Richard Kilgore

A Kitchen Aide's been on my list, but just has not made it to the top quite yet. So, by hand it is. I do have a scale picked out, the KD-600 at saveonscales.com -- just waiting for them to get it back in stock in white next week. No reason to get something that weighs more accurately than 1 gram/0.1 ounce is there? Thanks for the description, Karen. Sounds very good.

That look wonderful, Fifi. Save a bowl for me!

Thanks, cbarre02. You're right, that was similar to what I had in mind. And thanks a bunch Steve for your recipe and your creative spin on the elements floating in my imagination. Steve, can I make the dough without using a stand mixer? Would a hand mixer work?

I am not a pastry pro, and to claim I am a pastry amateur also would be pushing it a bit, but would someone please humour me anyway. I am sure this is an elementary question. And perhaps the strawberry shortcake savarin is gouche or just a poor idea, but give me a clue since I don't have one.

I found an entry in Davidson's Oxford Companion To Food. He writes that in the "1840s one of the brother's Julien, Parisian patssiers experimented with the baba in a slightly different form. He used the same dough, but removed the dried fruits and soaked the savarin with his own 'secret syrup'. He named his new confection in honour of the famous gastronomic writer Brillat-Savarin...." He does not mention a direct connection with Brillat-Savarin. Where can I find a recipe for the traditional savarin dough? Davidson says the hole is filled with fruit or cream. Or both? What I was imagining as a use of the mold for strawbery shortcake appears to be similar to the original.

I find the Savarin design appealing and wondered what the history is and typical uses. I saw the silicon Savarin molds in a smallish size and thought about using it for strawberry shortcake. Would that be a reasonable use? Other ideas for these small ones? About 2 1/2 or 3 inches in diameter as I recall.

Brooks, this sounds absolutely wonderful! It's on my to-cook list. I'll stand in line for your Mom's cookbook.

I have a Poppery I coming, so I would like to know anything anyone has to contribute from their experience. I understand this one is least likely to catch on fire, always a plus to my way of thinking. I have heard of modifcations that allow you to extend and control the roasting time and temperature. Can anyone tell me more about that? I plan on using it stock initially, but am open to some experimentation if it will make a significant improvement.

Thanks, Owen. I ordered the 4 lb sampler (eight different half pound bags) from Sweet Maria's. I am going to burn the local beans first, and then try the Sweet Maria's. Yes, I saw Cafe du Monde in a Vietnamese market tonight, and a local Pho shop manager told me that they use Goya coffee. But I have been using the Trung Nguyen brand from Vietnam that is very finely ground for iced cofee. Works amazingly well for already ground coffee beans. This I would like to replicate.

The US site for the 6001t is saveonscales.com. I looked at the various kitchen scales they offer, in addition to the 6001t, and sent an email asking for clarification of differences. Their response at top of the quote is in response to my questions at the bottom. I have decided on the KD-600, unless someone can convince me that the greater accuracy of the i5000 will make a significant difference.

Thanks for the report, David, but how disappointing.

I am going to be roasting with a popcorn popper. What kinds of green beans should I use for a french press (coarse grind), Mokka fine grind), and Vietnamese Iced Coffee (fine grind). Should I start out experimenting with an inexpensive green bean, then graduate to something better? And how about sources for green beans. I can get a few pounds of Columbian from a commercial roaster here through a friend, but I don't think he routinely sells his green beans.

Thanks, guys. I'll start a separate thread on which green beans to start with for home roasting.

I just got a used Rocky (doser) and after using it a few times have a few questions. I use it for French Press coarse grind currently, so I put a mini pie pan under the machine to catch the ground beans. Is there a minimum quantity of beans I should grind at one time? Does a certain amount of the beans from a grind stay in the machine and then come out the next session, or does all the grind get dumped? How do you folks go about cleaning your machines of the grind residue. Each time? Am I going to want a dosserless model down the line? Any recommendations for green beans to buy to roast for the French Press, for a Mokka, and for Vietnamese Iced Coffee? I likely will be using a popper as a roaster first (as soon as I can find one).

Thanks, Dave. You just saved me from adding Everyday's a Party to my sagging bookshelf. And I'll pick up a copy of New New.

I have Real & Rustic, recommended by none other than than okra-hater Fifi. But which one or two others would you recommend? Any to simply say "no" to?

Yes, that's they way I have been doing it -- iced. Isn't this the main ingredient in "Red Zinger" tea in the US? Tastes very similar.

During the Guy Gateau Q & A, John Whiting commented that So what are some of your favorite vinegars and how do you use them to best effect? Red, white, rice, others? Are there on-line purveyors who specialize in vinegars? Or do you make your own? I recently picked up a couple of vinegars that I liked after tasting them at William-Sonoma. One is Vilux, a French Cognac Vinegar. The other is a Jose de Soto, a Spanish Sherry Vinegar.

Brooks -- So how did your crawfish tarts turn out?

Welcome to eGullet, Behemoth. I have not used the Toddy recently and lost mine along the way, but it does make very good iced coffee. It's a good idea to get an extra fiter or two, because they do need to be replaced after they start clogging up too much. But that would take quite a while. Let us know how it goes.

Good question. She is using the Toddy Coffee system or something similar. If it's the same, you should be able to buy extra filter pads through the site. If it's not identical, you will need to buy the whole thing, but they are inexpensive (especially if amortized over 50 years!). Toddy coffee makers do make very nice iced coffee, and in general I think the cold brewed results are a little easier on the digestive system than hot-brewed.

Thanks. The Tognana two ounce espresspo cups are 1/8" think and a plain white one is 3/16 (+ a hair)". How do those compare to what you consider to be thick enough? I have seen some Jura cups much thinner.

Does it make any diference to you what you drink espresso out of? Thin wall, thick wall cup? Material? Are these aesthetic differences that don't effect the taste of the coffee? I tend to prefer plain white, but I found some Tognana cups -- porcelein, colorful designs. Anyone familiar with them? Good, bad, indifferent?

That's the best guess. Too abstract!

Great course! I haven't been able to spend much time with this so far, but the fine thing that you two have done is to convey a great deal conceptually about salsas combined with concrete techniques and recipes. Terrific chart. Very cool. I'll be drawing on this for making salsas for a crowd in a couple of weeks. Thanks.