Mottmott

Suvir, congrats on the additions to your batterie de cuisine. I'm all envy. Most of my copper dates from the tin age. I wonder if I could impose on you (or anyone else with a mind to help out) to WEIGH your fry pan and saute pans? None of the web sites give that information which is becoming increasingly useful to me as my joints become less so. I have a 9" Bourgeat evasee that I love, but I worry about the ease of handling anything larger/heavier. My most recent addition has been a 10" LC sauciere which is ok but I don't love and it discourages me from adding LC saute or fry pans. Only concern about the weight keeps me from ordering some copper today. About the cleaning of copper. It needn't be a big deal. First, develop a love of patina. Second, Barkeepers will keep copper looking fresh.

I confess to not having tasted baby food since my kids were babies. I was feeding my aging cats baby food meats during their last years, but was never tempted to taste it. It was odd, though. Sometimes they'd "refuse" a jar. It made me wonder if some of these jars might be "off." I think I'd never feed the stuff to babies, but just grind my own.

Can you provide a link, or more information? I'm not certain that this meets the definiton of brining. As the delegated SSB for this lesson, I think it's crucial that we not use brining and marinating as if they were interchageable. They're not. This is not to deny that it's very good, of course. In fact, it sounds terrific.

I often use Patrick O'Connell's recipe for brining fowl. It includes a wide variety of herbs, spices, honey, etc. that are brought to a boil, allowed to cool, then used to marinate the bird. I find it gives a wonderful flavor and vary what spices I use according to what's cooking - or what's available. Birds roasted this way have been met with wild enthusiasm from my guests. If I were going to use the fowl in a dish with its own flavors and aromas, I would probably modify the brining to be less complex to not compete with the rest of the recipie.

Sunday has become iffy for me. I jammed my foot and have trouble walking. It's getting better and hopefully by Sunday I'll be okay. The amazing part is that I don't remember doing it!

The bread tastes mighty good despite its less than perfect bottom, though it cleaned up pretty well). I'll try some of the suggestions later this week. Each of my 2 boys have families, so I'll have to bake multiple loaves now that I know I can get such wonderful results! Jack and Dan, you' ve been very generous in guiding guiding us all through this process (with me first whimpering and now crowing with joy). I will toast you and praise you as I sip wine and nibble on bread and cheese, fruit, nuts, a hearty bowl of soup. I've made yeast bread some years ago, but this is on another plane. We have some pretty good artisan bakers in Philly, but it tastes so much better made at home. I''m also grateful to all the others who have shared their knowledge and experience. I'm not sure that I would ever have gotten into sourdough without this cyberclass. I've learned from everyone's posts and the answers to their questions. I'll incorporate some of the suggestions in my next batch. When I make freeform tarts on the stone I usually start at 475 or so, then reduce the heat with good results, the bottom of the tart just beginning to get dark. And if that doesn't do it, I'll take FoodMan's suggestion and raise the bread to a higher shelf. Also, I think I'll use Formerlygrueldelux's adopted trick of using a heating pad in the oven with my starter as I ususally keep my house on the cool side when nature cooperates. Life is good.

Thanks FoodMan, The odd thing is that most of the blackening seemed to occur in the beginning! Of all the problems I might have had, this is one I didn't expect. I use the stone all the time to make pizzas, scones, pies (it does wonders for the bottom crust!) and when doing the latter I do frequently raise them for part of the baking - partly to be sure that the tops are baked enough. Iwill raise the stone on my next try and see what that does. I think I'll probably do another loaf later in the next couple days.

I just took out my first ever loaf of sourdough bread (sorry, no digital camera yet). It looks good, smells good. The only problem is that the bottom is too blackened and will need scraping off. I baked the cold loaf in a 550f oven with a thick pizza stone on the floor after letting it heat up a couple hours. I spritzed some water in a couple times. It took only a little more than 30 minutes (Internal temp of 210). Any suggestions? Lower the temp for next time? Raise the stone to the bottom shelf? Leave the dough out longer before baking? Should I have had the loaf on a baking sheet instead of placing it directly on the stone? Should I not have used some cornmeal on the board I use to move the loaf into the oven? Oh, and if not too off topic: what would a really good digital camera be? I've resisted getting one because I know their resolution is not as good as my old fashioned Olympus. (But then, I'm still a black and white freak who likes to potter in the dark room.)

I do it all: mitts, folded towel, and sometimes mitt and towel when moving something particularly hot and/or heavy. Also, it's good to have mitts/potholders around when others use your kitchen.

Hi Jack, it's good to know you keep us in your heart wherever you go. But I thought vacations were to escape one's everyday every day. My second refresher, incubated in the oven, is more lively than the first. I'll repeat it today. I'll do some cooking to warm up the kitchen.

I agree, but when I have dessert at a restaurant, I like to try something more than I can have at home, something that shows the hand of the PC. Dessert at home is often a piece of fruit. This summer I've been reveling in the wonderfully perfumed white peaches from Jersey. Alas the most recent were not as wonderful. (I suspect they're cleaning the last of the crop off the trees too early.)

I have a problem with my starter. I fed it yesterday and while it is slightly active, it has only a few bubbles here and there - nothing like the picture indicates it should be. The ambient temperature is around 71f. Is that the problem? Without a pilot in the oven, I'm considering putting a pot of warm water in the oven to raise the temperature and letting the starter sit there. Is the room temperature the problem? Or did I wait too long to feed it. (I was out of town when it arrived, so it's lived refrigerated and untouched til now.) Should I just begin a new starter?

Philadelphia - Northern Spies when I can get them. In good years they have a wonderful perfume. They're good both for eating and baking.

Ruth, Lemon oil is a kitchen blessing and I make it all the time. (Try it on a salad of assorted tomatoes, too.) It's so simple. Just heat up a little olive oil with some lemon peel in it. My question is whether there's something better about commercially produced lemon oil? There are so many things I can't make at home that I am loath to add yet another bottle of something to my cupboard when I can make it in small amounts as needed. I confess that I'm a condiment addict. There are (even without lemon oil) so many bottles and jars of condiments and spices in my cupboards and fridge that I hardly have room for food. Just yesterday I bought a "backup" bottle of Banyuls vinegar as the one I'm working on is getting low.

What's so special about the lemon infused oils you buy? Is this another convenience product that saves you from having to do it yourself? Or is it done better than you can do for yourself? It's always seemed so easy to do at home.

And don't forget to join a gym as counterweight to all the excellent suggestions above.

I don't care for sets of china all in one pattern. Instead I find wonderful old china in consignment shops, auction houses, etc. I may find 8 dinner plates in one pattern and soup plates in another. I find it gives a more interesting look to the set table than using only one pattern for all the dishes. If I had more time, I'd work at getting individual plates and bowls to coordinate with each other. But if you are after all one brand/pattern, you can still sometimes find wonderful sets at the same sources. I've seen beautiful sets at $2-300. You might also check out outlets such as Dansk, Doulton, etc. I recently found wonderful mugs at the latter's outlet at $.99/each. Another reasonable source is restaurant supply houses.

Claire, if you have time, I find that refrigerating the shell whether baked blind or filled after forming and before baking makes it better, flakier. When it's a really wet filling or custard I "seal" the bottom against the moisture with egg white or a fruit glaze and may omit chilling it after filling.

...I'd buy one of these first

If you want to test the difference between European style butter such as plugra and "regular" butter, then make a pate brise or other pastry where butter is a critical element in the final texture as well as taste. When you start adding sugar, chocolate, nuts, etc., you have more elements impacting on the result. I've noticed for example even a professionally made filled croissant or pastry is often not as texturally satisfying as a plain one. I try to elevate my home efforts to compete in quality with what the best local bakeries make. Making a good tart at home is significantly less expensive than buying one at $15-25. If I'm doing the work to make one it's well worth an extra .25/ .50 (1 or 2 crust) per tart in my quest to do a better tart than I can buy. At some time I think I'll try comparing a plugra dough with one made with an upscale European butter from Normandy. I worry though, that they may not be as fresh as their price may keep them languishing on the shelf longer (US )

cj doesn't mention what sort of pan he uses. Would a nonstick pan impede a successful reduction, perhaps? I don't use them to saute so have no personal experience with them. I have read, however, that they are not good at creating a satisfactory fond. Would that influence results?