Tri2Cook

That looks really good. Unfortunately, the only mussels available here are frozen... but I can drool over the picture.

You're mixing a decent beer with a fruit-flavored vodka cooler... in equal parts. Even if it somehow manages to be tasty, it would probably take most people no time at all to decode it. There are people on these forums (myself not being among them) that create drinks that elevate the definition of craft cocktail and they share them freely. I don't think there's any danger that anybody is going to steal the Widnes and make their fortune without you. I don't mean that to sound harsh, but take a leisurely stroll through the Spirits & Cocktails forum and you'll see what I mean.

It's also pretty easy, if you decide to do a single large cake, to bake your layers in smaller pans, such as the common 13"x9", and simply assemble as many of them side by side lengthwise and crosswise as you need to get the size you want. Glue them together at the edges with a bit of buttercream (or whatever you decide to use) and then build up as high as you want to go. Once built, you cover the entire thing in your buttercream and it has the outward appearance of one large cake without having to manipulate large layers. Basically... It requires fairly even layers to keep the whole thing looking nice but they don't have to be perfect... fillings and buttercreams can hide a multitude of sins.

Me too.

completely dropped coffee 2+ years ago completely dropped tea (other than a rare occasional herbal tea during the winter) 1+ years ago (dropping coffee and tea has completely eliminated some rather significant stomach trouble I was having which I'm pretty sure was related to overindulgence... I'm having better luck just dropping them than I had with trying to cut back) completely dropped diet pop/soda 6+ years ago dropped non-diet pop/soda except for a rare occasional glass of ginger beer or root beer 4+ years ago significantly changed my day-to-day eating habits when I started road cycling 9+ years ago... because pulling extra weight up hills isn't fun I'm blaming eGullet for my increase in booze purchasing despite the fact that I still rarely actually consume it

I love a Reuben. I've never had one made with sausage but it sounds worth exploring. I love larb as well but for some reason never think about it when meal planning. That too shall be remedied in the near future.

Yep... I hope I never decide I know too much about anything to learn something new. As for your question, I'd start with a recipe you've tried that gives you a texture you're happy with and adjust the sweetness and flavor to your liking. Changes in the amount of sugar won't mess up the texture and the vanilla can be adjusted as far as you want to take it. Options for that would include type of vanilla, extract vs beans, amount of either and whatever other options and combinations you can think of to get the flavor you're looking for. Bavarois is nice and worth experiencing if you haven't but it's not the same texture as what most people in North America think of when talking about "pudding". It can be chilled in a mold and unmolded on a plate without losing it's shape and eats more like a richer, heavier panna cotta.

I don't have that book but all of the recipes I have use a wet cure.

I was thinking pretty much the same thing. I wasn't thinking about chocolates particularly, but the idea of small lollies of some sort crossed my mind when I saw the picture.

You mean you don't want to hear about 48 hr. sous vide feet with toe jam jus and a bromidrosis foam? Where's your sense of adventure?

I don't look down haughtily on anything as a whole... but I do reserve the right to not like some things on the individual level.

That's awesome (in spirit, honestly doesn't sound real tasty though). She was modernist when modernist wasn't cool...

Howdy. If you enjoy food and food discussion, you definitely found the right place.

Don't worry about that. Watching ideas evolve and being able to go back and look at where they started vs. where they went is a large part of the fun.

It's been on my list for a long time but so far the LCBO refuses to accommodate me by bringing it in. At least they do carry Fernet.

I'd completely forgotten about those, haven't had one in years. I think I'll remedy that situation one say very soon.

I see Grand Marnier so you went with the "straight" version. The "curled" version uses curacao instead. Which recipe did you use? Most of the recipes I see call for a dash of orange bitters, the one in my drinks file (which I collected from the Dr. Bamboo blog and was attributed to Vintage Spirits & Forgotten Cocktails) calls for a full teaspoon of orange bitters... which did give it a slightly evil edge.

Actually, it is a pizza topped with scorpions. They also have one topped with mealworms and crickets. Still doesn't make up for their broadcast running late last night and pre-empting the first 45 minutes of the evening broadcast of the Tour de France though (I work Saturday mornings so can't catch the live morning coverage).

Ketchup and fries is one of those perfect item/condiment matches. Like hot sauce and eggs. Dirty secret: I've been known to eat a few fries when I didn't really want them just because I wanted ketchup and it seemed like it would be weird to eat it with nothing.

Exactly-ish. But just for the record, many (most?) of these ingredients that people like to call chemicals to try to make it sound like it's something scary are no more scary than your basic kitchen salt (sodium chloride), baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), baker's ammonia (ammonium carbonate), cream of tartar (potassium bitartrate) and tons of other ingredients that we give household names to that all have scientific names as well. They only become scary when named in isolation from the whole if we haven't assigned them a non-scientific sounding name.

I like it. I've never thought a béchamel based mac and cheese had the depth of cheese flavor I'd like it to have. No matter what kind of cheese I used. I like the texture of mac and cheese made with velveeta but the flavor leaves something to be desired. It's on the right track, it gives a pureness of flavor, I just don't personally love that flavor. The MC version is the creamy texture and pureness of flavor of a velveeta mac and cheese but the flavor is whatever cheese you use. All of the flavor of that cheese, not milk and flour flavored with that cheese. I like to use a nice sharp cheddar boosted with some blue but that makes for a pretty intense mac and cheese.

I haven't ruled out the possibility that I've just never had a good poutine. I once saw someone in a restaurant order a poutine with coleslaw instead of cheese. Yep, a layer of fries and a layer of slaw all topped with gravy. Next to that, even the worst poutine has to be top shelf.

And this Canadian can't reconcile relish in any form with a burger. Then again, I don't particularly care for poutine either... so maybe I'm just not a very good Canadian.

It's usually safest to be sure when discussing loonies... even when in Canada.

This is one of the things I love about eGullet. This should have been an easy logical leap from the aerated microwave cakes and breads but it only became that easy leap once someone thought of it. Now I'm wondering about super puffy pancakes and really aerated English muffins...