JeanneCake

Yes the one with the black cover was initially released in French, and then later in English. The purple one is a later edition, assumes a basic level of macaron skill (there's a CD and then a loose few pages with the basic instruction for the shells) and expands into newer, perhaps somewhat more intricate, flavors. When I first got the black book, I had amazing success with macaron; lately not so much. My shells are hollow I wish there was a troubleshooting guide LOL!

if you use an extract, check for alcohol content as some of them can contain anywhere from 15 to 80 percent alcohol (when you paint on fondant, the alcohol evaporates and leaves the color of the paint behind)

It took FIVE years to develop this product?!

You guys are such enablers 🤣 I also bought a Soda Stream thing because I never seem to have enough seltzer in the house (I was lamenting the lack of seltzer when I spotted it on the Wm Sonoma site and figured since I was there, and with the 20% discount ....) I'm probably going to need a kitchen cart, come to think of it. I won't have to worry free-ing up counter space if I do that... Thank you

OK, I can't stop thinking about this grill and how I don't need it but I'd like one. My son LOVES grilled swordfish. I toss it in a little lemon juice, olive oil, garlic and parsley and he will eat a pound all by himself (he's 6' 4"). If this can do an amazing job with swordfish which means I don't have to fight the snow outside on the deck for the next four months, it's going on my gift list. He also loves grilled whole Vidalia onions but that's beside the point. What say you who have one; will this do an amazing job of grilling swordfish? I will make room for it if it can......

I had the same mindset when I started my baking company. I had a 20 quart Hobart, one bowl and one beater and one whip. For about three years I resisted spending the money for a second bowl because it was "so easy to wash it". It was $200 and I didn't want to spend that much (it was many many years ago ;). I was so very very misguided. As soon as I bought the second bowl, my production timing improved so drastically I was kicking myself for not doing it sooner. It made a huge difference in what I could get done and couldn't see it until I had the second bowl. Moral of the story: the right equipment makes your life easy. Buy more molds and buy an EZ Temper.

chefwear has been having sales lately; I get emails from them (far too frequently I think); I am sure they will be having more promotions this month. Have you checked their website? If they won't ship to you in Canada, I can send them to you if you want.

You all need to stop! Last year, I bought a Smart Oven and a Control Freak because so many of you had great things to say about those; and they're wonderful. I don't have room for this grill but you've all made me want one!

If you hadn't pictured it with the lemon, I would have guessed you were going for a salt container. I like the shape but similar to the others who have commented, I don't see it as functionally better than other citrus reamers out there. So I love the form but there are other citrus reamers/juicers that function more efficiently. If I got one as a gift, I'd be using it as a salt cellar, truly. I'd be filling it somewhat frequently but it would look beautiful on the counter.

If they are buying product from you, you'd charge them for what they order from you - you are providing the product (if it's cookies are you charging by the pound or the piece). If he needs help in his kitchen doing prep, you're an employee and you'd get paid by the hour most likely.

Not after *that* review! What is it about people reviewing food (or movies, or books for that matter) that makes them sound so ..... oh I don't know how to describe it. Like you're suddenly writing for Cook's Illustrated or something. It's a *snack cake* 🤣

This made me think of all the times a wedding client who wanted the (now trendy) "naked" or "barely there" wedding cake design (it's thin layer of buttercream on the outside that allows the cake to show through) ask if the price was lowered "because you're not using the same amount of buttercream as you would on a fully-coated cake".... 🙄

What is corn casserole and how do you make it?

Our local turkey farm sent an email very early Monday morning and I called to reserve a turkey at 9 am on Monday morning I wasn't the first one, either! It will just be myself, husband, child and my father; but I will cook a 13 pound turkey, gravy, stuffing, mashed potatoes, the brussels sprouts recipe from Epicurious that calls for chestnuts (but I usually end up forgetting them) because the recipe is sublime and I could eat an entire pound By. Myself. and candied sweet potatoes (no marshmallows!) and probably roasted carrots. And since I am a baker, we will have my favorite brown butter pear tart, my husband's favorite triple chocolate mousse, and chocolate chip cookies for the kid. I also love the cranberry walnut tart from Epicurious so I might indulge there too; or at least hope that one survives the holiday rush at the bakery and I can just bring one home. My father is the least fussy eater I know so he will be thrilled with everything and I will send him home with lots of leftovers so he doesn't have to cook for three days and neither will I! Such a bounty to be thankful for! PS, Toliver if you find yourself near Boston, there's a seat here at the table for you.

Lisa's posts always taught you something, she shared her knowledge freely and she was a born teacher. I saw that notice some months ago but didn't want to believe it was "our" Lisa so I put it out of my mind; I have been missing her thoughtful and insightful posts. 😥

Hmmm, very true! The ones I got were the 21" size so kind of limited for use - at least for me. Mostly I use them with the big round tip I use to make buttercream dams when building wedding cakes and with those huge speed bag tips for doing crumb coats. And now I'm not going to use them for filling cannoli, based on your tip about the scraper!

The ones at a bakery I helped at were old Ateco cloth bags; the inside lining was plastic and had started to split in places because it was old but the outside cloth was still in good shape. I hated them! Disposable bags are the only way to go! We have them in 12, 18 and 21 inch sizes; although recently at a demo I was able to score some amazing Felchlin disposable pastry bags that are really wonderful; just enough texture on the outside to make them grip-able when you're filling it with buttercream ..... I have to find a way to buy these bags.....

Eh, the only thing that could happen is the top might unravel (because the top of the bag is finished/sewn). Over time, the cloth bags start to crack after repeated washings and then the plastic flakes .... so depending on how frequently you use the bag it might not be an issue for long

If you look up the recipe for Rose Levy Beranbaum's Luxury Oatmeal cookies, there's a recipe for homemade granola that looks wonderful (I haven't made it). I haven't seen Lisa on here in quite a while and I do miss her contributions and wit!

What will you do with them? How are they prepared?

I could have a kitchen the size of a football field and still not have enough room. (I've never actually been on a football field but they look huge on TV).

Me three.

Depending on which Maida book you have you can go with the Queen Mother's cake too; I usually use bittersweet for everything but I think that cake could be good with the semisweet. You could also go with the flourless choc cake in The Cake Bible (the original pastry chef I got my recipe for bete noire from only used semisweet for her version). Share photos of what you make!

Before I left home in my early 20s; I painstakingly copied all my mother's recipes in my own steno books, and I still have them. Going through them reminds me of my childhood and some of the things I loved to eat. My favorite things in the summer were her macaroni salad and this jello thing I remember because I so loved the crunch - it was jello, with shredded carrots and walnuts, possibly even some thinly sliced celery. The jello was just to hold it together and I would eat it straight from the bowl she made it in, and could never get enough of it. The Boston Globe newspaper had it's own version of social media 50 years ago, it was called the Confidential Chat where people wrote in under pseudonyms and shared advice, recipes, housework solutions and grocery shopping tips. A lot of my mother's recipes came from there....

I have been using this recipe (nightscotman's) for years, mostly for vanilla marshmallows to top our smore's tarts - and I've made blackberry, passionfruit, cherry, raspberry and strawberry over the years. One time I wanted to make blue ones (vanilla ones colored blue) and added blue gel color and while it worked, the marshmallows were different and not in a great way. I'd like to make flavors other than using a puree for flavor - like using an extract (Amoretti is having a 15% off sale til tomorrow night). There are a few marshmallow shops making all kinds of flavors/varieties and I'm wondering how it's done. Do they use an extract? Water or oil based? Powder (like freeze dried mangos or bananas pulverized in a food processor?) Do you who make marshmallows use different recipes when you want a specific flavor or do you use a base recipe like this and add some kind of flavoring agent like an extract, concentrated oil, powder or compound?