paulraphael

Cookbook authors and t.v. chefs still spread the idea of mixing butter and oil to magically raise the burning temperature of the butter. Something that defies reason and can be dismissed with a 2-minute homegrown experiment.

I'll have to look at the packaging again. I don't remember any descriptions besides organic. FWIW, the flour has a very fine consistency, that would be consistent with stone grinding. It doesn't feel coarse. It's also not especially dark. maybe just a shade darker than regular unbleached flour. It didn't look strange until after the dough was mixed and thoroughly rested/hydrated.

My seasoned cast iron is WAAAAAAAAY more nonstick than my clean stainless steel. And I keep it as clean as I know how ... if there's any discoloration or spotting, I scour with BKF until it gleams. I'm not a clean freak by any stretch, but I've learned to keep the cooking surfaces shiny. Trying to sauté a delicate fish in stainless lined copper is usually a disaster; the same in cast iron works well. This is with using a small amount of oil in each; I only use the iron pan dry with food that renders its own fat. It is definitely less nonstick than a teflon pan, which I reserve for crepes and for the most delicate fish. That said, I agree that seasoning stainless doesn't sound like a great idea. The surface is just less versatile than plain stainless. I'm guessing that the polymerized oils would cling less well, and you'd have more issues with off flavors and even clumps of goop ending up in your food. I have been wondering about seasoning bare aluminum, though. I have a heavy, plain aluminum griddle that I use for pancakes. It begs to be seasoned. I'm constantly scouring off a thin film of very hard oils from around the edges ... and it fights me for it. Has anyone tried seasoning this material?

I'm still furious that it wasn't properly labelled. I don't in any way appreciate the flavor of the flour. It does taste a bit like graham crackers; if I'd wanted that I would have bought a 99¢ graham cracker crust at the supermarket. What I have now is 12 oz of expensive European high-fat butter that you can't taste over the intrusive flavor of the wheat bran, and only a fraction of the delicate texture I worked all afternoon to get. I'm also annoyed by the buyers at Whole Foods. They seem to cater to some misplaced senses of healthiness (healthy pastry?) and exoticism (organic spelt flour?) without having covered the basics (there is no regular pastry flour, or cake flour of any kind, at either of the WF locations I visit). I'm going to have to chill out a bit before writing them, to make sure my abusive letter doesn't go too far.

I bought some flour at Whole Foods last week, thinking it was pastry flour, because the package said, in big letters, "Pastry Flour." I made two tart shells with it, and didn't realize something was odd until the dough was completely mixed and looked darker than normal. It took a close examination of the bag to see the ingredients listed whole grain flour. There's no other indication of this anywhere on the package. Is there really such thing as whole grain pastry flour? And if there is, shouldn't it be clearly marked? These tart shells smell and taste like dark bread, the texture is messed up, and I feel like beating someone to death.

My suggestion would be to get a cheap, commercial quality nonstick pan and know that if you use it a lot, you'll have to replace it in a year or two or three. Or see if you can find a more expensive one (calphalon nonstick, etc.) on sale or closeout. Sometimes Amazon has deals where they cost as little as the commercial ones. No nonstick surface stays nonstick indefinitely. Some surfaces are much more durable than others (like scan pan, or the version used by demeyere) but this just protects them from abuse. It doesn't stop the pan from losing its nonstick properties over time. I'd rather have a cheap disposable pan than an expensive one. I personally prefer commercial style, no-b.s. pans over feature-ladden ones designed by marketing departments (plastic stay-cool handles, breakable glass lids, goofy patterns on the bottom, non-functional shapes, etc. etc.)

Have any of you tried taking a jacket that you like (besides the fit) and taking it to a tailor? I think it would be a cheap and easy job. My friend Sara has her levis tailored! Doesn't cost her much. Getting a good fit out of a simple jacket should be easier than getting one out of pants that are supposed to hug the ass.

I ended up getting the small version of that one (17 slots, I think) and replacing the rubber feet with taller ones, so a 12" steel will fit. It works fine ... like my old one, but room for 2 chef's knives. The scissor slot inspired me to get a pair of wusthof take-apart shears. A bargain at $20 ... I really like them. The steak knife slots are empty. I have fewer than half as many knives as you!

I'd be a little concerned about salting before freezing. Salt actually increases the rate of oxidation of fats that haven't been cured with nitrites, and can lead to rancidity (more funk) in frozen storage.

Great project. I can see this evolving into Iron Chef: Dorm Room Edition. "Ok, a girl is on the way and will be at your door in 20 minutes. You have a serving of ramen, four packets of duck sauce, a leftover pizza crust, 1/8 bottle of vodka, a box of baking soda, and a George Foreman grill. Go!" As far as knives, I think the forchner is a great choice, but any knife will likely be trashed by a single semester of dorm life. I'd have them look for anything that's shaped like a chef's knife that costs as little as possible.

yes, yes, and yes.

If I get that knife, can I bring my own steak?

Interesting. Does he explain why it works? ← He certainly does. But I'm not biochemist enough to quote him on the top of my head. Will look it up when I'm in front of my home computer next time. ← I'd like to hear from someone who's tried it ... i'm not trusting enough to do it when people are waiting to be fed.

I haven't done a thorough search, but there might be some good ones made for lab use. Here's one: http://www.bestlabdeals.com/ProductDetails...InMp054&CartID= Lots of other out there; some might be more apropriate. In the mean time, that thermoworks one likes the best deal. It's basically the Polder, sold for what it's actually worth! By the way, looking for lab thermometers, I stumbled onto a few that look just like the thermopen, but for a lot less money. Might be worth a second look.

I just ordered a pair of these http://www.culinarycookware.com/catalog.asp?prodid=61600 thanks to a brilliant tip in the kitchen consumer forum. I'll see how they work. If they help, then similar materials might be available for pie plates.

A turkey is more like a hollow bowling ball. The actual thickness of the flesh is not that much. It may be closer to a fish than to a prime rib roast. I don't like to tent anything that I roast, because the resulting steam buildup tends to turn the nice crisp crust you worked for into mush. High heat methods work surprisingly well. Poaching (if used before a high heat roast) and deep frying work very well because they cook the turkey from the inside of the cavity much more efficiently than hot air can. There's nothing wrong with the high/low approach; I just don't think there are benefits with it as there are with big roasts. In any case I think that tenting and basting are mistakes.

Interesting. Does he explain why it works?

Bingo! Thanks so much. Don't know why I couldn't find that before. 2 are on the way.

Just a few possibilities, some of which have already been mentioned: -dough should be rolled out, not stretched. Rolling it out a bit wide and then actually compressing it a bit to fit in the pan is ideal. -gluten needs to be relaxed. mixing the dough as little as possible, using as little water as possible, and giving it as much time as possible to rest, both before filling the pan and then before baking, are ways to achieve this. it's very easy to use too much water. unless you're already on top of this, I'd try using 2/3 as much water as you're currently using. The dough probably won't hold together. Put it in the fridge, covered, for 20 minutes and try again. The flour needs some time to fully hydrate. -add less water along with the fat. i don't like to go as far as using shortening, but I'll use a high buterfat, european style butter (84% to 85% butterfat). Tastier results, better texture, and less shrinkage.

Dark pumpkin tart: http://recipes.egullet.org/recipes/r2050.html After three seasons of playing around I finally nailed it.

Sure, but why not come to that conclusion after at least trying it the way the chef intended. This thread is interesting to me, because I've enjoyed sushi mostly in the American fast food fashion ... the way I was taught, with a blob of wasabi in my soy sauce. I could defend it by saying "it's the way I enjoy it," but in truth it's just my habit, and I have nothing, including the chef-prefered way, to compare it with. Next time I go for sushi I plan to try some of the ideas I've read about on e.g.: sit at the bar, take the chef's suggestions, and don't drown the fish in horseradish.

Stoneware's a very slow conductor. Almost certainly a step in the wrong direction. I was hoping for blue steel or blackened steel. Or some good oven-proof spray paint.

I've done this, but it's a fussy, annoying workaround. And it's a compensation for a pan that just isn't performing correctly. Good bakeware browns the food at the rate you want.

I've been wondering about that. The thing is, I almost always make tarts, and the only dark tart pans I can find are non-stick (the idea of nonstick tart pans annoys me so much I can't bring myself to get one). I did a quick search for French blue steel tart pans but didn't find anything. I may paint the outsides of my tinned steel pans black.

Yeah, the Taylor's kind of lame, but I can't say for sure what's better. My guess is your trouble has been with the probes. If water gets into the unsealed space between the probe and the wire, the thing goes crazy. When I replaced my first one, I found it worked fine with the probe from the new one. Now I'm just anal about keeping the connection dry when I wash it. Maybe you can buy spare probes from the company. The question is, do other brands have the same problem. I don't know. Other brands definitely appear to have better ergonomics. The Polder that I saw looks simpler and easier to use (no actual experience with it, though).