I have to confess it’s taken me a while to come around to whole grain breads. I’ve avoided them most of my adult life, as I associate them with the brick-like fruits of my hippie college buddy’s labors. I can still recall the experience of staring down at one of Scott’s fresh-baked loaves, marveling that […]
READ ONActually “whole wheat” sandwich bread was the official request, but for reasons that will become clear as the week progresses, I thought “whole” wheat was a bit too limiting. Make no mistake, I plan to make a “wheat” bread of some description, but the odds are excellent that I’m going to sneak at least a […]
READ ONAn interesting question from reader Jonah R. this past weekend, for indeed most traditional soufflé dishes have a ridged exterior. Most smaller ramekins have them as well, and they’re not just decorative, they have a function. That function is to increase the surface area on the outside of the dish, and more surface area means […]
READ ONYesterday I was where I always am on the last Sunday in May: the Indianapolis 500. What can I say? They call it the greatest spectacle in racing, and friends, it’s no lie. I’ve missed only a handful of years since I was ten years old, and the first roaring lap of the race still […]
READ ONYou want to talk about the dynamic nature of a soufflé? By the time I got this beast into my preferred light to snap this picture, it had already fallen from its peak about two inches over the rim of the form to a level about even with the form. That’s normal for a soufflé […]
READ ONHere’s a hot little accessory that all the pizzaioli in Naples are going to be running out to buy: NBA-branded edible decals for pizzas. They’re similar to the photo-realistic decals that came out for cakes a few years ago: paper-thin little appliques made of sugar and starch. According to USA Today, the licensed decals will […]
READ ONI don’t think there’s a cook alive who hasn’t heard all the various myths about soufflées: that they’ll fall at the drop of the proverbial hat, with the vibration of door slam, a heavy footfall, even a shout. Even among the enlightened who’ve sworn off such primitive superstitions, myths persist about soufflées falling when their […]
READ ONReader Bronwyn from New Zealand offers this puzzler from down under: When I was young being able to make a great sponge was almost as much a mark of proper womanhood as making a good Pavlova. (Thank goodness those days have gone.) The sort of sponge I mean is this: http://www.foodlovers.co.nz/forum/read.php?3,86688 with no fat except […]
READ ONReader Linda writes: I took a look at a video showing Julia Child making the cheese souffle, and she emphasized the importance of not letting the cheese melt into the sauce. She partially folded the bechamel/yolks and whites together before sprinkling in the cheese. If the cheese melts into the sauce, she notes, the souffle […]
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