JeanneCake

I've only ever used the Italian meringue method; and I've only ever used a convection oven (low fan). Are you letting your piped shells dry before baking? For how long? Have you tried baking on parchment paper instead of the silpat? Herme's method (also Italian meringue) uses some of the aged egg whites in with the TPT so perhaps that could be an option for you to try. Are you using aged whites or freshly separated whites? Or the whites that come in a carton? I would change one thing at a time. First I would try the parchment because I've definitely had better results using parchment instead of silpat. Let us know how things progress....

Very wise choice! Tomorrow with wind chill it will be 20 below in some places. Keep those tropical photos coming!! It's a welcome respite from the weather here in Boston!

@patti do you know Emaco Foodservice in Lafayette? In the world of food service, there are broadliner distributors (like Sysco, Gordon FoodService) and smaller ones that usually service a local area. From what I can find, Emaco seems to be a smaller distributor (in terms of distance serviced) with strong ties to the community. That company might allow for cash-and-carry sales, or they might be willing to let the church buy on behalf of those filling the fridge.

Restaurantdepot.com has the 9x9 3compartment hinged styrofoam containers for .11 each, the case pack is 150 units for about $19. The church could possibly get a membership to Restaurant depot and even if its an hour away I would encourage them to get a membership. They can buy the containers and let people (like you) use them to fill the community fridge. And possibly even get competitive pricing on bulk items like cans of beans, veggies, pasta. I'm tempted to buy a case and ship them to you....

@patti, there's a restaurant depot in Baton Rouge and one in New Orleans. How far away are you from one of those locations? Do you have a Gordon Food Service cash and carry near you? What kind of container is the most useful for you? Can you give me the manufacturer and/or item number ?

@patti do you have a restaurant depot near you? Where are you buying your supplies? (not the food, the paper goods like the styrofoam containers?)

When I asked Google to translate that page, the description mentions "lemon marshmallow". The little squares do resemble marshmallow - a very airy marshmallow that is spread/poured so its thin (not tall the way we usually think of marshmallow). Thomas Keller's Bouchon bakery book has a recipe for lemon marshmallow, I think his recipe might be based on egg white but I don't remember.

will there be any restrictions as far as what you're allowed to eat? or texture (everything has to be smooth/liquid)? sometimes what you think sounds appetizing turns out, isn't - once it's on the plate in front of you (that was my experience) so having lots of variety is great. I wish I lived closer, I'd come cook for you!

yes, I'd put it on the pizza stone - it does the same thing as the warmed up pan. and yes, she puts it on the oven floor so the heat is directly on the bottom crust and it helps to crisp it

On a somewhat related note, RLB in the Pie and Pastry Bible suggests putting a frozen pie directly on the oven floor to help the bottom crust cook/crisp (she is also baking at a higher temp for 20 minutes then turning the oven down; her pies are fully frozen in this example). I am not that brave, I would heat a half sheet pan in the oven first, put the unfilled frozen crust on it to par-bake for 10-15 mins then pour the filling in and continue baking the whole thing. I would probably par bake the crust at a higher temp and turn the oven down once the filled crust is in the oven.

I remember getting the book because I wanted to see the original cake by RLB that was mentioned in The Cake Bible (the tiered cheesecake for her niece's wedding); and although I wasn't 20-something back then I was definitely someone who was (at the time) a passionate amateur in the kitchen and we routinely had parties, open houses, etc where I loved cooking everything but mostly the recipes I really used came from the Silver Palate instead of Entertaining. Both books came out around the same time (or the same year, I think) but where Entertaining was about the "show", the Silver Palate books were about the food. To my mind at least. I'm still cooking from the Silver Palate books and I can't tell you which dusty shelf Entertaining is on .....

I wouldn't prebake/par bake at all; is the filling cooked at all before you put it in the tin?

@TdeV https://www.lovitalygourmet.com/

@TdeV here's the link to the site Lovitalygourmet

Thanks! I found an online store that carries it! When it first disappeared from supermarket shelves here, I checked Barilla's website and at that time it was only being sold in Australia. I'll be happy to have some in my pantry soon 😀