Rachel Perlow

That's called a peninsula. Good luck with the renovation. I think wood is a good choice, I which I had done wood instead of tile on the floor.

The only item I totally agree with is about washing the rinds of melons. It's not just the food growers/processors/transporters/store workers who handle them, it's all the nasty dirty customers checking for ripe ones. I use a scrubby brush, liquid dish soap and hot water on the rinds of all melons before slicing them open, with a clean knife, btw. You don't want to know how sick I got from a watermelon as an inspiration for this policy.

Places we visited that seem kid friendly to me: Dunbar's Soul Food Deenies - not the one in the quarter, the original one Elizabeth's - Is it as busy during the week as the weekends? If not then go for lunch on a weekday. Liborio - was mostly empty when we went there on a weeknight, I'm sure they wouldn't mind the kiddies. Amazing cuban food. Are you planning on traveling outside of NOLA (Lafayette, for example)?

If you can't come to their monthly sale, they do mail order. This is the 1 oz tin we bought last year. Still got plenty left. The prices for mail order are pretty close to the warehouse sale prices, the saffron is the same price, plus shipping. Get some chorizo while you're at it. If you like biriyani, you'll love paella! (get the Bomba rice for paella)

FYI, we've already discussed this aspect of Applebees: What cut is an "Applebee Riblet"?

I see someone's already answered, but I thought you'd like to see the amounts from the book in question's table: Brown Sugar, 1 cup = 7.75 oz or 220 g.

From the sidebar on page 21: "Dry ingredients throughout this book were measured using the scoop-and-sweep method: Whisk the dry ingredient to aerate it if necessary and then scoop it into the measuring cup. Overfill the measuring cup or spoon and then level it off with a knife. Flour should not be packed into a measuring cup, whereas brown sugar should be."

Hey, couldn't you at least have used an eGullet commissioned Amazon link? Here it is: Pork ChocsTM - Sugar Free Milk Chocolate Dipped Pork Rinds What's even more funny, is that since you clicked on Pork Chocs, they think you may also be interested in Natural Skunk Scent and Owl Puke.

Eggs are cheap. Practice, practice, practice. The leftovers can be stored in the fridge for egg sandwiches for breakfast. You can also roll them in tortillas with cheese and salsa and freeze them for microwavable breakfast burritos.

Thank you for all the compliments, it was a very fun day. We had a fab time in our pimp mobile although 3 of the 4 "babes" accompanying Steve discussed knitting most of the way up. Actually, the best part of the drive was the continental breakfast supplied by the CIA's Apple Pie Bakery. My favorite as a savory scone with Green Onion, Ham, and Cheddar, mmm. FYI, the book does have extensive conversion tables in the back of the book. It shows volume to weight comparisons, ingredient equivalents (they show 1 cup AP flour = 4.4 oz or 125 g), advice on pan substitutions, how to scale a recipe, etc. The recipes in the book are not at restaurant scale. As you can see from the Raspberry Souffles recipe, for example, it is scaled for 4 portions -- if you were making these for a dinner party, you might have to scale up. Here's something one of the instructors said that I hadn't heard before: Recipes with weight measurements are called "formulas" rather than recipes, which use volume measurements. Anyway, there is a section in the introduction on measuring, including proper volume measuring techniques, and they do comment on "measuring by weight: Recipes for professionals tend to rely on weight measurements, for greater precision and more consistent baked goods. Although weight is the most accurate method for measuring ingredients, most American home cooks and bakers are not accustomed to workign this way. Instead, they use wet and dry volume measurements. (for conversions, see ...)" (page 11) PS - there were no cupcakes to be had, sorry.

eGullet was invited (by John Wiley & Sons, publisher) to send representatives to their exclusive media day at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park to preview Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America, the companion to the IACP award winning Cooking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America. Fat Guy and I attended; we had a great time playing in the demo kitchen, having lunch and touring the CIA campus along with a gaggle of other food journalists. Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America Our day began with a short lecture about the CIA, their new baking book (which is due out in September, but you may pre-order on Amazon), an introduction to our instructors for the day and the students who would be assisting them and us. During the question and answer segment I inquired if the book has weight measures or volume? The answer was volume, that weight measures are used in the professional book & textbooks (i.e. Baking and Pastry : Mastering the Art and Craft ), but were not for the home cook. So I followed up with "since weight measures are so much more accurate don't you think it's the duty of the CIA to educate the public on this issue and encourage its use?" The response was pretty much the same, saying that home cooks don't want that type of measurement, that they couldn't assume everyone has a scale. One of the other attendees said "well it certainly wouldn't sell as well if they did!" I'm sure that's the reason, in a nutshell. I just figure that if Jamie Oliver can be on TVFN using weight measurements, the CIA should be able to put them in their book. Maybe someday. To learn more about weight vs. volume measurement, read eGullet's Kitchen Scale Manifesto by Darren Vengroff. Our Chef Instructors for the day were Michael A. Garnero, Peter Greweling, and Associate Dean Thomas S. Gumpel. At the end of the talk, we were given an apron, side towel and paper toque to wear during our kitchen time. Chef Instructor Peter Greweling shows us how to assemble paper toques Fat Guy aka Steven Shaw models our kitchen gear We were then given a quick demo at each of five stations: Yeast Bread, Custard and Souffle, Chocolate and Candy, Cookies, and Flakey Pastry. We had previously signed up for two hands-on demos each, so after the overview we all moved to our stations for more detailed instruction. I took pictures during the overview demos and the hands-on ones, so that I could show you some of what we learned. I apologize for the blurriness of some of the images, but these guys move fast and I didn’t want to be too intrusive in asking them to pose. Yeast Breads Opening bread demo Rolling Baguettes Fat Guy displays a finished Foccacia Flakey Pastry Ice cold butter on top of all purpose flour The butter is chopped into the flour very quickly, using a bench scraper. Then ice cold water is mixed in, using the well method, and still using the bench scraper. At this ragged looking stage, the chef was finished and started pushing the dough into a disc. The dough is chilled for at least an hour before rolling out. It can also be frozen at this point for future use. THE AH HA MOMENT: Almost everyone in attendance realized how much they overmix their dough when they saw how not uniform the chef's dough was. You should clearly be able to see pieces of butter. These large pieces of butter are what allow the crust to be so flakey in the finished product. After chilling, the disc of dough is rolled out to a thickness of approximately 1/8 of an inch and laid out in a pie pan. Fat Guy rolling out some flakey pastry dough Pie crust filled with apples, spices, flour, lemon juice, and dotted with butter. The next step will be to apply the top crust, crimp, pierce for ventilation, wash with egg, then dust with cinnamon sugar before baking. The flakey pastry station also made a delicious spinach and goat cheese quiche The crust for the apple pie was baked as a completed pie, since it would be baked at a high enough temperature to cook both the crust and the apples (the filling should come to a boil). The crust for the quiche was baked blind, because it would not become golden and flakey at the lower temperature required for the quiche custard. Custard and Souffle Creme Brulee Cream and sugar, infused with vanilla bean, are slowly poured into beaten egg yolks Here is a close-up showing that you must be constantly whisking the yolks while adding a small stream of the hot cream The mixture was then strained through a chinois, poured into dishes and baked in a water bath. The dishes were filled almost all the way to the top and placed on a sheet pan. The pan was brought to the oven before adding water. The cooked custard is chilled before finishing the caramelized sugar topping. The surface of the chilled custard is blotted with paper toweling to remove any condensation. If the sugar gets too wet, it would not brown properly (i.e. quickly enough to avoid over warming the custard). Sugar is applied in thin layer. It should be evenly coated, but you should still be able to see the yellow custard beneath. The chef says they prefer to use regular granulated sugar over finely or coarsely grained sugar. In addition, he discussed the use of brown sugar, but said it tends to burn quickly and doesn't produce the correct caramel flavor. The chef wipes the edge of the dish to clean off any stray grains of sugar A blowtorch is used to brown the surface The torch is held about 4 inches from the surface of the custard and is continuously in motion. They prefer to use the torch rather than the broiler, especially with the shallow dishes we used. If the home cook does not have a blow torch, they can use a broiler, but it should be made in a larger, deeper dish, so that the custard does not curdle before the sugar browns. I was most excited to try the blow torch as I had never done that before. It was actually quite easy, I may go buy one. But from a regular hardware store. The smaller versions made specifically for home cooks aren't as powerful and are more expensive. I found myself rather timid with it. Fearing burning the sugar, I under browned it and had to turn the torch on to brown it some more. Then we got to try them. One of the best creme brulees ever. Raspberry Souffle This raspberry souffle recipe is different from a traditional souffle in that it contains no egg yolk base. It is more of a baked Italian meringue and seemed much easier to produce than a traditional souffle as well. I'm not sure what other types of souffles could be made using this method. Certainly not savory souffles, as I think the hot sugar is required for it to work. Click here for the Raspberry Souffle recipe on RecipeGullet, appearing with permission from the publisher. Raspberry puree, lemon juice and sugar are combined in a saucepan A thermometer is placed in the saucepan, and the mixture is brought to a rapid boil over high heat. Meanwhile, egg whites are put in the bowl of a stand mixer. When the raspberry-sugar syrup reaches 230F, the stand mixer was turned on to bring the egg whites to soft peaks. They should reach that stage just as the raspberry syrup reaches 240F. The raspberry syrup mixture is poured directly into the beaten egg whites, with the mixer running Be careful as the raspberry syrup is very hot, you may want to slow the speed of the mixer a little. The hot syrup cooks the egg whites but they still stay fluffy, just like Italian meringue. When all the raspberry syrup is incorporated into the egg whites, the bowl is removed from the mixer. The raspberry meringue is poured into buttered and sugared ramekins and filled quite full We were surprised with how he over filled the ramekins. The peaks were smoothed out with a fingertip swirling from the outside in. Wipe stray bits of the meringue from the edge and sides of the ramekins. No collars were used, they were placed directly onto a sheet pan and into the oven. The finished Raspberry Souffle We were all quite impressed with the volume attained on these souffles. They were quite stable; you certainly didn't have to worry about being quiet or not slamming any doors with these. The browned top was like a chewy candy and the flavor was intensely raspberry. My only problem with these souffles is that they seemed quite, even overly, sweet. A lot of sugar is needed to stabilize the egg whites, but I felt it needed more lemon juice to counteract the sweetness. However, they were easy, very doable for the home cook -- and fat free! as we were told more than twice. Which, of course, is the most important aspect of any dessert. Not. Cookies They're the one calling this section cookies, not me. I think of Petit Fours and Rugelach as pastry not cookies. Whatever. They were good. The Petit Fours demonstration was mostly about pouring the fondant to get a proper coating. Click here for the Petit Fours recipe on RecipeGullet which appears here with the permission of the publisher. An almond cake with raspberry filling was already prepared, layered, cut into squares and placed on a wire rack over a sheet pan. Associate Dean Thomas Gumpel checks the fondant for the right pouring consistancy A properly coated petit four has a thick white layer on top and a thin semi-transparent layer on the sides It was pointed out that if you went to all the trouble to make a beautifully layered cake, you don't want to hide it behind a thick wall of fondant -- that would also make the final product too sweet. The almond cake in this petit four was particularly moist and delicious. Next, the filling and shaping of rugalach was demonstrated. They used cream cheese dough and filled it with raspberry, chocolate chips and cinnamon sugar. A very thin layer of raspberry puree is spread onto the dough. Each cookie should end up with about 1/4 teaspoon of puree. After spreading the puree, the dough was cut with a pizza wheel into 12 pieces. You want to cut it before adding chunky ingredients like chocolate or nuts, as they get in the way of the cutter. The other ingredients are added and the triangles are rolled from the thick end to the pointy end. You want the dough to only use its own weight on itself, you don't want to roll it too tightly or the fillings will ooze or fall out. The rolled cookies are brushed with egg wash, then sprinkled with cinnamon sugar The finished rugalach I've made very similar rugalach before and highly recommend the cream cheese pastry, which comes out even flakier than pie dough. Chocolate and Candy For the candy making session, we made caramelized and chocolate coated almonds and chocolate truffles. The almonds were gone into in more depth. Click here for the Candied Almond recipe on RecipeGullet, appearing here with permission from the publisher. First, you start melting sugar with a little water mixed in. When the water has boiled out and the sugar starts to thicken, but before it begins to color, you add raw peeled almonds. The idea is that the almonds toast as the sugar caramelizes Right after the almonds are added to the melted sugar Very quickly the sugar recrystalizes and coats the almonds. You must continually stur to keep the almonds separate and prevent the sugar from burning on the bottom. The sugar recrystalizes and coats the almonds Keep stirring. Soon the almonds begin "speaking" to you. They make popping and sizzling noises. The sugar melts and begins to brown. Remove from heat when they are uniformly brown. Spread out on a greased sheet pan, add a pat of butter, and stir then pick apart with gloved hands until cool. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to do the chocolating in my group. Pick apart the cooling caramelized almonds For the truffles' ganache, cream and glucose were heated on the stove then poured over high quality chocolate chips. This was allowed to sit for a couple of minutes to allow for even melting of the chocolate. Then it was gently stirred in the center, until all the cream was incorporated into the chocolate. It is important to stir in as little air as possible. The ganache is then chilled and the centers are scooped out using small dishers. This is the point where we came in. We rolled the uneven scoops of ganache in our gloved hands to make them more uniformly rounds. Then, we were instructed to put a puddle of the melted tempered chocolate in one hand, and roll a center around in it with the other. To keep a flat bottom of pooled chocolate from forming on each truffle, we were shown how to step/roll the truffle across the fingers of one hand onto the parchment lined sheet pan. These were pretty intense truffles, I swear I got a little high off one of them! Chocolate Truffles and Candied Almonds After the hands-on demonstration periods, we sat down to a lovely buffet lunch prepared by the CIA students. The buffet included baguettes and foccaia baked for the yeast bread demo and the dessert table included all of the goodies we made. Dessert Table Campus Tour After lunch we were given a brief tour of the campus. The demo kitchen and lunch were in the Colavita building, on the floor below the Ristorante Caterina de' Medici (all of the decor within this restaurant was imported from Italy, including $20,000 Murano glass chandeliers). Unfortunately, we didn't have the opportunity to tour that restaurant. Just out back of this building is a beautiful herb garden, used by the students in their cooking. Durkee Herb Garden Just across from the Colavita Building is the Conrad N. Hitlon Library. This is where the Danny Kaye theatre is located, where the TV series Great Chefs and Cooking Secrets of the CIA were filmed. Hilton Library Our tour continued inside the Roth Building. Just past the bookstore and information center is a long hallway leading to the student dining hall. There are many picture windows along this hall, and the classrooms beyond have door windows: Main hall in the Roth Building Farquharson Hall used to be a chapel, but now it serves as the student dining hall One of the beautiful stained glass windows lining Farquharson Hall Peeking through the doors of the Knife Skills Class A window onto Production Baking Sign above the bar in the Escoffier Room restaurant View through the window of the Escoffier Room into its kitchen classroom Additional pictures and information are available on the CIA website: http://www.ciachef.edu Also, you can take virtual tours of the CIA by clicking here.

I prefer them steamed to boiled -- just bring an inch or two of liquid to the boil. Depending on the size of your lobsters, the 8-qt pot might be big enough. You have to be able to get them in and have the lid securely in place.

Petits Fours Serves 50 as Dessert. This recipe is from Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America, and appears here with the permission of the publisher. The picture shows the petit four coated with melted white fondant, which is an alternative to the chocolate glaze in the recipe below. Flourless cooking spray for greasing 3/4 c packed almond paste 14 T (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 3/4 c granulated sugar 5 large eggs, lightly beaten 3/4 c cake flour, sifted 1/3 c seedless raspberry jam 3/4 c packed marzipan Confectioners’ sugar as needed for dusting Chocolate glaze 5/8 c heavy cream 1 T corn syrup 8 oz semi or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 1 c (3 oz) toasted finely ground almonds Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Lightly spray a 15 x 10-inch jellyroll pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the almond paste, butter, and sugar on medium speed until light in texture and smooth, 5 minutes. Add the eggs and in 2 or 3 additions, beating well after each addition. On low speed, mix in the flour just until blended. Scrape down the bowl as needed during creaming and mixing to blend evenly. Spread the mixture evenly over the prepared jellyroll pan and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely on wire racks, then turn the cake out of the pan. Trim the edges from the cake. Cut the cake crosswise into 3 even strips (you will have three 5-inch wide and 10 inch long strips). Place one of the strips on an inverted baking sheet and spread with one-third of the jam. Place a second strip on top, gently press to adhere, and spread with half of the remaining jam. Place the third and final layer on top, gently press to adhere, and spread with the remaining jam. Lightly dust a work surface with confectioners’ sugar and roll out the marzipan to 1/16-inch thickness. Place the marzipan on top of the final layer of jam, smooth to adhere, and trim the excess marzipan from the edges using a very sharp knife. Wrap tightly and refrigerate or freeze until firm, about 20 minutes. Cut the chilled cake into 1-inch squares. Meanwhile, prepare the Chocolate Glaze by combiningthe cream and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate. Let the mixture rest for 2-3 minutes. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the sauce is very smooth. Place the petits fours on a wire rack set over a cookie sheet. Ladle the glaze on top, using a small offset spatula to make sure the sides are completely coated. Press the toasted ground almonds to the sides of each glazed petit four. Keywords: Dessert, Expert, Cake, Cookie, Brownies/Bars, French ( RG1034 )

Petits Fours Serves 50 as Dessert. This recipe is from Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America, and appears here with the permission of the publisher. The picture shows the petit four coated with melted white fondant, which is an alternative to the chocolate glaze in the recipe below. Flourless cooking spray for greasing 3/4 c packed almond paste 14 T (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 3/4 c granulated sugar 5 large eggs, lightly beaten 3/4 c cake flour, sifted 1/3 c seedless raspberry jam 3/4 c packed marzipan Confectioners’ sugar as needed for dusting Chocolate glaze 5/8 c heavy cream 1 T corn syrup 8 oz semi or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 1 c (3 oz) toasted finely ground almonds Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Lightly spray a 15 x 10-inch jellyroll pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the almond paste, butter, and sugar on medium speed until light in texture and smooth, 5 minutes. Add the eggs and in 2 or 3 additions, beating well after each addition. On low speed, mix in the flour just until blended. Scrape down the bowl as needed during creaming and mixing to blend evenly. Spread the mixture evenly over the prepared jellyroll pan and bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely on wire racks, then turn the cake out of the pan. Trim the edges from the cake. Cut the cake crosswise into 3 even strips (you will have three 5-inch wide and 10 inch long strips). Place one of the strips on an inverted baking sheet and spread with one-third of the jam. Place a second strip on top, gently press to adhere, and spread with half of the remaining jam. Place the third and final layer on top, gently press to adhere, and spread with the remaining jam. Lightly dust a work surface with confectioners’ sugar and roll out the marzipan to 1/16-inch thickness. Place the marzipan on top of the final layer of jam, smooth to adhere, and trim the excess marzipan from the edges using a very sharp knife. Wrap tightly and refrigerate or freeze until firm, about 20 minutes. Cut the chilled cake into 1-inch squares. Meanwhile, prepare the Chocolate Glaze by combiningthe cream and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate. Let the mixture rest for 2-3 minutes. Stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the sauce is very smooth. Place the petits fours on a wire rack set over a cookie sheet. Ladle the glaze on top, using a small offset spatula to make sure the sides are completely coated. Press the toasted ground almonds to the sides of each glazed petit four. Keywords: Dessert, Expert, Cake, Cookie, Brownies/Bars, French ( RG1034 )

Candied Almonds This recipe is from Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America, and appears here with the permission of the publisher. 3/4 c sugar 3 T water 3-1/2 c (1 lb) whole blanched almonds 1 T unsalted butter Line a baking sheet or jellyroll pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment. Combine the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan and stir until the sugar is evenly moistened. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Cook the mixture to 230-235 F. Remove from the heat. Add the almonds and stir vigorously until the sugar crystallizes and makes a white crusty coating on the almonds. Return the pan to the heat and stir constantly until the sugar melts and caramelizes, making a coating on the nuts. The nuts will become shiny and smooth, with a very dark caramel coating. Remove the pan from the heat, immediately add the butter, and stir it into the mixture quickly. Pour the nuts onto the prepared pan, immediately using the tip of an oiled or buttered knife to separate them. Let the nuts cool completely before serving. Keywords: Dessert, Intermediate, Snack ( RG1033 )

Candied Almonds This recipe is from Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America, and appears here with the permission of the publisher. 3/4 c sugar 3 T water 3-1/2 c (1 lb) whole blanched almonds 1 T unsalted butter Line a baking sheet or jellyroll pan with a silicone baking mat or parchment. Combine the sugar and water in a heavy saucepan and stir until the sugar is evenly moistened. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Cook the mixture to 230-235 F. Remove from the heat. Add the almonds and stir vigorously until the sugar crystallizes and makes a white crusty coating on the almonds. Return the pan to the heat and stir constantly until the sugar melts and caramelizes, making a coating on the nuts. The nuts will become shiny and smooth, with a very dark caramel coating. Remove the pan from the heat, immediately add the butter, and stir it into the mixture quickly. Pour the nuts onto the prepared pan, immediately using the tip of an oiled or buttered knife to separate them. Let the nuts cool completely before serving. Keywords: Dessert, Intermediate, Snack ( RG1033 )

Raspberry Souffles Serves 4 as Dessert. This recipe is from Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America, and appears here with the permission of the publisher. This is a fat free alternative to a traditional souffle. Unsalted butter at room temperature for greasing Raspberry purée 2 c fresh or thawed frozen raspberries 1/3 c water 1-1/4 c sugar plus extra for dusting Meringue 3 large egg whites Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat the inside of four 8-ounce soufflé dishes with softened butter and dust with sugar, making sure to coat the top rim of the each dish as well as the sides and set them on a baking sheet. To make the raspberry purée, combine the raspberries and the water in a saucepan and warm over low heat until the berries are hot, about 4 minutes. Push the warmed raspberries through a fine-mesh sieve with the back of a spoon or spatula to remove the seeds. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of a saucepan, making sure that the bulb is not resting on the bottom of the pan. Combine the raspberry purée and sugar in the pan and cook over medium heat. While the raspberry mixture is cooking, put the egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Begin whipping the egg whites on medium speed when the raspberry syrup reaches 230°F. When the raspberry syrup reaches 240°F, reduce the mixture speed and carefully pour the hot syrup into the egg whites in a gradual stream around the sides of the bowl. Once all the syrup has been added, continue to whip on medium speed until they reach soft peaks, about 4 minutes. Spoon the soufflé batter into the prepared soufflé dishes, filling them each three-quarters full and set them on a baking sheet before placing in the oven. Bake until the soufflés are very puffy and the tops are lightly browned, 18–20 minutes. Serve directly from the oven. Keywords: Dessert, Kosher, Intermediate, Fruit, Plated Dessert, French, American, Stand Mixer, Healthy Choices ( RG1032 )

Raspberry Souffles Serves 4 as Dessert. This recipe is from Baking at Home with the Culinary Institute of America, and appears here with the permission of the publisher. This is a fat free alternative to a traditional souffle. Unsalted butter at room temperature for greasing Raspberry purée 2 c fresh or thawed frozen raspberries 1/3 c water 1-1/4 c sugar plus extra for dusting Meringue 3 large egg whites Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat the inside of four 8-ounce soufflé dishes with softened butter and dust with sugar, making sure to coat the top rim of the each dish as well as the sides and set them on a baking sheet. To make the raspberry purée, combine the raspberries and the water in a saucepan and warm over low heat until the berries are hot, about 4 minutes. Push the warmed raspberries through a fine-mesh sieve with the back of a spoon or spatula to remove the seeds. Attach a candy thermometer to the side of a saucepan, making sure that the bulb is not resting on the bottom of the pan. Combine the raspberry purée and sugar in the pan and cook over medium heat. While the raspberry mixture is cooking, put the egg whites in the clean bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Begin whipping the egg whites on medium speed when the raspberry syrup reaches 230°F. When the raspberry syrup reaches 240°F, reduce the mixture speed and carefully pour the hot syrup into the egg whites in a gradual stream around the sides of the bowl. Once all the syrup has been added, continue to whip on medium speed until they reach soft peaks, about 4 minutes. Spoon the soufflé batter into the prepared soufflé dishes, filling them each three-quarters full and set them on a baking sheet before placing in the oven. Bake until the soufflés are very puffy and the tops are lightly browned, 18–20 minutes. Serve directly from the oven. Keywords: Dessert, Kosher, Intermediate, Fruit, Plated Dessert, French, American, Stand Mixer, Healthy Choices ( RG1032 )

If you're willing to give up on the shiny part, coating the candied nuts with chocolate keeps them separate.

I think you're thinking of the Giant Market.

I thought the article was funny and didn't think for a second that the author was serious in his recommendation of violence. Occasionally, violent thoughts occur when we are frustrated, annoyed, inconvenienced; writing an essay on the subject seems a very healthful release. Lighten up people! For those conscientious parents who are quick to placate or admonish their crying/screaming/running/dancing children we thank you. Unfortunately, you are in the minority in our experience. Of particular memory was a toddler at a Spanish restaurant, in attendance with her extended family (mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, uncle & aunt). She ran circles round the table, squealing, crying, and having tickle fests with her uncle, who encouraged the whole thing. He probably did it thinking he was entertaining the child. Those of us sitting at tables adjacent to theirs were not entertained or amused. The parents looked mortified and probably could have had the child under control, if they had corrected the behavior of "fun uncle."

Whenever you're having one of those seriously bad days, just remember there's a boatload of people out here in cyberland (and the read world) pulling for you. Who can't wait to see you succeed. Are waiting with baited breath for pictures of your finished store. Who wish they weren't clear across the country and therefore can't be your first customer! I want to repeat something someone else said upthread... Don't open until you are really ready to roll. Jason and I went to a new sushi restaurant on their opening day, and I thought they did a great job. The waitresses knew the menu, the place was fully decorated, not to mention the food was fab. As a result we've been recommending the place personally and on eGullet. Whereas, if it weren't so perfect we'd hold off posting until after a second visit. GO MEL! GO MEL! GO MEL!

Drew was fired by Rocco from the restaurant. But he works for JC, so obviously he's still an intern for JC's company.

It's not on their menu. If you ask about flan, they'll tell you they have guava, coconut, etc., but if you just ordered the flan the waiter probably didn't think to tell you about other flavors.

If you liked their regular flan, janbee, you've got to try the guava flan. The white sangria is excellent (as is the red). Sangria is one of the few alcoholic drinks that I'll actually drink to excess. My parents were surprised at my enthusiasm for it, since they know I hardly drink otherwise!