tino27

No I really don't because in most cases it's up too high in the ingredient list. In this bag of bagels, it's honey, sugar & hfcs all three right after the flour. I mean I use sugar as a seasoning like a pinch in spaghetti sauce, but there's a lot more salt, garlic & oregano for example. And honestly, the breads, the whole wheat and multi grain breads can taste like poo without sugar. That's another question, why does that taste stuff so bad? Does the flour go rancid or something? ← Being a bread baker (by love, not by trade) and a curious mad scientist, I have been studying all things bread-related for the last couple of years and I think I can add a bit to the conversation. Depending on the type of yeast used, proofing is not necessarily required. Compressed cake yeast and instant yeast require no proofing, thus no need for sugar. It can be argued that active dry may or may not need it. The handful of times I've used active dry, I always make sure it isn't expired and then I add it directly to the flour. I've never had any problems. Which leads us to the purpose of sugar in the dough. People (in particular Americans) like sweet things. Especially when you are talking about whole wheat bread -- which can have a slightly bitter quality to it. In a way, it is the "spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down". The whole wheat recipe that I do also has sugar in it -- honey to be exact -- one tablespoon for a one pound loaf of bread. Ironically, the bread doesn't taste sweet, and there is still a lot of that "wheatiness" in there, but without it, it is too overpowering. Commercial breadmakers though, I think, want to hook you into thinking you are eating something "healthy", but load it with sugar(s) so that the flavor isn't objectionable. Which leads me to my last point: finding a loaf of good tasting whole wheat bread. I have yet to have a commercial loaf of whole wheat bread that I liked (I'm thinking grocery store, not artisan bakery). They usually aren't stale when I buy them (thanks to fats, sugars, and other preservatives), but they just never taste fresh to me. That said, when I make my own whole wheat bread, for the first 24 hours after coming out of the oven, the smell and taste are divine. The next 24 hours and it's still better than what you get at the grocery store. After that ... it's time to make toast or croutons. It could be the wheat germ that has had sufficient time to oxidize that causes that loss of flavor. But I'm sure it's the same thing with commercial whole wheat breads. Unless you are getting a loaf that is baked on-premises, by the time it's hit the store shelf, it's probably at least two days old. All the fats, sugar, and preservatives in the world aren't going to save the flavor. Whew! Not that I have an opinion or anything. Just my $0.02.

Obnoxiously crusty bread does not appeal to me -- you know, the kind where you have to check your dental work afterwords to make sure you didn't lose a mouth full of fillings? I prefer a nice balance between the crust and the crumb. Each lends a unique profile to the experience of eating it.

Who does the cooking in your home? 100% Me. Roommate has neither the time nor inclination to do anything that takes longer than 5 minutes to make. The microwave is his friend. Do you eat foods from take-out or restaurants or buy ready-made foods often? Given my schedule, I'd say 50% restaurants. 25% take out/ready-made, and 25% cook for myself. Do you cook absolutely "from-scratch" using unprocessed ingredients often? When I am doing a job as a caterer or personal chef, everything feasible is made from scratch. Certainly all breads. Things like butter, though, I leave to the professionals. Oddly enough, I personally don't mind fast food every now and again, although I often tend to find it extremely salty. Are you single, married or living with other(s)? Single, currently co-habitating with roommate Do you have children? Heavens no! What sort of work do you do? Day job: Computer programmer. Nights and weekends: Personal Chef/Caterer Do you feel you have enough time to cook the sorts of foods you like to eat? If I wasn't cooking for everybody else all the time, I'd say yes, I do. I'm interested in the questions of time, culture, society, money and class. As they relate to food and how it fits into our lives, of course. As a question for "extra credit" , is the form of your daily cooking/eating/dining different than it was in your family when you were growing up, and if so, how is it different? Parents and grandparents came from an age of cooking out of cans ... Campbell's Cream of <fill in the blank> Soup as a base for many, many dishes. While I have nothing against canned products (like beans or tuna fish), I am of the mindset that preparing soups, bechamels, veloutes, etc. from scratch yields such a more flavorful and healthier result. I have yet to convince my family that the slight bit more effort is truly worth it. They sure seem to like my re-tooled Green Bean Casserole though. ←

Honestly, this is the reason I stopped buying bread and making my own over a year and a half ago. I'd love to live near an artisan bakery, but alas, I don't. On the odd occasion where I don't feel like baking (or have the time), I'll concede to buying a loaf of bread from the grocery store, but it is a real PITA trying to find something that is both edible and not pumped full of ingredients that I try and avoid. And a lot of these grocery stores also have bakeries on-premises. You would think they could make these without HFCS or shortening, but apparently the allure of cheap and shelf-life extending ingredients is too much to pass up.

I'll add a slight variation that I've made before and it is delicious -- a sweet & sour chili dipping sauce. It's got the red color thing going for it, but it is also a little bit spicy, too. Take 1 cup packed brown sugar 1 cup water 2/3 cup rice wine vinegar 1/3 cup white wine vinegar Bring to a boil and reduce it until it is syrupy -- this took me about 20-25 minutes to get it to the right consistency. Take off the heat and add between 3/4 and 1 cup of sweet chili sauce (Mae Ploy), basically to your taste. Serve warm or refrigerate and re-heat as needed. Makes about 2 cups of sauce. Goes very well with chicken, but you could also use it as a glaze for a ham or a meatloaf.

Long time lurker on this thread ... first time poster. Obviously none of us were privvy to tasting any of the dishes in the finale. It felt like both sides had a few problems, but overall the dishes were very good. But for me, Marcel has more potential than Ilan. Yes, Marcel needs to work on his bedside manner. But from what I've seen in the culinary world, there are many head chefs who are difficult to work with but offer a great opportunity to learn from the master. This is how I look at Marcel. Clearly he is thinking in modern terms, in modern plating technique, in modern flavors. There is nothing wrong with putting together dishes with solid well-known flavors, but I appreciate the risk-taking chef even more. As an aside, who picks Michael as one of their sous chefs? If it were me, I'd rather have Mia than Michael. But I suppose that's just me.

CaliPoutine: Unless your regular grocery store has an organic selection, it's literally impossible to find any bread product that doesn't either have partially hydrogenated oils or high fructose corn syrup. I attempted to find a single loaf of commercial bread the other week and gave up after 30 minutes of reading labels. Fortunately, Triscuits are still pretty healthy.

This thread reminded me of this ... Eternal September I was a junior in college when this happened ... ah, good times. It's nice to know that USENET and mailing lists are still around, including the food-related ones.

For your bruschetta course, I'd recommend doing a roasted eggplant spread instead of the tomato & basil. It's easy to do and you can do it two days ahead of time and keep it in the fridge until you need it.

K8memphis and alanamoana both make excellent points ... however, I'll throw something else out there for consideration as well. When I was taught to make pate brisee, we definitely used the food processor, but as an additional step after the water was incorporated, we dumped the contents onto the counter and then proceeded to 'frisage' the dough once -- using the palm of your hand, basically press down on the dough, a little bit at a time. Once that is done, form a disc, wrap in plastic and into the fridge it goes. Any thoughts on this technique? I don't make pate brisee all that often, but it comes out just fine.

Well, 6 tbsp of butter is (6 x 14g) = 84g One ounce is 28.34g/ounce, thus 6 tbsp of butter would be 84g/28.34g = 2.96 ounces To answer your first question ... almost every stick butter that is sold in the US has markings on the wrapper that allows you to cut off the butter a tablespoon at a time. Personally, I'd rather use grams, but that's just the baker in me. I've gotten to the point where I normally just do the conversion in my head and then scale out the appropriate amount of butter (especially since I tend to buy 1 pound blocks of unsalted butter).

To add fuel to the conversation ... there are several restaurants I've seen that offer a DISCOUNT (like around 10%) if you order your meal to-go (meaning pick-up, not delivery). It would appear from this fact that it is cheaper to the restaurant if you order your meal to go rather than a sit-down variety. Is this the case or are the people involved in getting your order together even MORE screwed? And of course, the questions begs to be asked: if you get a 10% discount for getting your food to go, do you up the tip? edited: for clarity.

scubadoo97 -- How do you dispose of your oil when it is time?

I did two deep-fried items for a party I had over the weekend. I know enough to let the oil cool down to room temperature. I also know that oil can be reused several times. So my questions are: 1) What should I filter the oil through? 2) Should I store the oil in the refrigerator? Or is a cool basement okay as well? 3) Should I let my nose be my guide to determine when the oil can no longer be reused? 4) Once the oil needs to be disposed of ... what is the best way? Even though it's vegetable oil, everything I've found on the web indicates under no certain terms should I pour it down the drain. Granted we are talking about about a gallon or so of oil. Thanks!

While maybe not truly authentic, my secret is to use roasted garlic instead of raw -- and lots of it. I might use an entire head of roasted garlic just for a single batch.

I saw this last night, too. I believe the last couple of new ICA episodes have had "sponsors" as well.

You can also fry up some onion (softened, not caramelized) and add it to the meat before forming the meatball/burger/etc. I often do this with lean ground turkey and it keeps things nice and moist. Plus it adds flavor.

I, too, have been splashed with the roux and it is indeed napalm-like and quite painful. For those of you fellow familiar with the University of Akron's mascot ... "Fear the Roux" Sorry, couldn't resist.

"M" is for Morels. Farmer's markets are such wonderful places. Wholesome, organic, really connecting you with the people who take pride in bringing the most flavorful and special produce to people like me. People who understand it is better to live with the memory of an incredible gastronomic experience using seasonal produce than to live with the diluted version the rest of the year. As I was making my early Saturday morning walk through one of my favorite markets, I came across a vendor selling mushrooms. At first my eye was drawn to the old stand-byes: button, cremini, shiitake. But suddenly, as if nothing else existed in the entire room, I spotted them: fresh morel mushrooms. I knew that this would be the ONE chance in the entire year to get the fresh variety. My heart began to race as my mind contemplated the incredible flavor that was locked in those babies. How could I use these? What way could I maximize their flavor. I looked at the price -- $35 a pound! My brain said, "$35 a pound! Are you insane?" But my mouth was already salivating. I looked at the person running the stand and said, "I'll take 1/4 pound please." "So, what are you going to do with these?" Not having fully formulated a plan yet, I admitted, "I have no idea yet. But when you see fresh morel mushrooms in this condition, you buy first and ask questions later!" I gingerly laid the bag of fungi in my basket. If I could've built some type of protective casing to prevent even the slightest bit of damage, I would have. As I walked away from that stand, I started contemplating my options. How does one built an entire meal around a mushroom? I decided two important things at that moment: 1) Beef 2) I had to share this amazing thing with my non-foodie friends. On my way home I stopped at my favorite butcher and picked up several strip steaks. I called up my friends and simply insisted that they come to dinner that evening -- I wouldn't take no for an answer. I told them I would explain later. When they finally arrived, I was mise en placing my ingredients. Sensing my excitement, they asked what the big deal was -- I explained what we would be having. Since they don't get treated to a steak dinner on a regular basis, one of my friends commented, "Wow! I haven't had steak in a while." I chastised him. "No, no, my friends. The steak is a supporting actor." I held up a single morel mushroom and exclaimed, "These are the star of this meal!" After explaining what a morel mushroom was and the incredibly short seasonality of the ingredient and the cost per pound (I think the cost was what put them over the edge), they just kept eying me as if I had completely lost all sense of reality. I could only placate their uneasiness by saying, "Just wait, you'll see." I seared off both sides of the strip steaks and placed them in the oven to finish cooking. Now it was time to make the pan sauce. I started by adding a little grapeseed oil and butter in the pan. Then I added the shallots and cooked until they had softened. Now it was time for the main star. I added up the morels and gently cooked them until they had given up their juice. I now deglazed the pan with some lovely red wine and beef stock and added a couple of sprigs of thyme. I reduced. Then the heavy cream went in. I reduced. At the very end, a shot of sherry vinegar and then monter au buerre. I adjusted the salt and pepper and gave it a final taste: heaven. My guests were already seated at the table. I quickly plated the dinner. Roasted garlic mashed potatoes. Roasted asparagus tossed in a little olive oil and sea salt. The lovely strip steak. And finally, the mushroom pan sauce to top the steak. I put a plate down in front of each of them and waited. As they began to cut a bite of steak, I admonished them to make sure they got a bit of the morel to go along with the meat. And then it happened; those looks of uncertainty and incredulity at my odd behavior thus far changed into looks of understanding and amazement. "This is amazing! If it's actually possible, the mushroom makes the steak taste ... BEEFIER!" I sat down to my own plate and relished every morsel. I knew I had not only done the morels proud, but the farmer from whom I bought them. I can still taste those morels in my mind and I look forward to that one week in mid-May where I'll be able to repeat this experience all over again.

When I cook chicken breasts by themselves, I cook them to 160 deg F and then let rest for about 5 minutes. They usually only go up another 5 or 6 deg F. When I do entire chickens (4 pounders), I let it go until the breast meat is 165 deg F. By the time it has rested about 10-15 minutes, the temperature has usually gone up to 172-173 deg F. I found that when cooking whole chicken until the breast meat was 160 deg F, sometimes the thighs would not be cooked enough. And the extra 5 degrees doesn't seem to affect the juiciness that much.

My favorite is the story of that little blasted pop-up device on the turkey. After one Thanksgiving where mum cooked the turkey for 1 1/2 hours LONGER than the estimate and the stupid thing still hadn't popped up (I think jerky would've been juicier at that point), I gave her an instant read thermometer for Christmas that year and explained to her how it worked. Flash forward to the next Thanksgiving, where I am giving her instructions on how to tell when the turkey is ready to come out of the oven. She and husband #2 have two kitchens in their house. I am in the newer kitchen pulling together all the side dishes. At about the time where the turkey should be done, Husband #2 comes into my kitchen and I ask if what the turkey's temperature is. "Not done yet," he grumbles and walks away. Mum walks in and I ask again about the turkey's temperature. "Sweetie, it's not done yet." Insisting that I wasn't asking if it was done, but rather what the temperature was, she finally tells me. Realizing that the turkey WAS done, I tell her to go ahead and take it out. "But dear, the thing hasn't popped up yet." After a brief fight where the Sahara desert got mentioned more than once, she finally agrees. Husband #2 is equally as stubborn muttering curse words as he reaches into the oven to extract the bird. The next point is what made it all worthwhile. As Husband #2 lifts the bird out of the oven, muttering obscenities about how the f---in' thing isn't done, the little pop-up device .... pops! "Oh! I guess it was done." Geez, 'ya think so?

I think NancyH pretty much exhaustively covered the meal. It was quite amazing. I was the one who had the tripe and honestly, it was quite good. I also ordered a pot of "flower" tea, something I have gotten used to tasting at Columbus, OH dim sum restaurants, although I missed the rock sugar that is usually served along side with it. I think the thing that impressed me the most was just the sheer variety and amount of food we had at our table. As fast as we could eat the food, the servers would put additional food out. BTW, Kudos to NancyH's amazing grasp of the dim sum menu. I like to think of myself as educated, but my dim sum knowledge pales in comparison to hers.

Galliano. I'm also doing a 50's themed cast party for my roommate. Here is the menu I've planned for him: * Wild mushroom and shallot mini-quiches * Canape trio: Shrimp Toast, Reuben Toast, Chicken Liver Toast * Bouchees aux deux Fromages (Fried Cheese balls) * Chicken Croquettes with Sweet & Sour dipping sauce * Roquefort stuffed olives and button mushrooms in a herbed vinaigrette I also used the reference that Syrah linked to -- it was pretty good.

Thanks for the advice, guys. And I bought a 12 pack of cannisters, so I should be all set in terms of fuel for the event.

I have a catering event coming up in February at an indoor site that contains no kitchen facilities of any kind. Today I purchased this item ... Portable Butane Burner in order to help me reheat some planned items on the menu. Now, I understand that using this type of device in a small enclosed space (like a camping tent) is bad because of the carbon monoxide build-up, but the room I will be using this in is approximately half the size of a high school gymnasium. The other thing to mention is that the event will be approximately 60-90 minutes; however, the burner will probably be going closer to 2 hours. The last thing I want to do is cause any of the guests problems with CO poisoning. Am I right to be concerned or am I overthinking this?