weinoo

The only way to know is to try it, I guess. I would imagine that there would be some loss of texture, since the vegetables are most likely blanched before they are frozen. And there might be some more liquid that leeches out of them.

I'll never forget the first time, oh so many years ago, that I made a coffee filter out of a plain white paper towel. The rest is history.

In another thread where a few of us are geeking out a bit about espresso making with Rancilio Silva, a discussion might be erupting about being a food geek and whether or not the equipment one uses helps define the term "geek" in this instance. Are you a food geek? Do you need equipment to be a food geek? And...what does your equipment look like?

Anyone have any experience with this? I tried it last night... Pretty good - if a little on the sweet side.

Per KTVU:

But I think the boiler is sealed, sort of like a pressure cooker, so that it can also produce steam for milk. In that case, the water could theoretically boil at a higher temp than 212.

It's all over Chinatown - I'm sure at the market too.

Why?

There's more to come. I mean, you started off by talking to Kinsey...that should've clued you in.

BTW, I think this "how-to" at Home Barista was pretty damn helpful when I started on my espresso path.

Dude, you must be wired! In any event, my PID is set at 224°F. From the little I know, I believe that is the temp at the boiler; the temp at the puck drops down a good 25° (or more), which means I'm pulling the shot at around 197 - 199°F, which is right where I want to be. It's perfect for the coffees, grind and tamp that I pull.

I think you need to up the temp on your PID.

Since this thread is about Miss Silvia and PID, I'd suggest that you can pull a pretty great shot with her. And once you dial it all in, you'll be throwing fewer shots than they do at Blue Bottle, Four Barrel, Ritual, Gimme, Dolcezza, and all the other hoity-toity ICHs that I've been fortunate enough to visit.

Yes, the drip tray on this Rancilio V3 is white. When it's not being splattered. Are you sure there's not some sort of a vinyl shield on that drip tray that is removable? Just looked at it. You're right, it's packing material I forgot to take off. It's been stuck on for weeks. Just removed it. LOL! You know, we Silvia owners have been around for a while... ...so don't take this the wrong way when some of us might raise an eyebrow to what you think are perfect shots! You'll see as the weather changes, you use different coffees (there's some great stuff available via mail order), different grinds, different water temps, different tamps, etc. all challenge you to get the best out of Miss Silvia. Start tamping, for one.

Yes, the drip tray on this Rancilio V3 is white. When it's not being splattered. Are you sure there's not some sort of a vinyl shield on that drip tray that is removable?

Is your drip tray white? Or is that just the photography?

Eat as many oysters and as much Dungeness crab as you can.

There is plenty of argument/discussion re: storage of beans. But I will throw out there that I think buying 8 lbs. at a time is not necessarily the best way to do it. No matter how you store the beans, by the end of the 8th pound (unless you're using 4 lbs. a week) Miss Silvia is not going to be happy with the coffee...and neither will you. Backing up, beans within hours of roasting are not at their best either. They need 36 - 48 hours to gas out before you use them. Then they are good for 5 - 7 days and I store them on the counter in a Mason jar. That said, I generally store small quantities of beans (say 1/3 lb.) in vacuum-sealed packages in the freezer. I take them out the night before I want to use them.

Definitely on the Laird's - it needs to be the bonded. Do you know which chocolate bitters were being used?

I'm pulling 19 - 20 gram shots for 25 - 30 seconds and get 1 - 1.25 oz. shots. I have singles, doubles, and triple baskets, but now I use a double doser basket - but am not sure which one it is.

The same friend set up private group lessons at an SF Chinese restaurant, a few years back. 5-10 minute pre-heats weren't part of the technique. Of course they weren't - those restaurant burners probably put out 10x the amount of btus, so the need to preheat for 5 minutes is not therer. Was the beef frozen previously?

In a stunning coincidence, Mark Bittman published an article about whole-grain breads on the same day I started the topic about Fleischmann's No Knead Bread Mix. Now, as many of us understand from all of the no-knead recipes that followed Jim Lahey's first published no-knead bread recipe oh-so-many years ago, kneading is not 100% necessary if you have another ingredient: time. Also, a lot of yeast isn't necessary if you have that same ingredient available: time. According to Bitty (thanks, Gwynnie): He then goes on to say, about whole-grains: Now, I notice there's a pinch of instant yeast in the sourdough starter. Heresy? And, I notice the use of a food processor for the baguette and focaccia recipes. So I don't know if we're on the cusp of a new bread revolution, or just a variation of techniques. Any thoughts?

I was definitely going here before TFN was even a glimmer in someone's eyes.

They might've, Patrick. I'll swing by again and do a double take.

It's been here forever; well, a long time, anyway... They're gruff and friendly at the same time; you'll sit at a counter with about 15 seats. Open until 5:30 only. Plan on waiting. We wanted to eat crab as soon as we arrived in San Francisco, so without hesitation, 2 crab Louis salads appeared... There's about 1/2 lb. crab on that salad, so at $24 a decent deal. They were selling whole body steamed Dungeness at $10 a pound, and picked crab at $40. There's a bunch of other seafood to eat...we also indulged in a Calamari salad. Plenty to choose from... Perfect way to start an SF trip.