alanamoana

they don't lock into place. they are very heavy/dense metal so they stay in place due to their own weight. they also don't warp because they are so solid. i'm sure you could tape them if you're concerned. i had tap plastic make me a custom frame for caramel and it ended up being about $45 dollars anyway. and the particular store i went to wouldn't square off the inside corners, so i have rounded corners in my frame. but i do like the options and flexibility of getting something custom.

cheesecake can actually freeze reasonably well. i think it depends on your formula because it can crack and weep when defrosted, but not necessarily all the time. the cheesecake factory ships frozen cheesecake, but that makes me think they use some kind of gum or gelatin type stuff in their ingredients to keep them stable.

Kerry, as another option...i've seen at most chocolate shops...the standard display is just using acrylic squares with chocolate on top. they then often stack these one on top of the other. there are a lot of places that make acrylic stands, simple bent acrylic rectangles that you can use like risers. it would be pretty inexpensive to use these items. hey, are you finally going to sell some stuff?

i would think that you can't replace water for cream 1:1 only because the cream has added fat which might help stabilize your chocolate emulsion? but that doesn't mean i know how much water you can add... also, adding only water and a flavoring (let's say liqueur) to make a ganache...i would think it would be a pretty stable mixture (shelf-life-wise) because even though you're adding water (we're always trying to reduce water activity/content), you aren't adding a dairy product which has sugar on which bacteria can feed even though i know there is some in the chocolate already. it just seems to make sense that water and liqueur are more stable than cream and liqueur at room temperature...am i jumping to conclusions?

if you heat the liquid, doesn't the gelatin dissolve too much to be filtered out (becomes too much part of the mix)? it would seem that you'd add the gelatin to a cool liquid and strain it out.

if you want high gluten flour, you can always use bread flour which should be readily available at most supermarkets. the dough should just be flour and water. it isn't too picky. i've seen both methods: cube of gelatinized stock covered with the filling OR diced gelatinized stock mixed in with the filling. i like the idea of it being a more homogenized mixture. also, the recipes i've seen are mostly chicken (feet) stock based but use pork skin to gelatinize the mixture. so i don't see it being blasphemous to use pure chicken stock if you have a particularly rich batch. often the names dumpling and bun are used interchangeably, specifically in this case. the chinese term "bao" is most often translated as bun and the chinese name for soup dumplings is "xiao long bao" or literally "little dragon bun". but it is most definitely a dumpling. (i like using the word "gelatinized" ) i have some frozen potsticker filling, and i plan on using that for my first batch and just mixing in the gelatinized stock. that's so i can get an idea of how it all works. i think the fillings are relatively similar but the xiao long bao probably don't have as much vegetable in the filling as my usual potsticker filling.

the box says: "may contain milk, egg and soybean ingredients" i'm sure this is standard disclaimer information for places that manufacture multiple items on the same machinery or near certain machinery. softasilk is made by pillsbury, so depending on which plant it is packaged in or milled or whatever, it could be packaged on the same machinery as cake mixes, etc. which probably have traces of allergens. you'll see this kind of language on almost any processed food these days.

damn, how many freezers do you have?

i also think these cakes are great! especially at this time of year. for some reason, the older i get, the more squeamish i get, but i'm still up for severed arm cake. check with me in five years i do like how much research goes into making the cakes as realistic as possible. i loved that the zombie head actually had oozing blood from the eye and mouth!

at the culinary school where i teach, they have to wear beard nets...it is so ridiculous i wonder why people don't just shave. there are a lot of restaurants that don't really want you to have facial hair. it has gotten more lenient in recent years (what with the frowning upon of "screamer" chefs), but that's one preference i wish they'd keep. somehow facial hair just looks dirty regardless of how it is groomed.

hehehe!! i might have been disillusioned into thinking that...it certainly isn't true and it is just as hard as a restaurant job in some respects. of course you don't have to make sure that everything is done perfectly for dinner service or stuff like that, but you have to keep a sharp eye on all the students ALL the time. they're always trying to slide something by you...bastards!! the hours are better, as i'm only part-time. i only teach when the culinary students hit their baking and pastry section (fourteen days total). i'm only on my first batch of students as well. so my song could be changing at any time. next week, another class hits b&p, so i have a 7am-12noon class and then a break and a 6pm-11pm class. this only overlaps like that for about four or five days, so not too bad. i live close enough to go home and take a nap in between if i need to. every school is different. this school is new, so everyone is working on getting their sea legs. they have very high expectations. they would love it if all of the instructors were certified master chefs or some other certified someting or other. i don't have any certifications but i bring REAL restaurant experience to the table that some instructors haven't had in a while, if ever (no different from a place like the cia where some of the older instructors have no clue to what's going on in the outside world anymore). i try to use that in my lessons if i can. but i'm still learning everything myself. this is a great learning experience. i think it is another aspect of my "calling" that i have to master in order to move on with food. i look forward to (hopefully) sitting in on some of the savory classes to enrich my knowledge of food and wine. there's only so much you can read or watch from the other side of the kitchen. sometimes you gotta sink your knife into it. of course, i'm being very idealistic...how many people do you know that want to hang out at their place of employment on their days off?! but it is nice to know that the opportunity is there. there's an ancient chinese saying (i love saying that) that goes something like this: jiao xue, xiang zhang (the chinese have these four word/character sayings for everything) it means (approximately): whether teaching or learning, both increase/benefit. sort of like being a teacher, i can learn just as much as the student. and that's as philosophical as i'm going to wax this evening!

most chefs don't wear hats. most chefs make their cooks wear hats. that's just the way it is. it is regulated by the health department, that's why people who don't normally wear hats (the chefs) are running around with a silly paper hat on when the health inspector comes to town. sure, ideally it would be great if the chef would wear a hat...but the likelihood of that happening is very small. if you're the chef, wear a hat...make a statement.

I know there are threads like this, but I'll be darned if I know how to search for them. For future reference though, with a title like the one you've given this topic, nobody is ever going to be able to find it again. It is a bit vague! I attended culinary school in San Francisco. I worked in San Francisco restaurants for four years and then took a little time off. When I was ready to work again, I moved to New York City and worked there for four years in several restaurants. Most of my experience is in "fine dining" type restaurants. I'm now back in California and I'm not working in restaurants anymore. I'm an instructor at a culinary school where I teach baking and pastry basics to students who are studying culinary arts (the full "cooking" program, not just baking and pastry). Although it isn't the rule, when starting out in the industry, it is best to be able to work whenever, wherever and for very little money. I know that during my first interview, I never even asked what hours I would be working or what my pay would be. I just showed up for work when they told me and took whatever paycheck came to me. Only after gaining some seniority, did I even dare to ask for days off or ask for a raise. After becoming a pastry chef, the biggest thorn in my side was dealing with employee demands for specific schedules, ridiculous pay, etc. I found that culinary school (regardless of where you get your education) was not preparing people for the realities of the restaurant business. You'd be amazed at how many prospective employees ask for Monday through Friday, "nine-to-five" shifts and then demand more money than they are worth. I know that the industry doesn't pay well, but there is something called "merit-based pay" and many of these people were barely worth minimum wage. Of course, there are different businesses with different needs. If you need morning shifts, you can work in a bakery or cafe...but it is no guarantee you'll get a schedule you'll like. If you want to work in a restaurant, the first position often offered is the "plating" position. This is plating up the desserts which are prepared during the day. A beginning position and very vital to the restaurant, but often shunned because of hours and because people feel they aren't learning anything. This is far from the truth. To find a GOOD plater is very difficult. The skills involved may not be what you learned in culinary school, but coordination, speed, the ability to prioritize, to work under pressure, etc. are just as valuable. One often has to be a plater for a while before working your way into a production position. Particularly for people changing careers, the question to ask yourself is if you're ready to work ten to twelve hour shifts with no real break, standing on your feet doing repetitive tasks...day after day in less than ideal working conditions. It sounds discouraging, but it is the reality of most restaurants and most food related businesses. Of course, I live in Silicon Valley and there are plenty of food related jobs within Google which would offer good benefits, schedule, working environment...but remember it is only one company and it is basically a glorified cafeteria job. The best advice is to know yourself and know what you are willing to do in order to learn this business. Find out what your ultimate goal is and what you need to do to reach that goal. Then, do whatever it takes to get to the finish line. The problem with most people is that they aren't willing to do whatever it takes and/or they really don't know what they want to do with their knowledge. There are so many people who say "I really like to cook or bake, I think I'll go to culinary school and maybe get a job in a restaurant and maybe start a business". Then they find out that cooking in a restaurant is a lot harder and not as fun as cooking for friends and family at home. They also find out that you often do the same things over and over until you're sick of them. They might not learn a broad range of things. They might not have done any research and don't realize how expensive it is to start a business. The list goes on and on. So take what I say with a box of kosher salt (as I'm a bit jaded on the business ) but at the very least, be very realistic with yourself.

KKLLOOb, thanks for the reply. i never thought of the li-hing mui/chocolate combo. i remember they sell li-hing powder at the costco in honolulu. sounds interesting. next time i'm in hawaii, i'll have to give you a call! i had a hard time getting in touch with my mom because they only have one phone that isn't a cordless (electricity dependent) and she never turns on her cell phone!!! but everyone seems to be okay. aloha, alanamoana

welcome KKLLOOb! sounds like you have a good technique that works well for you. you didn't get any cracking with the cold centers? hope you got your power back on and that everything's okay after the quake!! aloha, alanamoana

that actually looks really good! but funny because my recipe for financiers is just a dump and mix. nothing is done to the egg whites. almond meal egg white browned butter flour sugar, granulated sugar, powdered salt flavoring, vanilla extract or liqueur dump and mix, portion and bake

don't ever refrigerate extra bread. you should wrap it well and put it in the freezer.

yeah, but you can get a deliciously juicy bird just by brining and roasting in a disposable aluminum pan...it is more about technique than cookware. as someone stated above, unless you do a lot of specialty cooking, specialty cookware is all about gift registries...and how much money they can get people to spend. it wouldn't surprise me if contractors were involved so that they can sell more kitchen cabinetry during remodels!

are pizza stones seasoned? because if they aren't, there's no need to season as i've never seasoned mine. however, it looks like your bricks are pretty porous. this might be a problem. if that's the case, since i don't know anything about seasoning and oven, i'd start my bread on parchement and when it has developed a bit of a crust, remove the parchment and finish directly on the stones. that way you avoid sticking. unless of course someone knows something about seasoning. then you can disregard this post!

i don't think you have to scald your cream/liquid before making a brulee mix, but i could be wrong. i do know i've made custards (like creme brulee) that haven't needed heating before baking. glenn, you did say you whipped your egg yolks and sugar on a mixer. you don't have to do this. all that whisking on a mixer over aerates your yolk mixture. whisking by hand should be enough. strain your mixture before pouring into a ramekin. even when baking in a water bath, you should cover the entire pan so that the ambient temperature on top of the brulees is kept low as well. the steam helps to keep the tops moist. they shouldn't souffle at all.

do you have to be a professional to participate?

Knowing that, then if you wanted to do a REAL cake with that kind of art (say someone was gonna pay you a million to do it), would it be possible? I know you could do a lot in advance, but realistically could you make a real cake that elaborate? ← fruitcake? to be quite honest, it doesn't really look like 400 hours worth of work. not to put anyone down who has the ability and the patience to make gumpaste/sugarpaste flowers and pipe royal icing, but 400 hours? of course, that's only 16.6 straight days of work

Should have said - my Grillit (and IIRC every other one I've seen) has a smooth enamelled exterior to the base. Which would appear kind and non-scratching to the glass ceramic top. It's certainly sits beautifully flat on the glass. What's the problem? ← often the manufacturers of the stoves have a warning about using certain things on those surfaces. there's a thread specifically talking about grill pans which are long and rectangular and meant to be used across two burners. they can cause something called "crazing" (cracking of the enamel or surface) to the tops of certain stoves. it probably isn't a problem at all for using on one burner.

I have one of the double sphere molds, after you make it a couple of times you pick up some tricks to get a thin shell. You use chocolate at the high end of your working temperature, so it is a fluid as possible, a little less than half fill the round half, put the two sides together, band the crap out of it to distribute the chocolate, turn it around a couple of times as it cools. My biggest problem with it is the size, I like a nice small truffle (especially with a liquid centre) and the smallest sphere mold I can find is about an inch. So to get them smaller you have to buy premade, but then you can't control the chocolate they are made from. ← thanks kerry! what do you do about the hole? do you just let the chocolate come out while you're banging it around? do you have one of those fancy filler/hole plugging plates? which i can't find an example of right now, but i'm looking...

it may be too obvious, but costco does sell the par baked/fresh baked la brea bakery breads and some grace baking loaves as well. they finish them in house and are often warm. these are pretty traditional french loaves with a decent crust and crumb