cakewalk

Yes, the seal is balancing a ball on the tip of its nose. Which breaks off, and you can put it on the elephant's trunk! My set has an elephant, tiger, giraffe, seal, and lion. I've never seen the camel either, it might be from an old set that was discontinued, I think they change animals every so often. I don't think I used the W-S recipe, I remember finding something else on-line that was similar, but for some reason I liked it better. I should have saved a copy of the recipe in the box with the cutters, but of course I didn't.

Sounds like a supply and demand thing. There are most likely many other applicants (Executive Chef? Good restaurant? Many, many other applicants), and the boss thinks he can do what he wants. Unfortunately, he probably can. Not saying he's right, but this is pretty much the way everything works.

Everything looks great, but those chocolate coconut caramels have really caught my eye, they are stunning. The animal crackers look wonderful. I have that cookie-cutter set (from Williams Sonoma) and I made the cookies once. I don't remember which recipe, but it used nutmeg, not cinnamon, and it worked very well. I brought the cookies to a family function for the little ones, but the cookies got broken up during the flight. I was upset but no one else seemed to mind, the kids had fun matching the giraffe's head to the lion's body, etc. The cookies were good, I thought the nutmeg would be too overpowering but it wasn't. I have to try out those caramels.

Interesting. I also use a French press. I pour boiling water into my mug to warm it while the coffee is brewing in the press. I guess everyone works out his/her own method for these things.

Do any of you have issues with keeping the coffee hot enough? I mean for immediate consumption, not in a thermos for later use. I used to use a Melitta (many years ago), and that was always a problem. More recently I've had Blue Bottle coffee at cafes, and it's still an issue. Add a bit of half & half, and the coffee is lukewarm.

Go to bed.

Thanks for the links. I've made Anadama, I think with Reinhart's recipe, but it's been a while. I've been playing around with sourdough, so yeast recipes have sort of fallen by the wayside. Time to take another look. I laughed out loud when I saw how quickly the yeasted sponge rose (and even bubbled, like soup in a cauldron), I'd become so used to the v-e-r-y slow-motion of sourdough.

I've had this book for years and have enjoyed cooking from it, but I never paid attention to her baked goods. The other day I made her whole wheat bread, and I'm very pleased with it, it's very nice for sandwiches. I slice the loaves and then freeze the slices. Next time I'm going to try part of the dough in my Pullman loaf pan, without the lid. (Or maybe even with the lid. I love the shape of the Pullman.) Also next time, I think the sponge can use less yeast, and I'd try something other than molasses for the bit of sweetness. But it's a nice WW sandwich loaf. Thanks for the pointer.

Yes, time-consuming is the best description. The skins do pop off almost immediately, but when you're blanching a couple of pounds of almonds it gets old very quickly. I buy blanched almonds these days. But I guess everyone should try it just once.

Chocolate syrup was always the default for everything. If you wanted anything else you had to specify, as in: "vanilla egg cream" rather than "egg cream." Same for a black & white malted, vanilla syrup is never a given even though you might like it better that way.

Hmmm. Well I think this calls for some side-by-side testing. I suggest you make a minimum of three, then let us know which one is best.

Maybe this? http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2014/06/valeries-french-chocolate-cake/#more-11956

"Need" is not the issue being discussed. We don't "need" most of what we eat.

Sounds like he's just a mean bastard -- with all the different cultural definitions of "mean." So the conversation shifts from, can we "blacklist a cultural bad tipper" to, can we oust an abusive customer? You might get more "yes" answers on that one.

Interesting. To me, this shows that he does indeed know better. But hopefully he'll continue to bring guests. That's one of the reasons asking him to leave would not have been a good idea.

I agree with others who say that turning this guy away is bad business. In the end it will cause you more harm than good. Sometimes you just have to take the high road. But really I'm not so sure about this guy. You say he's a regular, so I assume (perhaps incorrectly) that he's been in the States for a while. Apparently he eats out fairly regularly. I guess I'm not totally convinced that the small tips are the result of cultural differences. In any case, I don't see turning him away as an option.

I've always thought of alfajores as the sandwich cookies with dulce de leche filling. Thanks for this introduction to something new (for me). They look great. I have thrown whole star anise into the coffee grinder I use for spices. It grinds up nicely and I use it sparingly in cookies/biscotti that call for cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, anise, etc. It adds a nice kick. I don't know that I'd use it to replace anise, but I think it could add a nice dimension to the recipe in your link.

Interesting. I don't like the Biscoff cookies, but I make a shortbread type of cookie using Biscoff spread that is one of my favorite cookies. I've never been a big fan of Oreos, I find the cookie to be flavorless and I'm not crazy about the filling. (There really is no accounting for tastes.) I like the Trader Joe's knockoffs better. I think the original Oreos were made with beef suet, not lard. But the unfortunate truth is that whatever packet of cookies happens to be in my cabinet, I will polish them off just like that, even if I don't think they're particularly great.

Hmmmm. Not to get all theological or anything, but chosen by whom? Language is a funny thing, evolving at the drop of a hat. Echoing gfweb above, what else would you call creme brulee? And I can't help thinking in the opposite direction as well: Americans call it puff pastry, not pate feuilletee (did I get that right?), a name which simply did not stick around. I figure you probably have a very different name for apple turnovers. But a croissant is still a croissant wherever you go, no? A macaron is a different item than a macaroon, not just a different word. If I use the French word for something (sorbet, for example) I'm not consciously thinking it's French, it doesn't matter. The origin is French, but the word is English now. (I keep thinking of John Travolta in Pulp Fiction talking about MacDonald's in France, where they call it "Le Big Mac.")

Jelly roll. There's something about the swirls that I always loved. The other day I made a jelly roll from a Flo Braker recipe, one I've been meaning to try for ages. She slices the 10x15" sheet in half just like you would for a regular layer cake, then lines up the two pieces so you have a 10" by 30" rectangle. It's a bit of a challenge, since the cake is under one inch high. But since there's such a long strip to roll up, the effect is especially beautiful. (I took a photo but can't figure out how to post it. But I have to say the photo in the book was much nicer looking than mine.) Anyway, visuals aside, I thought the cake itself tasted too floury. There's a cup of AP flour and four eggs, I guess it needs the flour for structure since it's being mauled somewhat. Also, it's best to use as thin a layer of jam as possible since there ends up being so much of it. But the cake is so pretty, I want to get it to taste good, too. So I'll keep trying.

Interesting article: http://restaurant-ingthroughhistory.com/2011/05/08/etiquette-violations-eating-off-your-knife/ Me, I don't care what anyone says, I think eating off your knife is rude and crude. Even the English these days seem to eat their peas by pushing/mushing them onto the back of their forks. Still a bit weird, but it beats the knife.

Haven't tried this recipe, but when I use spinach (particularly chopped spinach, whether fresh or frozen) in any sort of pie or quiche type of dish I always press it in a potato ricer to get rid of the excess water. I also press grated potatoes in the ricer if I'm making potato kugel, zucchini and eggplant slices, etc. It can take a while if you're making large quantities, but it does the job thoroughly and makes a huge difference in the final dish. A bit of nutmeg goes very nicely with spinach, as do red pepper flakes. And garlic. Spinach loves garlic.

Interesting. Is salep used in Turkey as a spice/condiment? In Israel it's basically a hot drink, it's called sahlav but I'm pretty sure it's the same thing. (I wonder if Israel gets theirs from Turkey.) Edited to add this very nice link I just found: http://www.anissas.com/salep-or-sahlab-in-arabic-a-rare-ingredient/

Just one? I have to mention three: bench scraper, silicone spatula, microplane grater. I'd give up a lot of stuff before I gave up those three items. They do almost everything, and they never complain!

I was thinking various nut brittles would be nice, and I see they're included in Plantes Verdes list above. When I'm in a theater and I want something to nibble on, I don't want to deal with plate/fork/knife or anything I have to mess with too much. Some bar cookies might fit the bill, as long as they're not the gooey type.