Gary

Today's therapy was two loaves of French bread from the Julia Child "The Way To Cook" cookbook. The house smells great. I feel better. There's something to be said about self-improvement through baking. Too bad computers don't have "smell-o-vision". Here they are:

Well... 12 hours later I am finding the twisty wax paper is total crap for keeping these caramels soft. They are now hard as a rock and (nearly) inedible. A few are soft (maybe they were twisted tighter) but most are significantly harder. I do NOT recommend this wrapping method even though it looks good. The foil wrap makes a better seal. Maybe these require a double wrap (foil followed by wax paper). I would have been better off just wrapping the entire brick of caramel in Saran wrap and slicing off pieces as needed. Total bummer. On the plus side, my two loaves of French bread just came out of the oven and they look GREAT... thanks to Julia Child and her great cookbook "The Way To Cook".

Another success... in spite of my 3 year old "helper" who spilled a half cup of cream all over the stove. Here are some photos from tonight's adventure... Cooking the caramel. Recipe as printed works well in a 2 1/2 quart saucepan. Watch out for the bubbles 'cause they get close to the top. A quick stir and they are back down again. Doubling the recipe DEFINITELY needs a larger pan. Notice the spilled cream on the stove. Nice huh?!? Poured into a pan lined with parchment paper sprayed with Pam Cooled and ready to cut Ready to wrap Wrapped All done They taste AWESOME.

Here is the eGullet thread for soft caramels. I made it. Very good results. Am planning on trying again tonight with twist wax paper wrappers. Will post photos tomorrow... if there is any left.

Heather, You really need to get to Zingerman's. I was there on Tuesday and had a terrific pastrami sandwich in their deli. The real treat is all the specialty foods. Bread, cheese, olives, ham, bacon, etc, etc. Non-perishables are great too. The closest description I can think of is "food pornography". Just make sure you bring enough money 'cause the stuff there ain't cheap. The awesome thing is that you can taste ANYTHING you want. They have secret storage cabinets hidden throughout the store with tasting samples. I even got to taste 6 different chocolate bars. HEAVEN!!!! Gary

I've used colored square foils to wrap caramels. My wrapping technique isn't so good and they look kind of amateurish... nothing like the results from a candy wrapping machine. My next try will be using Waxed Twisting Paper... just like they use for taffy. The wrapping process (twisting) should make them look very professional. The only thing is that everyone expects taffy inside waxed paper... not caramel. Oh well. I found that the colored foil got really wrinkled during my hand wrapping process. Fortunately, everyone loved the soft caramels so much and didn't look at the foil too closely. Is there a special technique for wrapping with foil?

This morning I was thinking about banana marshmallows. My concern would be their shelf-life... perhaps turning the marshmallows into a brown mess after a day or two. Just my 2 cents.

Can I do the overnight refrigeration thing with French bread dough? I like to make the fat round loaves. Can I just store it in the fridge after the second rise and do the shaping and third rise in the morning?

Asparagus. Green, white, whatever. Don't get it near me... even soaked in butter and salt.

Another good option at the Detroit Metro midfield terminal is National Coney Island. Truly a taste of a local coney place for those travelling through. Fast, greasy, cheap (relatively). Get a gyro or coney dog... with fries of course. Just like home.

Trish, I think the recipeGullet software isn't working. However, you can see the recipe in this thread, maybe around page 5 or 6. Thanks for the note about the vanilla paste. I think I will try it but might add a bit of vanilla extract to make sure there is enough vanilla flavor to go along with the speckles. I made the chocolate marshmallows last night based on Nightscotsman's recipe. Dissolving cocoa powder in boiling water made sort of a ganache-thick paste. It left little specs of chocolate when it got blended with the hot syrup. The last time I made chocolate marshmallows I cooked the cocoa powder with the sugar syrup. No speckles of chocolate using that method. Comparing the two styles, my method seemed to produce a lighter texture and Nightscotsman's method made them a little denser. Both were delicious. Gary

I'd like to ask about dough preparation. Some nights I have the urge to start the process but it's too late to finish it all the way through. My favorite bread now is the French bread in Julia Child's The Way To Cook. The bread requires 3 rises. How and when can I put the process "on hold"? Let's say I go through the first 2 cycles of rising and punching down. Can I just wrap it in plastic, put it in the fridge and start the final rising the next day? Thanks! Gary

Has anyone tried using vanilla paste in the recipe? I had a bottle of it in my hands this afternoon but, sadly, no cash in the pocket to buy it. It was mooshed up paste stuff with lots of those seeds. Plain white vanilla marshmallows seem so old-school after all this experimenting with strawberry, chocolate, etc. Just wondering if anyone has done it with vanilla paste and if the results are any good. I'm imagining thousands of vanilla seeds distributed throughout the marshmallow... kind of like Breyer's vanilla ice cream. Gary

Has anyone tried the Chocolate Sparklers cookie recipe on pg. 67? I did and was underwhelmed. Not sweet enough. Pretty dry tasting. I was pretty good about following the directions, especially about not overworking the dough while mixing. Still the result was, in a word, yucky. It's doubtful I will try this recipe again. It's frustrating because the photo looks so nice and the ingredients are usually in my cupboard.

Complètement d'accord !... Back to food... Can someone help me with the mardi gras treat of choice in my area: paczki First, let me say I had NEVER heard of this food item until I moved here 5 years ago. My introduction to it was mardi gras week 2000 when my husband announced that "poonshkis" would be available soon. "Poonshkis ?" Ok, now I know WHAT they are, but is that the correct pronunciation? ← Poonshki is preferred Punch-ki is used less frequently but they still know what you want. I've come to the understanding that Polish spelling and pronunciation have nothing to do with each other. Oh well. Give me another jelly filled powdered donut... er... paczki. Yummy way to tuck in 1000 calories and 85 fat grams in a hurry.

I'm almost ready to take the plunge and try making these pate de fruits at home. I had some at LeNotre in Las Vegas and they were good. Before I start, I'd like to ask a few questions of the group: - Did you use "tartaric acid" or just lemon juice in the Boiron recipe? - What type of pan should be used to form the pate de fruit? A jelly roll pan? - Do you spray the jelly roll pan with Pam or something to prevent sticking? - Does it really have to sit for 48 hours before cutting? Does it rest on a cookie sheet or in the pan? Thanks! Gary

Knox brand gelatin is available at most grocery stores. Look for it near the Jello display or in the baking area. Knox sells four packets in a small box. Don't know the exact weight/measurement but think it's a bit over 2 teaspoons per pack. You gotta make these strawberry marshmallows. You'll be hooked.

Lloydchoc, Thanks for the photos and instructional info. Much appreciated! I'd like to ask if you can post a photo of the base. Also, can you detail a bit more about how you mounted the screws? Did you cut threads in the frame or did you simply secure the screws with nuts and lock washers? How did you drill holes in the screws? Did you use a drill press? Lastly, you mentioned it was difficult to cut caramels with the "punching" action. I'm thinking of modifying your design to have the strings in only one direction. I'm trying to come up with a method to hinge the frame on the base to get that "shearing" action. Perhaps a photo of your base material will give me some ideas. I appreciate the input from everyone. Thanks, Gary

I made my own mayo once... sort of a tribute to Julia Child. I even whisked it by hand. Nobody in the house would touch it but me. Taste was OK but not overwhelming considering the effort put in. Maybe kicking it up a notch and turning it into aioli would have made it better. Anyway, I'm from a Miracle Whip family. Tough to break old habits.

Steve, How do you rotate the product after you've cut in one direction? Once you cut caramel in one direction, it is now in a bunch of thin strips. How does it get turned 90 degrees without falling apart? Does the base rotate or do you have to lift and turn the caramel? Thanks, Gary

Nightscotsman's strawberry marshmallow recipe is a winner. Lighter and fluffier than the other marshmallows I've made. The strawberry puree is easy... just a food processor and some frozen strawberries. The clean strawberry taste is amazing. Here are photos of my handiwork. They were a hit in the office today. Marshmallows on the counter: Bagged up and tied with a ribbon. Happy Valentine's Day!!

Seeing as these dang guitar cutters retail for over $2000, it's gonna be a long time before I ante up the cash to buy one. The thought has crossed my mind to build one myself... albeit a scaled down version. Before I start my odyssey, is there anyone here who can give me there thoughts on using this device? I'd like to know the real nuts and bolts stuff like how well it cuts through caramel/marshmallow/ganache. How big is the cutting area? Is it a half-sheet size or so? Is it a pain to clean up afterward? Is it tough to rotate the caramel 90 degrees after the first cut? Do you actually use this device or does it just sit in the cabinet while your chef's knife does all the work? I think the main benefit to a guitar cutter is that it makes quick, clean and uniform cuts. Beyond being a time saver in a production environment, is there a benefit to using a guitar cutter instead of a chef's knife? Thanks in advance for any and all advice. Gary

I just finished making some really nice looking pink colored marshmallows. The bad part is that they taste terrible. I used cherry oil flavoring, just like you use for making lollipops. Maybe I used too much flavoring or maybe it is the wrong stuff to use for marshmallows. Whatever the case, they have a funny aftertaste and the entire batch is going in the trash. Such a bummer. My 8 year old daughter didn't even like 'em. Next step is to try Nightscotsman's recipe with fruit puree.

Yesterday I didn't know what a Pacojet was. Today I want one. Thanks eGullet for creating another potential dent in my credit card bill. In my chocolate temperer quest I've seen a wide range of products from Chocovision and ACMC and Matfer Bourgeat. Chocovision and ACMC have built-in stirrers. The Matfer is just a heated bowl and the cook provides the stirring. Can it be used as a tempering machine?

I've always wanted a chocolate temperer for my home chocolate work. I've even thought about a guitar cutter for pates de fruit (and marshmallows). These devices seem to be priced way out of my range. Any tips on finding cheap (used) versions of these? Are there any other neat-o gadgets which are only found in the pro-kitchens?