pastrygirl

Somewhat better. Just the other day I was talking to a chef about how the restaurant owner was giving him a hard time about the chicken breasts in the walk-in being labeled 'tits'. The chef, who has two young daughters and seems decent and relatively professional (as far as I can tell) felt like "yeah, but at least they're labeled, pick your battles, man". And I'll admit, I did consider making a foil cock and balls (instead of a swan or the blob it ended up being) to contain the treats I was bringing him, but then remembered it's not supposed to be a contest to see who can be most inappropriate. So yeah, it is still fairly male-dominated industry with a work hard, play hard, fairly lowbrow sensibility, especially when cooks tend to be younger men. And it can be fun to be raunchy, flirty, foul, etc. But it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, and it did get tiresome and was one reason I wanted to get out of restaurants. On the one hand, alcohol abuse and sexist behavior have become less acceptable in the 20 years I've been in the industry. On the other, every chef I know has a hard time finding good workers so in some ways employees can get away with more BS when they know it'll be a pain to have to replace them. Apparently it's a bonus when people actually show up for work instead of OD'ing on heroin or spending the night in jail, so chicken part labeling is not going to be cause for dismissal.

Why freeze them? Nothing in there to go bad. Do they stay crunchy and together if you don't freeze?

Yeah, I was thinking soda bread doesn't rise as much as a yeast bread, and you don't get that same oven spring from the yeast getting all excited.

I wanted to make some zombie bunnies but maybe I should stick with alien!

I painted one with green polka dots and it looks like he has the pox .

OK, I know this is sweating the small stuff, but I'm wondering what you see ... Is this rabbit https://www.dr.ca/rabbit-mold-7-5-inches.html holding an egg, or is the oval a fuzzy underbelly?

There may also be a bit of palate fatigue going on. Sometimes you've been tasting, tasting, tasting all day and it's hard to enjoy the finished dish because you've already tasted so much. Or what everybody else said

Those definitely look like scratches. Or maybe a hair or bit of fiber got caught in the mold-making process? It must be a pain to have to deal with returns to Belgium but I agree that imperfections are not acceptable.

I agree, better to discourage that. If it is something you're selling in your business, why would you give a direct competitor your recipes? Right now I make mostly chocolates and dessert minis. If a chef I knew and liked needed a recipe for ice cream or focaccia or something peripheral to the business, I'd share. If my competitors want to copy me, or if I want to copy my competitors, I think it's up to us to figure it out. Would it be an option to sell to those items to them or trade product as part of your rent?

What are the restrictions? Mostly sugar, or others? When I think of Asian bakeries, I think filled buns and very light sponge cakes with cream and fruit. If you're buying, not making, are there Asian bakeries you can visit instead of Costco? Or if Costco adds a lot of sugary glazes, can you special order without? Think lighter brioche or fruit danish, sponge or chiffon cake instead of coffeecake. Bacon is low carb, sugar free, and pre-portioned Speaking of savory items, I think TJ's has frozen Asian buns you can bake. I like their pot stickers but haven't tried the bread-ier baked buns. They should be sugar free and maybe lower carb than straight pastry. Also look in their appetizer section, mini quiche or little filled turnovers could work well.

@RWood, I'm looking for a shortbread crust that cuts cleanly. It's something I've avoided until now, but recent attempts to fulfill requests for caramel-topped shortbread bars yielded frustration. Delicious and buttery but too crumbly! I figure a lemon bar base should be similar. If you'd be willing to share your recipe or any tips, I'd appreciate it! The recipe I tried was CI's millionaire's shortbread with melted butter. Easy to make, not as easy to cut nicely. thanks!

this one looks pretty close: http://www.pastrychefsboutique.com/matfer-bourgeat/648116-matfer-bourgeat-cw1673-polycarbonate-chocolate-mold-quenelles-2-x-8-molds-10gr-1-3-4x-1x-1-2-modern-shaped-molds.html

Also, you said once a week for two years. If it's a regular breakfast meeting, you'll probably want to mix it up with scones, muffins, coffeecake, etc. How many people are in the group?

So your mom can eat eggs and pork, you just prefer not to cook them? If she likes sausage for breakfast and the fat and sodium aren't problems, look for chicken or turkey sausage. Likewise there are lots of non-pork "bacon" type things out there. And if you can stand to boil a pot of eggs once a week, she can have hard boiled eggs for breakfast or snacks, they will keep in the fridge for several days.

Agar agar should work. It doesn't take much, and it does need to be heated to melt and activate. As with gelatin, high acid and fat can weaken the setting strength, but a sweetened lemon curd shouldn't be too bad. 1 tsp powdered agar per cup of runny liquid usually worked for me. Since your lemon curd is partially thickened already, maybe cut back to 1/2 or 3/4 tsp per cup. Do you want it to set enough to be slice-able, like a tart?

You can cut the shapes with round cookie cutters. Since I'm a believer that doughnuts are fried, no pans needed. Even if you are going to bake them, try without a special pan before you invest.

@Franci I love the way you tied it with string. Looks just like salami!

I've had decent luck with the little Terro ant bait stations. And yes, you will likely want to treat the yard or at least go all around the house at the foundation. And you may need to do that a few times over the long term, like quarterly, for best results. http://www.homedepot.com/p/Terro-Liquid-Ant-Killer-Bait-Stations-6-Pack-T300/202532940

With bonbons, shelf life is a big issue. Do they have a cool space for storage? How often will you be delivering fresh? Does the customer have refrigeration? (I know, not always ideal, but can be helpful) Is it a one-time thing or ongoing? My wholesalers all have different mark-ups. I do 50/50 consignment at one place, had a favorable 60/40 arrangement at a holiday shop last year. Other retailers don't fully double my prices, but then I have one who wants a 60% margin (i.e. they want to buy chocolate bars from me for $2 and sell them for $5) which I do not agree to. OTOH, I work with chefs who barely mark things up, my prices for them are more like @JeanneCake's 20% off. I think for the chefs & caterers I work with, there is a huge convenience factor so they are not as concerned about making profit on the desserts as having the desserts done well by someone else. They'll make their money on the room rental and alcohol. Are you making custom or exclusive flavors for them? I don't see any real harm in letting them put their branding on, but you should definitely have your name on them somewhere. "Handmade by Ani for XYZ" There is certain info that all food packaging is supposed to have, like where it is made, net weight, and ingredients. If you don't already have ingredients labels, they are easily done on sticker sheet or label templates. Make sure to list all potential allergens - milk, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, and soy.

How about foil? Not plastic, still keeps the chocolate fresh.

In season here at 47.6N, 122.3W: hothouse rhubarb! It's been available for a few weeks from local farms. Otherwise nothing local but last fall's apples and pears. But the flowers are blooming and it's beginning to feel like spring.

I sell online a little bit and I set my website to charge just a little bit over the cost of USPS to cover the box, etc. It probably does turn some people off, and I feel a little bad when someone pays as much for shipping as they do for product.

Wow, thanks, Kerry!

Yeah, my understanding was that soft and easy to incorporate was the main bonus - having silk kept warm, ready, and easy to use. If it hardened back into some super cocoa butter with amazing powers, that would be one thing. Otherwise, chunks are chunks?

Kerry, a question on CB silk ... I recently read a blog post about silk ... the author said you can use it right away or let it solidify and shave off bits to use as solid seed, a la Mycryo. My question is, is the solidified silk more effective seed than if you had tempered and cooled CB without the lengthy silk process? Is the solid silk higher in beta crystals and therefore superior to CB tempered in one of the usual ways? Or is it a waste of a day to make silk then let it solidify before use? It seems like everyone here uses silk in the softened state ... Just curious. thanks!