John DePaula

I should clarify that: a) This is not Jacques' recipe, though we are trying to replicate the flavor & texture b) I thought the last attempt was too much mango and not enough passion-fruit flavor. For me at least, I thought the passion-fruit flavor really overwhelmed the mango. The mango seemed to play the role of vanilla i.e. more of a subtle note to mellow and round-out the sharpness of the passion-fruit.

Possibly at a health food store? It will specify 'beet sugar.' Or, you could just go to France and buy some!

Kerry and I have been talking about reproducing a caramel recipe. In the original, beet sugar was used. Here in the U.S. (and perhaps Canada, too) one usually finds cane sugar. Unless it says so on the package, it can be either. My question is this: Does the type of sugar (white granulated cane or beet sugar) make a difference in the production of caramel? If so, can you change cooking time, amount of glucose, amount of butter, etc. to compensate so that you achieve the same texture, color, mouth-feel. I did a quick Google search and came up with lots of articles that say there’s no difference; however, there were some who claim they’ve tested both and there is, in fact, a difference. What is your experience? For your edification: Sugar! - Post by KarenS Crystal Unclear by Dave Scantland aka Dave the Cook

Everything is good at Toro Bravo - really! I especially enjoyed the House Smoked Coppa Steak, Crab & Pork Croquettes, Paella Toro and Olive Oil Cake with rhubarb sauce. More about Toro Bravo on the PortlandFood.org site here.

Ahhhhhh! Congrats, Kerry! I know that you'll enjoy having it!

Clever! I'm dying to try a new recipe, but I've still got three containers in the freezer. There IS a limit to how much ice cream a single woman needs in her freezer at any given time. This brings up something I've been wondering about anyway – how long do homemade ice creams keep fresh? ← That’s a good question and I’m not exactly sure of the right answer. I think that because these recipes don’t use any stabilizers, they’re meant to be eaten fairly quickly. Surely they’ll last several weeks; however, the texture may degrade over time becoming more grainy. Loved that scene in the Albert Brooks / Debbie Reynolds movie Mother when she offers her son some ice cream and he complains that it has gone bad. No it’s still good under the protective covering of ice, she replies. Too funny!

I think it depends on the class. Certainly, knowing how to temper chocolate would be helpful. Or at least having tried it a few times before. Knowing the problems you can run into with filling the cavities of molded chocolates. Bring a list of questions that you want answered. That'll go a long way to making the class valuable to you. For me, the highlight was meeting some of my fellow eGulleters. I just wish we lived closer to each other!

Canned confit is generally better than the ones you buy from butchers. It is a preserve, so it improves with age, and you get a chance to have true mulard parts instead of leftover muscovy legs drowned in fat with the bones sticking out as you buy them. Not to mention that cans and jars contain confit jelly, which you do not get with butcher-bought legs. Most Southwestern brands are good. I like Spanghero and Delpeyrat. ← Sorry if I was not clear; the confit I like is not canned but vacuum packed and found way in the back of GL. The canned stuff I used to buy at the Produits de l'Auvergne was OK but not as good as the vacuum-packed ones to which I add the sausages, Tarbais beans, tomatoes, garlic, etc. ← I am curious, how do you cook the canned/jarred duck confit? I've always seen them in the stores but never taken the leap. Since I am renting an apartment in Paris in early July I figure I might give it a try. And grab a good bottle of red Burgundy of course! Cheers! ← It's basically already cooked. You just have to remove most of the fat and crisp it in the oven, or as John Talbott said, you can cook it up in a cassoulet. And by all means, save that fat and make some Pommes Sarladaise! Mmmmm.

Well I knew I had to do something about the ever increasing variety of containers in my freezer. Since today was Sunday, I thought why not have an old-fashioned Ice Cream Sundae Social. I served the following: Ice Creams & Sorbets Roasted Banana Ice Cream French Vanilla Ice Cream Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream (made with home grown Fraise des bois berries) Chocolate Coconut Sorbet Toppings Classic Hot Fudge (made with Valrhona Guanaja – simply wonderful) Candied Sour Cherries Fresh Fraise des bois berries (tiny wild strawberries from my garden) Ripe Bananas Toasted Almond Slivers (slivered almonds with Kirschwasser and a little sugar, toasted) Whipped Cream 70% Dark Chocolate Chips What a wonderful evening; we were all kids again enjoying our hot fudge sundaes! (One nice thing about this type of party: you can do everything ahead of time and just enjoy your guests when they arrive.)

Curious about your status on this, Abra. Have you further narrowed the field? P.S. Can I stow away in your suitcase?

Lamb Backstrap is also know as 'eye of loin.'

Ditto. They both have some wonderful shots - very good composition and great use of depth of field and color. I just happen to have Patrick_S' flickr page bookmarked here. Also, checkout David Lebovitz' flickr page here. (He has lots of sets; I just chose the Paris Sweets page as an example). Another one I like is ulterior epicure, another eGulleter. You can checkout his pix here.

How about a mole?

I agree. There appears to be 2 distinct camps regarding cleanliness. I must admit that it has never even occurred to me to ask to touch the fish. Really? But I can definitely say that that would be the last time I shopped at a place where they let the customers finger the fish. And sharonb, do they really let you do this in Paris? I don't think so; at least, not the last time I lived there. In fact, they usually get very Very VERY upset if you touch the fruit in the shops. So, I'd say it's not completely nonsensical...

Wow, Lisa, that all looks wonderful! Someone has been busy! Great pix.

What Kerry is saying is that your chocolate needs to be on the warmer side, but still in temper, to get the transfer to stick to it.

Sadly, I could only ever aspire to do such fine pastry work. This particular one was prepared by my pastry chef/instructor Didier Averty. He works with amazing speed and precision. He did all of this free-hand. For years, he was the guy who did all the chocolate lettering at Dalloyau, so there you go...

Ditto! I get plenty of germs without TRYING, thank you very much!

That's a great idea. I will give that a try... that is, once my stock of ice cream dwindles down a bit!

De rien! And I can't wait to see the results! One note, you probably already know but be careful not to go too deep when you score the puff pastry; otherwise it will split and not be so attractive.

I tried the Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream last night. Very tasty. No problems with it firming up, though I do agree I'd like a little more tart action going on there. Maybe different brands of sour cream yield different results?

I love pithiviers and do make them from time to time. I use Jacques Torres' recipe here with the exception that I make my own puff pastry. I think they're very good and, as Jacques says, they're great for a potluck as you can make, freeze, then bake once you get to your party.

Those little frais de bois are going to make some fabulous ice cream. By the way - my copy arrived last week, I have it beside my bed and I'm starting through it. So far the recipes calling out most to me are malted milk and Guinness Milk Chocolate. ← Oh, those do sound good, Kerry. I keep thinking that I'll make this one or that one next but then I see beautiful avocados at the grocery store, or the berries ripen, whatever... it's all good! Let us know how those two turn out. I think that David says that the malted milk one is his favorite and I really want to try the Guinness one too if I can smuggle some Guinness out of a bar rather than using the dreck that comes out of the cans...

OK, now I have a bumper crop of very fragrant (and very tiny) strawberries. These little guys took forever to pick; they're only about 1/2" in diameter, at best, but especially tasty and aromatic. So I will try David's Strawberry-Sour Cream Ice Cream (p90). My berries are macerating right now and I'll freeze tonight. I'll let ya know... By the way, the Rhubarb Sorbet is especially tasty with the French Vanilla Ice Cream. Sorta like Raspberries and Cream, but with Rhubarb.

Argh! It pains me that I'm only reading your post now, on Memorial Day!!!! I fear you're already back in Austin, and I hope you had a wonderful visit. There are some restaurants that I would have so recommended. We likely passed by each other at the farmers' market, and perhaps even at other times. ← I'd be interested in hearing about your recommendations. I really enjoyed Mosaic before they closed. Anything opened to take the place? What else would you recommend? Thanks.