IndyRob

I might be defining 'starches' rather narrowly, but one avenue might be to teach/demonstrate how different starches work without any application to any particular dish. Then end with a whirlwind of applications. For instance, I was never looking for a lesson about cornstarch when I was following directions for a glaze to make a shiny bread crust. But when I dissolved some cornstarch in a little water and added it to boiling water, I was amazed by the gel that resulted. I totally got it at that instant. Do the same thing with a roux. Just add water and compare and contrast with the cornstarch mixture. I think with just those two examples, one can easily see why cornstarch would be better for berries in a pie, or the roux is better for gravies.

One thing I'd like to add to the discussion is the value of what I'd call micro design. Once we got our renovation done we quickly loaded up the cabinets with all the things that had been relocated to other rooms. Although I had a general idea of what would go where, it took me a year or two of pulling a pile of dishes/bowls/pans out of the cabinets - in order to get to the one in the middle of the pile, to finally put my foot down and (figuratively) scream what so many would have seen at the outset... "A place for everything and everything in its place!" As I analyzed the situation, the solution was simple. More shelves. Usually in a stock cabinet you get two shelves. Few things in a kitchen will take up the vertical space between them. Simply putting in more shelves will give you much more storage area for the cost of a plank of wood/particleboard and a few shelf pegs.

What area of the country do you live in? Midwest. Indiana to be more specific.

Based on the original post (but not knowing how the current kitchen is), I'd say hold off a bit. I've not been to culinary school, but if I had, I imagine it would have a significant impact on my kitchen design requirements. The pics posted at the sites you mentioned are awesome. But I can't help but contrast them to Julia Child's kitchen - which might seem more like Grandpa's garage than an in-home Trattoria. So is it meant to be a showplace or a workplace? Most likely, the home kitchen won't further the culinary career since, at least in my area, it can't be used for commercial purposes. That said, my son and I accomplished a major kitchen remodel in almost a weekend - on the cheap and with good results. All of the appliances were nearly top of the line, but the cabinets were boxed DIY fare. We made only minor changes to electrical and plumbing systems. In retrospect, I would like more electrical outlets, but in our house it's the sort of thing that could lead to a complete rewiring of the whole house fairly quickly. But I'm pretty proud of the job we did. Except for some matters of fit and finish, I think we did a great job. I'm the kind of person who is really confident with the larger issues of design, but I lose interest when, say, mitered corners need to match up. I could have really done better to stop at the finishing steps and brought in a pro. But if, in contrast, you love to work on the the details, maybe you need to have someone come in up front for the broad brush. So you really need to take stock of yourself, and your SO, and have a lot of discussions.

Well, I think you were on the right track to begin with. Take 1 1/2 cups of stout and reduce by half. I wish I had a lot more experience with Guinness Stout than I have ( ), but I don't think the liquidity would be significantly affected(edit: unlike some Bock beers). More power Scotty! (Ooh, that might be too Scottish a reference wouldn't it?) Of course, you could go to unsweetened chocolate as well. Or pull back on the sugar. Or replace some cream with more whipped egg white. I love cream, but I'd say that's the major moderating force in the recipe provided.

I had to bump this thread because I just discovered that my Trader Joes is no longer carrying President butter(!). I've tried Isigny St Mere (which I think I can get elsewhere), but it wasn't even close, IMHO. I'd love to try all the varieties of French butter, but the President has been the only locally available product that was what I was looking for. All the European and 'European Style' butters I've tried have fallen flat - very bland - even to the point where I prefer American butter. Does anyone know if comparable brands exist in the US? Or, since President Brie seems almost ubiquitous, has anyone had any luck arranging for special order from a distributor through a local market? Of course, I can find it online, but unless I aim to open a butter store, the shipping would be more than the product.

I can't believe it took me this long to try this (was out of popcorn for a while and don't make it very often anyway), but this is a total winner. Flavocol into melted coconut oil - then the kernels. By itself, I think think I'd classify it as 'circus-style' popcorn. With some melted butter or margarine after the fact, I'm pretty sure it will be my holy grail of classic old school movie theater popcorn. Since I viewed this as an experiment, I didn't inform my wife that popcorn was in the offing. She had fixed herself a small bowl of ice cream. Carrying it out of the room, she decided to stop and sample a kernel. "It's good!" Then another, "No, it's REALLY good." Then a few more. Then I noticed her looking at the bowl of ice cream in her left hand like "What do I do with this now?". But having committed herself by dishing out the ice cream, she carried it away to consume - but then came back for more popcorn. Once I fine tune the proportions, I believe my popcorn preparation search will be at an end.

If I read Mr. Bourdain correctly, he's not overly impressed with himself. He knows that he's been incredibly lucky and grateful to have chanced into a unique opportunity to travel around the world tasting food. The cameras surrounding him are a necessary evil. The producers are a constant butt of his snarkasm, but are the same time, his life blood. He's almost a parody of himself - in a good way. So, when he looks at food bloggers, I imagine that it's hard for him to take himself out of the equation. The job is basically the same. And since he doesn't take himself very seriously, can he in any good conscience not view food bloggers with the same deprecation he willingly and enthusiastically heaps on himself?

I credit my mother for giving me the the foundations as a home cook. But as she developed alzheimers and my (rather traditional) dad started taking over the cooking duties I began to become appalled (No, father, we are NOT putting the turkey into the microwave) Recently we've gone through the whole Assisted Living/Nursing Home thing and while this may be beyond the scope of a Senior Center, I think some observations may have some value for teaching even the younger seniors. Be prepared to adapt quickly. The ability of seniors varies wildly. Look for the one(s) that can pick up some slack from the others. One or two might be able to chop onions for the entire group. Some others should not even be given a knife. Frugality will play well with this generation. In addition to their place in (depression era) history, they're all (well, most of them) stressing about their money holding out for longer than they do. Don't try to challenge their tastes. Generally speaking, they want comfort food. They don't want fancy. They want simple, traditional fare. The odd Amuse might be well received, but that's not what they're looking to cook.

I've done some googling on this and didn't discover much coverage from the mainstream media - although wikipedians appear to have been quick to add this ignominious distinction to the pages of each sponsor. I guess that leaves me with two questions: 1) Is there anyone who fears that this could actually be passed? I mean, any state legislator could, for instance, propose a bill banning squirrels from the state. It wouldn't necessarily mean that change is coming. 2) WTF are Brooklyn voters thinking? And will they think differently next time they're at the ballot box?

I don't do brunch much, but Cafe Patachou usually tops brunch lists. There's one very near your hotel (the River Crossing one). http://www.cafepatachou.com/ Not strictly local, but Le Peep is also mentioned often. I have been here and had higher expectations than were met (my eggs bennie had a broken hollandaise). But the menu has a good variety and I think I was the only disappointed one in the group. http://www.lepeepindy.com/ (the Castleton location is almost within walking distance of your hotel) One I saw mentioned is the Three Sisters Cafe. Again, one I've not visited. But it caught my eye because I first noticed it while out for a walk. It looked so quaint that as I walked down the block my head was craning back trying to figure it out. It seems to get good marks for the food, but gets dinged on service. http://indianapolis.citysearch.com/profile/3960610/indianapolis_in/three_sisters_cafe.html#profileTab-reviews You're in a good location to cover a lot of ground in a car in 20 minutes. You've got freeways that can take you west, south or northeast 20 miles in that time. If you travel west on 82nd street you'll pass not one, but two malls. In the second one (the Fashion Mall) is a Cheesecake Factory which is also a popular brunch spot. If the weather is nice, I would recommend taking I-69/Highway 37/Binford Blvd southwest to 62nd street. Go west on 62nd, past Keystone Ave about 1 mile to Broad Ripple Village. Here you can get out and walk. This is where the Three Sisters is, as well as another Cafe Patachou and a variety of other restaurants including locally unique Bazbeaux Pizza (if you miss brunch). This would allow you to lay eyes on several places before you decide.

Cheese making.

I'm afraid that I can't offer expert advice, but thinking it through, the first thing I would try would be baking the puff pastry fully (or almost fully) on an empty greased cup. Then lift off the pastry and keep it on a tray (covered or not - depending on the wait period). To serve, add the hot soup to the cup, cap it with the pre-cooked puff pastry cap, top with cheese and broil briefly to melt cheese and warm the pastry through.

For me, the most infuriating example of this came when I googled "o'charley's rolls recipe" hoping that I could make a reasonable facsimile without a lot of experimentation. The first recipe included a step where you form three little balls and place them together in a muffin tin. Huh? That's like a cloverleaf roll. Clearly not the rolls at O'Charley's (pictured here... http://www2.prnewswire.com/mnr/ocharleys/31428/ ) Oh well, I clicked 'Back' and selected the next google hit. Same thing. Next one. Same recipe. And on and on it went. Many have disclaimers like "This isn't my recipe and I haven't made it. I found it on another site and thought I would post it here". It's in recipe sites, message board replies...everywhere. Every time someone asks for an O'Charley's roll recipe someone googles it and perpetuates the same bogus recipe. When I finally did find a different recipe that looked plausible, I looked up at the start of the post. There it was again - "I found this on another site but I haven't made this recipe myself..." Aiigghh!

The mention of raw foods reminded me of an interview on NPR with a biologist who suggests that it was cooking that made us human. Indeed, I just checked Wikipedia and during the paleolithic period "Humankind gradually evolved from early members of the genus Homo such as Homo habilis — who used simple stone tools — into fully behaviorally and anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens sapiens)".

In addition to the pork tenderloin, another ubiquitous sandwich at Indiana fairs and festivals is the Hoosier ribeye. Simply a thin grilled ribeye steak on a bun, sometimes with cheese and/or other condiments by request. It's more of an outdoor walking-around kind of sandwich. I like to use the eye of the ribeye and reserve the cap/calotte - since I've come to view the cap as a superior cut for pan searing - too good to cover with bread.

I can't remember for sure, but it would have been between 131 and 135F. But for four-five hours. In the cookbook forum I posted a similar sentiment about his (140F) temps and the possibilities of lawyerly intervention. In retrospect, unlike pork ribs or say, beef short ribs, I can't see that there's anything to be gained by longer SV periods when it comes to filet. And I wouldn't at all be surprised to learn (definitively) that there is much to be lost.

I recently got Keller's Under Pressure and the biggest eye opener was that you can overcook meat SV. "Pink, but overdone" is how he put it. As I read it, I realized I had done this to a beef filet. I had wondered why it wasn't as good as I thought it was going to be. But at the extreme of this is lobster. Although I never thought it would be something you'd cook for a long time, Keller says a tail will be done in 15 minutes and then there's a 10 minute window to get it out. While that's a leisurely pace as lobster cooking goes, in usual SV terms it seems like a drag race.

While watching the Brittany show I saw that they are posting travel guides on the web site. Check this out... http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Anthony_Bourdain/Episodes_Travel_Guides/ci.Episode_Brittany.map For Istanbul... http://www.travelchannel.com/TV_Shows/Anthony_Bourdain/Episodes_Travel_Guides/ci.Episode_Istanbul.map

Um, Top Chef with Kenmore and the Glad Family of Products (among others)? I like Top Chef more than I dislike commercials.

I wouldn't worry about it. The Top Chef/Michelob blog thing worried me more because we lost something there. I laughed out loud when I saw the Chase plug. There is only one reason he's on the air and that's to draw eyeballs for others (paying advertisers). And it's clear when he's doing it. This wasn't the first time. It was just the least subtle. In the end it's the advertiser's dollars who are paying his way. And I don't think Chase gives a hoot whether he pans or praises the street food in Juarez, Mexico.

Someone on another site recommended the T-Fal Ultimate EZ Clean Pro Fryer. It appears to be unique in that it will automatically (?) filter the oil after use and then you can easily break it down and throw everything but the heating element into the dishwasher. Anyone have any experience with these? http://www.t-falusa.com/All+Products/Cooking+Appliances/Deep+Fryers/Products/Ultimate+EZ+Clean+Pro+Fryer/Ultimate+EZ+Clean+Pro.htm

It seems to me that there's been quite a lot of product placement within No Reservations. Cars come to mind. This Chase one did seem pretty blatant, but effective. I usually DVR the shows and watch the commercials in slow motion so I can savor...um wait....No I don't. I fast-forward through those suckers to get to the good bits. The Chase ad is the only one I remember. But I suspect there might also be a story behind it.

Well, 18 months later I guess they've got the problems sorted. I got one for Christmas this year have have been exploring the online Aerogarden world and have not heard of any fire hazards. I'm pretty pleased so far. I got mine Christmas Eve and spent 15 minutes Christmas morning setting it up, and already my Basil is about 7" tall. All of the pods have sprouted and are growing and my only problem has been a rogue Purple Basil plant cohabiting with the chives. But I think I'll let it fight with them for domination since I feel that I'm unlikely to get a sufficient yield of chives through a half inch hole. And chives are the one thing I've been able to grow easily in a pot. As to the economics, yeah, it can be pretty pricey. But then again, I've paid around $3.50 for a single bunch of basil when it's in season. So this could add up too - and is limited to the season. I've been looking at homebrew hydroponic systems and think they could be done with much less money. But the beauty of an Aerogarden is that you'd be happy to put one on your kitchen counter top (if you have the counter space). Along with a 15 minute initial setup with no scrounging for suitable parts, I think that justifies the up front costs (although I highly recommend the Christmas present route ). For the ongoing costs, you've got bulbs, seed pods, nutrients and power. The light bulbs appear to be proprietary and can't be replaced without significant modification. But contrary to the official recommendations, the conventional wisdom seems to be that you can use the bulbs beyond their recommended life. It appears that many people are having good success with making their seed pods using their own seeds and standard hydroponic materials. Likewise, general purpose hydroponic nutrients seem to work well. I saw a post where someone estimated the electricity cost of running their Aerogarden at $8/mo. But then again, I saw another poster (with multiple AGs) claim that his electric bill actually went down because he wasn't his regular incandescent lamps as much. Yeah, the lamps are pretty bright and in herb mode will only give you 5 hours of darkness per day. If you want more info a good web forum is at http://www.aerogardengrowers.com. It's a good independent site with many multi-unit Aerogarden owners.

Dang, now I have a new challenge. I don't have an answer, but in the interest of accuracy, I note that you switched between talking about searing a "tenderloin", and wrapping a "fillet" in short order. I assume there was a slicing step in there somewhere? My internal eyebrow raises around the phrase "sitting for just a few minutes." With a traditionally roasted piece of meat, I'd put my thumb squarely on that. With SV, it might still be an issue.