ray goud

I live in the U.S., so I won't be able to tell you where to get bleached flour in Japan. However, I can say that I now use unbleached flour EXCLUSIVELY in all my cooking (after many years of not caring if it was bleached or not), including bread making a la Julia and Jacques. I don't think your problem is with bleached vs unbleached because my experience shows them to be interchangeable. A recipe for one will work with either. My bread loaves come out impressively highly risen and I don't do anything special besides doing machine kneading for somewhat longer than prescribed. Perhaps your problem is yeast? If you don't use yeast, maybe it's the starter culture, which is so unreliable I don't use it. And you don't need any sugar to feed the yeast or get the dough to rise, so that isn't it, either. Ray

Very good and almost perfect.... now add a glaze of 50 percent maple syrup/dijon mustard, and replace the bread crumbs with crushed saltines (lots of 'em) and you have perhaps the ultimate. Haven't tried this variation yet, but a best friend says to add raisins!!! Ray

Did you cook off the alcohol in the wine before you removed it from the heat? I can't remember where I heard of it, but some restaurant chefs cook their risottos like djyee100 several days in advance, then refrigerate it until they need it. Then they finish cooking it when needed. I have tried that one full day ahead, and no problem, along with adding my wine during the first cooking. Ray

I have a similar Panasonic microwave, the S943. Does yours have the "Inverter" designation/advertising slogan? The energy outlet port has a resin-saturated paper covering. Considering microwaves I've had in the past, I would first suspect the fan blade is defective. Where did you pick up the substance, all over the oven interior or just on the turntable? Whatever the source, if it didn't come from something you put in there it indicates a problem with the oven. Be sure to contact Panasonic, and perhaps see if the CPSC has any recent info about it. Ray

Thanks. May I ask how you'd do that ? Do you know what's the domestic equivalent of a "12D process" (I know I don't !) ? ← I would NOT do the heating-before-storage because I have no interest in garlic-infused oil. But if I did I might look at this document to get some pointers: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/PDF/FSRE_SS_3PrinciplesThermal.pdf Or, then again, not. Why not roast your garlic before you infuse it, like I slow-cook mine in a crock pot? One adds some oil to the cooker to aid in cooking (a couple of tablespoons of water also helps), then it cooks for about six hours. At the end it is a soft paste, should be devoid of any living beasties or their spores, and then you could add it to oil, or not, just add it directly to a dish being prepared. Ray

I am not Steven, but I can't help but put my two cents in, being a long-time "student" of food benefits and dangers. Since the garlic I've seen (peeled) is always refrigerated, the conclusion to be drawn is that it has not been treated in any meaningful way to kill any bacteria. The refrigeration merely slows everything down, which is why there is usually an expiration date. So one would conclude that such peeled garlic is just as iffy to use in an infused oil as raw unpeeled garlic. If we could find a non-refrigerated peeled garlic (anyone, out there?) the chances would be better that it was safe for long-term stotrage of any kind, especially if it carried a package expiration date on the order of a couple of years. If I wanted to infuse an oil with garlic, I would heat it hot enough and long enough to kill the anaerobic beasties, and then still refrigerate the oil anyway. Ray

I guess an advantage of being older than the moon is that I saw and remember an episode of "Wok With Yan" or "Yan Can Cook" when he shows the spoon-for-peeling method. Used that method always since then, and eternally grateful to him. Ray

I don't try to get "that last bit out of the press" because I have a press which cleans itself out, simply by flipping the handle. I ditched the plunger style press long ago. I would rather develop the Jacques Pepin method of simply using the same chef knife to both smash, peel, and mince the bejeesus out of several cloves at once, but I haven't mastered that yet. Until then HE'S the man. Ray

Let's see... one second to squeeze my garlic press versus "seconds" with a microplane. Subtract my unscratched fingers, add that all my garlic is processed and...I win! Ray

If you are talking about a normal household outlet, most are fused at 15 amperes which would provide about 1800 watts of power, equivalent to 15.8 kilocalories/minute. 15 u.s. gallons is about 57 litres which for water would weigh 57 kilograms. To raise 57 kilograms from 20 to 100 celcius would require 4480 kilocalories of heat. If all 1800 watts went to the water and none to the surrounding atmosphere and the pot itself the time required would be 173 minutes, more or less. ← OK, so now you have the water at 100 C. You will need 340 times that amount of energy to get it to boil! Or, about 900 hours, assuming no heat lost anywhere! You forgot heat of vaporization is much greater than what it takes to simply raise its temp. He did say "to a roiling boil". Ray

A recent issue of Cook's Illustrated looked at peeled garlic. They tested and concluded that peeled is fine for dishes which will use garlic as a cooked ingredient either whole or almost so. I never use peeled garlic for dishes a la minute. But, I love to roast (caramelize) a bunch of garlic in my slow cooker, and then it takes forever to peel enough to fill the cooker. Just today I bought two jars, about a pound total, of refrigerated peeled garlic from my local Stop & Shop. I popped it into the small slow cooker with some olive oil, and a few hours later I had roasted garlic which is NO DIFFERENT from the batches when I peeled it all myself. So I am convinced (and very happy) that the peeled stuff works for some things. Ray

An update: I tried to fully dismantle the unit, but it appears to be ultrasonically welded, which would require destruction. Being just short of that point, I removed the pop-out plug at the bottom of the center inside post, and out came some plastic "debris", after I deliberately forced the center column to rotate in the opposite direction of normal. At first glance the bits looked like flash which should have been removed during manufacture, but I dropped that theory after noticing that, although the top again spins when pushed, it has lost some vertical travel. Further examination reveals poor choices of materials, OXO having metal shafts bearing on inadequate plastic followers for the spin motion. I am undecided right now whether to again use it to the next failure, or do a destuctive exam. Richard, the problem is that the top won't go down when pushed to spin the basket. It all "freezes" up. The plastic debris was jamming it. The bits apparently are coming from its mechanism. Although many love these units, I have lost all faith in it, after two failures. And I fully expect failure #3 to happen soon, even though it sort of works again with lessened performance. But I cannot depend on it and will replace it with something else for our vacation house. Ray

I do the same, indoors, using a clean dry kitchen towel. Underhand, so I don't spray the ceiling. In the shower works well if you're worried about the spray. Salad spinners are one of those mono-functional semi-disposable needs-washing the-world-got-along-fine-without-them-until-recently bulky kitchen things that I don't want in my life. Unlike, say, vertical-piston sausage stuffers, which no kitchen is complete without. ← Ahem. Minnesota in January, this just won't work unless you want frozen lettuce and a deck or driveway that's slicker than snot. Since we are only a family of five, I opt for some of my bazillion flour sack dish clothes. ← I just want to add that my OXO spinner has broken, AGAIN! The first time, it was replaced, in warranty. This time it's out of warranty so I'm going to dismantle it and see what is happening. It is used only once every two weeks, at most, at our vacation house. I now consider it a real piece of junk. I have a pull-to-spin other make at home, used very often, which still works after ten (!) years. I can't believe the enthusiasm some people have for this crapppy product. Ray

AMEN to that! The laws of physics refuse to be broken. One can get only so much energy from a given amount of energy (it cannot be multiplied), and the work it does is fixed for a given amount of time. In this case of 15 gallons of water, electricity in any form won't do it in less than 45 minutes. That is, unless one has a 50 amp 230 volt electric circuit, which is beyond the realm of possibility outside of a factory. Ray

Have you asked Ruhlman? He has a website/blog and is very responsive and quick about answering. Just google his name. Ray

By the way, that mounting system is quite the standard for northern Europe/Scandinavia (and the possessions in the Caribbean). Seems that most dwellers take their cabinets with them when they move, like furniture. Ray

Simply put: THEY DON'T WORK, hot air rises! Ray

So, it seems like few people are responding to this question/post. To which I have this advice: Look at Julia's recipe in "From Julia Child's Kitchen", and feel free to add/subtract and substitute as you wish. I recommend you keep the roulade, whatever you do, because it is added by the eater at will. My first Bouillabaisse was at a swanky place in Wellfleet, Cape Cod, and it was awe-inspiring (probably partly because it was served in deep glass bowls) . Since then I have made, and had it made, in countless forms, with numerous variations, and it is ALWAYS good, as long as you use some kind of fish/clam stock, minimally cook the fish, have plenty of leeks and saffron, and taste as you go. Enjoy. Ray

To quote Dick: "Cast iron cannot be welded. There are metal stiching techniques for plate cast iron surfaces but these are only used on large expensive components like Emergency Diesel Generators that must be repaired in place.-Dick" The person who taught me to weld years ago would chuckle at this statement, since he specialized in weld-repair of cracked engine blocks and heads (often used in race vehicles). Granted, it's an involved process requiring preheating and special equipment, but it's done every day. I wouldn't spend the time or money to have a mere pot repaired, especially since the enamel would be destroyed, as the other people noted. Ray

Being a furniture maker myself, you have quite a dilemma, even if it isn't obvious: Most shops don't deal with only one type of wood at a time; we might make a cherry table, an oak chair, a walnut sideboard, with all those chips/dust going into the same dust/chip collector. You definitely DON'T want the walnut stuff because it's poisonous. Besides that, will you accept the possible and likely mix of wood species? If so, then find a local shop and ask them for what they will give you, and it should be free. Ray

True silicone rubber (if 100 percent pure) is non-organic (contains no carbon). It should not react with anything in your normal cooking at temperatures up to about 600 F. Unfortunately many cooking appliances (gadgets) are not 100 percent and contain fillers, which the makers will probably never disclose. If the silicone is pure it should also be impermeable and not absorb anything from its environment, which it could release later. Apparently the silicone you have is less than pure, and one can check new items, somewhat unscientifically, by bending a portion about 180 degrees (completely over onto itself). If the bent portion lightens in color to the point of turning almost white, it isn't pure silicone. If it cracks, it DEFINITELY isn't silicone. Pure silicone does exist; it is sometimes used for permanent surgical implants, which is a testimony to its inertness. It doesn't matter how much it costs; I have a cheapo spatula which is PURE silicone, and I have seen (in the store) expensive stuff which is anything but pure silicone. As an aside, I have a piece of surgical silicone, certified to be pure, which passes the bend test with flying lack of color change. Ray

Not a bad-looking alternative to the (now at least temporarily unavailable but vastly superior) Pyromid grills. I have a Pyromid and use it frequently when traveling. It's stainless and about the same weight. This notebook grill you found looks easier to set up and much less expensive. Just be aware, though, that the painted finish won't last, but at that price, who cares? Ray

I have the Cuisinart electric wok, from Amazon, and I LOVE it! It draws 1800 watts (!) and cooks super fast. It heats up in no time. One might need a dedicated outlet for it (I rewired my kitchen ages ago and everything like the micro and wok have their own breaker). DO NOT believe that all electric woks are the same! This Cuisinart is over the top. The only, and I really mean only, complaint is that the non-stick coating (over the stainless) is not super durable. But then I am very aggressive and others might find it OK. It could also have benifitted from an additional long handle on the side, for scooping the food directly into dish without use of a hand scoop. I would buy another of this model wok YESTERDAY if i needed it! It DOES heat uip enough to sear or do anything a regular wok does! Ray

I"ll probably leave the salt out next time and just plan on finishing them in a skillet later. I'm using them, but not nearly as quickly as I'd planned. ← Ray's reply: I know that some slow cookers work differently than others; mine seems to cook somewhat faster than most. At any rate, each batch of my slow cooker onions (at least six batches so far, using standard yellow onions) has begun to brown at the half-way stage. When done at fourteen hours they are perfect, sweet, deeply rich tasting but not burnt in any way. As a result of those successes I got a small 1 1/2 quart cooker to roast garlic; if anything they come out better than the onions! For both types of dish the ornery part is peeling and slicing the onions or crushing and peelking the garlic. But it's really worth it! They both transform mashed potatoes into something heavenly. Ray

He offers more in What Einstein Told His Cook 2: The Sequel: Further Adventures in Kitchen Science: This is the Maillard reaction working at a temperature where it is clear that caramelization can't happen. Perfect example. It's still not clear to me how to translate all this info into instructions for consistantly browning onions to that melting, sweet, browned stage. Based on this description, I'd assume uncovered (despite my recent failure), but the slow cooker methodology would be covered, right? Salt or no salt? Is it more about time rather than method? I need to find these Einstein books, I've never even heard of them. ← Slow cooker method is covered. No added salt. As I said, it is counter-intuitive, BUT IT WORKS! Ray