cindym

Update! I tried the recipe again (http://www.poco-cocoa.com/?postid=188) and made these alterations: -I cooked down the pumpkin for approx 25 mins on medium heat until it was noticeably thicker and more concentrated -Used room temp. butter -Increased brown sugar to 1.25 cups -Decreased flour to 1 3/4 cups The result was definitely less cakey. Still not close to what I would call thin or particularly chewy, but I think we're getting closer. I'll keep experimenting and updating with the results. Another thing I've noticed is that these cookies do not store well - they get limp and sticky after about 15 hours. That may be in part due to the high humidity in our area (right near the ocean in SF) but I suspect the pumpkin is playing a role as well. Thanks for the suggestions.

Along similar lines... I had a wonderful cherry chevre tart a few years ago at Le Pichet in Seattle...it still haunts me. I haven't yet found any recipes similar to this - but it probably wouldn't be difficult to replicate.

So are they chewy and thin, or cakey? You wouldn't be able to share the recipe would you? I too, would love a chewy thin pumpkin cookie. Similar to a Gingersnap, but pumpkiny. Every recipe I have also, is for thick, puffy and cakey. Don't like!!!! ← Chefpeon - Yes, exactly! I would like a more delicate result - less poof, more chew. The Martha recipe definitely sounds intriguing... Chiantiglace - I'll give it a shot and let you know. Do you think the state of the butter (fully melted versus creamed from room temp) could affect the texture as well?

I made a batch of pumpkin/chocolate chip/oatmeal cookies the other night. They were fine, but the result was an extremely puffy, cakey cookie. It struck me that EVERY pumpkin cookie I've made has always turned out this way, no matter which recipe I use. Does anyone know whether there something about pumpkin that produces a "cakey" result in cookies? Is it possible to produce a thin, chewy, elegant pumpkin cookie? By the way, I use canned pumpkin - and this is the recipe I used last time: http://www.poco-cocoa.com/?postid=188 They were good - just a very cakey result.

Ok, that would explain it. What a shame. I have two weeks left in Paris and I wanted to try it; I had heard such good things. Thanks for the update.

The phone number I have for Table de Lucullus doesn't seem to work: 01 40 25 02 68 Does anyone have updated information? I can't seem to find anything. They're still open, I assume?

this is a very helpful topic. i'm going to finish up the ritz escoffier program in paris in december and do a short stage in the hotel kitchen as part of my culinary school program. after that, i would like to secure at least one stage somewhere else in paris. i'm hearing different reports about the feasibility of this; i am not eligible to apply for a carte de sejour according to the visa i was issued in the U.S. before i left, which means i can't work legally here. does this also mean i can't work unpaid in a kitchen? i'm wondering how other americans have gotten around the carte de sejour issue...or do you not need one if it's an unpaid position?

Thanks. This has been very helpful. I will certainly check out some of these places while I am living here.

I'm wondering how many notable female chefs are working in Paris at the moment. I did some light Googling and found Flora Mikula, Helene Darroze, and Caroline Rostang. There must be others that I am missing...can anybody add to my list? Thanks.

This was only a few years ago, I am ashamed to say. I was living in a 1920's era apartment with a tiny, completely unventilated kitchen. I was simmering a leftover chicken and some vegetables in water to make stock. It was Sunday, so I was fielding phone calls, watching a movie and doing laundry at the same time. I accidentally let the stock boil all the way down to the bones, so I just filled the pot up with water and tried again. And again I forgot and let it boil down to nothing. When I finally returned to the kitchen, I was peering into the pot to see what had happened when I felt a drop splash on my head. I looked up, and found that so much stock had evaporated and condensed on my ceiling that it had literally begun to rain chicken broth on my head. The broth was also dripping down all the walls, resembling a horror movie set. Cleanup took a long, long time.