JeanneCake

I was curious about this, and tried to find the web site that sells "obscure" foods like the sugar cereals we grew up with, skybars - the stuff you can't find anymore. I didn't find the site - yet - but I did find this: Peanut Plank recipe It doesn't call for baking soda. Maybe there's a way to make a clear caramel or something that is more golden than amber for this purpose....

If you're sorting it all out, that's letting them know you're not happy and things change as a result. If you don't tell them, they don't know, can't sort it out and are left wondering why the tip is low. I'm not suggesting that as diners, we train the servers. But if they're annoying you with constant banter, being too familiar, etc. you can say something. If you don't, don't penalize them with a bad tip and expect them to get it that they are too chatty, too familiar, too whatever. In the case of the raw bacon, if the waitress didin't know it was raw (hard to imagine, I know but let's go with benefit of the doubt) and it is brought to her attention, she can either make the customer happy by fixing it or not fixing it. If she doesn't fix it, there's no reason for her to be surprized by the absent or low tip - which is exactly what happened. (What she did ensured she wouldn't get a tip based on her reaction.) The flip side is if she didn't know the bacon was raw, and you don't tell her, and don't leave a tip, she doesn't know what the problem was.

For what it's worth, I got an email from Pfeil and Holing Customer Service today (I have been badgering them for years about this) saying they were a few weeks away from stocking edible dusts and a range of "new stuff" but that could mean anything. Anytime I order, I've been using their feedback form to ask for edible dusts so maybe they just got tired of me asking

The husband and wife team, the Winbecklers, use rolled buttercream and were pretty good with it, as I recall. He used to make the news on occasion by sculpting celebrities out of cake (I remember the Princess Diana one.) and used this rolled buttercream. I've never used it so I can't say whether it tastes good or not; if you do a google search on rolled buttercream cookies, there's a nice picture of some autumn leaves with it. It looked like fondant on the cookie to me, so maybe there's another alternative out there for decorating cookies. Personally, I use coating "chocolate" for decorating cookies.

OK, OK, I'm the coward who didn't want to risk public flaming for an idea that would fall flat. Literally The last time I made marshmallows, I burned out my KA 5 qt and my trusty older KA 6 qt so it's been a year since I made marshmallows and I am way out of practice. I hate people who are armchair chefs who spout about how something could work with no practical experience as to how it would work. So let me get into the armchair to continue this post.... I love the idea of a salmon marshmallow. What I love about a marshmallow is the airy feel so I first thought of salmon mousse, but not all that dairy (the whipped cream). Then I thought about how to make a salmon gelee and would adding beaten egg whites make it more billow-y to approximate a marshmallow. I have no idea what this pink stuff is Rob speaks of. The only pink on our Tday table is the cranberry sauce

I've been following this thread since it began, and I think there isn't going to be any end to the debate, but after Holly's reply, I couldn't help but wonder: Has anyone here ever been asked about this? Have you, as a customer, left a tip you thought was fine, and then been asked? What happened? What did you do? Why do you still remember it? Is it because you were embarrassed at having left a small tip or because you felt the shame of being called on it? Or did it serve to educate you that your tipping practice was out of date? As a customer, if my experience is less than satisfactory during the meal, it's my job to let the server know so my experience can be improved. If I don't tell them, but pretend that everything is "just fine" then give them a small tip, how does that help them not repeat the offending behavior if it was the server that is contributing to my less than satisfactory experience?

Maida Heatter's Frozen PB Pie, but the filling has whipped cream, milk, confectioner's sugar, cream chz and milk chocolate so you might be thinking it is more like a PB Mousse pie. I don't know AB's recipe to know how it would compare. Basically you melt the choc, beat the cream chz and PB, add the melted choc then the milk and sugar, then add whipped cream. You pour it into a premade crumb crust (I like a plain chocolate crust with, Maida adds some salted peanuts to the crumbs) It never really freezes too hard to cut so it's good to have around.....

If the restaurant is/was successful, what does the owner think needs to change? Or why does he think it needs to change? What happened to the staff from last year? (From your description, it sounds like a seasonal place with a clientele mostly made up of the tourist crowd and not open in the winter months?)

You press the chocolate side to the cake and peel off the acetate, as if you were applying a chocolate band, or you could break off pieces from the acetate and apply them to the cake.... ← Yeah, but the chocolate side is the side the acetate is on. ← You're right! There's two sides, one with the feuilletine on it, and the other side with just chocolate. I should have said the side with the feuilletine on it. I don't know whether it is possible to separate the sheet from the chocolate before applying it to the cake. I know when making small chocolate decorations you can separate it, but when it is a wide band, I don't know if this is possible. Thanks for catching the error

You press the chocolate side to the cake and peel off the acetate, as if you were applying a chocolate band, or you could break off pieces from the acetate and apply them to the cake....

I would fill them the day before, you can brush a little syrup on the flat sides before filling if you like. I know there are distributors selling them - already assembled - frozen. Even the unfilled shells are shipped frozen. So far, I haven't made them myself yet but I'm considering it as a Passover item....

Can you use it as a garnish, like to mask the sides of cakes? I'd like to be able to make a crunchy dessert with it. ← Do a Google search: feuilletine site:egullet.org I stopped looking after more than 8 threads - there's even a recipe that uses it in RecipeGullet. One thing we did in a chocolate class was to mix it with hazelnut gianduja (and/or praline) and milk chocolate, roll it out between parchments, then cut out small circles which were then used as a base for dipped chocolates. If you use it to garnish a cake, I think it would depend on the on the frosting, but doing it just before serving might be best. And I think it'd be delicious and crunchy. ← Would this work? Spread chocolate on a strip of acetate, then sprinkle the feuilletine on the choc before it sets, then use the strip on the outside of the cake or entremet. The other thing I thought of is the hazelnut "cream" I've seen at Swiss Chalet or AUI. You can melt it like you would a poured fondant, to pour on the top of a finished cake, then put the feuilletine on top of that. It should stay crunchy and you might even be able to put a chocolate drizzle on it....

I tried the coconut caramel panna cotta (no eggs, so doesn't qualify as creme brulee) from the epicurious site. I didn't use the caramel, it was definitely more of a molded flan or creme renversee. It has a nice smooth texture, nice coconut flavor but as always, I wish there was more coconut flavor. It used coconut milk and cream of coconut. I might use a coconut rum caramel sauce the next time I make it.

Roland Mesnier has two versions in his Dessert University cookbook - one is an orange and the other is a champagne version. My copy is at work and I am home right at the moment, but I think if you do a search on "champagne creme brulee" it might come up on an amazon site and you can view the recipe from the book online. it is very much like a pastry cream - you cook milk, a thickener like cornstarch and sugar, temper some beaten egg yolks with the hot milk, then back on the heat, then into a mixer to cool on low speed, then you add butter. It's creamy and pourable and you can put it into tartlet shells or ramekins, then sugar and torch when ready.

??? ← You can make a stove top version (like a pastry cream) or a baked version (like a baked custard).

When asked (or forced, depending on how you want to look at it! ), I've used margarine in place of butter in my Italian Meringue Buttercream. I don't like it (it tastes greasy to me), but to meet the requirements, you do it. It's been a while, but I want to say that I used Fleischmann's margarine at the customer's request. If you do this, make sure you use the unsalted variety. I've found that if I fill the cake with a flavored version of this buttercream (raspberry or strawberry for example), it's much better - that way you're only using the "plain" stuff on the outside of the cake. I really don't care for veg shortening or margarine in buttercream, but this works for the pareve requirement. ETA: check this out for a chocolate version. I can't vouch for it, as I've never tried it, and don't even know where I could find tofutti cream cheese, but ... Pareve Chocolate Buttercream

I've wondered about this myself. I'm a perfectionist, I want everything to look like it came out of a high end NYC patisserie or from the pastry place at the Bellagio. But perfect doesn't sell as fast as the rustic I've noticed. The light went off in my head when I watched that Bobby Flay show where he took on a wedding cake baker. His cake was piped with rows of buttercream and had fruit or flowers on it; I don't remember. The pro had perfect fondant and perfectly level tiers - excellent work and beautifully presented. But people said Flay's cake looked more "approachable", and they "couldn't wait to dive in and take a bite". That's when it dawned on me that when something looks too perfect, it becomes art and not food in the eyes of the beholder!

I'll bet it felt good!! So, did she ever write about the experience or what?

Well, now I'm confused about what you want to do. Or maybe you've answered your own question? Both of these posters have real, live work experience in this field. One with over 20 years, having seen it mostly from the employee perspective. The other, as a new bakery owner, sees a different perspective. You need both for a balanced viewpoint. This is what the life is like. There was a thread a long time ago from Melissa McKinney who blogged about opening Criollo bakery; it is quite a good read. Do a search for it and read it through. She told it like it is. No sugar coating. I'm confused again! What was it you wanted to do? I'd say go get the job at Wegman's and see do you like it or not; can you do it or not. Having higher aspirations in this economy won't get you a job, but when things improve, having that production experience from a supermarket gives you an idea how things work and you won't be a drain in a new shop. You'll know how things are supposed to be scheduled, baked, finished, packaged and this will be valuable to an employer. Or you'll decide you don't like this industry and you won't pursue it. Like the Nike commercial said, Just do it. Good luck!

You can use it in coconut macaroons (with regular sweetened flaked coconut); you can use it as a coating for donuts (my former brother in law had a donut shop and once took the rest of my 25# bag of coconut because he'd run out). Make a sort of coconut mousse by making a white chocolate ganache, adding the coconut and some whipped cream....

There's a snack food (like popcorn or chips/crisps) that is a puff like Cheese Puffs called Pirate Booty, Veggie Booty. Look for it in the snack food aisle or online here: Pirate's Booty

The only thing I've tried so far is the coconut curd; it worked, but was far too eggy for me to taste any coconut and the next time I try it, I'm going to use cream of coconut, not coconut milk. But there's a lot more that I want to try, I love this book!

I kept thinking I would have to go back last night and redo them, but by the time I was ready to go, the panna cottas were definitely set, firmer than when I first posted. So I think they will be ok. I think I was trying to ask if you gel something, and are on the border with the amount of gelatin used, are there ever circumstances where the mixture would not stay gelled once it was not refrigerated. if you don't use enough gelatine, it won't set up to begin with - that's easy enough to see and resolve. Keeping one out was a great idea! Wish I'd thought of that! But based on the fact that these things didn't shift while I was packing the crates, I think the 15 sheets were ok. Maybe the rule is if it doesn't gel within an hour, it isn't going to and you have to start again or add more sheets if possible.

I was making coconut panna cotta this morning, and I think I shorted the number of gelatin sheets I should have used. I used 15 for something along the lines of about 90 oz (total) of coconut milk and coconut cream. These are being poured into a glass and served from the glass so I wanted a soft set, not rubbery. I poured a test one and after an hour it is a soft gel, so I poured the rest of them and they're in the cooler now. But these have to be transported and will likely stand at rm temp for an hour or two - so here's the idiot question of the day: will this panna cotta lose it's gel (and become too soft to hold) when it comes to rm temp? Thanks

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