KyleW

I'm no pro, but if something is likely to stick I use water to keep the blade wet.

I would rather spend my money on food. Because I live in the city, tap has always been fine for me. where's your restaurant? I'll come eat!

First, make sure you get good, fresh calf's liver. You don't want to know from beef liver. I would search out a butcher rather than buying at the supermarket. Slice an onion into 1/4" rings. Add 1 TBS of butter and 1 TBS olive oil to a hot pan. Once the butter is melted add the onions and season with salt & pepper. If you want the onions to brown leave the pan on medium-high heat and let 'em go. They don't need a lot of attention. If you don't want them to color, turn the heat to medium low. THey will take a little longer. In either case, when they are just about to your desired 'doneness', heat another pan on medium-high and add butter/olive oil. Dredge the liver in seasoned flour and shake off the excess. The liver won't take long to cook, 3-5 minutes per side. I like mine nice and pink in the middle. Just one man's opinion. Kyle

Rouxs for sauces are made with butter and flour. But every roux I've seen for gumbo uses vegetable oil. I think it probably has to do with the heat you need to generate to get a nice dark roux. I think butter would burn. I'm not sure it's a commandment, but gumbos are thickened with either file or okra. By the time you cook out the roux to its nice dark color it has lost most if not all of its thickening power. As Prudhomme says, the darkest rouxs make the thinnest gumbos. I've tried his high heat roux. It works. It's a little like what I imagine dirving a race car would be like; exciting and terrifying!

I have 2 of the 3. I took one to my GF's and depleted another. By the time I moved one and killed the other I could not tell them apart so I decided to save fridge space in the EasyBake kitchen

I've never used sugar in my starter. For me, one of the benefits of starters and wild yeast is slow fermentation. This includes feeding the starter. I would think that sugar is like speed for a starter.

Of the three methods I've used, the one from The Bread Baker's Apprentice was far and away the easiest and most basic. It has flour and water, period! It starts with dark rye to get things going but then switches to bread flour. 5 days from start to finish.

RE: Grapes The grapes or raisin water or anything else that may be added to the starter at the beginning, are usually added for their skins rather than the fruit. If you look closely at organic grapes you may be able to see a fine white, almost powdery substance on the skin. This is wild yeastThe skin acts almost like a magnet. The stuff is everywhere! The grapes themselves provide sugar which the little beasties devour. The grapes don't play a big role in the long term charachteristics of the starter. Just one man's opinion

My ears were burning! Now I know why I am a rank amateur when it comes to sourdough and wild yeast. By that I mean I am possessed on the hobby level rather than the professional. I have made 3 different starters; one with grapes, one with raisin water and one with nothing but flour and water. They came from Breads From the La Brea Bakery, Crust & Crumb and The Bread Baker's Apprentice respectively. They all worked and in terms of their leavening power and flavor they were remarkably similar. I can't see pay money for exotic starters from distant lands. Feeding these starters over time will transform them into a local starter before you know it. Food Porn? I think I like it!