Updated version of making American-cheese-style slices of medium-hard cheeses such as Cheddar or Gruyere: add a small amount of gelatin (which both emulsifies and melts quickly), evaporated milk, and a small amount of water to the cheese. Also, immersion blending the mixture can help break up hard tyrosine crystals in savory cheeses. Of course, this recipe is no longer vegetarian, as the flour-based one was.

Note: Sodium citrate is recommended as an emulsifier by the molecular gastronomy crowd.

Kenji's reflections on his four-week vegan experience: some notes on his favorite recipes, how to adjust one's diet to fit a vegan lifestyle without simply loading up on simple carbohydrates, and some tips on how to make the transition (keep an open mind, give yourself time, stock your pantry and fridge with quality ingredients, be proud of your choice, prepare in advance if you won't have easy access to vegan food, and stick with it!)

Spectacular vegan feast to cap off Kenji's four-week vegan experience. He succeeded in not getting his dad to notice there was no meat until the fifth course.

Some notes on brewing from base malt: discussing 2-row versus 6-row malt, country of origin, how to buy quality malt, how to store malt, and how to crush the malt, either at your brewing supply shop or at home with your own crusher.

Kenji's experiments with creating a risotto that both is creamy with starch and has a toasted nutty flavor. The solution: rinse the rice in the cooking broth, then drain and toast the rice, adding the starchy broth back during cooking.

Some notes on brewing Assam tea, along with some background and historical information.

Serious Eats's list of basic cheeses, with notes about aging, tasting, region of origin, and common uses.

Kenji demonstrated the right way to reheat corn tortillas: dip in cold water, place on a nonstick skillet over high heat (e.g., seasoned cast iron), let cook about 30 seconds, until spotty brown, then flip, cook another 5-10 seconds, and transfer to a stack on a towel. When finished, fold over the towel and let steam for 5 minutes. Then consume!

Kenji swaps out his animal-based, long-shelf-life food enhancers (flavorful fats, anchovies, fish sauce) for vegan ones. Key basic ingredients: soy sauce, marmite, Maggi seasoning, miso paste, Asian sauces such as hot chile oil and fermented chili bean paste, Frank's RedHot, various vinegars, such as Chinkiang black vinegar, and citrus. Sauces requiring slightly more preparation: vinaigrettes, roasted chile oil, vegan mayo, Japanese tare sauce, and cilantro chutney. Spices such as Korean gochujang, za'atar, and five-spice powder are also useful.

Discussion of how to extract pulp from tamarind. The ideal ratio is one ounce of pulp to one ounce of water, so that the pulp is not too diluted. Soak the block of pulp in warm water for 15 to 20 minutes, then squish the block by hand: take a handful of tamarind, squish out the pulp through your fingers, and discard the seeds and husks left in your hand.

Part five of epic Pad Thai instructions: putting it all together. Do your mise en place, use enough oil, use a big enough skillet, and stay on your toes.

Part four of epic Pad Thai instructions: the sauce. Make it concentrated, with tamarind pulp (see preparation post), fish sauce, palm sugar, and brown sugar.

Part three of epic Pad Thai instructions: exotic ingredients. Some of these are not typically used in pad thai outside of Thailand. Important ones: extra-firm unseasoned tofu, preferably tinted yellow; tamarind pulp (see earlier post for preparation); Chinese garlic chives. Optional: dried pickled (daikon) radish, often called pickled turnips; shrimp paste in oil (the red stuff); small dried shrimp, with shells on. Garnish: banana blossom.

Part two of epic Pad Thai instructions: noodle shape and preparation. Get small to medium (2-3 mm wide) flat rice noodles and soak in room temperature water until pliable yet firm, abut 20 to 30 minutes. They should be edible, but not pleasantly so, and you should be able to wrap them around your fingers. Do not blanch them, as the noodles will get gummy and starchy.

Part one of epic Pad Thai instructions: discussing pans. A good option is a giant 17-inch Lodge cast-iron skillet, as it provides a lot of room for fast evaporation even with 3-4 servings in the pan.

A philosophical note from Kenji about the differences between those few people who can improve a stellar recipe spontaneously and the people who instead take existing recipes and evolve, tweak, and re-engineer them gradually.

Some tips on brewing a Belgian-style saison beer: medium-high alcohol, but relatively light and fruity.

Kenji's experiments to get a creamy risotto with a toasted, nutty flavor from the rice. He rinses the rice in the broth beforehand, toasts the rice, then adds the starch back in cooking.

Kenji explores how to make vegan mayonnaise: the main issue is replacing the emulsifier (lecithin) in egg yolks. The most stable and neutral solution is to use silken tofu (and a dash of soy lecithin), but the tastiest was with roasted eggplant.

Kenji explains how to make authentic, Roman-style pizza bianca at home (with a floury bottom crust, not a fried one) using a no-knead, high-hydration (80%) dough.

Adam Kuban's account of the pizza party he ran as a prize from the Slice Out Hunger raffle. Highlights include accommodating the buffalo-chicken topping request (and passing with flying colors) and serving a Tex-Mex banana pepper pie. Sounds delicious.

A Google Docs spreadsheet containing everything in Kenji's pantry and fridge.

Kenji's advice on planning and organizing a large Thanksgiving dinner, including dish selection and diversity and knowing what can and should be done in advance.

Pretty great.

Note on unraveling the special flavor that squid (actually, cuttlefish) ink gives to pasta, sauces, soups, and other dishes. The upshot: it's most likely the combination of briny, seafood flavors and high concentrations of glutamic acid and other amino acids.

Kenji constructs a decent Greek-style (medium-thick crust, rich tomato sauce, half-fried in skillet) pizza.

Busting some myths surrounding San Marzano tomatoes. The main facts: San Marzanos come from the US as well as Italy (although not DOP ones), and they're popular because their low moisture content and thick flesh makes them ideal for canning.

Bottom line: flavorful toppings! Fatty, spice meats such as sausage, pepperoni, sopressata; veggies such as arugula, par-cooked kale, caramelized or thin-sliced onions, grilled zucchini, pickled fennel, or shaved asparagus; herbs and spices (capsaicin). Not bland meats such as chicken or watery veggies such as (raw) zucchini or thick onions.

Kenji thoroughly tests American canned, HFCS Coke versus Mexican bottled, sugar Coke. The results: HFCS wins on taste, bottle on feel, sugar on mind.

Intro to brewing lagers, including notes on temperature and managing yeast populations.

Kenji's extensive guide to taco styles. Soft vs. hard (mostly soft), fillings (meats, veggies, fish), salsas, regional variations, and various fast food "interpretations".

Kenji's updated guide to grilled pizza, this time with advice on topping selection and preparation. Suggestions include: marinated or preserved items, parcooked and grilled veggies, cured meats, fresh herbs, and flavored oils. Whatever you do, keep it simple, and don't overload the pizza.

Kenji's secret to getting those aged cheese to melt instead of weep grease: grate them, mix them with a little milk or cream (for moisture) and flour (an emulsifier), then steam. Makes the perfect cheeseburger, no advanced molecular gastronomy required.

Primo baking stone, recommended by Cook's Illustrated and Serious Eats.

Kenji conducts a blind taste test of Macallan 12, 18, and 25 to determine whether longer aging always means a better whisky. The victor: the 18, not the 25.

How to use flaxseed oil to build up a strong nonstick finish on cast iron.

High-quality chocolate-covered marzipan and other nut-based confections from eastern Pennsylvania.

Robert Lustig asserts that sugar (refined sucrose and fructose) is a chronic toxin: while we metabolize the glucose throughout our bodies, we metabolize fructose only in our livers, making them fatty and contributing to insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes. In fact, excess fructose could primarily account for the high rates of heart disease and diabetes in Western cultures.

Of course, a lot of these detrimental effects depend on how much total fructose we take in and how quickly it hits the liver, so that fruits and vegetables with high levels of sugars are still beneficial since the fiber and other nutrients in the food slow the release of fructose from the GI tract into the bloodstream. (This subtlety is under-discussed in the article, which focuses mostly on the effects of refined sugars on top of those acquired from fruits and vegetables.)

Cancer researchers, including Craig Thompson at Sloan-Kettering, suspect that higher levels of insulin also contribute to the formation of malignant cancers, as the extra insulin spurs their growth.

None of this is rock-solid conclusive yet, but perhaps we're better being safe than sorry.

Kenji develops a recipe for classic, flaky Chinese scallion pancakes with dipping sauce.

Kenji's technique for breaking down a whole chicken, now with video.

How to make onigiri (Japanese rice balls), simplified.

Some advice on rice varieties, mostly for Japanese cooking.

Kenji and Serious Eats review burger buns: Martin's, Arnold, and Sunbeam score well.

CSA based in Jamesport, NY, on the North Fork of Long Island. We're giving them a shot this summer (2011).

Detailed instructions for creating your own sub-$100 sous-vide water circulator (vacuum-sealer and bags not included, unfortunately). Includes cutting templates for the Plexiglass housing and wiring diagrams for the heating coils and controllers.

Kenji works out the best Eggplant Parmesan recipe, including microwave par-cooking the eggplant and the optimal way of handling and frying the eggplant.

Kenji's favorable review of Fuddruckers's burgers.

Fruits, vegetables, grains, and other foods with high fiber content.

More cast-iron cleaning and seasoning advice. This guy prefers Crisoo, but I'm not so sure about that.

Good advice for cast-iron cookware: seasoning, re-seasoning, and cleaning without de-seasoning.

Jim Lahey's awesome bread bakery in Manhattan. Delicious ciabatta bread!

Spokane-area CSA, offering produce, eggs, and various meats.

A reference to different types and grades of refined flours, mainly for pizza making.

Notes about alternative flour adjuncts for bread and pizza dough.

Kenji reviews some uses for cake testers and recommends some good brands.

Kenji on quartering and slicing mushrooms.

Kenji's guide to all things prime rib.

Suggestions for pairing cheese and beer.

Kenji revises his Shake Shack recipe to replicate the Double Shack Stack: a cheese-stuffed portobello on top of the burger patty. Deliciously cholesto-rific.

A quick tip on removing pomegranate seeds en masse in a water bath.

A guide to buying and using top-notch saffron.

Local food market in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn.

Notes on different ways coffee beans are processed before being roasted.

Some FAQs about sourdough starters, following up on the make-your-own-starter series.

Kenji reviews his seven essential pots and pans.

List of additives for pizza and bread doughs.

Recommendations for basic home-brewing equipment.

A survey of different types of ciders, with a few links to terminology and techniques.

A few tips on planning and hosting cocktail parties.

Tips on drying and reviving a sourdough starter.

First in a series of articles about starting and maintaining a sourdough starter.

Kenji's awesome homemade hot chocolate mix. The secret ingredient? Cornstarch.

Kenji argues that, if done properly, commercial foie gras production is not inherently unethical.

Basic facts about DOP Italian San Marzano tomatoes.

A few facts about Maine's famous Moxie soda.

Kenji covers efficient apple slicing for pies, plus a few notes on managing acidity and pectin.

Kenji's advice on selecting and preparing city and country hams.

Malcolm Gladwell on why we have but a single ketchup, but multiple mustards and red pasta sauces.

Information on DIY hydroponic window-farming, especially for limited-space urban environments.