JoNorvelleWalker

@StumptownGeek did you ever figure out why your Fysta wasn't freezing properly?

I paused at Shoprite as I had a prescription to pick up at the nearby pharmacy. Stocking levels were almost close to normal. Nothing in the meat case struck my fancy but I don't recall seeing the formerly ubiquitous quota signs. I picked up four limes and two potatoes. The clerk commented she loved my nail color. Only later did I realize it is an exact match to the color of my backpack.

I've learned it's better to use four digits for the year.

It was @scott123 who originally had me thinking about something better than a pizza stone. Unfortunately for pizza my one inch thick sheet of aluminum is currently in the freezer. It also serves as a poor woman's anti-griddle when making ice cream. But I have to say for baking pizza I am pleased. The trick is to get enough top heat for some char before the bottom burns.

I have found, at least with my current Cuisinart ICE-100, that the most important factor in controlling iciness is the time in the machine. With this type of unit, time in the machine also affects overrun. Of course one has to use judgment. If the mixture looks like soup after 15 minutes, clearly something is not right. Dextrose is lower molecular weight than sucrose. It is also not as sweet.. @paulraphael has a nice writeup on his blog: https://under-belly.org/sugars-in-ice-cream/ There is also a difference in flavor. Somewhere in this thread I posted a study that showed tasters preferred ice cream with all sucrose when the ice cream was low fat. At higher butterfat tasters preferred ice cream with some of the sucrose replaced by dextrose. I use dextrose (and sometimes trehalose) to balance sweetness with freezing point depression. Using all sucrose results in ice cream that is either too hard or too sweet. Your choice. But then I don't care for my ice cream as sweet as some might prefer.

You don't put the year on your food containers?

During the siege of Paris an egg was displayed in a jewelry store window.

The switch protector recommended by @DesertTinker works well.

OK, another batch. Two variables: my new Falk pan that came today, plus I used lower butterfat. The mix: Cream 500g Milk 250g Sucrose 80g Dextrose 20g Egg yolks 5 Salt pinch Polysorbate 80 3 drops. You weigh it if you want too. Final mix weight after cooking 640g. Homogenized, chilled, as usual. Clearly the Falk pan reduces better than the Demeyere, for whatever that is worth. The proof is in the pudding, now blast chilling. I have to say I tasted the custard prior to chilling and was tempted to call it dinner right there and then.

I wrote Hopkins to ask. I am not optimistic. Citarella said they had shad too. I was not aware of The Founding Fish. Interestingly we have a copy at our library branch where I was busy working (masked and gloved) this afternoon. Amazon lists the publication date as 1665, so it may have been penned before McPhee matriculated. I've attended the annual shad festival in Lambertville and watched the commercial fishermen (and fisherwomen) ply the Delaware. Quite something to see.

Shad is my favorite fish and I seem to be able to buy it about once in five years. Last year @Katie Meadow suggested Citarella as a source. Well, yes, Citarella sold me shad that they could not supply. Now I'm wondering if my credit card will be refunded or if I have store credit. I was not pleased at all but I will cut them some slack since we are in strange times. Shipping from Citarella runs about $30 but for shad I was happy to pay what they asked. I was so looking forward to the shad.

Yes.

Some while ago I stumbled on Vivek Singh's cooking in The Guardian. I was so pleased with the results I bought a copy of his Curry Classic and Contemporary. Now the reviews of Curry are not all positive. Unobtainable ingredients and impossible restaurant recipes. That being said it is a beautiful, well written and well illustrated cookbook. Only one or two dishes did not appeal. I'm looking at you, liver. And there is something to offend almost anyone: beef, lamb, pork, goat, camel, seafood, corn, and little green peas. Tonight's dinner was kadhai ka shikar, mixed game cooked in an Indian wok (pp 170-171). Now, I have a kadhai but it became apparent the ingredients would not fit, so I employed my Japanese cast iron Chinese cooking vessel. Singh explains: Shikar is a Hindi term for hunted meat, and this kadhai-style preparation is a quick and easy way to enjoy whatever you may be able to lay your hands upon." I'm not sure about the quick and easy part but what I was able to lay my hands upon was a Shoprite chicken breast. The recipe calls for grouse, partridge, quail, and pheasant. I would not go so far as to say the recipe was easy. Some spices such as cumin, fennel, coriander are used multiple ways and added at different times. It did not help that after I toasted the spice mix I cross threaded the lid of my spice mill such that I cannot get it on or off. After toasting another quantity of spices I learned my lesson and ground them in a mortar. Similarly, any well appointed spice shelf will have carom seeds. I just had never had an opportunity to use them. And then there were the dried red chillies. The recipe calls for five. I grew them. I know them. I looked at them. They looked at me. I used three. Note there is no lack of other fresh and powdered peppers in the dish. They did not feel lonely. Once everything is prepared the dish comes together quickly. One of the finer bits of cookery I have enjoyed of any cuisine. I've had nothing to compare in any Indian restaurant. And five red chillies would not have been too many.

Pandemic pizza. I like that. Reminds me of The Masque of the Red Death.

Are you sure the difference in taste is not just the coronavirus?

Only 6 ounces.

Since FIFO has obviously not been working here, I switched to LIFO. Last night was a pot of Flor de Mayo, and good they were too. (The mayo was Kewpie.)

I did not watch the video -- however Stone is one of the few breweries whose ales I enjoy. I may come back to watch the documentary.

Spelling I suspect. I have another cookbook, Indian Cookery, Dharamjit Singh, Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, 1970, with several disparate versions and a treatise on the subject. However his spelling is biriani. An alternative name he gives is Zarebrian. EGullet seems to prefer biryani: https://forums.egullet.org/topic/28910-home-made-biryani/ Yes, The Yogi Cook Book is completely vegetarian -- not at all vegan.

You don't keep an unused spare for taking photographs?

The recipe is from The Yogi Cook Book, Yogi Vithaldas and Susan Roberts, Bell Publishing Company, New York, 1968 (pp 36-38): "Like so many things in life, Bryani is more difficult to explain than to prepare. I lead you gently toward it. To do otherwise would discourage you, and that would be too bad." It is a five layered dish of basmati rice, sautéed scallions and potatoes, saffron rice, fruit and nuts. The final layer is yogurt. The vessel is covered in waxed paper and wrapped in muslin. Baked 325F. I confess these days I omit the waxed paper and muslin, and just cover with a lid. When the book was new there were few people from India living in this area. Fortunately at the university I was acquainted with two people from India. I asked each about bryani. One told me bryani could not be made with meat. The other told me bryani could not be made without meat. Given this information I prepare the recipe vegetarian as written and serve grilled lamb on the side.

Shelby Maneuver -- twice so far. Just be sure to tighten the hose clamps. (Oh, and empty the drip tray while you're at it.) I am rather sure my clogging problem was due to organic matter, not lime scale. I had been using deionized water in my tank. In the winter I'd have algae and at other times a white flocculant growth, as yet unidentified. After the last Shelby Maneuver I switched to distilled water and so far have had nothing visible growing in the tank.

I too love my glass top stove. That being said I've been cooking as often as not on my Paragon induction.

Yes.

What is the pink stuff dripping off?