John DePaula

Doesn't sound like it was a stellar experience for you. Shame you were not able to get to Toro Bravo or Sel Gris, or Teardrop on this trip.

Excellent suggestions. If you don't read French, you could search for "cake salé" as Abra suggests and add the English word "oil" to exclude French-only recipes. Here's one I found for Cake aux olives over at Sally's Place. The French really enjoy a Chocolat Moelleux which I'd probably enjoy more if I didn't see it on so many cartes. Lemon Pound Cake a.k.a. 'Le Weekend' might also be popular as a sweet snack/dessert.

To cut, I use a very wide cheese slicer (2-handled 18" across variety) that has been lightly rubbed with cooking spray. It's still sticky but if you're patient, it will usually just fall away by itself, though sometimes I "encourage" it by pushing lightly.

I just returned from a month in France and have given the topic of breakfast quite a bit of thought. I think that breakfast is the meal that most people are less willing to try new / foreign things. A good baguette, possibly sliced and toasted, with butter and jam is probably no. 1 on my list. I’m sure that croissants are 'de rigueur' (required) though I don’t think the French eat them every morning. I was amazed by how often we were served poorly made croissants; yes, even in France. Overproofed, badly shaped, rubbery… we were staying at fairly inexpensive places but still… price point of the hotel seems to have no bearing on the quality of the breakfast. Next, I’d add some good cheese: either for the guest to slice as desired or already sliced. Could probably add some sliced ham to that, as well. After a couple of weeks, I was really missing some yogurt and muesli / granola. A couple of places had that available and I appreciated it. Brits will probably want some eggs, sausage/bacon, toast. And Americans would probably enjoy it from time to time as well. Love the idea of having some scones available; maybe some crumpets, too? Brioche (but not choux). Porridge is nice but if you’re in a hot climate, that might not be as welcome. my 2 cents...

Thanks you so much for the suggestions! I just got an email back from La Tupina and they were already full for the date I wanted; however, an opening at 22h30 was available. That may be a tad late for me.... Perhaps I'll give the sister place a try.

I use two spoons: grab as much as I can with one and twirl it around until it stops threading, then I move over to my bowl and scrape it off using the other spoon. It's pretty quick and doesn't waste very much. I suppose your results could vary depending how warm/cold your work environment is.

Oh, that's ok... some people just like to argue for the sake of arguing. Looks like Kerry and Tammy have already answered more thoroughly (and graciously) than I would have.

Does anyone know if La Tupina takes reservations or if they're needed? Their web site doesn't say. Any other current (and inexpensive) recs for Bordeaux and environs?

At least here in the US, grocery store corn syrup also contains high-fructose corn syrup, which is - as someone mentioned above - sweeter than regular glucose. ← When I bought some corn syrup recently, I specifically checked the ingredients on a couple of them. The store brand (Wal-Mart) did include high fructose corn syrup, but the Karo brand did not list it in the ingredients, just corn syrup, salt and vanilla. So I bought that. When I went to their website just now, though, it does show high fructose corn syrup. So I don't know if they've recently changed their formulation and the bottle was updated but not yet the website, or if they are allowed to not list the high-fructose part on the label. ← As with any recipe, you will probably adjust it to suit your taste. In my opinion, the glucose/corn syrup question is greatly overshadowed by your choice of chocolate (percentage and brand) and cream. I believe that corn syrup will have more water so this will have a detrimental impact on shelf life, if that's important to you. By the way, glucose isn't always neutral in flavor. I got a brand once, don't remember which, that had a pronounced flavor. I was unable to use the pail it was so strong. Found out that it was wheat based rather than corn. Corn is fairly neutral and perfect for making chocolates.

No, you'll need glucose syrup; though you can substitute Corn Syrup more or less 1:1.

A little footnote; apparently two areas are still untouched by the OsHV-1, so it's a strange disease. Forecasters say it'll be a bleak Christmas-New Year's for us. ← From Reuters: Killer Herpes Decimates Young French Oysters

Sounds great! I'll contact you, Sam.

Thanks for suggestions, folks! I found some mini reviews online for a few places in the area: Chez Hortense Avenue du Sémaphore 33970 Lège-Cap-Ferret, France Tél. : 05.56.60.62.56 Le Café de la plage 1, boulevard Veyrier-Montagnères 33120 Arcachon. Tél. : 05.56.22.52.94 Le Patio 10 Boulevard de la Plage 33120 Arcachon, France Tél. : 05.56.83.02.72 Le Bikini 18, allée des Arbousiers 33120 Arcachon. Tél. : 05.56.83.91.36 Chez Hortense sounds esp. good.

In September, I am going to be spending some time in Pyla-sur-Mer, near Arcachon. Do any of you have suggestions, gastronomic or otherwise, to make the most of my time on the Côte Atlantique of France? I have heard that the chickens raised in the Landes area are wonderful. And, of course, the oysters. But are the oysters still safe to eat? I recently saw a report on European Journal: France: Mysterious Plague Kills Oysters. Any recommendations are welcome: restaurants, markets, parks, etc. Thanks in advance!

They no longer carry these...

Not for the (neighborhood) reasons you give, I echo this observation. Just from examples of restaurants in my city that have been featured in national food/restaurant magazines, I'm completely bewildered by their choice. Projected onto other cities, I can only imagine the kind of hit-and-miss recommendations they offer. ← I completely agree.

Congratulations, Janice! BTW, it's been several years but I still remember how much I enjoyed my evening at Quatre Saisons. Very nice, indeed.

Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Hermé on Amazon.com

Hmmm. I need to buy a heat gun. So before I had the melter, when I had to keep re-heating in the microwave to keep temperature, did that do the same thing as using a heat gun as far as keeping the chocolate liquid? The ganache wasn't completely liquidy, but it wouldn't hold its shape if it was touched or handled in any way. It was probably the texture of soft butter. I pre-bottomed with a layer of chocolate and that helped the pieces hold their shape and gave me something to hold onto while I dropped them into the chocolate. ← emmalish, you can also just use the microwave as before. Reheat a small portion and mix it in, and then you don't need a heat gun. In his book, JPW recommends not to use cocoa butter once it's thickened. slight heating is the way to go. Actually, JPW mentions something else- an alternative to the heat gun is to keep on raising the temperature slightly over time, up to 93.5 for dark chocolate. The bottom will be undertempered, the top will be overtempered, and when you mix them it will be perfect. ← And yet, a heat gun (or hair dryer) is an immensely helpful tool in the chocolate maker's arsenal. Yes, adding some already melted chocolate to the thickening batch and/or raising the temperature will work, too.

If whatever you're dipping hasn't set-up, then contamination of the chocolate can be an issue. How did you dip it if the ganache hadn't set up? When dipping, I expect that the chocolate will become thicker and thicker (due to an over abundance of beta crystals) as I work. I always keep a heat gun by the melter to hit the chocolate from time to time to keep it fluid. You just have to be careful not to overheat it and, therefore, move it out of temper. Stir well! Also, if your chocolate hasn't melted after x hours you can just warm the top with your heat gun until it's soft enough to cut up into chunks.

Sounds like it was your temper. Be sure that you stir well, without incorporating bubbles if possible, so that you evenly distribute the beta crystals. Could also be the temperature of your room. If it takes too long to set, the chocolate can actually go out of temper. Unless your overhead projector acetate is marked "food safe" you should NOT use it for anything that will be eaten. (This goes for "cosmetic grade" cocoa butter, too. )

Tammy, The acid is added for the following reasons: to coagulate the pectin improve shelf-life prevent the formation of sugar crystals If you are going to add any extra acid, it must be at the end; otherwise, it may begin to setup before you're ready.

Just lets the surface dry sufficiently that the jellies don't weep. ← So Kerry, what would you do if the jellies started to weep? Could you rinse them, dry and then re-coat with sugar? Also, do you coat with sugar immediately after pouring the PdF into the frame, or do you wait until they're unmolded to sugar them?

I think this is a cake whose origin was Austria. It migrated across Europe and may have come to the U.S. via France. In New Orleans, we called it a 'Dobash' cake and it was made locally famous by Gambino's Bakery. Lemon Doberge and Chocolate Doberge were were popular. Try some alternate spellings to search for recipes: Doberge, Dobash, Dobos, Dobosch.

Wow, that's a beauty!