Deryn

In North America, the conventional meaning of 'homely' is something akin to ugly, not 'comforting' or 'down to earth' or 'from the heart and home' as I would connote from the similar word we might use - 'homey'. I always have to remember that it means something very different to those with more direct british English backgrounds. Your food is definitely NOT what I would call 'homely', Eliot - it is beautiful. Welcome to eGullet. I hope you will love it here as much as I do.

gfron - Tonight I was re-watching the Mind of a Chef series and there is an episode about rice (in the south) ... and references (many) were made to Carolina Gold Rice and the Carolina Rice Kitchen concept so I went to the Anson Mills site to see what they have to offer. They have a recipes section which, though it is not a full cookbook and it is online so the pages can be longer, I thought was laid out well and they seem to be dealing fairly well with some of the things you are currently wrestling with. Might give you some ideas for layout, etc. You may want to have a look at it - http://ansonmills.com/recipes

My house is too scary. In NC, I live on a hilly street with no street lights - lots of spooky trees and dark shadows lurking. Kids won't come up the drive. In my day, that would have been a challenge that few of us kids could resist. But since they don't come here, I try not to fool myself into buying candy that will all have to be consumed by me. Not sure if any little ones would show up at my house in Nova Scotia - missing Halloween there again this year. Hope they do next year.

Kerry - how do you think that pre-cooked bacon came out? Tasty in dried form? And, the ganache, did it suffer much taste-wise from having lost some of its butterfat?

Are there no other oils that can possibly be substituted for rice bran oil (other than canola)? If that is the case, why not? Perhaps olive oil would change the taste but what about other oils generally regarded as not full of flavour? As for the egg yolk issue, are all other ingredients always listed by weight? Would you regard 20 g as being the yolk weight of a small, medium, large, extra large egg? And would a recipe be totally ruined if one were to use a 19 gram egg yolk or a 21 gram egg yolk? In other words, how much precision is necessary for most of your recipes to work out well enough for people to like the results? If not, why not just say in your preface ('how to use this book' section) what you regard as the perfect egg yolk weight, state that that is roughly equivalent to that found in a 'large egg' and that, unless stipulated in the recipe, a bit more or less should not impact the outcome of the dish. And then, in the recipe, unless there is reason for a high degree of accuracy and you are noting that, just say 1 egg yolk. I would not be deterred from buying and using your book even if you don't do the above, but, I worry that many (in North America) might since they are used to just being told to use one egg yolk (for example) and not having to weigh out such a messy item (possibly losing some weight too when they scrape it out of an extra container).

Maybe someone packed Chocolat's cream cheese in the box with the FD that I hope is soon to come to me.

gfron - Sounds as though that is a very good solution. It won't take long before the locals who probably initiated the 'asking for tastings' practice adjust to the new policy, and even if they are a little put off at first they will be back I am sure (since on the whole they obviously do like your food). I doubt 'out of towners' will see not being able to have samples as anything too unusual.

Thanks, Mike. Perhaps Chocolat or Kerry will make freeze-dried pumpkin pie truffles! I think maybe a white chocolate covering might be more appetizing somehow since I don't associate those flavours with dark chocolate - but let's see what the chocolate experts think.

Thanks so much, Mike, especially for the pictures and your taste test reviews. Question about the pumpkin pie - you said dried it was like candy but that you reconstituted it and the pumpkin went mushy but the crust was still crunchy? Edible still in that form too? I would say that one would need liquid to drink alongside if one ate much of any freeze-dried foods in their dried form since they will rehydrate in your gut anyway - and dehydrate you unless you replace the liquid there quickly.

I don't run a restaurant, but, can't you decide what weight you want your portion to be (i.e. 4 oz., 6 oz. etc. depending on what it is) and then use that as your guide for weighing the portions? If you think the size is too large or too small, reduce it or increase it - a bit of trial and error is probably necessary. If you are on a diet, then maybe you want to take calories/oz into consideration in deciding portion size. I imagine some restaurants get their foods from Sysco or similar places, already portioned. Others made a decision on portion cost probably based on cost/price and/or what else is being served on the plate, etc.

gfron ... In the interests of educating your waitpersons well enough to be able to tantalizingly describe both standard and special dishes, do you always have a 'tasting' for them in the back before service begins? If not, perhaps educating them would help them to describe dishes/sauces/condiments, etc. suitably well to diners so that no one would ask for tastings (or not be dismayed too much if a sample were denied in future)?

Would never occur to me either to ask for a 'sample' in a restaurant, though I do query waitpersons about ingredients, taste and maybe even texture on occasion. However, since you have a town full of people who now apparently think it is ok to ask for samples (and then tell their friends it is a 'freebie'), it seems you may now have a continuing, and even growing, issue on your hands. So, make $ at it. How about doing a special event evening for just 'tasting' purposes on a seasonal basis (not a full tasting menu of your dishes) or offering a standard, on the menu 'side dish of taste samples from our seasonal/today's soups, sauces and condiments' or something to that effect? Or, if you have the means to 'preserve' in some way, make up small jars of the most commonly asked for 'tastes' and sell them in the restaurant. Or print up recipes for those items and either sell or just give them away if you can afford it. People should be able to get a sense of how they 'taste' through looking at the ingredient list and cooking method. OR ... just include those recipes as an appendix in your forthcoming cookbook! Make it 'commercial'. If this is that popular a 'trend' in your area, it is costing you money and time, etc. Either people will stop asking for the most part, or you will be able to recoup your costs if they do.

$90-$125 for a 10 pound turkey? Whoa. I do like the specifications mind you, and I am usually not averse to spending money for quality meats, but, if I saw those prices I would seriously consider going back to the preservative/salt-laden, kept in tight quarters, fed on GMO corn turkey for this one meal (or two meals) of the year where I serve whole turkey. I doubt the crap in that one turkey would affect my overall health that much if I normally try to steer clear of standard grade meats. And, actually, to date, I have found supermarket turkeys are often juicier and tastier than the specialty store ones. That said, right now, similarly special turkeys are going for about $7 a pound around these parts right now I think - a price I don't like but which I can still handle if I close my eyes at the checkout counter. Reasonable quality supermarket turkeys are probably going to run around a $1-$1.50 a pound here depending on specials and size.

Thanks, Mike and dbinokc. Notes/list duly 'stolen' from both of you.

Has he checked your kitchen, Kerry? I would bet you DO have all the tools and pans those cooks have (although probably not all the sous-chefs and other helpers lurking behind the scenes). Glad to hear you both got home safely. Did the fog dissipate eventually?

I don't think I ever had any sponge candy, a childhood favorite of mine - both commercially and home made, that didn't have a what I would call a slightly 'burnt' caramel-yflavour - and those darker streaks in the center. I loved that flavour. How is it supposed to taste? I agree somewhat about the darker streaks maybe not being ideal. In my experience, those areas always seemed 'harder' to bite through, not as 'melt in your mouth' and stickier. I thought they were caused probably by the weight of the mixture on top compressing those places during the cooling. That may indeed be caused by a unequal distribution of the leavening agent(s)? I seem to have messed up the font size options somehow. Sorry this is so small ... I can't seem to fix it.

That is hilarious, though not surprising. You can fool some of the people most of the time. And presentation really may be 'everything' to those who want to be fooled. I wonder if Mickey D's will use a clip from this for their own advertising.

Thank you, Kerry and Anna, for once again sharing your culinary and other adventures on Manitoulin Island. I hope the packing up is not too onerous this time. Have a safe trip home. And, by the way, I love your breakfast chronicles, Anna. That salmon/cucumber on toast looks delicious.

gfron1, your food images are amazing ... both artistic and mouth-watering. Your personality comes through in your writing. Go with your gut about how many recipes to include - believe in this and sell that belief to your publisher. I would buy your book in a heartbeat. Yes, perhaps the narrative needs a bit of honing in some places for clarity or to simplify so others can more easily replicate the recipes if they desire, but could that be mostly because you are some days just 'you' in the moment while writing, and other days trying too hard to be a 'cookbook author'? I like the 'you' moments best I think. I can almost 'see' you cooking when you write that way - and that intrigues me and makes me want to do the same. I read cookbooks for inspiration, not recipes. I know many others who do that as well. What I think you are going to produce in the end is an inspirational book that captures the minds and stomachs of many - and gets them into foraging and inventing their own ways to use foraged ingredients. That is a very worthwhile venture.

You really are arousing all my childhood memories lately - and hot gingerbread cake from the oven is one of the best of them. I too can almost smell it.

Found a recipe on the following site: http://clarkfamilyhandbook.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/stem-ginger-cookies-super-yummy-and-a-really-easy-recipe-that-always-works/ that appears to have an ingredient list similar to that you mentioned for the F&P biscuits. It is apparently from The Great British Book of Baking. It does contain an egg. There is a picture of the finished product and the top doesn't look as nice and smooth as the ones from F&P you crave, and the author of that blog says they are chewy (not crunchy), but maybe this one is close in taste? Not sure if it is both taste and texture you want, or if one is more important than the other to you but you might be able to modify this (or another) recipe to satisfy both criteria.

Thanks, Kerry. Ordered some. Thanks, Huiray. Guess I should not plug it in right under a silk evening gown in my closet then. Good to know.

You can buy stem ginger preserved in jars. FrogPrincesse - I don't have a recipe for that particular cookie but at the holidays I often make shortbread cookies with stem ginger in them (from a jar) - because I am addicted to ginger. No eggs mind you but perhaps if you can't get the exact recipe you might try a shortbread version?

Huiray - Hope this is not too off topic. I have not heard of or seen dried coriander roots either, but, I am now wondering if this part of the coriander plant is not also a decent candidate for freeze-drying. The leaves freeze dry reasonably well. Unless someone else takes the bait and conducts this experiment, I will see what I can do once I am back up north with my FD'er all set up (IF I can find some cilantro with the roots still on locally that is). I had some on my deck this summer but I left them to wither when I came down south so don't expect them to be decent to try with this year.

Anna, that cauliflower looks absolutely delicious. I get real cravings for that particular vegetable, no other. I can eat a whole large head at one sitting if I don't watch out - just steamed with a bit of salt and pepper, or roasted with a bit of olive oil. Can I ask though why you didn't just do that whole process right in the TMX?