pastrygirl

Yes, that will keep it warm all day. Do you need to keep it in temper or just warm and melted? Temper is possible, but would take more attention.

There might also be varying amounts of sugar in praline vs gianduja, but I think you could fake it. What %'s of chocolate do you have? I think somewhere between 1/3 to 1/2 praline paste by weight . 40% praline, 60% chocolate?

I freeze it or use it for macaron fillings. You can also add it to buttercream to flavor frosting for cakes or cupcakes.

I will offer one task for which a kind of dull knife is preferable: cutting citrus supremes. A sharp knife cuts into the membranes, while a not so sharp knife glides along it to separate the segments cleanly.

How about bacalao as the salty part of salty caramel something?

I have a couple of heavy-bottomed stainless pots from Sur la table that I like, I think they are 8 quart. The heavy bottom helps with even heating, and if you are making a large batch, you want a pot big enough for all the foaming & expansion that can happen (especially with caramels), but not so big that it overlaps your burner. I also use a vollrath optio pan, I think it is 4 or 6 quarts, good size for a smaller batch, but I don't like the handle, it is awkward to pour hot stuff out of the pan.

I have Fine Chocolates Great Experience and Fine Chocolates 2: Great Ganache Experience. They do seem to have mostly or entirely different formulas. The second book doesn't have a traditional index.

You can add a fair amount of lemon curd to Italian buttercream.

Cute, but how many people really need the quail egg version?

People sell businesses on Craigslist. What would you be selling exactly? Recipes? Brand, website, fixtures? The building itself?

2-3 days, as far below $1k as possible to be competetive with or lower than Callebaut academy or Ecole Valrhona. On one hand, as Ruth mentioned, it has to be long/intense enough to be worth traveling for, on the other, it can be difficult to get more than a few days away from a small business. I would be much more likely to attend something on the West coast - Seattle, Portland, SF, LA, or Vancouver BC... or at least west of the Rockies.

I would want some theory and science! Shelf life and calculating aW without expensive testing or equipment is probably a big one for a lot of us. I get so paranoid about shelf life of bonbons. I would love some experience with a small tempering machine and enrobing line like the Selmis that a few folks here have. And panning and airbrushing. And small batch bean to bar.

I think less liquid overall. Was the glaze pretty runny? I would try reducing the apple cider by 1/3 to 1/2 - reducing by cooking to concentrate the flavor, not just using less.

I don't really like the idea of separate menus, except to feature some boring stuff as early bird or happy hour but in a non-ageist way. Are some of your new dishes big hits or are you just attached to them? Look at the product mix, sales don't lie. If you need to have a chicken breast on the menu, make it a chicken breast that you know is as good as it can be. If done-ness of steaks is an issue, maybe switch from rare, medium rare, medium to a description of how much pink/red color it will have. Different steakhouses all seem to have their own definition of cook temps anyway, so train your servers to say 'the chef's medium rare will still be pink and cool in the middle, is that your preference?" I also disagree with the idea that your clientele is fixed. But if you are going to change the menu enough that the old diners are driven away, you'd better be 150% sure you can attract and keep enough new ones to stay successful.

I guess we're still a bunch of wild West fishermen and lumberjacks at heart!

Either/both. Actually I have some bonbons in the freezer that I just left in the molds and wrapped in a few layers of plastic, figuring the molds would be good protection. Of course I can't use those molds for more bonbons since they are in the freezer, but bonbons haven't been great sellers for me. I think they are too fancy or something.

Jim, I think it looks like the grip lids fit any bottom of the appropriate size, based on hotel pans. http://www.cambro.com/Products/Food_Pans_and_Lids/10737419403/1033.aspx I have several cambro quarter pans (the softer opaque ones) with matching lids. For most items, I pack them in ziploc freezer bags to protect from moisture, but for loose bonbons I just layer between candy pads then wrap the whole box in plastic.

You got a really nice rise on that puff pastry. Steam is powerful and some things just won't stay down, even with crimping.

Yes, stirred custards cook differently from baked/undisturbed custards. Do you have McGee's on Food and Cooking? I'm pretty sure agitated vs still egg cookery is covered in there.

I like the bar cookie idea, maybe I would have enjoyed church more in my youth if communion was a pan of brownies How about a rich brioche? You could do a loaf, a ring, or lots of small rolls baked together and easy to pull apart. Epi shape would also be good for sharing.

I meant more as a factor of why there are so many restaurants opening - I wonder how many cooks work for someone else for 5-10 years then decide they need to be the boss. I think it is seen as a natural progression to some extent, so maybe not motivated by financial stability. If anyone has a $1k signing bonus for pastry chefs, let me know, this self-employed thing is a bigger struggle that I realized!

Do cooks think if they open their own place they'll be more financially stable? I'll admit I have dreams of grandeur and hope that chocolate will make me enough money to retire in 15-20 years.

Ha! I hate chef coats!

I also have to question the I wonder about this, are you whipping air into the ganache to thicken it, or just stirring until everything is smooth? Adding air could hasten spoilage. I'm not familiar with the white chocolate you use, but some manufacturers have formulated less-sweet white chocolates. Consider Valrhona Opalys or Callebaut Zephyr if available. Adding some pectin to to your fruit will thicken the puree and should help lower available water. (I think, please correct me if I'm wrong.)

Edward, I bet your 50/50 honey/couverture mix works because there is enough liquid in that much honey. As you know, chocolate seizing is about the proportion of water, so adding a smaller proportion of honey like 70/30 might not provide enough liquid and cause issues. As you said, its more of a ganache, not solid chocolate.