Tri2Cook

In Frozen Desserts, Migoya recommends adding 50% simple syrup to achieve 16 - 19 brix for ices (12 - 15 for savory applications). I have no idea how you would calculate that without a refractometer if you don't have one but I thought I'd mention it just in case.

Nice paraphrasing of McGee but I don't think that's the emulsion they're referring to here. I think they're discussing flavoring compounds.

Nice!

That's a big one for me. There is always something to do. I was taught that lesson young. When I was in highschool I worked during the summers on a framing crew building houses. Once I had finished what I was told to do and was kinda relaxing in the shade. The saw guy told me to do something that he normally did and I, being the typical teenager I suppose, replied "that's not my job". The boss, who was somehow equipped with the worlds best ears, came from all the way on the other side of the house where hammering and other noises were going on (I still don't know how he always heard everything) and proceeded to "explain" to me very loudly and at great length that the whole d@%n house was everybody's job and, until it was finished, if there was something that needed doing my a$$ better be doing it.

Show up early and be ready to work. If someone says "Can you grab those potatoes and scrub them for me?", the correct answer is "yes"... not "but I'm not on the clock yet". Do what you're told, when you're told and do it well even if it sucks. If you're not sure, ask. Better to feel dumb about asking than to screw up something because you didn't ask.

Sounds like a good grouping, though Falkner drives me up the wall. I can't really stand her at all. Something about her just bugs the ever living crap out of me. ← I don't know her personally but she does some really cool stuff and it's a cooking show so that's good enough for me. I'm pretty sure Wylie will be my pick though. He definitely has the skills but the first episode made it clear that they're going to be thrown a lot of curves. That will make trying to pick a winner each week much more difficult. Of course, ruling out Graham doesn't feel like a smart move either.

I enjoyed the episode and was glad my pick for the round won (a little fun competition with some friends, loser buys dinner and I'm now one up on everybody). If I'm finding the correct information, next up is Elizabeth Falkner, Suzanne Tracht, Wylie Dufresne, and Graham Elliot Bowles. That's a tough pick for me because I'm a huge fan of what Wylie Dufresne does but Elizabeth Falkner tugs at my pastry vote and Graham Elliot Bowles rocks. I'm probably going to go with Wylie but it's more of a fanboy-type vote than actual confidence.

Any recipe has long term value if it's something you like. Fads really only apply if you're going to be using the recipes exclusively in a sales situation. Besides, in a few years you can do the current fads and be retro-cool.

Are we talking about a specific known cookie recipe or cookies flavored with a blend of spices in general? If the latter, there can be no definitive answer as to what is appropriate other than "use what you like".

Dandelion greens, fiddleheads, cattail shoots, oxeye daisy buds, milkweed pods, assorted mushrooms, assorted edible flowers and evergreen parts, blueberries (the most abundant wild crop here if you know where to look), raspberries, strawberries (takes a lot of foraging, they're few and far between but they're out there), pincherries and chokecherries. I don't have a lot of time for foraging these days but I try to get out and gather at least a little of everything when it's in season.

And now, two or three weeks (or more) after most people are just having fond memories of this years fresh fiddleheads, they're finally coming in here. Picked about a lb. today and steamed and ate with butter most of them tonight. In about another 2 or 3 days the area I go to should be overflowing with them. This is a bit late even for here but we're not having a nice spring this year. Global Colding is having it's way with us.

You could embed some pomegranate seeds so that the smaller top part is what shows if you can find some nice dark ones. Wouldn't be as realistic looking as chocolate but it would be tasty with the melon flavor.

That's the type of enchiladas (although usually with beef) my stepmom always made when I was growing up (ok, getting older... I may never grow up). She always had to make a huge amount because there were seven of us and my two brothers and myself would devour an entire pan ourselves. There was always a big pan of "Spanish rice" (yes, made with those little packets of seasoning from the grocery store) to accompany them and, every once in a while, the infamous chile relleno casserole from the recipe under the label of the green chiles can (That one sounds kinda scary doesn't it?). I still get in the mood for those enchiladas now and then, one of those food memory things I guess. Of course it's completely impossible to find canned enchilada sauce of any type or quality where I live so I don't get them.

I get where JAZ is coming from as far as testing purposes go and in most cases would agree completely but if this is a one-off thing for a family birthday it seems like overkill to me to do a test run. You already know the concept works because you can buy ice cream with cheesecake chunks in it so the only benefit here would be the convenience of not having to make the cheesecake. If convenience is a factor you could just temper some good store bought ice cream and work in the frozen store-bought cheesecake chunks and be done really quick ala Marble Slab... and it would be tasty.

Edit: Never mind, I found the information. Not out until October. Not sure I want to wait that long even to save $100. The fact that I didn't get this one as a christmas gift like I thought I was and then soon after saw the info about another less hefty (in size and price) edition to come has me still waiting. I'm still seeing The Fat Duck Cookbook (smaller size and minus the word "Big" in the title) being advertised for preorder in several places. I've put off ordering the coffee table version in the hopes that the smaller version will have the same content in regards to food and science. I don't care if some of the photography and the fancy slipcover is missing, I want this one to work from not look at. Has anybody found any encouraging information about it's release? I'm wondering if they're holding out a bit to allow the shops some time to move the big ones first.

You can always make a more dense cheesecake if that's what you need. Make a basic cheesecake recipe (cream cheese/sugar/egg/flavor) and either cook it a bit longer and omit using a water bath or add a little starch. The recipes that add sour cream, cream, etc. are at least in part there to give a more creamy result. Water baths and stopping the cooking when the center is still a bit jiggly serve the same purpose. Creamy wouldn't be an asset for using it as an inclusion, so cook it firm. If I were doing it, I would probably bake it on sheets and freeze before cubing. That way it's already the right thickness, you just have to cut it into squares to match the thickness and having it frozen will make it much easier to work with.

What Lisa said... and the part about making the cheesecake cubes ahead and freezing prior to making the ice cream is not only more convenient, it also makes them easier to fold in without worrying about crumbling or mashing.

Nope, syrup won't help the whipping process but a couple spoons once the foam base is going doesn't really do any harm either.

I respectfully disagree.

The syrup was a good suggestion but, just for fun and experimental purposes, you should try cold infusing sometime as well. You may not go back to hot infusions (unless the cream needs to be heated anyway for a ganache or something or the flavor you're infusing works better with heat) or syrups if you do. Takes planning ahead by a day but the flavors are so clean and fresh that it's well worth it. I cold infused some cream and milk with fresh ginger recently for a parfait per a Michael Laiskonis recipe and that was the most intense dairy-based ginger experience I've ever tasted.

Errr... this may sound a bit obvious but... ummm... did you happen to re-chill the cream before you attempted to whip it? Side note that is irrelevant for this case but may help down the road: you can blanch your mint for 30 seconds or so, drop it in some ice water, drain it, mix it with the cream and toss it in the fridge overnight or so to infuse without heating. Works great and has a really fresh flavor.

From the Baking & Pastry Index, a whole thread on: Gelatin Conversion.

It doesn't really remove color that is inherent to the liquid. If the particulates that are removed by the filtering process are what is providing the visible color then the liquid will be clear after filtering. Below are a couple of examples. The first is from a stock of water, peach juice, pickled peaches and their juice and some spices. Most of the color of the unfiltered stock was from the peach solids and it disappeared after filtering. The other was from a strawberry stock and, although I don't know the scientific explanation, something besides the strawberry solids provide the color. Maybe pigments that require a higher level of filtration to remove than is possible with the syneresis process.

Nice one Rob. I'm starting to feel like a slacker.

I assumed it was referring to brix as well.