Good tip, thanks!

Yeah, I really got to start looking at photos before I post them. The picture does make it look a bit … poop adjacent.

Archive link https://archive.is/6wgSV

Good question, not sure I’ve got an answer. Just a term I’ve heard a lot, always sounded like it was doing something on the molecular level. Which I guess everything is. I think it’s this. When you stretch the milk, you’re trying to (about) double it in volume with tiny bubbles (microfoam). If the bubbles are too big, that’s foaming the milk. I think. Lance will better explain it. But foam like that is the way it’s done in most of Italy (from my limited experience). It’s just a different way of doing it.

I, too, was like you. Until one day, I learned the secret …

No, seriously. Lance Hedrick is great about how to make good foam and all the secrets to pouring.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL0BqZlXENXW-WG5pS_k-xsFu-xXLy1XVZ

Just looking at it though I must ask, what kind of milk? It does seem a bit foamy, and I get that with certain commercial milks, and less so with raw milk.

Also, it was a huge help (my friend talk me this, not Lance) to bleed the wand before using it, really let a bunch of steam out. There’s a kind of balance when you get it right, that if you texture without bleeding, it’s too foamy, and with too much, you have to add air while you’re stretching the milk.

And that’s exactly how much you can know by looking at a picture. The most important thing I’ve found over the years is milk and coffee taste good.

I’m sorry to say just a bad photo on my part, I should have lightened it up before I posted it. Very embarrassing. I promise it’s much nicer in real life and taste good too.

Edited photo. Is that cheating?

There’s nothing better!

I live in a tiny town in Brittany, France and have a great roaster here called Cafés Celtik. They opened about five years ago, and they’re doing pretty well, selling to supermarkets and so on.

Torrefaction (roasting) is growing in France, but coffee making not so much. Not a lot of people in France, even cafés, care about things like roasting dates. So you really have to go in to their shop to buy.

Also check out Bourbon d’Ansel and Café 1802. About 1/3 the price of Paris roasters. Speaking of stupid expensive.

Going out on a limb, saying it may not work when it’s plumbed in. Though a secret flipping countertop would be pretty cool.

That looks like a really good grinder. When I upgraded from pre-ground, it was a huge change in quality. Can’t go back now!

I make a lot of beef (or lamb) stew without any seasoning (except for two bay leaves) in the instapot (which I resisted as a “dumb gadget” for way too long). It gets frozen and when I’m ready, I just add things to the meat, and you’d never know it was frozen.

In this case, I had pre-reduced red-wine and roast-garlic sauce sitting in the fridge. Added some tomato paste and then some brown sugar, when it seemed like the wine was a bit sour. If I had an orange, I would have added some zest, that’s a nice trick.

And butter. Because butter solves anything.

I roasted red onions with the potatoes and then mixed them into beef. They get some of the crunchy bits of potatoes coated on them, which works well I think.

Too late - already gone!

It’s not so much a recipe, but a series of secrets.

Usually I caramelise the onions in a mix of butter, olive oil, ground fennel seeds and salt. To really make it work, I let them cook for about 30-45 minutes at low heat and covered. You’ll know when they’re done.

Then I add stock. I use a fond de légumes which I make in bulk and freeze, but any stock will do. But the three secret ingredients I found are brewer’s yeast (which you add, and then dissolves), port wine and fish sauce. Really makes a great soup. And though it doesn’t sound authentic, it tastes like it is.

Top with garlic croutons (you can also rub garlic on dried bread), then for me a mix of beaufort, gouda and aged gouda, and put under the broiler. Sounds elaborate, but soup freezes nicely.

If anyone can tell me how to make this work with imgur, I’d be super grateful!

Thank you, I was happy the way the picture turned out.

They sell cook’s butter (called «Brut de Baratte») which is about half the price and really nice to work with.

My excuse is lard and vegetable shortening is hard to get here. My reason is butter is great.

They can be made with oil, but my oil ones never really set up properly.

It’s a lovely place, and great beaches to explore when they allow dogs. Great views of the city from there.

To get that crisp and shiny ‘snap’ you need to temper the chocolate. As it was explained to me, though I should probably look it up, there are two fats in chocolate with different melting points. You raise the temperature to melt both, lower the temperature to solidify both, then raise it slightly to melt one again. I found this video from Callebaut, who’s a pretty good supplier. Obviously, you would use a bain marie and a thermometer instead of a very expensive, but very cool chocolate melter.

YouTube nocookie link: https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=NnhSM97zFG8