Lisa Shock

I'd just like to second 'Something From the Oven' as a fun, informative read.

Are you painting a light coat of chocolate in the mold before pouring the bulk of the couveture in? I was taught to always do that after cleaning them.

I was able to buy a copy from Chef Rubber's booth at the World Pastry Forum for $10 cash. It has a substantial hard paper cover, lots of photos plus in-depth interviews and recipes. I like it. Dunno if I can afford to subscribe at $22 a pop, though. My guess is that CR is shipping in special padded envelopes, thus the handling fee. I was lucky enough to get my copy autographed by Albert Adria, with whom I had several interesting late-night conversations. So, my copy has special meaning to me and I will admit a bit of bias.

Might be a difficult bar - essentially you melt away the surface so I don't think it would be practical for production. ← But, you only need to melt the outer surface. I think if you had a long log of it you could just slice it with a good result.

I saw this demoed at the World Pastry Forum two weeks ago. Vincent Pilon showed it as a showpiece base. It's pretty easy to make. You take some chocolate chunks or discs in several colors and toss them into a blender for just a few seconds to break them into smaller, random bits. You place them within the borders of a mold which can simply be some silicone strips laying on parchment on a sheet pan. You then pour some tempered chocolate or plain colored coca butter (we saw red cocoa butter used, this was for a showpiece) over the chunk mixture until it's covered. Allow it to cool. At this point, the melted chocolate/cocoa butter will have obscured a lot of the pattern. Then, finish the edges by rubbing lightly on a heated surface like a warm sheet pan to reveal the inside pattern. Presumably, one could make a log or big bar of this and slice it with a hot knife or wire to make individual confections. I have not tried it, nor seen it done, so I am not certain. It does seem like a good way to use up odd bits of chocolate.

The challenges are often ridiculous on this series, and last night's episode was a great example of it. I realize that they were trying to add some sort of Iron Chef twist to things, but, these people were trying to make something to get on Red Lobster's menu, and they had plans. (not that it's such a great honor, really) Aside from showing demeanor, what was this really about? Do FN shows start taping on-script about one topic and suddenly lose a bunch of ingredients and the host has to make a new menu up on the spot? Does the network change the star's recipes in the middle of taping? Is this really how Bobby Flay's shows are taped? I suspect that Bobby would explode in a violent fit of anger if someone strolled by his set and took half of the spices for a dish. (I remember how ticked he was that the cameras showed his girlfriend during the Iron Chef rematch in Japan.) I'll also bet that that the camera operator probably knows how to turn the camera off and wait until more product is sourced before re-starting the tape. And, although they don't care to admit it, they apparently do have an editing crew. I actually only watch any food network shows occasionally now, because the content has been dumbed down to the point of celebrating ignorance in the kitchen rather than attempting to give any real education of any value. And, most importantly, they have lost sight of the real food network star: FOOD! The casting call for next season is out there and casting is happening right now. I find it ironic that they say they are seeking chefs and culinary school instructors, when they refuse to provide a venue for substantial content.

You can also brown a vegetable like mushrooms, onions, shallots, etc. and make a vegetable sauce to go with an item.

I liked the original Iron Chef partly for it's over-the-top kitschy take on fine dining and high society. It was also fun seeing the defenders of classical Japanese cuisine face off against the modernists. The American show lacks a lot of the pageantry and theatrics of the original, as well as lacking ongoing rivalries. (apparently, America has no 'Prince of Salt') I was bored with it before reading about how it's really staged -once I read about it, I was un-hooked for good. Top Chef has been entertaining for the most part, but, like all of these challenge shows, the challenges often have little to do with real cheffing skills or creative talent. I expected more from Top Chef Masters, but, after seeing the win in episode one with a plate comprised of dishes from Pastry 101 for Culinary Students I became pretty disillusioned. The other shows are pretty disappointing because the challenges rarely reflect anything anyone would ever do in the real world. Or, are downright mean -like last night's Next Food Network Star switcheroo hijiniks in the middle of people trying to get a dish on the menu of a national chain. Do people walk up in the middle of the taping of a Bobby Flay grilling show and take his ingredients away and tell him to soldier onwards??? Of course not, if he is doing a show on over-seasoned, corn encrusted fish, that's what gets made that episode. It was simply a ridiculous challenge. I like the ACF competitions. They cover a wide range of skills and creativity. (Ethics Disclaimer: Hopefully, I'll be competing in one in a couple of months.) The items being judged have real-world applications. And, not every competition category is timed -which, IMO, is important since I don't think that great food is developed in 15 minutes with 4 ingredients and a group of people sabotaging your every move. If I had money, I'd produce a series about various ACF competitions and the people preparing for them.

I have seen wines where 4 bottles in a case had volatile acidity, 4 were ok but nothing spectacular, and 4 would be superbly delicious. Most recently, for me, it was several cases of Penny Farthing Cabernet Sauvignon 2004. The good bottles had luscious, pronounced, cherry and chocolate flavors. But, buying the wine was like playing the lottery.

The Martinez

I like having Amaretto & tonic with a lime wedge. It's eerily similar to a soft drink of my childhood: Suburban Club Almond Smash. It's low in alcohol, but tasty.

I'd make plain tomato concasse and refrigerate. You can always add salt at the last minute, it doesn't seem too incredibly tedious of a chore. This also allows you to accommodate that person who shows up and lets you know right before the meal starts that they are on a low sodium, or pepper-free diet. IMO, fresh pepper is a lot more fragrant if served immediately. And, yes, the basil needs to be handled at the last minute.

My local hardware store (Ace) sells replacement rings for under $10. I don't think it's possible to get a seal with just glass on glass.

It's still an oddly small group of members. The one place listed in AZ is in Tucson, and we have a couple of decent places in Phoenix like, oh say, Bianco or Metro. My favorite Tokyo place is not on the list. Garibaldi in Gotanda is run by a chef who worked for several years at Pizzaeria Del Presidente in Naples, and was the pizzaiolo on duty when Mr. President ate his pizza there.

What sort of "treatment"? Did you acidulate the garlic? Pressure cook it to 250°F for more than five minutes? Once again, I'll point out that the standard recommendation is to make and use infused oils in the same day, no longer. And, that the restaurant which you are attempting to emulate would be promptly shut down if the health department in most US municipalities discovered them making and/or serving garlic oil.

I am specifically talking about the chocolate sauce: "Chocolate sauce would be dark chocolate, cream, butter and brown sugar." I doubt that the original poster is cooking dark chocolate, cream, butter and brown sugar at a temp anywhere close to 250°F. The FDA info said that water bath canning did not prevent dairy from spoiling. Low moisture in a product can help with the botulism situation in low-acid foods like this. But, a creamy sauce that has been gently heated to prevent the chocolate from burning and cream from separating, which is then water-bath canned, will still see rapid spoilage of the dairy products in it. That is why the FDA recommends vacuum sealing for such products, and a shelf life of no more than three days.

A quick search reveals that water-bath canning of dairy products and, products containing dairy, is considered to be dangerous -even if you refrigerate the resulting product. Commercial producers use pressure canners. The guidelines allow dairy to be vacuum sealed but note that the product should be consumed within a few days.

You might be able to vacuum seal those lids, but then again, you might not. You can see the FoodSaver jar sealers on amazon, look for FoodSaver T03-0023-01 Wide Mouth Jar Sealer and FoodSaver T03-0006-01 Regular Mouth Jar. They are $9.99 each, and allow use of the old-fashioned 2-pc canning jar lids that have a flat pc and a ring. The wide-mouth attachment is easier to operate and more reliable. There's a bit of a trick for the regular-mouth attachment to work, but it does work. These are attachments for the machine, so you just need one -unlike the universal lid. Water bath canning may make the sauces shelf-stable, I am not 100% certain on this as boiling water temps do not kill many anaerobic bacteria like botulism -particularly if your food is low acid. My recollection is that the FDA recommends that only high acid foods like pickles, certain fruit and tomatoes are stable at room temp with a regular water bath. You may need a pressure cooker (temps over 250°F) like commercial processors to get a truly shelf-stable product.

I would guess that the chocolate would burn, since that's what chocolate does once it gets over about 120°F. Why don't you vacuum seal your jars? The home-level foodsaver has canning jar attachments that allow easy sealing of the 2 part canning jar lids; I imagine better sealers also offer this option. I use mine all the time to seal mayo and pickles that I keep in the fridge. Outside of the fridge, I seal all of my dry grains and beans in jars to prevent pantry moths. Edit: vacuum sealing won't make it shelf stable, but it will preserve flavor better than boiling for 20 minutes will.

The coolers work well with the hard plastic 'blue ice' freezable bars, which do come in a variety of sizes. They keep things cold for well over 6 hours if kept inside a soft cooler/insulated lunchbag. My local supermarket has ones that are 2.5" x 5" for $1. Larger ones are running $1.79. They came be washed and re-used for years. I keep an army of them in my fridge because grocery shopping in Phoenix can be like wandering around in an oven. -When it's 126° outside, the inside of your parked car can easily hit 165° and literally bake your food. That said, I also like the lava-cupcake idea. You could also consider making hard candies and fancifully shaped lollipops.

I know people who use liquid nitrogen as part of a medical/scientific company, and they have a lot of protocols for handling the nitrogen, canisters, and receptacles. (and they were making ice cream with it back in the 1960's) I get worried when I see people handling it in kitchen situations without safety gear, and using inappropriate containers for the nitrogen and the super-cooled resulting products. Even really good restaurants occasionally do dumb things (I've seen the youtube videos) with it like dipping 100% metal spoons into a bowl of the liquid while the spoon is being held in a bare hand, or not wearing protective eyegear.

I use the chef rubber colors, and have quite a few of the metallics. I temper before use and they are fine. I was always told to temper them, never to trust them from the bottle. (three instructors) And, was shown how to temper tiny amounts on a table with a palette knife. They are just cocoa butter, and once they get over 88°F they are out of temper. Individual bottles you own may have undergone temperature abuse during shipping or something, if you are wondering because you keep your kitchen cold at all times. I keep mine at home, where the temp is very variable, especially in the Phoenix summers, so I know that mine are out of temper. Maybe the metallic dust affects the crystal formation, requiring the tempering? I really don't know anything except they work for me, and some of my bottles are more than five years old. That said, have you tried asking Chef Rubber?

Are you tempering them prior to use?

I know it's too late, but Asiana at the intersection of Union Hills and 43rd Ave is near the I-17 & 101 intersection. It is in a space that used to be a conventional grocery. The owners are Korean and there is a large amount of Korean food there. They produce Korean baked goods on site, and make several kinds of kimchi. They give a nod to other countries, with aisles devoted to Japan, China & Vietnam, but, the other big attraction, IMO, is the two aisles of foods from India. I have gotten big bags of chargond gum there, and other botanicals that LeeLee simply does not carry. They also carry large household appliances such as full sized stoves, and massive rice cookers.

MaxH, thank you so much for posting this information!