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Stephanie Wallace

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Posts posted by Stephanie Wallace

  1. I've had similar thoughts many times; card plates are terribly unattractive. However, I think that it is extremely difficult to come up with a more efficient and inexpensive means of serving pastry. I would really like to see real innovation in packaging for pastry and chocolates that drastically reduces the amount of waste.

    I remember ordering an Emotion in a glass at Pierre Hermé wrapped in a cardboard box, held up-right with styrofoam, placed in a plastic bag with a product card and plastic silverware. I walked 20 yards and ate it on a bench at St. Sulpice. What a terrible waste.

  2. Melange, that is a beautiful plate.  I'm dying to try that beet ice cream, although I know the very mention of it would send my husband screaming from the house!  What's that on the far left side of the picture?

    Thank you, Abra. Those are more chips, sprinkled with a little bit of powdered sugar.

  3. The consistency of the ice cream is fantastic (excluding the fact that the yolks were just slightly overcooked). It was very delicate, the fork slid right through.

    I hope you have a serious juicer if you make this. I used a meat grinder, squeezing the beet-pulp in cheesecloth batch by batch by batch. Hell I hope I never have to go through again.

    Also, the contrast in texture is one of the best aspects of this dessert; I will definitely plate vertically next time.

  4. I think the basic premise of this debate--that these things are inherently contradictory--is nonsense. It only appears that way because of the difficulty in achieving %100 in all aspects of a dish. Incredible taste, incredible texture, incredible appearance and voila, you have something amazing. Believe that one of these things can only be achieved at the expense of another and you limit yourself whether you are a chef or a consumer.

  5. I have no difficulty tempering chocolate, but I do have a hard time keeping it at optimal dipping temperature for long periods of time. Can I buy a temperature-controlled melter, into which I can pour my tempered chocolate, for significantly less than I can buy a home tempering machine? If so, what model should I look for?

    Thanks,

    Jonathan

  6. It is highly probable that the syrup was too hot, but the temperature decrease from the addition of room temperature corn syrup should be enough to avoid that problem. I also wonder if some of the sugar may have crystallized. Let us know how your next batch turns out.

  7. It probably wouldn't hurt to cool the sugar, but it isn't necessary. It will only increase the time required to bring the mixture up to the final temperature.

    I didn't realize how much butter your recipe called for; try reserving a tablespoon to incorporate at the end while bringing the temperature up by one or two degrees.

  8. There is no need to heat the corn syrup. Adding it at room temperature will slightly reduce the temperature of the sugar, decreasing the risk of overheating your milk. It sounds like you did not overboil it.

    Also, if you add cold butter after removing the pot from the heat, it will halt the cooking of the caramel.

  9. Try the following:

    Cook sugar until dark amber, stir in corn syrup corn syrup. Take off burner.

    At this point milk/condensed milk/cream should just boil.

    SLOWLY pour dairy into sugars.

    Heat to 250 without stirring, take off heat, stir in butter.

    Try adding a smoked salt enchance the flavor. You may have to adjust the ratios to get the right texture, but you will get a much more flavorful caramel.

  10. Woiw. That is one heck of a nice gift box they sell you with the coffee - maybe it's a $68 box and the coffee is about $6? 

    "Luxury" coffee?  They don't even tell you what single origin varietals are used or what estates or countries they're from ...  ohhh...  wait a minute...  it's arabica...  ohhh...  wait another minute - that's just a bean type and there's crappy arabica and good arabica (and plenty that's in between).

    But there's more:

    The beans are heated by hot air until they make a popping sound, at which time aromatic oil and flavor agents are released. Correctly gauging roasting is an art. Overdoing it, and the end taste is bitter and acidic. Underdoing it, and the flavor and body are underdeveloped. Ospina Estate Coffee beans are roasted to perfection.

    Ahhhh.... that must be it. The don't overroast or underroast - THAT must be why it cost so much :laugh::hmmm:

    At those prices you don't need a sucker born every minute- just a handful each day with a few of them buying coffee from you.

    This sums up my reaction perfectly. Travel around the world, cup at auctions, choose beautiful crops and you still don't have to charge this much. I can't believe they don't even label origin. This shit is complete nonsense.

  11. "La Pâtisserie de Pierre Hermé" -- guess who?

    For taking my understanding of the art of pastry to another level, and inspiring me to really take the time to piece together complex desserts. (And go to school).

    "Chocolate Obsession" - Michael Recchiuti

    In an industry whose major players are rarely willing to divulge any of their secrets, this book is a refreshing change. The amount of information provided is staggering. This is easily one of the most amazing non-professional books ever published.

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