circusboy's Profile

the pan needs to be at cooking temperature before adding the eggs. unless the main cooking ingredient is water, putting food in a cold pan then heating, no matter what the surface, (be it seasoned cast iron, non stick, stainless, whatever) is a recipe for sticking.

one of the things that helps any pan act non-stick is the immediate presence of steam between the food and the pan created by a pan hot enough to generate steam from the food being placed in it. so the pan has to be hot enough to create steam, and also hot enough so that when the pan cools from the addition of the food, it is still hot enough to create steam. but only just...

this is one of the reasons that there is frequently the instruction to heat the pan, add the food, then immediately lower the temperature.

grade A=Amber
grade B=Brown

the grades are largely just an indication of how long the syrup was cooked.

If you cook something long or hot enough for a significant amount of water to evaporate, the alcohol has mostly gone by then. this is the basis of distillation, alcohol boils long before water, but reductions tend to work in percentages rather than absolute amounts. i.e. boiling for a certain amount of time will remove a certain percentage of the alcohol. the same amount of time again will remove the same percentage of what's left, rather than the same amount.

that said, I defy anyone to get drunk (or even remotely tipsy) off even a large serving of coq au vin...

generally speaking there are two popular types of cheesecake. New York, and French. the NY cheesecake is the one that most people in the US are familiar with. the French cheesecake on the other hand, is a very light and fluffy thing.

in the case of the light and fluffy ones, a knife dipped in warm water might help.

it sounds like the recipe you are starting with is geared towards the french variety.

make enough for six, and assume someone else is making desert.

re: overspilling muffins. just fill the tin a bit more, but don't forget to butter the top of the muffin tin. bearing in mind that if you don't use the paper cups, getting the muffin out can be an issue if you can't get a knife down the side.

second note, put the muffins on a lower shelf in the oven. this directs a bit more heat to the bottom of the muffin, and less to the top.

I used to get them all the time when I lived in Italy, (I was 12 at the time.) I still can't believe that after all this time that there are actually enforcement people devoted to confiscating the eggs.

what's truly unbelievable is that you can cross the border with a box full of the toys, it's only when the toy is still wrapped in chocolate that it appears to be a problem.

I'm all for basic consumer safety regulations, but there is a point where it changes from selling something that is inherently dangerous to selling something with which you can do something stupid to yourself. and kinder eggs are definitely on the far side of that line.

one tip, rather than cutting the butter up and adding flour, you can just place the butter between a couple of sheets of wax paper when flattening it. you just have to remember to peel the paper off and flip it frequently, or the spreading butter will tear the wax paper. bonus points if you have a stone counter top that you can keep a bag of ice on before you work. (

pbs.org's video collection has the julia child episode where she has a guest beating the butter on saran wrap, worth watching for the technique, though he's making mille feuille rather than croissants. (essentially the same, just leave out the yeast, sugar and oil)

having attempted this a few early times with simply softened butter, the beating it up really makes a difference.

I have one, but I bought it, generally use it for mixing plastics and glues more than food. (carefully wrapped in a plastic bag,) but then I tend to use estimates for most baking. 'until it looks like...' is a commonly heard phrase for me.

I generally think of a crumpet as a thinned out bread dough (batter) cooked like a pancake. (the recipes I've found seem similar to soda bread, white/french bread and brioche in their contents and use of yeast or eggs. google 'crumpet recipe' and marvel at the variety...)

english muffins are an unthinned bread dough, cooked like a pancake.

the major difference between the two is that the crumpets are so thinned out that the bubbles can pierce the top and create lots of little holes to fill with butter and such, where the english muffins are so thick that the bubbles remain on the inside. (hence having to split them before adding the toppings.)