Anni

I was cleaning out a cupboard in the basement and came across a sealed box of beermaking ingredients. -- estimated eight years old! (Yep, hubby was "getting around" to making that beer ) I've tossed about half the contents already, but was wondering if either of the following are still ok: hops in vacuum-sealed bags and a container of light malt extract. I'm thinking "garbage" -- yes?

I *love* Sherry Yard's book! The information is organized in a way that makes so much sense (and, as a former tech writer, I know of what I speak ), and the recipes are (mostly) solid and adaptable. Funny thing, though, the only recipe that hasn't worked for me is the lemon pudding cakes. I certainly didn't end up with anything that looked like the photo in the book, and I could never get them unmolded without breakage. They tasted good, though.

You can also get transfer sheets from Pfeil and Holing and Albert Uster. So far these are these are the least expensive options I've found.

For me, either room temp or cold, with a seasonal fruit compote. The recipe at my last job (mediterranean restaurant) used arborio rice, -- it's now my personal preference for rice pudding. Making RP with arborio rice can be tricky... it's like making sweet risotto. You have to pay attention to the rice, know when to stir, give it time to absorb the liquid, etc. It was actually one of the more challenging recipes for me to master... too long on the heat and the RP was too stiff, not enough time, and the starch didn't cook out enough or the mixture was too soupy. Hmmm, might have to make some soon (not the 6 qt batch, though ).

Funny, I had the same thought, but didn't want to say anything. But since Wendy went there first... Turns out the photos of the entremets on the home page of this site are from Apprenez L'Art des Entremets de France by Bellouet and Perruchon. The cakes are Le Tiramisu au Chocolat, le Sarah, and Douceur de Lorraine. Hmmmph, no photo or book credits given . Edited to add: And the dome cake on the Patisserie page seems to be from Payard's site (http://www.payard.com/eb2/product_info.php...products_id=254). I can't place the other two items, but the entremet with the chocolate squares and raspberries on top also looks familiar.

I placed an order on the 2nd and received it yesterday. I live on the west coast, if that helps...

I've bought jackets and pants from Chef Revival and Chefwear. I prefer Chef Revival for jackets... the quality is good and the sizing works for me (I'm 5'2"). I bought two jackets from Chefwear in November and they were HUGE! Following the sizing info on the web site, I ordered a small... you could have put two of me in that jacket. As for pants, I prefer Chefwear's pricing and selection.

Thanks for sharing the menu! Everything sounds delish... I'll take one of each

I took a course on Macaroons at Ecole Lenotre last fall, so I'll chime in with their approach on storage... Generally they freeze the finished product on a well-wrapped sheetpan (well, for the factory they have custom-made plastic containers, but that's another topic), although you can freeze the macaroons separately and refrigerate or freeze your filling separately. When setting up the buffet table for display at the end of class, the finished macaroons were brought directly from the freezer and ended up thawing at room temp. I don't know if this is ideal or just the way things happened in class. On the topic of egg whites, we used fresh at room temp and there was no mention of "aging" them. OTOH, those whites did sit out for 4+ hours...

Ditton on the Scharffenberger Milk Chocolate (mmmm...)! I also like Dolfin's Dark Chocolate with Green Aniseed. This one really surprised me because the combo was much better than I anticipated, and I'm not usually a fan of aniseed. Dunno if Ritter Sport counts as "gourmet" but I love the marzipan and chocolate. That's all I can think of right now...

Huh, you're right. Dunno why they have a lower price... On the plus side, I received my beans 24 hours after I ordered them (I live in the SF Bay Area). I ordered the 1/4# package, which contained exactly 40 beans. There was also a couple of bonuses in the box with the beans: vanilla soap and a small bottle of 1-fold vanilla extract. The beans were a little dryer and less plump than I would expect for tahitians. I made a small "test batch" of vanilla pastry cream, and while the vanilla flavor/aroma was there, it was definitely mild. My next test is a vanilla ganache, so we'll see how that goes later today. Anyone else?

I've always found the tahitians more appealing than bourbons (just MHO). But David makes an interesting point about the different aromas, uses, and flavor pairings for the beans. Now I'm really interested in trying out the true Mexican vanilla beans. Hmmm... BTW, it's nice to know that the price of beans is dropping back! I was starting to wonder if that was ever going to happen. Although now I'm curious as to what effect the tsunamis in SE Asia have had/will have on vanilla production (and thus, pricing) for the coming couple of years. Anyone have info/thoughts?

Thanks CaliPoutine, for this web site! I was gearing up to look for an affordable source for Tahitians, so excellent timing! I ordered a 1/4# to try them out. I'm in CA, so hoping for delivery by the end of the week.

Yeah, the liquid whites you buy at the store don't whip at all, at least the brand I tried. Of course, it said this in the small print on the back . . . which I only read when they failed to whip. ← I've been using Eggology whites for the past year or two with no problem. No disclaimers on the label, and I've been able to make It. meringue just the same as I would from "fresh" whites right outta the shell. I haven't tried freezing them yet, but will add that the list of upcoming kitchen experiments.

Oh yea, the space issue has been a big one around here lately (although no ferrets are involved ). I'm fortunate to have a spare room in the basement where I've co-opted a metro rack from my hubby and filled it with a lot of my baking-related items that I'm not using regularly. But otherwise, yep, all my lower cabinets are full of pans, cutters, ingredients, racks, etc. Plastic shoeboxes (available from Target) are good for corralling cutters, gumpaste tools, brushes, chocolate tools and other small items. Trying to find room for my ever-growing collection of B&P "stuff" is forcing me to be a good organizer!

I'm loving this thread! C'mon Mel tell more, tell more -- or are you saving the good stuff for your book ?

Nope, not that I can recall. I've made the Potato Rosemary a few times (excellent, love this bread... nice and moist, great for sandwiches), Panettone twice, Stollen a number of times, and various sourdoughs. I've generally had good luck with PR's seed culture and barm, but had one batch go weird on me last month. I usually put that down to not having a clean enough container at some point in the process.

Marcia, Nice photos! The loaves look beautiful! I've been using The Bread Baker's Apprentice for a couple of years now and *love* this book. I haven't made every recipe yet, but I'm working on it. My current favorite is the Pane Siciliano (hmmm, might have to make that again soon). Let us know what you try next. Anni

Yep, Mighty Leaf is good because they use tea leaves, rather than tea "powder" . I'd have to say that they're my favorite bag tea brand. I like the Orange Dulce (or whatever they're calling it now... they changed the packaging last year). It's a black tea with orange blossoms, jasmine, and vanilla. Yummmm. I haven't had Mariage Freres in bags, I only buy it loose when I go to Paris (which is not very often) so that it's freshest. Locally for loose tea I like Imperial Tea Court. They also sell the tea filter bags so that you can turn loose tea into a teabag (if that makes sense). Krys, how was Cafe Coupa? I've been meaning to get over there to check out the chocolate and pastries (not much of a coffee person).

Neil, Thanks so much for the photos! It seems like a very cool and exciting time to be in pastry at the Bellagio. I'm jealous. That's truly inspiring stuff. Congrats on being part of something fantastic! Hmmmm, you guys still have pastry openings huh? I wonder if my hubby could be convinced to sell the house and move to Vegas

Oh right! I meant to ask you about that! I was in Vegas for New Year's weekend and went running over to Bellagio to see the new shop (because it was advertised in the MGM/Mirage magazine)... only to find that it was still "under wraps." Very disappointed Anything you can tell us about the shop? Will it be sit-down/takeaway? Just pastries or pastries/chocolates/ice creams? Tell, tell, tell.... ahem, sorry, calming down.

Another "me too"! Thank you, nightscotsman, for this recipe! I've made vanilla and chocolate versions so far, and they're great. I've been putting these babies in holiday goodie gift baskets for friends. The reaction I get when I say "homemade marshmallows" is funny -- one person was amazed and said "I didn't know you could make these at home." This recipes is soooo easy, and there are so many possibilities (I've got some boysenberry puree in the freezer that's calling to me... ooh, apricot too).

I've used a little royal icing for this -- just a couple of drops in strategic spots to get the fondant to stick. (E.g., top & sides, or for a square dummy, I'll make sure to put a drop on each of the corners.) I don't use much royal icing if I want to reuse the dummy at a later point (ya need to be able to get that fondant off the styrofoam). So, the amount of royal icing you use depends on whether you intend to reuse the dummy later. Anni

PermaIce Supplier: http://www.kitchenkrafts.com/product.asp?product=CD0200PA Anni

Oh I found myself nodding my head a lot and laughing as I read this thread. So much of this rings true for me as well. Although, I've never had to make anything with rat piss and velveeta . Wendy (or anyone else for that matter) -- you're definitely not alone in the world of difficult or environmentally challenged workspaces. It seems to be the bane of pastry people everywhere. It was one of the reasons I left my last job. How could I be expected to do my best in a subpar environment? If the only time I could temper chocolate was before 7 am or between 10 and 10:30 am, when the kitchen was cool and certain, careless cooks weren't around? If I had to keep "reminding" the guy next to me not to turn the oven up to 500 degrees during lunch service (warm chocolate cake? no, charbroiled hockey puck!) If I had to "dumb down" the plating because the evening plater just wasn't capable of following instructions? And so many other reasons that have already been listed in this thread. Although I did find good place to hide my sheet pans...in the freezer! People who are too lazy to label containers or ask before turning up the oven never think to look for sheetpans in the freezer. But to the point... good for you for trying to work through the situation and come up with a solution, rather than just walking out! I know how hard that can be on some days. Obviously you have lots of support here (which is why egullet is so great) and you're trying to keep positive. Let us know how it goes...