M. Lucia

Thhanks for the ideas everyone! The bakeries around here sell cocoa krispy or fruit loop treats that are cute. a possibility... Do you have a recipe? I make "mock fondant" every now and then for cakes, and I'm sure I could find an occaison to make marshmallow fondant.

So, for some odd reason I have found myself in possession of a very large bag of marshmallows and I'm looking for ways to use them up. I already made chocolate fudge with them (which was a hit with my friends). Smores and topping for sweet potatoes are traditional. Rocky road ice cream. Do you have other uses for marshmallows? Favorite recipes? Please share! Of course, if they go bad they only cost 89 cents, I am just loathe to let anything go to waste.

I have to say this is the most under-rated thread on eGullet. I stop in every once in a while to see what Kevin is up to, and every single time it's a delight. I always learn so much and your thoroughness and dedication are wonderful. I don't always have time to comment, as there is so much going on on eG, but I wanted to let you know there are lots of us cheering you on. I feel like I'm discovering the wonders of Italian cuisine along with you. Thank you for sharing, and keep up the good work!

Scratch. Period.

Ok, I grew up in Baltimore, and I'm wondering what "maryland style" is? (I would've guessed w/ Old Bay, but that's no Old Bay) Yesterday dinner was tomato and cream cheese sandwiches. Today was (very springy) asparagus gratins with egg and parmesan, accompanied by toast. Blueberry pound cake for dessert.

Thanks so much for answering all my questions, this is all so interesting. That is a beautiful chiffon cake!

I'm really looking forward to this. Talk about taking on a challenge: blogging and Passover. I love a holiday (the ceremony of it all) and I am fascinated by food laws and dietary restrictions (I like the challenge of it, hence my brief fling with vegan baking), so this will be awesome. I had a conservative roomate, so I'm pretty familiar with kosher and other customs (her parents' house had multiple dishwashers, etc.). She used to forget to turn off her automatic alarm on sabbath so I'd get up Sat. morning and go into her room to turn it off (because she couldn't touch it), I always found this endearing somehow. What are the special kitchen features you need in order maintain kosher? What kind of oversight do you need in order to be certified kosher (I know there are dif. organizations, what's the difference)? Do you do primarily baking or all kinds of recipes? Best of luck!

Lucy, For the roasted vegetable terrine I described earlier I do not use gelatin. I usually make it the day before so that it can rest at least overnight. I have made vegetable aspics which obviously use gelatin, but I wouldn't really call these terrines.

Thanks Chufi! I still have never used photoshop except for a few odd school projects done with the help of others. I am just beginning to learn about all this stuff. I had to laugh about you taking your food into the bedroom (lovely onion confit, btw). I am now scuttling plates of food around my appartment trying to find the best lighting. A lot of times I am shooting at night and it is really hard to get the lighting right, I am constantly dragging lamps around. My mom, who did a bit of prof. photography, always taught not to shoot around midday because the light is too strong and results in rather boring pictures. Now that it is lighter later here I am able to get some decent light in the early afternoon. Of course I am also limited with light and space in my little nyc abode. I wish I had more time to play with all this. For the doctor- for those of us who don't have lightboxes could you suggest a way to rig up some sort of lighting situation? I am experimenting, but it is hard to figure out at what angle the lighting should be and how to reduce glare. On your website I love that you have some photos with just white backgrounds- I assume that you use photoshop to brush out the edges of the plate? I'd like to learn that so I don't have random books (or lotion bottles) peeking into the corner of my pictures. Thanks everyone, keep those beautiful images coming!

This is a really wonderful thread- thank you for your thoroughness Lucy. I make a vegetable terrine that is great for a light lunch. Basically I layer roasted vegetables (red peppers, zucchini/courgettes and yellow squash, aubergine) with some chevre and tapenade (black olive). Spinkle herbs between the layers, weight, etc. Then I serve it with a parsley sauce. I love the presentation, it is stunningly colorful. I never knew about all the types and history of terrines. It's funny, they kind of remind me of all the aspics and gelled salads in the south U.S.

Make that 13 users reading! I love how passionate you are about your job and the people you work with, it is so great to see someone who really enjoys what they do. I often read about the difficulties of those who work in the food industry so it is nice to see another perspective. To find a job where you love both the work and the colleagues is truly a gift and inspiring to the rest of us.

Dinner will be braised fennel with garlic and lemon, baked white beans and steamed baby potatoes. I love braised vegetables! I was just thinking a cheese plate would be the perfect end to this meal (including roaring 40s blue), but if I don't make it to the store, it will have to be some chocolate covered almonds.

I can't believe no one said Black Forest Cake! The traditional German cake with layers of chocolate cake filled with whipped cream and cherries, and frosted with kirsch flavored whipped cream. It is certainly fancy, with great presentation, and not hugely labor intensive. There's a recipe in Chocolate Desserts from Pierre Herme (click here to see a picture of it, scroll to post 132) but I am sure there are many recipes online, like this one.

That tart looks so good! I am so impressed, it is so inspiring to see someone attempt something so difficult and have it come off so elegantly. Just by reading along I've learned so much, so you must have learned a lot and should feel pretty good about yourself. Thank you for sharing.

Again, thanks to everyone for the advice. So, I am in the process on bidding on macro lenses on EBay (I thought I had the one I wanted yesterday but apparently the seller hadn't met his reserve- harumph). This is for my 35 mm, so probably not of too much interest to any of you here. However, I also splurged and bought a digital camera. The only thing I could afford was a point and shoot, the Nikon Coolpix 4600. I am trying to get over my "what do you mean I can't control my focus/F stop/etc." shock by telling myself that I am just going to use this for going out with friends, little projects, something small to toss in my bag, not serious photography. Since I just got this camera today I still have no idea how to use it or its software. You at eGullet are the recipients of my very first digital picture. The subject is matcha almonds that I made (recipe from NYTimes magazine). The photo hasn't been doctored at all, and I think it could use a bit of brightening since the green is really much more vibrant. Advice welcome!

Did you make an album in ImageGullet? You could post a link to your album. Or you can go to each photo and right click on it to find its URL. Then you can post the image here by placing that URL between brackets. There are much better directions in the eEgullet Tech support forum. Congrats!

Oh my goodness, the photos! I love all these mini, especially those poppy seed cakes and the beautiful meringues.

I have the same ice cream maker, though I am afraid it is crammed in the back of the freezer and hasn't been used in a while. In my experience, I prefer to make milk based (as opposed to egg based) ice creams in this machine. Something about the capabilities of the machine, I felt the egg based ice creams had to thick/heavy a mouth feel. I remember reading something similar on another thread here- I will see if I can dig it up. As for your gelato recipe- it should traditionally have egg yolks. For ginger ice cream (I got totally addicted 2 years ago) steep your milk or cream with some fresh grated ginger briefly, then strain and proceed with your recipe as usual. Add some crystalized ginger bits while it is in the machine. Here's what I do for fig ice cream (which could probably be done with other fruits): 1 lb figs (original recipe says to peel- I don't) 1 1/2 cups milk 1 1/2 cups creme fraiche or heavy cream 3/4 cup superfine sugar Scald the milk and set aside to cool. Pulse the figs in a processor, you don't want to liquify them- leave some chunks. Strain the milk and combine with the figs. Whisk in the creme fraiche and sugar and whisk until fully encorporated. Freeze according to manufacturers directions. I have collected several recipes for bouza ala haleeb but have never made it. I can look them up if you'd like, but I know the ingredients usually include milk, mastic, salep and rose water. Also, I've been meaning to try P. Herme's chocolate ice cream- Elie's looked really good.

Your second menu sounds much improved from the first. Here are some of my notes: Zuchinni blossoms fritti w havarti and hutlacoche. dandelion greens. To echo what was said before, this sounds like too much going on. The joy if fried zucchini blossoms is their delicacy and I am afraid havarti and huitlacoche would overpower this. Now your menu is about spring, so lets think about the food in spring you really look forward to. Spring is a time when we really herald the new produce in the market. Think of the joy those first ramps, asparagus, artichokes, berries bring after a winter of root vegetables. What are the ingredients you most look forward to each spring? (for me, favas and rhubarb) So: poached lobster in a corn flavored cream sauce, woods ear mushrooms, turnips ditch the turnips, maybe your could work in some favas here or something? And to add to an earlier comment- really fresh corn has lots of thickening starches so you can make a nice thick sauce without much/any cream. You had me hooked with the scallops and yellowtail- two of my favorites. I also love delicate little quail stuffed with a fresh fig. The squab sounds good but a tad bland: how will you prepare the squashes? I thought the lamb was very spring, but the duck with the reduction sounds excellent. And the petit fours - another favorite. "though I am accepting positions for potwashers" do the pot washers get to join in the meal?

The moussaka from the New York Times International Cookbook was a classic of my mom's dinner table growing up. Lamb, eggplant, potato, tomato, bechamel, oh it was good. I actually often make a Lebanese appetizer dish referred to as moussaka. You can find the recipe in Annisa Helou's Lebanese Cuisine. Basically you make a tomato sauce with onion, chickpeas and spices. You get baby eggplants (peel in stripes), briefly fry them whole, then add to the sauce to simmer. Fan the eggplants in a serving platter and spoon the tomato-chickpea sauce between the eggplants. It is a lovely presentation and so good!

Another vote for Downtown Cafe on Atlantic Ave. I stopped by once on my way from Sahadi's (mamoul and sweets in hand) and I was hooked. They are quite large but the cake part is really good- nice dense crumb. (in contrast to the previous comment I can't imagine consuming 3) Not a fan of Magnolia's at all. I recently had a cupcake at a place called Billy's Bakery in far Chelsea (9th Ave) that was pretty good. As for muffins (I feel like these should be sep. threads), I agree on the Bouley muffins available at Oren's, etc. I actually had a good muffin from Russ and Daughters, but I don't know if they bake them themselves. I like the bran muffins I get from one of the street vendors too.

It's my understanding that those are the classic proportions (and why this isn't one of my favorite dishes). I would add that the proportions of tomatoes and vodka might be different in your recipe, as it doesn''t usually taste overly heavy to me. that sounds so good! leftovers here

Don't feel embarrassed at all- you gave me a good idea. I'm going to BB&B to pick up a dozen glasses for entertaining (the Ikea ones break really fast). And gravlax on pumpernickel (topped with a little dill) sounds great for light bites.

Quite the opposite: I am in stunned silence. Really great work. I am impressed also by how you are able to do such complex and quality work at such a large volume. I have tons of questions, but will save some for the P&B forum. Like your key lime cake, is that pink disc a disk of frozen strawberry mousse? And with your lemon cake, how do you get the lemon curd/mousse so thick? Also, what kind of cookies and petit fours do you make? Love those chocolate covered corn flakes. I too like the salty/sweet contrast. My favorite being salted butter caramel, and another good example is chocolate covered pretzels or nuts (how the salt of the prtezels makes the chocolate pop). Looove all the pictures, keep'em coming!