teapot

YES! I highly recommend you buy Brooke Bond Taj Mahal tea. We were turned on to this tea while traveling in India. It is excellent.

I think the reason is sugar. Balsamic is sweeter and Americans love their sugar. My stepson will only eat salad with balsamic vinegar which he pours on salad like it was syrup.

I've got some pork shoulder marinating in porchetta seasoning and will smoke it over alder Sugar snaps with red/yellow peppers Homemade SF style sourdough Salad with butter lettuce, endive and gorgonzola dolce dressing Lemon Buttermilk gelato (ala David Leibowitz) with blueberry clafouti.

If you're looking for a more open crumb, I would suggest increading your hydration. From the formula you posted, it looks like a 59 percent hydration. I would go about 70 percent. I am also wondering how long you proofed your boule after taking it out of the fridge and baking it? Good luck with your efforts!

I suppose this is more a sign that the marketing apocalypse is near (but then, isn't marketing to blame for most of these transgressions) but I found the Belvedere Vodka ad making mock of forced sex pretty despicable.

Two examples come to mind in Seattle - both involving married/divorced couples. Ezells Fried Chicken got into an ugly situation. There were actually signs posted in one of the stores complaining that the ex-wie and brother-in-law were stealing the business but that God was on his side. I also remember an exceedingly awkward lunch at a Sengalese restaurant where the hostess was divorcing the chef. Both would come to our table and complain loudly about the other. Great food but I never went back.

The challenges were pretty bad this season (but not so bad as when they were locked inside a Target store for the night). I did like the way they selected their sous chefs last night. Congrats Paul - I suspect the judges gave him the nod on the basis of his whole performance over the season and not that one dinner.

Here's an article advocating for hands over tongs: The Power of Hands

I too have black cardamoms that I haven't really known what to do with. So I looked it up -- here's what wikipedia says: Black cardamom pods can be used in soups, chowders, casseroles, and marinades for smoky flavor, much in the way bacon is used. In India and Pakistan, black cardamom seeds are often an important component of the Indo-Pakistani spice mixture garam masala. Black cardamom is also commonly used in savory dal and rice dishes. It is an ingredient in traditional spiced tea (chai). In China, the pods are used for long-braised meat dishes, particularly in the cuisine of the central-western province of Sichuan. The pods are also often used in Vietnam, where they are called thảo quả and used as an ingredient in the broth for the noodle soup called phở. Black cardamom is often erroneously[2] described as an inferior substitute for green cardamom by those who[who?] are unfamiliar with the spice. Although the flavor differs from the smaller green cardamom, black cardamom is sometimes used by large-scale commercial bakers because of its cheapness.[citation needed]

I saw somebody (I don't think it was Keller) making the same point awhile back. As I recall, he was making the point that tongs not only aren't gentle, they create distance (kinesthetic, psychological, spiritual) between the cook and the food. I understand the point -- it's why I almost always knead doughs by hand rather than machine . . . my hands are able to transfer so much information to me about hydration, readiness, etc. I prefer using hands for salad tossing, plating, etc, but when it coomes to turning searing pieces of meat...I'll stick with the tongs.

I agree that TC has jumped the shark, but rumor has it the next season will be Top Chef Seattle. And since I live in Seattle I am doomed to watch it. I can only imagine the cliche vignettes...Padma handling a geoduck, cooking planked salmon in an Indian village, throwing fish at Pike Place Market, the wild mushroom quickfire . . .

I did a riff on a turkey divan casserole that was delicious and low carb. I used Costco's precooked whole turkey breast, cut into thick chunks and layered with blanched broccoli florets, and some gruyere. Made a tasty bechemel (adding some chicken demiglace) and poured over it. Then topped with fresh buttered bread crumbs, which of course got wonderfully crunchy when the casserole was baked.

I use rice flour all the time. If you make fresh pasta or bread, it is a great way to prevent noodles or bread from sticking. I have a jar of alum that I bought for making pickles but apparently there is no real need for it. Should I toss or is there any possible use for it? I have so many jars of chutneys, jams, pickles, etc that I now have two refridgerators - which may be a little excessive for a two-person household.

Yesterday we grouted (with epoxy grout) the backsplash behind my new Capital Culinarian range. Now that I am actually working with this range, I'm so glad I listened to the advise of those on this thread who suggested I don't do any sort of shelf behind the range. I found some nice tile pattern from Kibak - selected the colors I wanted and had it custom made. It's simple but I like it. And the epoxy grout should keep it easy to clean. Anyway, thanks again to all for your sage advice.

There is a chef in Seattle who is known for roasting the most delicious roast chicken at his two French bistros. He and I chatted about how he prepared it and I asked him how long he rested the bird after roasting. He said that poultry, unlike other meats, does not benefit from resting --indeed, resting just makes the skin less crispy. So is he right? Is resting a myth when it comes to poultry??

Love the flatware!

Thanks all for the advice. I will stay away from any sort of storage behind the range. I had considered glass tile but the one I like would have been about 800 bucks for the area just behind the range (and that doesn't include installation). That seemed a little grand for my modest home. I will post photos of what I eventually come up with.

Good to know about the epoxy grout! I am considering some Ann Sacks tile to create some visual interest and if I do that, I'll use the epoxy grout. No one yet has commented on the idea of having a rail from which you can hang metal utensils. I've seen this in a numbe rof photos and it seems like it would be convenient, but I don't know if this is something an interior designer came up with to make it look like a chef's kitchen or if it is truly practical. Any thoughts?

Try one of the two locations for India Bistro (Ballard or Roosevelt). The owner is a spice importer, maybe that's why the flavors taste so much fresher than is typical (I've spent time in India and cook Indian myself so I'm fairly picky). And if you ever have the opportunity to go to Vancouver BC, definitely check out Vij's.

I am in the midst of a kitchen remodel and the star of my new kitchen will be a Capital Culinarian 30" range. I have never before had a gas range, and no experience cooking with the kind of power the Culinarian has (23,000 BTUs per burner). Above the range will be a 600 cfm hood. But what do I do with the wall behind the stove? Stainless? Tile? Shelf? Rail? I have heard that tile is easier to maintain than stainless, which shows everything. Shelves will interfere with hood performance and above the stove makes lousy storage. I'd like to hang some utensils (or even pot lids stored behind rails) but is that practical over a powerful gas range? Do they get too greasy or hot? I would really like to hear from you (and soon) -- what works and what doesn't behind a gas range? Pictures welcome! Thanks!

Amarula! Are you going to make Springboks? springbok

Brod and Taylor proofer, Kyocera knives, but the biggest gift of all is the kitchen remodel underway and all the shiny new appliances!

I was buying boots at Nordstrom's the other day and I requested seeing them in cognac. The salesperson said "oh, you mean the cog-nack." A waiter at a wine tasting restaurant served me, with great pomp, a billicart salmon (beyaCAR saMONE)and pronounced it "Billie cart salmon" Two others that get horribly abused: Haricot verts Guacamole

I will never again scrape and scrape away at a nutmeg without first ascertaining if it's a shelled nutmeg. For a hilarious "never again" video moment, I highly recommend watching this you tube video of a guy attempting to fry gnocchi.[] Starts a little slow but stay with it...it's infectiously funny:

I second the weight conversion suggestion. I just did some baking at our cabin where I don't have a scale. As much as I bake, I still couldn't tell you what 220 grams of flour looks like. You might find it useful to look at The Fresh Loaf bread baking site. A lot of people create spreadsheets designed to help with baker's math, scaling dough formulas,etc. It will give you an idea of the questions folks have and the sort of formulas they find useful. Just type in "spreadsheet" or "calculator" in the search engine. I would pay .99 for a user friendly cooking app.