JeanneCake

Hmmm... I might have to include myself in this gift list One of the intended recipients says he's not a gadget chef and likes home made things, but since I'm a pastry chef, that's like bringing coals to Newcastle.... thank you for posting this, much appreciated!

In Pierre Herme's book (Macaron) he has a few savory recipes; the majority are sweet but the savory recipes might be inspiration for you to create new flavors...

I am so enjoying this; thank you for writing!

so any ideas on (genuine) thermapens at the best price? So far all I've found is $96 on the thermoworks site, if you buy 5, it's $85/each.

I like all of these suggestions! I wish the thermapen was cheaper, maybe I just buy for the execs and do something else for the chef de cuisines. The book looks *really* cool, the same for the paddles (the spoons I mentioned for last year's gift had the chef's name engraved on them so they couldn't get "lost" and the paddles would have space on the handles for their names......

Roland Mesnier has a recipe for stove top creme brulee in his book, Dessert University. I've used it (there are several varieties: orange, vanilla and champagne) and it's fine; as you would imagine, the texture is different than a baked version. (To my taste, it is less silky. I use it when I have to for exactly the reason Pam R lists.) I don't know if the recipe is on his website or not, but you could probably find it by googling it.

I saw her husband's post on Facebook this morning, and expressed my condolences; then kept hoping maybe it was not true. Which is why I came here, hoping against hope but no. It's true. Her writing style, to me poetic and lyrical - made her books and recipes so much more appealing and inviting. I don't like losing my heroes. Now I fear the loss of Maida Heatter, since she is older than Ms Hazan and completely and utterly eschews technology. I am going to spend the afternoon going through all my Marcella books and choose something to make for dinner tonight to celebrate a life well lived.

We have a par system for the basics: curds, simple syrup, caramel, sauces, purees, etc and the most popular items our clients order (macaron shells, chocolate decadence, cheesecake pops). We have white boards on the outside of the cooler and freezer. Everyone contributes when something is getting low by writing it on the white board, and there is a white board on the outside of the freezer also lists current inventory for the stuff we have to maintain. Same for paper (boxes, cardboards, cupcake liners) and supplies (like heath bar or cocoa) so when it's low, it goes on the board so it can be replenished. One person (me) is responsible for writing up the daily prep sheets for the week and usually we have one day (Tuesday) that we do the bulk of the restocking for basics because it's not a heavy production day. I can look at the board outside the freezer and know that if we have less than 50 individual Decadence in the freezer, we should make another batch to have on hand and make that part of the prep list for a day.

I know what you mean about price; the spoons were great because it wasn't "too much" (they were $10 each) but enough so that they would not have bought it for themselves. So while I can't afford to spend $50 each on something (i again need about a dozen), a list would be a very good thing The tastevin would be good for the venue director since she mostly deals with the wine inventory but I don't have a lot of interaction with her; and they don't do any modernist dishes

I need ideas for corporate gifts this year; last year I gave the chef at each of my biggest accounts an engraved Kunz sauce spoon, which was very much appreciated. This year, I want to do something similar but I don't know how to top last year's gift. With the possible exception of the perforated Kunz spoon, but honestly, how often are you using a perforated spoon? So...Any ideas? What kind of thing would you want to have in your bag of tricks at work?

Petite Suisse Monteberg cheese (the fruit ones, which my son inhales) and the chocolate ones, which I inhale Vegetable sushi Shrimp with rice in tofu "pouches" Because I was just impulse buying when all I really needed was veggies and lettuce for salad.

You might have just had too much mix in the pie shell. The recipe on the bottle (which we've used for at least 10 years) has the amounts KaffeeKlatch listed as for one 9" shell. When using pasteurized carton yolks, I err on the side of a little bit more (e.g., one yolk weighs .67 ounce so I use .75 for ease of measuring).

I might start experimenting with this for a winter dessert option. Thanks!

I am curious about the possibility of using this as a dessert item for our accounts; how long can the unsoaked baba be held? In the cooler or freezer? I'm thinking that if the babas can hold for two days before delivery and the client soaks to order, it could work, and be a nice change of pace.

double pans will do the same thing

are you doing the usual, spinning the pans, changing the pan position (top to middle, middle to bottom, bottom to top or some combination thereof)? Will your oven fit a three-quarters sheet pan? It is not as large as a sheet pan used in commercial kitchens, but is bigger than a half sheet pan. I bought a dozen or so years ago, and use them at home because they don't fit on the speed racks at work You might end up having to bake two of these size pans at a time, rather than three smaller pans.

I have more luck with choux paste when it cooks longer on the stove after the ball forms - 4 to 5 minutes minimum. This "dries" out the dough so you can add eggs; sometimes the amount of eggs is variable. I use my friend Annie's method of adding first the yolk, testing the batter and then if it needs more egg, adding the white and so on. My favorite choux recipe is from Pichet Ong and it's the only one I use now. I'm sure you could use that recipe and just adapt it by adding a little more dairy at the end so it flows better and is spreadable on the waffle iron....

I think it might have been RLB who popularized the use of the word "mousseline" in naming her IMBC when The Cake Bible was published in 1988 and that may be when a lot of people started calling IMBC a mousseline buttercream and it's just become part of the vernacular after 20 or so years.

Everything everyone has said so far, and you want to identify where your potential customers are currently buying products. If they're getting frozen stuff from a Sysco or other place, you need to know how to compete on price and product variety.

I can't help but wonder if the whole point was to weed out the wannabees and recent culinary school graduates; I get what they want and what they're looking for. If you turn away from the ad thinking you don't want to work there, you haven't wasted anyone's time (yours and theirs). I don't think I agree about calling in sick part but I absolutely love the efficiency bullet and the observant bullet.

French breakfast radishes Rainbow carrots golden cippolini onions japanese turnips

What size tart are you making? Does it crack only in the center? Or is it shrinking from the edge? Or both? When you make the lemon curd, do you pour it directly into the tart shell and then cool and refrigerate or do you bake it for a few minutes? Do all of the tarts crack or just some of them?

I like "teacakes" - hope they use it for their project....

the amount of water will make a difference; in RLB's baking blog, she notes that the fondant seemed dry and kneading in small amounts of water helped return it to a workable state. So maybe that scant ounce of water will make a difference (between the 1/3 cup your recipe listed and the 1/2 cup the recipe called for). I can say I've made it and not had trouble, but it was so long ago that I cannot give you any pointers. We buy Bakel's Pettinice chocolate fondant at work, we can't keep up with the amounts we need making it by hand

I agree about the all metal one; if you should run across one in your travels, please keep me in mind. There's nothing in my area on ebay or craigslist at the moment but will keep looking.