alanamoana

i think refrigerating them once they've cooled (well wrapped) may make them easier to slice. but i agree with the other posts that you don't need to adjust the ingredients too much. pound cake should last at least four days well wrapped.

there are these disc shaped things i used to eat like candy that my mom used in sweet and sour. they're called "haw flakes" and are packaged in little cylinders with pink paper and yellow and green printing on them. they usually come in six packs, but i've seen places sell individual rolls like candy. i think you can dissolve them in the sauce base and use them like flavoring. i loved eating them as a kid!

peanut butter cookies from the crisco shortening container (add chocolate chips )

mjc, beautiful cheesecakes. sometimes, i feel that the center of the cheesecake sinks after cooling because it has been a little bit overbaked. i'm basing this on a recipe that i've used that is for a rich and creamy cheesecake. i bake it almost like a creme brulee (it can still jiggle very slightly in the middle, but the edges should be set). when it cools, it cools evenly and sinks evenly leaving a level top. that could be why yours sank, but who knows, maybe they just cooked faster on the edges. i tend to bake my cheesecakes (when not using a water bath) in a very low temp oven. the reason i say this is because the tops of your cheesecakes look a little more cooked than the sides. i know they were in contact with the ring molds, but still a little more baked looking than i do mine. to be honest, i don't know if you needed to bake the crust separately from the cheesecakes...as the dough was already baked. i'm just thinking of time saving, unecessary steps. otherwise, they looked great indeed!

i think making the caramel batter is the way to go. my gut feeling is that if you spread the caramel on the crust, it will either ooze through or make a strangely cooked layer of cheesecake on the bottom...same thing with spreading it on the side of the cake. it will probably slide right off. you're better off just sticking the nuts on the side directly on the cheesecake. i don't think it is over the top if you just add a little into the batter and then swirl some in (or you could make a really richly flavored batter with half your batter and swirl it with the other half of plain batter (more likely to cook/set properly), then you could just serve the cheesecake with a whipped cream flavored with the dulce (or just a dulce sauce).

a little off topic... this is in no way a criticism chefette, but isn't there real research out there that there are "supertasters"? people who have a higher concentration of taste buds or something like that wherein they can actually taste "better" than other people? this of course doesn't mean that the food is better or worse, it just means that they can identify flavors, etc. better than people who have the "average" number of taste buds on their tongue. as you state for yourself, i too am lazy with my palate. i know i could try harder... adrober, very funny book title "gauling pallettes"...and welcome to eGullet

i don't think it is normal that the reservationist ask you your seating preference, especially because they can't guarantee your choice. i do think it was nice of them to ask. craft has that huge window facing the street and i personally don't enjoy either being gawked at by passersby or having car headlights flash at me in passing. so, that may be why they ask. if they had a view, it would be different . enjoy your meal. you seem to eat out reasonably often, you know the premise behind craft right? i had a friend eat there early on and she was a little disappointed because she wasn't mentally prepared for how the menu worked. however, she did enjoy the quality of the food.

peach puree in champagne?! edited: peach schnapps and champagne? i guess you should ask the alcoholic beverages group, i'm no help i just like to act like i know what i'm saying

first i'd like to nit pick since someone else decided to correct the spelling of palate...it is gall (as in bile, gall bladder) not gaul (as in France)...it just galls me that people do these things but really, for my two cents: i have to agree with adrober on a lot of the points he made. it seemed that he qualified every complaint or questionable action that he described. people who post on eGullet can be described in so many ways: foodies, gourmets, gourmandes, hobbyists, food professionals, ad nauseum. i fall under multiple categories, but first and foremost i'm a food professional. i have to agree with adrober regarding many of my "fine dining" experiences since i began working in restaurants. as a cook, i can barely afford to live (especially in the main food cities like san francisco and new york to name two) much less afford to eat out and try things like i should to expand our horizons. often, i've entered these establishments and been made to feel small for how i'm dressed or how i might look on the surface. this isn't always the case, but it can be discomfiting to a young, relatively inexperienced person who is looking to enjoy an evening out. then there are the times (more often than not, sadly) that the food doesn't live up to my expectations. i understand that to run a certain type of restaurant, the cost of the product, employees, environment, etc. brings the cost of the meal up, but i've left these restaurants dissatisfied on more than one count. it is discussed on egullet quite a bit where if the service is bad, you'd still go back if the food was good enough. this is true. but when the food doesn't live up to the $400 check, well, all i can say is that is rent money. i'm much happier now that i've come to the realization that i can read other people's posts (with a grain of salt of course) and save my money rather than spend it and be frustrated with an experience that doesn't live up to my expectations. my example being: spending $400 at "66" in new york (jean georges' "improved" haute chinese place) for seven people, being disappointed with the quality of the food and leaving very hungry and the next day being much more satisfied in chinatown spending $40 for seven people and being full, happy and actually IMPRESSED with the quality and flavor of the food. sorry to be so "stream of conciousness-like" but isn't this an emotional thread?!

i think a combination of dried cranberries and fresh cranberries would be nice. the dried cranberries can be plumped up first in a little sweet syrup/alcohol for flavor depth. or, i guess they could be left dry to absorb some of the juices that seep from fresh crans and apples. i like nuts with this type of thing because they add a little richness to offset the tartness of the crans. maybe a linzer type crust? too delicate?

gknl, if you check the thread on cookbooks started by chefette, this is a problem we've all encountered. when people who shouldn't be writing cookbooks come up with instructions. you don't want to overbeat your cream cheese because it can "break" and become grainy. if it is controlled, some people can beat on high, but i wouldn't advise it. it is better to take it slow and steady for less time. usually a few lumps won't kill your cheesecake (especially if it is a "white" flavor, the lumps mix in and you don't notice them...see sinclair's response early on in this thread). if you've made cheesecake before and been successful, i would recommend using whatever technique you're accustomed to. no need to follow the instructions when you already know what you're doing. especially when they lead you astray!

suvir, if you want me to come to the restaurant today, i have some molds at home. i can demo it for you. really, no kidding. i'm unemployed right now so if you need some help just call. pm me if you're interested, i don't live far away from amma. no, i'm not a crazy stalker , i'm just bored at home . i'll bring the rings molds and you can see what you think.

suvir, as i mentioned in my earlier post, you can use individual ring molds. they come in all shapes and sizes. the smallest i've used is about 2"wx1.5"h (this size was nearly perfect for a tasting portion, remember, cheesecake is pretty rich) these are available at j.b. prince, but aren't cheap (3-5 each with a discount if you buy more than 10 i think). the positive is that you can buy ten and do multiple bakes. as cheesecakes keep for a couple of days, you can unmold them and use the rings again. you may be able to find the ring molds cheaper at zabars (surprisingly, they do sell some stuff cheaper). but i would recommend stainless steel as some flavorings/components may cause discoloration of the cheesecake if you're using other metals. you said you were using mini muffin tins, how is that working for you? my feeling on that is i wouldn't like the sloping sides. the ring molds give a much cleaner look on the plate. you can make a simple tuile and sauce accompaniment which wouldn't take too much time or effort.

bloviatrix, this isn't to turn you away from her bread books. i haven't used the "breads from la brea bakery", but i have a feeling she's a better baker than pastry chef. this is my opinion as i don't have first hand experience with her breads. sinclair, thanks for your comments on medrich's new book. i'm looking to buy it as you can see i'm already a fan. your recommendation sealed the deal.

i will add that alice medrich's book "cocolat" (i think her first), was the first book i tried to bake from. at this point, i had no idea that i'd be doing this professionally. her instructions are clear, there are great photos of the finished product, she does just about everything in weight. i didn't have a scale at the time, and just estimated my ingredients. even doing everything by hand (whisking whites, cream, mixing everything) and estimating ingredient weights, the recipes came out great. so i would have to assume that she accounted for a lot of home cook trial and error into her r & d for this book. i will buy any and every book that she puts out because i have had such good results from "cocolat". i wish more "pastry chefs"/cookbook writers would use her as an example.

i definitely agree with chefette regarding most aspects of cookbooks. here is where "subjective" comes to play (technically, i'm a professional in the restaurant business): i buy cookbooks with pictures because they give me inspiration. i don't buy cookbooks that don't have any pictures because it is difficult sometimes to imagine what the recipe is supposed to look like. i think cookbooks should be labeled for their specific use. as many people have pointed out in some other cookbook threads, there are books that are easier than others to use at home. supposedly, jacques torres "dessert circus" is specifically for the home cook. he seems to make an attempt to use ingredients/tools, etc. that the home baker would have at hand. then again, there are a lot of home bakers that have better equipment than some kitchens i've worked in . i remember one instance where my boss (a chef and restaurant owner) was making a dessert from nancy silverton's original dessert book. she was making this for personal use, but was making it in the pastry kitchen of her restaurant (where i was working at the time). she had the hardest time with this dessert. the descriptions were terrible, the recipes indecipherable, the outcome unforseeable. i am particularly critical of cookbooks written by well known professionals. they should be easier to read/understand than others. when they aren't, i feel they're merely writing cookbooks to make extra money and they're capitalizing on their name recognition. with cookbooks, i always have a grain of salt or two ready at hand. there is another thread here on eGullet that asks everyone how many cookbooks they own. i know i feel rather behind the times because i have so few (granted, they're almost all pastry related). i guess i'm also a little pickier. this is not to say that my fellow eGulleteers are buying books indiscriminately, but that some of the non-professionals may fall into the trap of buying books that aren't suitable for anyone (chef or home cook) to cook from. finally i'd like to add: all cookbooks should be written similarly to "the joy of cooking" in that the ingredients list should be first and foremost. i prefer that the ingredients be listed in the order that they will be used, and grouped together if they can be mixed ahead of time (like wet and/or dry ingredients in baking). this way, you aren't searching through the instructions when you're making out your shopping list and you then miss something or there are three different places where flour is being used, but you only noticed one so you run out before you're done. i hate that!!! p.s. i'm adding this because i am the most impatient person in the world: read the instructions and the entire recipe before you do anything with the ingredients. get your mise en place ready. read the recipe again. then start cooking. it can't hurt, right?!!!

just be careful that the salt crystals aren't too big...the "surprise" crunch could be a cracked tooth...and in today's litigious society

another surprise, in my opinion, is the oyster bar in grand central terminal. you go to the bar in the back and they have an attendant. i almost never bring my purse/wallet to the bathroom when i'm dining/drinking, so i always feel guilty when i don't have any money for them. it's a pretty crappy job at any rate. i just think the one at grand central is so casual, it doesn't warrant an attendant... why can't there be a warning or some sort of sign that there are attended bathrooms? as it isn't a common practice anymore, you're more likely to be unprepared with a tip. unless of course you don't ever tip...ugh, too many things to think about when all you want to do is take a leak.

my advice would be to keep the fleur de sel out of the ganache and instead, after rolling/dipping the truffles, sprinkle a tiny bit on top of the finished truffle. it should stick to the wet chocolate, but because the chocolate will set, it won't stay wet and the salt won't dissolve. this is one of those instances where i feel less is more. in order to put enough fleur de sel in the ganache to make it pronounced, i would say it would end up being too much. it may be shocking to bite into a salty truffle. whereas, on top it is a nice accent to a flavored truffle, which is more how fleur de sel is being used in restaurants, etc. but again, this is just my opinion.

tan319, i don't think that an all dessert place would have lower overhead per se...this is new york, overhead is mostly rent and that's high no matter what. i think you can get away with a smaller space, which would lower your overhead, but any specialty type place could do that if they were smart about their storage, usage, etc. the one thing i mentioned, which i thought could be better was having more variety. with only six/seven menu items, and three different petit fours...it was a little lacking for an all dessert concept. my idea to work around something like that would be to do some type of wholesale business on the side (pre-made desserts for catering, etc.). i'm also not a huge fan of the pacojet (clarify: i don't like it for ice cream, i do like it for sorbet). i had one when i was working in san francisco. you have to tweak your ice cream recipes so much (reduce fat, etc) and they still come out a little too much like mousse or ice milk in my opinion. for sorbet, it is great. as much as i hate spinning ice cream, i'd much rather use a taylor or coldelite. of course when i was at hawthorne lane in san francisco, we had a separate room for the ice cream machine which was a $15,000 cattabriga (spelling?). that thing kicked some serious ass. p.s. i don't think you'd need a considerable amount of inventory. depending on the deliveries from your purveyors and/or if you were even using purveyors...you could purchase at a costco type place and get smaller quantities.

in addition to what torakris mentioned... saute your mushrooms with a little bit of soy, add some garlic at the end, make a complementary sauce for the noodles, heat them through and then toss in the mushrooms. anything like that would work. also at asian markets, they sell a lot of pre-made sauces (like yakisoba) that you can use. they're usually a little strong or salty, so taste them and use them judiciously...

i agree with nightscotsman, the combination of too much sugar and the alcohol in the plum wine is keeping it from freezing. i would add the simple syrup only after mixing all the other ingredients...then use the simple syrup to adjust for flavor. if it is too strong (the plum wine) use some type of fruit juice that would complement the wine and achieve the result's you're looking for. without a sugar meter, if you're making sorbet bases...just take a raw egg (wash it first) and float it in your base. the higher it floats, the more sugar is in your mixture and the likelihood of it freezing goes down. you should see an area about the size of a dime floating on the surface. this isn't very technical, but it has worked for me and it is a hell of a lot cheaper than a sugar meter .

i use ring molds to make my individual cheesecakes. you can use any shape or size. they have no bottom, so i just press the crust into the bottom of the ring mold on the tray i plan to bake them. no water bath, just a lower temperature for a little longer time. i personally prefer the richer, creamier versions and my recipe contains cream cheese, mascarpone and creme fraiche as well as any flavoring i feel like adding. i just torch the ring mold to remove the cheesecake. no freezing necessary. for crust, anything works. try different crusts with different flavors of cheesecake. i like some nut based ones, but they can be pretty fatty. one of my favorite crusts is just shortbread cookie dough baked and then crushed (sometimes you can pulse in a food processor). no added butter needed because shortbread is so rich.

that's definitely the question steve(s). i guess one could say that this power and the usage of it comes with time. the longer the critic is in control over the many aspects of the media (reviews, sunday magazine, food section in general), the more comfortable he is with having it slant in his direction. might not even be a question of corruptness per se (two points?), but of it happening over time with nobody questioning it until it is too late.

I don't find the objection to power per se (two points) to be all that compelling. Power that is earned and used properly shouldn't upset anyone. Problems arise when a powerful critic becomes corrupt, highly idiosyncratic, cranky, out of touch, etc. But I don't see that as a problem with power per se (four points). There are plenty of powerless critics who are corrupt and stupid. You need both power plus those other flaws before you really have problems. Of course, one could say that by preventing too much power from falling into one critic's hands we solve the problem. And that's true. But then you don't get all those benefits a great critic can offer. And there are ways of creating accountability and integrity without limiting power per se (six points). You can, for example, make sure there's a skilled, experienced, professional editorial team to which the critic reports. You can have strong ethical guidelines and a mechanism to enforce them. And, above all else, you can make sure you hire the right critic. i guess that is what i was aiming for with regard to michael bauer. in reading his reviews of restaurants you get the sense that he's "corrupt, highly idiosyncratic, cranky, out of touch, etc." when he talks about the food (and you're knowledgeable in the field), you can see that his fact checking is haphazard, that he cares to write more about the people surrounding him in the restaurant than the restaurant and food itself. i like the ideas of either having multiple critics (like movie reviewers) to spread the wealth or of having the critic in question answerable to a higher power. it is rare that a critic go unnoticed in a restaurant. as much as they attempt to dine incognito, restaurant staff are trained to spot them (particularly in a newly opened business)...so they can give them an especially good experience, unwittingly bestowing upon them the power that they don't deserve. p.s. it isn't that i'm avoiding using "per se" per se, i'm just not sure i can correctly construct a sentence around it?!?