pastrygirl

JB Prince gives the dimensions as well, you just have to click on the item. I try to avoid anything shallower than about 18mm. You gotta have room for filling!

But you don't want chocolate at 100, you want at at 86-90. The problem with a lot of devices is that the temperature setting does not go low enough. If this thing is accurate at the right temperatures, it could work.

Thanks! I just finished and cut a batch today, I'll try to remember to take a pic tomorrow.

I've been making a variation of Greweling's peanut butter cups, that all my co-workers have been swooning over. I didn't want to fuss around with individual cups so I worked it into a bar confection. Bottom layer, a graham cracker crust made with GC crumbs, a little brown sugar, and a fair amount of brown butter. Mix in the robot coupe until liquified, then pour into the frame to set. Filling is the PB cup filling, with the optional candied peanuts, extra salt, and some crushed up potato chips for extra salty crunchiness. Top layer is 60% ganache, which I'm debating about making lighter or darker (but it is really hard to get constructive feedback when everyone's mouth is full). The whole thing is soft enough at room temp to cut on the guitar (once bottomed with more chocolate), which is a bonus. Served with torched soft marshmallow.

Coconut is one of my favorite flavors with dark chocolate. I've been working on a coconut truffle filling for molded pieces that is coming along, but I'd also like to create a more shelf-stable filling for a chocolate bar, like a coconut gianduja or a coconut version of a peanut butter cup. I've been making Greweling's PB cup recipe, and I'm thinking something like toasted shredded coconut and possibly powdered coconut milk with coconut oil in place of the PB, plus the cocoa butter to firm it up. Anyone tried anything like this? I would do the bars in 60% or 70%, should I be concerned about fat migration with the coconut oil and dark chocolate? I would want these to have a shelf life of 2-3 months. Thanks for any ideas! Andrea

I keep a few quarts of pasteurized liquid yolks around (Papetti's, no sugar added as far as I know), which I mostly use for ice cream and creme brulee bases. When I used whole eggs for ice cream, I had far more whites left over than I could ever use in macaron, meringue, etc. Now if I need extra whites I can always separate some. The liquid yolks are a nice convenience and time-saver.

Because it is always the same? Haven't they featured those glasses a few times already?

Several times. It will take on flavors of what you cook in it, but that is not necessarily bad. If you keep it in the freezer between uses, it should last a very long time.

Do you know the percentage? I get what my supplier re-packs as "Callebaut semi-sweet pistoles" which I think are 54%. They look like and work great as chocolate chips for cookies, but I don't think I have ever used them for molding. If you get them in their original packaging, it should show the range of fluidity in droplets, I believe 3 or 4 is best for molding and dipping.

Its gorgeous. Yes, a full page color photo of each dessert, total food porn. Who needs recipes?

sturgeon

Has it been that way for the entire three years, or has something changed so that now you are frustrated? Let's look at alternatives. You consider soup that is made and re-warmed "leftovers" It sounds like there could be better portion control, so that only the amount that is needed is warmed to order, but how else would you serve hot soup? You're not going to make each bowl from scratch. The microwave does ruin some things (bread/pastry), but for a lot of things it is pretty effective. You could heat the soup in a little pot on the stove, but that requires a more watchful eye, and stirring. You could keep the soup in a warmer all day, but by the end of the day the vegetables are mush and quality is compromised even more. With the meat, isn't barbeque a very lengthy cooking process? You can't cook that to order, and again, keeping it warm all day may be more of a compromise in quality than chilling it when it is done and re-heating to order. I think re-heating once is fine, that is how most restaurants do it (well not with meat unless they do sous vide). Many ingredients are prepped and fully or partially cooked, then heated and finished when ordered. It allows the cooks to get a dish to a table within 10-15 minutes, saving space, time, and labor. Re-heating multiple times should not be necessary. You don't have to make smaller batches to avoid that, just re-heat less at a time. You're young, and you've been there a while. Nothing wrong with moving on and seeing how other restaurants do it if you're not happy where you are.

Francisco Migoya can: http://www.thequenelle.com/ I guess much depends on the stability of the foam. I use the torch to pop bubble on my creme brulee base before I bake it, but that is not very stable. I feel like I have bruleed zabaglione in the past, but it's hazy.

I don't know, but I just got a couple of samples from AUI and did not care for them. One was the orchid and the other a more premium variety, but I didn't care for either and would rather pay more for better chocolate. Callebaut and Felchlin are what I turn to when Valrhona is too dear.

I use these: http://www.bakedeco....13#.UJMU_YUU6H0 I much prefer the 60mm, would say it is two small bites. I have some of the 50mm also, but they are just small enough to be really annoying to deal with. Actually the only thing I use the smaller ones for anymore is to nest inside the larger when I am blind baking fillo tartlet shells. I just wipe them clean with a paper towel, and don't wash them unless they are really sticky. You don't need removable bottoms. If the filling gets on the edge, just loosen it with a paring knife and flip the tarlet out. A well-baked dough with enough fat should not stick.

I just saw these for sale at Acme Bread in San Francisco: http://www.bamboo-bag.com/breadbags.html

Recipes are in grams, ounces, and %. I love modern, too. I never bought any of the CIA's other pro pastry books, they always looked too old school, even 10 or 15 years ago when I started baking professionally. But this...these are the desserts I wish I'd thought of, that I wish I had the time and skill and equipment to make. I don't know how many I will make, but I will definitely use the visual inspiration as well as various elements and ideas. I could see how it is not for everyone, but as a jaded professional, I am so happy to see it.

:wub: Everything is so beautiful and modern!

I'm a little surprised at all the no-more-than-3-days rules - I hold uncooked creme brulee base for up to a week and it always seems fine. Also frangipane, tuile paste, surely some other things. Hmm.

I pre-ordered it awhile ago, and Amazon is currently saying delivery is estimated for the end of next week (Oct 24-27), so it sounds like they expect to be able to ship it in a few days.

Steve, please let us know if we can get the book in the US, and the price. I took a class at Savour (with Paul, not Kirsten) a few years ago and would love to get the book.

Egg whites set a custard more firmly than yolks. Flan and creme caramel mostly use whole eggs, and are firm enough to hold their shape when unmolded. Pot de creme and creme brulee use mostly yolks, and are rich and custardy but not firm enough to unmold. In lemon curd, I have used both yolks only and whole eggs, and I'm not sure I can tell the difference, although I have never compared side to side. Lately I have been using a whole egg lemon curd recipe simply for ease and convenience.

I agree, it really can be more helpful to see things live and be able to ask questions on the finer points. Are there any chocolatiers in the area you could meet with, maybe work for a day?

There is a Callebaut Academy in the UK, have you looked there? What sorts of things are you piping? Flat decorations? As with piping other things, the answer may just be practice, practice, practice.