chefpeon

Funny! I come from a place, where, if you didn't freeze anything, you'd be completely screwed!

Well, thanks Nordicware! Now I can't charge clients and arm and a leg to make them a sculpted stadium cake. They can just buy the stinkin' pan for 30 bucks!

Undeniably unfair! I'm a pro, and even I'd be befuddled by the altitude change! It would take a few days of tweaking before I ever entered my "sea-level" cookies in high altitude contest! I think whoever decided the location for the contest was a complete bonehead! Or the Food Network, thinking only about ratings, was thinking..."How can we set up amateurs for complete failure and laugh at them all the way to the bank?" A funny aside: When I was a girl scout, and I was trying to earn my homemaking badge (or whatever it was), I used my mom's one and only baking book to make batches of cookies. Every batch came out MISERABLY. It was then that I got this reputation within my family that I did NOT BELONG IN THE KITCHEN. Anything I made, my family would not touch. I could not for the life of me figure out what I was doing wrong. I even had my mom check my work. We made the recipes together, and the cookies STILL were terrible. They were like rocks. Ok, my mom said, maybe it wasn't ME. She said, "When I used this book back home in Colorado......." and then it hit her. It was a high altitude baking book!!!! So even though the bad cookies weren't my fault, my family STILL regarded me as a terrible cook/baker. So later when I announced in my 20's that I wanted to be a pastry chef and I was going to school to learn, they all thought I had to be crazy. I DID finally get my girl scout badge by the way. Oh, yeah, and I graduated from pastry school!

Not knowing any better, I froze a ton of ice cream base because I knew I would never have time to spin it all before it went bad. When I needed it, I thawed it and churned it with no problems! Also, I use a ton of heavy cream in mine...very little half and half. I think this is the deal: You can't freeze heavy cream by itself. But when the heavy cream is cooked with eggs, sugar, etc, as ice cream bases are, then you CAN freeze. I also know (from personal experience) that you can freeze heavy cream that's already been whipped. I do this all the time because it's just too darn expensive to waste. I thaw the whipped cream in the fridge, then re-whip. It comes out great.

Hey, thanks for all the warm wishes, everyone! It's good to know I'll be around a few more years. Not that I'm a fatalist or anything. But two weeks of uncertainty about your health makes you look at things a little bit differently! Yes, in the grand scheme of things, crappy cookies are pretty low on the Totem Pole. But I feel it is my "purpose" to make yummy things, so I will fight the good fight to keep those cookies as high quality as they can possibly be. Although I'm down to a three day workweek, the three days I work are (pardon the expression) "balls to the wall"! As I sort of figured it would be, I'm cramming 5 days of work into three. This is because my new crew, is, well, new, and they aren't up to speed in more ways than one. Also my boss, no matter how busy we are, works at only one speed, and I would call that speed "glacial"; as in, he works marginally faster than a glacier. Even though he's clearly aware of how much business we're doing, it's like he STILL doesn't have a clue how long it will take to get any particular task done. Then later, he always marvels at how long it took to wrap and label 50 dozen cookies. SIGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH............... You know, I could write a pretty funny sitcom about that kitchen and the characters in it. No wait, we'd be GREAT for a reality show....I'm not kidding. Or maybe I'll make a name for myself writing a book about my adventures (a la Bourdain and Kitchen Confidential) 'cept I'd probably call mine "Kitchen Dysfunctional".

Or that's what the cake was dusted with.......

FINALLY.....for those of you who are curious.... Biopsy results.....benign!!!! Thank god for that. Now I can go back to worrying about crappy cookies.

Trust me, people. I have used bar straws and bubble tea straws exclusively when I build tiered cakes. I have stacked up to five tiers using them with no problems! You don't need to use wooden or plastic dowels until you get to the UNGODLY heavy and tall cakes, and I'm talking 6 tiers or more. I've been doing this 16 years. I've NEVER had a cake collapse or FALL.....ever.

I found a recipe on the web for this. Here's the instructions for the pecan cream filling: You used cream, right? Simmered long enough? Cooled, then added nuts? Refrigerate overnight?

So......let me guess. It's on Food Network, right? I hate my cable company. They have decided I can't have Food Network. Fill those of us in who have mean cable companies. WHO is the Ace of Cakes? Is it one person? Is that the name of the shop? Is the show a series?

I gave the recipe a good read-through, and I didn't notice anything about the crust being a "pretzel crust". From what I can tell, it's just a plain graham cracker crust using unsalted butter, and the addition of 3/4 tsp. salt. I'm not exactly sure where you get "pretzel" out of that. Regarding the proportion of butter to the other ingredients, I don't think 5 Tbsp. of butter will get you anywhere near "soggy". If you scaled it down, make sure you review your math to make sure you scaled all the ingredients down accurately. Maybe you scaled down your dry ingredients, but didn't scale down the butter? Just guessin'. I can't exactly say for sure what made your crust "soggy". It might have been fine, but your expectations were for it to be crunchier than it was. Especially if you were thinking "pretzel". Here's something to try.....next time you pre-bake your crust, brush the top with egg white. The egg white forms a sort of moisture barrier, and will prevent the cheesecake batter from seeping into the crust (although I don't think it really does that anyway). One final thing.....even though the recipe doesn't specify to, you didn't bake your cheesecake in a waterbath did you? If you baked it in a springform pan in a waterbath, that would definitely explain sogginess....especially if you didn't wrap the bottom of the pan with foil to prevent leakage.

Yeah man....vanilla bean specks are cool! They say, "Hey, I'm a real vanilla bean, and I'm in this dessert! Neener neener."

Did you ask him exactly why the Napoleon was so amazing? He might be able to tell you. When I met my husband, he told me that Napoleons were always strange to him because they were one of those pastries that always LOOK amazing but usually disappoint. I totally agreed with that. I too, love the look of a Napoleon but have usually been less than impressed with a lot of them that I've tried. When I became a PC, I knew I could make a really GOOD Napoleon. I told my husband, (then my "boyfriend") to give mine a try. He raved. He loved it. Whenever I would come home from work, he would say, "Did you bring home a Napoleon?" I figured out pretty quick that if I made them at work, I always needed to save one aside. And they say the way to a mans heart is through his stomach.....yep....that's how I hooked mine. My Napoleons were great bait. So I suppose you're probably saying, "Annie, what's the SECRET?" No secret. The Napoleons I make are pretty simple and straightforward...nothing fancy. But what makes them good is that every component is top quality. My own buttery puff pastry. A heavily vanilla'd pastry cream that's been lightened with whipped cream for a less custardy and more fluffy texture, but NOT BLAND. And finally a topping of poured fondant that's been enhanced with a little almond syrup and the chocolate striping. That's it.....and it's really really good. Well, according to my husband anyway. My customers loved them too. I'd make a dozen a day, and they always sold out before lunchtime. I love making Napoleons!

Here's something for you. Sort of explains why it's hard to find too......

No danger of that! They hate computers and will have nothing to do with them. They have one at home, but only their teenage granddaughter uses it. In fact, whenever they need "technical assistance" they call me. All our invoices are hand written and all the books are on paper. Strange for me, since I was so used to using Quickbooks in my other jobs. Anyway.....here's an update on the situation, for those who wanna know.... My cat has returned....miraculously. After 7 days, he showed up at the door....extremely hungry. Have NO IDEA where he was! Maybe up a tree. Biopsy results.....still don't have them. Turns out my doc went on vacation THE DAY the results were due in his office. He won't be back til the 21st. This waiting is driving me crazy. Job.....finally told boss I wasn't happy there, burned out, and wanted to leave. Told him I'd stay til the rest of the crew was "competent enough" to carry on without me. (I meant competent to his standards, not mine....if they were to be competent enough to my standards, I'd be putting them through "Annie Culinary Academy"). He gave me a counter-offer. He suggested that maybe I could just work 3 days a week, manage my "crew", get them set up, make their task lists, train them to do things I haven't yet trained them to do, order ingredients and supplies, and make the "complicated" stuff. I make a special cake once a month for one of our accounts (our biggest), and he doesn't want to lose that. He also said it would be too difficult for him to run the place without me (a needed ego stroke, I admit). He said maybe I should give it a try...see how I like it. If I still want to leave, he said he'd understand. I never did get a chance to say anything about how I felt about the quality control on his end, as I feel he lets things go out of that kitchen that should never see the light of day. As Pam R says, it IS his business, but it's also MY reputation. In a small town, everyone KNOWS where you work, and all product is attributed to you, whether you've actually made it or not. I'm sure a lot of you pros know, protecting your reputation is pretty darn important in this biz. On a personal level, a three day work week is pretty darn appealing. I've liked it so far, in the two weeks that I've done it. I work Mon, Tues, and Wed....the slowest days of the week. I get a LOT done, since I'm working by myself, I get all the product ordered, I'm able to write detailed task lists for the crew, and I have them completely set up to rock and roll when they come in. I never leave them in the weeds. Any chaos and confusion they may experience never will be because I set them up for failure; it will be because my boss tells them to do things I have specifically warned them NOT to do and I can't control that. As employees they have to do what he tells them, even though it may not make sense. That whole deal is one of the reasons that I'm so frustrated there. I tell my boss (who is NOT a baker) exactly why I do what I do and it mostly just goes over his head. He doesn't understand and doesn't WANT to understand, so he just goes back to doing stuff his way because that's "how he's always done it". Talk about not being able to teach an old dog new tricks.......IT DRIVES ME NUTS. So, by only working Mon, Tues, and Wed, I'm spared the busy Thursday and Friday large order/confusion debacle which usually sent my stress level through the roof. I don't have to deal with it anymore, so now I've had two weeks of almost "inner peace". I still struggle with the feeling that maybe I "sold out". I sort of feel that I should have stuck to my guns and refused to have anything to do with a place that doesn't mind putting out inferior product when errors happen. Of course I know that the only way things would ever be my way would be if I owned my own business. In my own business, I would rather short a customer than to sell them a crappy product. I'm sure anyone would appreciate being told that they didn't receive something they ordered because it wasn't good enough rather than to receive something they couldn't sell or would get complaints. And, regarding the real topic of this thread......contributing recipes/recipe "ownership". Seems to be a subject of some debate from what I've read! Here's my take on it: I think it's great to share recipes.....I mean that's why I shared my personal recipes with the place I work for, because I want to contribute something valuable and appreciated. Recipes don't do much just sitting in a recipe file remaining a huge secret for no one to enjoy. As a professional PC, these are more than "just recipes". They come from years of tweaking and perfecting. They are my work, my reputation, my "edible resume". The downside is, that when you contribute something to a business (that isn't your own), you rarely get the credit for it. The business gets the credit for it.....they get to cash in on your knowledge and contribution. Of course you get the satisfaction in knowing you make a wonderful product and you get to see the business grow because of your work, but you don't get any extra money for it, or any direct credit attributed to you, and usually this is ok.....if you're happy with your job and how you're treated. But it becomes a sore spot when you feel you've given them all you've got and they haven't lived up to their end of the deal. You feel screwed, taken advantage of and extremely frustrated. This is where I was when I started this thread. It's not like I was asking for the moon....all I wanted was for them to care about quality as much as I do. I found it extremely strange (and still do) that although I'm "just the employee" I'm far more concerned with quality control and customer service than the OWNERS are. I have been on the phone quite a few times apologizing to customers for mistakes the BOSS makes, not me. It's demoralizing. I felt that they didn't deserve my contributions anymore (ie. my recipes). That's why I wanted to "take them back" when I made plans to leave for good. I didn't want my "babies" to be associated with their poor business practices! So....this is a valuable lesson for me.....and maybe something for a lot of you to think about. From this point on in my career, I will definitely think twice before offering up my best stuff if I'm working for someone else. I think in general, it's best that you make stuff they tell you to make, or have them do their own recipe research. If they do ask me to develop a recipe, I will do it specifically for them and leave it there. My own stuff will stay with me and I will use it when I do stuff independently or for my own business. As for my current situation, all the stuff I contributed will stay there even when I do leave eventually. Except, as I said, for my coconut macaroons. My name is actually on them, so that will definitely go with me. The recipe is permanently in my head and I have removed it from the book, so if they want to continue making a coconut macaroon, they'll have to come up with their own thing.....not hard. Sorry to be so long-winded, but every story needs a final chapter! I also want to say, y'all have been so supportive and kind. I appreciate all the PM's. You guys are great!

So, like, what if you got a bunch of these? Take the keychain part of it off, and build some sort of gumpaste "casing" around it to make it look like a stadium light. These would be handy in that you don't have to mess with any wires...they are all self contained and powered. These also have an on/off switch so they stay on without having to squeeze them. I have one of these. It might even work better, since it's on a flexible neck.

As long as your math is right, and you've accurately reduced the recipe, you should not have any problems. In fact, working with puff pastry in smaller amounts is actually easier, and you have better control over your dough. Rolling out a monster amount of dough by hand can really be a b*tch! In school, we didn't have a sheeter, and rolled it all out with a pin. I stood on a milk crate to get good leverage, and I felt it in my abdomen for weeks! It was like I did 100 sit up a day! I never DID get rock hard abs from it though..........

When it comes to laminated doughs, such as puff pastry, having a suitable recipe is only the half of it. Your technique and kitchen conditions have a LOT to do with how your dough comes out. When I was in culinary/pastry school, all of us were given the same formula for puff dough, and all of us had different results based on how we handled the dough. Making sure you have the same consistency between the butter and the dough is important. Keeping your dough cool, but not terribly cold or too warm is important. How you roll it out is important......shouldn't be too thick or too thin. How many turns you give it is important. What kind of folds you give it is important. How long you rest it between turns is important..... You see, there's so many things that contribute to the success of a laminated dough, and I would say that it's not so much the recipe you have to worry about, although, of course, some are better than others. What you need to concentrate on, more than anything else is the proper technique. It's something that takes practice, because you need to be really familiar with your dough to know what it will do for you. Pretty soon, you get a "feel" for it. The recipes I used from my schoolbooks were completely suitable (Professional Baking-Gisslen and The Professional Pastry Chef-Friberg), and I actually STILL use the puff recipe from school because it has always worked fine for me. My suggestion is to review technique before blaming the recipe, because puff recipes are pretty straightforward and simple, really.

Life is hazardous to your health. Something's going to get ya sometime. I'm fairly sure odds are you are more likely to be struck by lightning than to die from copper toxicity.

So are they chewy and thin, or cakey? You wouldn't be able to share the recipe would you? I too, would love a chewy thin pumpkin cookie. Similar to a Gingersnap, but pumpkiny. Every recipe I have also, is for thick, puffy and cakey. Don't like!!!!

UPDATE: Biopsy: Uneventful, routine, got the tissue in the jar, now they are testing it. Waiting for results. Kitty: still gone. Probably coyotes. They are a huge problem here. Job: Still got one. Was going to give notice on Monday (as y'all know), but was so freaked out anticipating the biopsy procedure, that I decided to wait til Tuesday so I could be somewhat coherent. On Tuesday, boss left early before I got a chance to broach the subject. Today, he left early again. He doesn't stick around long enough for me to become un-busy enough to talk! Frustrating! It's almost as if they sense something is wrong though.....everybody has been extra nice to me this week.

Yeah.....tomorrow......(gulp) I have no idea what their reaction will be when I give my notice......makes me very nervous. My very good friend Abra, and her husband Shel, came up here to take me to brunch and to help me feel better (my cat turned up missing since Friday and I'm having a dreadful biopsy tomorrow to make sure the little mass on my mammogram isn't cancer), so yeah, I'm not having a very good weekend.....stewing and worrying..... But they made me laugh. We were discussing the reason(s) I would give them, should they ask why I wanted to leave, and I said, maybe I'll just say, "Professional and artistic differences", and Shel said, "Yeah, you could say, "I'm professional and artistic......and you're.....different."

Heck, I just say make a transparent pie crust, and you've got "Invisible Apple Pie".

No doubt. Tomorrow, I'm going in to remove it and also retrieve my equipment which I've had on permanent loan to them. Got the bases covered, I think. Thanks for all your good thoughts.....I truly truly appreciate it!

Thanks for all the replies, everybody. That's right....that's why I'm not firing THEM. As it is, I haven't yet given notice, but will on Monday. I was waiting to get my last wedding cake out of the way first....didn't need complications on that front. I plan on exiting gracefully, since burning bridges in a small town, not to mention a small tourist town, is NOT the best strategy. I would like just to give a two week notice, but will offer to stay until they can find a suitable replacement, that is, if they want to replace me at all. They may just decide to stick with who they have (my two assistants) since it's not long until the slow season starts and they find they have TOO MANY employees. Could be that I'm out on my butt on Tuesday if they want to go that route. The hardest part is coming up with my "reason". I'm not going to tell the truth (I'm leaving because you don't mind selling CRAP-that wouldn't sound good). I'll probably say something vague, like, I'm just not happy here any more, or It's just not working out for me. No need go deeper than that I suppose. As for the recipes.......I don't need to cause myself any more possible grief, so I think I'll just let it be.....EXCEPT for my macaroons. They've been selling them under the moniker, "Annie's Macaroons", so if Annie ain't makin' the macaroons, then they can't have them. If they want to sell macaroons, they can come up with their own recipe, since there's tons of them out there. To be truthful, if I weren't so upset with them, I probably wouldn't even have considered taking my recipes back, as I believe recipes should be shared also. I mean, heck, I shared mine with them in the first place. At least I'm wise enough to know not to make decisions in the heat of the moment or when I'm feeling too emotional. I did need input on this one however, and I appreciate ALL you guys' opinions.