etalanian

Nuts always go up at this time of year; it's a matter of supply and demand. There is a nut company here in the Philadelphia area that I used when I had my bakery. I would suspect you have something like that near you, and you should be able to either get a quick delivery or pick the nuts up directly from them. No help now, but in the future, you might think about buying your nuts before Thanksgiving, when the prices go up for the season. Eileen

I am so happy to read this, because my son will often make or buy pizza dough and then something will come up and he doesn't bake it. Then he goes back to college and I find it a week later in the fridge. I have always just tossed it, assuming it would be no good. Next time I'll make a pizza with it! Thanks so much for passing this along. Eileen

Rice pudding, with dried tart cherries, cinnamon, and some muscovado sugar. Eileen

Actually, if they left the CB under the broiler too long, it wouldn't melt the custard, it would curdle it. A custard will be runny if it's undercooked. Eileen

I love creme brulee. and it is very disappointing when it hasn't been cooked properly. In my mind it should be room temperature, smooth as silk, creamy, and thick enough that it isn't runny but not so thick that your spoon could stand up in it. It sounds to me that they cooked the custard on the stovetop and someone forgot to put it in the oven afterwards. I've had it in restaurants where it is too thick, or curdled, or really runny. I don't understand how a restaurant can serve something that just isn't right. I understand that restaurateurs have the bottom line to consider, but dessert is the last thing most people eat when dining out, so I would think the owners would want someone to leave with a good impression, not a bad one. I try to always let them know when it's not right. Did you tell them? Eileen

What about cupcakes? You can make differently colored frostings to put on two different cake flavors. Everyone loves cupcakes. Eileen

I always used Callebaut in my bakery, and everyone loved it. We dipped baked goods in their D835NV and their 60/40. It has an amazingly smooth texture and a very good flavor. Since I sold my bakery I still buy Callebaut, but I also buy Trader Joe's belgian chocolate - both the semisweet and the bittersweet. The price is excellent, and the quality is the closest I've found to Callebaut. (In fact, it may even be Callebaut for all we know!) But I agree with the previous advice about buying several kinds that you have access to and try them yourself. It's a very personal thing - really depends on your own body chemistry. Good luck! Eileen

I agree - stretching the dough is probably the culprit. When you roll the dough, it's best to start at the center, roll to the end, make a quarter turn of the dough and roll from the center again; repeat as necessary, being sure you have the rolling surface lightly floured just enough to keep the dough from sticking. And roll it out large enough so you have an edge to trim. Dust the top of the rolled dough and brush off all the excess flour, then fold it in half and gently pick it up, and ease it into the pan. But no stretching to make it fit. Chill or freeze, line with oiled foil, weigh with dry beans or rice, and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and weights and continue baking until golden brown. Good luck! Eileen

I looked for it in the Jenkintown Trader Joe's yesterday and couldn't find it. Is it being discontinued? Does anyone have any information about it? Thanks, Eileen

It sounds very much like your oven temperature is off. Ovens can be fine one day and the next ---off enough to ruin whatever you're baking. If you use an oven thermometer you can tell if your oven is off, and you can make an adjustment in the temperature setting to compensate. Eileen

I've stored it successfully in the freezer. Eileen

So how did Sugar Seattle tell you how to know when cheesecakes are done??? Eileen

Maple Acre Farms in Plymouth Meeting has a wide assortment of pumpkins, including a few kinds of blue squash. Eileen

That is absolutely beautiful, John! I find that everything is more delicious with a drizzle of heavy cream! Eileen

I've made cheese pie crusts by just adding shredded cheese to my basic pie crust recipe. You shouldn't have any problem. Eileen

What did you have to eat? Any pics? Eileen

In my humble opinion, any recipe is really dependent on an individual's personal taste. I love chocolate with hot flavorings added, and prefer to have my chocolate flavors for this purpose be bittersweet. I've never made Hepburn's brownies, nor seen the recipe, but would recommend adding a little cocoa powder (and decreasing the flour a bit to balance the wet/dry ingredients) to increase the dark chocolate flavor. I like Ancho chilis for this purpose. You can also get a similar effect with Pasillo peppers. The heat isn't overwhelming, and it sneaks up on you at the end. So you get the richness of the brownie in your mouth, the dark chocolate flavor, and then the warm heat of the chilis in the back of your throat. Quite lovely. Eileen

Sorry, no pics, but tonight I made an apple and fig crisp for a dinner party. Served it with Skyr Icelandic yogurt. Love all of the local apples we have to choose from. Eileen

Coating the marshmallows will greatly extend their shelf life. I've kept chocolate-covered marshmallows for a few weeks with no detriment to the quality. Be sure you keep them away from the sun, heat, and humidity. Eileen

Apple and pear crisp laced with saigon cinnamon served with creme chantilly - it's comforting and seasonal and delicious. Sorry you have to bake for such a sad evdent. Eileen

There's a restaurant called Las Cazuelas on Girards at 5th. It's a BYO and is pretty good. We've had some great dinners and brunches there. Eileen

I'm not quite sure, but I was thinking of a whole bunch of layers apple, dough, apple, dough... I don't want to construct it in the end - I want it baked in final format. ← If your intent is to bake it in the final form, I would recommend the filo layered with sugar (or cinnamon-sugar or sugar/cinn-sugar with finely chopped nuts) between sheets. It helps to keep the layers from getting soggy, and if you pre-cook the apples to reduce the moisture, you should have some success. I'm curious to know what you decide to do, so please report back! And ABRA - WHERE ARE YOU ON THIS SUBJECT WITH ALL OF THOSE DELICIOUS LOCAL SOUTHERN FRENC E APPLES COMING INTO MARKET RIGHT NOW? Eileen

gfron1, are you thinking about something along the lines of a napoleon? Or will it be something that is baked in layers, rather than being constructed of pre-cooked and pre-baked layers? Will you be using puff pastry, or filo, or what? If you are using filo, you can help to keep it crisp with that favorite old technique of sprinkling sugar (or cinnamon-sugar) between the layers of pastry. And pre-cooking the sliced apples on the stovetop would release a lot of the moisture before constructing the layered pastry and baking it. Assembly just before serving helps, also, if you are making a napoleon type of dessert. Eileen

This is a perfect definition, and could apply also to artisan pastry makers with minor vocabulary changes to the text. I would add that artisanal breads and pastries are something a minority appreciate, but that those who do are intensely passionate people. Eileen

I don't think anyone here wants to patronize home cooks. We are all trying to work with our publishers to include weights as well as measurements. But, I must say that most of the people I come across when I teach a class DO NOT own kitchen scales. And these are people who are interested in cooking. I recommend buying a scale when I teach. I love that you have and use a kitchen scale. I wish more people had one. That's a GREAT idea! You've just solved my wedding gift problem for the coming decade! That's really the answer here - publishers will respond to what the public wants, but they need to know the public wants it. Another caveat - publishers preview many of their cookbooks to the buyers at the mega-chains, and what those buyers say has a LOT to do with what gets edited out of/or put into a cookbook. So, my suggestion would be to flood the publishing houses AND the head cookbook buyers at the big chains with letters and emails asking that recipes be given in both volume and weight. I love the Escali Pana scale. It measures in cups and tablespoons, or in ounces and pounds, or grams. I see it as a way to move people into using weight measurements. The conversions were worked out with the diligent help of the King Arthur kitchens. It eliminates the need for conversion tables, which require extra work for people who probably feel pressed for time anyway. See above. And, djyee100 raises a good point. While the eGulleteers would rather weigh their ingredients for accuracy, most home cooks just aren't there yet. Because my book will not have weights in it, I am including a conversion chart on my book web site, as well as a suggestion to buy a scale and a link to the Escali page. Eileen