serge

I use this calculator. Very easy ! Serge:)

Thanks all for the comments. Dorie, you're right, a macaroon is by definition a bit chewy. In his book Secrets gourmands, Hermé uses also a convection oven to bake his macarons at a constant temperature of 284°F (140°C). Do you know if it makes any difference with a conventional oven ? And he uses egg whites that have been at room temperature for three days! Isn't it a bit surprising ? Serge

Seth, you had a very good idea in creating this topic. I didn't have the time to read all the posts but I will. Here is my little contribution. I tried the brownies and the macaroons. The brownies were, I think, a little bit overcooked. I had a hard time to cut them to get a nice picture. And I found the macaroons a little bit chewy at the base but they were good. I baked them 12 min. I will be better the next time.

Sorry, but you mean bourguignon ?

One day, I was cooking a big roast beef at low temperature in a oven having a control panel with many one-touch buttons. So at the beginning, I pressed the light button to check if everything was going fine in the oven and I closed it afterwards. Two hours later, my guests were in the kitchen and I wanted to show them THE roast. Big surprise, it was completely raw ! I realised later on that I shut off the oven instead of the light at the beginning !?!

Hi everybody, you can see here very nice pictures of what Taillevent looks like and what kind of food is served : http://www.pbase.com/stevezzzz/taillevent&page=all You can also find quotes excerpted from the delightful book "A Meal Observed" by Andrew Todhunter. Bon appétit! Serge

Hi maggiethecat, I can give you an accurate count of 772 books! To this number, I must add Bouchon (Keller), Workin' more kitchen sessions (Trotter), à la di Stasio (di Stasio) and Les Halles cookbook (Bourdain). I have also at least a dozen of photocopies of books and many books in pdf format. Does it count ? More to come, I'm sure ... Serge

Hi marie-louise, tell me, what model did you get ? Thanks !

I received mine yesterday after ordering it 19 days ago. The number is 2362 / 5000. A huge book and a lot to experiment in the Spoon's world. But at first glance, I think I prefer the Grand livre de cuisine (one 2 three). I would say that the Spoon cook book is less practical for cooking. And the Duval's photographs are very beautifull but a little bit too abstract for me. Sometimes, you don't even know what the dish is ! If you look at the Gagnaire's book Sucré Salé, the pictures are far better.

Hi Tana, Have you seen these sites ? http://www.akelarre.net/ http://www.alain-ducasse.com/ http://www.alain-passard.com/FR/ouverture_flash.htm http://www.alsorriso.com/ http://www.arzak.es/ http://www.bastide-moustiers.com/Bastide/ http://www.bernard-loiseau.com/ http://www.bocuse.fr/ http://www.calandre.com/ http://www.chevredor.com/ http://www.citronelledc.com/ http://www.cordeillanbages.com/ http://www.cotesaintjacques.com/ http://www.davittorio.com/ http://www.enotecapinchiorri.com/ http://www.frenchlaundry.com/ http://www.georgesblanc.com/ http://www.hameaualbert.fr/ http://www.homesteadinn.com/hs/intro.htm http://www.hotelducentenaire.fr/ http://www.jardindessens.com/ http://www.leondelyon.com/ http://www.marcveyrat.fr/ http://www.michel-bras.com/ http://www.michelrostang.com/ http://www.moulin-mougins.com/ http://www.oasis-raimbault.com/ http://www.olivier-roellinger.com/anglais/ http://www.perebise.com/ http://www.petitnice-passedat.com/ http://www.philippe-rochat.ch/ http://www.pic-valence.com/ http://www.pierre-gagnaire.com/ http://www.pierreorsi.com/# http://www.reservebeaulieu.com/ http://www.steirereck.at/ I agree with you. Sites are flashing too much. It's like a dish with tooooooooo much salt ! What I like the best in a site is simplicity, simplicity and simplicity. That's the challenge for a site's designer.

Hi Nathan, I was very interested by your posts about cooking sous-vide ... But I would like to know if you use one of the Foodsaver vacuum packing systems and if it's safe to use their bags for cooking sous-vide for a long period of time. And if you have experience with sous-vide, I have more questions for you. How do you "cook your bags" ? In a bain-marie in the oven or on the stove ? How do you control precisely the temperature of the water ? And how do you check the internal temperature of the meat/fish/vegetable/fruit that you cook ? I have many books on sous-vide but the information is very restricted if you want to cook sous-vide at home. Do you know if there is any serious training session in the US ? Thanks and have a nice day !