bluechefk

ling - those biscotti look fantastic! can you share your recipe (or a link) for the gingerbread ones? visiting a friend who loves biscotti in a couple of weeks, and i know she'd just go crazy for those kerry

i've been using alfred portale's recipe & have had nothing but excellent results - sorry, but i can't recall at the moment which of his books it's in. maybe someone else can fill in that bit of information?

my favorite method for chopping chocolate also relieves aggression keep the block of chocolate in it's paper wrapper, and put the whole thing into a small garbage bag, tied at the top. then, hold the bar above your head, let go & let it fall to the floor. makes a heck of a noise, but it breaks the chocolate up into more manageable pieces. you can store it that way, chopping pieces smaller when you need them.

also this one - i used this marmalade as a filling for crostatas, but it would be awesome on warm scones, too meyer lemon marmalade 12 meyer lemons 1 pound sugar cut lemons lengthwise in half and remove seeds. cut into 1/8" slices and place in large stainless steel pan over medium heat, stirring to evenly distribute sugar among lemons. cook until lemons give up some liquid & sugar begins to melt and comes to a light boil. reduce heat to low and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens and becomes pale golden, about 50 minutes. cool completely.

i really like this meyer lemon pie - it's from one of emily luchetti's books (sorry - can't recall which one). i've only ever made these as individual servings - not sure how it'd work as one big pie, fyi. Meyer Lemon Pie 6 large meyer lemons halved 6 cups sugar 6 tablespoons sugar 9 each eggs 12 ounces lemon juice 3 ounces heavy cream 12 tablespoons sugar 18 cups all-purpose flour 1/2 tablespoon salt 4 1/2 pounds butter cold 9 ounces ice water Preheat oven to 375. Combine sugar, flour and salt. Cut in butter to the size of small peas. Pour in just enough water so the dough comes together - will look rough in bowl, but will hold together when you squeeze it. Do not overwork or add too much water. Chill. Roll out 1/8" thick and cut into circles to fit flan rings. Partially bake shells. Halve lemons. Slice paper thin and seed. Toss with 6 cups of sugar let sit for 20 minutes. Lightly whisk eggs. Stir into lemons. Add lemon juice. Place in tart shells. Roll remaining dough, and cut out circles to fit top of tarts plus a little extra. Cut out small steam holes, and fit dough on top of tarts. Fold extra dough under, and crimp edges to seal. Brush with cream and sprinkle with remaining sugar. Bake for 20 minutes at 375. Reduce heat to 350 and bake until filling is thick and bubbly. If pie browns too much, cover with foil. Cool.

jacques torres has a graham cracker recipe in one of his dessert circus books - i've made them before, and seem to recall that they turned out nicely. there's also a recipe from the wooden spoon cookie book (see below) for cinnamon crisp cookies that i think tastes VERY graham cracker-like. in fact, i was thinking of making them myself this year - substituting whole wheat flour for some of the all purpose to accentuate the grahamness of them Cinnamon Crisps Recipe By: wooden spoon cookie book 21 ounces sugar 2 tablespoons cinnamon 1 pound butter vanilla 1 teaspoon salt 2 each eggs 2 each egg yolks 25 ounces all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder cold water 2 each egg whites combine sugar and cinnamon, reserving 1/2 cup for finishing cookies. cream butter with remaining cinnamon sugar, vanilla and salt. add eggs and yolks, scraping bowl as needed. add dry ingredients and mix just to combine. chill dough. roll dough out very thinly - about 1/4" thick, or a little less. mix a little cold water with egg whites, and brush on top of cookies. sprinkle with reserved cinnamon sugar. bake at 350 until browned and crisp.

daniel, that tres leches looks outstanding! would you be willing to share your recipe? kerry

i would second the nick malgieri book suggestion - also try 'la dolce vita' by michele scicolone, and carole fields' 'the italian baker'. i own, but don't think i've actually used yet, 'sweet maria's italian cookie tray'. a few more that aren't just about desserts, but which i've found really wonderful dessert recipes in: 'saveur cooks italian' and lynne kaspar's 'the italian country table'. i used to be the pastry chef for an italian restaurant - can you tell?

i dug up a recipe for hazelnut butter cookies that i used to make - as i remember, they're rich & delicious i'm thinking that you could easily substitute toasted pecans for the hazelnuts in the recipe. also, since these are a piped cookie, you should be able to get exactly the shape you want for topping those pecan 'feet'. the centers are usually filled with melted chocolate, but i don't see why you couldn't change that to caramel. sorry - can't remember what the yield is on this. Hazelnut Butter Cookies cream together until light & fluffy: 12 oz. unsalted butter 3 1/4 oz. sugar 1 tsp. vanilla stir in: 3 1/2 oz. toasted hazelnuts, finely ground stir in just until combined: 12 oz. AP flour immediately transfer dough to pastry bag, fitted with large open star tip. pipe into rosettes about 1 1/2" in diameter. make in deep indentation in the center of cookies with your thumb, or the floured end of a wooden dowel. bake at 325 until firm to the touch & lightly browned. cool completely. fill centers of cookies with warm melted chocolate & allow to set completely.

this is off the top of my head, so i don't have any particular recipes to suggest - but how about some kind of thumbprint cookie on top? - you could fill the 'hole' with the caramel of your choice. and you could incorporate brown sugar & toasted pecans into the cookie batter, to further those flavors. let us know what you end up with - sounds like a fun idea

thanks for the recipes, steve - they sound really good! spent yesterday experimenting a little, and this is what i ended up with: took my standard snickerdoodle recipe, subbed shortening for half of the butter, and used cream of tartar (called for in the original recipe) and bakers ammonia (subbed for baking powder). the results were the closest i've come so far to the cookie i'm looking for - a little bit of height with a crackly top, a little airy & cruncy. i'd still like them to be a little dryer all the way through - these were still a little cakey in the center.

looking for a sugar cookie recipe that will result in a crunchy cookie, dry & a little airy all the way through. i'm picturing something that i can scoop & roll in sparkling sugar, sort of like a gingersnap or snickerdoodle. have tried a number of recipes so far, but none are quite right - some are too soft & chewy in the center, some spread too much. i've tried substituting bakers ammonia for the baking powder, and although this has helped somewhat, i'm still not satisfied. any suggestions? kerry

chufi - those cookies look delicious! any chance you'd give out the recipe? kerry

cointreau, myers dark rum, limoncello, brandy or cognac, amaretto, kahlua, framboise. is anyone else thirsty now, or is it just me?

thank you SO much for the silpat link - i now know what i'm getting at least 1/2 a dozen of my friends for christmas!

i don't have the alice medrich book yet, but it's on my wish list. i got it from the library when it came out & kept it so long, that i could have probably bought a new one with the library fines :-) i can remember that there was lots of useful information about chocolate varieties & subsitutions.

i really like armagnac with figs - also toasted walnuts. my first thought was for a vanilla bean cake that you could soak with an armagnac syrup, but a toasted walnut & honey cake could be great, too. re: the mascarpone - how about whipping it with honey, as you'd thought, and spreading that between the layers, then covering that with the fig jam? maybe a honey buttercream on the outside?

spending a few days in ft. lauderdale in the beginning of may, and looking for some restaurant suggestions - will be dining with non-food-adventurous parents at least one night, but will be open to adventure the rest of the time any suggestions?

i'd like to put in a bid for Vernor's gingerale - regular OR diet

i may have missed this earlier in the thread - and forgive me if i did - but what is the sheet gelatin equivalent to gelatin in packages, i.e. how many sheets of gelatin equals one package of gelatin? i'm desperate to try out these marshmallows asap :-) thanks - kerry