fou de Bassan

How stiff was your dough when you put it in the piping bag? The dough should just hold its shape. From my clumsy calculations your recipe seems to have a bit too much water. When you added the flour to the water\butter mixture, did you cook the dough until a thin film was sticking to the pan? I usually beat mine in a standing mixer until it gets stiffish and glossy, not like cake batter, more like......marshmallowy for want of a better adjective. Lastly, just out of curiosity, I've never added confectioner's sugar to pate a choux was it in one of the recipes? Presumably to make a sweet choux? Also, was it raining or damp? This dough is really susceptible to variations in moisture level. Kathryn

Welcome Marcia! Your bread does indeed look tasty. From one home baker to another, what did you do to try to create steam in your oven? And for your first white bread, I don't have this book-sorry, what do you think was in the recipe that made your dough seem too yeasty? Was it a long rise bread?

Another vote for Pépin- techniques. I cut my teeth on it and still think it to be a useful, marvelous thing. MAFC you should definitely have and you made the right choice on Peterson. I don't know how or I'd post a link to Amazon i also have Modern French Culinary Art by Henri-Paul Pellaprat and I find it useful also but not enough to forego the above mentioned.

As I've never made these before I'll steam them. But if these turn out to be half as good as I think they will be I'll try them baked.

Chrisamirault, I don't know if the following is what you need but... When we lived in the Phillippines we had coconut trees in our backyard. My parents would hire guys to pick them and husk them. They would then take a hammer and a screwdriver and puncture the eyes to get the liquid. We would then bake the coconuts in the oven until the brown husks cracked(about 45 min.) Then take the same screwdriver and separate the nut into pieces. Then they would grate the coconut on a tincan that had holes punched with a nail from the inside out. The guys grated the coconut by putting their fists inside the can and rubbing the pieces of coconut over the outside. It seemed to be effective, and very inexpensive. This is the mthod I have used with supermarket coconuts and it works for me. I hope this has been comprehensible

I used panko thinking that they would provide a nice textural contrast. I liked them but next time I think I'll try seasoned rusk crumbs and see what happens.

You MUST make these! We had them last night and even my garlic hating 5 year old ate them. I made tiny ones just for her. I made tons and now have them frozen so I can have them when I want.

Foie gras and Sauternes pears and Port Salut Bacon and anything(well maybe not ice cream) basil and tomato

I think I'd much rather start my day with 'The Pursuit of Love' rather than 'Bonjour Tristesse' . (see link) I looked at the flapjack recipe, did I miss the addition of flour and a leavening agent. I, too, think of pancakes when I see flapjack. Although I had an English friend who couldn't understand my laughter after she said she would 'knock me up' so I know there are variances in English and American english.

Char siu bao-- sounds great! Are we planning to use different recipes or the same? Different, I hope. I enjoyed the discussions generated by the different recipe choices.

Have they been refrigerated since September? Taste a few and see if they have a bitter or rancid taste. You can do tons with sesame seeds, but with 25 lbs.-- make halvah. Or halwah. It is a middle eastern confection of sesame seeds and honey. Maybe post on the middle eastern foods board for a recipe? In the new Gourmet cookbook there is a recipe for sesame honey cookies that are very good and you use 1 cup of sesame seeds per batch. Or you could make gomasio, a Japanese condiment consisting of sesame seeds and salt. There are others more knowledgeable than I who should pipe up here. Good Luck

McBaker, The babyfood idea is interesting. Maybe you could make a puree and have a side-by-side comparison. My only thought is that the store purée might have more water and result in a weaker flavor, whereas with homemade you control the concentration of fruit(or whatever). Did you try the chocolate-chambord combo? If so, what were the results?

I'm enjoying your blog very much. Suffice it to say I knew nothing about WW before this blog. I hope this isn't a stupid question but, do you ever go off WW? Does it have an end or whenyou reach your goal weight do you just eat to maintain? Thanks again

As a blushing young bride I once prepared a dish of fish in tomato sauce. Not being an adventurous fish eater at the time I thought it would be ok... white fleshed fish, fresh tomato sauce what could go wrong? Well, the dish is ready to go into the oven to bake when my husband calls to say he,s running half an hour late. No problem. I put the fish in the oven so that it will be piping hot when he arrives. I then lie down to rest. TWO HOURS later he walks in the door. I wake up to UGH! the smell. The fish had turned to gelatin, the sauce had reduced to a burnt red rubber. We threw the entire pan away and had cheese and crackers.

It seems so 1950's, but my signature dish is Beef Wellington and homemade gelati for dessert. For something less artery clogging I'd choose the duck breasts my husband always asks to have for his birthday. Then a massive cake made of chestnut purée and really good chocolate. If you were to come in summer(advisable, it gets cold here in Winter) I'd get a Salmon, halve it, bone it, smother it with fresh herbs and borage flowers from the garden and grill it. We'd have a cold soup and fruit sorbet to go with.

Lucky you! Surprisingly, one of the best ways I've found is also one of the simplest ---with soy sauce and orange juice. I find wild rice studded with fruit to be a wonderful accompaniment to magret provided you're not cooking the magret with fruit. I also like magret with figs and a reduction of port. Bon Appétit!

Chris, next time try cassoulet with the breadcrumbs. I used some stale brioche ground up in the food processor. 2 cups breadcrumbs with 1\2 cup chopped parsley. I broke up the crust every 20 min. It was truly wonderful. I;m wondering about the dryness? Did you save the bean cooking liquid? I ended up adding some during the cooking to prevent the cassoulet from drying out. I'm game for another mass cook-in.

I couldn't count, I wS TOO BEDAZZLED by all of the wonderful sights. Thank you!

Don't let the naysayers get you down. You seem to have a good plan and it looks dreamy, esp. the marble slab.(I'm jealous )

As the daughter-in-law of one of those french women, I have to say that I think the thing to keep in mind is that the French are very body conscious. My MIL keeps an eye on 'sa ligne'. If her clothes feel too snug she cuts back on her portion size, stops most sweets and takes an extra turn around the block. They do tend to eat way more vegetables than the average American does, I believe. Also before summer and bathing suit season, my MIL and SIL live pretty much on salads, small amounts of meat, fresh fruit and bread. The way they put it is they can look good on the beach or have dessert. They prefer to look good on the beach.

Chrisamirault, I ued the recipe from MAstering the Art of french Cooking. Basically lots of pork in different forms, mutton, garlic and a tiny bit of leftover duck confit. And beans, lots of beans! The crust btw was delicious! I am anxious to see more of your photos.

I second the fresh veggie plate and water! If you fix this for her the night before, your wife will thank you as it removes much difficult decision making. Also, go to the grocery and buy family size packages of chicken breasts and pork chops. On the weekend, line up you favorite marinades and sauces and make packages of 4-5 pieces with sauce. Label them well and pop them in the freezer. You can take a package out in the morning, cook with your favorite starch andveggies and voila, dinner and lunch for her(& you) the next day. This worked well for us as we had no family near. Congratulations!

The cassoulet was fabulous! We fed 8 adults and 4 kids, sent people home with extra and still have leftovers We started with kir, drank Gigondas and Pauillac with the meal and finished with coffee and quince brandy. With a big green salad and strudel for dessert it was absolutely the best way to start the new year. The aroma of the cassoulet filled the house. After we had left the table, one guy kept excusing himself. We wondered why until we found him filching from the pot on the counter! His value went way up in my eyes, anyway, as I took it as a compliment. We ate at one and are still full. Bon appétit to all those who have yet to enjoy their meals!

Well, we had cassoulet which has tons of pork in it so I am going to just hope that that counts. My father seems to think I have gone over to the dark side since I did not make black-eyed peas. Thanks for the reassurance.

Inspired by this thread, I am now about halfway through the process. I am sticking to the recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking. So, no duck or goose as I only had about one leg worth of confit in the fridge, although I might throw that in fwiw. The pork and mutton are cooked and cut up and waiting in cold storage as are the beans. The house smelled incredible today. Tomorrow the sausages and lamb in stock then final assembly and baking on Saturday. Little ms.foodie, I do not have les halles and so cannot say anything about that method. I have always found the low and slow method to give reliably unctuous results. Chrisamirault, thanks for proposing this dish, you made me do something about this constant craving for cassoulet.