JeanneCake

Did she sign her name? This year I did do the Thermapens (no engraving/laser printing because I was cautioned that it might possibly crack the case and I didn't have a lot of time to find the right company for that job) and they were much appreciated. Not that I've gotten to see them actually in use but I know the chefs were really happy and they will be reminded of their favorite pastry chef every time they use it !

when I make individual pavlovas, I trace circles onto parchment to use as a piping guide. You could do the same with the heart shapes and after tracing, flip the parchment over so the meringue does not touch the ink. If you are very very good (I am not!) you can put a blank parchment over the marked one and then slide the marked parchment out from under after you pipe the meringue.

welcome! looking forward to seeing your creations!

I also think you need to include what you've brought to the table (literally). Were they one of the best restaurants when you started? But they are now. What were the annual sales before you arrived and what are they now? How much of that is a result of your efforts in creating new menus, etc. You have to be able to tell them you were responsible for bringing in that additional revenue, or for the cost savings that is helping their bottom line. If you can quantify that to the bean counters, they will either agree and give you some $ or they will not agree and you have to decide do you stay or do you go. Get the title at least, because it will travel well, as gfweb says.

Sorry, can we go back a bit to the Katherine Hepburn brownies, please? Maida Heatter has a recipe in her All American Desserts book where she takes said brownie recipe (without the nuts) and pours half of it into the prepared pan then freezes it (unbaked). When frozen, she spreads a layer of seedless raspberry jam on it, then pours the remaining batter on top, lets it come to room temp, then bakes it. It. Is. Amazing. Moreso than the original recipe. If you serve them chilled, they are divine. When this comes back in the rotation, you should try this! She mentions that you can sub out other types of jam/preserves; even peanut butter and jelly (mixed up) but I think she cautions that the bars might come apart when cut with this combination. It could also have been just plain peanut butter that causes the bars to separate when cut. In any case, this is a wonderful recipe!

anyone know how often Thermoworks has an open box sale? I need to buy six and every little bit helps. their cyber Monday sale is $85/each mix and match....

This is our large batch caramel sauce: 3# heavy cream, warmed In a large braiser: 1# 8 oz water 9 oz corn syrup 5# 4 oz sugar 12 oz unsalted butter, chopped mix it gently (because I never wash the sides down with a wet brush but you don't want to leave a giant mound of sugar in the center either) Moderate heat til it starts to color then watch it carefully. When it's the color you want, turn off the heat, add the cream in a slow stream, starting and stopping as the bubbles rise and subside; when the cream is added, add the butter and 4 tbl vanilla and stir with a whisk. If what you were looking for is straight caramel (for dipping or making a cage) then what Drewman said. I like to rub the pot with a cut lemon first. ETA: forgot the butter quantity

Here in my part of the US, caterers can specialize with regard to the type of event (e.g., weddings) or in a type/style of food (clam bake or barbecue, for example). Others are full service and do all types of events at the client's premises or an event venue (some exclusive venues have a limited list of preferred vendors and you want to figure out how to get on that list). If you want to work with companies who want catering brought in-house (to their location, as you are doing now with breakfast), then provide lunch/dinner menu options for them to try; perhaps arrange a meeting where you bring in some of your house specialties and let the decision makers sample the food. Or provide a coupon for a lunch or dinner that they can redeem to sample your other menus. In my previous career in high-tech, our company hosted two company-wide luncheons (spring and fall) with a theme and the caterers we used set it up with a tent in the parking lot, tables, chairs, etc and the food. As we also did in-house training classes, this caterer also provided the lunch for the classes so if some of your clients do training perhaps that's another market (lunch) that you can add. They sent regular menus (I can't remember if it was weekly or every other week or even monthly) and we ordered from that. Make sure you have a paper trail to keep track of inquiries and orders; mistakes happen and there's no worse feeling than scrambling to accommodate an order they forgot or you forgot.

What's a laser engraver? I would love to get their names on these so they can't be lost/stolen I hadn't thought of the possibility of a sticker-type thing; am going to google laser engraver and see what's in my neck of the woods....

OK, this is the year, I'm going to do thermopens for chef gifts. I talked to a very very nice person there today who says they don't do any type of engraving or personalization in house, but they have seen, on occasion, some returned which have been personalized. He went on to say that depending on the type of thing used to cut the name into the cover, that it could potentially crack, or it could render it no longer water resistant; and if that were to happen, the cover could easily be replaced for nominal cost. Anyone here ever done such a thing? The other option is that I just ask them what their favorite color is and get them in different colors.

Inspired by this post, I made several casseroles today (it was wet, windy, snowy and COLD here!) and this was one (we love having breakfast for dinner on occasion!). As I speak, three quarters of the pan is gone and that was just my husband and teenager plowing through it. I was hoping it would last for at least a few days but I am sure when I awake, the empty pan will be soaking in the sink! I made a double batch of Havana Moon Chili (from epicurious.com, without the almonds and with golden raisins instead of dark); a pan of chicken/broccoli/ziti and a lasagne.

chocolate mendiants are similar to chocolate bark, but they're usually made with nuts and dried fruits and are round; that could be some inspiration for you. Check into no-bake cookies - the one that comes to mind is something like rice krispie treats but made with cornflakes into a wreath shape with cinnamon candies for decoration. So a variation on RKT could be an option; even dipped into chocolate. And that makes me think of dipped pretzels. And peanut butter balls (buckeyes). Andiesenjie posted a recipe for sugar plums in the Dried Fruit and Nuts thread that looks like it could be a great source of inspiration....

Growing up, we had the whipped cream cakes from the local Italian bakery down the street; when we moved to the suburbs, we'd make our own. My little sister got very elaborately decorated cakes that I would make for her (the most memorable one was Humpty Dumpty sitting on a wall), when the only thing you could get was Wilton stuff for decorating supplies.

Yes! Me too!

Oh! Maida's California Fruit and Nut bars are my favorite! I always load it up with more fruit (like the recipe note says). My favorite candy growing up was the Chunky bar; and while I'm not a big fan of raisins, put them in chocolate and I'll eat them ! While I am not a fan of dried cherries (out of hand, they taste like tobacco to me, but again, put them in chocolate and I'm ok with it!) I love that recipe with hazelnuts and cherries tossed in with the other fruits. I love to experiment with biscotti and different fruits/nuts. I've learned I don't care for walnuts in biscotti (they get too bitter) and macadamias were a pain to chop so I gave up on that Idea but I love apricot/almond, craisin/pecan, apricot/pistachio, cherry/hazelnut.. Those sugar plums look wonderful, Andiesenji!

Yep, that original carrot recipe is huge, and I think it made more than 3 12" rounds IMHO. I've quickly looked at dividing it into thirds and come up with this: 1 1/2 cups oil (use vegetable oil) 1 1/4 cups whole eggs 5 cups shredded carrots (if you can grate the carrots yourself so much the better. The ones that are pre-grated are very very dry, but convenient. If you have a food processor, use the shredder disk if you have it. Peel the carrots first. I know it sounds pedantic, but I once made a carrot cake without peeling the carrots first to see if it made a difference. And it did; I hated the way it tasted so now I always peel the carrots) 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 1 cup crushed pineapple (I'm wondering if it should be drained first. It adds a lot of moisture, even when well-drained. So I'd probably drain it first. Add the leftover juice to something 1 cup raisins (I like to plump up raisins and other dried fruit before using it in a recipe. If it's hard when you use it, it's not going to soften up when baked.) 3 1/3 cups flour (use all purpose, not cake flour) 3 1/3 cups sugar 1 TBL baking soda 1 TBL cinnamon 2 tsp salt I'd go for the two 9" pans and you might have a little bit of batter left for a cupcake or two.... Definitely line the baking pans with parchment, the cake will release better even though it has all that oil in it...

Are you willing to post the recipes? I think you can get away with cutting the carrot cake recipe in half; the recipe I use, in its original form, called for 2 9" rounds. This original amount will fill one 12" round pan. So, you could extrapolate that and divide your original recipe into thirds and go for 2 9" rounds, but I'd rather see the quantities your recipe calls for in order to give you a little more guidance. It could also be that those chefs baked in cake rings and those cake rings might not have been very high. As for the Apple Nut Cake, go for the 10" round tube pan. Good luck!

Kerry, where'd you find those speed racks? I have four standard size ones and 11 of those 3/4 pans so I'd love to get one. Did you have to special order them? I never thought to ask at my local restaurant supply, but can keep a look out for one.

To Lisa's point about sheet pans/speed racks - you can get a three-quarters sheet pan; it will fit a home oven but this size does not fit a standard speed rack. You might want to investigate a half-height aluminum speed rack; it holds 11 full sheet pans but again those three quarter size pans won't fit on it - unless you have a full size sheet pan on it. I second the motion for a pie press; it will make your life easier and you'll want one eventually anyway so get one now

Industry event for local wedding planners means that the planners show up for the free food and drink and never remember who or what was there. You want to be there as a guest NOT as a supplier. As a guest you will get to mingle and if you carry a big purse, you can give out individual chocolates to people who give you their business card. So, my opinion is don't do it and go as a guest. And yes, most brides get the cake or dessert from the caterer; or from whomever the caterer or venue contracts with for their cakes; you would be better off bringing samples to caterers and venues with a card and a price list and meeting the catering sales director at various high end venues. The other "gotcha" is some venues get a brochure printed free of charge (to them) because the publisher gets the preferred vendors to BUY advertising in the brochure. They'll tell you if you don't pay up, you won't get in the brochure and if you're not in the brochure, people won't buy from you....

When the friend asked you, what did they say you would be getting out of it? Contacts and exposure don't mean much, frankly; guests at an event are there to mingle or celebrate or shell out money (if it's a fundraiser). They're not critiquing the food and looking for a new supplier and asking for business cards; but if something is wonderful, they may take note.to remember to get in touch later. In my experience, with a fundraiser (sort of like a taste of the town event), it helps to get your name out there, and can be useful for reaching a large group of potential customers. Doing it to get contacts rarely turns up anything useful for you; it's helpful for the friend because they get free stuff. A lot of people think their event will help promote you, but typically the return on the investment is very very low. A free advertisement in the event brochure doesn't count. If they know that a restaurant chef is going to be there, then ask them to set up a meeting with that chef outside of the event (at the event, too much is going on and they won't spend more than a minute chatting with you, if that); make sure the friend knows the value of what you are providing (the retail value) so they can't just dismiss it as "a few chocolates". Do they know someone at a magazine or social media covering the event? Make sure they feature you - photos, a few words, something more than "Pastrygirl with chocolate was here". If they start to back away from making this sort of thing happen, you know not to expect too much.

LOL cherry poppers! I kind of like that idea. But not being a chocolatier I would probably have to get a preformed shell that I can drop the cherry and rocks into then fill with ganache. Or maybe I would have to use a push pop mold kind of thing. What's aerated chocolate? (aside from being something I should get into because I am not versed in chocolate!)

so I'm looking to insert a little fun and whimsy to a few desserts; and right now my current obsession is with pop rocks (which I found on the Chef Rubber site) and while I was browsing Chef Rubber's site, found "glow in the dark flashy sparkles", http://www.shopchefrubber.com/Flashy-Sparkles-Glow-in-the-Dark-10g-.35oz/ which made me wonder how people are using THAT! The pop rocks are available in plain and chocolate covered (the chocolate covered ones made me think they'd survive in a mousse) and I'm looking for ways to use them. What's your experience with them? How did clients respond? What did you like or not like about using them? And what about the glow in the dark stuff!!! LOL!

I'll also be a willing recipe tester! At sea level over here on the other side of the country. So thrilled for you!

Hello and welcome! I've made silver macaron by using the edible food sprays from either Wilton, Americolor, ChefMaster or PME. I like the PME best because it is a truer silver; the others have a blue cast to them. Make the shells a gray color and the silver spray will add dimension to it. It's easy to arrange the baked shells very close together and just spray the whole pan, let them dry for a few minutes then fill. And that stand you are renting - if it's the one I have (clear plastic, concentric circles that looks a little like a donut or a wreath and the center part of the circle fits to the one above it) the macaron need to be sized to fit. So pipe smallish rounds, maybe about 1.5" at most.