eem

Nevermind, I found it. For anyone else who is looking for it's at Kitchen Arts & Letters.

Hello Nathan, and/or anybody else who bought this book from the US, where did you find it? where can I get it? Thanks, Elizabeth

Thanks a lot inespm. Every place seems to have their particular styles to drink coffee. I just sort of got into coffee cause i got an espresso machine for a little chocolate shop I just opened and i'm finding out all about coffee. I live in the Northwest United States (Portland, OR) and I'm just now discovering how obsessed (in an admirable way) some people are about the way they produce their coffee. Milk based drinks at anytime of the day are popular but their are some places that take lots of pride and work hard at pulling excellent shots of different single origen beans.

Hello, Could anyone tell me how to make café con leche as they do in Cuba? Puerto Rico? España? Are there any differences between the three? I used to drink it all the time in España but I guess I didn't pay attention to how it was made. Thanks a lot for any info!

Thanks!

I want to learn how to cold brew coffee. Thanks for any help.

Dear Consacrer, Wingnut (the vegan truffles) aren't at the PSU Saturday farmer's market anymore but you CAN find them at Wholefoods on NW Burnside. Elizabeth

Congratulations! I believe a movie is in order! Hey how come you're not selling at the Farmer's Market yet? What's a matter? Not enough energy?? (this is a joke, please don't throw a pan at me....)

Thanks Lisbeth, I checked that site and I liked the design, but even though they call it a chocolate display case the temperature range on it is still too low. Thanks though... I'm working on opening a little, I mean TINY chocolate shop/kitchen in NW Porltand, nothing crazy fancy, just someplace to get fresh chocolates and espresso. It probably won't be finished until after Valentine's Day (boo hoo!) but I'll keep plugging along. Hi Pam, Hope you're doing well! E.

Thanks chiantiglace, I think those are for refrigeratable foods. Chocolate is quite prissy and needs an atmosphere of low 60s F and controlled humidity. I think I may have found one to look at at my neighborhood restaurant supply. We'll see how it is. Thanks, E.

Hi, It's been such a long time since I've spent time on egullet, mostly because I've been working on opening a chocolate shop....hooray! Anyway, I'm looking for a chocolate display case and wondered if any kind souls had some suggestions. I will be storing fresh ganache filled chocolates, etc. I have seen the websites of Vega showcases but they are too bulky for my tiny space and they require electrical and plumbing adjustments to the space. I have also seen the Fixture group cases and those look good so far but I wanted to check with you all. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, Elizabeth

Hi Mel, I wanted to go again before posting just because when I went I was sort of rushed and hungry and ate things too quickly and was a bit mesmerized to tell you the truth because there is that whole other display around the corner. I couldn't decide what to get and it all looked so good. I told the friend that was with me that I was getting so many thing to share with my boyfriend but I have to confess I only gave him maybe three bites of the cheesecake (which was all that was left when I got home). The peanut butter cookies are REALLY good. They have the perfect amount of salt. (Why do so many people overlook this?). Anyway, I want to get over there again soon (I'm way over in NW) and perhaps make your acquaintance and congratulate you in person. Oh and the florentine with pistachios and candied orange peel was delightful. Best of luck, Elizabeth

I tried a selection last year and so have not yet tasted the newer interesting sounding stuff. I thought they arrived nicely, and I loved the packaging and all the pictures I see of their shop in Soho and their catalog. Their marketing is superb. I even like that they do yoga and encourage relaxed states for the chocolate experience. The owner sounds playful, free and super imaginative I also like the clean uniformity in their decoration. I wasn't overly impressed with the strength of the chocolate used next to the exotic ingredients used though. The other ingredients took over and the chocolate seemed like a vehicle. The shells were also quite thick for such a "luxury" chocolate. A lot of people have qualms with this. I agree that a thin shelled ganache filled chocolate is a great clean experience, But....I have no problem with thicker shelled chocolates If the chocolate is great tasting (that just means more great unaltered chocolate on my tongue). They were pricey but not the priciest I've eaten. The priciest have come from a shop in Taos, I think they were $3-$3.50 a piece (same size or smaller than Vosges). My boyfriend bought me some of these and they arrived ugly and messed up. The way he described it was that the owner practically threw them into the box. One could see the lack of care and detail for sure. You'll have to excuse me, things like this REALLY bother me. There's a lot to be said for the way objects of food or other special items are handled. And this is what Vosges is good at. I appreciate the value they place on the visuals. The big problem I have with Vosges is their descriptor, "Haut Chocolat". Why is it Haut? As far as I'm concerned, "Haut" should describe something that is VERY handmade using the BEST materials. It's labor intensive and made to order hence the high price. This decription is misleading the customers into thinking that's what the product is. Don't get me wrong. I will be quite happy when I get my own tempering machine and maybe even a conveyor belt. I have no qualms about this, but I will not be calling them haut chocolat. I could be getting in trouble here........I've heard here that they use pre-made shells to fill with their exotic ganaches. Well, who cares. As I'm sure many of us know, truffles are damn hard to hand roll with out ending up with cracks, bubbles, thick shells or cocoa powder piled on. But to call them haut chocolat. If they do use pre-made shells then hopefully they mold them themselves with tastier chocolate than what they're already made of. Using the belt is not a problem. Doing everything handmade is not insurance that they are better chocolates. This just bothers me because hand-rolling would be a given in haute chocolature and the labor cost involved would be one of the arguments behind the higher price and the licence to use such a description as "haut chocolat". Anyway, I might be able to say more but I normally don't spend this much time on egullet. (only because I feel guilty about all the other things I have to do). And I didn't mean to come down so hard on Vosges (if your out there) after all the owner encourages their workers to practice yoga and it sounds like an appreciative company to work for (you might even get publicly thanked with your picture in the catalog). eem

Thanks everyone for clarifying this for me! I live in Portland, OR and I can find boquerones en vinagre as well as my other Spanish favorite: the anchovy stuffed olive....yum...its juice would so improve a bloody mary. Bocartada....braised anchovies sound lovely! Elizabeth

Hi, I lived in Granada in the early nineties and ate boquerones ALL THE TIME. They're one of my top favorite foods, fried with lemon wedge or in oil & vinegar (?). But....I never found out the name of those little fish in english - (sorry, I'm pretty seafood illiterate). Would someone please tell me if they are anchovies, sardines or something else? I'm finally going to get some fresh anchovies and if the boquerones served in Andalucia are indeed anchovies then I would love to try my hand at this scrumptious treat. So..... does anyone know how to prepare them? They seemed like they were lightly coated with flour and fried -in olive oil? -pan-fried or deep fried? -gutted? Thanks a lot for anyone's help on this subject! Elizabeth

OMG! What happened with Akvatek? That's lousy.... I've been telling my (non-EG) friends about your place, I will come soon to try your stuff, it sounds great.... : ) Good luck and Congratulations!

Thank you duckduck

Lavender tastes great in pots de creme and ganache for truffles or infused in whipped cream to put on fruit. I sell chocolates at a farmer's market Portland, OR and I feel fortunate to have as one of my neighbors a lavender grower. I get hidcote and grosso lavender from himand make ganache for truffles using one or the other to give my customers some subtle variety every now and then. I just got another variety called Royal Velvet that I haven't yet used.This grower makes fruit jams perfumed with his lavender. I agree with tan319, a tiny amount goes such a long way. Especially the grosso, which I'm extra careful how long it's infused. You might just want to keep tasting it as it infuses while testing infusing times and temperatures. Speaking of the strength, even a mild lavender flavor carries through nicely with an equal or slightly higher amount of a 70% bittersweet. And keeping in mind, people seem to taste lavender differently. I have heard about some peoples taste buds being more sensitive than others. Lavender is one of those flavors that I've gotten the widest spectrum of comments on (WHILE using the same recipe) like: "I just can't taste the lavender" to "It's too strong" and occasionally one of my customers (a lavender freak) orders an extra extra strong batch of grosso lavender truffles, something I'm always resistant to until she assures me that this is what she REALLY WANTS. And thank God noone ever says it tastes like soap, (at least not to my face) I believe I'm not overdoing it, I make a subtle lavender infusion and am content to make it to my own taste. Sorry about the spacing.....I'm not sure how to make the posted reply resemble the posting/editing window.

My boyfriend took me here last night and wouldn't tell me where we were going. When we got there I found out he had just read about the place earlier that day....... Oh My God!!!! The pizza is incomparable. It's made with sourdough by Brian Spangler from Olive Mountain Baking Company. (See Heidi Yorkshire's article) What can I say? I'm no food writer. Some things you just have to taste. No wonder the house was full when we arrived. Unfortunately, I had to observe bad customer behavior....Some man was told when he arrived that all the pizza had been sold out and that the cook was working on all the customer's orders after which he had a fit and then started blaring at the waiter that if he were any type of business person he would at least have offered him a free beer or salad because he drove 40 miles to get there and that the waiter should have seemed more apologetic. The waiter then nicely offered him what he wanted, the free beer or whatever to make it up and the guy just wouldn't have ANY of it, he wouldn't be consoled......and we were.........glad he marched off. It's a good sign when places that honestly produce fresh foods occasionally run out of stuff, you get the feeling that things work organically, that they DON'T have hundreds of frozen balls of lesser dough just hanging out somewhere so that they never run out. Small batches.....remember dude? This is why we love these types of places and why we're willing to drive 40 miles or 40 minutes (in my case). I need to add, the last stretch of road leading to the pizza is charming and the building is surrounded by u-pick berry farms. Anyway, anyone who loves pizza should go here and just try it for themselves. Oh and remember, the early bird gets the worm. Cheers!

Excuse the delay. I use chocolate & heavy cream only. Infused cream of course. I know that you can put glucose or especially butter to get a nice creamy moutfeel. Others also put some kind of oil in it. This I dislike, but with it you will definitely get a smooth ganache. If you want to improve your ganache, you should check out a search in pastry & baking because they have almost every imaginable way of going about getting a good ganache. Keep in mind that type of chocolate used and other ingredients and method of preparing all play a part as well.

Would you translate that? I don't have a french dictionary and I haven't quite learned how to maneuver around in those online. Anyway, I use the term palet because it's already in use for this style of bon bon.

I call them palets after "les palet d'or" the gold-flecked coin-like confection filled with ganache and coated with tempered chocolate. Some people do still call them truffles as they call ganache cut into squares truffles but this no longer makes sense, since chocolate truffles were named truffles because of what they resembled, namely a black truffle (fungus) which as you know is irregularly spherical. So contentwise, palets are the same as truffles but with a squat cylindrical form. I have a little diagram posted at my booth as well as on my flavor cards describing my chocolates as palets to minimize the confusion. (I apparently forgot to give you one.) P.S. Thanks for coming by and trying them!!

Yeah, great thread. I live in Portland too and will be coming to eat some of your goodies whenever you open up!

My mouth is gushing!

I agree! I have to tell you, I drove chefrodrigo to the airport for Texas & was sulking the whole way knowing what feasts lay in store for him & Kyle without me (boo hoo). After about 3 days of looking at their photos, I was calling him a motherf*er too. I have since broke down and yes have bought an unplanned for ticket to join them for the tail end of their BBQ trail. Yippy!