John DePaula

Lior, I think he slices them VERY thin with a mandolin, coats with lime juice, and dries in a slow oven (very low heat) until crisp/dry. (I think you may need to put something on top of them while they dry so that they remain flat.) Then coat with chocolate. Very elegant and tasty, too!

How about this: thin slices of dried-fruit dipped in dark chocolate e.g. Michael Recchiuti . You could even make it more interesting by using some local fruits.

Since shelf-life of filled chocolates could be an issue... What about a stack of colorfully wrapped chocolate bars e.g. Pralus ?

According to Damien Allsop's web site, Damien Allsop Product Information he can get between 1 and 6 months, depending on the product.

This discussion started on the TX garden thread but thought I'd post it here also since it is appropriate. Recipe for my Eggplant Parmesan (Oven-style) I finally added to Recipe Gullet. ← Fifi, I couldn't find it, my patience wore out -- Corrected link for Eggplant Parmesan (Oven-style)

I recently visited Vancouver and had an opportunity to dine at Guu on Thurlow. Wow, that was a nice meal! Unfortunately I didn't take notes right away but I do remember that everything I had was delicious: croquettes, pea shoots, oyster gratin, etc. Service was professional and prompt. Sit far from the bar if you prefer a quieter experience. Highly Recommended

My updates inline below: This weekend, I had the opportunity to visit the Patisserie of Thomas Haas in N. Vancouver. It’s so refreshing to visit a pastry shop where they really know what they’re doing. I had a Rhubarb and Quark Danish and a friend had the Apple Galette. Both were fresh, beautiful and delicious. Everything in the case was beautiful, and surprisingly this is often not true at patisseries I’ve visited around the world. I purchased a variety of items to take with me. Here are my impressions: Miscellaneous Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies: good, buttery, not overly sweet, fresh nuts Sparkle Cookies: very good and chocolaty; softer than expected but good; rich Dark Bark Bites: dark chocolate with dried fruits and nuts; ok; not a fave. Chocolates Green Cardamom w/ Whiskey and Almonds: Wow; Superb! Cardamom not overly strong Merlot: Did not like this one – perhaps just not to my taste or perhaps a shelf-life problem Cassis: Not my favorite but was ok Caramel Pecan w/ Fleur de sel: Wow; Superb! The rich dark chocolate ganache pairs so well with the pecan – my favorite one so far. Marc de Champagne: Very very good ; delicious ; the very soft milk chocolate ganache works well with the brandy Cognac: Good; mild (but I preferred "omph" of the Marc de Champagne) Exotic: Very good Caramel w/ Fleur de sel: Good Palet au Café: verrry mild coffee flavor... So often in this business, it seems more like a case of ‘The Emperor Has No Clothes.’ In other words, the marketing is really good, the packaging exceptionally pretty, whatever, but the product just isn’t much to speak of. In the case of Thomas Haas, the accolades are justified. His products would be right at home on Boulevard St. Germain in Paris. Highly Recommended Thomas Haas (WEB) Unit 128, 998 Harbourside Drive, North Vancouver, BC, V7P 3T2 (MAP) Phone: 604-924-1847 Fax: 604-904-7479 Opening Hours: Tuesday - Saturday: 8am-5:30pm Sunday & Monday: Closed DISCLAIMER: I do not know Thomas Haas and do not have any personal or professional connection to him. ←

I think you are right B in this recipe is brix although the traditional brix symbol would normally be Bxº. Symbol for Baume is Bº or Beº ← Thanks, Kerry!

Ok, I admit that I don't do a lot of ice creams, sorbets and granités so please help to educate me. I would have assumed that the 'B' in gfron1's original recipe was Brix, not Baumé. (I also thought that Baumé was deprecated and now, modern recipes use Brix.) I know* that for a sorbet, a good range for brix is ~28 - 31º Brix. And for a granité, around 18º Brix. So for his original question, perhaps take a 30º Brix syrup, add some lemon (or lime) juice to taste, then add water until you reach 18º Brix, chill and spin. Agree, disagree? *since I had to look it up when I made Quince Sorbet this weekend (from quinces in my back yard , but I digress...)

To convert between degrees BRIX and Baumé units: Baumé = 0.55 x Brix Brix = Baumé / 0.55

Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking. Thanks for the link.

To get two different colors in the bar, simply fill two pastry bags with different chocolates and pipe them simultaneously. I'm not sure, but there might even be special two-compartment pastry bags you could buy for the task.

It's chocolate caramel.

Look for something called 'Bakers Sugar,' though you should be ok with regular granulated sugar as well.

I made the invert sugar recipe tonight - it turned brown and bubbled when I added the baking soda solution. Is it supposed to turn color? For the citric acid I'm using "Fruit Fresh" - a fruit preservative. Is this OK? I've never heard of "sour salt". ← I may be mistaken but I think Fruit Fresh is ascorbic acid. If you look in the kosher section of the grocery store you should find sour salt. The invert sugar usually ends up a golden colour. ← I made the PDF with the Banyuls, substituting citric acid and water for tartaric acid solution. The taste is great! "...Mix the 75 grams sugar with pectin. Cook together pear puree for 2 minutes. Add the remaining sugar and glucose and cook to 112ºC. Add 250 grams wine and take to 107º C. Add tartaric solution and 10 grams wine. Pour into a 12 X 12 inch frame." Once I added the banyuls to the mixture I had a hard time getting the mixture to combine - it appeared to gel into some lumps. I whisked it unitl it reached 107C, then added the citric acid solution and wine. At this point, it became much more lumpy and I couldn't whisk the lumps out. I used a stick blender and got rid of some lumps, then strained the pdf into my frame. What caused the lumps to form? I was stirring the mixture continuously. Thanks for the help. ← Did you pre-warm the wine? If your mixture falls below a certain point (like by adding a bunch of room-temperature wine), the pectin will begin to set and then you've had it. As cmflick says, the slow-setting pectin may help. There are also some thermo-reversible ones out there.

That reminds me, Lisa: I also had a taste of a Kalamansi drink that was delicious. Regarding Phoenix, I'd think the population density there would be sufficient for a really good pastry shop. Just a matter of getting the right buzz. Handling the high heat, however, that's another story...

This weekend, I had the opportunity to visit the Patisserie of Thomas Haas in N. Vancouver. It’s so refreshing to visit a pastry shop where they really know what they’re doing. I had a Rhubarb and Quark Danish and a friend had the Apple Galette. Both were fresh, beautiful and delicious. Everything in the case was beautiful, and surprisingly this is often not true at patisseries I’ve visited around the world. I purchased a variety of items to take with me. Here are my impressions: Miscellaneous Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies: good, buttery, not overly sweet, fresh nuts Sparkle Cookies: very good and chocolaty; softer than expected but good; rich Dark Bark Bites: dark chocolate with dried fruits and nuts (haven’t tried yet)* Chocolates Green Cardamom w/ Whiskey and Almonds: Wow; Superb! Cardamom not overly strong Merlot: Did not like this one – perhaps just not to my taste or perhaps a shelf-life problem Cassis: Not my favorite but was ok Caramel Pecan w/ Fleur de sel: Wow; Superb! The rich dark chocolate ganache pairs so well with the pecan – my favorite one so far. Marc de Champagne: Very very good ; delicious ; the very soft milk chocolate ganache works well with the brandy Cognac: (not tried yet)* Exotic: (not tried yet)* Caramel w/ Fleur de sel: (not tried yet)* Palet au Café: (not tried yet)* * I can only eat 4 or 5 chocolates at most in 1 day ; will update as I finish the box So often in this business, it seems more like a case of ‘The Emperor Has No Clothes.’ In other words, the marketing is really good, the packaging exceptionally pretty, whatever, but the product just isn’t much to speak of. In the case of Thomas Haas, the accolades are justified. His products would be right at home on Boulevard St. Germain in Paris. Highly Recommended Thomas Haas (WEB) Unit 128, 998 Harbourside Drive, North Vancouver, BC, V7P 3T2 (MAP) Phone: 604-924-1847 Fax: 604-904-7479 Opening Hours: Tuesday - Saturday: 8am-5:30pm Sunday & Monday: Closed DISCLAIMER: I do not know Thomas Haas and do not have any personal or professional connection to him.

You can make chocolate bonbons. Could you say where you got your Tonka bean essence? Tonka beans are problematic in the U.S.

You could start here: Ever sprayed chocolate with paint sprayer? or here: Chocolates with that showroom finish

Yep, here's one: Doughs, Batters, and Meringues (French Professional Pastry Series)

I cannot recommend highly enough the French Professional Pastry Series v1 - 3.

I don't have any of Paul's cookbooks but I do remember using one in the 80s: Louisiana Kitchen - it was very good, as I recall. I'm from Louisiana and I'd recommend his books. Like Emeril, his recipes are good but "involved," that is to say, lots of ingredients. Do not be put off by the "specialty" ingredients. Most items, even if a recipe isn't included in the book, can be found online. Example: Recipe: Chef Paul Prudhomme's Poultry Magic a mixture of salt, paprika, cayenne, onion powder, garlic powder, ground black pepper, dried thyme, dried oregano, rubbed sage, dash cumin.

That sounds like a good work flow, Lior! I like the idea of keeping a melter going to replenish the temperer and, as you say, as a reservoir for chocolate dumped out of the mould.

Yes and yes. Battery operated fan might work well, assuming the cold from the 'fridge doesn't affect the battery.

If your filling does not flow very well, you can pipe in approximately the correct amount; don't worry about it flowing into the corners. Then place some plastic wrap over the mold and push the filling into the corners and crevices. When done, you can refrigerate (or not) and remove the plastic wrap after the mold returns to room temperature.