Lisa Shock

I know people who use liquid nitrogen as part of a medical/scientific company, and they have a lot of protocols for handling the nitrogen, canisters, and receptacles. (and they were making ice cream with it back in the 1960's) I get worried when I see people handling it in kitchen situations without safety gear, and using inappropriate containers for the nitrogen and the super-cooled resulting products. Even really good restaurants occasionally do dumb things (I've seen the youtube videos) with it like dipping 100% metal spoons into a bowl of the liquid while the spoon is being held in a bare hand, or not wearing protective eyegear.

I use the chef rubber colors, and have quite a few of the metallics. I temper before use and they are fine. I was always told to temper them, never to trust them from the bottle. (three instructors) And, was shown how to temper tiny amounts on a table with a palette knife. They are just cocoa butter, and once they get over 88°F they are out of temper. Individual bottles you own may have undergone temperature abuse during shipping or something, if you are wondering because you keep your kitchen cold at all times. I keep mine at home, where the temp is very variable, especially in the Phoenix summers, so I know that mine are out of temper. Maybe the metallic dust affects the crystal formation, requiring the tempering? I really don't know anything except they work for me, and some of my bottles are more than five years old. That said, have you tried asking Chef Rubber?

Are you tempering them prior to use?

I know it's too late, but Asiana at the intersection of Union Hills and 43rd Ave is near the I-17 & 101 intersection. It is in a space that used to be a conventional grocery. The owners are Korean and there is a large amount of Korean food there. They produce Korean baked goods on site, and make several kinds of kimchi. They give a nod to other countries, with aisles devoted to Japan, China & Vietnam, but, the other big attraction, IMO, is the two aisles of foods from India. I have gotten big bags of chargond gum there, and other botanicals that LeeLee simply does not carry. They also carry large household appliances such as full sized stoves, and massive rice cookers.

MaxH, thank you so much for posting this information!

You might also look for a mentor, particularly someone who might allow you to stâge at their place one day a week. You can actually learn a lot of beginner stuff on youtube, if you search around, particularly on the Japan site. I like Itasan, his is very good. But, there are hundreds more out there.I'd also try to learn a bit about Japanese culture, just to help fit in a bit better while learning.

SV garlic with olive oil and salt at what temp. and how long? ← 60F for 6 hours; I also place a few sprigs of thyme in there as well. ← That's a pretty good recipe for culturing botulism, and a big reason why health departments in certain cities are not approving sous-vide equipment in restaurants. You need acidity or higher temperatures or exposure to air to kill the spores. Please note that some temps given in the thread are C not F. 60°F in a vacuum without an acid is botulism's ideal environment.

I've got some business things to attend to tomorrow, but I should be able to edit and post more this weekend. Here are two fun images: Chef Robert Ellinger, CEPC and Ciril Hitz Chef Tracey DeWitt, Team Captain WPF US Nationals 2009 Silver medalist (also one of my pastry school instructors at the Cordon Bleu)

What about Pizza Rustica, the Americanized version of Easter Pie from Sicily and adjoining areas?

Italian buttercream holds up at room temp for a few days because the eggs are cooked while the icing is made. You may, however, have problems if the layers of the cake push the air out of the icing -might cause fondant to bubble. I heard Colette Peters speak of refrigerating cakes covered in fondant with clingfilm wrapped on them tightly. I have not done this myself, so I don't know if there are any other tricks to it.

I have a flat square one and a wok one, which takes less product to 'fill.' I tend to use mine to keep cooked/caramel sugar at a liquid temperature for dipping -very useful for croquembouche. And, to keep the post on topic, I will point out that some people make pate choux with bacon drippings and fill the resulting cream puffs with a savory filling before assembling a croquembouche.

Hey! Get over to the Embassy Suites! Only about 60 people have shown up for the Next Food Network Star audition! Pastry needs more representation! The audition was easy and fun. I was interviewed on camera by one very nice woman, and it was very low pressure. Anyone interested should just get over there, and just smile. BTW, I met another eGulleter there, which was also a great experience!

The garlic must get to 250° for at least 5 minutes to kill the botulism. Boiling water temperatures WILL NOT kill it even after hours at boiling temperatures. Most strains thrive at refrigeration temperatures, so refrigeration after making oil won't retard growth if you didn't kill it while processing. There have been instances of botulism poisoning from garlic oil made from roasted garlic. So, you need to be careful while roasting. Here in Phoenix, it's a violation of the health code to make or serve garlic oil, regardless of how it is handled. The FDA recommends processing the garlic with vinegar from the start, so that you get an acid environment that is hostile to botulism.

The peitra dura is made by taking bits of fondant and coloring them so they are a bit marbled in texture. You take your background color and roll some out a bit thickly on cellophane or wax paper, so it's easy to get off later. Then roll and cut the colored fondant into the desired shapes, but smaller than you want the finished product. Starting with the image basics (the parts you don't mind getting a bit covered by other parts, like stems and leaves) place the colored parts on top of the background, and add little bits and strips of the background color in between. Make sure to finish with the highlight bits, in this picture the flowers were set on last. Roll the fondant, taking care to roll in all driections to keep things straight. You then have a section of fondant that can be used as a feature like a medallion on a cake, or actually cut out and inserted into the fondant on a covered cake.

Is the white rectangle with the raised white and darker coloring in the lower part of the photo the example of the pietra dura effect? That sounds intriguing.... ← That portion of the photo was actually her antiquing effect. You simply create shapes in the fondant, attach to a cake, paint the edges with a combination of lusterdust and alcohol (she uses lemon extract because the oil helps it to adhere just a bit) then go over the top with water to accent the highlights. Peitra dura in the classic sense is an Italian art where stone is inlaid into stone, and designs or scenes are created. They make tabletops in in it as well as flooring. I will post a picture of hers, with tips, later. Rudy van Veen rocks, and someone should sponsor and produce a tv show in English with this insanely talented, fun-loving master chef!

I don't have a lot of time, but I added some more images to my WPF 2009 image folder, I can explain in detail later. Yes, that's Robert Ellinger and Ciril Hitz in a compromising position...

Dimitir Fayard's desserts are: Emotion Chocolate Petit Gateau Chocolat (small entremet) made of: nougatine chocolate biscuit chocolate feulletine suspended in hazelnut cream topped with: milk chocolate mousse (38% chocolate) chocolate discs (dark) and a ball of hazelnut cream dipped in glacage Imagine Interaction Plated Dessert made of: clafouti baked in pate sucre fresh banana slices caramelized banana sorbet caramel orange sauce mint caviar rhubarb chips chocolate deco rectangle The orange-y-red rectangles are the rhubarb which was prepared by slicing with a peeler, candying and dehydrating. (edited for spelling)

Day 2 My first class was Colette Peters demonstrating a number of different cake decorating techniques including: royal icing piping, antiquing, stained glass and Pietra Dura Fondant. She was very informative, not just about technique, but also on the business side of owning a cake business. The highlight of my day was asking her a question: Lisa asked, "Does Duff Goldman call you up to ask for advice very often?" Colette replied, "All the time! I have to tell him that I'm going to start charging him the next time he calls." Chef Peters: My second class was with Chef Dimitri Fayard. He made several items from his gold medal win last year. Here are two images of his desserts:

I have to agree, I am a firm believer in the kitchen scale -especially for baking. That said, even a cook using volume measuring cups and leveling them would be more accurate than 'handfuls' in all of their heaping or not-so heaping, tightfisted glory. Not to mention the fact that most people aren't inclined to grab fistfuls of butter. -And that the butter should be icy cold when cut into the flour, not warm from someone's sweaty palms. Are we pouring buttermilk into our hands, too? We have better tools to measure and mix, and I like to use those tools.

PVC is high in BPA.

Day one for me was Rudolph van Veen & Robèrt van Beckhoven. The class was a performance art experience, art class, poetry reading, as well as being a pastry class. They produced lots of desserts, plated and otherwise in a surreal format. There were also champagne cocktails. Here are some photos, it was difficult to capture the wackiness of this class! My second class was with Stephan Durfee, and covered innovative plated desserts, and how to produce them under pressure in competition. This photo shows Melon Glace Parfait and Quinine Sorbet. These classes were sponsored by Koppert Cress, who allowed us to taste a variety of exciting microgreens and other organic botanicals including teeny tiny watermelons the size of kumquats and Sechuan Buttons. Here are images of the competition arena being set up. The competition is July 6 & 7, and will be filmed by Food Network.

Wow, maybe they did read my email. Of course I also gave a personal injury lawyer buddy of mine a heads-up too...

You talkin' to me?! I'm not coming in for that, although ironically I will be there on Wednesday the 8th just for the day (maybe late on the 7th). I just couldn't afford the classes or time away from my kitchen. ← That's the day that they are having an open cattle-call for the Next Food Network Star at the Embassy Suites at Paradise Valley. It's 10-4, the address is: 4415 East Paradise Village Parkway, Phoenix, 85032. Might be fun to go watch... BTW, if anyone wants to say hi, I have long hair and carry an Anpanman totebag.

Day 0: The classes start tomorrow at 9 am. Students pick up their badges, coats and books today, while instructors and staff set up the classrooms and competition arena. Here are a couple of pictures, just to set the mood:

That's an excellent idea. God knows we all had a copy. And the dry mustard might be just the thing. ← I was thinking that a lot of German potato salad recipes I have seen contain celery seed, and the fresh celery is something not mentioned in the original query. The pickle is also an option, I suspect that adding a pickle will brighten things up considerably.