alanamoana

i personally love "baka" crackers. the cartoon-like characters on the package are crazy looking and shaped like the rice crackers in the package!

if you're making layers...like for a wedding cake, it seems to me the norm is 8", 10", 12" etc. but i guess if they make them 9", 11", 13" too, it doesn't matter, just be consistent if you're ever going to do tiered cakes.

most local asian markets have bottled dressings in many different varieties. most of them are "asian" in spirit so i'm sure you'll find a ginger dressing. you could also take one of the bottled dressings with a nice sesame/soy base and add freshly grated ginger to it...doctor it up yourself.

i'll have to take a look at some of these books. my mom sometimes imports tea and sells it in her shop in honolulu, so she knows much more about it than i do. when she sent me a care package with tea in it she wrote little notes on the different teas that were so cute... "new green tea: a tea spoon full, boil water, cool down (fold a couple of times), not too long in water, when tea still green, after taste sweet, good drinking daily" (english is not her mother tongue!) so, you don't have to double boil all teas, like the new green teas...but she has shown me other varieties which do need that treatment. anyway, this is an interesting thread. is there anyone else out there who knows something about tea who could give us some other tidbits?

this is definitely true. michael bauer in san francisco has his fair share of detractors in the restaurant industry because it is generally felt that he has too much power of the success or failure of new restaurants. it seems that almost every restaurant in san francisco will have a roasted beet and goat cheese salad on the menu at any given time because they know that michael bauer likes them. when any restaurant has to cater to the taste of an individual, they're ignoring their real audience and that is how a critic can gain power over their readers. dictating good taste (what the critic believes to be good taste, or their own particular taste). however, as it seems that is a "problem" in more than one city, i would hope that communities like eGullet can dispell some of this power. as we're the consumers that are making the decisions and we can discuss the reviews with other, more objective, individuals...we can take some of that power away.

the chinese do this with tea also. my assumption (educated guess) is this first batch of water is to "open" the tea leaves and allow the flavors to come out nicely. it also heats up the pot. it could also get rid of some impurities on the surface of the tea. i don't think it would hurt to do this with every tea, except of course green tea powder . also, a good rule of thumb when drinking expensive teas is to boil the water and then let it cool for a minute or two...you don't want to "shock" the leaves. most good tea places use the water only at certain (again, uneducated) temperatures for certain amounts of time on the leaves. there's a really nice book out there called "the art of tea" (i just looked on amazon and there are about 300 books with this in the title, so i could be wrong ). anyway, it just shows me how much i need to study tea!

the knuckle method is sticking a finger vertically into the pot of rice and water. the rice should come up to the first knuckle and the water should come up to the second knuckle (the distance between first and second knuckle is a little longer and from what i've read most people cook one cup of rice to one and one third cup water, so that seems about right). placing your palm flat on the surface of the rice, the water should just cover the top of your hand (you're right about the displacement though food zealot, i'm not sure about this but again, i think there should be a little more than a 1:1 ratio) fat guy stated on the first page of this thread that he disregards the amount of water instructed and he disregards the measurement of "one cup"...therein lies his problem. the cup they include with the rice cooker is meant to correspond with the marks on the side of the bowl in the cooker. you use four "cups" of rice, then fill the rice cooker to the line marked with a four inside the cooking bowl. that is how they were meant to be used. that is why the cooker comes with a measuring cup. i bought my electric (very basic, neither fuzzy nor warm logic) 10 cup rice cooker for about $50 in chinatown in nyc. it is a panasonic (another good appliance name brand for the japanese) and all it does is cook rice. it has a non-stick bowl. it is perfect. the fuzzy logic ones also have timers so you can set it like a coffee machine to make rice at a specific time. a little more planning than i can handle . and FINALLY...no one so far has mentioned the MICROWAVE! i learned this from my mom. when my brother and i moved out of the house, there was no reason to bust out the 10 cup rice maker just for mom and dad, so when she makes 2-4 cups she uses the microwave and here's her method: using a pyrex-type glass casserole container (that comes with it's own lid), measure your rice and water as you would for stove top methods. (i'm assuming you rinse your rice) cook on high for 10 minutes UNCOVERED stir rice cook again on high for another 10 minutes COVERED depending on your microwave, you may need to adjust times. i usually end up with perfect rice every time. but, if it is a little dry, i just add a sprinkle of water and cook for another few minutes. if it is a little wet, just cook a little longer...you'll figure out the variables without wasting too much rice. the good thing about this method is that it is almost impossible to burn and you don't have to clean out the bottom of a pot! the rice doesn't stick to the glass container, and you can store the rice in the fridge in the same container you cooked it in. it is a real boon. and most people have microwaves, so you don't have to waste more counter space with a rice cooker if you don't cook rice all that much.

p.s. this is a little off topic but everyone seems to be dusting in cocoa. there are lots of other options in which to coat truffles. think about the flavor/texture of your truffles. if you're making different flavors, dust each different flavor in it's own coating. just a suggestion.

KateW, allowing for the things which you have explained in your post, i think web forums have to be taken with a few grains of salt (or a big box of kosher!). i'm very new to the "web forum" environment and am slowly learning what is and isn't acceptible. like you said, so much of what we write and who we are can be misinterpreted. i had a post removed, i assume because someone thought it was offensive but i was never given a reason why. that could have been addressed. as in other aspects of life you'll find some opinions here are more valued than others (people who have poste regularly or are "respected" members of the community). that doesn't mean anything disparaging to you. i feel that some people post on threads without reading through earlier posts (re: crepes suzettes), they just have to put something down in order to feel productive or even agreeable to what other people are saying. they don't necessarily feel as if they have to offer a suggestion, maybe they don't have a suggestion. i think it is a little much to assume that people can somehow in their minds gather up all the threads that you have posted or contributed to and have them coalesce into a persona. our brains aren't that organized (at least mine isn't, i wonder about some people here on eGullet...they have minds like steel traps! mine's more like a steel colander). so, even if you've been posting a lot...take that into consideration. VerbenaNZ and KateW: overall, i do feel that most people here are extremely open, welcoming, considerate and knowledgeable. think about what you're writing and how you pose your questions. i think you'll find that writing clearly, concisely and posing a direct question which shows how much thought you've already put into a project will help garner the responses you're looking for. people will be nice to you, but you have to give them a little bit of a reason for that to happen . i hope this helps a little. sometimes, we all just need to take a break from eGullet...give it some rest and then come back with an empty head (heehee, i mean a clean slate)! Edited to include: "Welcome. If we can be part of your education that's great. We expect you to be part of ours." this was a quote from "bux" after you posted your bio and i think it says it all...this is a two way street .

i like melkor's idea the best! just eat a bunch of cake after all that trial-ing, you'll be so sick of cake you'll want to make creme brulee instead...anyone got any recipes

anyone been to 'wichcraft, the sandwich (sorry, panini) place next door? i love the panini at craftbar and have yet to go next door to try out the other offerings.

i think pepin's "techniques" is also available in video format (from pbs type stations where they originally aired his program). i love to read about cooking, but watching jacques pepin "live" is really worth the money. he's so comfortable in the kitchen and makes things easily understood.

rookie, try other methods, if the stovetop method gives you hit or miss results. i use the microwave at work and then seed if the chocolate gets too warm. but steve is right, learn all the methods and find a method that works consistently for you. good luck!

i can only imagine that msg is the first ingredient on the list...followed by red #5

just went to chikalicious last night. there were three of us and as it was tuesday, it was their monday (they're closed on mondays). we ordered three prix fixe with the wine pairings and one additional dessert (my friend and i are both pc's and my boyfriend just likes to eat!). here's what we had: amuse: lemon verbena gelee with lemon ice-milk pear trio: shaved asian pear tossed in syrup with toasted pecans / poached seckel pear served whole (was supposed to be warm) / prickly pear (cactus pear) sorbet frommage blanc "island" roasted apple with cinnamon ice cream and granny smith sorbet chocolate tart with pink peppercorn ice cream and red wine sauce there was a semolina souffle on the menu which we ordered, but when it was unmolded it fell and chika was not happy with it so she gave us the frommage blanc cheesecake instead. very much the perfectionist. i enjoyed it very much. her platings are very clean, very minimalist with an asian sensibility. the flavors were also clean and well matched. i love the concept and certainly got some ideas (as i've been thinking about doing something similar for a long time), but i there were also some things which i think could be done a little better. if you only have 6 desserts on your menu and all you serve is dessert, then the kinks should be worked out of the system before service. counter service is great (like sushi bar), but i found that being the only people in the place, it should have been easier for someone to clear our used dishes from the counter rather than having to pass them back and forth over the counter to the food handler. i do hope that business is good enough for her to stay in business. this is an unusual niche and something that i would like to see more of in cities across the u.s. it definitely showcases a pastry chef's abilities without having to work on getting someone to buy dessert after a huge meal!

if you're interested in plated presentations, the series of books published by the Pastry Art and Design team "Grand Finales" are interesting to look at. mostly, I find that they are not really "do-able" or practicle, but at the very least they can give inspiration for what you can aspire toward. lots of pretty pictures. it is a series of three books. by now they are a little outdated, but like i said, they are something to give you a starting point and an idea of what's out there.

char siu isn't that difficult to make...with the right mix... actually we use "noh" brand powder which comes in an envelope similar to taco seasoning. usually available at most chinese/asian type markets. i guess you'd use butt or some such fatty piece of pork cut into 1.5"-2" square strips. marinate in powder following instructions on package. bake in oven until done. that's what i remember as a kid. i guess then you can dice it and use it in fried rice!

mary, it isn't a chocolate demo, but a thread where an egulleteer atttended a chocolate demo and discussed some interesting methods for tempering. when you say you are starting a truffle business, are you wanting to temper in order to use chocolate molds? or are you making truffles that are ganache based and will be coated in tempered chocolate? if you're just starting a small business, and you aren't using chocolate molds just yet, it may be worth your while to just make ganaches and roll the chocolate centers in untempered chocolate and then dust with cocoa, powdered sugar or other coatings. this way, it won't matter if the chocolate is tempered or not. see how the business goes and in the meantime, practice tempering by hand. i understand the responses where people say it is a timesaver, etc. but that is in the professional kitchen where they are working on other things in the meantime. i think that if this is the extent of your business, then you can invest the time to learn to temper by hand. it shouldn't take you any more time than using a tempering machine. claudia fleming of gramercy tavern used to make all the chocolates they used for service without a tempering machine. after reading some of the other responses, i can say that with practice you should be able to temper pretty easily if you understand the "chemistry" of the chocolate. use a thermometer until you're comfortable without one. use your microwave. try all the different methods to find one that works for you. i guess i feel that if you are wanting to start a business, you should be able to work with chocolate inside and out and not rely on a machine right away...what if the machine breaks down and you have an order you have to fill?! how would you deal with emergency situations like that? nothing beats knowledge and practice.

i have to agree with fat guy. also, i've never heard of shallots, garlic or ginger in fried rice. i'm chinese folks and i've never in my life used some of the things that are mentioned. i know that fried rice is a "leftover" dish in which you can throw almost anything...but there are limits has anyone mentioned lap cheong?! chinese sausage diced is a great addition. you pre fry it in the wok and the fat that it gives off helps to flavor the rice. i ditto the egg coating. that's what my mom does. edited: just read rachel's and jason's posts and she mentions chinese sausage. i don't really agree with msg though. i don't think you need it to make good, restaurant tasting chinese food in general. really instead of soy or msg...just make sure to season with a lot of salt. i also use green onions tossed in at the end of cooking.

if you do a trio of creme brulee for t-giving, why don't you do pumpkin? it's fairly easy to use your already prepared brulee/bread pudding base and add some pumpkin puree (fresh or canned) and some pumpkin type spices (change it up and make it a little more fun) bake as you would. use the cranberries in a tart or something (you can use dried cranberries too). i think maury rubin has a cranberry tart that has all kinds of dried fruit and caramelized nuts in it. sounds like something you can do and still be considered southern style. there are hundreds of ideas i'm sure people have, but i'm thinking about how much time you're spending there and what would make sense with your production schedule. oh yes, please get the pistoles! barry/callebaut milk chocolate and try the e. guittard for bittersweet and white. they have a signature series which is inexpensive and very good for general use (almost everything). i don't like their milk chocolate (guittard) because it is malty tasting (this is my opinion). i like barry/callebaut for milk chocolate. everyone is right in thinking that the amount of time and labor you save more than makes up for the small extra cost of getting pistoles! have fun!

are you looking at purchasing a tempering machine for professional use? that is, are you starting a business or something like that? it seems that to temper small amounts of chocolate (up to 10 pounds) it is easy enough to do by hand...if you understand how to temper in the first place. there is a thread running right now "chocolate demonstration" which might give you ideas on learning other techniques before buying a machine. p.s. unless, of course, you are a millionaire and have money burning a hole in your pocket...then please, spend your money on another piece of kitchen equipment

anybody know anything about "rare", new burger place?

that sounds delicious steve. and if i'm not offending anyone (that's impossible ), sounds a lot better than what jean georges is doing at 66. i ate there and was horrified at what he was presenting as an "improvement" on what the chinese have been doing for 3,000 years. wow bao sounds gimmicky, but in a cute way. wish i could visit chicago soon!

i know that a lot of people don't like the nick malgieri books, but he has one called perfect pastry, which i can't find nowadays. anyway it was approachable for the home chef with techniques and basic ingredients which you could easily work through to learn all the general doughs, fillings, etc.

all i really know is that the white buns are steamed (usually the ones with filling). that keeps the "crust" soft. the golden ones are probably based on a brioche type recipe (enriched dough). i have a feeling though that asian bakeries don't use 100% butter and lean more toward shortening or lard. baking a little less time and how/how long you proof the dough may have something to do with your crust. also, oven temperature. for european style breads, you're definitely using higher temps with steam. try to do the opposite for these. anyone else?