Lisa Shock

I don't own the pan, but have seen it. Some brownie recipes tend to stick a lot. I have some that call for wax paper to be placed in the pan prior to baking, because traditional release agents don't work. Of the commercial sprays, Vegaline works pretty well. I generally use the release mixture (1/2 cup lecithin granules, 1 cup of oil, blended until smooth) from the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book. It's less convenient because it has to be painted on, but it seems to always work. Brownies also have a disadvantage for use in this type of pan because they develop a crusty exterior while keeping a soft, crumbly exterior that doesn't stay together well. I'd say that the pan is better suited for a soft cake, and possibly molding chocolates.

I do think that there's a difference between the products that are crummy because the good stuff cannot be mass produced and the products where every penny is pinched so hard that the ingredients are barely recognizable. On the one hand, you have chocolate sauce for ice cream. Periodically someone asks us how they can commercially seal and sell their delicious chocolate, sugar, cream, and butter sauce so that it has an indefinite shelf life. The short answer is that without a bunch of chemicals and an adjustment to the water content, it's simply not possible. The dairy spoils within a few days and most home recipes contain enough water to support bacterial growth. So, you either make it at home and eat it fairly soon, or, you buy a chemical laden jar which doesn't taste as good. Then, there are things like frozen lasagna, where 3 ounces of broccoli is shredded into tiny bits to make 12 servings and the cheese flavored filling is extended by the use of cheap starches and binders that when whipped hold lots of tiny air bubbles. In this sort of category, we do have different companies producing varying levels of quality, a few of which may actually resemble some people's home cooking. Here, it's often the merchants at the low end of the spectrum who are reprehensible in using a red-colored sauce that contains just a little tomato, or using starch and water to make an artificially cream flavored sauce. -None of which has the nutrition, or flavor, of the item they imitate.

Sorry, the split refers to the amount of cocoa butter and cocoa solids that make up the chocolate mass. It varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and in their various products as well. However, it is usually consistent over time in one product, so that, say, one type of Felchlin 68% always has the same split. Suppliers will also custom make blends for customers upon request, so, you have to be really careful when accepting/using odd lots from rogue sources. The posters above have done a good job of covering the importance of the split in substitutions.

I am currently reading Swindled: The Dark History of Food Fraud, from Poisoned Candy to Counterfeit Coffee by Bee Wilson and it's fairly interesting to note that while crummy foods in the past could often be fatal to consume, many of the foods were consume today would be consider tainted by 18th & 19th century standards. This is true of the obvious, like breads and sweets, but interestingly enough almost all of our beer would have been considered contaminated as well. Good read so far, I definitely recommend it.

Just remember that Nevada is a land-locked state. Seafood isn't really a strong specialty there. -Not if you've been to places where the time between ocean/bay and your plate is under six hours.

Thank you!

There are several schools of thought when it comes to wine pairings, and, there are also pairing fads that come and go with various food fads. I took wine classes in the early 1980's and again a few years ago. I was told in the recent classes that pretty much everything that I was taught the first time around was wrong. Sometimes, you want a contrast like having an acidic, citrusy white to cut through the richness of a dish, making each bite seem new. Other times, a wine can help balance a flavor component like sweet, sour, bitter, etc. And then, a wine can also help coax out a particular flavor that would have been too subtle without it -think of adding a few berries to a pan sauce, wine could bring the berry flavor more prominence.

Is it raw or cooked? (is it a raw slab of meat, or a big dry sheet?)

I may have access to edible violets next year. I know how to make a good liqueur from flowers (use only the petals no stamens or stems, use Everclear) since I have been making several types for over a decade. What I am curious about is the 'creme' component. I know that, in modern labeling, the term is meaningless. I have tasted some of the cheap 'creme' liqueur concoctions that are artificially flavored, so I have an idea of what it's supposed to taste like. Does the 'creme' component pre-date modern industrial flavor technology? If so, how do I get that flavor into my liqueur naturally?

a) As far as I understand it, wine can have hundreds of flavor components. Wine pairings rely on taste-bud magic that gives us a little thrill when we experience several things at once. Kind of like how a good strawberry-banana flavor item is better than just a banana flavor item. I know that alcohol is absorbed by mucous membranes and transferred to the blood stream. I don't think it kills taste buds much. Professional tasters spit out wine because they will taste maybe 20-30 1oz samples during an event and they don't want to be absolutely plastered at the end of the event. b) yes. Try my favorite experiment sometime: Get an ultra-dark premium chocolate bar (one of those marked at 70% or above) and some Cabernet Sauvignon, just an ounce -but a good one. With a clean palate, taste the chocolate. Then, taste the wine -you can spit it out, but make certain that you get it all over your tongue. Now, try the chocolate again. What will happen is that you'll notice all sorts of different things about the chocolate. For starters, it will taste much sweeter than before. Hope this helps!

As a vegetarian I find many of these burgers amusing. It's as if the establishment is admitting that the meat isn't an important component for flavor. Many of these concoctions make great veggie sandwiches if you just hold the burger.

What about the split?

Just so you know, making Concord grape pie usually involves removing the seeds prior to assembly.

I know people who have worked at every major supermarket chain. Be aware that a lot of the 'just-baked' supermarket bread is actually delivered already made, frozen, in a cardboard box to the supermarket where it is simply heated in their oven for a short time. (some supermarkets' cake doughnuts are also delivered frozen) Some places still make french bread and a few rolls, but they use mixes with ingredients like DATEM that help mask inferior flour and inferior manufacturing techniques. In most supermarkets, you can generally assume that most of the foods in clear clamshells out on tables was delivered frozen. In Phoenix, there is one local chain, AJ's, a high-end specialty retailer, that does make product from scratch using real butter, bread/cake flours, cream, fresh eggs, etc. But, their sister stores, owned by the same corporation, Basha's & Food City, use mixes, shortening, etc. Of course, a lot of 'bakery' places now serve flash-frozen fully baked bread, including Panera.

I think there are several dishes that should have a moratorium placed upon them: caprese salad, even with watermelon ceviche tuna tartare bread pudding Or, at the very least, cheftesants should be told that such dishes carry an automatic negative point score. And, scallops should be banished from the TC kitchen....

Honey is decidedly un-vegan. I'd use agave instead. I'll second sorbet. Chilled sweet soups are another option. There are also fruit salads and salsas. Are those freeze-dried fruits allowed? They have very intense flavors and can be used whole, ground into powders, and rehydrated for use in sauces, drinks, etc. They have the benefit of being very consistent in flavor and texture year-round. Are you allowed to use a dehydrator in your kitchen? If so, you can produce fruit leather, which could be used as a wrapper for fancy presentations. (think fruity sushi) Don't forget nuts. They can be served whole or, you can make nut butters into sauces, mix with rolled oats to make faux crusts, or make nut soups. Obviously, some are better than others when raw.

Just an update, I purchased the refractomer. (The link was to an eBay auction for a Heavy Duty 0-80% Brix Refractometer, costing $49.) It has worked well, and is very easy to read.

I visited a used bookstore yesterday, one with a large cookbook selection, and noted that a lot of American cookbook titles promise to impart secrets of professional and/or famous chefs. Ironically, none of them used weight-based measurement, which I consider to be the biggest professional 'secret' -at least where baking & pastry are concerned. So, I think that Americans would accept scales quite readily -if they were told that the scale was the real secret of great cooking. Two weeks ago, I saw one in use on America's Test Kitchen as they made Almost No-Knead bread. I guess I should send a fan letter (for the scale) recommending that the scale make more appearances.

The Cordon Bleu North America's books also use weight-based measurement. The basics are: Professional Baking, 5th ed. by Gisslen Professional Cooking, 6th ed. by Gisslen (the prior editions also use weight-based measurement, I just linked to the newest)

I forgot to mention that Shibuya had great desserts! They were trios on long plates, each just a couple of great bites. I'd go back just to get dessert.

Roast them, remove the outer skins and then freeze them in small portions for use later. You can make green chile, posole, chile rellenos, or my favorite, just roast slice and put on top a regular red-sauce & cheese pizza. They are also great as a lasagna topping.

Thanks for posting this! One of my biggest disappointments with Recipe Gullet is that most pastry & baking recipes posted there are do not use weight mesaure.

Do you have Smart & Final in your area? I was there yesterday, and, at my local one, they had seven different scoops. (some of which were too large for you)

As a vegetarian, I normally wouldn't bother replying to a thread like this, but, my husband and I had a great meal at Shibuya in the MGM Grand. We were there in November, and the sushi chef made us a great winter vegetable roll with steamed cabbage instead of Nori. We also had a warm mushroom salad and some veggie sushi. It was well made and thoughtfully presented. They have a large selection of sake and shochu. I enjoyed a cocktail made of shochu and yuzu juice. My husband drank tea, and said that it was very good. (we have been to Japan, so, we have some basis for comparison) The environment is high-end modern Japanese. At the time we visited, the place was packed, loud and energetic -like a Tokyo place. HERE is a link to the website.

http://www.castingduo.com/foodnetwork Looks like they want someone with on-camera skills, a background in a commercial kitchen or food education, and between the ages of 25-45. Oh ya, and a HUGE personality. The up-side is that you don't have to bother with all of the fuss of competing on 'The Next Food Network Star.' Interestingly enough, they are using the casting agency that has also cast Top Chef.