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I've been reading the course too and it's very informative, but overwhelming. I understand the goal of trying to get everyone to figure out things for themselves but it seems to me that there is a "right" answer for various tasks that people might want to accomplish. Using the example the author gave, if someone was looking for a saute pan, he/she should get aluminum disk bottom with the thickest base he/she can afford. Why not just say that? Is there a chart out there that basically summarizes this information in an easy to read fashion? I realize someone might have lots of money to blow and may get a sautee pan that heats up to the sides, but cmon, 99% of us won't.

I use a Herb Savor from Sur La Table. It's a total ripoff and you can make one yourself in probably 5 minutes. Despite this, I got it with a nice coupon and it's been invaluable to me. It easily extends the life of fresh herbs to 2-3 weeks.

I baked off the remainder of my first batch for dinner tonight. Buttered it up and spread some June Taylor organic strawberry preserves on top. Simply delicious. I made a second batch of the dough but this time I used the full recipe. Hopefully it'll last us the rest of the week. Here's today's question - Has anyone found any good solutions for the rising/storage buckets? Zoe says that she has a dedicated dorm fridge in the basement (garage?). Unfortunately for me, and most others, this is not an option. I want to get the King Arthur bucket but it's too tall for my fridge. The biggest size I can accommodate is 7 inches. The Kitchen Aid stand mixer bowl fits exactly under it. I want something that can hold enough for the master recipe, which Zoe says is 6 quarts. The other thing that confuses me is it's impossible to tell if a lid is airtight or not. All the pictures on the book's website/blog seem like they are airtight to me. I can't be the only one with this problem. Any help would be appreciated.

I wanted to thank everyone for their help with my strawberry puree. I got a bag of frozen strawberries from Trader Joe's and blended them up. It only took about 6-8 berries to make half a cup for the recipe. I couldn't believe how easy it was. I feel dumb now asking how to make puree. Anyway, the whole marshmallow making process was simple. I was nervous with all the hot molten sugar and the possibility of splashing but there was none of that. My mixture is not resting (it won't be ready til noon tomorrow). I tasted the stuff that was stuck to the spatula and it tastes exactly like melted marshmallows with a subtle hint of strawberries. This is going to be great!

Last night I made the master recipe, except I halved it. Then today, I had a meal for four and I baked off the first pound loaf and it was great. I think the "crumb" was good too It was crispy on the inside and soft but firm on the inside. I was nervous doing the hot water trick that I actually spilled about a quarter of it on the oven door. Then after the door was closed, I realized I still had a quarter cup left so I opened up the oven to pour it in. As you can imagine, this was terrible because not only did I not put all the water in, but I let the steam escape. Well, tasting the bread you wouldn't have known what a klutz I was. What kind of sucks is I weighed out a 1 lb portion. It's obvious that the remainder amount will be nowhere near a pound though it should be. Master recipe is supposed to make 4 lbs and I halved it. I recently lost my digital camera so sorry for the lack of pictures.

Thanks for the info everyone. I did exctly as docsonz suggsted. We are near the end of a great meal with 4 (one guest, two roommates). I had the guest watch Bourdain's Adria special with the jamon. Then when we sat down, the first course was the ham on an oven warmed plate. Delicious.

I know you do not need to refrigerate the full bone but I have a quarter pound of slices and it feels weird to leave it out. Is it ok to keep it in the fridge? Thanks.

Thank you for your help. I ordered the first four knives. I'll decide later if I need super specific knives.

Good idea if the store you are buying from actually has any experiencing slicing it. I was just happy to find it in town in a sort of deli slash specialty foods shop. When I suggested they slice it by hand they pretty much said no. Said their expensive special prosciutto machine was very good at cutting it.

Hi, Thanks for the detailed and helpful response. I am looking at the Swissmar knives you recommended since they are a good price point and the quality looks good. There seems to be not one but a few choices for each type of cheese. Could you recommend 3-4 (hopefully that's sufficient) specific models that would cover the majority of my cheese cutting and serving needs? Thanks.

To me a perfect scale would be high accuracy and high capacity. These exist but are very expensive so to counter it I have to keep three scales around. I have one at work that goes 0.05 grams, one at home that does 0.1 g and another one that does 0.05 (?) at home too. They all have differing capacities too. To answer your specific question, I need to ask one of my own. Can you give an example of a recipe where percentages are used? The reason I ask is because 20% of the flour weight does not mean 20% of the recipe. Take 100 grams of flour. You set that as 100%. Then you add 20 grams of sugar. The total weight is now 120 grams and the sugar represents 16.66% of the mix, not 20%

Link to "Sam's article on cookware?"

Hi, I'd like to buy a cheese knife set. You know, the kind that comes with 3 knives. One for soft, one for hard, and a spreader (?) I have seen many of them for sale everywhere from Sur La Table to Crate and Barrel. I would prefer mail order but I can do in store (though my town does not have all the stores). I am sort of turned off by the prices ($50+) but if that's the case, so be it. A nice little holder or case for them would be nice too. I am looking for recommendations. I value bang-for-your-buck over "most expensive knife in the world." Any experience and help would be appreciated.

I wanted to report back on some findings. After much help from eGullet members, especially alanamoana, I think my technique has improved. I recently made Olive Oil ice cream using a slightly modified David Lebovitz recipe. I mostly just used less eggs. Anyway, the two major changes I made were: 1. I used a thermometer and only heated the anglaise to ~183 F. alanamoana said it should be 180-185 and Leovitz advises 170 (or 175?) max. I am going to use the latter recommendation now since I still received some curdling. I think that the reduced heat and MUCH more active stirring while heating can reduce the scrambled eggs affect entirely. 2. I added about 1.3% of a rice starch called Novation 8600 from the National Starch company. I added it after I removed the anglaise from the heat and rapidly stirred it in to dissolve. Then I dropped it in the ice bath. I can say this definitely improved texture, mouthfeel, and eliminated all iciness/crystallization.

Chris - Thanks for the tip. I figured it was that easy but was not sure. I am worried about the amount of sugar to put since the marshmallows themselves have sugar too.

Hi, I feel silly for asking this but how do I make strawberry puree? I am looking at Nightscotsman recipe and it simple says strawberry puree. I cannot find any locally and buying it online would be very expensive. Strawberries are showing up in the markets now and while they are expensive, I can still get them. How can I make it from scratch? I am surprised this has not been elaborated in the recipe since I'd imagine different purees would have different ratios of water, sugar, etc.

Thanks for the reply Zoe. My next question is: What does 'crumb' refer to in breadmaking?

Hi, Sorry if this is an elementary question, but using the original recipe, how much should I portion out if I want to bake a loaf in a standard bread pan? The video shows about a third of the dough being portioned to bake a small round roll. I don't know how this translates into a bread pan. Thanks.

I've been making sorbets lately and would like to know how Agar, Pectin, (and Gellan)? can help in improving it. Do I just mix some in? What percentages? What does it do for the sorbet?

I know what you are talking about but I don't remember what it's called. It has a very strong odor and most likely had a high alcohol content. Was it rose water?

Are they available for purchase?

I heard his show is quite good. I have been out of town the last two weekends so I missed it. I will set my ReplayTV to record it. I think the network is showing how much faith they have in him given his time slot.

I called at 9 am SHARP. If you want a Friday or a Saturday, that's the way to go. As I said above, there were several people calling at the same time who got shut out because I reserved for 6 of us. Other days may be different, but I can't really speak to that.Good luck. It is really worth the effort. ← So 9 AM 1 month before?

Hi, I want to go here come October. Can someone explain reservations to me. The website says they are taken 1 month ahead (ex: Seating Oct 15, call Sept 15). Is this still valid. It seems like a strange system. I can't call 8 months ahead? Also, what times are best? I've read conflicting information and very vague things like "call before lunch" Thanks.

I need this to make it to So Cal stat!