John DePaula

This is such an awesome shop! Everything is excellent or better at Génin, but I think that's really with chocolates that he excels. I only bought some the fourth time I went, but it may now as well be my favorite chocolatier (with Chaudun and a few others for specific things). As for the (plain) caramels, I found that they are almost identical as the one they offer with coffee at Le Cinq. There's a thread about destination restaurants: well, this is a destination shop/salon de thé. ← Since Genin supplies about 200 establishments (or he did before the his new shop), I wouldn't be surprised if he makes them for Le Cinq.

17 € ! Wow! May I ask about the quantity (grams)?

This is an emulsifier - possibly a cellulose gum, according to one site that I found.

Wow, I love that description!

He puts them in the cooler to set. His workshop is rather humble considering the masterpieces he does. You can almost tell he was a 'starving artist' for a time! Up until recently, his 'melter' was an old fridge that he rigged with a lightbulb and a fan. He'd put pots of chocolate in there to melt overnight. How funny is that! When we were there we spent a day with him. Wouldn't it be great to do a 3 or 4 day workshop with him... I wonder if he'd do that in his quiet time. Like I said, he seems to really enjoy teaching - and he speaks english. Anyone interested???? I'd be willing to ask... Great excuse to go to Italy! ← Lana, did you take your class with him in Italy?

Yes, it does indeed! By the way, I assume that his workshop must be kept at a fairly cool temperature so that those huge eggs set properly...

Looks like he's placing cello-wrapped "prizes" inside. Thanks for the video!

Here's more information about lactisole on Wiki -> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactisole. Intriguing, but like prairiegirl, I wouldn't use it in my products.

Yes, very nice!

Yep, that's them. I picked up a set of 12 at a garage sale, never been used, and I luv'em.

Thats incorrect. Its used industrially as a bulking item to increase yield or volume. ... ← Yes, yes, of course it is, Sweet Pea. That's its official raison d'etre. And yet, just notice how many times it shows up in products that you can't seem to stop eating... "I'm just sayin'."

Mmmm, that sounds delicious! And like you, I'm crazy about pistachios.

Oh, I'm not criticizing... really. It's just not a "slam-dunk" for me. I think real butter is a good thing. Same for whole fat cheeses. Sugar? Yes, please. As a side note, I have a friend who says that maltodextrin is just something food manufacturers put in their products to make you eat more. I'm rambling now... but I am interested in seeing what you guys come up with in using this product. Cheers.

Hmmm... I dunno. (thinking...) On the one hand, I can see why you might want to create a pate de fruit that was less sweet or a less sugary version of white chocolate, as t. said, but something bothers me about "tricking" my senses into consuming more sugar than I realize. I really enjoy a good PdF but do find them borderline too sweet, so I don't eat very much (which I think is a good thing). If they didn't taste as sweet, I might eat a lot more.

mmm... that sounds good!

Regarding Emeril's Red Beans and Rice recipe, I do think it's a bit too heavy as written. I'd omit the bacon grease (use olive oil instead) and possibly the smoked ham hock, but do not omit the smoked sausage. One other thing I do differently... ok, two... I cook the beans in chicken stock and toward the end of cooking, I add a couple tablespoons of Heinz ketchup (you can use ~1/3c. tomato sauce, if you prefer) to give a rich tomato-y note. Adding a little dried oregano and smoked paprika would not be crazy talk.

One of my favorite bean recipes is from Giada: Cannellini Beans with Herbs and Prosciutto. Also I enjoy Tepary beans from Rancho Gordo using this recipe: Papago Tepary Bean Soup. Very very good also, though a bit more complicated, is Emeril's recipe for Red Beans and Rice.

Holy cow! Did you see how fast he was moving that palette knife...

Here are some ideas, Ruth: Mad Baker's Macaron Set on Flickr has lots of good ideas. Be sure to view both pages. Another on Design is Mine blog. And another at Bliss Wedding Market. And finally, the Laduree macaron boxes. These are from a google images search for 'macaron.' edited to add: It just occurred to me that you could perhaps use a clear acetate collar to wrap around your macarons to keep them in line and nicely stacked. Then slide that whole assembly into your bag. Voila!

I second the recommendation for Tarte Tatin. It's a lot of "bang for the buck" and who can resist caramelized apples and flaky pastry. But you could still do a Sweet Potato Pie without nuts - that's how I usually make it. See here ->Old Fashioned Sweet Potato Pie . It's a simple pie but extraordinarily satisfying.

Maybe you could add some Pandan extract to the pie recipe to make it more interesting?

I think that these may be similar to the recipe for which you are searching: Sospiri e Désirs (Sighs and Desires) See also: Sicilian Pastries from Shop of Maria Grammatico

I am only familiar with the original "regular" weetabix and they're not that sweet.

I tried this caramel and initially I was excited about the prospect of using up remainder ganaches and bonbons. The flavor was pretty good and reminded me of "Tootsie Rolls," a favorite of mine when I was a child. However, after a few days I found that it was not one I wanted to eat again. So... in the end, I decided that they were not fit for sale. An interesting one but perhaps more aligned to the "kid market."

Hi Ruth, I tried this, too, a few weeks ago with the Wybauw "rework" caramels. Seemed to work just fine with my Dedy, though I was uber-nervous while actually cutting. The cuts were very clean and dipping went well. This batch of caramels was a tiny bit firmer than my usual - the tops were slightly rounded but the effect was not unpleasant.