Lisa Shock

For personal use, I have gotten some lovely glasses at antique and second-hand shops.

Most brownie recipes don't have milk in them. The liquid is melted chocolate and some butter. Generally the chocolate flavor is so strong that straight rum won't add much flavor at all, even if it is reduced. Kahlua has a very, very strong flavor, rum does not. Even so, when baking Kahlua in the batter, the coffee flavor is very much secondary to the chocolate. This is why a lot of recipes where people want coffee flavored brownies they add powdered instant coffee or finely ground espresso beans. To actually get a rum flavored brownie, I would use rum flavoring and seriously consider making a blondie instead of a brownie. Soaking in alcohol will change the texture, as most rum is at least 50% water, and most recipes are relatively low in egg content -making the flour parts mushy. (cakes which are regularly doused in flavored alcohol tend to be cakes with a high egg content [spongy texture] that won't turn to mush when wet) Honestly, weinoo is correct, just serve the brownies on a plate with a glass of rum.

I have some in the back of my pantry, vacuum sealed, of course. They last a long time (years if sealed) and can be useful for kitchen emergencies like needing to thicken a soup at the last minute when you have company over or help a dish that is too salty. They are also ok as emergency food for disasters as well, if you have a source for hot water in your emergency kit.

Yes, Russets should work fine for the buds. Yukon gold is a good choice because it can go either way. If you want a potato to remain chunky, try red or white bliss.

I think it's just cost, peeling potatoes takes time. Also, the dry stuff takes up less space in the storeroom. If they note a particular type of potato, be mindful of that -it's important.

I second cooking the chops separately. You're just going to boil them with the rice, no matter if they are under it or over it, and a lot of flavor will wind up going to the rice -searing doesn't seal anything in, that's an old myth. And boiling them for 20-30 minutes, which is what that large amount of rice will require, will overcook them and make them dry. Being submerged in water doesn't keep meat from becoming dry. Since you've never tasted it, I would just make a one cup batch of rice so you get an idea of the flavor. And, 6 cups of rice is a huge amount, especially with only 4 chops. Remember dry rice will double or triple in size when cooked. Your recipes are also completely lacking any salt.

You can freehand pipe meringue cookies as hearts, it's pretty much the same as piping heart shaped macaron.

Back when I worked for a catering company, we did small weddings. My boss was big on having the staff create custom cocktails for each event (including other types of events) because she thought it set us apart, as being super-high end. We would then have to make a selection of drinks for a tasting and consultation. Invariably the client (bride) would come in with something from Pinterest and insist that we make that instead, even though they had never tasted it. These drinks invariably involved marshmallow flavored vodka, cake flavored vodka, energy drinks, branded juice drinks, etc. I still remember the event we had to make jello shots for... I'd have a set menu of some sort, just to have some control over the situation and have a chance at making things you want to serve. I think at a certain point, you have to put your foot down and not serve some things because they don't represent your style or commitment to quality. I also agree with the above comments about memories, and making a great cocktail that already exists so that people can have it again someplace else. It doesn't do the business any good if you're the only ones making some secret formula drink. (this would be different if you were a full time bar) We used to batch when possible, our bartending staff changed a lot, so we had to keep things simple for them. Depending on the event size, we would also try to have a couple of stations, at opposite sides of the room, to keep the flow and balance good. In many cases, the guests really enjoyed seeing the final flourish of garnishing the drink but didn't really care about the nuts and bolts construction of it. It's not their 'usual' so they aren't as tense about the bartender getting things perfectly correct. If you are in charge of water, or other non-alcoholic drinks as well, give them their own station and server, don't bog the bartender down with handing out water bottles, or pouring Perrier, etc.

Brownies could be cut with a heart shaped cookie cutter from a sheet pan. (freeze the scraps to make rum balls, or mix with some other scraps for bread pudding) Remember to put parchment paper down before the batter. You could dust them with icing sugar, or pipe a smaller heart in the center using ganache or red icing. It's pretty easy to pipe a heart shape, just use a fairly large round tip and pipe a round shape, then pull it at a little bit of an angle to taper off to a point that's a little off center. Then pipe another round the same size right next to it and pull the point in the opposite direction, towards the other one. Pictures. Oh yeah, linzer cookies would be nice, if you have heart shaped cutters and some red colored jam. Also, don't forget that coulis can be used to paint on plates, like drawing a heart on the plate. Load it into a fine tipped squirt bottle; the beauty supply stores here sell ones with very fine points, designed for use with hair dye.

Bianco sold out to a local restaurant group, it's not the same since Chris left the building. It's still really good pizza, but, it's just not what it was. My other favorite pizza place (Metro) also changed hands and just isn't great any more. Here are a few assorted places: Mrs. White's Golden Rule -soul food LoLo's Chicken and Waffles -soul food Arai Pastry -small but authentic Japanese bakery, snacks like currypan and melonpan, bentos next door at the convenience store (can't really eat here, get some pastry for the road) Nobuo at Teeter House -Japanese Tarbell's -established famous chef Binkley's -newer famous chef Tomaso's -my favorite Italian place, excellent service (if you've never had osso bucco, try it here) Haus Murphy's -authentic German food in a beerhall, lots of beers on tap, my German friends really like this place There are a lot of other places, try searching around, the local paper has done a series of articles on the 'ten best' and 'twenty best' of a lot of types of food, you'll find some hidden gems there. Oh yeah, if you drive through Albuquerque, try a fast food place called Stufy's. (we always called it "stuffy's") It's a low-rent greasy spoon, but, they put EVERYTHING in fresh, hot sopaipillas -taco filling, a hamburger, apple pie, a turkey sandwich, or breakfast. Get extra sopas and honey, just because. If you go through town twice, you might want to stop at Garduno's at Winrock, to see where Breaking Bad filmed a scene. (also, get the sopaipillas there, too) I know I am missing a lot of places...

I still strongly recommend adding a little (1/4 tsp) onion powder (add early so it hydrates and isn't visible) to add flavor. If you manage to do the dry run, and are nervous about this, just add a little onion powder to dough for one pretzel and taste it. -You'll have to do the addition later than I like, and it may wind up having spots on the surface, but IMO it's worth a test taste. (the spots go away if the onion powder is added early to the water) I'd also consider adding a teaspoon of honey or molasses to the preferment, they have umami flavors in them, it's like adding a drop of soy sauce to a savory dish -too small to really taste, but adds a boost. The final product will not be sweet. Also, adding a sugar will really improve your yeast's performance. (ran some tests on this in a 3 week class once, breads with added sugars proofed faster and rose higher in the oven than breads made at the same time without) BTW, use bread flour instead of AP. And, baking malt is also marked as diastatic malt. Pretzel salt is good, there's also a large crystal grey salt that is very nice. (got some at Home Goods, land of random gourmet foods) Don't forget that proofing is important. And, again, do not forget to egg-wash. Good luck!

Plated desserts are often just two or three simple things cobbled together. You could bake some small, two-bite cookies to add crunch. They could be made a day ahead, or even just the dough could be made in advance. A sheet pan of brownies would also be good. Panna cotta is a good choice, you can make it a day or two in advance, as well. (you can serve it with some fresh fruit topping it, but it wouldn't have to be berries) However, you will need individual cups (could be disposable) to mold it in. If you have the heat-proof cups, or can buy those heart shaped foil cups, pots de creme is good and again can be made a day in advance. One of my favorite types is to just put a spoonful of seedless raspberry jam in the bottom of the cup and fill with vanilla custard. Serve this with a crisp cookie, and you're done. Bread pudding is also good in individual cups -look around for interesting stale bread to use, like day old sticky buns or cinnamon rolls. And, there's always cheesecake -it's really easy to make, and can be made in flavors. It can be cooked individually or in large rounds. You can decorate the top by separating out a little of the batter and dying it red then making designs with that. Ice cream or sorbet might be nice. Once again, it can be made in advance, even portioned out in advance if you can keep the bowls or plates cold. Mousse is good if you don't have access to extra cups for cooking. You can scoop it our from a big bowl as it is served, and, a little goes a long way.

So, you know we need to know what happened....

I always avoided the day; I prefer gifts of jewelry back when we were on a tight budget, it was an either/or situation and the permanence of gold always won. Once though, we just happened to drive by a Maggiano's at about 8, and they had a banner outside advertising a special inexpensive valentine menu and stating that reservations were not required. We decided to check it out, see how busy they were, and amazingly enough, they weren't that busy. Everyone seemed glad to see us. We were whisked to a booth in a prime location, the food came out quickly and without incident, and the servers were cheerful. We had a lovely evening. I still recall the black currant gelato, a valentine's special dessert, as being excellent. Sure, it's a chain, but, they did a great job. I suspect that a lot of the Scottsdale locals were dining out at higher-end restaurants that night, this was during the height of the economic boom. That said, if I have the night off, I prefer to cook.

I forgot to mention one very important difference, for me anyway, between an electric kettle and a stovetop kettle: the electric kettle can be plugged into a timer, so you will have hot water exactly when you need it. You might get an extra five minutes of sleep in the morning by going electric.

There was a very good, James Beard award winning, bread bakery here in Phoenix for a while (they couldn't make it during the economic crash) and they kept flour in their walk-in freezer, not just for freshness but also to ensure that it was insect-free.

Those tiny kitchens where space is at a premium cannot store flour. They get it in and use it within a few days, before it goes stale.

Bakeries control their environments more than you are apparently able to control the environment in your home kitchen. Temperature and humidity are carefully controlled throughout the process, from storage room, to workroom, to proofbox, to steam injected oven, to the cooling area. Generally, most bakeries keep the thermostat at 72°F and low humidity. (Running the air conditioning to offset oven heat usually takes care of humidity issues.) I try to buy flours which are sold in moisture-proof packaging and get lovely results every time, if used immediately upon opening. Here in the US, Fresh & Easy stores sell (retail to home users) flour packaged in tough, thick plastic bags which give really consistent results every time. I spent three years teaching my own classes to the public and taught one bread class twice a month like clockwork. We opened those F&E bags and used them with the same formula, it was precise every single time. (I keep notes, and, had to keep ledgers about commodities used.) Bakeries don't store ingredients for a long time. There's no point in having money tied up in inventory when the wholesaler will deliver 6 days a week. It's rare for flour to sit in storage for more than a week. Flour is like any other ingredient, it changes over time and exposure to air. Proper storage in airtight containers can only do so much. Just like spices, or other ingredients like baking powder, it works best when fresh. Performance changes over time. If it's more than six months old, you should consider tossing it -sooner if the kitchen conditions are not ideal. Just because your mom, friends, or other home cooks keep ingredients forever and then use them doesn't mean that they've been making the tastiest foods with the best consistency. If your grocer can't get fresh flour to you (just like if the oil were always rancid), consider shopping elsewhere.

One tip I know of is, some professional bakers use caraway seed flour as an ingredient. Just get some caraway seeds and grind in a mortar and pestle, or a coffee grinder. I can't tell you exactly how much to use, you want to go easy on this, it can be a powerful spice. I am guessing that you aren't really familiar with Hefeweizen, which is a bit sad, as my favorite beer (Altenmunster) is one. The beer is not very hoppy, it has a more pronounced yeast flavor, and sometimes can almost be slightly sweet, floral or fruity in flavor. It is a lighter colored beer. IMO, it will pair well with subtle flavors. Don't forget to egg wash the pretzels, and make sure they proof well. Do you have any big crystal salt besides kosher? One of the more flavorful salts will probably be useful. There's a European way to form them, with small folded arms and a large bottom (which gets slashed right before baking. I hope THIS picture helps. One last thought, I know it's late, my trick with a lot of savory types of 'white bread' type doughs is to add a half teaspoon of onion powder to the mix. (not garlic, it will taste of that) Generally, what this does is amplify the 'savory' of the dough in a way that people cannot identify. They can't name it (unlike garlic powder) they just know that it doesn't taste so much like plain flour any more. Good luck!

I have improved mine by making freshly roasted nut butters to add to it. A long time ago, I didn't have any tahini so I heated up some sunflower seeds in a pan on the stove and then used my immersion blender to make a smooth butter, it tasted great, so it's now part of my usual procedure in making hummus, and I gave up on buying tahini. If allergies are not an issue, almost any nut (even peanuts) can be roasted and used. The freshly roasted part is really important here, you will be able to taste a difference, there's a big umami flavor boost in the hummus. I think a lot of modern recipes cut way back on the tahini, in an effort to reduce the fat content of the hummus. But, if you're going to add olive oil, IMO, having a healthy nut oil as well isn't a big deal.

I like my electric kettle, I have a stainless Zojirushi, forgot the model number. I can set it to keep water at a particular temp, it is a vacuum pot so it holds temperature well with little energy use -essentially, I don't have to worry about it I just set it and then am free to do whatever I want around the house. Once it's up to temp, I can use the hot water whenever I want, so second cups are very quick. I also like having the hot water around for other uses, like cooking, and sometimes cleaning the kitchen. I also like the adjustable temperatures, I enjoy a wide variety of teas and hot chocolate, and the temperature does affect the results. The Zojirushi also releases very little excess heat. My older pot, by Aroma, used to get hot on the sides which was not great in the summer and also meant it was wasting energy. With a cooktop kettle, you have to make sure to turn it off or it will boil away. If you want multiple cups over the course of the day, you have to keep re-setting it up. I also think there's a lot of wasted energy with the cooktop kettle, unless it's induction.

Always grease or spray the non-stick pans, adding parchment paper as well also helps. Think of the molecules of fat as tiny ball bearings that help the cake move out of the pan -especially if it's a pan with a pattern in it. That fat also helps slightly crisp the outside, giving the cake structure. Personally, I'd add the chunky stuff to the flour so they don't clump later. That said, FN doesn't really test recipes very well, I have had bad luck with many -especially the A.B. ones, oddly enough. If I get recipes online, I look at the Gourmet Magazine archives at Epicurious, Food & Wines, Cook's Illustrated (weight based measurements since 2003), and Martha Stewart for mainstream stuff. I follow a lot of blogs, which can be inspirational, but not necessarily helpful on a daily basis. My faves for home baking include Dorie Greenspan (sometimes uses weight based measurement) and Rose Levy Berenbaum (uses weight based measurement). I'm also pretty sure that I am forgetting someone right now. Overall, I'd look for an easier recipe. Sounds like the one you have makes a really dense, chewy cake -which might be ok, but, I'll bet there's a better one out there.

Also, people in general tend to get fussy about how certain dishes are made. Go back and look at any number of threads on this site where adults (presumably) argue over what recipe is the 'real' and only definition of something like, say, chicken and dumplings. Even something as simple as the (mostly outlawed in school) PB&J: creamy vs crunchy, corporate vs natural, jelly vs jam, and all the flavor options. I've had adults freak out that I put homemade strawberry jam on a sandwich instead of grape jelly. I think people set certain dishes up as archetypes in their minds, and have trouble accepting that different families make them differently.

If you are considering making kosher lunches, here's a place to start. When you're further along, you should also talk to a local rabbi.

I had not heard of him, but a quick look at the photo reminds me of how much has changed since I was a kid and was around farms. Farmers have been doing a lot of interbreeding of cattle types lately, and many are almost unrecognizable to me anymore. (familiar coats on different frames) Toystory there seems shaped a lot more like an Angus than a Holstein (although he is marked like one) I guess I'm used to seeing them with longer legs and necks. Same thing with beef cattle breeds. It's weird seeing the Brahmin mixes.