kitwilliams

I think we need to have an egullet get-together at Aroma di Roma ... affogato anyone?

Mmmm. Nice big chunks of fig. But at the moment I'm thinking about heading down to Haagen Dazs as my nephew told me that they now have Tres Leches ice cream !

U-No Bars.

In Long Beach: Aroma di Roma on East Second Street between Pomona and Santa Ana in Belmont Shore. Tim (the owner) worked at S******k's for a few years but then went to Italy and Spain for an extended period and learned from the pros. He paid attention. I must tell you that I am not an espresso drinker (I know, I'm a lightweight -- I need some milk) but I know some serious espresso drinkers and they are all regulars at Aroma di Roma. And Tim's foam is awesome. They serve terrific panini as well. And decent gelato. Try the fig.

I have a good friend who is an extraordinary baker. She will make her "normal" brownie recipe and pour half of it into the pan. She then places a layer of York Peppermint Patties flat on top of the batter and pours the remaining batter over the mint layer. She bakes them the usual amount of time. The patties don't completely melt and offer a great mint flavor with the chocolate of the brownies. I've had these warm out of the oven and they are wonderful. She will also do the same with the mini Reese's Peanut butter cups. Yowza! Your friend must be Maida Heatter - lucky you! But seriously, I don't know who came up with this first but it is in both Maida's Chocolate book and her "Brand New" cookie book. She calls them "Palm Beach Brownies with Chocolate Covered Mints".

Last night: Freshly caught albacore cut into 2" chunks, marinated in Margaret Fox's marinade for salmon and albacore from the Cafe Beaujolais cookbook (two hours only) and grilled. It was so good I wanted it again tonight.

I'm still salivating over it.... I've had some terrific peaches this year. But still looking for the one that comes closest to my peach nirvana which would have been in 1985 while living on Broadway Terrace in Oakland, the peach purchased at Village Market. The perfect firmness of flesh but easy give of that nicely fuzzed skin, sucking up of the juice to avoid the waste of it dripping down your chin and the indescribable flavor -- I don't have the words for it. But you said it interestingly and most beautifully, russ!

Elyse: I really lucked out on ebay and found a 12-qt Hobart for $500. And the seller lived locally so there was no shipping involved and we met at a gas station and swapped Hobart for cash -- I felt like I was involved in a drug deal! Best $500 I've ever spent. It is terrific for multiplying recipes up and doing big batches (well, big as compared to a KitchenAid) but, as many on this thread have mentioned, you'll need that 5 or 6 quart KitchenAid as well. Any chance the nuns would help subsidize the purchase? Anyway, if you do look on ebay, look for sellers in your neck of the woods (there should be plenty). By the way, my Hobart sounds and works like a dream and it has to be at least 25 years old.

Then there are those of us who lived in the apartment at the foot of Broadway Terrace, just above the 76 Station on Broadway and spent our few pennies that we didn't spend on rent feeding our tummies and souls with produce from Village and Star (I lived there pre-Frog Hollow). And the occasional Black & Tan made with Swiss Milk Chocolate and Toasted Almond ice creams at Fenton's.

Ahhh, Village Market. I used to live on Broadway Terrace and Village was my local. But doesn't Star Grocery on Claremont charge nearly as much as Village? And they regularly get Frog Hollow. (why did my quotes get screwed up? it couldn't have been something I did!

How about Grilled Peaches with Mascarpone? The recipe states fitting them snugly into a heatproof dish and sticking them under a really hot broiler. Halve and pit the peaches and fit them into the dish hollow side up. Place dollops of mascarpone into the hollows, sprinkle with 1-1/2 oz. granulated sugar and stick under the broiler for four minutes, remove and sprinkle with another 1-1/2 oz. sugar and stick back in the oven until the fruit is tender, the cheese is melted and the sugar is golden brown in patches. Eat warm. Wish I had a scanner for the picture...they are beautifully rustic. To be perfectly honest, I have not yet made these (although tore it out of Sainsbury's magazine in July of 1994!) but how can you go wrong with wonderful peaches and mascarpone? Also, as has been mentioned in other threads on many occasions, Panna Cotta is lovely with almost any kind of fruit and can be flavored a bizillion different ways. But I understand your lack of space in the frig.

mmmmm. since I missed out on last night I'd love to join in on this one. the third is probably a tad bit better for me but I can probably make it on the second as well. great going LA! and a note to Zephyr gt: Go Bears!

I remember one late spring day in Fourth Grade. Jill McC. and I were eating lunch on the benches (vs. the cafeteria). I pulled out my tomato w/mayo on white and she screamed, "Ewww, yuck! Tomato sandwich!" and I sadly succumbed to peer pressure, letting out a faked enthusiastic "Yuck!" and tossed it in the trash can. I have regretted the loss of that one tomato sandwich ever since.

Tailored and made by whom, Jinmyo? Or do you have your own tailor? Get the ones with really long ties, Nero, cross them in back, tie in front, then stick your towel through the tie.

Nancy Silverton's "Not Nutter Butter" peanut butter sandwich cookie DOUGH. The dough is great. The finished cookies are awesome. From her Sandwich book.

...it goes right on your bare thighs. Exactly! That's what I'm sayin! I just choked on my diet root beer. What brand? sorry. thought this was the root beer thread. Back to the topic: any women reading this: do you wear chef's coats which are tailored for women? I've tried a couple but haven't found one that fits me properly (yes, yes, I am a woman!). I like the idea of them because wearing the traditional chef's coat (tailored for men, of course) and then tieing an apron over it there is a lot of excess fabric. Does this bother anyone else?

Thanks for the advice and tips!

I am suddenly in need of a dough sheeter and have absolutely no experience with them. Croissant dough and puff pastry will be the main products, so any advice on which machines work best for the above-mentioned products would be oh-so-greatly appreciated! Oh, counter space is at a premium so I would prefer a stand-alone with the folding up arms type rather than a counter-top machine.

Ahhh, Peet's. We finally have a location in Long Beach. And they are selling baked goods from another California great: La Brea Bakery. Gravenstein Apples. The Cheese Board Cooperative.

Leftover, icy-cold gazpacho. Sweet and crunchy with a kick.

Wednesday in Santa Monica: Cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, onions for gazpacho for the Fourth. Peaches: yellow, for eating while standing over the sink (wish I had a picture of the 3-year old who wouldn't take his face out of that peach until there was nothing but pit!) and white for pureeing and making our Bellini's this afternoon! And cantaloupes. The smell as you went past the melon stall was unbelievable! Raspberries (most flavor I've tasted in a long while) and blackberries (a bit underripe and tart). And the blueberries from Cayucas (sp?) are pretty darn good.

I'm in the process of re-reading Bill Bryson's "Notes from a Small Island" (having just finished his latest awesome, page-turning project, "A Short History of Nearly Everything") and am SO in need of a trip to the UK that I am practically in tears as I'm dreaming of toasted tea cakes and a strong and hot cuppa in a cozy tea room watching the rain streaming down. Then I find this thread and the more I read the more depressed I get. My needs are very simple. Can anyone share a tea cake recipe and any prep secrets that may go along with it? Are they generally called "Yorkshire tea cakes" or does the name change regionally? Thank you, thank you and if anyone wants to swap places with me here in Long Beach, CA, I'll do it as soon as my new passport arrives!

smooth, cool, creamy panna cotta.

Sorry, Maggie. I'm not falling for it! Don't even want to attempt it. But poor Sir Edward, who will forever be remembered for that unfortunate first sentence instead of another oft-used line which he penned, "The pen is mightier than the sword." And the actual Bulwer-Lytton contest is for the worst opening sentence of a novel, as "It was a dark and stormy night" does not end with a period but a semi-colon and it rambles along from there in rather amazing dullness. So all of you entrants need to remove any periods and replace them with commas, dashes, semi-colons, etc. and you'll all be able to enter next year's contest!

Interesting comments, NSM. Coincidentally I made Paula's canelés today as well! I had one initial problem. Eleven canelés are not enough so I doubled Paula's recipe. Silly me, I forgot to think about the fact that I would be putting so much milk into the food processor and, of course, it leaked a bit! That's what I get for being greedy! I'm interested to know how long you left your batter, NSM. I used mine at about the 30 hour mark. And I used my silicon flex molds, coated with beeswax/oil and frozen before filling them just barely below the top. Baked at 400, non-convection for 2 hours and 15 minutes (perhaps I need a new oven thermometer). As with nightscotsman's, these shrank nearly 1/2 inch. And, as Nancy Silverton's is my usual recipe also, they did look very much the same on the exterior, but shorter. Nightscotsman hit the nail on the head: Paula's are so very creamy, custardy on the inside as opposed to Nancy's which seem more bread pudding-like to me. I like both very much but would like someone to tell me which are closer to the canelés de Bordeaux, or perhaps they even vary from shop to shop within the region (Paula: do Antoine's vary from other shops in Bordeaux?)? Tradition and authenticity are of the utmost importance to me when making regional specialties. I know, I know, I need to take a trip 'round France. Hmmm. There's an idea: a "Regional Pastries of France" tour. I'd be happy to coordinate the details if anyone is interested -- seriously! But back to the canelés: I, too, would like the end product to be as tall as possible so look forward to hearing more of your experimentation, NSM. Thanks again for sharing your dreamy, creamy recipe, Paula, and I'd love to know if you have the same shrinkage troubles. If not, what do you think is causing it? If so, how do you think it could be rectified?