jgarner53
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Posts posted by jgarner53
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Oh, that's just nasty. Very Willy Wonka indeed. I even thought THAT concept (the meal in a piece of chewing gum) was nasty.
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I curse my childhood picky palate that I have never tasted abalone. My dad is an avid scuba diver and would frequently return from weekend trips with several, their large shells being close to a dinner plate in size. We had many in our yard as ad hoc decoration. Mom would pound the steaks (about saucer-sized), and I think she breaded them, but since, at the time, I thought that any fish other than Filet O' and Mrs. Paul's was "icky," I never tasted it.
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Perfectly ripe apricots
Melting butter on warm homemade bread (Acme will do in a pinch)
Gorgeous strawberries at their peak
Peaches whose juice runs down your arm as you eat
The first bite of Thanksgiving dinner (turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing)
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Something tells me that bacon and most desserts probably wouldn't sit very well. Bacon and cherry pie? Bacon lemon charlotte? Bacon bavarian? OK, that might be OK.
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In fact, when people ask me why my food tastes so good I usually tell them it's salt. They never believe me, because they all know that salt is evil.
Hear hear! My sister's one of those anti-salt people. Her kids all love coming over to my mom's (or when she sends something over) because her food tastes good. Because she uses salt.
I am floored by people who don't like chocolate.
Add me to that list of people who are floored by the incredulous "You MADE this?" comments around desserts, especially. Now, granted, I'm in pastry school right now, but even long before that, I'd bring out a loaf of homemade bread, or cake not from a mix, and people would just be stunned. Same thing happened the first time I made puff pastry. But even really simple things like a pie can get stunned looks.
I am floored that pre-packaged food companies seem to believe (and sales would bear this out) that we are too busy/uncoordinated/afraid of knives and/or spoons to scoop out or slice our own "slice 'n' bake" cookies. OK, so you don't make homemade cookies. Fine. But is it really that hard to open the plastic tube? Now you can buy the dough pellets and "make lasting memories" (really, no shit, it's in the ad) with your kids as you lovingly take the pellets and place them on the cookie sheet together. Awww. We needed this?
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I guess my mom brought me up right, because I can't even fathom stealing anything from a restaurant, nor have I seen stuff stolen.
But my maid of "honor" at my wedding DID slink off with most of the centerpieces, which were meant for guests to take home. (Each place setting had a boxed truffle at it; there were 7 chocolate, and 1 key lime - coated in white chocolate, which was the "winner." She and her fiancé went around before the reception, opening the boxes to find out where the white truffles were, and then placed people they knew (or outright took away) at that place.
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Damn! I can't see the pic!
never mind. there it is. wow. I am impressed.
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Anne,
Sorry if I flew off the handle a bit. With the CA Culinary Academy in my back yard, and it's highfalutin Cordon Bleu status, sometimes I feel like I'm at Joe's Cooking School - even though Tante Marie's has been around for more than 20 years, and is pretty well respected in this city. Even if the founder is a bit, uh, quirky (all her recipes are volumetric?? not what you'd expect if you're in a professional course--my instructor's recipes are all by weight).
Initially, I was asking the question because the same problem had happened to me again (making this mousse at home, where my teacher couldn't be of any help), even after I'd been more careful (yes, the bottom of the egg yolk bowl was dry) the second time.
Re the Concorde, and the lack of demo, she did describe it to us, but it was kind of hard to get a visual without some kind of reference. I think part of the trouble, too, is that at my school, we have limited oven space, and with 14 people each with at least one or two sheet pans in the oven, getting another one in for the extra meringue bits was pretty much out of the question. So finishing it properly was impossible.
The school has a full-time culinary program as well as our part-time pastry program (in the same space), so if Rachel is going to have a demo, she either has to do it live or bring it in from work. That night, we were also doing dacquoise and succès, so her primary concern was demoing the piping of the meringues in general, rather than completing one of these. It is perhaps less than optimal, but all things considered, I think she's doing a pretty good job, and we're turning out some decent pastry.
She did bring a picture of the Concorde in the next night (in Lenotre's book).
Ultimately, the mousse turned out OK. It's a little denser than I would like, but it seems to hold up OK. I'll redo it again soon using one of these alternate methods, and hopefully get it perfect! I've found that when I have a problem with something in class, it frequently helps to make the item again at home, when I'm not slammed for time.
And now I'm off to warm up my piping chocolate to decorate the glaze (hooray, I can temper -- even if it isn't strictly necessary for this dessert) for my mini mousses.
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She had just never seen that problem before. I don't doubt her expertise, skill, or knowledge. I don't know why she hadn't seen it before. She did offer a guess as to the temp of the chocolate and yolks.
She's been working in pastry for 20 years, has worked mainly for two of the top patisseries in San Francisco, and now has her own successful wedding cake business. So I doubt that she has a lack of experience, or that Tante Marie's would hire her if she were a hack.
I must ask, what kind of "chef" is instructing your class that doesn't have a clue when it comes to troubleshooting?I have to say that this really gets my hackles up. First of all, to question the credentials of someone you don't know, and second, to assume that every instructor should always have all the answers 100% of the time is a bit arrogant. Do you always have all the answers? Have you never come across something that puzzled you?
I'd rather have a teacher who admitted she didn't know something and would research to find the answer than one who made up shit or told me I was stupid for making a mistake.
I came here to hopefully augment what I'm learning in school, not for her to be attacked. For the record, she did suggest when my chocolate and yolks siezed, that I add a bit of hot water to salvage it, and it worked perfectly, which I believe I stated before. She is also usually going 100 miles a minute answering questions and assisting students in any given class, and this one was particularly busy.
Edited to add rant.
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Yes, I'm thinking that the answer lies here in the temps of the chocolate and yolks. While the recipe is unspecific as to temperature for either, the instructions would lead me to believe that the chocolate's about 110ºF or so, and the egg yolks, having first been heated (my standard is to about 130º-140ºF), then beaten so as to lighten them and cool them down, they should be close to the same temps.
The procedure is that you leave the chocolate on the bain marie (water isn't likely because my bowl completely covered the pan) and put the yolks on top (while it's still sitting on the bm). Only once you've got everything else mised do you stir the two together. Odd procedure, but that's what the recipe says.
Tim,
if what I made last night didn't set (I didn't check it this morning), and I redo the mousse, I'll try your procedure and let you know what happens.
I made 6 minis, and only need 4, so I'll unmold one tonight to see what I've got. Of course, if I can lift the ring off without even using my blowtorch, I'll know!
Redsugar,
I think only one other person had a siezing problem, and her mousse seemed to turn out fine (as did mine, the first time). The only other problem people had was that they got chocolate chips when folding in the cold whipped cream, but that problem I haven't had.
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This is the second time this has happened with this recipe, and I can't figure out where I've gone wrong. I'm willing to bet (since my classmates were mostly successful) that it's me, not the recipe, but my chef didn't really have an answer, and I'm hoping you wonderful people will.
This is a chocolate mousse (to be used in a mousse cake where it's chilled in a ring)
4 oz. milk chocolate
4 oz. semisweet chocolate
2 egg yolks
1 TBS. corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream
2 egg whites
Melt chocolate over bain marie. Keep warm. Heat yolks and corn syrup over bain marie, then whip until light and lemon-colored. Pour over chocolate, but do not stir. Whip cream to stiff peaks. Keep cold. Beat egg whites to medium stiff peaks. Stir chocolate and yolks together, then fold in 1/3 of cream quickly. Fold in remaining cream. Fold in egg whites.
What's been happening to me is that when I stir the egg yolks and the chocolate, it siezes. I can add a little bit of hot water, and it will loosen up (though last night this didn't work??). The other thing that happened last night, though I will attribute this to the chocolate/yolk mixture being too warm, is that the first third of the whipped cream essentially melted when I folded it in.
But why, oh why, is the chocolate siezing when I add the yolks? There should be enough liquid in the yolks, and fat, to keep that from happening, I would think. Can anyone offer me a suggestion?
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I would add apple and pear (pies, tarts, turnovers, muffins, etc.) for fall especially: Sept through November.
Also, wouldn't chocolate items also sell well at Valentine's day, too?
OK, chocolate is good almost any time of the year, but around the holidays (Nov through Dec), chocolate should be popular (particularly for New Years, I should think)
I don't really start thinking about pumpkin until I see them for Jack O'Lanterns in the store, but maybe that's me
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Hmm, I wouldn't say that I grew up with any kind of regional cuisine. Southern California isn't exactly known for anything except maybe Mexican food. Perhaps we ate more fruit and vegetables just because they were more available. My mom was certainly no heath food nut, so except for whole wheat bread, we didn't do the whole yogurt/granola/carob thing that some of my friends did in the 70's.
I eat much more broadly now than I did growing up - many more ethnic cuisines available to me, and a more mature palate. Though sometimes a pot roast is exactly the thing that his the spot.
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At $39.50, that's by far the best price I've seen for those turntables. I bought one over the summer on eBay for about $50 - and it ain't new. In fact, I was thinking I'd sand it and repaint (the paint is considerably yellowed).
But maybe I'll try to sell it and get a new one for $39.50 instead! Hell, if I paid $50 for one on eBay, someone else should, right?
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I've learned so much here on eG that it's hard to know where to begin.
-making and reducing outstanding chicken stock thanks to eGCI
-trying to get sourdough starter going (woefully unsuccessful so far, despite living in San Francisco)
-all about larb
-so much about pastry that simply clicking into that forum I sometimes feel waaayy over my head until someone else asks a question I feel competent enough to answer
-all about the DQ moolatte fiasco
It's at least one daily dose of laughter, and there are certain people whose posts I can almost nearly count on to bring on guffaws.
I don't get nearly as much done at work, on the days I work. On the days I don't work, even less. Who needs a clean shower, when there's a new thread I must read?
Mostly I feel like the young apprentice studying at the master's apron, whether it's reading a blog, or about some ingredient I've never heard of, or the Q&A sessions. I get giddy to think that people like Bourdain post here.
eG is a food community of the first order, and while sometimes we get riled up, ultimately, it's about the food, man. It's what brings us all together.
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I'd venture to say that In n Out Burger in California (anywhere else?) is pretty close to doing that: no freezers, workers are paid beginning at $8/hour, well above the national minimum wage, restaurants are clean, service is fast, and a cheeseburger, fries, and soda are about $5.
They cut their fries fresh (though they're not twice fried, as far as I know), burgers are made to order and served on buns baked by the company (though I don't know if they're baked on site). Shakes have real ice cream.
All you can get is a burger (or a cheeseburger), fries, and soda, lemonade, or a shake (vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry). No nuggets, no salads, no breakfast.
It's the only fast food I'll eat anymore, and indispensable when on the road between SF and LA or SF and Tahoe.
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Growing up, we always had butter and margarine both, but my dad was the only one who ate the margarine for his high cholesterol. He's one of those healthy-as-a-horse types who just happens to have high cholesterol, and since he's 74 and still going strong, I'm not too worried about it.
But about the time I graduated from college, I jumped on the low-fat bandwagon: low-fat cheese, egg beaters, margarine (for as little as I used anything at all), reduced-fat cookies, etc. I cooked almost exclusively out of Cooking Light magazine, but I wouldn't turn down a fast food hamburger or pizza.
Nowadays, I've shunned margarine because it tastes like crap. Baking is full fat, with whole eggs (though I don't eat much of it myself), and I wouldn't eat low-fat cheese on a dare. I want real cheese that melts, thank you very much. Since I bake all our cookies now, the reduced-fat varieties are long-gone.
I still cook out of Cooking Light when a recipe appeals to me, but I don't use it exclusively anymore.
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The vanilla bean paste is pretty good. I used it in a pastry cream when I couldn't find any vanilla beans, and it came out just fine. I haven't used it for anything else yet, though.
I don't mind their Tahitian vanilla for some things, but there are times when I want the Neilson-Massey, so I keep a bottle of it hidden in the cupboard.
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What about crepes suzettes?
or nana's spaghetti? Hmm, I guess that one's not as well known.
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Of course, my ideal thing to do would be to remove the section of countertop (tile) that's my primary workspace, and replace it. It's only about 30x24, give or take, and of course, wouldn't match the rest of my beautiful beige tile, but it would mean not having to haul out the big pull-out cutting board every time I get out my rolling pin or am kneading bread...
Ohmega Salvage is a good suggestion. I'll try to get over there this week (gives me an excuse to go by Acme and Scharffenberger - why not?)
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Chocolate zen. I like that.
thanks for all the great responses and encouragement. If only I'd known on Saturday that I didn't really need to temper the chocolate for that glaze! (It did have a small amount of clarified butter added to it) At least I got some practice, and as you say, Wendy, learning from the experience.
I was using the hot water/cold water bath method, mainly because I didn't know you could use the microwave, I don't have (and can't afford a marble slab), didn't want to use additional chocolate to seed, and didn't think to use the fridge either. And I was using a glass bowl, mainly because that's what my mixing bowls are.
My instructor has demonstrated tempering once, and I know that we'll do a lot more of it as time goes on, especially when we get into chocolates.
A big part of me wants to get this down. I ain't afraid of no chocolate! I sort of feel like it's kind of a macho thing, or part of being a pc.
An aside, I thought that the difference between an Opera cake and the Clichy was that the Opera cake has a praline buttercream?
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I'm just learning to temper chocolate. Like most things, I'm sure that it's something that gets relatively easier with practice, or at least more familiar.
But damn, is it always this frustrating a learning curve?
Yesterday I was making a Gateau Clichy for a friend's party (and it didn't even all get eaten!), and spent the bulk of my prep time tempering the chocolate for the glaze. I was working with Guittard chocolate.
The first time, I let the chocolate get too cold. The second, third, and fourth times, it got too hot when I was bringing it back up. Finally, on the fifth try, I got it.
My main question is this: how particular is the tempering temperature? If the chocolate drops below 86ºF, do you have to start over? If it's a couple of degrees above the top end of the range, do you have to start over?
Are there absolute temperatures? I've seen a couple of small variations in the temperature ranges. My recipe source ("The Art of Cake" by Paul Bugat) said to cool the chocolate to 80-84 F, then bring it up to 86-91F. Bo Friberg in The Professional Pastry Chef says 80-82F and then bring it up to 87-90F for dark chocolate.
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And then when you tell them that you don't have a public bathroom (because you're tired of people walking in and out like it's McDonald's, using up all your toilet paper, not flushing, dripping soap all over the floor, and generally leaving a mess that you wouldn't want to have to deal with even if you were related to the people who made it),
Walking into public restrooms always makes me wonder what some of these people's own bathrooms at home look like.
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Oops, I wanted to add that I add a bit of corn syrup to her recipe to prevent the sugar from crystallizing. I read all about that in Shirley Corriher's CookWise and although I can't remember how it works, it really does make a difference. Before, the toffee was still delicious, but a bit grainy instead of brittle and smooth.
The corn syrup interferes with the bonding of the sugar molecules. There's just enough difference between the molecules that the sugar crystals can't form. I can picture her depiction of it on Good Eats, using tinkertoys, but can't articulate it very well.
"Sucrose is a doublee sugar, consisting of two simple sugars, glucose and fructose, joined together. So, to make caramel [or toffee] making easy, just add a little corn syrup (mostly glucose) to the mixture. Although glucose is one of the two sugars in table sugar, it is not exactly the same. Glucose acts as an "impurity"; when crystals try to form, glucose molecules get in the way."
And this is why Shirley Corriher is my hero!
Why do you love cooking shows?
in Food Media & Arts
Posted
I really prefer learning something - watching the people on TV demonstrate what they love, rather than some insipid talking head yammer on about how they make Tootsie Rolls. In another life, he'd be a TV weatherman, and he knows it.
Julia, Jacques, Martin Yan, the Galloping Gourmet, Jeff Smith, Alton Brown, and Mario, too.
Iron Chef's good just for the entertainment value. I love the one where they're wrestling the live octopus, and it just jumps out of the guy's hands and slithers all over the stage floor. (It's in the opening credits, too)