RuthWells

Beautiful pix -- thanks for posting! I too would like to see this thread revived.

I was delighted to discover a pretty wide range of cello bags at my local dollar store -- it's worth checking out! I got some cute die-cut ones, and some standard sizes with holiday prints and matching twist ties. Not bad at $1 per 20.

Gary, I had the same problem with the hazelnut cookies last week!! Here's what I did to fix. After the cookies cooled, I scraped all of the goop back into a mixing bowl and re-mixed to reincorporate the moisture as much as possible. I then used my smallest scooper to scoop out blobs, which I then froze on a sheet tray. After they were frozen, they held together well enough to dip in tempered chocolate. They turned out well, but I'm sure not quite the way M. Herme and Dorie intended.

Don't be ashamed of your chewed book -- I guarentee you that Dorie will be delighted that it's been used! When I brought my then-2-week-old copy to a signing a few weeks ago, the first thing Dorie asked was whether I had stained the pages yet. (And that that was a good thing.)

Oh dear! Well, let's see. Do you have a solid caramel/almond mixture, or is it chewy?

I usually have the same problem, but the in-laws are coming to us this year (in the Philly 'burbs), thank goodness. One memorable Thanksgiving about 9-10 years ago there was an ice storm in these parts -- we never made it up I-95 at all.

Your tarlets are beautiful, Ling, and what fun to be baking for Dorie! I had the pleasure of meeting her when she was in Philly kicking off the book tour -- she is as charming and personable in the flesh as she is in print. Have fun!

Double post -- apologies!

Thanks, Ruth. The crust is actually some of Dorie's good-for-Almost-Anything pie crust, which I already had in the freezer. ← Thanks for that. I'm making her cranberry lime galette for an early Turkey celebration this weekend; I hope my crust looks as good as yours!

The cranberry-lime galette from Dorie Greenspan's new book. Tiramisu -- haven't chosen a recipe yet. Lemon angel food cake with half Splenda for the diabetic family members; sides of rasberry coulis and lemon cream for those throwing caution to the wind. Mom will make pumpkin pie.

Gorgeous as always, Patrick. Your crust looks amazing -- is it a pate sucree, or a standard pie crust, or what?

Pierre Herme did some cool parfaits for Fine Cooking some years back. I'll go spelunking and see if I can find them. ETA: Score! Here's one of them: Chocolate Rice Pudding Parfait with Gianduja Whipped Cream & Caramelized Rice Krispies http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes...ng_parfait.aspx http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/recipes...ese_mousse.aspx (Second link is the cream cheese mousse, which is used as an element in the parfait.)

I'm on a bit of a muffin kick right now, so this weekend it was the Great Grain Muffins. Like the Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chippers, this recipe is another instance of a pretty complex mix of elements (oatmeal, whole wheat flour, corn meal) coming together beautifully and resulting in something that tastes and feels familiar yet completely new at the same time. Best part -- these are sweetened with maple syrup, so I've redubbed them Maple Syrup Muffins for the kids (gotta know your audience! ). They are disappearing fast into the school snack bags this week.

Sugar and shelf-stable trans fats, unfortunately.

Thanks.

Does anyone know what the story is, there? I assume he's still affiliated with Rx?

No, you had it right the first time -- Swiss is much softer than Italian, in my experience. Many bakers prefer the Swiss method because it heats the egg whites more thoroughly than the Italian method. ← Hmm, I can't say I really noticed the texture difference. Maybe that difference is lost because of the temp I cook it to. Most older recipes only say 120F, but I always go to 160F -- back to that salmonella thing. When would you notice the difference in "set". When it's warm out? Or at a normal room temp? Or in the fridge? Calling all food scientists -- or just those in the know.... ← I noticed the difference when I tried to pipe the Swiss -- it wasn't firm enough to do roses (which my Italian can handle). I'm guessing that the Italian meringue is just more stable than the Swiss, but I'm curious to hear everyone else's thoughts. (I've only tried Swiss once or twice.)

I, too, often bake for the joy of the process, rather than for the result. During my big holiday baking binges, I often surprise myself by not even tasting some of the things I've made. The process has been so all-consuming and fulfilling that I feel no need to also eat, if that makes sense.

This is a very interesting notion, and I thank you for articulating it so well. As a strictly-home baker, I find that I'm never able to bake as much as I would like to, and am therefore a bit slow to change my habits. But I've noticed in recent months that my mental approach to baking has shifted. In the past, when the urge to bake has hit, I'd pull out a few books and flip pages until I'd lit on something I'd like to try and had all the ingredients for on hand. Recently, though, I'm more likely to start with an idea (e.g. "Hmmm, I'd really like a big chewy cookie that I can dunk in milk, and I want to use some dried cranberries and that great cinnamon from Penzey's"), and from there, to back into a pretty-close recipe that I then tweak as needed. It's a small thing, but it really feels like a whole new way of looking at the world.

This is why I keep my day job -- co-workers are always happy to eat the extras!

No, you had it right the first time -- Swiss is much softer than Italian, in my experience. Many bakers prefer the Swiss method because it heats the egg whites more thoroughly than the Italian method.

Hi Dorie! It was wonderful to meet you in Philly last week and I'm glad to see you made it at least to Chicago in one piece. I've been thinking about what I see as a dichotomy in your cookbook work. So much of your cookbook writing has been focused on interpreting the work of others (Pierre Herme, the gaggle of guest bakers on Baking with Julia, all the wonderful chefs of Paris Sweets), that I wonder how it was different for you to put together the new book. Were most of the recipes already part of your repetoire, or did you start at all from scratch? How much was reinterpretation of the familiar, and how much was from-the-beginning? All of which is a round-about way of asking -- when doing "your own" baking, where are you most likely to turn for inspiration?

In search of the perfect pound cake, has anyone tried the Bishop's Cake from the Silver Palate book? It is my new gold standard, but I am early in my search... haven't yet tried Becca's or Dorie's from the new book.

Absolutely exquisite, Patrick!

These were a BIG hit in my house. Did you chill the dough before baking them up? I baked off one sheet of cookies pre-chilling and the rest after an overnight rest in the fridge; the chilled ones retained more of their "puff" than the unchilled (but both were wonderful, 'specially dunked in milk). Hope your leg heals quickly!