alanamoana

usually the cream for ganache is boiled...the op mentioned she used the yogurt cold out of the fridge. this might make a difference in shelf-life, even with active cultures, no?

again, my sympathies. i really do love the pcb designs more than any i have seen. if it wasn't such a pain in the a$$ i'd be doing like kerry beal and making my own transfers in designs that i like. too bad they have a monopoly on that sort of thing. and too bad you don't do the volume that places like payard (in nyc) does...he just orders the stuff by the container load from what i understand.

they now have trans-fat free crisco...maybe that is healthier, but health and flavor don't often walk hand-in-hand.

the last time i ordered from them, i had some issues with the internet. it took about a month (this was june/july). but there wasn't anything mentioned about fda or customs. once i made enough noise via e-mail, the delivery magically showed up. this could be something new. i sympathize, especially with the current exchange rate. you might be better off buying their transfer sheets from qzina (but i know that the selection is limited) sorry!

you guys sure know how to flatter! , thanks kerry!

there is also a photo demo of the technique in one of the chocolate threads. check out the new index and see if you can find it through the links...i'm not sure which thread it is in... edited to add: link to demo starting around post #28

we got a cuisinart at work to test out. while we'd be using them under completely different circumstances (culinary school), here's my opinion: don't get a cuisinart. it just seemed flimsy to me. everything was plasticky, especially the attachments. the paddle felt like it would snap in two the minute you tried to make cookie dough. the whisk seemed very delicate as well. where you put the attachments has a little door that flips out in front, sort of stupid looking. the knobs, everything just seemed sub-par. just doesn't seem like a machine that even a very serious hobbyist at home would put up with for long, much less a professional.

while school is certainly not a bad thing when it comes to management (even in restaurants), i have yet to come across a manager in a restaurant (high-end or otherwise) that has any sort of degree relating to restaurants or management. for the most part, the managers that i know have usually moved their way up from the ranks of servers/bartenders/etc. as a matter of fact, an acquaintance of mine from high school started out as a busboy at the sheraton waikiki and he is now the general manager of the entire hotel! so, as bryan noted, i'm here to give you advice to at least get a job as a server to see if you like the business (trust me, the management end is not glamorous) before you spend any money on school. today's new york times article on front of the house p.s. hillstone restaurant group consistently has good service...across the board. their restaurants are the kind of place that my husband and i go to at least twice a month as a neighborhood place and we are always treated well. an example of how well organized they must be from the top down.

sounds like the kids had fun. has to be better than "chuck e. cheese's", right? and a suggestion for next year...that doesn't involve knives: make pate a choux, pastry cream and a simple ganache...then have them make and fill cream puffs and eclairs. easy, fun and very satisfying as you watch them expand in the oven.

when referring to laminated (layered doughs like puff, danish and croissant), usually the dough itself is called the detrempe and the butter block is called the...butter block . it doesn't specifically mean an extra layer of dough, it is just that serj noted someone who used it as such to correct an error in rolling.

gold leaf is pretty available on-line. the stuff that comes in little booklets is the most expensive. in the jars you can get "crumbs" or something like that...much harder to apply to the top of chocolates and not as even looking. you can also get gold transfer sheets that look like a dab of gold leaf made specifically for palet d'or. of course, this isn't real gold like the leaf but just gold colored cocoa butter transfer. don't know which one would be cheaper in the long run.

david, you probably can get away with it. i don't know about even coverage though. to add an addendum to gfron1's experience with the cocoa butter: i asked my colleague what he thought about using vegetable oil in a pinch (if you don't have cocoa butter)...he said it is fine, but you might not end up with the nice velvety effect that you do with cocoa butter. the cocoa butter is there not only for thinning the chocolate but also so that it sets up quickly on the frozen sprayed item. vegetable oil doesn't "set up" the same way as it doesn't contain the same crystal structure that cocoa butter does. so, i'll give it a try one day, and post results...just because i'm curious what the visual results will be. the chocolate might have enough cocoa butter included to give you the velvety look...who knows. i guess i'd rather use vegetable oil instead of something i might question as to being food-safe.

john, i think the dipping looks great, nice and clean without big feet. if you're concerned with thickness, it has more to do with chocolate viscosity than anything else. the chocolates look good!

just another envious eGulleteer adding my thanks for a wonderful report (as usual) David! thanks for posting all the information and photos!

i would add (although it is moot because a lot of places have added some sort of automation): hand shaped loaves baked directly on a hearth smaller batches

sounds like a salvadorean version of a napoleon (a.k.a. mille feuille)

and remember in class with jp-wybauw, he mentioned that he always keeps chocolates in the freezer at home to have when guests come around. just remember it is sort of a long defrost cycle: in the fridge for one day then out at room temp for one day before unwrapping and eating. it seems to be common practice as someone i know who worked at the notter school for the past year talks about it as well. with some of the higher end commercial vacuum sealers, you can program how strong of a vacuum you want...so you can control the pressure. with the 'food saver' brand of vacuum sealers, can you control (stop) the vacuum while it is working or does it have to go through a complete cycle?

i think shalmanese meant that the restaurant kopitiam is near the powerhouse museum and that a friend of his ate at kopitiam often because she was spending a lot of time at the museum...NOT that the museum has a restaurant (right, shalmanese?)

pie dough...there's a whole thread on it in the index this is a DEMO and one of only several threads that discuss this versatile dough. traditional american pie dough is flaky and neutral in flavor thus lending itself well to either savory or sweet applications.

but that doesn't mean that you need a thermometer to maintain temper. if you're practiced enough to get the feel of the chocolate while you do have the thermometer, you should be able to temper without it. i never use a thermometer but always test the temper before i fill molds etc. don't usually have any problems. while temperature is important, it isn't the only factor that affects your temper: time and agitation are also important as long as you have the proper seed crystals developed in your chocolate.

rob, i have to say those cheesecakes are some of the most elegant desserts you've made so far! i admit, i'm a fan of clean, simple lines and that's what i love best about them. great job!

don't be afraid to replace the margarine with butter in that recipe. they come out fine. also, because the dough is so slack, you can add a little extra flour with no ill effects. when i use butter, i leave it out at room temperature until it is flexible (but not greasy) so that i can spread it onto the dough easier. i do follow the directions closely in that i keep everything as cold as possible (all the liquid ingredients and the flour) until mixing time. by the time i'm done mixing, i can immediately incorporate my fat into the dough and do at least two turns right away without resting the dough. then i let it rest and do two more turns. i do the first couple of turns immediately so that my butter can become smooth and incorporated without solidifying again in the fridge. the dough is so slack that it won't fight you. as you noticed, after to you do all the turns, you won't have any problems. edited to add: traditional danish pastry also has the most fat of any laminated dough as compared to puff pastry and croissant dough...so you'll almost always still see fat through the dough until the last turn.

hmmmmmm...rum raisin sauce! would have been perfect here today as the weather suddenly got gloomy.

if you look through this thread, there are several photos of them. (including post #213 on this page...a beautiful picture of one with a bite taken out of it)

you could try using another browser. i use firefox and haven't had any problems.