Sugarella

This sure is a tough one and I won't be any help offering baking recipes.... However, kids do get a kick out of grilled fruit as shishkabobs, so if all else fails....

Thats the thing, I can't remember! Back then we only had wood - no plastic. Would heat "activate" beasties in the wood? I have no idea. ← Setting a scalding hot pan on wood would likely cause the wood grain to raise and seperate, and perhaps cause the board to warp over time? Edited to add: Ooh I know..... it'll also melt/soften wood glue and cause the planks in manufactured boards to pull apart. ..... I think.....

WooHooooooo! YAY! This is so exciting and I'm so happy for you. I know a few people have commented about the whole "non-professionals only" rule for FTV but I think it's cool that you, a true foodie, were picked instead of yet another person who throws several cans of stuff together and calls it cooking. It's true we need pros on FTV but we also need people like you. I'm sure you already have lots of ideas, but I think it'd be cool to take the obsessive foodie slant during your travels.... not just find cool places to eat in an area but find food related events as well, like culinary retreats, food festivals, places in the area doing unique work, etc. Well now I always did wonder where hookers eat......

I would never ship a finished cake but seeing as how you'll be completing the decorating on site and you'll be there by Thursday I think this will be fine. I'd do one of two things: 1) Don't ship the cake. Bring all of your decorating equipment with you on the plane and bake, decorate, on Thurday and Friday after you've arrived, provided the reception location will let you use their facilties to do all of the work. You did mention that you'll be adding the fondant there and decorating so getting them to let you do all of it wouldn't be that much of a stretch. Just make sure the person you speak with at the reception location actually has the authority to allow you to do this. I don't know if you usually work from home or a small studio but don't forget the reception location will have more pans, larger ovens and better facilities overall and it won't take nearly as much time doing the baking there than it would at home. Just remember that once you arrive you'll need to go shopping for all your grocery supplies, or better yet, have someone get everything you'll need prior to you arriving, so you can just grab and go. 2) If you absolutely MUST ship the unfinished cakes, I'd go with the same timeline you planned but do it a little differently. I'd freeze the baked cakes, wrap tight in plastic wrap, then slip the cakes right back into their own pans for protection. Don't forget frozen cake shrinks so they will fit back in there. Then wrap the cakes, pan and all, in foil. Box them up in a double packed box (cakes + dry ice in box, that box inside another box with packing peanuts between the 2 boxes). And leave instructions for the person receiving them that the ENTIRE BOX is to go into their deep freeze unopened. If they open them and put them in the cooler the cakes will expand making them hard to get out of the pans, plus they'll absorb odors as well. And they'll be thawing and losing condensation inside the pans and will end up soggy, so it's better to leave them frozen until you can take them out of the pans. You'll have plenty of time on Thursday and Friday while decorating for those cakes to thaw. Just remember to bring an extra suitcase with you so you've got a way to get all of your pans home. Hope that helps..... enjoy the wedding and let us know how it goes.

The problem is that you used sicky rice......try sticky rice next time. Har har Ok, sorry. As for coconut milk, see if your grocer has any in cartons in the refridgerator section. IMO it is far superior in flavour than anything you'll find in a can. Can't help with the steaming the rice in cheesecloth....I never heard of doing it that way.

I never could make heads or tails of her formulas regarding baking soda, probably because the concept just doesn't make logical sense to me so I've been rejecting the idea! I suspect though, that it does have something to do with using larger mixers and the fact that they're harder on the batter and require it be mixed a little longer. I still only have small mixers so whenever I need a lot of a particular recipe I just end up doing it in batches. So sorry I'm no help.....

I think jelly is different than jam. Jam is made with fruit cooked with the sugar to the setting point; jelly is fruit cooked then strained, and the remaining juice is then cooked with the sugar. I've done some preserving in the past but haven't done too much in recent years. Usually I find a lot of jams too sweet, and I've never found an answer as to whether I can reduce the sugar content significantly and still get good results without adjusting anything else. Does anyone know? Every year I do make apple butter and apple paste though, and this year I'd like to try other fruit pastes if I get time. I've never actually made a marmalade but I do have a ton of recipes for them.... apple & ginger, ginger & orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, cumquat, orange & lemon & grapefruit, pineapple & lime & grapefruit..... (don't now if these recipes are any good or not though.... )

It has something to do with the bacteria, or rather the toxins the bacteria secrete, being able to fester in an oily environment. Something acidic like acetic acid or citric acid added helps prevent this, but I believe even then the garlic and oil should be kept refridgerated.

Harold McGee debunked this years ago. ← Uh-oh. See I always sear my meats for stews and such and I really do think there is something to this one. If you roll cubed beef in flour then sear it before adding liquids and stewing, it does seem to turn out a lot more tender than if you just added the raw meat to liquids and started boiling. I get that you all disagree with this one, so what am I missing? 2 myths to add..... washing mushrooms causes them to absorb water and taste funny (wrong) and washing strawberries causes them to start weeping (also wrong). I think both of those were started by people with an aversion to washing stuff. Edited to add: oops never mind about the searing meat thing...I just read johnsmith's link.

I'm not familiar with the story but I'd strongly suspect the "embarrassed titters" by fans were out of sympathy for their beloved author, rather than an acknowledgement of guilt. What a thing to say about your kid.... To be perfectly honest, I supposed the cookbooks I've left on the shelf after making a few of the recipes are the ones where the recipes turned out to be mediocre or uninspired. If I want to make mediocre and uninspired food I definitely don't need a cookbook's help.

You know, I don't know if FTV up here is even affiliated with FTV is the states or not. Somehow I doubt it or we wouldn't be producing our own shows.... I know it's Alliance Atlantis but I always though they were canucks? Regardless, they're producing shows for us that aren't appearing in the states, and US shows are showing up on FTV canada as filler. I say we take control of the situation as a group as there is greater strength in numbers. I know FTV in the US said their demographic was 15 year old boys, but Christine Cushing is our darling of FTV for a reason and clearly cleavage or bubbleheadedness has nothing to do with it. The woman knows her stuff and that's why people watch. Could it possibly be that FTV Canada viewers are actually watching for the content!? We've got a few of our own terrific shows.... everything CC does.... Cook like a chef, Opening Soon, Made to Order, Feenie.... and have any of you been watching Kitchen Equipped? That's good TV. Plus we used to have that terrific Great Canadian Food Show ( LOVED it and I have the book, thank you very much....) Maybe FTV is just looking for suggestions about the sort of stuff we'd like to watch? I've got tons of ideas....how about you?? Shall we discuss them as a group then request them as a group as well?

Well now that I know about it I'll be signing up.

That's not to stop you from helping or they're not worried you'll be poisoning anyone...it's just because a lot of people don't know that much about food safety or proper food handling. Someone who has been homeless and had very poor nutrition for a while can have a compromised immune system, so skipping a meal or 2 or 3 is sometimes safer than consuming compromised food.

This is a wonderful start and I applaud your choice to make a difference. I do worry, though, that in a very short time you may start feeling overwhelmed, especially now as you are dealing with your illness. Please just take care of yourself first. I often am involved in local oganizations like food banks and soup kitchens, and yes the need is always there. We usually have an easy time helping someone out who does have a home, but the homeless of course are a totally different story because they're always moving, and because anything you do leave them with can often be stolen by someone else. For the Julia bags, try to eliminate those potato chips because they're really not very nutritious and are costly.... try to replace them with veggies or grains. If you want to do the work, you can take several different types of cereals that are inexpensive, cheaper dried fruits like raisins, peanut butter or yogurt chips, nuts and seeds, and make them up into a rice crispie square type of thing. Nutritious and a little sweet.... folks do eat them and can carry them around for a few days too. Try shopping in the bulk store for tht stuff. I'm not sure what the social services are like in your city, but in Hamilton Ontario there's actually a church group with a small truck that goes out 3 times per day and stops in 3 set locations to give out hot meals to the homeless. (soup & sandwiches sort of thing, coffee/toast in the morning, + basic toiletries if anyone needs them.) See if there is anything like that in your area already.....because what you're doing is great but there is strength in numbers, and maybe the $$$ is already there for this type of service and all they need is volunteers. Anyways, best of luck to you, and get well soon.

Yikes, I too have made these things while working at a summer time Sub Shop.. I wouldnt eat tuna salad if you paid me.. ← Why, what's in tuna salad? I understand what could possibly end up in chicken salad because that's hand picked chicken, but the tuna comes from a can. What else do they put in there?

I think maybe something like this is what you'll be looking for when you're ready. I have one that I use at home for guests....very comfy! Oh I get it, believe me! I won't go tent camping without a big group of people because I'm so scared of bears. An RV would just make it so much more relaxing.

Wahhhhh!!!! I miss camping. I've got nobody to go with......boo hoo hoo. I think an eG'ers' group trip is a smashing idea, but I don't have an RV. I do, however, have a barbecue at my disposal, so I think some baked brie is in order. How come so many people have stated they can't handle sleeping in tents any more?? Don't you have air matresses?

Happy Birthday. I don't understand.... they said tone it down and you agreed just like that? Isn't this the place where you just started recently and have been getting things back on track? Is this the same GM who had everything going to hell before? If so, maybe you should remind them that you're the pastry chef, not them. Although it's true you're not the boss and tey get the final word, I would t least expect a little dialogue back and forth before things are changed so easily. I thought your work looked great when you showed it to us before...is it not selling? In what way are people intimidated by it?? Are the descriptions of each pastry not clear enough for people, or are they just timid to try new things? Are they (the bosses) looking for tamer flavour combinations, or just want things to have a different look?

It'll be fine, just use what you already have. Because the cake won't have the edge make sure you crumbcoat a chilled cake then chill again before decorating.

Having worked in film and television production is my previous life, I can assure you cooking shows can be done for peanuts, and most are. Generally (or at least a little over a decade ago) specialty channels in Canada would pay about $25000 for a completed 1/2 hour show (home decor, gardening shows, anything) ....so any production company would have to assume they could only sell a show to one network, and would have to see a profit if they did...well, you do the math. Maybe one day if I ever get fed up with pastry I'll go back to production and do some good cooking shows without porn music and flashy zooms......

Seeing as it only costs about $5-$10000 to produce one of these episodes before they pay the talent, I doubt FTV actually pays another $90000 to the chef. Not in Canada, anyways.

"Sammiches."

We have puffins in Canada but I'm pretty sure they're a protected species. You'd have to order them from Iceland if they're even available. Buuuut, I think you should remind your boyfriend that it's just weird to eat black & white animals.... killer whales, penguins, puffins, zebras, pandas, skunks..... notice nobody eats these things?

I agree that taste is absolutely everything. There's no point doing it if it's going to end up tasting mediocre. A close second would be the way textures work together and complement one another in any given pastry. As for being told your work looks too perfect, well, I'm in the same camp, and I say screw other people and what they think. Think of someone's motivation when that's a complaint. There's nothing wrong with doing the very best you can do, all the time. I'm not dumbing down my work for anybody.

I missed that....is there a link? I agree that you should charge your regular prices, even when just starting out, even with family and friends. Otherwise, you'll be conditioning them into believing your chocolates are only worth $X, and these people will be the beginning of your word of mouth advertising. NOT good! If you want them to sample more, let them pay full price for what they order or choose to buy, then throw in extras later on.