runwestierun

The least amount I am comfortable with is 3 oz. per person. I do not cut into cubes or slices generally. However, I do cut my wheels or wedges into 3 or 4 portions, and I will hold one portion back to refresh the board later if need be. Then if a cheese is not popular there is less waste. You can group the 2 or 3 wedges of a couple cheese together so people can easily see they are duplicates, or you can spread them out so it would look like more variety.

I too think 30 seconds is too long. I would also like to add that I have found major differences in stickiness between brands of wrappers. Try a different brand.

I buy these candle holders for verrines. Because they can take the heat of the candle, I can use them in the oven. http://www.amazon.com/Premium-Clear-Glass-Votive-Holders/dp/B001D90HZK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1299024784&sr=8-2 I have often made creme caramel in these as the base of a verrine because you can clearly see the two layers and it's pretty. Typically I'll add a layer of stabilized whipped cream and then fresh raspberries. I also often use these candle holders for a verrine with chocolate pots de creme. Sometimes I ad a disc of cake. Sometimes I just use chocolate pots de creme, some stabilized whipped cream and a striped cigarette cookie. Both of these hold easily for 2 days (unassembled) and make for easy last minute assembly. These aren't fancy, but they are fast and cheap and they don't scare anybody.

How will it make her life better? What will it do for her? I think you shouuld sell her on two ideas: 1.) You are a good cook. You cook for her. That makes her very lucky. 2.) This machine will make you cook better. The biggest benefit to her that I can see is that you will be able to cook most of the recipes from Modernist Cuisine, the most important cookbook evah, for her, and she'll get to eat them. Booyah. Cooking is your hobby. It is a unique hobby in that she gets to eat all your projects, reap the benefits. You aren't alone in the basement with your model trains. She gets to have fabulous parties that you make so beautiful and delicious with your skills. But occasionally you need a new tool. And if there is any absolute truth that relates to cooking, something that is irrefutably always true, it's that if you have the right tool you can do the job better. Now, new tools cost money. But it's money spent to make you a better cook for her, you are not spending it secretly on methamphetamine or porn. You are at home cooking with your new chamber vacuum sealer. It helps you grow and learn and get better in your field of interest. And unlike most idle pastimes, it will increase her value of life (better food). **I know that I made huge and most likely wrong assumptions about gender. Please forgive me.

In reading on the internet about onion quality, packing sites talked about cured and uncured (fresh) garlic and onions. Anyone know what they do to cure an onion? Also, I've always heard that if you store onions and potatoes together they will both go bad.

This article from The Packer talks about onions recoverng this year after last year's terrible onion weather, late freeze and poor onion quality. Because onions are in high demand in Mexico, the onions that normally would have been exported to us stayed there to cover the local demand left from a shortage of quality onions. http://thepacker.com/Texas-onion-shippers-keep-eye-on-Mexico-s-crop/Article.aspx?oid=1309515&fid=PACKER-SPECIAL-SECTIONS&aid=654 I saw other articles that mentioned in passing the dry growth conditions and wet harvest conditions of 2010.

Dumping the cockroaches out of the tea pots before service. This was on a continent that ended in "merica".

Breakfast pastries: There is the sticky bun and the sticky boy--that being a sticky bun with nuts.

That's it! Tomorrow's dinner is Frankenchicken and Molecular Mac-n-Cheese!

You can find decent ones for relatively cheap. I found mine for $500 at a local used lab equipment warehouse. Dave Arnold of Cooking Issues got his from eBay. Just keep your eyes peeled! Do you think I am overly cautious being afraid of a used centrifuge? I just think of the stuff we put in them--carcinogens (so many different benzene derivatives), smelly things (beta mercaptoethanol ), so many things with radioactive tracers. Maybe if I could find a used one with a good provenance. Nice clean centrifuge just driven by an old lady on Sundays making pea butter.

I am going out of my mind waiting for my copy! I am begging someone to email me the macaroni and cheese recipe. Please. I have all these chemicals rotting in my freezer. I should not have bought them before I had the book in hand. I guess it is a lesson I needed to learn. I just want to make something from this book! *sniff*

Thank you, Jethro. I figure my washing machine only pulls about 100 g's on a good day, so it looks like I am going to have to buck up and get a centrifuge. I read your blog post, thank you. I especially appreciate the advice about blendign the peas from a frozen state. I do have a Blendtec, so that's a good start.

Jim Lahey's no-knead bread. Bread flour, salt, yeast and water get mixed in a bowl that sits on the countertop overnight. Then you flop the dough out onto a board and let it sit. Then you flop the dough into a searing hot dry ungreased dutch oven and let it bake. Voila! Crusty rustic bread.

Oh weinoo, I saw this thread and immediately thought of "hackmesser", too. That was my German grandmother's word for cleaver, and it always gave me a little fearful thrill.

It's so beautiful!

Me too. My order was placed Oct. 16th.

Just a quick reminder that February 28th is fast approaching. This is a good day to call for reservations at popular restaurants. For instance, the French Laundry opens tables for reservations exactly two months ahead. That means on Feb 28th you can book for April 28th, 29th and 30th, giving you the best chance all year to actually score a reservation. If you are booking somewhere that opens tables a month or 3 in advance, you can book for the 28th, 29th 30th and 31st.

Mine still says March 7th at Amazon.ca and I'm in the US.

My friend, Karen, ordered a juicer off of an infomercial and she wanted me to help her figure out how to use it. It's a Health Master by Montel Williams. That didn't excite me at all, but after seeing it in action, I think it's a high powered blender and it's only $199. It's not a juicer, it's a blender. It has 1200 watts and a "peak horsepower" of 2HP (yes, I know that's silly). I have a Blendtec and this seemed to work just as well. I put some ice, quartered lemons with rind and a little water in it and it turned them to slush in no time. Karen said on the infomercial they boiled soup with friction, just like other high-powered blenders. It only has 3 settings, run, ice and pulse. So it doesn't have all the fancy variable settings that the Blendtec has. It has a tamper like the Vitamix but I didn't have to use it. I have to tell you, I am really impressed with how it worked, and at less than half the price I think it's quite a deal. To compare: Health Master 1200 watts 2 peak HP Vitamix 1380 watts 2 peak HP Blendtec 1560 watts ?? Waring Xtreme ?? 3.5 peakHP Waring Professional 390 watts ?? (regular blender) If you want a high powered blender and you are put off by the high price, this might be an alternative. It looked sturdy. The bottom of my Blendtec pitcher leaks where the rotor is inserted. I think the extreme torque has loosened the seal. The Health Master has fixed this problem by making the majority of the bottom steel. The torque of the rotor torques on a solid piece of steel instead of a plastic+steel interface. Much sturdier. Do any of you have any experience with this thing?

The book is moving up the Canadian Amazon's bestseller list. It's up to number #144.

I agree with weinoo--the Good Cook series was the best for me. I had almost a complete set--25 I think--but I lost them in a storm a few years back. I remember if I was trying something from a cookbook or magazine and it didn't seem quite right, I could always find the right way to do it in these volumes. It was always right, the results were always reliable. I always felt like I really understood something and knew how to do it when I was done. I remember a couple years ago in Bon Appetit someone asked the Andrew Knowlton what his favorite cookbook was and he said it was the Good Cook series.

Mike, I became interested in rigging a centrifuge when I read about Nathan Myrvold's pea butter. He centrifuged pureed peas into water, fibrous starchy solid and pea "butter". He used this lipid layer on crustini and said it was delicious. I believe him. If I can rig a strong enough spinner to get this kind of separation out of stuff I already have, well then buy me a new dress and call me Rube Goldberg, it'll be a good day. If I go to my grave and never had the ability to make pea butter in my kitchen I think I will be fine with that. And BTW Rube Goldberg was a guy, Reuben Lucius Goldberg to be exact. I know Rube Goldberg is a guy. I am glad you know his middle name. And if you don't want to centrifuge anything, that's fine. There are many other threads on this site, perhaps some that might engage your interest. In the future if I am being lighthearted perhaps I should use lots of emoticons so there's no confusion about tone.

Mike, I became interested in rigging a centrifuge when I read about Nathan Myrvold's pea butter. He centrifuged pureed peas into water, fibrous starchy solid and pea "butter". He used this lipid layer on crustini and said it was delicious. I believe him. If I can rig a strong enough spinner to get this kind of separation out of stuff I already have, well then buy me a new dress and call me Rube Goldberg, it'll be a good day.

I am not trying to build Nathan's centrifuge. I won't use glass in my washing machine. I seriously doubt if my washing machine pulls more than 100 g's. I don't want 10,000 g's in my home, and I don't want a $20,000 centrifuge in my home. I just want to see if I can secure some plastic vials with styrofoam and duct tape in my washer and spin water from fat from solid. Right now I am working out how to stop the machine without sloshing everything around. This is fun.

Ask her if she would give you this book as your birthday, Father's Day and Christmas present this year. Have her wrap up two volumes each holiday (even though you've already looked at them ). Then she doesn't have to shop for you anymore this year.