JoNorvelleWalker

I don't have a blender to do the tests myself, but I am still trying to get my head around the contradiction that Modernist Cuisine says (from my memory) that even powerful blenders cannot produce smooth nut pastes. Yet in this post nathanm says: "A good commercial blender, like Vitamix or Blendtec, and/or for some recipes a hand blender like Baumix, will substitute most of the time." http://forums.egullet.org/topic/136959-cooking-with-modernist-cuisine-part-1/?p=1787781 Though in context it is not clear to me* whether in that post he means "substitute for a colloid mill" or "substitute for a rotor-stator homogenizer". As I answered Kerry above, rotor-stator homogenizers don't do much for hard biomaterials like nuts. Nor are they designed to. Also from my experience -- as I've complained before -- many vendors of "smooth" nut butters can't (or don't want to) produce truly smooth nut butters. *Though after rereading the statement a few times I think nathanm means a "good commercial blender" can substitute for a rotor-stator homogenizer. Has the technology changed much since Modernist Cuisine was written? I would love to know his current thinking.

I wonder how the Kenwood with induction heat compares with the KichenAid PHMB? I thought about the Kenwood with induction heat myself, but as I recall the KSM8990WH and PHMB combined were less than half the cost.

For dinner last night I used my KitchenAid attachment to grind chuck for a burger. But the result was dry. In the pan the burger fell apart and I ended up thoroughly over cooking it. But that's OK, I don't mind the occasional burnt burger (or chicken for that matter). I started from a choice chuck steak. I sectioned the muscles, trimmed the connective tissue, and cut the meat into strips. There was very little fat unfortunately. Half the strips I partially froze and half I returned to the refrigerator for another day. The grinder attachment was well frozen. I double ground the partially frozen strips, seasoned with a little salt and powdered garlic, using the course disc of the attachment. The ground meat looked and smelled lovely. I shaped the patty with two forks to keep from compressing it, and gave it a dash of worcestershire and a spray of grapeseed oil. Finally I flipped it over into a hot pan. How can I increase the cohesiveness of my home ground meat? From this and a myriad other ground meat threads I've gleaned that perhaps butter or bacon added to the grind would help?

I too have a mid 1980's 5 quart. Never had any problems with it -- though it's a valid observation about egg whites and heavy cream. I've never used a KitchenAid for making bread. In recent years this mixer has seen little use, since I seldom anymore make cakes. Last year when I had to find counter space for a chamber vacuum sealer the KitchenAid was banished to the living room. However last month I acquired a KSM8990WH, the 8 quart NSF commercial model, and now the rice maker is in the dining room. The reason I needed a larger KitchenAid is that the Precise Heat Mixing Bowl attachment did not fit on my 5 quart. I can't say I have given the KSM8990WH a heavy workout by any means, but I've run it constantly for an hour and a half and also used it for grinding meat. So far I am very pleased.

I did it, I did it, I did it. After twelve hours hardening in the freezer. As imputed to Alexander III: "There is nothing impossible to him who will try." And now there are no worlds left to conquer...save perchance strawberry or chocolate fudge.

Mostly just most welcome restocks: And yesterday was the W&N.

Last night I tried to recreate my earlier success. I went back to the previous ingredient amounts: heavy cream 750 ml whole milk 250 ml (Fa!rlife ultra filtered) large egg yolks 6 sugar (sucrose) 90 g trehalose 20 g kosher salt pinch I mixed and heated on the stove to 160 deg F, then transferred to the PHMB set to 198 deg F. Stirred at slowest speed with wire whip for an hour and a half. Final temperature was 161 deg F. For homogenization I obtained an eight inch deep 1/6 hotel pan specifically for the purpose. Homogenization is reported most efficient in a square shaped pan, and eight inches is deep enough to prevent any splashing. Worked very well. I homogenized on high for five minutes. Then put the hotel pan in an ice bath, which had not quite enough ice (due to my Harvard edX homework). Then refrigerated. It's difficult to judge evaporation with the PHMB. It would be nice to have a huge scale large enough to contain the whole KitchenAid setup. Hmm.

Thanks for asking. I'm waiting for something to happen. But it is upsetting. Meanwhile the store bought tomatoes were mealy and not that great. Though I have had worse. Campari tomatoes are much better.

I was at the grocery store this evening. They had good looking local tomatoes, and they were on sale. I purchased a few pounds. When I got home I went out to harvest the day's okra and noticed my tomatoes had finally decided to turn red.

Usually I consume a big sumptuous snack right before bed. I call it "dinner". Sometimes this snack is the first meal of the day (not counting the peanut course) and thus might qualify as breakfast too .

Anna, your krebs cycle will thank you. Or not, as the case may be. I had been wondering what I should do for dinner and now I think I shall go make an omelet. That egg of yours sure looks lovely. Unfortunately here there is no bread left and it is a bit late to go a baking. Particularly, perhaps, after a couple of my industrial strength mai tais. Oh wait! I found the last third of a baguette! Though it is two nights old. And some Parmesan I grated yesterday! I am not proud.

After a vastly disappointing and over-hyped amazon.com "sale" I noticed drinkupny.com is offering a flat 10% off on rum -- open as far as I can tell to all within their shipping area. Don't know about anyone else, but I awarded drinkupny.com my money.

The Photography of Modernist Cuisine is on sale for the next 42 minutes if anyone is interested.

Hmm, I wonder if ice cream would work?

What makes ice "soft"? This strains credulity if you were to ask me. But then you didn't.

I'm not sure what I did to deserve this. If ever you see an okra that you think you may pick tomorrow, repent and consider my sad fate. I find myself with a bunch of seven inchers. Meanwhile for dinner I tried a couple of smaller okra raw. Nice crunch and flavor, but then O the slime. Soluble fiber may be healthful but I think I shall be ill.

Shafia is what I have sitting here to read when I finish Food52. It sure looks pretty.

Roast chicken (via Food52), mashed potatoes, peas. After more than a month of assaying retrograde potato starch, I call shenanigans. My normal pressure steamed mashed potato, when it works, is far better. Not to mention quicker and less trouble. On the other hand the store bought baby frozen peas were informed by the recent unwrinkled thread on preparing peas. There is promise here. I splurged on a full three cylinder liter of MR. Following nathenm on partially venting the pressure vessel to achieve maximum bubbles, yet hewing to Dave Arnold's amusing ratio of culinary vapors. The burning question: now is there room for ice cream? Edit: and, if so, for extra credit, why?

Edit: no matter how many peanuts, do not neglect the genius tip to disconnect the smoke detector.

That's the book I'm reading at the moment! Indeed dinner tonight is simplest roast chicken (pp 106,107)...following, of course, the peanut course.

My okra are getting the better of me. I found one tonight that was five inches long. I rubbed it with oil and grilled it. Not woody, not slimy. Very nice. I also had the first tomato of the season. Not quite fully ripe, but red and badly cracked. Quite nice, considering. Went well with the abundance of cucumber.

It had been a while, so I made an aviation: 2 oz Malacca 1 oz lemon juice 2 teaspoons maraschino 1 teaspoon liqueur de violettes (Tempus Fugit) To the best of my memory I'd never tried Malacca in an aviation previously. Not bad, and it makes for a pretty color. I have the feeling though, if sampled side by side, I might go with Magellan over Malacca.

Per the recent NY Times article, scurvy is a horrible way to go. I worry about you, My problem with pineapple is a bleeding mouth, which just makes the drink more red and salty. I agree, in context, bitter sometimes has its place. Tonight for me, after a particularly rewarding repast, a goodly glass or two of Colonel Taylor to settle the digestion.

Dinner was Ottolenghi eggplant with pomegranates, a baguette, half of a small chicken rubbed with grapeseed oil and baked quickly at high heat (eg, after the baguette). And some cheese. I was not at all sure I could finish half of even a tiny chicken by myself, but isn't MR wonderful?

I grew up in Philadelphia. This is the first I have ever heard of this dish. But then when I was growing up in Philadelphia I had never heard of broccoli rabe.