Chris Hennes

80% seems high considering the amount of "goo" I had leftover, which I was figuring at around 25% on its own, not counting the water that evaporated out. 50% may have been overly pessimistic: I will weigh it next time and see. That would actually be an interesting point of comparison between the various methods.

No, not even close, unfortunately (at least in my experience). I didn't weigh mine, but you will lose both water and whatever connective stuff is in there: I would guess it is closer to a 50% conversion rate. Anyone actually check?

I've been beating on my D50 for several years now: I managed to destroy the kit lens, but the body is fine, and I used the destruction of the kit 18-55 as an excuse to pick up a something with a bit wider aperture (so I can get that sexy narrow depth of field all the food photographers with actual talent are using these days). The double-digit Nikons are not pro bodies, so they can't take quite that level of abuse, but for someone taking 10k-20k photos per year they are fine, and you pay through the nose for the pro models. All of which is to say: you'll be fine in the seat of the Vespa.

There are a LOT of dinners I could make in 20 minutes: I'm looking for more like 2 minutes here. Baking time is irrelevant, I work while it cooks. There are days when every minute counts...

Interesting thought. I wonder if there is an easy way to evaluate the pectin levels before making a full pie. Make a very small batch of the filling and see how well it sets up before committing six cups of berries to the deal? Then you could adjust the thickener to account for any variability in them.

I think fresh vegetables are probably out of the picture in this endeavor: I am figuring I'll go with either just cheese, or cheese and salami/ham/sausage/bacon, since I have homemade versions of all of those (only one at a time! no topping overload). The cheese is what has me the most worried: I've never tried to freeze cheese. At least in this case it's getting baked, and I like it browned, so it doesn't seem like it has to hold up all that well to freezing.

Interesting: I wonder what's going on with this pie? Some people are reporting total unqualified success, but others can't get it to firm up in the time stated (me) or at all (cmflick). It must be the blueberries, right? They're the only real variable. Or how much juice is squeezed out of the apple? Could the specific apple chosen make the difference? I note that they do not call the the shredded amount by weight: I think we could easily see very large variations in the amount of shredded apple included.

Mexican. (Just a wild guess here ) I like Bayless, he just strikes me as a one-trick pony. I know you've got to cook to your strengths to win competitions like this, but I'd love to have seen something that forced him out of his Mexican-food comfort zone. I was hoping Pawlcyn would win: shame they didn't care for her Menudo, she seems like a great chef. Underseasoned, Cindy? Say it ain't so!

So, life is busy right now: I had a frozen pizza for dinner. Blech. But, there is no decent delivery option here, so when I'm pressed for time, frozen pizza is a go-to meal for me, if only I could find one I liked. Near as I can tell, decent store-bought frozen pizza is a lost cause, they just don't seem to exist (and I'm no pizza connoisseur). So what I want to do is make up my own frozen pizzas, using non-crap ingredients. I think Fat Guy's "Low-effort, low-mess pizza @ home" recipe might be a good start, but I'm curious about whether anyone does this. I am looking for a pizza that requires zero prep and bare-minimum cleanup when it's time to eat it: preheat the oven, bake for however long, eat, go back to work. It doesn't have to be the greatest pie ever, it just has to not suck. Any ideas?

I agree, I'm a big fan: in fact, I think that most combinations of meat-based sandwich fillings are great on Triscuits. I'm partial to ham and swiss, in particular.

For an amateur home cook starting to do research into what cookware to buy, EVERYTHING is an alternative to All-Clad: there is simply no denying that they have positioned themselves as the point of comparison. I think at this point it is a given that the feelings among the cookware experts here is that All-Clad is a crummy value. Now, what are the alternatives? Say I don't mind spending All-Clad prices on a good frying pan (my most used pan), but I don't insist on it if the best costs less. Now, what should I buy instead?

In the minds of many, All-Clad IS the categorical first choice. They market the hell out of their products, they are available everywhere, and I would bet that a very substantial number of eGullet Society members have (or used to have) at least one piece of All-Clad. I think it provides a very useful baseline for comparison for that reason alone. Is there a lot of cookware out there that is better? Of course. There is also a shit ton of cookware that is worse. Comparing to All-Clad gives us a useful starting point for a price point and quality. We are not talking about Mauviel Copper here, nor are we talking about Walmart Store Brand.

I don't have my pre-order in for the Bittermen's, but The Bitter Truth arrived today:

John, thanks for all your hard work over the years in the France forum! Your digests and compendiums are truly a thing to behold.

Good find, that's the one I used (though if you like pies, The Pie and Pastry Bible is a great buy—add it to your wishlist!).

Cook's Illustrated Pie Update I think it's just about definite that the use of the pearl tapioca was the culprit: the amount was correct, but the resting time needs to be longer. The photo yesterday was four hours after baking, the time specified in the recipe. After an additional 14 hours (the next time I checked), the pie has firmed up considerably, and now has a very good texture, as claimed in the article. Here are the updated photos: As you can see, the definition has improved considerably with the additional rest: slices slump a little on the plate, but nowhere near the flow after four hours seen yesterday. Taking yet another one for the team, I forced myself to eat a slice. It was good. But to be sure, I ate another. Yup, still good. There is no doubt in my mind now that the CI recipe is superior in taste and texture to other fully-cooked blueberry pies I have had in the past. That said, I still believe that the RLB unbaked recipe results in a superior blueberry flavor. I will get the report from my wife's colleagues when I send the rest of the CI pie into work with her: they got the RLB pie today and liked it, but the comparison of opinions will be interesting.

Jeff, I should clarify: the taste of the CI pie was good, for a cooked pie. There was clearly some problem with the thickening, either the fact that I was using GIGANTIC fresh berries, or the fact that I made their suggested switch to pearl tapioca. But since others have reported that they did not have this issue, I figure it can be resolved, probably by just using instant tapioca, or tapioca flour as suggested above. However, texture aside, while all three pies tasted good, and the CI pie may well be the "best blueberry pie" in that particular genre, RLB's pie with the high percentage of fresh berries was simply fantastic, along every dimension.

I did, in fact for quite a long time, then sifted it and used the weight equivalent of five teaspoons of only the finest particles.

I wonder if the problem was the tapioca. The recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of instant, but what I have is regular pearl. It says you can substitute pearl by using 5 teaspoons, which I did, but maybe that explains the difference between our results. Did you use instant?

Today I made three blueberry pies: (RLB) Rose Levy Beranbaum, The Pie and Pastry Bible, "Open-Faced Fresh Blueberry Pie" (pp.107--108) (SF) Susan Fahning's Grandmother's recipe (CI) Cook's Illustrated, July/August 2008, "Best Blueberry Pie" All of these pies pre-cook some of the blueberries before mixing in the rest. The first two are unbaked pies, so a portion of the berries remain uncooked. Here's the breakdown: Berries RLB uses four cups of berries: one cup is cooked for 2-3 minutes and the other three cups left raw. Similarly, SF uses four cups, but cooks two of them briefly. CI uses six cups, three of which are cooked separately for 8 minutes to reduce, then combined with the other three cups and baked for an hour. Thickener RLB uses two tablespoons of cornstarch, SF uses three tablespoons of cornstarch, and CI uses two tablespoons of instant tapioca (ground) and one Granny Smith apple, shredded. Sugar RLB uses 1/2 cup sugar to 4 cups berries, SF uses 3/4 cup sugar to four cups berries, and CI uses 3/4 cup sugar to six cups berries. Lemon RLB uses one teaspoon lemon juice, SF uses two tablespoons lemon juice, and CI uses two teaspoons juice and two teaspoons zest. Other All pies were made using the same crust (the Cook's Illustrated Vodka Crust): RLB and SF are one-crust pies, and CI is a two-crust pie. Each recipe calls for a pinch of salt. RLB has no butter in it, SF stirs one tablespoon into the warm blueberries, and CI scatters two tablespoons underneath the top crust. RLB adds 1/2 cup water to the cooking berries, SF adds 1/4 cup, and CI doesn't add any. The CI recipe results in a fairly traditional blueberry pie, whereas the other two are "open-faced" pies, with no top crust, and completely uncooked berries. CI takes the longest, with an hour of baking and four hours of cooling, with RLB the fastest, requiring a two hour room-temp rest, and SF falling somewhere between the two, but requiring refrigeration to set up properly (as far as I can tell). All pies require about the same amount of labor to make, though CI is slightly easier because you don't have to blind-bake the crust first. Here are the pies: Rose Levy Beranbaum, The Pie and Pastry Bible, "Open-Faced Fresh Blueberry Pie" Susan Fahning's Grandmother's recipe Cook's Illustrated, July/August 2008, "Best Blueberry Pie" Comments In terms of flavor, all of the pies were good, but Beranbaum's was head-and-shoulders above the others: it was absolutely, perfectly delicious. It is a different style of pie than is traditional, consisting primarily of uncooked berries held together by a minimal cooked sauce—it really showcased the fresh blueberry flavor. It also had the best texture and appearance of the three: it held together very well without being at all gloppy, despite the cornstarch. It had minimal "flow" and the open top looks great, in my opinion. As you can see from the above photos, the Cook's Illustrated slice is a disaster. The amount of thickener called for simply did not do the trick. It was a very good-tasting pie for a traditional fully-cooked, two crust pie, but I can't recommend making it as written, it is too loose. This is odd considering that they specifically tried to focus on that issue, but the amount of tapioca called for was nowhere near enough. Susan's recipe was also tasty, but too sweet for me (alas, I don't have much of a sweet tooth). It also had more of a traditional blueberry pie flavor than Beranbaum's did, due to the increased amount of cooked berries, effectively striking the middle ground between the fully cooked Cook's Illustrated recipe and the almost uncooked Beranbaum recipe. I also think it would look better if the cooked and uncooked berries were stirred together, rather than being layered. It's hard to really analyze though, since I think using fresh wild blueberries probably gives it a very different flavor profile: with farmed berries I think the lemon juice was a little too assertive.

I like it both ways: if I'm putting bacon on, I toast, if it's just egg, I tend to leave the bread fresh.

I still don't understand the use of "cold" to describe granite (at least in a negative way). My granite countertops are pink and orange: hardly a "cold" color palate. Are they cool to the touch? Hell yes, and that's a very useful thing when making pastry, for example. What about granite countertop says "this person doesn't cook"? Granite would not have been my #1 choice if I were remodeling the kitchen, but I've had wood, laminate, and Corianne in the past, and in my opinion the granite wins hands down. It's invincible as far as I can tell: it doesn't stain, crack, chip, burn, or really give a damn what sort of punishment I dole out, and I beat on it pretty bad. All of this is to say: I agree with Sam's assessment above— ETA: Yah, OK, so I can't spell. Corianne = Corian.

Now, a fun game is, of the things people have listed above, how many of them do you have (or still want)? 2 All-clad pans, both gifts, and I have had no problems with either (mind you I'm cooking on an electric smoothtop range, "high heat" isn't that hot). 1 electric juicer, also a gift. I use it every day, I like it. Granite countertops. Came with the house. Way better than any other surface I've tried. Pot filler. Don't have one, want one, for the same reason as Marlene. Superauto espresso machines. If I had that kind of money, I'd love one. "Trendy" shaped sinks. If I ever have an island, I'd like one of those long, narrow sinks that slope toward the middle, with a disposer unit, for easy cleanup. Probably several other things that I'm forgetting but that someone want to tell me is a waste of money. Edited to add: Microwave. I have one. I want a smaller model, but I will have my microwave.

Nonna's Euro-American Restaurant and Bar (non-chain, www.nonnas.com, 1 Mickey Mantle Dr., Oklahoma City) In an attempt to recover from last night's disaster at Avanti, we tried another new (to us) restaurant tonight, Nonna's, in Bricktown. Much, much better. Shy of "awesome," but still very good, and certainly worth going to. We started with a cheese plate that, unlike every other cheese plate in Oklahoma, actually had several very interesting, unusual, and highly tasty cheeses on it. I then had the "Bleu Cheese Tart" which was a theoretically blue-cheese-flavored tart with a salad on top. It was good, but it was not very "blue-cheesy." I then enjoyed the Filet en Croute: the sides served with it were generic toss-off sides (exactly the same ones were served with my wife's Tilapia), and the plates were garnished with rosemary of all things (a little to pungent to serve as a garnish, IMO), but the filet was perfectly seasoned and well-cooked (rare), with a well-executed béarnaise and a sort of toss-off Cabernet sauce that was unnecessary given the béarnaise. Still, it was a very good steak if you just ignored the superfluous sauce. By this point we were full, but we felt it was our duty to try the strawberry shortcake: thankfully served on a cream biscuit rather than poundcake or something of that nature, it was quite good, if a little sweet. Overall, the service was competent (though the timing was a little rushed between the salads and the entrees, the rest of the pacing was good), the food quite good, and the ambiance was very nice. It's pricey (with tip and two glasses of wine each we were about $250, a bit high by OKC standards), but for special occasions, etc. you could do far worse.

My issue with this is that I feel that nearly all blueberry pie recipes I have tried to date have been poor. I do not like the texture or flavor that results from overapplication of cornstarch. So my plan here is to try three recipes and do a head-to-head comparison of the results. I'm very hopeful about the latest Cook's Illustrated recipe, with the shredded apple in it. The idea of getting some additional pectin in there is a good one, I find it has a much better mouthfeel than cornstarch or flour.