enthusiast

yes - you never use it, so it adds to the potential of the fridge to reduce your shopping bills (see above)

torakris i hope you realise that your husband is complimenting you. implicit is that you rarely (never?) make mistakes so this one is worth reliving for its rarity and, furthermore, that he assumes that you are rightly confident enough in your cooking not to be upset by being reminded about this isolated lapse. my tip (from expereince) is never add grapefruit to a soup thinking it might just add that interesting thing that's missing...

multiple condiments in the fridge are a useful economy measure. if they weren't there, there would be more room in the fridge and you would have to go and buy more things to put in it. i also recommend wrapping things in tin foil, they last much longer. because you don't remember what's inside you don't eat it, so they carry on taking up room which (see above) stops you buying even more...

Dave, that is fascinating. i completely agree that most of us live in ignorance and assume that acquired knowledge (from where? - the media i guess) is accurate. Specifically on espresso though: does it contian more caffeine the longer it is? ie more caffeine is extracted the more water is forced through the grains? so a "short" ristretto would actually have less caffeine than a "long" doppio?

tomato puree? or isn't the supermarket stuff good enough stateside? [i keep mine in the fridge but maybe Dave's is in the larder]

it's not getting better is it? hopefully these postings are proving a form of therapy... if nothing else you can comfort yourself that we're enjoying your pain

24 x 15 plenty big enough but very badly designed and north facing

Can't remember why i ended up here - the last entry was two years ago. i would love the informed people to give an update on the state of restaurant criticism - due to young children and moving out i tend to eat out only vicariously now. the point i wanted to make though was that while it is true that a consumer only has one shot and deserves (hopes) that there is consistency that simply does not justify a critic sampling only once. indeed it implies that he should go many times so that he/she can give a more accurate view on whether the restaurant is consistent or not. A critic is as likely to overpraise as overcriticise by visiting only once. years ago (1992) i remember talking to Michel Trama (Puymirol) and him explaining that unlike Michelin who would whizz in and out unannounced, M Gault and M Millaut would come and stay for two days and eat everything off the menu!! [and for those interested in lengthy criticism/journalism though not necessarily food, i heartily recommend the London Review of Books ]

Can we keep this thread in the Fridge so that if i ever think our kitchen needs redoing (which i do every other week) i can pull it out, have a read, put it back and save a fortune in $$$ and angst.

on fat and drains, i have been told that coffee grounds are good for putting down the drain as they help clear away the fat/stop it sticking. anyone know if there is any truth in this?

the weight watcher cards are fantastic. my favourite is No 17 - the Mexican Shrimp-Orange salad which seems to be served complete with pond and onlooking toad

i was going to strain some lemonade over the weekend when i looked into my fine sieve and saw some tiny aliens hiding in the mesh and i thought: one of those experts on eGullet will know the answer to this imponderable...

thanks for the help gsquared. has it worked? (i edited the old post with the new url's having moved from ofoto to imagestation)

i guess you will have to use your imagination, but trust me i did it all...and my homework's in the dog

since the thread is still open, i'm going to have another go posting my pictures. the ingredients the wine is for the chef not the stock after all night bubbling with the lid mostly on using the muslin freeing up the ice trays

very strange. i posted 8 pictures here last night and they were all there. and now they've gone! have they been "edited" or what did i do wrong?

sorry! bit of overkill there. i got a bit excited when i finally worked out how to post a picture. the wine was for the chef not the stock!

on a wonderful cooking course in the South of france a couple of years ago we were taught to remove every other rib from a rack of lamb and then just before serving put the saved ribs in the sauce and reheat it - the additional lamby flavour was amazing and the removal of the ribs made it easier to carve too!

i left mine mostly covered but with a small gap. by morning it had half boiled away even with the stock just bubbling (c92 C). had i left the lid off i would have been checking my insurance policy

i've taken a load of pictures of my stockmaking but other than to show off my beautiful pentole stockpot and to prove that i've being doing as instructed i'm not sure there's much worth in me posting them here. but i'm willing to be persuaded...

that baby looks highly desirable. please sir, can i ask a question about simmering stock or am i too late? can i simmer in the oven (i've never tried it before)?

smoked salmon but i also agree with bacon, eggs, oysters, peaches orange juice etc etc. but it seems to me to be cheating having more than one!

Red pepper mouse (enough for 8-10) Sweat half an onion in some olive oil, add two chopped/skinned/seeded tomatoes and 5 finely chopped/seeded red peppers. Season. Cook for 8-10 mins on a medium heat with the lid on. Spoon out 100ml of juice, strain and reserve for making a jelly. Cook for a further 20 minutes without the lid, until all the moisture has evaporated. Add 4 soaked gelatine leaves and stir until dissolved. Cool a little. Puree and sieve. Reduce by half 100ml of white wine vinegar. Add to puree. Salt and cayenne pepper. Cool to room temp. Whip 400ml of cream until firm. Fold lightly into puree. Adjust seasoning. Pour into a pastry ring placed on a flat plate/dish. Fridge – for 4 hours at least. For decoration: make a jelly with the juice and a leaf of gelatine. Skin another red pepper. Cut into julienne strips. Throw strips on mousse (presentation is everything) and pour on the nearly set jelly. Fridge. Raymond Blanc suggests serving this with a raw tomato coulis. He also has a teaspoon of raspberry vinegar in with the white wine vinegar – which I guess dates the recipe somewhere in the early eighties.

i've never managed to make mayo in a blender successfully. i find it much easier by hand. where i think most instructions go wrong is saying add oil in "thin stream" or "drop by drop" or "very slowly". this is wrong. it needs to be added in bit by bit. you don't add any more until the last "bit" was fully incorporated. adding it continuously reagrdless fo the state of emulsion is the way to split - or more accurately never emulsified i think the "air" theory is interesting (and sounds right) - you certainly get more air beating by hand.

in a spirit of inquiry rather than rudeness... so what?