nicolekaplan

i haven't used ny sample yet but my understanding is the following 1. it is cocoa butter that is basically airbrushed and crumbled 2. i think harry wils is carrying it 3. you can use it to temper chocolate, i think it was at a ration of 1g to 100g chocolate but if you call the number listed in the ad they are helpful

i finally got around to placing an order today only to find out that they no longer ship to the us due to the difficulty with customs. i was very dissapointed to say the least

i made this the other day and had the same problem. i could only think of 2 things, it was underbaked? it's hard to tell with choc tuiles. it needs to be wrapped right away, this seemed to help a bit.

the pinocchio, on semolina is my fave and don't mess with the combos. i've tried before only to say to myself , i should have just left things alone, plus it cost me more to mess my sandwich up don't forget a bottle of limonata and the yummy little treat he always tucks inside your bag.

MELAMPO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

apple pie, just fried doughnuts, warm choc chip cookies, brownies and some ice cream for ala mode, mmmmmmmmnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!! if they are super good and really pretty why do you have to fancy them up upscale can mean quality not just style

i made the one from sherry yards book. looked great, just as i remembered but didn't taste the way i was hoping for. i will try the one in gourmets old vienna cookbbok next

unfortunately there are a million possibilities for bloom. if you are absolutely sure it is not the temper check all of the following. steam getting into the bowl of melting chocolate while on the water bath humidity in the air (are you neat a dish station) 72 while not that hot is not the best temperature, if your choco does not start to set within a minute or so try putting it in the freezer for a minute to jump start it is it a new type of chocolate, sometimes batches can just be funky

my understanding of the way they make it at Danube is to bake it in a pan and keep adding a new layer. they always used it there to secure things like ice cream and i thought it was the best part of the dessert. it might be in the new bouley cookbook

the great debate continues

i called to make a res for lunch, 2 people and my 5 month son. he is an excellent diner and has already been to many of the best places. they did not want to give me a res and suggested i dine at the bar. not very enlightened

hi bill! hope all is well! one of my cooks ate dinner at your place last night and had the cake in question. she and her friend loved it and thought it was the best part of meal, they also really, really liked the 12 bean ice cream that went with.

i agree with micheal on technique and as for the rice paper you can get it from pfeil and holding(they have a web site) but if you don't have the paper you can just use potato starch on a sheetpan

macaroons ala pierre herme 2k TPT 1k sugar 750 g whites use italian meringue and tamis several times good luck

one last thought this one regarding the pacojet if you try the caramel thing i'm sure we would all love to hear about it, but i would do it late at night when no one is around so your boss won't get really pissed if the paco breaks. in fact you might want to call them and see what they think before you try it as they are very fragile creatures afterall.

i also have the rival machine and for $30 i love it. but like it's been said before, it only makes a small amount and it takes some time, so vip's yes. but for any volume no way. as far as sugars go, there are a million places to buy preflavored sugars on the web, just google or ebay. they are really cheap $3-4 bucks for a huge amount. there are also flavor bases you can buy to mix with regular sugar and that is much cheaper. but for the rival and any home vesion you need to stick with superfine or floss sugar or you will kill it immeadiately. as far as flavoring you can mix some flavor with your sugar and let it dry a bit, but things like herbs are very difficult and will burn, smoke, set off your fire alarm etc. how about microwave drying the finely chopped herbs and then sprinkling them on top of the freshly spun sugar, that way you get flavor and garnish. as for professional grade oils try boyajian (dairyland) but limited flavors or lorann (check out the post on lollipops further down the page) they have all the crazy flavors. you can play with anything but gut instinct is best. just remember if it has a low smoke point it will not likely work.

1. use a part cornsyrup part sugar formula, maybe 1/4 to 3/4 2. try cooking the sugar a touch less, stop right before light amber starts and then shock it briefly, in an ice water bath, to stop the cooking 3. a fork really doesn't do the job well, you could use a whisk that you have the ends cut off of or they sell special tools that do the job.

macarons are really not quite as complicated as all of this first of all lets clarify macarons with egg whites or macarons with coconut known as "rocher" or "congolais" coconut macs are best made with dessicated coconut, that is dried and unsweetened. to add moisture back you add a small amount of very reduced apple puree (you can purchase a product known as "super pomme" from patisfrance) You cook the mixture over a water bath very slowly to reduce the amount of liquid in the mix, let it rest overnight and then bake. for egg white macs, i have spent some time working in pierre hermes kitchen and made many a mac. 1. old whites are best, we save all of our extra whites everyday and use them for macs, biscuit etc.. however i will caution against frozen egg whites as they tend to be nasty and whip up in seconds and then collapse immeadiately. 2. italian meringue, yes this is correct 3. silpat is easiest 4. let dry until the tops form a nice crust, maybe 20-30 minutes the way they do it there is to pipe all the macs out (and this is maybe 4-5000 a day) and by the time they have piped the last of them the first are ready to go in the oven. 5. when the macs are cool they are each sprayed lightly on the inside with a syrup that matches the mac, say simple syrup and rose water, then filled. and let me just say the best time to eat one is standing in the walk in right after you are finished for the day, not the next day when they are for sale at the shop.

i will try to remember to look up my recipes on tues, i am out of the restaurant until then. however for the infusion of zest and such i always just go with the eyeball method.

althought they are limited in flavors try the boyajin oils (ny cake and bake or dairyland) they are much stronger oils and have a more natural oil. lorann is great for when you want to make rootbeer or grape but not for a natural flavor. it is also nice if you add zest or say cinn sticks in to infuse in the syrup while it cooks.

i am a huge fan of maison, especially "romeo" a piece of perfection. however last time i was in paris i had some bernachon chocolate, from a little shop by the moulin rouge and it was another amazing earth shattering thing. of course stupid me only bought a tiny amount. i have been craving it ever since.

thanks everyone, i know they haven't sold them at takashimaya in years, i live around the neighborhood. but i will try the website and email as i can atleast read a bit better than i speak

anybody have any leads on how to get bernachon chocolates here in the us other than calling them directly and trying to decipher an order with my poor french?

in an attempt to recreate my childhood memory i too searched around for a rumball recipe like crazy and came up with the following take a bunch of choc cookie crumbs, mix with a small amount of ganache made with some chocolate, water and corn syrup. stir in a whole lot of sprinkles, your choice of flavors although i prefer the nonpareils and the chocolate jimmies. scoop and roll in some more sprinkles, set in the fridge. if you want you can add rum into the mix to taste. but my memories were the kind in the bakery that tasted like pure chocolate candy

i tried several times to email you for the lobster souffle recipes as indicated in vogue and had my mail returned each time with sender unknown. i would really love to get the recipes of possible. thanks