Lisa Shock

And, Boston did get to host two series' instead of most cities hosting just the one. They got a lot of exposure for their investment.

I have seen recipes that say that in the past red food color was in the recipe, and offer it as optional now.

I was referring to the composition of the sugars naturally in the dates. I found several scientific papers where they ran chemical analyses on the syrup. They noted that different types of date plant produced fruit with differing ratios of glucose to fructose, so it was difficult to list exact percentages that would consistent from manufacturer to manufacturer.

Looks like there are big variations in the composition based upon what type of dates were used. Most of the literature I am seeing says it's a mix of glucose and fructose with a significant amount of pectin.

I looked at your photo again, and you can see the domed top very well. The pan is causing a situation where the bottom (small) is done way before the bulk of the batter up top, so you definitely want to insulate it a bit. I'd try putting the pan onto a baking sheet with a silicon mat on it, the silicon is an insulator. Make sure that your oven is preheated, starting cold means your pan will heat up from the bottom, which won't help. Also, that dome is pretty large and affecting the way the cake sits. I'd remove a cup of batter, simply don't put it in the pan -bake it in a mini-loaf pan, and maybe take the opportunity to make it another flavor, like add lemon zest or almond extract and some raisins.

That pan is weird, smaller at the bottom by a large percentage. You might have to adjust oven temp just for the pan, and, there's a possibility that you'll never get a perfect result with it.

Agreed. I think the closest you can get would be along the lines of Ruhlman's 'Ratio', which happens to be so highly flawed that, IMO, it doesn't prove its own concept. In culinary school, they force pastry students to memorize charts and basic recipes for things like major categories of custards which gives you a feel for say, what a custard is like when whole eggs are used vs mostly yolks, but, you're just doing comparisons of recipes in the end. Also, sometimes we can give the impression that we are improvising when in fact we're relating information from our memorized recipes. I can make a loaf of bread without a recipe, and it will be probably be good, maybe even great. The catch is replicating what happened, so that anyone can make it again. And, honestly, if I don't write it down, I can't precisely replicate it. Another problem with just riffing is: consistency in size and weight of the final product. For some products, I want to make enough dough to fill a special pan adequately without overflowing, or make 16 3oz rolls, a 100 calorie slice, or a dozen muffins. Sure, sometimes you try substitutions and experiments because you don't have a recipe. I was asked once to make some blue corn crepes, for example. You can't just toss out the flour and use corn meal because the gluten in the flour helps hold things together, and, since we were going to roll these, they needed to hold together. I wound up reducing the flour amount to ½ the original, but replaced the usual pastry flour with 'bouncer' a high gluten bagel flour. The other half measure of flour was the corn meal, but we wound up grinding it into a fine flour to get the crepe to look nice when rolled. Anyway, this got perfected in three test runs, and I took notes the whole time because the event was a month in the future, and, I might not be the person making them. My first attempt was fairly good, tasted ok, and probably would have been just fine to serve at a casual meal in someone's home. But, this product needed to be picture perfect and produce hundreds of identical servings that were easy to roll around the filling without cracking or tearing. So, my assistant and I worked and re-worked the recipe until it was exactly what we wanted.

Forgot to mention that I usually put down parchment or a silpat before using a pan like this. I got a big box of parchment cheaply at restaurant depot.

These pans are common and very cheap at restaurant supply stores, here, I can get them for $6 each. The polymerized fat isn't really an issue. I just scrub what I can off with Bon Ami and just live with the residue - that's what the commercial kitchens do. If it really bugs you, try some Dip It.

Ghee is fine. Hot sauces (like tabasco) fine (very vinegary). Asian sauces: keep soy, wines, vinegars; toss black bean, hoisin, oyster, sweet chile, curry paste.

The boxed mix is probably perfect as-is, the style, I imagine is more like pretzel from one of the national chains in shopping malls. I mean KA makes good products, if you're going to use a mix, I don't know that you could do any better. The onion powder thing is that you add a tiny amount, ½ teaspoon per every 2 lbs flour -so ¼ added to the aforementioned mix, so small that people cannot readily identify what it is, it just adds some flavor. And again, the honey/molasses amount (1 teaspoon per 2 lbs flour, ½tsp for the boxed mix) is also so small that it doesn't really sweeten the final product -most of it gets consumed by the yeast if you add it early-on to the water. It just leaves behind umami compounds. I have run tests on each of these, and both together when developing a menu for a client. Blind taste-testers just say that the final product tastes better, they don't know why. Since I am probably going to continue to be the lone voice out in the woods on this issue, I can only recommend testing these additions with a batch of plain biscuits and see how well you like it. I am always trying to sneak extra flavor into things to subtly improve them. Note everyone has to agree with me. I'm just pointing out that people who have actually tasted these additions liked them. Your mileage may vary.

Be prepared to explain in detailed, descriptive terms what real punch is, I mean I love it, but a lot of people have no idea what it's like and imagine it's like the stuff served at a Jr High dance with some vodka added or something.

The specs sound good, I'm just suspicious of anything that's so cheap. IMO, a better brand would last longer. Also, IMO, vibration-free is the most important consideration -not that the others listed in that article are unimportant. (vibration = noise) I will admit to being spoiled, the wine bar I used to manage hosted demonstrations by Sub Zero. After being around them for a while, the other brands seem like toys. On the price topic, I guess you need to judge how much the storage unit will affect your pocketbook if things go bad. If you're storing 18 bottles worth $50 each and the unit fails while you're away on vacation, you're out $900 worth of wine. (plus, maybe the $300 for the unit) If you want to trust a unit for long terms storage of major bottles, valued over $200 each, the $2310 entry price for Sub Zero, storing 26 bottles, is really a better deal. You will get about 20 years of use from the Sub Zero and the bottles will be held in unquestionably ideal condition. Personally, I'd just keep using my fridge and save up for the Sub Zero; it will probably outlast 3-4 of the cheaper models and give peace of mind.

I have found that some men won't drink pink or peach color drinks which is really too bad, they're missing out on a lot of great drinks.

I have made butter from two different cow breeds, Jersey and Holstein, and the Jersey was far better. I've had some local artisan butters, and they are good, too. I like French butter, but, I have only had commercial types -it's definitely better than average US supermarket butter. Also, I cannot recall which brand, but one french butter manufacturer sells butter in thin sheets sized to be the beurrage in laminated doughs. I wish there were an American manufacturer of such a product...

A colder room isn't really an issue. Too warm and you're in trouble.

I should point out here that I like my green chile stew to be full of contrasts, so, I don't cook it as long as some people and I tend to add things, like fresh corn kernels -I like how they pop sweetly in your mouth, at the very end right before serving. If I am making the vegan version, I cook beans separately in water with cumin, and potatoes (Sangre reds)in a separate pot with a little vinegar. Everything is cooked to have its own concentrated flavor, then sauce is added and heated through. But, this is my personal taste and does not reflect common practice.

I've made chile with pork shoulder that was smoked then cooked in the oven low and slow. I think the precooked meat has a more concentrated, distinct flavor and I make the chile itself with celery stock so the liquid has contrasting flavor.

Doug did a great job, overall, I am pleased with the outcome. BTW, I discovered that another show was filmed in the Boston studio...*drumroll*...Top Chef: Estrellas, Segunda Temporada! I've been watching these online and OnDemand, pretty goofy stuff compared to the original. -Like how at the beginning of episode 1, everyone seems to know everyone else and there's lots of hugging and kissing -instead of bragging and snide remarks. But, it's fun.

Might be something about your water. Minerality and acidity affect cooking beans and other starches, don't see why rice wouldn't be affected as well.

I know that Bourdain has been there, part of an episode I saw was fine, showing how they mostly eat a lot of greens, but, then he gets drunk....

Wow, ok. Here we have shops that sell party supplies, like for kids parties, and they have cheap plastic cups in a lot of interesting shapes -generally 20 cups cost $3-$7. I'm talking disposables like THIS.

Right now, beef is at a historically high piece, meaning that it's being downplayed by a lot of venues. They are offering cheaper cuts and emphasizing chicken and pork specials. Anyone just offering beef had better have a very well-heeled clientele. Anyway, agree with all of the above. You might wish to attend catering college to learn some of what you have asked plus a lot of management information that you will need. You'll need to spend several months just studying bread, IMO.

A tip on looking for cups, look for the plastic wine glasses, or any disposable with a stem. The name is imprinted on the foot, not the bowl.

Do you trust the staff to do this right (keeping the temp low), or even do it at all without forgetting? If there's even a small chance that they'll forget and throw them into a 500° oven ten minutes before you arrive, or, remember to put them in but decide on their own that 350° seems like a better temp, I'd forget it.