Mette

Last week my new Gaggia ice cream maker arrived in the post from Italy, and so far it is great. I have made vanila gelato, strawberry sorbet, raspberry and blueberry gelato (just hardening in the freezer). No pix - camera packed it... So far it is, if not better than s.. then at least a great supplement Now i have to start tweaking the recipes to my liking, which is not eggy, but full bodied and not too sweet.

Interesting idea - I wonder if you can actually get the delicate flavours to come through. Please share I have always failed miserably in getting anyting but an alcholoic flavour come properly through with using whisky

Made 4 big christmas cakes (fruit cakes) this weekend - one already gone as it came to see where I work..... My husband made mince pies and somehow they are gone too...I think the little christmas elves have been at work I have promised my kids that we will make gingerbread houses for a little village, so we're all looking forward to this, although I'm not sure whether it's the making or the eating piles of sweets that hold the attraction

I am no expert on these matters but why not make a homemade thick chocolate/cocoa syrup and mix it with steamed milk and/or hot water? That way you can get the right chocolate/cocoa balance and it can be floavoured with anything - caramel, mint, mocha - the sky is the limit. Also, it would keep well, keeping costs down

Teach how to recognize and fix a broken ganache - the workshop sounds like fun - good luck

Root parsley - stronger tasting than parsnip - oh, and celeriac (celery root) is really good roasted with cumin

Personally, the idea of an egg ganache is a bit off putting, but why not just use pasteurised yolks, seeing as you are making custard anyway. I expect that the caution is around salmonella and other nasties sometimes present in raw eggs.

We once made chrismas pudding with the addition of prunes - the prune flavour was overwhelming. Fine if you are fond of prunes (they went slimy too )

If you love dinos, take a look at the moulds from chocolate world http://www.chocolateworld.be/fotos/CW1346.jpg

OK - so you start with warm water and a gentle detergent and you end up using a mix of soft, brown soap and ammonia water - what a stench but it worked a treat The slimy moulds: after cleaning: the final result - the moulds aren't perfect, but workable (although I may hang them on the kitchen wall for decoretion )

I found a couple of old steel/tin chocolate moulds that someone had put out for recycling. They are very dirty and covered in old congealed grease (looks like they've lived on top of someones kitchen cabinet for 50 years), and I am unsure of how to clean them. I can't see the state of the coating, so I don't want to use somthing that might damage it. I'm eager to try them out if they look in good nick under the grime. Thanks

That is remarkable - how is is made (i have not got access to the book)?

not so much making and baking, but just eating, eating, eating cherries. They are wonderful this year. Did make a cherry-marcipan tart, which was nice although not much cherry flavour. The recipe would be better with sharper fruit, possibly apple. Must pick cherries....

Thanks guys! Kerry, I've sent a PM about the mold

I have spotted this mould at chocolat-chocolat. Does anyone know the manufacturer? I am in Denmark, so a source in Europe would be handy... Thanks

Traditional danish 'kransekage'? Very tasty, and you don't have to do all the complicated constructioin, just make the logs as described, bake, add som royal icing decorations and EAT (is better and chewier after a short stay in the freezer - keeps for a long time, but not around here )

I am spending a couple of days in Bremen, north Germany, for work next week, and wonder if any restaurants at all come recommended? I realise it is probably not the center of any culinary universe, but the hotel looks drab, so i'm hoping to make it up on the food, if possible Thanks

Thanks for explaining - I think the crust of the bread is the best part, so I guess i'm really from the 'rice form the bottom of the pan'-school of thought

I've just spen a couple of days in Korea for work (first visit) and I had some nice meals, especially when my colleauges from work ordered for me. One question I could not ask them for fear of offending as they all seemed very keen is: What is the deal with the rice soup? we had what was supposedly special rice soup made with the rice from the bottom of the pan - something I do realise is a big deal in Korea - but could not for life of me understand this soup. It tasted like warm water with rice in it (hold the salt, you do not want to mask the flavour of the warm water), it looked like warm water with rice in it (oh - no, no, no, we do not want to cloud this soup with something tasty, as it may take away the fine view of the rice) and it was utterly pointless... Could an expert explain this to me, or was I simply unlucky in my culinary exploits? Thanks p.s. Don't get me started on the pickled jellyfish

The ever popular one is simply cutting it into squares and enrobing in dark choc - unchanged shelf life and very tasty. Also a layer of marcipan and a layer of ginaduja, cut into squares ans enrobed - often the first ones gone in the selections

Thanks, both of you - I haven't really got freezer space for oranges - too many berries I'll keep the orange recipe for a rainy day. I ended up quartering them, boiling them for about 1 hour and draining the liquid off into a pan. I carefully removed all the pips and stuck them in a tea-bag and boiled the whole thing up with equal weight in sugar. As it started to get thick, I tasted it, and it was SOOOO bitter. I added another 50 % sugar, ending up with proprotions 60 % sugar/40% liquid - good balance now, but still more bitter than marmalade. Unfortunately, adding the sugar late in the process made the gelling hard to control, so it has set up very stiff - tasty on toast, though. May have a chocolate application of some sorts as well

I had a meltdown and bought a bunch of seville oranges, but I haven't got time to spend hours cutting the rind for making maramalade. Would it be possible to boil the whole oranges as one would for marmalade, and the just use the liquid, boiled with pips and sugar to make a clear orange jelly? Thanks

I haven't had a lot of time this year, but I have managed to swing the following molded chocolates: - coffe/dulce de leche - ginger - raspberry/balsamic vinegar - rum/raisin - white choc/vanila + mediants, 3 pounds of home made fruit n' nut bars instead of the horribly sweet ones from Cadbury's and some solid mold santas for the kiddies. Nearer to Christmas we will have a day of making marcipan figures and other marcipan 'stuff' with the whole family - a danish tradition, where the kids can have fun (I get too stressed if they help with the molded, tempered activities ) Happy chocolating

Would you care to elaborate on amounts & method? My husband is english and loves custard - custard flavoured chocolates would be a great treat. There's Bird's in the cupboard...... Thanks

Instead of washing your hands endlessly, have an old tea towel handy for wiping them - fast and less risk of getting water in your chocolate (makes for soft hands - all that cocoa butter )