DanM

I chop up a chipotle and mix it with mayo, lime juice, cilantro, and garlic for a nice dip for french fries. Dan

Good afternoon, I have noticed a new growing trend where fine dining chefs have been opening low cost comfort food restaurants. For example, Bartolotta has opened a burger and custard shop in Milwaukee, the Rathburn brothers have opened Rathburn's Blue Plate in Dallas, and locally Zinc, one of New Haven's finest, has opened a pizzaria. I'm not sure if this trend is due to the economic slow down, or a return to the basics. What do you think of this trend? Dan

My wife and I will be heading down to DC in a few weeks for a short vacation and plan to stop in PA for lunch. Reading Terminal Market looks like a gastronomical wonderland. Besides Fisher's Pretzels, what are the must haves at the market? This includes food to take along and put in the cooler. Thanks! Dan

Wifey and I picked up 8 more pounds of strawberries today. We dipped a few tonight in chocolate. Unfortunately, Image Gullet did not want to work with me tonight. http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll57/da...ng/101_0017.jpg Dan

Good evening, Wifey and I are planning a cheap trip down to DC for a few days. She left me in charge of the food selections. Given that, i would appreciate any help in the following categories Vegetarian Friendly Bakeries Mexican Southwestern Kosher (if there are any) Cheap eats (I know there is a topic, but I did not feel like double posting) Any help would be appreciated! Dan

impressive output, dan!! do you manage to work your way through it all? i've wanted to make the choux strips from friberg's book ever since i first saw them. i'm planning a puff rolling session sometime next week, so i'll hopefully have a go soon. do you like the recipe, dan? ← Thanks! There are a few left. I plan to make a nice pitcher of strawberry daquiries tonight. The recipe is really good. My wife takes 2/3s of what I make to work and these disappeared quicker than most. That image has taken pride of place on my iPhone screensaver, gorgeous dan. ← You are free to put it on your iPhone as long as you do not take credit. Thanks! Dan

Strawberry week concludes with these Choux strips. They are based on a formula in Bo Fribergs book. Its puff pastry topped with pastry cream, pate a choux, strawberry jam, fresh strawberries, and flat icing. Dan

Honestly, just bake what you bake best. I am sure they will appreciate anything you bring. Dan

I go through so much bread flour at home that I buy 50lbs bags of KAF Artisan Select from a local wholesaler. I also try to use around 50% whole grain flours in my bread, mainly whole wheat. White whole wheat is excellent for challah and other sweet or delicate breads do to its lighter texture and flavour. Occasionally I will sub 10-20% of the flour in rustic breads with whole spelt flour, usually Arrowhead Mills. Finally, I use Hogson Mills Stone Ground Rye because it is readily available and inexpensive. Dan

Very nice, Dan! What are you using to pipe the outer circle on the cute Diplomats? A paste of some kind? ← Its macaroon paste, a blend of almond paste, sugar, and egg whites. It did not brown as much as I would like, but I did not wan to leave it the oven for much longer as I was affraid of burning the crushed almonds. Dan

I use The Spice House's Chesapeake Bay seasoning, which is their clone of Old bay. It has much less salt. I like it on fries, bloody Marys, and just about everything else people have mentioned. Dan

David. Looks good! I will have to give that a try as soon as the rain stops falling. To address your crust issues. First off, the thick crust. I would skip the second rise after rolling it out. I would instead dock it and immediately grill it. As you mentioned, grill on one side, flip, top and finish. It will have some oven spring, but not much. However, this might result in some toughness, so you might also want to add an ounce of oil or butter to the crust to shorten the gluten a bit. The dryness and blackened bottom is probably caused by the hot fire. Two things come to mind to resolve this is to use a smaller direct fire. Secondly, try closing the air vents 90% to really tamp down the fire and let the residual heat finish the pizza. I typically make my crusts with 40% AP flour, 40% whole wheat, and 20% spelt. It definitely gives it more flavour.

Strawberry week continues with a mess of strawberry diplomats

Mark. Thanks for the video. That is exactly what I remember having. I don't have a wood fired oven, but I do have my trusty old Weber grill and a baking stone. I am sure I can get that insanely hot. The key thing is finding the correct crust formula. Lots of experimentation to be done. Dan Edit... regarding the pork. It could be that the family I was staying with asked them to make it without the lardons. After 15 years, my memory isn't exactly perfect. I will have to try veg bacon or ham to see if they will work as a substitute. Dan

Thanks for the insight. I guess my other big question would be if the recipes included are current fads, or if they will hold long term value. Whats the point in spending $100+ on a book that will not be useful in a few years? And yes, skip the cups and spoons. Your audience for this book will not be happy with it. Dan

Oh yea. Chocolate cookies with a little ancho, cayenne, and black pepper are a favorite. I also occasionally make spice cookies using the Spice House's cake spice blend, which is a blend of China Tung Hing cinnamon, star anise powder, ground cloves, nutmeg, allspice and ginger. Edit: I almost forgot... you might consider Italian biscotti a spice cookie due to its heavy use of anise seed. Dan

Perfect. I will have to give this a try today or tomorrow. The difficult part will be finding the rapeseed oil. Thanks! Dan

The tart I remember from Strasbourg had a very thin, crispy crust with a cream and cheese sauce and onions on top. Bacon or ham was optional. It could be a tart flambee, but I will have to do some more research on it. It was definitely not quiche lorraine or an Alsace Onion Tart as both have an eggy consistency to the filling and have a raised edge and are baked in a tart pan. Thanks for the advice. Dan

Wife and I went strawberry picking over the weekend and came home with 5 lbs of berries. Item #1 is a strawberry rhubarb tart. http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll57/da...yRubarbTart.jpg Dan

David... that just looks stunning! Does anything else go on the pizza after it is cooked?

I am looking for the savory version. There are two problems with the Trader Joes version... it is premade and it has bacon. As a baker, I have a slight aversion to frozen pastries. As a Jew, I have a slight problem with bacon. Dan

I have been trying to find an authentic Tarte D'Alsace recipe lately, but nothing I have made has come close to the ones I enjoyed as an exchange student living in Strassbough about 15 years ago. Any help on this subject would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Dan

Excellent thread. I made a white pizza on the grill last night. I use Peter Reinhart's pizza book for my dough formulas. My favorites are the Neo Neoplitan and the Grilled pizza doughs. I typically hand stretch my do to approx 1/8" thick, dock it, and then grill it for a couple minutes until the bottom side is starting to brown. I then pull it off and top it and put it on the grill again to finish it up. My favorite toppings are grilled veg and a very light amount of fresh mozarella. David, would you mind sharing your harissa recipe with me? Peter. It does not need to be round. Rectangular or amophous works just as well. However, the more consistent the shape, the more evenly it will cook. Dan

I like to keep mine simple... and grilled Option #1 is marinated in Soy Vey marinade and grilled over indrect heat on a banana leaf Option #2 is grilling it on a cedar plank and then coating it in barbecue sauce. Dishwasher salmon... hmmm.... http://www.salon.com/nov96/salmon961118.html Dan

I make these for my wife on a regular basis. It typically includes a vegetarian sausage patty and is served on challah, or whatever bread is laying around. Dan