K8memphis

I love durian ice cream. How did you make the durian sorbet, since its more like a paste. Did you infuse the flavors into something? Thanks. Nhumi ← I will ask chef-boy, formerly known as chef-wanna-be, and get back to you. He master-minded most of the menu. ← Chef-boy said he made a smoothie of durian and simple syrup. Did he say they get the durian in a paste?? Or maybe he made a paste of the durian they get. His cell phone is broke so I only saw him for like 15 minutes this week. But that's how he did it. Made a smoothie & made the sorbet out of that. He also said that to get the right amount of simple syrup to durian you float an egg in the mixture & you want all but a nickel size portion of the egg's surface (shell) to be submerged in the durian goop...

The glaze is gooey and the doughnut is not got (does not have) a little gentle crust on it, it's all kinda like sweet fried sludge sans vanilla... ← The raw part sounds like an error in execution... ← It sounds like Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I've read several recipes here and I'm not sure where but someone said to use day old ones--that would help because that's the nature of a KK donut, soft, mushy gooey sugary sweee-eet. Think glazed white bread without crust. (I think I'm gonna be sick )

Well, they are not real full doughnuts. They are kinda flat. I mean they proof & all but my brother works for Krispy Kreme (his son btw works for Dunkin Donuts' ain't that a hoot) But anyway my point is I get them fresh. I am not impressed with KK never have been, they are ok. The glaze is gooey and the doughnut is not got (does not have) a little gentle crust on it, it's all kinda like sweet fried sludge sans vanilla. I promise you get better doughnuts buying the refrigerator biscuits and tearing a hole in 'em and tossing 'em in some deep fat and dredging them in cinnamon sugar. wa la (viola) And I canNOT believe there is a stick of butter to one pound of confectioner's sugar in her rum glaze, jeez louise. I've added to my collection of arterial blockage from thinking about these recipes.

Oh, shoot, this takes my breath away. I'm in love with the roses, then there's the red ones whoo hooo hooo. Just beyond amazing beautiful. Not to slightly mention that you are sharing how to's as well. Where's the 'I'm fainting' smilie face?? Thank you so much, Mitch, for sharing this wonderful wonderful inspiring stuff. Wow I can totally smell it through the monitor.

The sweets and stuff I had at Chez Philippe that my son chefed up for us in combination with the whole fantastic meal and ambiance is far and away an ultimate in dining that nothing could approach. My first & only time for durian & tarot sorbet, umm, quince sorbet, etc etc etc, et cetera. With that said, for just regular deserts, taste & texture is the deep fried banana wrapped in spring roll with the coconut ice cream and it has some chocolate drizzle and I think some cinnamon from Fred P Gang's here in Elvis-town is the bomb. The banana is quartered or so--not full size. Because it is a great contrast of crisp/soft/hot with melty/firm/cold plus sweet contrast with bitter chocolate, nicely nicely tropical too. Feel the trade winds, mop up the drool All made in house, I'm told. Really a wonderful experience. And you feel satisfied too, not just dessert-ed. In my pre-SouthBeach Diet days, we would go there just for dessert.

I love durian ice cream. How did you make the durian sorbet, since its more like a paste. Did you infuse the flavors into something? Thanks. Nhumi ← I will ask chef-boy, formerly known as chef-wanna-be, and get back to you. He master-minded most of the menu.

Well, red velvet can be crumby I mean a lot of crumbs so that's a possible issue but usually scoring a sheet cake is a normal thing to ask a baker or bakery to do. You just cut it and ice it. Then when the client slides the spatula under the cake each slice just comes a loose y'know? Very common request for the most part. Maybe I'm not understanding what you mean. You want to use a nice fluffy icing. I mean if you run into a lot of crumbs when you ice it, just crumb coat it & come back later & do a final coat & add the strawberries. The strawberries will become the x's that mark the spot.

I love the teeth tracks in the brownie picture, Patrick. I could love it more only if they were mine

I have been eyeing his thread for some time, wondering if you really wanted to know what I have for dessert. Until the other day, when I had among other things, hauntingly beautiful quenelle of lavendar tarot root sorbet, a taste of my husband's stinky delicious durian sorbet, quenelle of quince sorbet with Thai basil and citron vodka splashed on top, raspberry creme brulee, lady fingers soaked in rum with chocolate stuff all over, a huge chocolate tendril with The Peabody logo imposed in gold, chocolate marbled long stick things, cherry cookies, a few other things I have no names for and umm oh, sh*t! This umm caramel just from the brink of burnt and liquidy super rich goodness surrounded with dark chocolate from heaven to die for good bonbon. We got a chef's tasting at The Peabody--oh my total gosh! faint faint But what I usually have for dessert is sugar free chocolate pudding with lite cool whip. Or sugar free Archway choc chip or rocky road cookies or Pepperidge Farm sugar free Milanos. Just didn't want to say so till I had something interesting to say besides my usual! or sugar free ice cream...you get the drill... edited to say: Of course my special desserts were before during and after dindin.

Yeah, I really like Martha & her new show. The previous getting caught with her hand in the cookie jar, the whole jail thing, and now her vulnerability that comes through the tube on her live show makes her very endearing. I think the live format is her bag for sure. I love her show. I think the key to assessing and approaching the challenge was to not only communicate with your colleagues but do all the things you listed and sway the task to your way of thinking. That's the clincher, getting the other members to cooperate. & go with your flow. It would be easy for me to make both a marketable cake and an artsy one. Leading the team the right direction is the key. Also the one team lost because they did not focus on the prize, as you mentioned, being a capitalist, making money. They made a striking cake but obviously, not marketable. Which interestingly enough illustrates the wedding cake world to a "t". We wanna do art art art but we gotta pay the bills bills bills so we gotta sell to enough brides who will part with their real genuine money money money. Martha markets through K-Mart. She sells magazines and books. Sylvia is freaking Dior and is tremendously awesome, >>insert 'bowing down' smilie face here<<. Martha on the other hand puts the jelly on the bottom shelf. Martha is Martha and she makes more Marthas of the masses. That adage about there's no telling what you can accomplish if it doesn't matter who gets the credit??? $he'$ a great example of thi$. She is the brand after all. I always say, you cannot create your leadership (those above you). It's either there or it's not. She's an amazing leader. The 'fake it till you make it' quote gave the opportunity to illuminate why she's not only made it and kept it but rose from the ashes and it's still growing. She cares.

Well, each team had a baker but each team got all stressed out. One guy, actually on the winning team was screaming at his team mate. No evidence of any bridzillas but each cake had to be sold as is, no changes except size. The loosing team consulted with SYLVIA WEINSTOCK, be still my heart, and umm needless to say they niched themselves into oblivion--didn't sell a crumb, oopsie. Who doesn't lovelovelove Sylvia but her stuff is not mass marketable duh. They went with an oval cake with offset stacked tiers with pink ribbons & bows. Then they couldn't sell it. The other winning team had a beautiful cake easily appealing to many brides. Different shapes like a hex, round & a square. Plus umm ivory oh yes great idea. Sugarella, But one other thing, it comes again on some far out cable channel in my area it says cnbc channel 355 thursday 7 central, and nbcw at 11 tonight central time. Just in case you can get it on there?? My kids always call me so I can record for them. Maybe call a friend with a vcr??

Hey, guys, tonight at 8 Central on NBC--just a reminder for anyone interested. What I heard is that they bake real cake (yesss!) and umm, they have to get bookings at a bridal show or exposition, something like that. Sell their design to real brideszillas is what I mean. Oh Gawd I love this!!

Well, just an obvious idea you probably have already discarded is to get some cream chese flavor and add that. Or add the cheese to the butter??? Don't know how that would work. Or combine cream cheese icing with the completed meringue icing. Just brainstorm type ideas--have no idea how it would work. Actually what I would totally do is lightly season the cream cheese with lemon juice and vanilla and a bit of powdered sugar and fill the cake with that & frost it with the meringue stuff. However the real reason I'm posting is to welcome you to egullet--you have a wonderful name!!!!

OK, it is a food network thing. Invitation only. I'm told at Graceland it's Nov 9, 10 & 11. The Peabody said Nov. 6,7,8 or thereabouts--definite schedule is not firm yet. But I am only talking to peripheral people. Oh man, my friends in Colorado got to attend a food tv competiton thing--I wanna go!!! I'm definitely waking up chef-boy now! edited to say: Yeah I got sleepy-head on the case.

Well, yes there is. But I can't seem to find anyone knowlegable about it beyond that. I went on a little roller coaster ride being transfered hither and yon. Finally got the publicist's voice mail that she will be back in the office October 13th. But the pastry chef did verify that yes there is a pastry competition coming up. So I'll get chef-boy to do some digging. But I mean surely there are other avenues and there should be other sponsors that surely know something.

You can get smaller quantities of the cellophane bags and you can put stickers on them and tie them up with curling ribbon and umm y'know that wire with either like gold stars or snowflakes for Christmas or hearts for valentines or umm there's probably some out there right now with pumpkins, metallic wirey stuff. I like a pretty tag on the ribbon too so it does not block the view of the goodie. Anyways Wilton packages those cello bags in more do-able quantities at like Michael's & Hobby Lobby. My little cake deco store here in Elvis-town sells them by the each too, fifteen cents or something. Plus they have all kinds of cute little candy boxes & that gold or silver stretchy bow stuff that wraps around the box. Cut a nice big size piece of colored or decorated cellophane, set a little paper doilie in the middle, set your goodies on there, pick up the corners of the cellophane and gather it above the goodies, tie it up with ribbon or the wirey stuff and leave the cellophane ends all fluffy, standing straight up. Actually, lots of options if your local stores cooperate. Walgreen's has lotsa good stuff like that. Walgeen's has great covered containers & plates & stuff for each holiday...then nice sales too. Find a source for tins. Oooh I love tins & little boxes. Umm, take empty oats boxes, pringle cans & any other little boxes and wrap them in pretty paper and put some tissue paper in there and put your goodies in. You can even cut them down to whatever size you need. I always am careful to keep the food stuff protected by food safe packaging, like I would wrap it in plastic wrap, then put it on the tissue. That kinda stuff. Use cupcake wrappers wisely. First of all, even in the grocery stores you can get small medium & large sizes. And you can get decorated ones for the different holidays too. But don't stop there. Cut them down to size too. Also you can put in a new crease if your item is a bit too big to fit in the bottom. Put a new crease on either side in there (to make the bottom bigger) with your thumbs pressing a stack of them against the counter top, then the flutes just snuck up around your petit four or whatever. I get pretty plates & stuff at yard sales or wherever I see them, TJ Maxx is great for this and use them to put stuff on as give aways. Hey, they sell decorated plastic wrap now too. I've been using the same Christmas box of plastic wrap for three years Some packaging ideas for you.

Yay!! You're welcome. I have the same type issue from clicking the mouse in a previous job...on both right & left Yeah, exactly me too, I just have to keep finding ways around my body's little road blocks. Plus a little capzasin, a few ibuprophen, little heating pad, a little ice...blah blah blah That's why I'm so blown away that I've been able to handle this wedding cake work I'm doing for one of my favorite caterers. My office injuries have not affected my cakin'. I been pulling 10 hour days, 30-40 hour weeks, setting up most of them, decorating & delivering lots of them a week, for months now. I guess it's ok to say/think I can still do it. Great work around on the 700 cookies.

Well, I got carried away & wrote a whole piping primer so...happy piping to yah! Canadian Bakin', also you will find that whatever pressure you use will of course influence the piping. I mean you can pipe a big shell out with a little star tip if ypu want. I think your saleslady has the best idea for you--kinda matchy matchy by eye. One other thought for your beginning tool box of thoughts is, for decor, I mean not when you're piping cookie dough, but like with buttercream & stuff, You wanna stretch the icing, not just let it blob out of the tip, y'know? Just tuck that away in the back of your brain, it will come in handy. That's a goal, a piping goal. Umm, another thing, don't fill the bag past halfway full (as much as every fiber of your being will scream to, "fill it up, FILL IT UP one more spatula full" it's an occupational hazard, resist! Trust me on this one. You will have uber control and way less mess. Or if you are using a momma 18 inch, 24 inch bag, twist off a reasonable amount closer down to the tip in the middle of the payload, then as you get low, squish down more. Another thought, wind the extra part of the bag, the back end, wind it up tight so that as you pipe, the gentlest pressure from your hand squishes the stuff out. Again, cookie dough is a bit different, but try that with the other commodities you listed. The object of the game is to be able to use your arm & hand again for other things too, like typing, washing dishes, scratching your head, picking your n...oops but really, you want to avoid swelling of the appendages and stiffness from piping wrong. I mean it's different at first, you're just trying to make it happen somehow. But then after that these are some of the practices you want to incorporate into your repetoire. But you should not have to ever pry your hand off the bag, and I'm serious on that one. But but but the other thing is umm, so hold the bag in one hand -- SideBar, if your icing gets too hot & melty, put on a glove to insulate your hand --so umm, hold the bag in one hand and guide the bag with the pointer finger of the other hand. The twisting of the bag so that the gentlest pressure squishes out the payload, well that is something you work on, that's a goal. I use paper parchment and fold it up on the end myself. Most people these days starting out use some kind of bag. But the object of the game here is to wind it up and hold the twist secure between your thumb and side of your hand there. Don't let me mess with your head though--these are fine points, these are goals. This is like learning to play piano with both hands kinda sorta. It just takes a bit of practice. But I just wanted to give you some targets to hit as you go forward. So you develop good piping habits, your hands & arms will love you for it. Oh one other teensy thing, try to move your whole arm, not just your wrist, when applicable. I mean you are doing minis but even so, use your guiding finger for movement and placement and trust the arc of your swinging arm for distance. I stand when I pipe, and I hold my breath too. Piping is rythmic so recite something or mentally sing a few bars or just go doot doot doot doot, 1, 2 3, 4--truly stuff like that works.. And of course, do not bend your wrist back to pipe, bend it in a bit. But truly, these are for going forward--so easy to show you, hope it's not too daunting to read about. But so many people trash out their hands & arms doing this. I just thought I'd toss this out there. You want to kind of hover over your surface so stand on a coke case or a step of some kind. Or take the pan or cake or whatever you are working on, take it off the turntable, put it on the table. That's crucial, you want your piping surface comfortably under your piping bag and stance. No reaching. This just came out to be a piping primer--cafeteria style, take it or leave it--just some piping thoughts as you start out. SAVE THE ARM (whale) and all that good stuff.

Well, I think I would welcome the detail (I am both pro and home baker as well as both pro and home cake deco/sugar artist) because you learn so much that way. However, I think you would want to give a regular write up of the formula then give 'the rest of the story', with all the additional detail y'know? That way you are illuminating the best of both worlds. In fact, in the recipes/formulas I write I list the ingredients in the order I use them in one column then use a bracket } to signify which group of ingredients gets which set of directions in the next column. I try to make it as user friendly for moi as possible. I hate running my eyes & brain from the directions to the list of ingredients, & back & forth, & back & forth, agh. But then again, not being able to get a hold of that special sugar you mentioned could likely deter me from trying the recipe in the first place...hmmm. But if you listed it as sugar in the 'short list' I probably maybe still would. Or say what will happen if we use regular white or brown sugar or how to make the special stuff. Because it is all a crap shoot after all. In the sense of 'taking a chance' on any recipe. I vote yes for detail--'cause you are exposing the thought process as well as your science and methods behind the scenes which is rare and wonderful to get in cookbooks. But again your format is crucial to making it happen clearly. I too have a book in process...some of my friends say it is an Erma Bombeck-y-ish kinda look at stuff plus the how-I-do-its. Which is very kind and too generous of them I'll write it for my grandkids at least y'know? But Sugarella, I think capturing all your details in an easy to use format is the best. edited a bit for clarity's sake

My salesguy pronounced it Ah-TEEK-o, so that's how I pronounce it too. Don't know if that's right or not....... ← I'm sure y'all are correct. Thanks. Wanna know how to pronounce gyro??? Like a gyro sandwich??? The opposte of how I pronounce it, no matter which way I say it

Oh, don't get me wrong, I get a 50% deposit up front. The other 50% is the part that's due the week before the wedding. But like I said, a week before really isn't enough time. I'm going to move it to four weeks. ← Yeah, me too, I shoulda said the balance paid in full ...

How do you pronounce Ateco?? I always said AH tic ow, but I've heard it pronounced ah TEEK ow??

No I don't think you are wrong. Like I said, I'm Polish and until I grew up and discovered so many other items in other areas called kolachky, kolaches, etc., I thought it was a cream cheese & butter cookie dough cut into diamonds or squares, with a fruit or nut filling blob in the middle and the east & west two corners folded over each other. Baked gently & sprinkled with powdered sugar. That's what I meant when I said it seems to have mutated into different products in different areas. I have even seen danish dough used to make & sell "kolachkys" Some kind of dough with a filling in either a cookie or soft bready thing. And there are as many spelling variations as there are different products. Then Texas makes savory ones too. The list is endless.

Yes, mpshort, that table of underlit orchids is crazy beautiful. Your cake is exquisite. And they held off on payment? Dirty bums. I have a three week paid in full policy on cakes I do from home. I was lucky enough to get to do a cake for a double wedding--really cool. However, one bride paid, one didn't. Heh heh heh heh ($%#&@). So how about just deliver half the cake they were like intertwined, y'know stacked right next to each other--cascades running hither and yon. Well, I debated & huffed & puffed and decided it would hurt me more, like blood pressure & upsettedness to screw them than to go ahead and deliver, so I delivered it. There was no complimentary 5" cake, decorated to match all boxed & ready for the freezer - not for either of them. The cake was definitely not pimped out. I mean they got what they ordered but obviously I was not in the mood. No magic for you! So eventually I got paid. But I was right. I felt so good after I delivered. If I had only delivered half of it, what I had been paid for, I would have felt like sh*t. Probably had a nervous breakdown somewhere waiting for the fallout. More weeks ahead of time gives you a chance to let the check clear too.

is there something wrong with wilton? personally im hoping they dont do a ral wedding....that is supposed to be a day for the bride and groom that will always be remembered...personally i would not want mine to be remembered as being a disaster if they did mine and it did not turn out great...besides...im not a big fan of martha either....for many reasons ← No nothing wrong with Wilton at all. I'm glad you asked so I could clarify, but I don't know why you thought that. I learned how to decorate from Wilton yearbooks 30 years ago. However there is a great rivalry shall we say between Wilton and Mom & Pop bakeries etc. Wilton helped create/feed a craze that helped to put them out of business, not to mention the super stores. Success intrigues me so, as much as there's nothing wrong with Wilton, there's nothing wrong with Martha. I'm not a groupie but there's room for everyone I think. Wilton caters to the newbie though & I'm thinking most if not all of these contestants are newbies and just wondering if Martha will allow the huge brand name of Wilton to be heard on her show. Y'know how they do commercials within movies now with name brand recognition, like showing them drinking Coke or eating McDonald's in a movie or something. Betcha if one of the teams uses Wilton, Wilton paid for the privilege. Which is why I wanted to know if Wilton was sold at KMart, where Martha markets her stuff. I just haven't been to KMart in forever.