etalanian

I agree - RTM, especially if it is raining, there is so much to choose from and you can get a lot of great tastes - freshly baked hand-formed soft pretzels, wonderful sandwiches, great breakfasts; definitely capogiro for the best gelato in the region; and El Vez, which is right across the street from Capogiro. My daughter went to a 16th birthday party at El Vez last year and all of the girls really loved it. For a cheesesteak (I know I will hear about this one, but I can't help myself) our favorite place is Jim's Steaks at 4th and South. You can sit upstairs and watch the foot traffic on south Street. And South street is interesting in itself, also. Have a great time! Eileen

I think they look delicious! You can probably trim the meringue overhang with a pair of kitchen scissors if you want to get a less rustic look, but they really look lovely as is. Eileen

There's something called a "greasetrap" that can be obtained from a plumbing supply company. We used one in my bakery and didn't have problems with grease backing up the plumbing. They're not cheap, I think mine cost over a thousand dollars. I don't know how much they are now. Eileen

Angel food cake is a great way to practice beating egg whites and folding ingredients in. And it goes so well with fresh fruit in the summer. (Also, fat free!) Eileen

I ate at the Smoked Joint a couple of months ago. The meat was dry and the service terrible. I wouldn't go there again, even if it moved. I don't know what all of the fuss was about. Eileen

Did she use baking powder? Did she check the expiry on it? Is the oven thermometer old? (It might no longer be accurate.) Eileen

Look at this web page from Chocolate and Zucchini for information and a recipe. Let us know how you fared, please. Eileen

What are the qualities you are looking for in a "really GREAT ricotta cheesecake recipe"? Eileen

Filipe, If you are in Lisboa, are you considering exporting them to the US? Wouldn't that be terribly expensive with the weak dollar and the cost of freight, taxes, etc, not to mention a middle man's markup for distribution? Seems that kind of plate for a pastry shop would be very expensive; suitable only for the most expensive places. Eileen

Which mall? What restaurant? I don't think I have EVER waited 2 hours for any meal. And especially not at a mall. I'm not a mall shopper, but maybe the people go and sign up and then shop during the waiting time. Some people love to shop at the mall, and that might work for them. They wouldn't actually be standing there waiting, and they probably wanted to shop anyway. Eileen edited to add this: Why would anyone want to wait 2 hours to eat? What mall restaurant food could be that good? In that amount of time the parent(s) can whip up a delicious fresh meal, eat, and clean up, then sit and relax with the kids. Doesn't make sense to me. et

I personally prefer to pre-cook the cherries with sugar and cornstarch, making a homemade cherry pie filling, then using an all-butter pie crust (if you make it with a European butter, which has more butterfat than regular butters, you don't need to use shortening) or a lard pie crust made with fresh lard. With a little sugar in the piecrust. Bake the pie on the bottom shelf of your oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then move it to the center of the oven and reduce the temp to 350 and bake until the crust is golden brown. I like to brush the top of the pie with cream and sprinkle it generously with sugar before I bake it. Just my preferences; I'm sure there will be lots more, all different! Mmmmm...I LOVE cherry pie! Eileen

When I had my bakery we offered customers the option to ship chocolate dipped items in a styrofoam shipper pack, with freezer packs inside, by second-day air. It was costly and we charged them what it cost us for the materials. Most people chose to wait until late September when things started cooling down. But I always found that mail order sales decreased, even on non-dipped items, during the summer months. I sold 35% of our mail order product between Thanksgiving and January 6th, and really enjoyed the break in the summer. Some things just aren't meant for the summer. Eileen

Chezkaren, I had a chocolate room in my bakery. It wasn't temp-controlled, it was double insulated and I had an air conditioner in it. It worked fine, and if you are watching dollars during the renovation, this is much less expensive than installing a thermostatically controlled temperature system. We dipped every day, and never had a problem. I also had a cooling cabinet from Hilliard which worked wonderfully. Good luck! Eileen

I just ran across this thread. I read every response, but I did not see where the recipe is from. Did you get this recipe from somewhere overseas, or from a book? Have you seen and/or eaten the cookies? (Are you sure the correct recipe was given to you?) My feeling is that the ingredients are different over here, and that is the main problem. The butter has more butterfat (and less water) overseas. The flour varies considerably, and there is no indication as to what type of flour was used. Sugars are also different. Europeans use more superfine for baking than we do. I am not familiar with their brown sugars, but that might also be different. Try using a butter with higher butterfat. The reason shortening cookies don't spread as much is because shortening contains no water. If that doesn't work, try adding a little more flour, maybe 5-10%. Or try combining flour types; use a 10% cake flour substitution (by weight). What type of flour are you using? Don't add a leavener, but you might add a small amount of cream of tartar (a naturally occurring acid) with the flour. Let us know how this goes. Best, Eileen

I asked for Cotswold cheese and Delice de Borgogne in the cheese department. They carry neither, but someone wrote the names down (even asked the spelling of the Delice to be sure he had it right) and said he would give the information to the cheese manager. He also said someone else that day asked for Cotswold, so he's been paying attention to what people want. I think you just have to let them know you want it. That store may be dealing with particular farms in the area, and maybe the corn at their supplier isn't ready yet. But I'm certain they will have jersey corn and tomatoes. Eileen

I haven't been there in a year or so, but Fairlane's, on Bethlehem Pike in Erdenheim (just outside of Chestnut Hill) always sold great milk shakes, and put the metal container on the table right next to your milk shake glass. Thick and great, made with real ice cream. Hmmm...maybe I should head on back over there sometime. Eileen

Rose Berenbaum has a chart toward the back of her Cake Bible book that details how to change the amount of leavener when changing cake sizes. It has to do with surface tension, and contrary to what common sense might tell us, (if I remember correctly) the larger cakes require a lower ratio of leavener. If you have her book, you might want to check it out. Eileen

This thread is really making me hungry. My faves in order of preference: Cobb - but with blue cheese dressing Wilted Spinach, bacon fat and all Caesar - wellconstructed But I'll eat just about any salad. I could live on salad. Eileen

Janet, IMHO, the butterscotch chips really don't taste like butterscotch...they taste like artificial butterscotch, which is exactly what they are. Rodney, have you tried infusing the cream with ancho chiles for a dark chocolate pots de creme? It's a nice juxtaposition...first you get the creamy, deep chocolate flavor, and then it finishes with a little heat. It's quite good. Eileen

Yikes! Years ago I made a cake covered in fondant and decorated with silver dragees (at the bride's demand, um, I mean, request, even though I tried to talk her out of it.) I wonder how many people died because of that. Eileen PS: I think there is a place in the food world for American buttercream, also. Lots and lots of people like it, and if it's made with butter (and cream, huh, K8? ) I'm not offended. I develop recipes for cookies and desserts, including American buttercream, for consumers. I think it's unrealistic to believe that regular home bakers are going to be willing to make IM/SM/FBC, (and they certainly aren't going to cover a regular, everyday cake with fondant ! I'm just grateful when people are willing to bake from scratch instead of serving BJ's chemical cardboard and plastic cakes.

Next? Maybe they'll take a cue from New York and ban sous vide. Eileen

And lest we be fooled by that fondant-using decorator...I went to grade school with K8Memphis in Indiana (sorry for outing you, Kathy Dear). Ah, it now becomes clear why she would make such a worthy suggestion for the improvement of fondant. I say put bacon fat in everything . Eileen edited by me to correct a typo.

I grew up in Indiana, where a fried egg was ALWAYS fried in bacon fat. So, no, I haven't had one fried in lard, but why would I when frying one in bacon fat is so exquisitely delicious? Yes, we all miss him, but when he did the cake, he was still running Miel. That is a most professional way to do it. I don't think a lot of brides or their moms understand how those cakes get perfectly smooth, and what fondant tastes (and chews) like. Yes, and it sure is fun! Eileen

If I could get fresh lard around here, I would definitely use it in my pies. You are so lucky. Back on thread: I like cake, but without fondant. So there! (You are a real trouble-maker, Mayhaw Man!) Eileen

Paula, Thanks so much for the bread recipe. I will bake it this weekend and let you know how I did. Eileen