Jump to content

NhumiSD

participating member
  • Posts

    89
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by NhumiSD

  1. Thank you for all your advice. It is very helpful. I will let you know know how it went. -Nhumi
  2. I have been catering for many years and will be glad to help if you will supply some further information: Time of event Who will be attending? mostly women, couples, age range, any particular ethnicity? (i.e. Jews or Muslims, etc. with diet issues?) Area you live in Are you pricing this for profit or to cover expenses? Are you serving on plastic or china/silver/glass? Do you require tables/equipment you need to rent? This will give me a better picture of what's involved. Cheers! Jaspar1 aka Graddie ← Hello Graddie, Thanks for the reply. The time of the event is from 8:30pm - 11pm. Mostly young 30ish+ age range, probably same ratio men/woman. Iam in southern Californi - San Diego. It will be a cocktails event - so I will send food out with server on platter with disapposable skewers, or buffet style- on nice disposable plastic plates. I will rent champagne, wine glasses, possibly tables and table clothes if my client decides he wants buffet style. I would like to be able to pay the server, and my helper and make a little profit. I will be making everything from scratch- from the focaccia, walnut breads, to curing the salmon. So far I have a problem in deciding how much food to make to feed 50 people. Iam terrible at estimating, and I rather have more then not enough. Below are some ideas I have thus far. Thank you. -NHUMI Some Ideas I have so far : Appetizers 1 Fresh Heirloom Tomato Tart with Crème Fraiche or Roasted Cherry Tomato, Onion & Arugula Tart 2 Atlantic Salmon Crostini with Cucumber Dill Cream or Fresh Atlantic Salmon Ceviche with Lavash Crackers or Shrimp Focaccia Crostini 3 Filet Mignon 4 Cheese Plater with Quince Compote, Crackers, Walnut Bread Deserts 5 French Raspberry Macaroons
  3. Hi, I will be catering for an acquaintance who is doing a party for 50, with a artistic theme showcasing photographic arts. I will have alot of freedom in the food, about 4 savory small bites + 1 dessert, and will include a champage, a red and white wine, along with a dessert wine for this event. I will also have another person helping in the prep/cooking, and a server who will bring food out and pour wines. This will be my first time catering, so any information on how much I should charge would greatly help and also suggestions on the food. Iam mainly a dessert person, so I really need ideas on the food. Thank you. -Nhumi
  4. Thank you for all the replies. Yes, this would be for a commercial cafe. So far the coffee company that I will buy coffee from does recommend the Rio for my budget. Most likely, the compact that has two groups. How much do I expect to pay for something like this - I think it was mentioned around 4400 for this Rio. Is this reasonable? As for the Panini machines, since its so much cheaper, I probably just go with an average priced machine. We do have 220V within the place. Thanks again, -Yumi
  5. Hi all, Iam looking to buy a panini machine and a few other items. Would appreciate any info on related brands for Panini Grills and Espresso Machines for a cafe. I dont mind putting more money for a brand that lasts. Please let me know of your past experiences on your likes/dislikes on your brand. Thanks you much. -Yumi
  6. I have to say the desserts look amazing just by the pictures and what everyone had to say. Definitely will visit NYC soon to satisfy my curiosity and taste buds at Room 4 Desserts. Regards, -Nhumi
  7. It's too much to quote, but the article delves into cellulose in ice cream quite a few times. If you've consumed commercial ice cream, the odds are pretty high you've consumed cellulose ice cream. It's fairly common in the industry. I obtained a sample of CMC from a friend who's a baking supplier. So far, all I've done with it is mix it with water. The gel it created was very similar to pectin. Having worked quite a bit with soluble gum fibers like xanthan and guar, I was amazed by it's clarity/vibrancy. For what it's worth, it makes an especially pretty gel. If I need a stabilizer for my ice cream, I reach for xanthan/guar, as they're cheaper and much more easily obtainable. ← I have tasted different stabilizers in ice creams, made from the same formulation with 3 freeze/thaw cycles comparing to no cycles. The CMC definitely reduces the ice crystals formed as it is still very smooth texture. -NhumiSD
  8. This is correct, but there are ways to avoid this by "sequestering" the calcium ions using something like sodium hexametaphosphate as the sequestrant. That is requried for a number of hydrocolloids. This is discussed in several of the books on hydrocolloids referenced in various other threads. ← Sodium citrate can be used as a sequesterant. Add the sodium citrate to tap water will remove the small amounts of CaCl2 in the water. This will allow the Alginates to hydrate properly It will also buffer your system. If there is a certain pH that you require, adding Citric Acid and Sodium Citrate at specified quantities will buffer your system for you. -NhumiSD
  9. It could also be that the onion rings they use for photography are either fake or are chosen for their uniformity. ← Possible, but I don't think so. Here's a picture of 3 BK onion rings on someone's blog, and they appear to be similarly uniform. ← They are extruded. In the fast food industry, or the food service, alot of the processed foods like BK onion is extruded. They may also use some binding agents (gums or stabilizers) in the onion paste. -NhumiSD
  10. NhumiSD

    New Cafe

    Hi, Iam also in the planning process for a cafe in San Diego, Cali. Ive never used those stand alone crepe machines. How much do one of those go for ? Do you know it would work with any crepe recipe, since it is so big in size, I wonder if the crepe would break apart. I tend to want to eat before or after watching a movie, since there is nothing to eat at the theatres really. So, I agree advertising for discounts with movie stubs is great idea. -NhumiSD
  11. NhumiSD

    Pectin NH

    Hi Ted, What does the NH stand for in pectin NH? -NhumiSD
  12. I have a question regarding the sweetness, with so much added sugar into the meringue, plus brushing on the simple syrup. I know macaroons will tend to be sweet, but is this very sweet? What sorts of filling have you used in macaroons. I tend to do fillings that woul balance out the sweetness of the macaroons. -nhumi
  13. I second what M. Lucia said. The pieces will fuse back together when you're slicing with a bit of pinching and shaping. (The dough is good, huh? One of my favourites!) ← I like the taste of the dough, but is there anyway to make it look more refined. There is no eggs to help bind it so it makes it hard to make each cookie look the same. -Nhumi
  14. These cookies seem to be so crumbly when making it. It makes it hard to roll into a log. I had to squeeze it tightly into a log and wrap it up to freeze. Is what Iam doing correct? Thank you. -Nhumi
  15. Can you personally give us ur opinion of the machine ? Iam debating between the Kitchenaid vs. the Musso Pola. I chose these for its quality and also the price range that Iam able to work with. Thanks so much. -Nhumi
  16. I thought, that almond meal is ground up almonds,and flour has finer texture plus it has the oils removed from it? Please correct me if iam wrong. I got the information from this site. NutMeals -Nhumi
  17. Thank you. I will pick up some batting. Its just that at the restaurant, we have cheesecloth in hand. Cant wait to test them again. -Nhumi
  18. Hi, Ive made molded chocolates but somehow they arent shiny. Any ideas to how to make them shiny. I do clean it with cheesecloth before i use them. 1. Regarding cocoa butter, do I just melt it or does it have to be melted to a certain temperature? 2. Regarding the home made tempering machine, at what temperature should it be set? Does the heating element just melt it and doesnt really go through the steps on tempering as I would temper by hand? 3. Thank you. -Nhumi
  19. NhumiSD

    Persimmons

    Yup, that's it. ← It can be picked orange in color, though it will need to be ripened. Place in a plastic or brown bag with an apple. Roll up the edges. The ethylene gas will ripen it. You can make a persimon cake similar to a date cake, where it is steamed with spices. Chutneys, puddings are also good. -NhumiSD
  20. I can probably look into it. But will probably need my brothers' help. Thanks. -Nhumi
  21. 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
  22. I was wondering if this would be able to take recipes with metric system (grams) instead of Cups and all. Ive been trying to make a database but it seems like this would be good if it can use metric. Does anyone else know a recipe system that would work for weights measurements (grams)? Thank you. -Nhumi
  23. You could hit the alginate/water in the microwave a bit. Warming it makes it easier to work with. I would also suggest stirring ur Calcium bath as you drop your alginates so that they do not clump up, and it makes for well rounded beads. Please let us know how it came out. Pictures please... -Nhumi
  24. Hi Jackal, I have been researching the French flour, and theirs tend to be a soft spring wheat, with proteins around ~11.7 and ash contents at 0.55% or 0.65%, depending. Ive heard that we can blend american flours to obtain similar results. Blending 3:1 of AP flour:bread flour. Please correct me if Iam wrong. I am in the process of blending flours for a vietnamese baguette which includes rice flour. -Nhumi
  25. Hi Abra, Does the texture seem very light or is it a bit dense? The one thing that I have been thinking is that, the amount of protein. Vietnamese will use flour similar to the French, which would have ~11.7% protein and ash around 0.55% or so. I have been told somewhere to blend our AP flour with bread flour to get a similar flour as the French. If anyone know this, please correct me. Iam guessing the amount of rice flour looks right. Cant wait to have sometime to try this recipe too. -Nhumi
×
×
  • Create New...