pastrygirl

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.

I keep a sheet of parchment off to the side onto which I scrape the bits from the tools or the side of the melter. I've been doing mostly molds lately, and the chocolate builds up on the scraper, so I scrape it off with a plastic bowl scraper. When I fork-dip, I wear a glove on my left (non-dominant) hand for touching the centers and wiping off the fork every few dips to avoid build-up. I also wipe down the edge of the melter with the gloved hand. If you do get solidified build-up on the fork, just slide it off the tines. Water works fine as a heat source, of course just be careful. I usually melt my chocolate in a metal bowl over hot water, then keep the pot of water handy to re-warm the chocolate as needed. I only melt in my melter if I'm doing a lot and I remember to set it the night before.

How many cakes do you offer on a given day? I think if I were faced with all 17 in the case I would have decision paralysis. Are cakes the bulk of your business? What percentage of cakes are custom/special order vs walk-in?

Ouch. I'd hate to be in that kitchen right now.

I have to agree with others that this new place is just not the best fit for you. Hectic with screaming is not an environment I enjoy either, even if I'm not the one being yelled at I don't want to be around it. Many chefs are better with food than we are with people (if we were better with people we'd make more $$ in the front of the house). This can mean chefs who are screamers, and shy pastry loners who just want a quiet place to make something beautiful and delicious (me to a T, maybe you). If it's not fun, don't do it. Move on. Good luck.

If I hired someone who had a year and a half of work experience, I would hope to not have to supervise them too much. Was your first apprenticeship full time? What did you do there? Do you make anything completely by yourself from start to finish, or did you only help the chef with supervision? It sounds like your new chef expects you to have more skill and confidence than you are showing. It is good to check in after making a few items to be sure they are right the first time or two you make something, but for a busy chef if someone is always asking questions it takes a lot of time to stop and answer them. What types of items are you making at the new place? How many times do you feel like you need to make a recipe before you are confident that you know how to make it correctly? Of course you want to please the chef, but I can understand s/he might grow impatient if the same questions are being asked over and over. If you want to work in the industry, you need to learn quickly and be able to work on your own. Training and supervision take the time and effort of another person, and those cost money and decrease productivity. You need to be able to keep up with the pace of the rest of the shop.

I can't think of any reason why that would be a problem.

Can't say I think of 'crisp' and 'cake' as words that belong together

That is hilarious. I'm so sorry!

I don't know much about NY style, but you might try Mario's on Pike between 10th & 11th (Capitol Hill), or Bambino's in Belltown.

I've given up on huge batches of pastry cream because they always scorch, so I have to recommend doing multiples of the biggest batch that doesn't scorch. As for the graininess, maybe an immersion blender would help? Not sure what would cause that.

My mom found a sorrel soup somewhere that has you puree the sorrel with some butter in the cuisinart, then add the sorrel butter to the soup. The layer of fat prevents oxidation and the soup stays green tastes good, too.

Are you 1000% sure you put all the flour in?

I make caramel italian meringue butter cream with a more liquid caramel (equal parts by weight sugar and cream), and I add a good amount. For 150 g whites, 200 g sugar, and 450 g butter, I add at least 300-400 g caramel sauce. The recipe says 300 g, but in reality I just stream it into the mixer after all of the butter has been incorporated and until it tastes good, usually 1-1/2 to 2 cups. It doesn't add that much liquid, it is mostly sugar and fat after all - dulce de leche even more so. Does adding the DDL warm compromise the icing? You could probably thin it with a little rum or something and add it at room temp.