Recent content by iplaywithfire

Everything that's been said is good advice IMO. Massaging helps a LOT for soreness as well. If you have the luxury of someone else willing to go near your over-worked tootsies, then, by all means, take advantage of that. If not, rub your own feet well regularly. Keep them clean no matter...

I still have intermittent problems with my back, feet, and shoulders from long hours.  Some of the things I find that help my body recover the most are: 1. Heat.  If you have access to a jaccuzi, use it!  Soak until you feel like you will melt.  Some people swear by epsom salt in addition, but...

The soaking in the test is more to get at the question of how much and how quickly mushrooms absorb liquid.  For instance, if one were to have the task of preparing an entire case of mushrooms, and that person opted to rinse the mushrooms in water, not hand drying them one-by-one, then the...

OK, you two, and perhaps a glass of wine (or two), got me curious enough to run my own Alton Brown test - I like the guy, I just don't always agree with him. 10 oz dry-brushed button mushrooms rinsed in cold water, then soaked for two minutes (In hind-sight I should have weighed them right...

Sounds like a good meal.  One of the tricks I learned, and still use - even though I haven't been a strict vegetarian for a long time now - for getting a really nice savory-meaty flavor into a dish without the liberal use of salty stuff like fermented bean sauce or meat substitution products is...

Roasted ham with apple-brandy-sage reduction.  Roasted garlic mashers.  Orange-cranberry (might toss some juniper in there) candied carrots.  Caramel creme brule with mulled peaches.  And, of course, the families obligatory fruit salad.  Sadly, I did not have the time to make some fresh bread...

Way back when... A waiter kept trying to nose onto my station.  My Sous went to the office and came back with a roll of duct tape.  He asked the waiter to step back four feet, then he proceeded to tape a line on the floor in front of, and to the one exposed side of my station.  Then he calmly...

Another alternative would be to cook off some of the alcohol before you add the booze in question to the mixture.  I make beer bread in that manner.  Wine generally has a much higher alcohol content than beer, so it would need to be cooked longer (or at a higher temperature) to evaporate more of...

What's your leavening agent?  If it's yeast, the alcohol in the wine will inhibit growth.  You might need a higher concentration of yeast to counteract the inhibitor.  If it's not warm enough, it won't proof properly either. 

I remember reading it in a small article years ago, and can't, for the life of me, remember where.  Certainly not authoritative, but it made sense at the time, and not so much now, after Mr. McCraken points out the caramelo origin.  Makes much more sense.  Thanks!

Don't sear the pate if you aren't sure of how it's made.  Foie gras is beautifully rich, as I'm sure you're well aware.  The pate is likely much richer, and the consistency may not hold up well enough for a sear.  It might be possible to do, and if so, it could be very tastey, but I'd prefer...

A few tunes that I've been infatuated with lately are: Quiet Dawn, Nostalgia 77 Optical Illusions, William Orbit (Billy Buttons Mix) Stay the Same, Bonobo (feat. Andreya Triana) I've mostly been listening while doing random chores at home to relax after work, so those three are pretty chill...

*chuckles*  I posted on the same topic in another thread right before I read this.  Hopefully someone in the world has an answer, and hopefully I will find it someday.