repackage the same basic info) For a good solid basics book, I'd go with Bo Friberg's The Professional Pastry Chef. For more advanced topics, like sugar showpiece techniques, I'd suggest Friberg's The Advanced Professional Pastry Chef. Gisslen's Professional Baking is also a good way to learn the basics, and it's the text that the Cordon Bleu schools with pastry programs use as their text. For someone who has graduated from these types of books, I strongly recommend specialty books on individual topics. There are some great books on artisan breads, cake decorating, piping skills, sugar pulling and candy making.

Microwaves often heat things unevenly, and if you are getting a temp in one spot of 120° I suspect that you've got much higher temperature points in various small spots in your bowl. I wouldn't microwave any chocolate to a temp over 110° just to be safe. (if you are microwaving it, which I would not recommend for ganache-making) The ideal melt temp is between 104° and 113° for all chocolate. I don't like getting dark chocolate over 118°, and of course, it burns at/above 120. With white or milk chocolate you have milk solids which scorch easily and can coagulate into weird protein lumps just prior to scorching, so you generally don't want a temp over 115° -and closer to 110° is safest. Since you temped milk chocolate at 120° I can pretty definitively say that it was scorched. Also, the usual procedure is to chop the chocolate and simply pour the hot cream over it. Heating both items may have added to your overheating issues.

How To Boil Water has had several hosts, starting with Emeril Lagasse prior to his bigger shows. You may wish to check that link to determine which set of hosts you're remembering. I can't find anything uploaded on youtube, although there are recipes by that name from other people. I'd try both emailing and snail-mailing Food Network with as much info as you can provide. They have been through some management changes, but should still have materials around from old shows. They did publish a How To Boil Water cookbook, you may wish to track that down. Amazon doesn't have any images of inside pages, so, I don't know what recipes are in it.

I will admit that I am just guessing here, since I don't own a Thermomix, but, couldn't you make a batch and keep it warm and slowly moving in a Thermomix?

I'm wondering if there's an easy way to perform the chelation in a restaurant or home setting without affecting the wine's aroma and flavor too much. I found a little online, but not much.