Tri2Cook

I feel like it's probably best that I not say any of the things I intended to say regarding the above conversation. So I'll just mention that I grabbed a bottle of Hayman's sloe gin today. I have no idea if that's a decent version of sloe gin or not but I took a chance.

I thought this was going to be about me waiting to be taken to the gallows and being asked what I wanted for a last dinner. The last time you had people over for dinner, who were the guests (friends/family/other) and what did you serve? family, salad, lasagna with garlic bread How would you describe the dinner (casual or formal)? casual. How did you serve the food to your guests (for example: already plated, in a dish/bowl, in a pot/pan)? pot/pan What kitchen utensils did you use to transfer the food (to the plate)? And did you do this in the kitchen or on the dining table? kitchen spatula Do you use these utensils purely serving or do you also use them for other purposes (for example the cooking itself)? In this case, just for serving... but they sometimes get used during the cooking depending on what I'm cooking. Does these utensils fit with the rest of your tableware? Does it help the mood you want to create? Do you find them aesthetically pleasing? nope - wasn't going for a mood, just filling bellies - not particularly but for casual serving of casual meals, I really don't care

The stand mixer has only existed for a hundred years or so and people did just fine before that. You can do pretty much anything you want without one. A whole lot of people were doing everything without them for a very long time. At home, probably at least half of the time, I don't bother with it. Some things are definitely made easier with a stand mixer but they're not anything close to being a requirement. A large number of the tasks can be done with a good hand mixer and anything too hefty for that can be done with good old fashioned arm power.

Ah, got it. The 3 heating sessions are the aging process. Interesting...

Cool experiment. Can't wait to hear how it turns out. How long do you plan to age it?

Heston's recipe uses 65 g oil in 500 g milk chocolate and that's for use as a cake layer (Black Forest Gateau). If I recall correctly, I went higher than that with the one I mentioned above (I wanted it easy to cut and I wanted the roasted peanut oil flavor to come through) and it still wasn't too fragile to work with. I don't have an exact number though. Since you're planning to spread it on rather than forming a disc or something that has to be handled and moved and not aerating it, I'd imagine you could go pretty high if needed. Maybe start with Heston's ratio or a little less, chill it and try to cut it. If it's not as easy to cut as you'd like, melt it and add more oil.

I don't see that one happening but I still have a bottle of Saz 6 left so I'm not in panic mode.

Nothing fancy. I went to the local store with no hope at all that they'd brought anything new in. It's such a rare event to find anything other than the same stuff they've had on the shelves forever that this was a nice surprise... so I decided to grab it while I had the opportunity.

Adding oil will solve the problem of being able to slice through it along with everything else. When I make aerated chocolate using oil (Blumenthal's recipe), the result is easy enough to cut that I've used it as a 1/2" thick base layer in a cake. I sprayed the aerated chocolate (milk chocolate and roasted peanut oil) over caramelized rice crispies for the base layer and everything held up great. I don't see any reason coconut and feuilletine would present any problems.

Yeah, my Rittenhouse and one bottle of Sazerac 6 are gone. I have one bottle of the Saz left so I'm pretty picky about what I use it for. The LCBO site shows them having the Rittenhouse, Bulleit, George Dickel and Wild Turkey ryes in stock but none of them have made their way to this end of the province as yet. Still, it's nice to see the selection improving.

What makes it most identifiable for me is that it's on the shelf in my local store and US whiskies (other than Jack Daniels) are not.

I honestly don't care if it's called pizza or not. It's not my ideal pizza. I prefer my pizza very basic. But if I'm eating a Chicago style, I eat it for what it is, not for what it isn't. In that context, I've had some I enjoyed very much. I somewhat equate it with my personal preference regarding lasagna. My ideal lasagna is pasta with some stuff, not stuff with some pasta. But I don't tell people who disagree with me that what they make isn't lasagna and I've eaten a lot of lasagna done their way that I still enjoyed.

Kinda reminds me of a lady who used to come into a restaurant I worked in several years ago and order one of our pizzas "very well done but with no brown on the cheese". To allow it to cook enough to get more of the crusty edge without getting more of a crust on top is going to be as much luck as skill. Unless maybe you preheated the pan before dumping in the batter... but then you're going to get more of a crust on the bottom too, not just the sides.

I picked up a bottle of the Copper Pot a couple days ago (for exactly the reason you stated in your warning). I haven't opened it yet but it's safely stowed in my cabinet. One of these days I have to make the decision to starting drinking more or collecting bottles less...

Banana bread is one of my comfort foods. I never turn it down. I baked a loaf of peanut butter banana bread yesterday. I love the p.b. and banana combination so it seemed like a good idea. Didn't turn out as good as I hoped though. Great texture but for some reason the p.b. seems a bit muted and the bananas I had weren't flavorful enough to make a strong showing either. Something to work on I suppose.

That sounds tasty. Unfortunately, no mint in the house and I'm feeling way too lazy to go to the store tonight. Definitely adding it to the list though.

Thanks for sharing. I'm definitely going to give it a try.

Just finished baking an onion rye to go with the corned beef that I started last week and will be cooking tomorrow.

Agreed. I still can't bring myself to spend the money for the MC books but I might find a MP book impossible to resist.

Hmmm. I guess I better quit putting off grabbing that bottle of Copper Pot Reserve I've been wanting to try.

I like that.

Cabbage rolls. A little bit of work but I'm pretty sure they have to be mentioned somewhere in The Book of Comfort Foods.

In my non-expert opinion, I have to disagree. I like Goslings but there are certain drinks I like that I had to use Goslings in before I got a bottle of Cruzan and, while it did a good job as a substitute, I like most of those drinks better with the Cruzan that was called for in the recipe.

Very nice! I look forward to seeing the recipe for the final version.

Made my brine today. Beef's going in tomorrow. There wasn't a brisket to be found anywhere in the area where I live so I tossed caution to the wind and went with an eye of round. Never had a corned eye of round but I figured there's only one way to find out...