Lisa Shock

Yeah, it's made to be used for hours on a daily basis. We had them in the culinary school I attended. School ran three tracks of classes: early morning, afternoon and evening. So, they'd often get used by three different class groups a day. I was there for over 2 years, and my work study job was in the same office as the person who ordered new equipment. I never saw one need to be replaced.

Thanks for sharing your journey with us, and patiently answering our questions, you've given us a window into a process that isn't usually discussed in such detail. Would you describe your favorite/primary chef's knife?

Agreed, your precious storage space would be more efficiently used storing finished product -especially if you choose your containers' shape (rectangular, square, sizes that multiply to the inner dimensions of the freezer). This way, you aren't wasting space on peels, rinds, seeds, stems, etc. You could also package the sorbet in individual portion sized serving cups, if you have access to those. A basic sorbet is fruit puree, simple syrup, with maybe a little extra lemon/lime juice for contrast. It is easily made in the old-fashioned five quart ice cream machines, whether hand-crank or electric, which use ice and salt. Sanitation should be first and foremost, since the final mix is not cooked, there is a lot of potential for spreading disease. Your machine(s) will need to be sanitized and stored in a clean area. That food processor appears to be a home-user type appliance. (I haven't seen one in the US.) It costs about 300pounds, and I guess it's ok, for a small home user appliance that doesn't get much of a workout. The reviews show it to be of middling quality with a tendency for the plastic bowls and blades to beak within 2-3 years of typical home use (pulled out maybe 2-3 times a month, tops). Trust me, these apparently 'high end' home appliances rely on the fact that once the novelty wears off, these things mostly just decorate kitchens, they get used on average about once a month. IMO, you'd be much better off saving up, maybe starting a crowdfunding campaign, spending more and getting a Vitamix which has a MUCH more powerful motor, or, getting a professional machine like a Robot Coupe which has all the parts made of metal.

Whoops! Ok, I only watched until the chicken went into the fryer, figuring that they explained everything in steps as it happened. Because the egg and milk are mixed, I don't think it's a brine or marinade, I think it's just functioning as part of a breading station, holding the spice mix and flour on.

I was wondering about brining and such. I knew someone who worked at KFC and sometime in 2004-ish got to ask him about the coleslaw. He said that they cut the cabbage and then salted & sugared it and let it sit overnight, then drained and added the dressing. My suspicion would be that maybe the chickens got tossed with salt, pepper, and sugar and allowed to sit overnight. I just found THIS video of the Colonel making the chicken on live TV. He appears to coat plain chicken in the dry flour mix. (I also found photos of him demonstrating to franchisees, it was definitely never a batter) Despite this being a 'softball' piece, and not hard journalism, IMO one of the hosts would have asked what the chicken was coated with if it had been brined in buttermilk. Note that Minnie comments on the pressure fryer, and both she and Ernie knew about paper bag shaking. It seems like Minnie has made some chicken in her day, and Ernie has at least watched people cook it. I really strongly suspect that the buttermilk soak is spurious. There's a good chance that advance seasoning, with at least salt, would have drawn out water making it easier to coat that plain chicken from the package. (note that the Colonel clearly states that the chicken is fried in hydrogenated oil, some modern differences may be due to the change in oil when they eliminated trans fat a while back) Also note the canister that Ernie holds up as a retort when the Colonel says he doesn't have 11 herbs and spices. I wonder if that's supposed to be a famous competing brand, or Claudia's mixture? I understand the chemistry, somewhat, of buttermilk soaking. I suspect, although no one has tested it, that it's related to the effect that Heston Blumenthal saw with yogurt. (fast forward to 13:03 to see the lab work) But, it adds extra expense, and takes up space in the walk-in. And, since this recipe was developed prior to reliable air conditioning and refrigeration, and in the hot/humid South, I am pretty skeptical about it. I think maybe they just salt & peppered (and maybe added sugar) in the morning, an hour or so before frying. In the HJF video, I suspect the prefer the KFC leg slightly over the home made simply because of the pressure frying and the surface area ratio. BTW, the HJF people talk about the finger-licking sauce, I have never had it. But, I looked it up on the KFC website. The main ingredients are vegetable oil and high fructose corn syrup. I suspect that a decent facsimile, especially for those without a modernist pantry, would be to take some mayonnaise and add sugar and the spice mix. It will probably taste good. I also think that people's perception of the crispness and flavor is probably affected by the modern hot-holding system they now use. I think they are holding cooked chicken significantly longer than they used to. Today, I made fried potatoes and eggs for breakfast. I added about ¼teaspoon of the seasoning to the potatoes as they cooked, removed them from the pan, lowered the heat and scrambled some eggs, then tossed it all together. It was good, I probably should have added a little salt, in my fear of saltiness I just used the seasoning, and got it under-seasoned. I also dipped a chunk of cantaloupe in the mix. It wasn't great, oddly enough, it was intriguing but ultimately bad. -The smoke from the pimenton was the first flavor to register, which is odd because I only used half as much as called for with paprika. I think there's untapped potential for the spice mix. I am still contemplating....

I would not soak the candied fruit. That said, IMO, it's traditional to rinse it with water, let dry, and shake with a little flour to coat. This way, it's less likely to clump in the batter.

The formula you mention will probably work, but it will be a denser bread than the loaf you pictured earlier. I spent a year baking nothing but rye loaves before i was satisfied that I could do it well.

Tonight, I made a pasta casserole, something between baked ziti and macaroni & cheese, with some broccoli tossed in. I had some leftover mix, with flour, I mixed two tablespoons with some plain breadcrumbs and a little butter and used that as a topping. It was great. Not Italian at all, but very good. Be warned that my topping was right on the edge of being too salty. This is powerful stuff. (also, I think some gets lost in deep frying -with a bake, it all stays put)

You might want to read up on baking with rye. It needs to be handled completely differently than wheat flour, and blends do not always work well, unless the rye is less than 15% of the overall flour. If you use the same settings you use for wheat bread with rye, you'll get an overworked gummy mess.

So, I made the mix, although I had to make one substitution, I even went on a run to the market to get some spices I was low on to make this, and forgot that I don't have any paprika. I substituted some fairly spicy pimenton for the paprika, but only used half as much. I then used the mix, with egg wash first, to make some potato slices. It was very good. The pimenton made it fairly spicy, though, and the smokiness came through as well. I recommend it, but it's probably not true to anyone's memories of KFC. I was surprised at the synergy of the spices. I could not pick out ginger or celery seed flavor. Also, I had been wondering if the herbs would make it taste fairly 'green' but I did not get that. It was a little sweet, I did not add sugar -although I did add 1 Tbsp Accent (msg). The mix did make me sneeze, a lot. So, I'd be careful about getting too much in the air. I am going to try making other things with it now. I think there is real potential in using the mix as a dredge and maybe in a tempura batter (sub rice flour for the AP flour).

The one time I checked was in 1989....

Vegaline Premium or Vegaline Grid Iron are both very good. IIRC, you have to get them at a restaurant supply store. Smart & Final used to carry them, I believe that Restaurant Depot still does.

I have never eaten there. The one time I checked, they had absolutely nothing vegetarian besides drinks. The vegetable sides and even the salad dressings contained meat.

One last suggestion, I have gotten really good potatoes at various Asian supermarkets. One of them here in Phoenix, LeeLee a huge place, always has really tasty reds.

I should have mentioned this earlier, but, there are two issues with the formula as it stands: 1) It makes a really small amount. Maybe someone reduced it for home use, but, any franchisee, or someone packing for a franchisee wouldn't be sitting there and measuring out tablespoons of spice and cups of flour -they would probably need 30-100 times as much per day. Which leads me to: 2) The formula shown in the article is volumetric and involves all dry ingredients which makes no sense. By the time the recipe went into regular use in the first restaurant, someone was mixing it in large tubs or maybe a 35qt Hobart. (why mix it daily when you can mix it weekly or monthly then just scoop it out as needed) They were buying by weight, they should have been mixing by weight for consistency. It should probably read more like: 20lb sack of AP flour 1lb salt 1/2 jar Thyme (1.5 oz to a jar, therefore .75oz) 1/2 jar Basil (1.5 oz to a jar, therefore .75oz) 1/3 jar Oregano (1.5 oz to a jar, therefore .75oz) 1 1.5 oz jar Celery Salt 1 1.5oz jar Black Pepper 1 1.5oz jar Dry Mustard 4 1.5oz jars Paprika 1 1.5oz jar dry Ginger 2 1.5oz jars Garlic Salt 3 1.5oz jars White Pepper (plus sugar and msg) -Or, by the late 1960s, a 100lb sack of flour and some larger commercial canisters of spice. I can pretty much guarantee that the current formula is by weight (probably metric) and makes a large quantity at once. -Although they probably make small batches of experimental products in the test kitchen.

FYI, the Kindle version is still slated for September 20, although I still prefer my cookbooks to be real hardbacks. I also found an eBay listing as well.

The spices add significantly to the cost, too.

The flies will be looking for a place to grow eggs, the eggs then hatch into maggots. They prefer damp, dark areas. Throw out ALL of your your trash/recycling. Then wash your trash cans. If you don't use your garbage disposal often, run it now, and pour some vinegar down the drain. Run any sink you don't use very often like in guest bathroom. Pull out your fridge and stove and look for 'lost' rotting food. (on a gas stove, try removing the bottom drawer to get access to the floor below) Clean your under-sink cupboard, it's probably ok, but, a random piece of food could have landed there and started to rot. Just generally check the backs of things and under stuff. Make sure a mouse hasn't gotten inside, too. The flies themselves can live up to 30 days, so building or buying some sort of trapping device is probably worthwhile, I don't like using pesticides -particularly indoors. My sympathies are with you, good luck!

Nope, pectin looses potency over time. It won't hurt anyone to try it, but, more than likely it simply won't work.

HERE's a link to an eBay auction of the Claudia Sanders seasoning. Click on the images to enlarge them. (ebay doesn't keep info forever, this link will break very soon) This item was made by Marion-Kay in Indiana. Note that the ingredients are shown on the back of the package: Pepper (white and black), MSG, Salt and natural herbs and spices. White pepper is listed before black, so there is more of it than the black. (and more of it than anything else, which jibes with the newspaper article) There is more MSG than salt! And, like today, herbs and spices do not need to be mentioned by name.

I just realized that you could make meringue cookies, torch them, and crush them black into char dust and sprinkle that on the plate.

Esme gin for some G&Ts. IMO, it's decent and very floral. A nice change of pace.

I don't see crumble as part of lemon meringue pie. Also, the cream quenelle, what does that represent? -Meringue does not contain cream, it's just egg white and sugar. The curd is also cream-free. (although it does contain a small amount of butter) I see the following components in the pie slice: crust (with vanilla flavor), custard (with lemon juice flavor), and meringue (sometimes has vanilla). Fire would be a potential extra. The beauty of lemon meringue pie, to me, is in the eggs. The genius here is the balance of using egg yolks for the curd and whites for the meringue. Essentially, I would look at some sort of sweetened egg yolk preparation (plain, very yolk-y sabayon?) and some egg white foam. Then, you have lemon supremes. And, maybe, some shards of glass-like hard candy made with vanilla extract. I might add meringues, the cookie, to represent the topping, maybe. I would add a shortbread cookie to represent the crust. I can't imagine deconstructing this further, as you just get butter, flour, and sugar.

What's for dinner?

I have suspected sugar myself, and hey, it's not an herb or spice, so, it may not appear in the list. That said, some spices trigger a recognition or memory of sweetness when no sweetener is there. If the ginger is really there, it explains a lot of what the Esquire team was saying. They had a really tough job trying to untangle flavors after they were mixed and deep fried with chicken. Thanks for the Poundstone reference. That was what I meant, I just did not recall the correct year. Once again, I wonder how much spice is destroyed in cooking, and, we probably have better lab equipment nowadays. The Chicago Tribune's taste test seems pretty conclusive. However, I'd like to see a real test with 100+ participants given unmarked samples of both the real and the supposed recipe and see what happens. -Don't even say anything about KFC. I think the Tribune, while well-intentioned, did not work the test out well enough to eliminate unconscious bias.