JAZ

We almost always make two drinks at a time (both shaken and stirred). For stirring, we use the metal half of a standard Boston shaker or the bottom of a large three-piece shaker. I've never measured the amount of ice but the shaker is mostly filled -- the ice level is way above the level of liquid. Either stirring or shaking, our drinks in the shaker range from 22F to 32F, and since we pour into very cold glasses (kept in the freezer), the final drink temp is even lower. How much colder do you want your drinks?

Lisa, I'm using a recipe that calls for starting in a cold oven, so there's no preheating at all. I'm quite happy with the recipe I'm using -- it's actually very similar to one on "Cook's Country" (CI's sister show/magazine/website). And in my experience, Kimball and the folks at CI often often seem to have a block against a certain technique, so that the entire recipe is dependent on avoiding that technique, whether or not it results in the best or easiest method. My guess in this case that they use cake flour precisely so they don't have to sift. Pretty close to sea level -- high altitude isn't the problem. Thanks, everyone. I have a few ideas to go on; I'll report back.

I'm working on a small-batch pound cake recipe for a class and have a couple of questions. I started with this "cold-oven" recipe and divided it by four. I'm happy with the texture (light and tender for a pound cake but firm), crumb (fine) and flavor, but my cakes fall in the middle. I'm using two mini-loaf pans (about 5"x2.5") and the amount of batter seems right. The cakes rise evenly but fall either right as I take them out of the oven or as they cool. It's not a deal-breaker, but I'd like to know if there's an easy way to correct that. Lower baking temp? I mixed everything very thoroughly at each step; is it possible that I overmixed the batter? I also have a question about the directions to triple-sift the flour. As I understand it, sifting aerates the flour and helps keep the cake light, but I can't find any sources to substantiate that belief. I don't mind triple-sifting, but I know that my students will ask if it's necessary, and I don't want to give them incorrect information. I know I can make a batch without sifting to see if there's a difference, but I'd rather not if I don't have to.

If you're still interested, I do have a recipe for 2 servings of chocolate mousse. It's here: chocolate mousse for two.

What is it that makes cooking one portion "too much trouble"? I lived alone for most of my adult life. Granted, I love to cook and I teach classes on cooking for one, so I have double motivation, but I've cooked many dinners for just myself with no leftovers. I've made single portions of (among other dishes) sherry braised chicken, beef stroganoff, quiche Lorraine (with homemade crust), braised short ribs, stuffed bell peppers, macaroni and cheese, chicken and dumplings, enchiladas, salmon and vegetables in parchment paper, risotto, pot pies, Thai curry, and any number of pasta dishes (usually with one portion of fresh made pasta). For side dishes, I've made single portions of rice; grits; mashed potatoes; roasted or steamed green beans, asparagus or broccoli; spinach, broccoli or potato gratins; all kinds of salads from potato salad to coleslaw to grain salads. Baking can be a bit tricker, but I often made 2 biscuits or a single serving of fruit crisp, and I came up with a successful recipe for enough pastry dough for a 4-inch pie tin. Sauces can also be difficult to make in very small quantities, but many of those are possible too -- Hollandaise or lemon curd (with one egg yolk) or bechamel with (3 ounces of milk). In most of those cases, it's no more difficult to make one serving than four. In many cases, it's much easier. It does help to have the right cookware: for the sauces and grains, it's essential to have a very small saucepan. I have a .75-qt. copper saucepan that I use for sauces and 1-qt. saucier with a lid for rice and grits. If you want to braise small amounts of meat, a 2-qt. cast iron pot with a lid is nice. It's true that there are a few dishes that aren't possible to make for one without having leftovers. Roasts fall into that category and whole roasted birds can too, unless you can find poussins or Cornish hens (although a Cornish hen is still two dinners for me, it's much more manageable than a regular chicken). Most other dishes can be made for one. That doesn't mean you won't have leftover raw ingredients -- if you make one serving of braised cabbage, you'll still have the rest of the cabbage in the fridge. In those cases, I plan on other meals within the next week or 10 days that use cabbage -- coleslaw, a stir fry dish, etc. You've already said you don't like the casual approach suggested by some -- you want a "proper" dinner. You don't like cooking extra food and freezing. So what's left besides learning how to make small amounts of what you do like? What is it that's problematic about that for you? Is it that you don't know how to reduce recipes? You don't know how much to make? That takes practice, but it's pretty easy once you get the hang of it. (I've written articles on both those topics which, unfortunately, I can't repost here, but if you're interested, I can post links to them). If it's motivation, that's another problem entirely.

That's the set I have and I've been very happy with it. The 5-qt. will easily make enough stew, soup or beans for 4. I've used it for small amounts (about a quart) of stock as well, but you won't be able to make more than a couple quarts in it. I use the small "fry pan" as a pressure cooker but also quite often as a regular saute pan.

While you can use a food processor or blender to puree the fruit, a food mill also strains out the solids, so you would need to pass the puree through a strainer after blending.

While I don't own any of those lines, I do have a lot of other Demeyere pans and have used those lines as well. I've never seasoned any of them, and they perform beautifully and clean up easily.

Linda, I don't know if this will help with the carnitas, but we make a pressure-cooked Asian-style pork shoulder that calls for hardly any liquid -- for 1.5 lbs of meat, we use 1/3 cup hoisin and 1/4 cup rice vinegar (also garlic, ginger and Asian chile-garlic sauce). The meat is cut into chunks, tossed with the sauce and then cooked at high pressure for about 35 minutes. it's not browned first, so it does release fat and liquid, which we then de-fat and reduce and toss back in with the meat. The meat stays very flavorful -- I think because it's not cooked in liquid. I'm guessing that you could do something similar, then after releasing the pressure, continue to cook the meat in the rendered fat to get the crisp texture of carnitas.

I wrote an article on poached eggs for NPR's Kitchen Window a while back -- here's a link-- and also wrote up a tutorial for About.com, if you want a shorter version with photos: how to poach eggs. Most of my techniques are also included in the topics Linda linked to.

If you'd like a different carrot soup recipe, here's one based on a soup shot I had years ago in San Francisco. It's very easy, but don't skip the chive oil.

There's this "Hommage" line by Thomas Keller -- quite expensive, though. You might also check out the Revol line of porcelain dinnerware either online or at Sur La Table.

No, after they're frozen, we pop the cubes out and into a freezer bag, freeing up the trays. I've never noticed any residual taste after a run through the dishwasher (and mine have been doing double duty for stock and ice for several years).

We reduce our stock by either 4 or 8 times (that is, 1 gallon to 1 quart, or 2 gallons to 1 quart), then freeze it in the medium sized silicone ice cube trays (like these). With this size, the cubes are just under 1 ounce, so the math is easy when you go to reconstitute -- if you reduce by 4 times, then one cube produces half a cup of stock; if you reduce by 8, a cube gives you 1 cup.

What kind of volume are you talking about? Two gallons? Five?

From what I've read, it seems that Heublein began bottling cocktails surprisingly early, before 1900. Here's a brief history of that company: Heublein Inc. I've always assumed that they were the first, but I'm not certain of that.

I make a "no-bake" cheesecake topped with lemon curd that's good in a graham cracker crust, although lately I've switched to ginger snaps instead. The only time-consuming part is the lemon curd. Here's the recipe (scroll down).

I find it curious that Ruhlman has changed his mind so completely. Three books ago, he extolled veal stock as the best thing to hit a home kitchen: and In his latest book, veal stock doesn't even make the top 20. I feel sorry for all his readers who ran out back then and spent a fortune on veal bones to make stock, when it's now water that's the marvel.

Much of my cookware is Demeyere -- the Sirocco line, which I believe has been discontinued. I've also used several pieces in other, newer lines. I love it and would recommend it highly. However, as far as I know everything they make is induction-compatible, so I find it interesting that they have a line specifically for induction ranges.

Vinaigrettes -- I especially like mustardy vinaigrettes with vegetables.

I'm not very experienced with pain au chocolat, but I have used puff pastry squares in mini-muffin tins with other fillings, both sweet and savory. Maybe that would work.

Not that I'm an expert on blue cheeses (I loathe it), but isn't Roquefort made with sheep's milk? For me, the nasty quality of sheep on top of blue mold would probably make it the worst possible blue cheese in the world.

A long time ago, I took a class on Turkish cooking where I learned a how to make a great rice dish with dill. It's very easy -- briefly saute rice in lots of butter (1/4 C for 1 cup of rice), add about 1-1/3 C water, half a tsp of salt and 1/4 cup minced dill. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer until water is absorbed and rice starts to form a crust on the bottom of the pan (10-20 minutes). Remove from the heat and let rest for 15 minutes or so.

I'm confused. Do you use pancetta or proscuitto, or does it matter? Your comments about "wrapping around melon" make me think of proscuitto, but in your instructions you referred to pancetta, which seems to me to be a more natural choice.

If you'd grown up in the Western US, you likely wouldn't feel that way. "Best Foods" seems fine to me; "Hellman's" seems weird.