pastrygirl

I took a couple classes with him in 2009, had fun, learned a lot. I was living in Asia at the time, so Australia wasn't quite as far away as it is now. Wish I could go back! Or maybe I should just check out classes in Vegas!

Was that Jean-Marie Auboine's class? I follow Paul Kennedy on Instagram, his pics from the class/shop were gorgeous! My attempts at panning so far all belong in the 'chocolates with that backroom finish' thread

In that case, since they will be built in the serving container, skip the gelatin.

I agree, gelatin is more an insurance policy than a necessity. If the desserts will be out at room temp for awhile or subject to dubious handling (as when passed off to a wedding venue), or if you want to mold and unmold them cleanly for perfect presentation, gelatin will help.

Fritos original are corn, corn oil, and salt, so I think you're good

I think the pain in the butt factor every day for years on end would preclude me from doing the conversion. How are you going to organize odd size condiments and delicate veg along with items that might spill or drip? I can see doing it if you're making a keg-erator or second fridge that wouldn't be used that much, but digging through the chest for everything every day? That would drive me nuts.

Are you wanting to make your own fritos? You'd just need some sort of cornmeal dough and oil to fry it in. Maybe get some masa and make tortillas but fry them from the raw state instead of cooking dry first then frying like for tortilla chips?

I don't know, but heated makeup air was my complete and utter nightmare when we moved the restaurant to a new space a few years ago. It took months of complaining and threatening to quit, with multiple visits from multiple HVAC guys before a switch was installed to be able to turn the heat off. The makeup air blew down in front of the hot line, but did not immediately get sucked back up the hood. Instead, we had a heated kitchen. Yes, the heat was sometimes on 24/7, in addition to ovens, flattops, and a wood grill during service. Fucking stifling, way beyond comfortable. I was the pastry chef, went in to work around 6 or 7 am so I could get things done - roll buttery doughs, temper chocolate, etc - before the cooks came in and fired things up. If the heat was on all night it would be upper 70's even at 6am on a winter morning. The day it was snowing outside and the kitchen was 77F, I truly almost walked out. A PASTRY NIGHTMARE!!! But the way the air blew directly down, if the heat was off the cooks would freeze and the hot food would get cold (unless it was summer), so I had to let them turn the heat on during prep, even though the back half of the kitchen not under the hood was plenty warm. Yeah... poor circulation/ventilation despite the shiny new hood. So I urge you to make sure you have the options to turn the hood itself off and to turn the heat off and blow outside-temp air instead. And consider where this heat is blowing and whether it actually will go right back up the hood or heat the kitchen. And if you have a pastry chef who you don't want to see suicidal, make sure you have a cool spot somewhere in the kitchen! There is no reason to heat the kitchen overnight! OK, maybe PA winters are way harsher and there is a reason, but still, make sure you have options!

I agree with your suspicion and with Deryn, the thinner layer should cook a little more quickly. i would check it at 25 minutes and go from there.

Calelbaut recommends a tempering technique which calls for adding 1% tempered cocoa butter powder (Mycryo), so you are correct about only needing a tiny percent of beta crystals. It is a chain reaction, and they do multiply... http://www.callebaut.com/usen/techniques/tempering/tempering-with-mycryo

Thanks, I don't use a lot of food color, but when I do, I want it to be worth it! Looks like Global Sugar Art carries the Americolor, I'll have to see if I can add a few colors on to my candy mold order.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a brand of food color that is best for macaron? I've tried gel color, but it doesn"t stay bright. Is powder color more stable?

Would the previously frozen cream cheese melt? If you could melt it with a little extra liquid (milk, cream) and set it with gelatin you could make a no-bake cheesecake. If you really want to use this cc for cheesecake, I think it would be worth a try to warm it up and whisk or immersion blend it back together.

That sounds like a good idea - basically dilute the over-crystallized chocolate with cool but untempered chocolate. Brilliant!

Jim, with over-crystallization, I'd recommend gently warming the chocolate to melt out some of those crystals, but not going above 95F. I don't measure my seed. I dump in a first amount that I'm sure will melt, then take the temp and guesstimate based on how hot it is how much more to add. I'll admit that I often have extra unmelted bits, now that I think about it, it's odd that I'm not more precise about it!

Yes! You should stir!!! Agitation encourages crystallization, and when you are tempering chocolate, it is all about crystallization of the cocoa butter. Hoping for the best with chocolate can lead to disappointment, as you have found. Just because it is in the right temperature zone and you want it to be tempered, doesn't mean it is. I now always test a little chocolate on a piece of parchment to make sure it is tempered before using it. Sometimes all it needs is a good stir and a few minutes to get the crystallization going. There are at least a few threads on tempering chocolate in Pastry & Baking, make sure to read through those. But in a nutshell, if you are seeding, you want a few un-melted pieces left at 95F (35C? I'm fuzzy on my metric) to provide the stable crystals. Once the chocolate has cooled to working temp, hopefully the seed will all be melted, if not you can pick it out or warm it a little more until it is smooth. Don't be afraid to stir, and always do a test before you dip or mold a whole bunch of pieces. Hope that helps!

Jim, my method for wet caramel is to make sure all the sugar is moistened, then wipe the sides of the pot with my wet hand to make sure there are no stray crystals. Put it on pretty high heat, and do not touch the pan until it starts to color. Once I get color, I'll swirl the pan. But I wipe the sides before putting it on the heat rather than tend to a hot pan with a wet pastry brush, as is often advised, and I can feel with my hand better than I can with a brush.

I know some people do claim there is a difference in the end result, but I am skeptical. I always do wet so I don't have to stand there and watch it and tend to it constantly. I like being able to keep an eye on it while I multi-task, then once it starts to color I give it more attention.

Can you bring any of your foraged items, dried or preserved in some way? Or baked into cookies? New ingredients to play with are always fun, but so are new snacks from around the world...

Shouldn't we all be asking YOU this question?

Ha! Small world

GlorifiedRice, I'll send you some! (I use it to make these bars.) http://www.dolcetta-sweets.com/shop/caramelized-white-chocolate-almond-bar

I've had some success by simply baking white chocolate until it is golden brown. Put pieces of WC in a hotel pan, put into a low oven, around 250F. Bake, stirring every 20-30 minutes, until as brown as you like, iirc around 2 hours for 2-3 kg. I'll admit that I never tried tempering or molding with it afterwards, but I don't see why you shouldn't be able to re-temper it. I used it in mousses and cremeaux, and it melted and combined with cream just fine, though there was the occasional odd bit that needed to be strained out. I don't see why your toasting the milk powder idea wouldn't work. Do you have a stone grinder? You could even caramelize the sugar separately and add that too, if you have the means to get it smooth again.

You're too cautious. I hate breaking wires as well, but not as much as I hate tedious cleaning projects. I can fit a frame or the base in a commercial dishwasher, propped against one of the lower guide rails (for the dish racks). I suppose the chemicals could have an affect, but I'm willing to risk it.

I agree with Lana, the Dedy is awesome. I wipe the strings with a towel between cuts to remove bits, then the pieces go in the dishwasher. It's going to be a little more awkward in a home sink...