John DePaula

Well, I processed my chocolate sorbet this morning and the result was wonderful. Can't believe how smooth and creamy it is. Very rich, a little goes a long way. It was soft serve, though thick enough. I'll see how it is tomorrow. Next time, I'd process it longer in my machine. The recipe says it makes 1 Quart / 1 Liter; I got pretty close to that at 3-1/2 cups. I think it'd be interesting to do a flight of frozen chocolate treats to compare the differences: 1) Chocolate Sorbet (p120) 2) Chocolate Ice Cream, French (egg custard) Style (p26) 3) Chocolate Ice Cream, Philadelphia (milk & cream but not eggs) Style (p28) Of course, using the same cocoa and bittersweet chocolate. For me, I don't miss the added richness of cream and eggs but I'd like to taste side by side to see. Happy churning!

I'm thinking of trying the salted butter caramel recipe rom the book that Lebovitz has on his blog: http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2007...d_butter_c.html]click ← Ahh, yes, that is one I'm really looking forward to trying.

Absolutely. He specifically mentions the Kitchen Aid cannister as a good option if you don't want want a big bulky unit. The recipes will work with just about any ice cream maker. ETA: From his web site: Meet Your Maker: Ice Cream Machines

Went to Vancouver this weekend past and wanted to post some thoughts. Kirin (Richmond) : Enjoyed the dim sum, however it wasn’t the transcendent experience one would hope for. I don’t know a lot about dim sum, so I asked our server for recommendations. His response was to rapidly flip through the menu and point to the different section headings. These are fried, these are steamed… yada yada… not very helpful. Asked for water, and then had to ask again 15 minutes later. The BBQ pork buns were tasty and I don’t usually enjoy that kind of thing. Nothing else was really very memorable. Barbara Jo’s Books for Cooks: Excellent bookshop with some titles you are unlikely to find at an American bookseller e.g. Pierre Herme’s PH10 and Frederick Bau’s Au Coeur des Saveurs. Also, I scored a nice little dimsum guide for $10 which would have been enormously useful at Kirin. Chocolate Arts: Nice shop and I thought the chocolates were good. Esp. liked the Italian Espresso one. Lemon basil was good too, but had a sharp edge which I suspect was from lemon extract or bottled oils used for flavoring. Chocoatl: One of us got the hot chocolate (Sao Tome). I had a flan and thought it was almost too delicious for words. Excellent. Also, I tried a chocolate or two. I thought the Tequila decorated with lime zest was outstanding; nicely balanced and deep rich chocolate flavor. Far and away the best of the ones we tried. Senses Bakery: Well what a disappointment! And embarrassing after I dragged my friends there early in the morning only to discover that the W. Georgia location is closed for remodel. You would think a note to that effect, somewhere on their website would be in order. Preferably on the splash page. Gourmet Warehouse: Great place to find some specialty cookware and gourmet items. I scored some gold leaf for decorating chocolates and a few other miscellaneous items. Chambar Belgian Restaurant: I had the venison. Good but I probably wouldn’t order it again. Friends had Moules & Frites. Very good, very rich with LOTS of mussels. Beautiful atmosphere and views of the city. Banana Leaf Malaysian: I had high hopes for this one but like Kirin, our server seemed rushed and uninterested in helping us choose. We ordered the Roti Canai for appetizer, Rendang Beef, and Gulai Prawns for mains. The Rendang Beef came first. I didn’t have any of that but my dining companion said that it was a little bland. About midway through his main, the appetizer arrived: a crumpled heap of Roti Canai looking a bit like leftover scraps. It was, nonetheless, quite delicious. My prawns still hadn’t arrived when my friend had already finished his beef so I went to the checkout counter to ask since I couldn’t flag down our waiter. It arrived instantly. Like the beef, it was a bit bland. I guess you just have to know what to order here. Robson Street: Had wanted to do some shopping on Robson but the whole street is being resurfaced. What luck! The clouds of smoking asphalt really weren’t very conducive to any high end shopping, so that ended quickly. Granville Island Public Market: Fantastic array of produce and specialty foods shops. Beautiful vegetables, meats, cheeses, pastries and breads, etc. What a lovely farmers’ market kind of atmosphere. I’d be a regular here if I lived in Vancouver. Loved the architecture in Vancouver, too. People are very nice, and I bet it’s a great place to live. P.S. Would have loved to try Vij, “C”, Rare, etc. but just not enough time…

I'd certainly recommend staying away from the compounds because they're so artificial tasting and the texture is somewhat disgusting as well. Try using some all natural fruit purees such as Boiron Freres which only have a little sugar added (5-10%) and I believe they're available worldwide.

I just got my copy of David Lebovitz’ The Perfect Scoop and I’m very excited. Time to have a break from making truffles and take this book out for a spin. Anyone else want to play? There are some wonderful ideas here and the recipes look great. There are some cutting edge combinations here e.g. Pear-Pecorino Ice Cream that I’m very much looking forward to trying. But today, I thought I’d start out with something simple yet sublime: How about Chocolate Sorbet (p120). The recipe is very very easy. For my cocoa powder I chose Valrhona and Valrhona again for the bittersweet chocolate – Guanaja 70%. The mixture cooking on the stovetop is quite heady and aromatic. Right now, I’m cooling the mixture (I should be vanner-ing …) and tomorrow I’ll process it in my new Whynter ice cream maker. I’ll let you all know how it turns out and hope that others will join in trying other recipes or variations.

I just can't believe that they're offering this book for such a low price. I took a look at it in Vancouver this weekend and they were selling it for something like $200 (Canadian). I'd say it WAY worth the amazon price. My copy is on it's merry way! Thanks, Alana!

I would start with a Pâte Sucrée with the addition of some nice crunchy Fleur de sel. Sounds great!

Definitely checkout the thread that Felice has suggested. I graduated in 2004, so with that said… You will certainly get a top level education at Ferrandi – they are the best. To answer your questions briefly: you will learn to make cakes in the French style. I can’t think of anything that we made that was particularly American. But that’s good, right? You’re going to learn the basics of French pastry making: feuilletage (puff pastry), pâtes (foncer, brisée, sablée, brioche, choux), génoise, dacquoise, jaconde, financier, cakes (ok, these are sort of like American pound cakes), macarons, pain d’épices, crème pâtissière (and all the variations), all sorts of tarts and gateaux, etc. We also did Bread Baking once a week and a Cuisine class every other week. You will have guest chefs come in from time to time. The Pierre Hermé visit was especially memorable. It was a wonderful experience, all in all. As I said in the other thread, applying yourself will definitely pay off. Several folks in my class wanted to go in early and/or stay late to work on projects and they were accommodated. Your mileage may vary. How expensive is Paris? That’s difficult to answer. I’d say it’s not cheap but it really depends on you. Most folks in our class didn’t have roommates but I’d suggest that you look into it as a way to reduce your apartment cost. I wanted to be within walking distance of the school but could have found a less expensive place further out. Any other valuable information? Always have exact change. In France, you’re practically a god when you have exact change. I recommend checking out David Lebovitz’ witty informative web site for insights about living in Paris.

There's some good info here: What is "g" pectin? especially if you're looking to reduce the amount of sugar in your Pates.

Take a look at David Lebovitz' article: Should You Go To Culinary School? As usual, good information presented in an entertaining way.

I certainly don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade but please please please slow down and consider carefully. Alana has given you some very sage advice. If the class after the next term starts in January, well what’s wrong with that? Volunteer to work someplace, for free!, for 3 months minimum before jumping into culinary school (and enormous debt) e.g. a pastry kitchen. You will learn so much on the job; not the least of which, “Is this really for me?” LCB has a wonderful reputation in America, but is that reputation really deserved? After reading Julia Child’s book, My Life in France, I begin to wonder. Frankly, it bothers me a bit that the chef took 45 minutes of his time away from his class to court a potential new student. What about the people who already paid for his time? LCB may indeed be the place for you but it’ll still be there in January.

I like this idea as I share your concern about the plastics.

actually, now that you ask, I'm not certain that I've reused them though I think they would be...

I like to use those plastic roasting bags, cut to size.

Alana, I believe that JPW said that he does freeze chocolates, at least at home to save for guests. I know it's a common practice in France, using the methods already described by others' posts.

I would just add the following: if your chocolate is too thick it's probably just too cold; however, it can also be that your working environment is too humid or you're not stirring enough. time + temperature + movement = temper If you have everything else correct and your chocolate is still thicker than you like, you can adjust the viscosity by adding a small amount of cocoa butter, melted but cooled to your working temperature. Actually, I like to add the cocoa butter at the start but that may take more experience to know how much, etc. Do note what Alana and Kerry and Tammy have recommended already. Remember: Making Chocolate Makes Fun!

First of all, you don't want your cocoa butter to be too hot: Probably around 31ºC ± 1ºC. Secondly, when you put your next layer of chocolate, you want to be sure it's tempered and at the upper end of the working range. If it's too cold, you might get some sticking. I'm sure I don't have to say this, but after you've chilled the molds, be sure that they've come to room temp before adding any chocolate; otherwise, condensation can really mess you up. Take a moment to review: Chocolates with that showroom finish

This is a wonderful book. Topic title says it all: 'Steller; Must Have." I sat down this week to make up a "short list" of items that I'd like to make in the near future and I've got a group of 40. Yikes, I may have to pace myself!

You might want to checkout this thread: What is "g" pectin? You might be able to reduce the amount of sugar by using the Pomona's pectin but I don't see how you're going to get around using some kind of pectin. Check with a local pastry shop; they may be willing to sell you a quantity.

It means, simply, that you don't add water prior to heating up the sugar. You just melt the sugar in the pot "dry," stirring constantly to avoid scorching.

Thanks, Alana. That's what I was guesstimating. I will try to get ones thicker than 1mm. ← I got my stencils yesterday. I bought two kinds: 1mm squares and 2.5mm circles. The latter is exactly what we used at school, though the mat is larger i.e. more cavities. Can't wait to try them out.

Ditto. I might just add that those clear plastic roasting bags, cut to size, work great as a liner, too.

Thanks, gap. I didn't see a source either, but I'll keep looking.

Thanks, Alana. That's what I was guesstimating. I will try to get ones thicker than 1mm.