dexygus

andiesenji- do you know what the differences are between the oxiria and the gelato chef 2200? i can't tell from the specs. it looks as though it may be just a cosmetic difference. i'm almost ready to buy...

no view, but for romantic, how about cafe jacqueline? they specialize in souffles.

i finally watched la grande bouffe last night, and there was one particular scene that i found strangely arousing. it was when ugo, the chef, died while being hand-fed by philippe, and at the same time, getting a hand-job by andrea. that's not strange, is it? my husband enjoyed andrea being bounced on the tart dough.

i don't always do fish eyes, but man, my mom really taught me to suck on the bones and fins of the fish. get every last bit of meat and skin, she'd always say.

i'd probably make a cherry frangipane tart. i love frangipane made with almond paste, as opposed to ground almonds. mmm, and in a flaky, buttery crust. have fun, whatever you decide.

lucky charms! i love it when the marshmallows are soggy on the outside with just a bit inside still crispy. yum.

it's not eating, but i remember from 1st through 3rd grade, michael sinishta would stick those smelly markers up his nose to smell them better. remember those? red was strawberry, black was licorice, orange was, um, orange and so on? what multi-colored nostrils he had. myself, i was a raw meat kind of girl. my parents would leave the raw beef slices for stir-fry marinating in soy sauce on the counter. i'd sneak several slices every time. i don't think they ever caught on. heehee.

hi kew- i've tried this as well with the medrich glazes. one problem i've had with the crumb-coat aspect is that since i'm making mousse cakes (3 layers cake sandwiching 2 layers mousse), the mousse tends to be slick and the ganache/glaze doesn't want to stick to it. very frustrating. if i freeze the cake, this lessens the problem, but then, the ganache/glaze firms up too quickly as i'm applying it to the cake. the last time i crumb-coated this particular cake, i used whipped cream which went on like a dream, but then i got paranoid about it getting too soft once i poured the glaze on. and actually, there were a few tiny spots where the whipped cream oozed out. <sigh> i guess i have to continue experimenting with crumb-coat AND glaze. oh, and thanks for the info you pm'ed me. i'll look into it.

hi ganache, i've thought about this technique, but i would imagine that the finish would become dull again. what has been your experience?

wow, wendy, thanks for all the input on payard. as for the glaze, i don't think i've ever heard of putting gelatin in a chocolate glaze before. does it give any adverse texture to the set glaze? hmm, i'll have to look into that. thanks again.

Brian and Wendy, Thanks for the responses. It looks like I might give the Payard glaze a try. It sounds like I need to put in a lot of effort to get the perfect shiny glaze that I want. I've used several recipes over the years that required cooking, and I don't really want to deal with that at the moment. Oh well. Wendy, which Payard recipes stand out for you? I love his lemon tart. No stovetop lemon curd required.

gak, that set chills through my cheeks. this thread reminded me of an instance when i worked at a certain san francisco restaurant. a waiter was packing up a doggy bag for a customer, and he took a piece of meat off the plate with his fingers and put it in his mouth! then continued to pack the food. i was so disgusted and appalled. i reported him, of course. and it felt good because he was a jerk too, but i have no idea if he was reprimanded.

Hi Everyone, I'm looking for a shiny or somewhat shiny dark chocolate glaze for cakes that will be refrigerated. It should not set too hard, and definitely should not crack. I've been using Alice Medrich's Sarah Bernhardt Glaze and her Glace l'eau. They've worked ok, except that though the recipes state that they will be shiny, mine never really are. And they both are a little thicker than I'd like. Though that could be because of the chocolate I use. Guittard gourmet bittersweet, which is a little thick when melted. Another problem is that the glaze sometimes breaks, so my ideal glaze would also be less temperamental. The chocolate glaze from Francois Payard's book looks like a possibility, but I have yet to try it. It's just chocolate, cream and corn syrup. Has anyone tried it? Oh, and since this is the first topic I've started, I guess it's a good time to introduce myself. You can call me Dexygus. I've been lurking for about 6 months. I've actually made a handful of posts, but mostly in other forums. I've been a baker/pastry cook for about 4 years, and am nowhere near calling myself a pastry chef. I've worked at a couple restaurants doing desserts, and one bakery doing bread. I'm currently a pastry assistant at a catering company in the San Francisco bay area, and I also have an illegitimate baking business on the side. Yes, I know I'm taking a chance with the law, but eh, rules, shmules. Reading this forum has been entertaining and enlightening, and highly addictive. Thanks for reading this.

another monty python, this time from "The Life of Brian". "Wolf nipple chips. Get 'em while they're hot; they're lovely."

awghwawghwawgh (homer simpson drool). man, and i was just in chinatown the other day too. and there's no way in hell i'm going on a saturday.

this topic has really struck a chord with me. i'm chinese-american and grew up eating noodle soup, and like hest88, jook and stir-fries. but the thing is i didn't appreciate them at all. i remember one time my brother and i went nextdoor to play with our neighbors, who were very americanized chinese. the mother, mrs. yee, made us lunch that day, kraft macaroni and cheese with pieces of hot dog mixed in. that was my kind of a meal back then and i told her so. "i wish we ate stuff like this. my parents are making mai fun (rice noodle soup)." she replied, "i wish i was eating at your house." how could i not appreciate the rich flavors of pork broth that had simmered all morning? the tender noodles, the thinly sliced char siu. stupid child. i feel now that my palate is rather unrefined. i wish i had paid more attention back then. is there a critical age point in teaching the palate, like there is in learning language?

mongo- i was able to find black kokum. i think i will experiment with the amounts because i'm not sure if i tasted it. i really want to try the mackerel, yellow croaker, and okra. i plan on making at least one this week. i'll let you know if they turn out. the chicken liver also looks very good, but alas, i don't eat poultry or mammals. thanks again, dexygus

mongo- you've heard it before, but you really have an incredible blog. i want you to know that you've inspired me to do two things: 1) make my very first egullet post. yay! and 2) cook my very first curry. i made your nadan fish curry last night and it was delicious. i wish i had doubled the recipe because the hubby and i polished off the whole pound of fish, and now i'm craving some. one thing though. my curry turned out much more watery than yours looked. i even removed the fish before it was done to cook down the sauce. it still was pretty loose though. is that how it should be? thanks for much enlightenment. -dexygus