gfron1

I decided it was time to post about the juniper berry sourdough. I'm doing this before I was ready because I think it needs some help. Once I make my first loaf, I'll start a new topic for the countless juniper berry fans out there - and then I'll tell the full dramatic story that got me to this day Here's what I started with (getting to these is the story for later) I followed hummingbirdkiss' directions on making the starter. Then using The Bread Bible as my guide, here's the slurry after 1 day... And 2 days later it seemed like things were going well... I didn't feed it for the first 4 days - just let it bubble. It had a good sour smell going, but a bit different from traditional starters I have made. I poured off the alcohol and started on the Bread Bible proportions. We're now two and a half weeks later. Its barely bubbling - I can't tell if its the yeast or bubbles caused by my gentle stirring. The smell is much softer than before - barely sour. This whole time I've had it covered with saran wrap with holes cut in the top. I could post a pic, but it just looks like pancake batter at this point. Suggestions?

You're welcome. I've been in a personal whirlwind the past 2 weeks, and I'm taking off for a long hike this weekend, but then I'll be back at it. I'm shooting for the birdseed cake since she said its the cake the launched her career.

Welcome feedmecOOkies! Looking forward to your contributions to the Society!

I remember a recent post (may be in one of the links I placed above) that talked about Italian food in StL. I was raised thinking it was a great Italian food city because of the Hill, but in reality the vast majority of Italian food is just okay. It definitely leans toward old school Italian. I love exploring the southside ethnic areas that have just exploded in recent years.

Let's try it the old fashioned way Here's one picture, but also go to this URL and scroll down http://musi.s6.xrea.com/nikki16.htm

Not that I need it since I've always been thin as a rail, but I agree that Cooking Light is a great resource - the books or the magazine. We cook out of it at least 3-4 nights per week and have been doing that for over 10 years. In all of that times (literally hundreds if not thousands of recipes) we've only ever had one that we didnt' like. That said, we normally up the salt and fat content as we cook so we don't waste away to nothing But, the reason I like their recipes is that is provides a balanced approach to health living, not a fad diet approach.

Born and raised in StL I always become sad when people talk about the lack of food in in town. My mom, a confessed non-foodie, has been raving about a new Ethiopian restaurant - she says the only one in town. I have enjoyed many, many good ethnic restaurants - use the Riverfront Times as a launching point for exploring. But in StL it all depends on what you're looking for as "good." Fancy would be Tony's - although I find them very old school and not up to par anymore. Exploring the Soulard District normally provides a good meal. Finish a night at Ted Drews for the experience. I've also been hearing really good stuff about the winery restaurants down near Ste. Genevieve and Herman, if you're up for an hours drive south. I'll stop and let those who live there defend themselves Here's a couple of previous topics on the subject: #1 #2

Much of this discussion is about service which can vary from day-to-day and city-to-city. What about the food? Is there good Sysco food (or similar distributors) or is it all overly processed tripe? It also sounds like there is a difference between Canadian Sysco and US Sysco - which I remember reading in other topics.

This is a great demo Kerry. My question is about detail. You mentioned the need for a certain thickness of lines, but I found your logo to be pretty detailed/thin. How fine do you think you can go, and could you go finer if you used different screen hole sizes?

That is really beautiful! Great job - and especially for your first competition. I'd love to hear more about the competition itself - what were the surprises (besides cutting), what was the competition like, the work conditions, etc?

That's an angle I hadn't thought about...what this does to the learning opportunities of food professionals. I know a restaurant in my town was just bought by a "big city" couple who was shocked that the kitchen staff didn't have basic prep skills. They've brought in a chef (one of only 2 in town) and he's having to retrain the staff in the basics. That of course takes away his ability to focus on food - but will result in a staff who does things his way.

I've been known to take a jab or two at Sysco and other mass food distributors. And on an almost daily basis I've seen comments in the EGullet forums that attack these distributors. Yet they are so widely used that there are clearly powerful perks to restaurants. And it would be easy to say this is only a chain restaurant phenonmenon, but the reality is that many independent restaurants use mass distributors. And I would suspec that a number of restaurants that many eGullet members would consider good use these companies. It seems to me that these companies set atop a slippery slope for restaurant buyers. It is "easy" for a chef to use these distributors because of the convenience, and sometimes the price, but where do chefs draw their line. For example, a chef may start by buying frozen chicken breasts. Then the convenience of having them pre-cut in strips for the chicken salad creeps in. Then why not get the teriyaki merinated strips...saves another step doesn't it? And so the food is no longer the restaurant's, it seems to me, but the distributors - in essence private labelling. So, I'm interested in hearing from restaurant folks what they think about distributors such as Sysco. What do you see as the pros and cons. There's no need for us to simply slam these companies since that's been done to death. But, here's a chance to discuss the topic in a respectful yet challenging way.

Whoa mama! I just looked up a picture of this...drool...this is my type of comfort food. Thanks for introducing me to something I had never heard of before. (Sometimes I feel like I could eat a new pastry every day and never have tried them all by the time I die.)

I'm no bread expert, but the bread tumors...I'm wondering two things. First, if when you're rising the bread, its not equally covered/moist. It seems like a bread hernia. The other thought is if its not equally lubricated on the stone, meaning it might be sticking on some parts of the loaf and not in others - causing unequal resistance and give.

Okay, so some of those boxes look like they could be 30 years old. I'm curious about the inner packaging - the little foil wrappers. I'd like to see a framed collection of all of them (unless they are just plain silver).

I have to admit that I think this is one of the most bizarre topics ever started on eGullet! But, now I'm fascinated by the whole thing - the concept, the addiction, the absurdia. So it seems you're buying these for the package more than the salty cube...are you keeping these? I think you should have them sewn into an apron. Or decompage (spelling is probably wrong - but glueing them to a table). The thing about absurdia is it can only get more bizarre! Hummingbirdkiss - I think I'm learning too much about you I'm glad you found your fellow collectors.

Also, being a purist I like mine both ways: - With roasted green chile and a mound of finely shredded cheddar - With green chile (the sauce) and a mound of finely shredded cheddar

Already soaking the beans. No disasters this time however, so its up to someone else to post the next one.

We have a winner! I blame member tepee. I used Tepee's recipe for soya milk. Your explanation is not 100% correct however. (The plot thickens) I followed the recipe of soaking my beans overnight, then yesterday put them in the blender to process. I was supposed to then pour the mixture into a cloth bag to squeeze the remaining milk and reprocess. I forgot to get cheese cloth, so I let it sit in my blender until this morning. But, before I went to bed I added my flavorings because...why not, even though the recipe says to put it in later. The reason I say your explanation is not 100% correct is that the expansion wasn't from the beans - that expansion was 99% complete - this was a gas that was put off (hence the smell of dog mess), which caused the foam. I think the gas interacted with my sugar to make the foam solid enough to push the lid off. Lastly, Kerry knows me too well...I was ultimately going to turn this into sodium alginate caviar and serve it on a melon scoop. Maybe I'll just do soy foam on melon Congratulations - now...who is next?

Here's my next clue...

Christina, My thoughts on your questions. First, being your first time the rooms won't matter. I was downstairs, BryanZ said he was upstairs - we both had good experiences. The lighting changed while we were there and there was minimal noise and distraction, so don't worry about that rooms. As far as special requests, unless there are dietary needs, just sit back and enjoy the ride. They are masters at what they do. If you like something, give them a "mmm...." If you don't like something make a frumpled face. The servers watch for this and will respond as appropriate. And I really enjoyed the wine pairing. I'm in no way a wine efficianado - I either like it or I don't, and I don't know that before Alinea I really understood what it meant to pair wines with foods (I thought I did, but clearly I didn't). With only one exception, I was wowed by the pairings...not just okay, but wowed. BTW, we did the wine pairing upgrade.

Here's my account of the same item from early May

We laugh every year because there are always throngs of people "in the parade" that don't have a sign or any other indication as to who they are or why they're walking. They get sandwiched in between the baseball teams which always make us wonder where these kids are from - I never see them around - maybe they bus them in to make our parade bigger. If you've never seen a small town parade, its an event not to be missed.

This may not be as tough as I thought...Mitch, you have taken us one step further on our journey! But, we're not quite there.

Alcohol was only involved in that it led to me not finishing this project on schedule last night. The maltballs are waiting for their chemicals still...this is a 100% natural disaster. hummingbirdkiss is close but not quite...