Darienne

Hooray! My official Ann Arbor Visitors Guide 2010 plus Downtown Map, plus Kerrytown walking map, plus Official Map and Guide arrived today. Ann Arbor Area Convention & Visitors Bureau, 800-888-9487; www.visitannarbor.org; info@annarbor.org DH has to be able to find the local lumber, hardware, etc, stores to keep him happy.

That's interesting. According to the Slate article somebody linked, if I'm reading it correctly, the reviewer actually came out with the opposite conclusion: Has anybody else run into that problem with the Cuisinart? If I am clear on your question, you are asking about a problem with 'the' Cuisinart? I have the little ICE-20 model, purchased second hand two years ago, and my only problems are that you have to refreeze the canister after each batch and that it makes only a small amount. OK. Those conditions came with the machine. As for the various 'kinds' of ice cream: I've made egg custard, Philadelphia, coconut milk base, cornstarch based, etc, etc, and never had any problem with any frozen dessert which wasn't directly attributable to a) something I have done, b) my two very different temperature freezers, c) our lack of central air conditioning and very hot and humid weather. The beast is a little darling and I bless the day I jumped at the chance to acquire it. :wub: I might add that paulraphael is THE ice cream mentor of the list and I follow his instructions in some form in every batch I make.

Finally the Longo's affair is settled. Apparently there was some technical mix-up (?) in the reception of my posts to Longo's and they received the 2nd before the first which somehow got hung up in cyberspace but eventually did arrive. So I now have an apology and a gift certificate for $10 from their Customer Service. I don't have an explanation about the croissants...but then never really expected one. I still find it curious.

Welcome to eGullet and to one of my favorite thread. Just the season for endless ice cream. I think my next effort might combine raspberry and pepper.

You are on. Please.

I had this really clever idea…or so I thought…about making some Canada Day lollipops for the children. Moose, silly Mr. Moose, mold filled with maple-flavored hard candy. Wrapped in cellophane with tiny Canada flag stickers. (Secretly this was a preliminary foray into making pure maple syrup ‘Canadian’ lollipops.) So what happened? First of all, it’s hard to get hard candy molds in Canada. So I was excited to find that the candy supplier store half way between nowhere and Toronto had any ‘Canada’ themed hard candy molds at all. Stopped off on a flying visit to Kerry Beal’s chocolate workshop and picked up three of the adorable moose molds. Next. Instead of making 17 lollipops with 1 ½ cups of molten flavored, colored sugar, the moose(s) are SO big that they make only 9. This effectively means that the lollies are super-sized and that can be a problem. The moose head is ginormous. Then, the mold is configured so that the stick is not positioned correctly. Hmmm…what to do about that one? It’s too high and so doesn’t grab onto enough candy to hold it in place for the very long time it is going to take to consume the entire huge lollie. I should have known that there were way too many protuberances on this mold: knees, feet, ears, antlers…especially the ears and antlers. Plus the ears are way too tiny and too thin and break off at the slightest jar. I mean s-l-i-g-h-t-e-s-t, teeny, tiny movement. And the antlers spread way far out with the outside edges being very thin. It’s hard to make sure that you get all the outer bits filled using such a viscous hot…and then quite suddenly solid… substance. And to make sure you don’t spill the stuff outside the mold cavity. Can’t smooth anything out as in chocolate. Can’t bang the molds to get the stuff to even out in the molds. And the edges of the antlers and ears are so thin that you can’t remove/cut off any excess. One try. Get it right or you’re don’t for. Not to mention that it might have been better to do the job with a second set of hands. Next decanting the lollies was a problem. Broke one just getting them out...a new experience. They had to be put out very carefully onto silicone mats, with the mold held almost on the mat surface. Then I simply lay a finished lollie on the table and the ears and one side of antlers broke off. If the ears and antlers are that fragile, how could the lollie withstand wrapping and then handling in a sale situation? And how soon would the antlers and ears break off in the hands of a young child and might not tears be next? OK. These molds are for hard candy, pretty strong stuff. Is there some mixture that I am not thinking of which would withstand all these problems? And I was telling my DH about my unsuccessful afternoon and he said…ya gotta love ‘em…"You know I thought they looked at bit chancy, but of course, if the mold is offered for sale, then you would assume that it was suitable." I know I did. Never again. Caveat emptor to the max. Any thoughts?

T'was ever thus unfortunately. Thanks for the answers. Will not make a special effort to get there on my next (forced) trip to the big GTA.

A friend gave me a box of Dufflet Small Indulgences 'Bittersweet Chocolate Crackle' for my birthday. My DH was so impressed, he had me look up the company online. It seems to be quite large and has an impressive array of goodies for sale. Has anyone tried any of the products?

Well, they are already made, not cake and not muffins, but rather what you might call mini-loaves...a pan with 8 little loaf cavities. The recipe made 16 loaves. They are scrumptious, delectably poppy-seed filled. Thank you again for the recipe.

Never, never, in my entire life have I seen a recipe with so much poppyseed in it. I love it already and I haven't even made it yet. I just know it's going to be a regular in this house. What about serving it with lemon curd??? Thanks so much for posting it. Hmmmm....what about making it into muffins?

Welcome, Daniel. Salads, salads, and more salads. And hot stuff cooked in the slow cooker...like pulled meat...or toaster oven...like scones with raspberries and whipped cream...or grilled sandwiches in the sandwich/waffle maker. Still haven't used the barbecue, but then DH is renovating upstairs and not at all into cooking these days.

Here it is half way through 2010 and no new tips???? Here's mine. It's probably so already done that it's a yawner, but it's new to me. The other day I thought to myself: I hate measuring butter in a spoon or cup and I am not going to do it anymore. So I made myself a tiny cheat sheet...until I learn it confidently...of how much a certain volume of butter weighs and now I am set for life. Would that all problems had such simple solutions.

I meant to pick one to eat just as we were out for the evening walk tonight...and then forgot. They aren't very big. Fiddly? I'm a little reluctant to do certain kinds of fiddly.

Thanks Kerry. Another piece of the puzzle in place.

What exactly is the 'Bob' in Greweling's Bob Syrup, Maple Candies, p.240? This is the closest I could come and don't have any idea of how it relates. Viscosity One of the properties often dealt with in rheology is viscosity which measures how thick a fluid is. For example is the viscosity of syrup (molasses in American) higher than the viscosity of water. It can be measured in several ways and I will here show how the viscosity of syrup is measured using a rotational viscometer. The syrup (yellow in the picture) is first poured into a cup. A tapered cylinder, which is called a "bob" is then inserted concentrically into the cup so that it is completely immersed in the syrup. When the cup is rotated, the syrup transmits the force to the bob which will also start rotating if nothing prevents it. The torque bar is fixed to both the bob and to the measuring instrument, and prevents the bob from rotating. It is not completely stiff but allows a small deflection of the bob which is proportional to the force transmitted by the syrup."

Looked up 'nieves' every which way and came up with nothing edible. It sounds like a 'snow' word. More explanation, please.

Good point, Blether. We have a Stove Guard on our electric stove and oven. The maximum you can set it for is 99 minutes and then the whole shebang goes off. A pretty good fail-safe. Stove Guard website and no, I don't have any monetary interest in the company.

Those are little beauties, Heidi. A great success. I wonder if I can use the multitudes of wild grapes leaves we have on the property?

They look mouthwatering-ly gorgeous!

My blender is simply a Hamilton-Beach. However, I makes lots of smoothies in it and my own special Orange Julep which we have for supper along with popcorn once a week. Also Road's End Coffees which my DH invented when we first moved to the farm...hot in the winter or at night and cold in the summer. Plus I make basil pesto in the blender. And then it purees this and that. I guess I'm not really a big blender user so this topic will be of interest to me. Inexpensive blenders have their limitations for sure and I find myself using a food processor for other procedures.

I can't remember which is a stabilizer and which is an anything else. I didn't think that cornstarch or eggs were stabilizers ...but then what do I know? The cornstarch and milk makes basically a cornstarch pudding and then you churn it into a frozen air-filled ice cream. I use the cornstarch base to cut down on the calories and the cost. Less heavy cream and no eggs. And the same mouthfeel almost. I find the egg custard ice cream a bit too rich. Especially for every day... For me it's the corn syrup which keeps any ice crystals at bay and the mixture from getting too hard. I really must get the proper wording into my mind. I just know what works...not why. Paulraphael and jon were my two main mentors who helped me learn how to make proper ice cream two years ago.

From Kerry: Short answer - it's just better! Give it a try - I think you'll agree. Short question for Kerry: did we use Horlick's or this CTL when making Malt Meltaways? I found the Malt Meltaways a delicious problem in that I could not keep from nibbling on them...but I found my Malted Ice Cream (DL's recipe) no problem. Too sweet for me, although Ed and our company gobbled it up like crazy. My sweet tooth is not that great usually.

Speaking of Mexican inspired ice cream, today with our basically Tex/Mex meal, we had David Lebovitz's Aztec "Hot" Chocolate Ice Cream with Dulce de Leche on top. Oh my! Talk about death row ice cream. My tongue was frozen and my throat was scalded. So good. ________________________________

Oops. We are not wine drinkers either, and Ed cannot commit to any meals ahead of time. Not the best, but the best we can do. Sorry.