Mjx

I'm sorry I didn't see this until now. I've been making far smaller batches than yours (from Japanese quinces), and although a few don't set up as well, most set up firmly. I always leave the skins on while cooking, and my weapon of choice is a food mill; a first pass removes the sees and such, a second fines it down (and I think may release more pectin).

Mozart Black. I never get tired of this stuff.

Eh.. no. That's what science says. It's also the reason people with kidney failure sometimes smell like urine; the kidneys can't handle the job well, and the skin takes over part of ot. But that's not the point here; that was whether or not this should be a serious concern, and as far as I know, there's no reason for most people to worry about it.

The skin is part of the excretory system (e.g. http://www.cape.ca/children/derm1.html I don't have time at the moment to copy out the entry from Dorland's). It may not be a beautiful thought, but there it is.

This is a load of hog swill. Neither pigs nor people "process all the bodies toxins" in their skin. That's the liver that does that mostly. Some toxic things (as well as vitamins) can linger in fat, but that's an exception. The skin is part of the excretory system, and particularly if one of the other parts of the system is overloaded (e.g. kidneys), the skin will excrete (and by extension, contain) various undesirable substances. I doubt it would be enough to be a problem, unless you're eating an awful lot of the skin, although this would probably also depend on what was in the animals' feed (and if the level of some substance was high enough to be excreted by the skin, there would also be plenty of it held in the fat). If you're eating pork that's been fed cleanly, this shouldn't be an issue.

Share links to reliable, interesting websites for the various spirits with everyone beforehand, not in a 'Study this' sort of way, but 'Look at this, this is great, wanted to share it with you!' If you do this, most should show up with a little background already, and you can pass along other the key information as you go. Just don't present the information in a block; even if they don't mean to, they're likely to quickly tune it out. My idea of a good tipple is madeira or one of the liqueurs, so I have no site suggestions myself, but I'm quite certain that plenty of the other members who are active in the beverage forums wil have some excellent suggestions.

My condolences to Dave's family, and I'm glad we have one last blog to remember him by.

All I see is a photo of some naan - no recipe, no technique, no suggestions. CI may be a good source. I'll look into it. Tks! You're welcome, and what I meant was the grilling option, but didn't know whether you had a grill (I never have, but a lot of American's I've mentioned this to have indicated this is aberrant..not so?) I really recommend giving the Cook's Illustrated version a go; I don't think I've had a failure with them (CI, that is, not the naan), yet.

I don't have a big easy fryer ... I have a stove and an oven. Oookay: How about Heidi's second suggestion (post #3)? 'Typical US kitchen' means different things in different regions. However, assuming your kitchen consists of a stove and an oven as heats sources, you can still make naan; just hop round to the library, and take a look at the May & June 2012 issue of Cook's Illustrated (pp. 22-23), or look up the recipe on their site, if you're a subscriber. You'll need a 12-inch skillet, ideally cast iron, although the recipe says you can use a non-stick one, too. The results look pretty good.

Definately sweet. One minor criticism of the French, in my opinion, is that they are heavy-handed with the sugar. A few bites is enough. The mousse, like all the mousse and custards at Jean Philippe, is incredibly silken but with a firm body. I'm always in amazement at how they can infuse such intense flavor into what appears on first glance to be vanilla pudding. Delicious. Thanks, Dave, I really do enjoy knowing what the inside of this sort of thing is like

It sounds delicious Damiano has done food shows around the US (http://www.damianorganic.it/it/fiere.jsp), so they seem to be working on their presence there, and it might be worth e-mailing their marketing person, to ask if and where this is availalble somewhere reasonably near you (http://www.damianorganic.it/it/contatti.htm).

Yesterday evening I was served a stir-fry of match-stick root vegetables (beetroot, parsnip, carrot) and venison, and although I'm not a huge fan of beetroot, this was excellent.

Is there a larger Shoprite or other supermarket not too far from you? I've seen Jerusalem artichokes at the Shoprite where my sister shops, so it isn't as though Shoprite simply does not carry them; I've also seen them at Whole Foods and various farmer's markets. I'm also not getting the 'out-of-season thing'; these are tubers, they keep for months under the right conditions (cool, dry, dark) and everyone I know who grows them generally has enough to see them through February.

What brand did you get in Italy? It might not be impossible to find in NYC, although it might take a bit of research/legwork (i.e. you may need to contact the company to ask if and to whom they distribute in the metro area). The only US-made ones I've seen are like those you describe, and are made from whole almonds.

I've found the teas from Harney & Son quite good, and their site does list the pearl jasmine, although I don't see the Yong Xi Huo Qing (does it go by any other name/spelling?).

Oh, yes there is (need for further description)! Was this a sweet, inthe stricter sense of the word, or was it almost savoury? Consistency of the carrot-pumpkin mousse?

Guys: A working link to this was posted a few comments back (that's post #7; I've downloaded this myself, and thank you MrsB), check it out!

I blot out as much grease as possible, and sprinkle talc on the spot(s). I pat it in, add more, pat that in, smack the layer off from the un-talced side, do this again, then a third time before laundering. This tends to remove a lot of the grease, and is less likely to leave a discoloured spot than spot-treating with detergent. Mostly, though, i try to wear clothing that doesn't show grease stains, even when I don't get on them immediately.

I can't read a word of Chinese, but the image search shows a number of halved specimens, and the inside certainly looks like squash. For the rest, demons are clearly toying with you, to see how much they can get away with.

I'm pretty sure you'd lose the concentrating effect you get from baking. I guess if you wanted it to keep it's...erm...how to put it...custardy..? texture, it would work.

It looked to me like the small pumpkins that are quite popular around Halloween, and when I copy-pasted the Chinese characters for an image search, all the images support this. That it hasn't deteriorated during the several months indoors also suggests this is a winter squash, since several (most? all?) keep better in warm temperatures.

Do yourself a favour, and rather than use a gluten-free bread for stuffing, go with another kind altogether (and maybe also make a pan of ordinary bread stuffing on the side). I have a generalized complex carb. intolerance, and now have several years of extensive experimenting and experience under my belt, so I can tell you that I've yet to find a gluten-free bread that does not turn to repulsive mush in things like stuffing, various traditional Tuscan soups, or French toast (the gluten is what gives the right sort of bread for these things the structure to hold together a bit, even when very moist). I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but so far, my search has been fruitless.

Does that batch have any vinegar in it (and what is container made of)? I've noticed a distinct bubblegum note in one brand of pickled herring, and have wondered whether it was due to some interaction between the vinegar and the flavour compounds in the spices used (or possibly between the vinegar and the plastic of the jar this is packed in).

I made some stuffed porcini with a sausage and chestnut-based filling. I can't remember exactly what I did (there was sage, and no bread), it was one of those 'clear the fridge' sorts of things, but the proportions of sausage and chestnut don't matter that much; these are the sorts of ingredients that you cannot really mess up.

Did you already have plans for what you were going to do with the sous vide cooker when you got it, or did that come after?