Lisa Shock

So, what did you decide upon? How did the event go?

Yeah, for me, Frito pie was always Fritos, chile (red or green), grated cheddar, grated white onion, pickled jalapeno slices. (you always got to serve yourself the cheese, onion and jalapenos from a toppings dispenser) I have never seen Frito pie serves with a melted cheese. (and I own the official Frito recipe book) Velveeta and R-Tel heated together is the Suzy-homemaker version of queso dip.

I should point out that in my posts, I have been thinking about the fish as being raw -for the puree and otherwise. My imagining of it with melon would be of a melon cube topped with a small, paper-thin slice of raw fish that had been dragged through a little liquid smoke, then a dash of salt added, this could be done with some other moist fruit that is in season. (late grapes? applesauce?)

You could always tell the customer that you're selling the place because you're sick of dealing with him....j/k!

You could look at the problem with a modernist perspective. Your ingredient is a form of protein with a good amount of water in it, and low fat content. If you pureed it, you'd get something which would act a bit like (perhaps with some coaxing by adding various other ingredients) egg white, which is a magic ingredient in pastry-making. You'd need to do some research and testing, but, you might be able to make something like a chocolate souffle with a 50-50 mix of cod and egg white instead of the usual amount of egg white. Or crepes without whites at all, just cod puree, a few yolks, milk, flour, sugar and salt. In ice cream, think of the cod as replacing the eggs, not the milk. This would probably work with cake as well. It might take some cornstarch, xanthan gum or meat glue to make it work, but, I think it would. After all, cod is a very mild flavored fish. Add some orange oil, vanilla, or some spices, and you can hide the flavor.

I found this article to be incredibly informative, at least about cooking with wines.

Fall is melon season. As an added bonus, honeydew does not ripen on the vine, it ripens in storage a few months after being picked.

How about taking salt cod, dry, and grating it then using it as salt? You could use it to top caramels, sprinkle on ice cream, pretty much any sweet dessert.

I think it has to do with contrast. And the sum of the parts being greater than the whole. (my preference is for green chile cheese fries: just pureed green chiles topped with melted cheese) You start with a french fry which is crisp, salty, and starchy. The chili offers silky moisture to the dry centers of the fries, as well as an acidity with a little spiciness which plays off the fat in the fries, and a little sweetness and chew from the meat (maybe some sauteed onion adding sweetness) and a big, big dose of umami. Get them topped with a little raw onion, and you've added crunch, sweet, and a little bit of bitter. So, you wind up with the classic formula for a great dish with components bouncing off the major taste receptors (including that newly discovered fat receptor). On paper, the formula is similar to the interaction between fries and ketchup, but more complete.

The assignment was 5 courses....was dessert specified as course #5? I mean, you could do 5 courses without dessert.

It's worth it. I made another batch of ice cream last night. I have been giving samples to friends, so far, everyone likes it. This is unusual, generally someone in my circle of friends finds one of my sorbets or ice creams to not be to their liking. BTW, the sugar I have been using is Zulka brand Morena. It's pricey on Amazon but inexpensive in stores here. I find it to have a pleasing, subtle flavor. edited to add amazon link

I guess I should admit that I just realized that my batch was pretty different from the original. Instead of rind of a whole orange (well clementine in this case) to about 4oz sugar, I used a lot less. Like one rind for 2 pounds, so it's more like cinnamon sugar with a hint of orange. (I was wondering why people were storing this in the fridge...) Anyway, anyone attempting ice cream should probably use maybe ­¼ toast dope and ­­¾ plain sugar.

Just finished 'Eat Me the Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin'. Starting 'Mexican Cookbook' the 1940 edition by Emma Fergusson. I am kind of fascinated by the evolution of Southwestern food. This cookbook is from the University of New Mexico Press and was first published in 1934. The 1940 edition has 12 new recipes in it. The author lived in New Mexico and got her recipes and her recipe testers from the Albuquerque area. The book has been reprinted many times, I am currently in the process of buying multiple copies to compare them. So far, I am noticing that there is a huge difference between these old chicken recipes and modern recipes: what few there are all use pre-cooked shredded chicken, presumably because in 1940 birds were leaner, older and tougher. The pre-cooking (recipe given) involves boiling for a long time, instructions include adding spices like nutmeg and allspice, plus raisins, to the water, but warning to only salt during the 'final hour' of boiling. Several meat recipes also involve the use of allspice and other 'sweet' spices for meat, with the heat of chile sauce added as a finishing touch. Obviously, no tacos, or burritos, or chimmichangas here.

It probably won't mix well, but Italian buttercream is shelf stable. Perhaps you could just pipe a rosette of buttercream on top of the curd. I have not tried mixing the two, but, somehow the shiny buttercream just doesn't seem like it would actually blend well with the curd, I could be wrong. Just suggesting the decorating idea in case mixing doesn't work.

I was surprised that the author didn't mention tonka beans. I have seen them show up in small markets (not in NY) now and then.

I have always thought of the word 'dope' in this case being used like airplane dope used on old-style wood & fabric airplanes; as a finishing touch. But, that's just my interpretation.

Business broker, but, as stated, this place has been mostly about your uniqueness. That said, you've been doing well with lunch being more pedestrian, so I would emphasize the value of that. IMO, most buyers of this sort of package are looking for a plug-and-play set up with standardized recipes, routines, schedules, etc.

I made Toast Dope ice cream today, no special technique, just the basic classic French recipe from my LCB textbook minus a couple of egg yolks because I ran out of eggs. Very delicious!

I just made Toast Dope ice cream, and, it's amazing! Back in 2011, I made a big batch as gifts and wound up keeping a quart jar of it -vacuum sealed, or course. That jar wound up hidden at the back of a shelf to be rediscovered recently while doing a deep cleaning. Anyway, this batch was made with grated clementine zest, cinnamon, allspice, cardamom, and a tiny amount of ground juniper berry. The clementine was grated with a fine Microplane directly into the sugar and there were tiny lumps in the Toast Dope. (they aren't noticeable in the ice cream) The sugar was a light brown raw sugar from Mexico that kind of resembles 'sugar in the raw' -it comes in 1 or 2 pound plastic bags with green text. Here's my ice cream formula: 1 Pint Whole Milk 5 Ounces Toast Dope 4 Egg Yolks 1 Cup Heavy Cream Heat the Milk until barely scalded. While the Milk is heating, beat the Toast Dope and Yolks in a bowl. Temper the Yolks mixture then mix Milk with the Yolks and Toast Dope. Stir in Cream, chill then run in an ice cream machine. These amounts will work in a 1.5 quart electric machine. The finished ice cream will have an ivory color. Thanks for all of the suggestions everyone, Toast Dope rocks!

Gonna have to organize a road trip!

I have never experienced your problem, but have had insect issues with other foods. The insect you are dealing with may be local to your area. HERE is a helpful document on dealing with various insects that affect curing hams. I would recommend looking at the situation using the HACCP program as a model. You have a fairly good idea of what the hazard you're facing is: bugs. (not that big of a deal to not know the type) You then need to ask how they and/or their eggs are getting into the storage/curing area and how you can stop them. DO NOT USE PESTICIDES. I would start with cleaning and sanitizing the curing room, washing the walls, ceiling, and floor. I would look at how air gets into the room from the outdoors or other rooms. Are there cracks in the walls, or dirty old drains, or air vents in need of cleaning? Can you control the humidity and temperature? I would also look into employee hygiene, are hands being washed frequently, how clean are their shoes, are delivery people kept away from the curing room, are only people with clean uniforms allowed in the room? And then, I would look at every step of the curing process and the path of every ingredient as it enters your establishment. Is your sugar fresh and dry when purchased, is it kept sealed? Is your wrapping paper/cloth clean or does it get handled by too many people, or stored in a questionable area? I know that this is a big project. The solution may be as simple as requiring staff to wear disposable shoe covers when they enter the curing room, or making sure that the sink has been sanitized before starting to rinse off the meat. Good luck!

I think most of these places are serving frozen pre-cooked entrees.

It's been pretty well covered: you won't get much lift from creaming since the sugar is smaller, cornstarch affects tenderness & liquid content, and the recipe will be off balance due to using volume instead weight to measure. Granulated sugar is one of the few dry ingredients to measure out pretty consistently at about 6¾ - 7¼ oz per cup. Powdered sugar, confectioner's sugar, icing sugar, etc. tends to be fluffy and doesn't pack a container in the same way. A cup of it varies widely in weight. If you had made the substitution by weight, I'd say the recipe would turn out close to the original: flatter, denser, but softer with less chew.

I make a side dish that's beurre noisette, some sage sauteed for a minute, pumpkin and salt. Just pumpkin puree as a side for dinner. It can also be piped onto a base as an hors-d'oeuvre.

I'd try to make the glaze more like poured fondant.