alanamoana

the irvine one, was that the one in tustin near the auto center? i used to live right behind there! looks like that one doesn't exist anymore...there's one near south coast plaza, which surprises me as that's a more "ritzy" area.

i think on-line menus are great...if they are updated frequently. nothing like getting your hopes up for a particular dish and getting to the restaurant and they've changed chefs, changed cuisines, closed but i guess even without a disclaimer, as many websites have, you should expect the menu just to be a rough guide.

i should take a look at this "furniture" you speak of...if i can make my way past the crispbreads and ginger cookies!

i think with the australian accent, they pronounce it shiraz (with the a like in cat)...as opposed to the same grape variety in french syrah (a like ahhhhh). of course, the australians also pronounce semillon like semilawn (pronouncing the l's as opposed to the semiyawn - well, sort of).

it's actually spelled pronunciation even if you don't pronounce it nucular...

i don't really get pissed off when it has to do with regional inflections (i.e. pray-leen vs. prah-leen) ex-presso is NEVER correct. i'm not too sure about the kyoo-linary thing. i don't run around telling people i went to kyoo-linary school. it sounds pretentious to me even though it is the older pronunciation. but correct word usage and pronunciation are important if fleeting. on this site in particular people are constantly referring to their palate as a palette! i could go on and on, but it really isn't worth it as i'm not perfect myself. and although language does evolve, i feel as if it should evolve to become sharp and clear as opposed to muddied and confused.

friend called and everything arrived in great condition. i shipped via fedex standard overnight. very expensive! she said the ice packs barely had a chance to defrost...so all is good! trish, hmmmm, now foil wrapping is something i have to learn! isn't easter done?! hehehe and trust me...i can ALWAYS learn something new. especially when you watch someone else do things, it is a reminder that there isn't just one way to skin a cat.

thanks everyone! sometimes i feel like i post on eGullet just to get the boost to the self esteem! it really helps though and makes you realize you aren't working in vain vanessa, for packaging, i packed the chocolates like i described in the post before yours. a box inside of a box. i put ice packs and foam pellets and bubble wrap between the boxes. i hope it is okay as this is the first time i've mailed chocolates. everything is a learning experience, right?! ted, thanks! i'm always frazzled! trish, thanks...one day i'm going to have to drive up to sebastopol and help you out...just so i can learn a few things about production and stuff! if you want free help, let me know... it is even better when the wedding is for a friend! that way you're not dealing with a bridezilla.

jturn00, the favors are five to a box (clear plastic boxes from glerup.com). i put a piece of cardboard down with a tape x underneath it, extra tape hanging down...then i started stacking 18 boxes at a time with foam sheets between each 18. when i had about 112 boxes stacked, i lifted the extra tape up and around so i had a tower of chocolate boxes which i then packed into a cardboard box with padding on the sides. then, i took this cardboard box and packed it into a larger cardboard box which had ice packs and foam pellets and bubble wrap. trust me, nothing was moving! sorry if i'm not too clear in describing this process...it took a while to figure out! the chocolates on either side of the jess&eli are a version of rochers...on the left, it is feuilletine, milk chocolate and toasted almonds...on the right, it is fueilletine, white chocolate and toasted coconut. these were the easiest as i just spread it into a sheet pan and when it was almost (but not completely) set up, i cut it into squares. after it sets up, just flip it over and break into squares. everything was tempered by hand and i used a heating pad, hair dryer and microwave to do it. very basic. i'm not happy with the lack of shine on the molded hearts, but i realized too late that i was making the shells too thick (more for transportation reasons) and they took too long to set up which doesn't let them get shiny enough. the jess&eli discs i custom ordered from americanchocolatedesigns.com

john, it took one week. but, as i mentioned to kerry, i could have done it faster/better. the first two days were sort of a bust because i got so frustrated with the tranfer sheets and the chocolate i was at my wits' end. the next three days sailed by easily, especially once i figured out working in the morning and in the evening with the air conditioner on was the way to go! so, i think i could have done everything in 4-5 days at the most. i know what i'm doing in a pastry kitchen, it is just working with chocolate that i had to change my thinking a little bit. the shipping was $370 via fedex. the packing was another adventure and i hope it gets there okay! doesn't it make you feel good when you see a table full of chocolate?!

thanks kerry, actually, i did it for food cost and shipping. she's a friend of mine. besides, i need the practice! as a (unemployed) pastry chef, i need the practice. this was a great experience with planning time, working out of my home kitchen, trial and error with the chocolate itself...as the transfer sheet situation shows...i definitely learned more about things which i had taken for granted before. i'm not 100% satisfied with how everything came out, but we are hardest on ourselves, right? on the plus side, i can do it again and do it better. one day...if i get the motivation, i'll start my own business. i just have to figure out which niche is just right for me. best, alana

so i stressed and stressed and ended up using texture sheets for the one piece on the left. this is what 1600 pieces of chocolate for wedding favors looks like. thank goodness for an extendible dining room table! i'm glad that's done. i just hope fedex gets them to minneapolis without melting them all.

you can't remove the plunger of the syringe and fill through that? edited to add: you can also buy larger syringe/baster type thing and attach it to the hose, right?

you can get small amounts from will goldfarb's room4dessert website. their online ordering isn't up yet, but you can e-mail him and he can send it to you. very friendly and reliable. also, you can order from PCB France. they have the product line which is discussed on the thread in the cooking forum. which also list other sources. also, chefrubber carries these items as well.

vanessa, i love sfogliatelle but am intimidated by the dough. yours look great! p.s. don't apologize for your spelling...i think it is cute to read your posts in "italian/english"!

Thanks for the reply u.e. On flickr, if you view pictures as a slideshow, it doesn't show captions, so i didn't know what the ice cream flavors were... As a pastry chef, I'm always interested in seeing how well the desserts follow dinner and from viewing your photos, they didn't seem to do the meal justice. Compared to Per Se or other restaurants, where the mignardises are overflowing and beautiful...I guess I would expect more from the Ritz Carlton!

don't worry, i'm not taking it the wrong way...it isn't that he opposes junk food, he just doesn't like mcdonalds' food (if you can call it that). alana (who, for the record, worked at mcdonalds during high school and ate there almost three meals a day for about a year) p.s. sb, i enjoy the qualifiers along with your sig on every post! it keeps me entertained.

My husband only recently tried Chipotle. He loved it. Then he found out they were owned by McDonalds and he was a bit crestfallen. We certainly don't go there as much. Also, Baja Fresh (another Mexican food chain) is owned by Wendy's I think. For some reason that doesn't bother him as much as the Chipotle connection...he's junk food prejudiced.

to be honest, i think these are more for looks than anything else. in modern kitchens, we don't have the same problems with egg whites and such that copper was made for initially. at the very least, i've worked in many restaurant kitchens for many years and have yet to have a need for a copper kitchen aid bowl. for other applications, you have to be careful with using copper due to verdigris poisoning (i could be wrong). not that there's anything wrong with buying it solely for looks...but if that's the case, i'd rather buy cute copper cookie cutters or copper "pudding" molds.

i have to agree...i feel guilty...but as darcie b writes, the amount of water, soap and time that you use to clean out reusable pastry bags has to factor in there somewhere. i wash out ziploc bags at home all the time and every time i do it, i ask myself if it is worth it?! there are so many things to think about as a tree-hugger...

agata and valentina is guilty of the cheese straw repackaging...and i believe quite a bit of their "fresh" pastas are repackaged as well. i'm sure other of their products are treated the same way.

You're right about Gutenbrunner...ludja, i think a viennese coffee house would be great in SF!! of course it would depend on where it is located, but somewhere you can have sidewalk seating...wow, it would be great. but i guess there are already a lot of french pastry places like tartine, etc...darn...

in my opinion, they are good because they are less sweet than some (most) dessert items. this is something that most asian bakeries lean toward as desserts (pastry) aren't originally part of the food culture. the puffs are light and crisp and very mild. the custard is not terribly rich or sweet, but mild, smooth and creamy. i think they are a great treat.

u.e., great pictures. i have a question...do you think the desserts stood up to the rest of the meal? the strawberry dessert looked great, both complex and interesting, but the other dessert (ice cream/sorbet sampler) looked boring in color and texture. also, the petit fours didn't look too exciting. i'm wondering, when you compare that to french laundry or other restaurants of that level don't you expect more?

of course all of this happens (including will goldfarb's room4dessert) after i move away from nyc. damn.