Mjx

I was just given a whole basket of quinces. Most are the the small Japanese type, but there are also two larger 'pear' type ones, and I'm wondering whether they have any flavour nuances that would tend to be lost in steaming and pureeing to make a paste. They're quite lovely, I feel like they deserve special treatment: Has anyone candied these/sections of them, or do they tend to fall apart?

The extra liquid issue may simply resolve itself if you let the chilis sit for a longer period of time. I used the salt cured chili recipe I found on the Leener's site, and there wasn't any extra liquid in the jar. It's possible that during the first week some liquid was thrown off then reabsorbed (I put the jar in a cool dark place, and resisted the urge to look at it except when I was supposed to stir it), but by the time the first week was up, the texture was a slightly more mash-like, but there was no free liquid.

Leaving aside the fact that there's a good chance of at least one restaurant critic/editor/publication owner reading this topic, I'm not so sure this wouldn't just look like an attempt at bribery.

Could you adapt a recipe for sweetbreads? I've a hunch that cooking organ meats sous vide would turn them to mush, and also concentrate and make the worst of some of the chracteristic odours they have (a bit the way steaming sometimes does), so something like pan frying might be your best bet.

I did see that, but, unless I misunderstood, that's the full slab of bacon, in which case there should still be a decent amount of moisture left behind. When the bacon is mixed into the beef and heated again, it would almost certainly begin to give off some of that residual moisture, and any remaining fat would begin to melt (from the description, there wouldn't be much left, but it still may be enough to have an effect when it melts), and the entire beef patty would begin to lose some of its cohesiveness. What I meant (and definitely should have specified) was to fry the bacon before adding it to the beef, which would concentrate it quite a bit, and get rid of the moisture so that it would behave more stably in the burgers. I've added fried bacon to frikadeller, and the result has been really good, very bacony. I also add a bit of gelatin to the mix, because I can't use bread crumbs (I do use a very small amount of rolled millet), but I think that might give a slightly off texture to a burger.

Have you tried pre-cooking the bacon before mixing it into the ground beef? Mixing cooked bacon into raw beef may sound daft, but it would remove the moisture (and any pathogens you mighte be worried about) from the equation, giving you intensified flavour, and better control over the outcome, since the bacon would not be undergoing significant further changes as the burger cooks (e.g. giving off water, which may loosen the texture); you could focus entirely on the way the beef cooks, since the bacon would be taken care of.

I run hot water over the interior to set the dough a bit so it loses its elasticity, and simply scrape it out; takes about 15 seconds, and there remain just a few light smudges to clear away with a dish scrubber. Also, I use the Goodby Detergent! scrubbers (admittedly, with detergent) which rinse clean much more easily than Brillo, and don't scratch.

That was my thought, too; even a little bit of leaking bile can ruin the flavour. As far as I know, heat (high or low) does not soften the flavour of bile. Once it's in there, that's pretty much it.

Larb. Great quick meal, and it's terrific with a lot of mint.

Better contact Thinkstock: http://www.thinkstockphotos.com/image/stock-photo-chocolate-cake/181696017/popup?sq=chocolate%20cake/f=CPIHVX/p=2/s=DynamicRank

Cook's Illustrated may have some aggravating issues (e.g. discussed here, Cook's Illustrated), but it (and the ATK cookbooks) does provide a solidly accessible and useful point of departure for someone who is 'starting from zero', and many of their recommendations are reliable. Case in point, the Fibrox knives, discussed here; they're good knives, if not the best out there, and have the advantage of tolerating the dishwasher, which is a deal-maker (and relationship-saver) for many. Alhough I loathe what dishwashers can do to many things, my boyfriend tosses everything into the dishwasher, every chance he gets. With a lot of knives, this would set the stage for some gruesome drama; with the Fibrox chef knife we have, I'm just 'Eh, whatever', since I know it will survive the ordeal more or less unscathed.

There were some responses: Water in Boiled Eggs

Should have asked this earlier, but, briefly, what sorts of things would you like to eat/cook? I have a nice array of precision scales and thermomenters, because consistency is important to me, and I bake quite a bit, but those may not be relevant to your plans. By the same token, gadgets that do a bunch of things may be great value for money, but only if you actually plan on making use of most or all the features (e.g. are you actually planning one baking much?). Otherwise, they're just expensive paperweights/doorstops. There aren't any shortcuts, really. Cook's Illustrated's list of kitchen essentials is probably as good a point of departure as any, even if you disagree with their specific preferences for individual items. I think there was a discussion of the microwave/convection/steam oven, and the consensus was that it was relatively useless.

If it's still there (every time I go back at least one of my favourite shops is gone) the cookware shop on the north side of 17th Street between Broadway and Fifth (close to Broadway, though), the name or address of which I never remember, had an amazing selection of stock, great prices, and some of the surliest staff you can imagine. If/when you're in the area of Union Square, definitely worth a look. Broadway Panhandler is impressive, but if you go in with a backpack, they will make you check it ETA: For actual chocolates, La Maison du Chocolat is literally my third stop every time I set foot back in NYC. I usually hit the one near Rockefeller Center (because there is–or, I hope still is–a Japanese sweet shop nearby, which is my second stop, following Yasuda; also, it tends to be remarkably quiet for the area), although the one further uptown on the west side of Madison between 78th and 79th has a bigger selection (I'm not usually in the mood to schlep that far uptown when I'm still trundling my baggage behind me). I also really like Petrossian's chocolates, on 7th Avenue, between 57th and 58th (do not be put off/convulsed with laughter by the sometimes hilariously would-be-hip staff).

I use bay leaf, a tiny pinch of ground cloves, and sometimes smoked salt, instead of regular salt (no salt at all=insipid pie). I've also use cinnamon or nutmeg with black pepper.

The answer partly depends on whether you're more a of gadget freak or a utility/order freak. Alterantively, consider how you do most other things: do you lean more towards casual and relaxed, or deliberate and precise? If you're a gadget freak, you'll never regret having something that turns hotdogs into cephalopods, even if you only get to bust out that gadget once every quarter century. This isn't me, so I won't venture to give advice, other than 'as long as it doesn't kill your budget, enjoy yoursellf, and get things that look interesting; you'll find a way to make decent food'. If you're a utility/order freak, go slow. Editing is everything, since every time you open a drawer and see a lingering, useless space hog that cost you good money, it will bug you. I was lucky to be ble to find out that this is me before I left from home, and was able to plan accordingly. I relied quite a bit on Cook's Illustrated (yes, they can be aggravating, but also, useful) for their suggestions and reviews. Initially, my kitchen looked like it had been briefly occupied overnight by a balleerina and a soldier of fortune, both of whom hurriedly decamped, abandoning the stuff they'd used to make dinner the evening before: there was a hot-plate, an 'brunch set' (consisting of a periwinkle-blue, asymmetrical plate and matching cappucino cup), a remarkably cute tablespoon, a bunch of chopsticks hoarded from takeaway, and a boot knife that had been retired from 'active' duty (i.e. making regularly wonder whether carrying a knife didn't just mean I was upping my chances of being stabbed with my own shiv) to serve as a kitchen implement. Slowly, I added a fork (so my visiting sister could eat, too), a very basic set of dishes, a few pots and pans, a cutting board that tolerated boiling water, a bread knife, a chef's knife, and a paring knife. Getting a boyfriend who did not find living like a pirate 'cosy' meant the addition of more flatware and a whisk for egg dishes. If you have a microwave, keep it. Turns out those things are way more useful for a lot more things than popularly believed. Hold off on expensive, elaborate gadgets until you're quite certain you'll use them regularly (e.g. my boyfriend is dying to get a sous vide cooker, but I'm reluctant, since neither of us is particularly enthusiastic about the results you get when cooking sous vide; the vacuum sealer he got me tends to gather a lot of dust, since it's mostly used to reseal the containers he got to store coffee, so we'd have a use for the vacuum sealer). A reliable oven (and cooktop, or any other equipment, for that matter) tends to be more important/useful than a specialized one. ETA: Not a gadget, but indespensible, if you want any sort of predictability regarding outcome: a reliable cookbook. Also, looking through your cookbook can give you an idea of which gadgets to start with, based on the recipes that really grab you.

You can't morph fruit pulp into a blend of cream and chocolate, and even adding fruit pulp to ganache seems likely to cause the ganache to break (based on my own experience, and pretty much everything I've read). A layered ganache and pate de fruit using pluots could be pretty good, or (going by the amazing chocolate-covered prunes I've had), you could pit and dry them, then dip them in chocolate. Dark/plain chocolate definitely seems like the way to go: of all the fruit+chocolate combinations I've tried, the fruit flavour came through much more cleanly in those made with dark chocolate.

There are regional variations in the meaning of 'praline', so, to make sure you receive suggestions about what you're actually interested in (there are quite a few members who are very experienced and talented when it comes to work with chocolate), would you clarify (e.g. post a link to an image)? ETA Also, do a site search for 'pralines' and 'chocolate'; you'll find several discussions to get you started.

Making the moussaka yourself would guarantee that it is fresh and of the quality you want, but your question in the OP, 'any recommendations of the best supplier in London?', suggested that you were looking for it ready-made. . . don't you think, Léo? If you make that recipe, do report on the results. I find the amount of ground hot chili recommended quite interesting.

Is it one of these (the MB site describes the shape as 'flared', you may have better luck finding images using that, rather than 'slanted')? http://www.matferbourgeatusa.com/matfer-flared-saute-pan-without-lid-tradition-plus-2; http://www.matferbourgeatusa.com/bourgeat-copper-flared-saute-pan-without-lid-4

Maybe habit, or there may be the possiblity of overloading the motor in a mixer. ETA, I've only made it by hand, so, yes.

I'm fairly certain that you get also some interaction between plastics and lipids because both are composed of organic compunds.

Berries in batter can be a huge nuisance, since it can be tricky to control where they end up, and tend to want to sink as far down as possible – the eventual top of your cake – no matter what you do, and this recipe may be fundamentally flawed/untested (the lack of any salt is a red flag, to me); you could try making this again, and just spooning the raspberry gloop over the top of the batter, and letting it sink where it will; it should be less far down than this.

In some cases (e.g. Osteria Francescana, which in the middle of Modena), you can just [window]shop/stroll for several hours. This is what we did in that case. Where that isn't an option, you could still stroll about, or find someplace to sit and read book, muck about with an iPad.

Is that much cheese that is the quality of Fontina sold in supermarkets (not a rhetorical question; I actually dislike cheese, so have never paid any attention to it)? I've seen some fairly high-end goods in some supermarkets, but generally they've been somehow showcased, to increase their visibility. It just seems that there's got to be a better way than to violate trademarks and DOC names for the sake of expedience.