rob7

Piazzaglia, thank you for your response. You definitely answered my question about having a minimum amount in the cooker. My example of the slow cooker was probably not the best comparison, where you need to have the slow cooker filled at least half way. As per your explanation a minimum amount of liquid is needed and that will increase with the size of the cooker. I do also appreciate the stacking (and boiling some food) vs single layer benefit. So, I guess I have to try to determine how I will use the cooker the most and buy one base on what best fits those requirements.

I'm planning on investing in a pressure cooker and trying to make this a once in decades type of investment, esentially I'm hoping this can last as long as possible. I cook for a family of 5 so I am thinking of one of the larger models. At a minumum I am looking at 8 Qt's. Is a pressure cooker like a slow cooker where you ideally want the pot to be filled to a certain capacity? I know that if I made a small amount of food in a larger pressure cooker that it would take more time and energy to get to pressure, but, is this harmful to the pot? Does it degrade the food to cook a smaller amount in a larger pot? Kuhn Rikon has two 8 Qt models per their website. An 8qt family style stockpot, item 3350, for MSRP $420. And, an 8 Qt stockpot, item 3266, for MSRP $250. The family style is wider and shallower and the other is narrower and taller. Only suggested use differences per the website is that it seems like the taller can be used for canning if desired. Obvioulsy it is a significant price difference. I would imagine the shallower and wider be better for traditional braises? For example, if I cooked a brisket, I could fit a larger cut in single layer. In the stockpot, would it be ok to take that same cut and stack it in two pieces and add more liquid to come up to the top piece? Would the shape of the pot make a difference in cooking rice dishes, vegetables, etc.? Is there any quality difference between the two 8 Qt models which accounts for the price difference? My only thought is that the wider pot has a larger base\core which is the mass of the pot and could account for the difference. Then, there is also the 12 Qt model which is on Amazon for $349 (whereas the 8 Qt family style is on amazon for $372). Now I'm thoroughly confused as to which model to get. On top if it, the Fissler Bluepoint 10.5 Qt for $269 seems like a happy medium amongst all of them yet the debate here on which valve is better has me leaning toward the Kuhn. Any advice on what I should do?

Last week I went to one of the larger asian markets in the DC area and asked for the tea by the names give here, by description, and by listing out the possible blends. They did not have anything that came close. But I did just google Osmanthus tea and there are numerous results and places where to buy. It seems like the Osmanthus flower is blended either with green or oolong tea. At this point, as it was previously said that the blends of this team are often sujective to the vendor, I'm thinking of maybe trying to get all the ingredients seperately and try blending them myself.

Jenni and Liuzhou, thanks for getting me started in the right direction. Liuzhou, thank you for letting me know what the typical composition of this tea may be. Googling Romance Tea didn't produce any results (based on US location) before I made this post. I then used the term for this tea that you provided and still no results. But, googling "green tea with flowers" brought up some potential results (at least for suppliers in the US). I also go to the Washington DC area a bit and there are some good asian markets there, so, I'll be on the hunt for this tea there as well. Your input will surely help me explain what I'm looking for. Jenni...I undertsand what you mean by some teas being too floral. There are some jasmine teas that I've had which are just way too floral for my taste. This blend of tea was actually quite subtle and very light. It was also different from anything I've had before which also added to the experience. Whenever I took a sip, the thought of fine honey came into my mind. The tea wasn't sweet, but the light floral note seemed to match the the light floral note that can be present in honey...if that makes any sense.

Tonight I went to a Japanese restaurant. At their bar was a container holding a very interesting looking tea. The owner said that this was called Romance Tea. We tried it and we really enjoyed it. Although I can't say exactly what is in the blend, there are rose buds and violets. It definitely had floral notes in the taste but I also tasted notes of honey. On my way out I asked the owner about the tea and she said that I will not be able to find this tea anywhere. I asked, "even online", and she said that she doesn't think so. She said that they get this tea directly from Taiwan. I'm not even sure if the proper name of this is Romance Tea or if this is a rough translation. Has anyone ever heard of this? If so, any one know a supplier? Or, can you suggest a tea that may be similar? Again, I'm not sure of the entire blend, but there were clearly rose buds and violet. Maybe some lavender. It had a light floral taste. Appreciate your help. Thanks very much.

I like Viet Bistro as well. They have a great variety of items on the menu. For Bahn Mi I like the deli that is right in the back corner of the center. I believe it is Song Que. I haven't tried any of the Pho places. I am a big fan of Pho 75. Have you been to any of their locations? If so, how would you compare the ones you mention to Pho 75?

This past week I made chili. I hydrated some ancho and guajillio chiles. In the past I would blend the chiles and then put them through a fine sieve. With all the small pieces of skin, the chiles would take a while to pass through the sieve as my sieve would get clogged quickly (and it's fairly large). The process would take a while. With the Rosle, I first passed them through the 3mm disc in less than 5 minutes. Some of the skins came through. I then passed them through the 1mm disc and got a very nice paste of chiles that was free of any discernable skins. What was really nice is that it was able to process a nice thick paste of chiles rather than a more liquid belnd that I woudl get when using the blender\sieve combo.

Processed potatoes through the Rosle mill for mashed potatoes. It was a breeze. Not like the previous ricer was difficult. The bowl holding the food is large so I could fill it with a lot of potatoes vs doing them one or two at a time through the ricer. They were Russets with skin on. With the 3mm disc I had some small pieces of skin come through but the majority did not. Hopefully I'll be making a soup I can pass through it soon and we'll see how it does with that.

My ricer recently broke (plastic handles) so I thought getting a food mill would be a nice upgrade. I thought about the food mill will work well not just for ricing potatoes but also for soups and sauces. I had been using my blender for pureeing soups and sauces. Maybe it's the blender that I have, but often times what I was blending would become aerated and I don't want that. I ordered from amazon the Rosle 16251 which is what a number of persons here recommended. It arrived today. First impression is that it is sturdy and well built. Components seem strong...the blade, discs, and bowl are not flimsy at all. Being on a lunch break from work when it arrived, and being all excited and wanting to try it out, I eyed up the strawberries my daughter was eating and asked her how she would like some strawberry juice. I tried to puree the strawberries with the finest (1mm) disc thinking that this will provide a refined puree with no seeds. I think that the strwaberries may have been too hard\unripe and they just slid around. I switched to the 3mm disc and they processed through easily and came through with a nice texture. Thinking about it, after the first pass I could have sitched to the finer disc and passed through again. Based on how well the 3mm disc worked, I'm sure if the strawberries were very ripe or cooked to soften, the 1mm disc would have worked well. Overall, I'm pleased with the quality. On amazon many of the negatives had to do with this food mill now being made in China. While the manufacturing has been sent to China, it doesn't seem like the design or materials were compromised to increase profits. Again keeping in mind this is my first food mill but I was suprised on how sturdy and strong the mill felt. My main reason for buying this food mill is 1) the recommendations for it here, and 2) the disc sizes available. Although the Rosle can accomodate a disc with 8mm holes (for spatzle), the more intriguing capability was having a disc with 1mm holes. From my search on this, it seemes like this food mill had a disc that offered smaller holes than any other mill, which leads me to think it has the capability to process foods to a finer\smoother consistency. Anyway, I'll try mashed potatoes tonight and provide an update on my second round with it.

I *hate* the taste of lemon extract; I think it bears NO resemblance to real lemon zest. However, if you wish a commercial bakery flavor, the extract will provide it. I'm with you on that...I was hesitant to say the same myself as I wasn't sure if there just possibly may be a lemon extract out there that gives a real lemon flavor rather than a fake lemon candy type flavor.

This weekend I'll be making cinnamon buns using Reinhart's recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprentice. In the recipe there are a few options for ingredients and I'm wondering if using one ingredient over another will produce better results. Or, if the results may be different, but not necessarily better or worse, what are those differences? First choice is the fat. The recipe calls for either shortening, butter, or margarine. Lemon extract or zest? I would think that the only downside of zest is possibly having some pieces remain. Whole milk, buttermilk, or powedered milk? Buttermilk will give it a slight tanginess I would imagine, but is there a difference between using powedered or whole milk? Finally, the recipe calls for AP flour or bread flour. I know in breads, the higher protein and gluten or bread flour is desired for structure and texture, but, with cinnamon buns, I would think that one would want a dough that is more tender which would be better provided by the AP flour....or, does it not even make much of a difference given the amount of fat in the dough? Thanks for any isights and knowledge you can share.

In my opinion, one of the best country hams is produced by Kite's Hams in Wolftown. Wolftown is in Madison County. Their farm is a few miles of rt 29 so it's convinient whether you are coming down 29 or leaving going north. I don't believe that they make a honey ham. They have a couple different varieties of country hams, bacon, and some other products. http://kiteshams.com/index.htm On that same road is a relatively new winery\vineyard, Sweely Estate. http://www.sweelyestatewinery.com/ If you are in the mood for wine tasting, I would also try: http://barboursvillewine.net/winery/ You can do some peach picking at Chiles Orchard. http://www.chilespeachorchard.com/index.shtml The farmers market in Charlottesville operates every Saturday morning right next to the Downtown Mall. http://www.charlottesville.org/index.aspx?page=757

I'm in the market for a blender. And, before anyone says it, I know, I know, Vita-Mix or Blend-Tec are the best ones. I think in just about every thread regarding blenders someone has to state that these are the best. So, I'll just go ahead and state it. So in reading some posts, it seems like in the $150 range, which is what I'm looking to spend, Waring or Breville seem to come out with best reviews. I was just about set on the Waring when I saw that there is a pretty good availability of Breville's top of the line blender (Breville XX800BLXL). 1000W, 67oz capacity, REFURBISHED models. This is a $300 blender that can be had for about $155. My question is if anyone has ever purchased a refurbished blender and what was your experience? If you haven't, would you do it? Why or why not? What does come to mind is that seems to be quite a few of these refurbished models avaialable which leads me to wonder why are there so many available. Is there a poor design or inherent flaw? At the same time, the reviews that I've read on this blender are all positive. Including one from a person that had an issue with a refurb and Breville replaced it with no question. But, reviews are usually posted within a month or so of purchase and don't include the "test of time" I probably wouldn't even consider this if I didn't have such a good customer service experience with a Breville espresso machine I own. In that case, they not only replaced my machine but actually upgraded the model because the model I had was backordered. (It was a cosmetic defect..slight bend in the stainless casing...which is why I returned it...no performace issues at all) What do you think? Would you buy one, or no?

Thanks for the catch Reignking....yes 15 miles West of Cville...and figuring the easiest way is to hop on 64, with a 65 MPH speed limit, that 15 miles should take about 15 minutes .

I hope you enjoy your visit to Charlottesville. I've been here a few years and it is definitley an area that you need to get to know. Not everything is as convinient to find or buy. I often find myself having to go to three or four different stores, in three or four different areas, to get everything I need. I may revisit this post again to add some additional items as they come to mind. I would defintiely start with a visit to the Main Street Market on West Main, a mile or so west of the University. In that market you have an organic butcher, Albemarle Baking Company (great breads, sourdough is excellent), Gearhart's Chocolates, Seafood shop, Feast (charcuterie, chesses, oils, salts, etc...), and a kitchen store. For an above average supermarket there is Food of All Nations (east of the University). They will have a "finer" selection of most of your supermarket type provisions (for example- differnet types of anchovies, raw local honey, pate's, dried mushrooms). They have what you will normally find in a supermarket for all your fruits and vegetables but then they also have a wider selection (pickles other than Mt.Olive or Vlassic). You do also have Whole Foods on 29. The farmers market is over for the season but Charlottesville does have one. If you like beer, defintiley check out Beer Run in Belmont (Belmont is a neighbood within Cville). They have a fantastic beer selection. Pizza recommendation- my favorite has been Crozet Pizza. It's about 15 minutes east of the university, and has very limites seating, but is good. People rave about Christian's. It's ok. Some new ones have popped up recently but I have not been able to try them. Most of my pizza lately has come out of my oven (550 degrees with convection and a nice thick stone have provided me with excellent results...I digress...) I have not come across any spectacular chinese food. If you are by the downtown mall, Max & Luca's Noodle shop is good for a quality lunch. They only have a few items on their menu but they do them well and they are inexpensive. They have the best hot & sour soup in town in my opinion. Oriental Express is take out only and has better quality food in the area. If we have people over from around the area and we get ffod from there they usually ask where the food is from because they notice the difference in quality. Thai- Lime Leaf in Rio will provide you with your standard Thai fare. Thai 99 put some of their own uniqueness into their dishes. Sushi- Miyako on the downtown mall is good. Ten is very nice....great quality, expensive also. Steak- for a high end steak, Downtown Grill. I would also recommend Mas. It is a tapas restaurant. The dishes are prepared simply but the quality of ingredients and attention to detail is excellent.

I ended up brining a turkey this year. I used Alton Brown's recipe as well... the one that uses 1 pound of salt and 1 pound of dark brown sugar. I brined for about 10 hours then I deep fried the turkey. Everything came out great. I was concerned that it would be a bit salty but it wasn't at all. The turkey I used was a "fresh turkey". The packaging on it did not state that it was injected. It only said that it had about 5% retained moisture.

Also, when I say stay with the barbecue, I mean the pulled pork barbacue.

In Williamsburg Pierce's Pitt has some of the best barbecue around in my opinion. Stay with the barbecue, the ribs are not that great. You will see signs for them on 64 as you come into Williamsburg. http://www.pierces.com/ From Norfolk: • Take Camp Peary, Exit #238 - Turn left at the stop sign at the top of ramp. • Turn right at first stop light onto Rochambeau Drive. • Restaurant is 3 miles down the street on your left.

I usually use chicken stock, but, a couple weeks back when I went to make my soup I found that I had none so I thought I'd make my own vegetable stock. I wanted to make a stock that would be suttle and not overpowering. Also, over time I've added less and less potatoe to my soup as I prefer a pronounced leek flavor rather than a potatoe flavor. So, what I tried doing with my stock was to use the dark green tops of the leeks that are normally trimmed and discarded. I chopped them, put them in a pot with an onion, carrot, celery, parsley, covered with water and simmered for a couple hours. I ran the stock through a sieve and discarded all the solids and used that as my stock. The soup was probably the best tasting I have made. The flavor of the leek came through very nicely. It was definitley more of a leek and potatoe soup that potatoe and leek soup...if that makes sense.

I have a DCS vent hood with a metal filter. Per the instructions, Istick the filter element in the dishwasher and it comes out great. What I can't put in the dishwasher I use a degreaser and then polish with a stainless steel polish.

Hoping to get some feedback on my firt try at making Bagels. I used the recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprentice. I used Sir Lancelot High Gluten Flour, and, going by Reinhart's preference, I used diastic malt powder. The bagels overall were good....defintley better than what you can get in most stores in Central Virginia. But, having lived in NY, not quite competitive against NY bagels. They tasted great and were chewy, but, they seemed to have some imperfections. Please let me know if you know some possible causes. 1) The bagels had some air bubbles on the surface that opened up during boiling. You can see this in the picture on the sesame seed bagel. 2) Some of the bagels flattened out. When I put them in to boil, they lost their puffiness- they deflated. But, even those bagels were pretty good. They did not seem overly dense. They were nice and chewy. I shaped them by rolling them into a rope and rolling around my palm. You can see that they are not uniform in eveness around the bagel. I'm not too concerned about this as this is obvioulsy my technique which I will work on with practice. Also, not sure if this contributed or not, but, my water for boiling was pretty much at a rolling boil...should it be more of a simmer? Any help \ feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for the suggestion Baggy. I sucked it up and ended up ordering some high gluten flour online.

Andiesenji, thanks again for the link, I ordered some linen canvas and some other items from the site you recommended yesterday. You are right, the person I got on the phone was extremely patient and helpful. Great resource to have...thanks again. After some more research, their prices were really good. No more expesive than getting linen canvas from a craft or art supply store.

Thanks for the link....their prices are really good from what I've seen thus far.

I just received The Bread Baker's Apprentice and thus far have made two breads- Pain a l'Ancienne and Challah. Both breads have come out pretty good. I'm not trying to brag, but, they were definitley better than what can be bought at a typical grocery store around me. Next batch I'll have to remember to take some pictures before cutting in. Not to get off topic- but, I think the most significant way in which this book has helped is providing weights and formulas for ingredients. Previously, going by cups, etc, I never had good results. I can tell that most of my doughs prior to this were dry and did not have enough water. The bread that I want to make that started this topic is french bread baguette.