JeanneCake

The last few tablespoons of butter may not have been incorporated well enough before you stopped mixing (whipping) - this happens to me sometimes when I am in a rush and the butter is cool/cold. There's a balance you can play with of how long you let the meringue go after all the syrup is added and the temperature of the butter. If the meringue is warm, I can use cooler butter; if the meringue is cool, softer butter incorporates a lot better.

If you are interested in take out, I have fond memories of excellent meals from Via Lago in Lexington center. You can eat in or take out. My husband could polish off an entire large container of the spicy beef salad in one sitting. It's worth it for a change of pace.

There is a Cambridge College in Cambridge - not Boston so somebody missed it when they did their fact checking for the show... it's a very small school, certainly not one I would mention in the same sentence as Harvard or MIT...!

The commercially frozen whites are a problem - I've only been successful when subbing out no more than 30% of the total weight of whites with the commercially frozen ones. When I use all commercial whites, it deflates when you add the hot syrup. Doesn't matter which brand, either - it happens using Sysco, Glen View Farms, Papetti.... But if you are talking about freezing your own shelled whites, that's different. As Ruth says, it should work perfectly if you don't have any specks of yolk in them.

I have a vague memory of RLB discussing the merits of different thickeners and how they perform as glazes/gels for pies and fruit tarts in her Pie and Pastry Bible book; the book is on loan to a friend so I can't get to it to check. I don't know whether this is helpful to you or not, but maybe if your local bookstore has a copy, you could browse through it and see.

I've been using Chefpeon's modeling chocolate formula for a while and it's great. I usually use less corn syrup than she calls for because I'm using a different brand of chocolate. If I use the full amount of corn syrup, it is too much and it oozes. I've successfully divided this in half and even in quarters (1.5# choc to 1/2 cup corn syrup) and it works every time. I copied this from the wrinkly figurine thread alligande started years ago: My modeling chocolate recipe is as follows, and it's based on using Guittard White Satin Ribbon. Other brands of white chocolate behave differently, so adjustments may be needed (such as using a little more or less corn syrup). In micro, melt 6 lbs white chocolate. Stir often! Remember WC burns easily! When melted and perfectly smooth, heat 2 2/3 cup corn syrup for about a minute in micro. In a large plastic bowl, add your corn syrup to your melted chocolate and stir rather quickly, making sure you scrape the sides of the bowl often. I use a big rubber spatula. The mixture will seize and clean the sides of the bowl. When completely mixed, press mixture into a flat pan that has been lined with plastic wrap. Fold the plastic wrap up over the top. Put in fridge to set up, then bring out to room temp, break off pieces and knead it smooth. If it's cold out, I put it in the micro for about ten seconds so it doesn't kill my arm off to knead it.

This is just a random thought based on prior experience... if there is any electrical work being done, get more outlets installed than you think you need. Sometimes, where I am, the circuit blows (it's an old building) and I've had to move my mixer table from my space to the main kitchen prep area. The mixer table is on wheels - just about every table I have I put on locking casters which makes it SO much easier when washing the floors. I put them on my shelving units too but I think most shelving units now come with casters. Good luck! What a great opportunity for you, congratulations! PS... did you have the Thunderbird 10 qt mixer? I got $ off on the one I looked at and bought it. What I wish I could do is permanently disengage the guard. I found that if I put a pen cap or pair of tweezers into the male side of the guard, I can get it to run with the guard swung around to the left. But I would prefer to do something more permanent and wondered if you had jury-rigged something.....

They have liquid candy colors - I like these much better than the powdered ones only because if there are clumps in the powder, the color becomes splotchy in the chocolate and no amount of kneading or gentle heat will help that! I get the liquid candy colors from Pfeil and Holing here. Just a little bit will do ya - especially for red, black and violet!

You could create the "label" (the written portion) in a document (Word, Powerpoint) and bring it to your local supermarket bakery and ask them to print it out for you. Make sure they give you a heavy duty baggie to store it in, otherwise it will dry very quickly and become unusable. If you were closer, I'd offer to do it for you, I have one of those set ups from KopyKake. I agree about using modeling chocolate (aka candy clay, chocolate plastique) for this project. Do a search on modeling chocolate - Chefpeon posted her recipe for it a long time ago and I've used it since then and it's great. As long as you don't add too much corn syrup, it will be a perfect consistency. It holds color better and looks great (better than painting with a deep color like red or black). Use candy colors - I like the liquid colors rather than powdered but either will work. If you go the fondant route, I'd buy pre-colored red fondant from Satin Ice or Cal-Java - they come in small containers (less than 5#) so you're not buying a ton of it. But I would use the modeling chocolate myself - you can cut it to precisely the height and length you need, it won't sag like fondant will and it will stay where you put it. Put the bottom part of the label on first. Then the red top half. Then the lettered part of the label. The lid goes on and gets painted silver and you're all set! You could also buy modeling chocolate if you want to - Cocoa Barry makes a great product - the white is an off-white, more of an ivory color so that might be an issue for you. If you are stacking multiple 8" round cakes to get height, remember to use supports every 4 to 6 inches of cake. This is just like a tiered cake, except all the tiers are the same dimensions. You need to support it so it doesn't collapse under the weight.

sometimes you'll see dessicated coconut referred to as "macaroon" coconut (when I order it, that's how it is listed in the order guide from my distributors. It comes in 25# bags). For retail, I've only seen it at whole foods type of groceries. Sometimes the local donut shop will borrow some when they run short! The sweetened, shredded coconut comes in 7 oz and 14 oz bags at the market.

I've been reading this thread with interest over the last day or so; and by now I'm thoroughly confused about what the real issue is we're debating! Having said that... I have to wonder: if BryanZ listed all the restaurants where he was served wine as an underage patron, and someone in authority was reading this and took that list, they'd be able to assign liability and penalties because after all, you have a minor acknowledging he'd been served. Is this application of the law different just because most of us think that a glass of wine with dinner does not in any way equate to drinking to get drunk that most minors are trying to do? This discussion has brought to light the fact that drinking alcohol while with a parent or guardian in a place of business is not distinguished in the letter of the law so sadly, either we work to change the law or we obey it. The places where underage minors have been served is playing the game that they won't get caught - and they might in the future, or they might not. It's a risk they are taking and only they can decide if it's worth it. But don't fault a restaurant who decides it isn't worth it! And if they start to legislate this, at what age do you draw the line? Ten? Twelve? Two? Just like those of us who drive over the speed limit on a regular basis and don't get caught; or jaywalk and don't get caught - we're still breaking the law. Someday if and when we are caught, we shouldn't fuss about it just because we've been "doing this for years". And asking or expecting someone to give you a pass "just because" isn't right either. How is the server supposed to know that if he breaks the law on behalf of his employer, that you'll come back every week and spend more $ and expect to be served all those other times. Everyone has a first day on the job (it might not have been the server's first day, I know) but you have to give people the benefit of the doubt when you can see they are new at their job. The next time the server is faced with this, he'll learn from his experience and handle it better. In a few months (or at some point this year), it won't be an issue for BryanZ but it will still be an issue for someone else. Where are those legislators who are trying to ban trans fat and fois gras? Give them this to do!!

Miller's is fantastic for lobster, it's just past Owl's Head in Spruce Head, close to where you are going to be. Check it out here: http://millerslobster.com

It's better to give it a few hours at rm temp but if you are stuck, this method might work for you. If you can, refrigerate it in ziplock bags - press out as much air as possible. When you're ready to use it, break it apart into chunks into the mixer bowl. Take no more than 1/3 of it and zap that in the microwave until it is soft (not melted into a liquid, but very soft - it should take only a few seconds). Using the flat beater on low speed, add a little bit of the softened buttercream and let it go for a minute or two. Then add more of the softened buttercream. If it doesn't seem to be coming together after 2-3 mins, take a little more out and zap it again. If it breaks, it might not come back at all so you have to be a little cautious. (If the kitchen is quite cold, it will take longer than if the kitchen is warm.) Sometimes I've been known to wave the blowtorch around the outside of the mixer bowl for a few seconds just to help it along. But you have to keep it moving constantly or you risk scorching. You're just trying to warm up the sides of the bowl, not trying to melt it.

At our local Home Goods store, they sometimes have the silicone baking pans and muffin pans - I bought the mini-muffin size to make bite-size cheesecakes. I'm going to experiment with some ganache just to see if it will work - much cheaper than what the forms are selling for in the link! I would guess I'd have to freeze them a bit for them to pop out as easily as they would out of a flexipan, the silicone in these pans seems a little thicker.

I bought a commercial freezer a while ago - the brand is Artic Air and it is perfect for what I need to store. No door storage. The other alternative I was thinking of is a used True, but the new Arctic Air was a lot cheaper and not much more than a household appliance would cost. You can have any color you want as long as it's white! Here's a link to their site for more info: www.arcticairco.com or click

For one of my restaurant clients, I created a goat cheese tart filling in a walnut pate sucree crust - they serve it with a pear compote and a wild honey drizzle. The goat cheese is a pleasant, undefinable flavor that keeps you eating it - it's pretty good and I was a little skeptical myself at first! The filling starts off like a pastry cream - combining yolks and sugar, boil cream, temper yolks - strain it over the goat cheese and add some vanilla, salt and gelatin and into the prebaked shell it goes...

I don't have any reservations about corn syrup! (well, ok, I don't like it in my kid's juice but that's a different story) RLB recommends the Lyle's in the recipe and after trying it with the Lyle's and the dark Karo, I think it tastes better with the Lyle's. It gets rave reviews with either one but if there's a choice, go with the golden syrup. That's an interesting twist with the coconut. Today I made brownie tarts (a rich cocoa, bittersweet choc combo with all the usual suspects baked in a tart pan) and adding coconut will be the perfect touch for the next time I make it.

WOW! Well done. Beautifully described and photographed - congratulations!

Everyone will have their personal favorite, and mine comes from the Pie and Pastry Bible by RLB. She bakes it in a tart pan, rather than a pie pan so the filling is less deep (fine by me but because it is so good, I wish there were more of it or bigger pieces!) So if you're thinking you'd like to try another version, I'd go with that one. It is basically yolks, brown sugar, lyle's golden syrup (or dark karo syrup but it is far better with the Lyle's), cream, salt, butter cooked on the stovetop then poured over toasted pecans in a pre-baked shell, baked for 30 or so minutes. The top gets "foamy" and starts to settle down toward the end of the baking period so all you're left with are glossy pecans which you can scribble all over with dark chocolate if you want, or you can add cocoa to the filling and go for a chocolate version. If you need the recipe from that book, PM me.

I made my first one yesterday too... it was for a client, and I was a little anxious about it holding together especially since I got started on it later than I thought. I ended up using white chocolate as the glue to assemble the sides - it set pretty quickly and held enough so that I could overpipe with royal icing and add embelishments to the sides (I used candy canes along the roof line to hide the white chocolate). It was a great learning experience - now I'm hooked!! I would say that you don't want a royal icing that is too stiff, but you don't want it soft enough to run. What I used yesterday was like the consistency of creamy peanut butter or maybe marshmallow fluff - made great snow drifts! The Franky's attic site had a lot of good tips. Good luck and have fun!

I wonder if you can rework that chocolate (guiness) stout cake to use the root beer instead of the stout; I don't know the recipe so I'm just thinking out loud. I know a lot of people here have had great luck with it and think it is wonderful. You don't taste the Guiness per se, it just gives a full flavor to the cake.

One of my former instructors teaches in the pastry program and the pastry program is well-regarded. I don't have any information about the savory side, though. What other schools/programs are you comparing it to? There's the school in Cambridge, but I can't remember the name of it (brain lapse!) at this second.

I use Rose Levy Beranbaum's gingerbread cookie recipe, it's the best one out there IMHO; it calls for baking soda (no powder) which is there I think more for managing the acidity of the batter than for leavening. For this dough, I make it in big batches, then scoop out a big scraper-full and plop it on a parchment sheet dusted with flour. I roll it around on the flour for a few turns, then sprinkle a little more on the top of the dough, then put another parchment sheet on, and roll it out to the thickness I want. Into the cooler it goes and it's ready for cutting into shapes, etc. I've noticed that I have a tendancy to not use as much flour so with this dough, if it is not well mixed enough, it will puff and bake poorly; when I use liberal amounts of flour it bakes perfectly, with no puff and no spreading. And then I go and gild the lily by dipping these guys in chocolate before decorating them! Edited for typos

Try the No Fail recipe without the baking powder, and use some flour when you roll out the well-chilled dough. I use a similar recipe (it has a little milk in it) from Toba Garrett and once I stopped adding the baking powder, I had no trouble with the slight puff that can occur. I use parchment on the sheet pans so I don't have to wash them as frequently and there's no sticking.

Ah hah! Now I know what happened to me yesterday! Bad baking karma! I have had some samples of cake mix from my distributor who has been bugging me every week to try it. So yesterday I decided I would. What a mistake. At first I thought I did something wrong with the chocolate variety - they looked like hockey pucks. So I made some yellow ... hockey pucks. Then just to keep them all company, I made some white ones. I can't wait to see him again and tell him that this isn't going to work but I think I must have weighed the water/oil wrong (I won't tell him that though!!) - I mean people use this stuff all the time and they aren't selling hockey pucks. But I feel better knowing that others had problems too. Alanamoana - loved the performance anxiety quip!