doctortim

That's an impressive debut lolagranola74!

With my first attempt at Keller's quiche proving an absolute disaster, I was a little nervous to try it again. Thankfully, this time it worked perfectly, and... wow. Just wow. Having eaten quiche lorraine countless times before I knew more or less what flavours to expect, but the texture was incredible. The perfectly set custard looks amazing on the plate, and melts on your tongue like a spoonful of thickened cream. I don't know if this made a difference, but after removing the pie weights I painted the inside of the crust thinly with whisked egg white in an attempt to seal it. I think I'll continue to do this when I make it again -- possibly a useless step, but I'd rather waste one egg white than half a day of work.

That's quite a feat! By the way I'm salivating at the look of that Kholkpuri chicken, it reminds me of exactly the sort of thing I used to make but haven't in ages. Time to break out the spices, I think.

Most of the acids mentioned here have been liquid, but there are some great acidic ingredients that are solids. Amchur (dried mango powder) is an essential ingredient in a a tart, spicy channa masala, and sumac's another tangy powder used in middle eastern cooking.

I'm also wondering why no tamarind? The best-tasting recipes will have tamarind, although you could substitute lime juice (taste as you go). What turned my pad thai around was Pim's entry on the topic. It's less of a recipe and more of a guide, and it's very helpful.

In a week I'm planning on serving roast lamb shoulder stuffed with a apricots, couscous, pine nuts, and herbs. On the side will be boiled potatoes dressed with a parsley & mint vinaigrette. Can anyone recommend a good style of wine to serve alongside? I don't usually have trouble with lamb, but I don't want the sweetness of the apricots to clash. If you're naming specifics, a bonus would be Australian wines since that's where I am.

Speaking of Australian food TV, do you happen to remember Channel 9's Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares-inspired show 'The Chopping Block'? It wasn't very good, but I laughed when I saw that the Egyptian chef who made dukkah on this week's Food Safari was a former chopping block loser!

I love Food Safari! Even though it's about various foreign cuisines, strangely it feels very 'Australian' to me. I think it's because of the number of times people on the show remind me of my friends' parents growing up. I always cringe internally if someone asks me to do something on a Wednesday night -- that's cooking show night! (I'm sure if they knew this they'd cringe externally)

Bridgestone, terrific stuff!

That looks amazing and so comforting. Which recipe did you use for the buns? ← You can watch a video of David Chang making the pork buns here. Shaya, they look delicious. I'll definitely be trying them in the near future!

There's always time for drooling over the 'how the hell did they do that' food of the best restaurants (see the ulterior epicure for a great example), but what I love most about food blogs is the sharing. From the most to the least experienced bloggers, it's all people who love food telling you how much they love food, and how to make the food they love most. It's great! Lucy's Kitchen Notebook is definitely of my favourites. Great writing, beautiful photography, and delicious food. In the best possible way her blog makes me think enviously, "I want to live like that".

Yes doctortim, these agnolotti shapes can be rather elusive. I remember trying and trying a few years ago, with little success, but then one day it just clicked. The key is not to overthink it, just do as he says. Fold the pasta sheet over the filling, press to seal, cut off excess, then cut through each " mound" to separate. One adjustment I made is to pipe little portions of filling rather than one long tube; I find it easier to keep a clean cut that way. ← I think that's what it is, piping out a long tube does not work for me at all. To press to seal between the mounds of filling as well?

It looks amazing! I'm especially in awe of your agnolotti. My past attempts to form the agnolotti have been embarrassing, nice work with yours.

I had a surprising smoothie experience yesterday. I was making a smoothie with my new Bamix with the beater attachment (the one that is simply a flat disc) and began simply beating about 1/2 cup of whole milk. Before long it became really creamy, and when I added 2 frozen blackberries (only two -- if they had any effect I'd say it was on temperature) it continued to thicken. By the time I was done I was able to invert the cup over my head without so much as a drop spilling out. It was amazing. Can anyone explain the science behind this, or at least how I can utilise this for my own nefarious ends? I tried making a chocolate mousse by melting a little chocolate into some milk, but this didn't thicken. What are the important factors here -- temperature? Fat content? Time? Lunar phase?

Hummus. You can serve it as a dip with pita bread/crackers, or bring it out when the meat is served as a sort of spread. It tastes great, it can be put together in minutes, the ingredients are cheap, and it's so simple. Simply add to a food processor some canned chickpeas (for convenience. Use soaked dry chickpeas for authenticity), tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, crushed garlic, and salt. Some would accuse hummus of being overdone these days, but the different between homemade and the store-bough variety most people serve is like night and day.