Lisa Shock

Lisa, do you know the weight of the final dough? About 1kg? Looks like about 855g.

Here in Phoenix, there is one bakery that does gluten free to european standards. They run a $30 test on every bag or jar of commodities (oats, sugar, honey, etc.) that they receive. They built the place from scratch, so there's no residue from the past. They have a special air filtration system. They have a special changing room for employees, all employees wear cleanroom suits while working. Any new equipment gets washed several times before being used for the first time. Their retail area is completely separate, so that nothing crosses over. I am not aware of any restaurant here that follows any similar protocols. Sure, some local pizza places have separate areas for gluten free pie making, but, they don't have separate dishwashing areas or any sort of separate air system. Knowing that even the smallest amounts of gluten permanently destroy the small intestine bit by bit, if I had celiac disease I wouldn't trust restaurants with my life. I'd also move to a newly built house, so that as the first owner, I'd know there wasn't gluten sitting in the air ducts, on the walls, in the carpet, etc. -just waiting to be circulated in the air by the AC unit or the mothion of people walking around.

When I lived in Annapolis in the late 70s, a woman used to sell fresh crab cakes out of her kitchen window, maybe a half block up the block from the docks. She lived in a historic row home built in the early 1700s which was right up against the sidewalk. (in an area that had NOT seen urban redevelopment) You could just walk up, tap on the window and she's talk to you just like a real take-out window. Also, her son who was maybe 8 years old used to run around the neighborhood taking orders. I remember he'd stop by a house that some of my friends rented downtown and take orders and payments, returning about an hour later with box lunches for us.

It can take 7-10 minutes sometimes to happen. That said, I've managed to do it by hand with a balloon whisk and it didn't take much longer. Are you buying heavy cream?

I'd like to add to the chorus about fresh roasted peanuts, they are incrementally better than store-bought. Also, you can make your own peanut butter using an immersion blender in steel cup like a measuring cup or milkshake machine cup. Making your own, if you just roasted the peanuts, tastes a LOT better and you don't have to worry about storage, just make what you need at the time.

That usually works out ok. But, commercial kitchens avoid using glass for tasks like this because if your hand slips and it falls and breaks, not only does the whole kitchen immediately have to be cleaned from top to bottom, any food that is out or open (on prep areas, on the steam table, on the stove cooking, on speed racks cooling, on the pass waiting for a server, bins with lids off for a moment) has to be tossed out. The OP is trying to teach herself professional baking, and it's probably best that she work with equipment used in a professional kitchen.

There's usually a tool like THIS in a cheap garnishing kit. It makes a thin spiral very easily. For the money, I'd get the whole kit, the extra tools are also useful.

Here's a basic formula: 250g Butter 100g Sugar (regular, granulated) 2g Salt 2g Grated Lemon Zest 4 drops Vanilla Extract --- 100g Eggs, Beaten ----- 400g Pastry Flour -Creaming method: add the eggs a little bit at a time, mixing well between each addition, barely mix in flour, use your bowl scraper to do the final folding-in of flour. Chill until firm and chill after each time you work it.

That's not a traditional recipe there, the almonds don't help it hold together (they get crispy when baked) and the cornstarch in the icing sugar is partly causing your problem. I'd start with the basic plain recipe first to get an idea of what it's supposed to be like. Also, you never touch dough when placing it in the tart pan or flan ring. You use a tart tamper or, for minis, a mini tart tamper. Hands are warm and constantly giving off small amounts of steam which helps gluten development and can ruin pastry texture. Also, pressing with the fingertips pulls the dough unevenly which can lead to uneven baking.

Here's the history of the dish, page two has a pretty good recipe.

Pâte Sucrée is very often a dough similar to a sugar cookie, shortbread or sable. -If cut and baked, and maybe iced, you'd call it a cookie; made with the creaming method. This is what I was taught to call sucrée in culinary school. Some authors use the term for a lightly sweetened pie crust type dough, made with the cut-in method. Knowing which type you are attempting would be useful. It sounds like too much gluten development. Dryness shouldn't be an issue, one always wants a dry crust as no one likes a soggy bottom. Most crusts should be flaky or crumbly when cut, because the dough is 'short' without much gluten. Are you using pastry or cake flour? (AP flour varies in gluten content by region in the US, in the North and West, it's almost bread flour. In the South, it's almost cake flour, because it's mostly used or biscuits.) In some regions, AP flour is very high in gluten. Is your work area cold, 72°F or less? Is you fat worked in cold? Are any liquids added cold? If you have 'hot hands' are you wearing gloves? Are you mixing and rolling as little as possible? Are you resting the dough in the fridge after rolling out and after cutting? All of these things affect gluten development. Without watching every step, or knowing the recipe, it's hard to say where things are going wrong.

From your first menu, it appears that your school has some western influences or might be a completely western style culinary program. If so, and you like using the western ingredients, then choose a season (it's early autumn right now) and a country and build your menu from there. For example, you could call your meal 'Autumn in Paris' giving you the range of vegetables and fruits to use, and a set of recipes, that is, French cooking. If I were taking your test, and calling it Autumn in Paris, I might choose to make: Fennel, Orange and Olive Salad with red onions and tarragon dressing Pork Tenderloin Diane, Duchess Potatoes, Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Chestnuts Pears Poached in Port with Toasted Walnuts and Blue Cheese If your program is mostly local cooking, don't try so hard with the western ingredients. Just because a supplier can get them to you, doesn't mean they're automatically good.

I agree with going simple. As an instructor, I can tell you that the point of this exam is to see how well you can execute the techniques and principles that you have been taught during the term. Unless you had a class in molecular techniques, don't force them into this test. Chances are, there is no 'extra credit' being offered on the score sheet. And, if molecular/modernist techniques were not covered yet, you do not know the rubric the instructor would be grading to in such a class. Therefore, the instructor grading this test, even if s/he is the molecular class instructor cannot hold you to any rubric and simply cannot give a grade for those efforts. I see students trying to show off (for me, or fellow students) by doing extra things in exams and getting bogged down and not finishing on time. When those extras aren't even going to be graded, it breaks my heart to see all the effort wasted on showboating. You were probably given a list of requirements. Those requirements are probably reflected on the instructor's grade sheet. Simply focus on meeting those requirements as perfectly as possible. Practice what you will make, and make sure that you have a written timeline for all of your tasks. If you aren't allowed to bring it in, memorize it. The benefits of making simple things, such as a soup, are many. You will be more relaxed without tremendous time pressure. If you ruin something, you will have time to start over. You can make sure to work cleanly and meet sanitation standards for the test. (did you change your sani-buckets when needed? did you temp the meat? did you wash your hands properly? is your station organized at all times?) You won't get so stressed out that you make silly mistakes. You'll get every dish just right. You'll have time to work on great plating. If you wind up with 15 extra minutes at the end, you can make an extra garnish and then deep clean your station. Maybe get positive vibes by cleaning the class dishwashing sink, organizing the pantry, or somesuch chore. Good luck!

You're all over the place with seasonality and regionality. Asparagus is a spring vegetable. Berries are an early summer, June mostly, phenomenon. Fresh tomatoes are also a summer item. Also, you're really heavy on protein: cheese & ham with a sauce containing cheese as the starter, tenderloin with bacon as the man, and a dessert made of eggs and cream. I'd make a different salad as a starter -something reflecting the start of autumn like with squash and pepitos, root vegetables and/or squashes with the meat, and something like a seasonal fruit pie or clafoutis (more properly a flaugnarde, since cherries are out of season, I suggest pear) for dessert.

Nice! I like to toss basil on right as the pizza is being pulled out of the oven. It wilts a bit from the residual heat but doesn't dry out as much. That's not to everyone's taste, though.

I have, on occasion, longed for a tastevin. That might be too unrelated for you, though. I also use my refractometer quite a bit, but, I mostly do pastry type things. If they do modernist dishes, they might like a pocket jeweler's scale fo weighing out tiny amounts of ingredients.

I've only used the fat based colors with Ivoire, seems safest.

You might try an enzymatic cleaner, look for something that says it's good for chocolate, wine, blood and pet stains. -Even if it says it's for carpeting, this is what you need. I would avoid bleach as it may eat away at the resin or discolor it.

That's true, I think TM purposely has fewer employees on hand, and the stores are smaller than a HG. Price-wise, it's hard for me to compare a lot of items come and go. What I like about TM is the occasional high end find like hand cut, genuine Waterford crystal or real copper cookware from France (the kind you get re-lined occasionally, not the clad stainless stuff.)

True, they also own Marshall's. That said, HG has the biggest supply of kitchenware. Another place to check is Tuesday Morning. As their name implies, they put out new stuff on Tuesday morning. I got tons of Duralex there last year. They tend to be smaller, but, tend to carry higher-end goods.

You might want to check your local Home Goods stores, they are a discount retailer that has a variety of cookware. As we head into the winter holiday season, they get pricier/better inventory. Last year they had a selection of Staub and some Falk, for example. The selection constantly changes, so, it's tough to say what you'll find, but, the prices are outstanding -usually 50%+ off regular retail. And, remember, if you see something there you like, buy it, they may never get it in again.

Years ago, the Washington Post food section ran an article that had several dozen variations on grilled cheese. I remember having that clipped out and attached to my fridge when I was right out of college. I tried almost every one, and, went on to make many more. My tried and true favorite doesn't have any traditional condiments: sourdough bread, smoked gouda, mushrooms sauteed with garlic.

Chocolate ice cream topped with Malt-o-Meal brand Golden Puffs -like Sugar Smacks, only has more caramel/molasses flavor, IMO. I was eating the cereal one day and just blurted out, 'I bet this would taste really good on chocolate ice cream' didn't get a chance to test it for several months, but, when I did it was really pretty good.

And...She's back! Her publicity team has got back up and running. Look for her show to return real soon, y'all.

Some fish & chips shops add a touch of turmeric to their batter to make it more golden. You might want to try adding some to the mix somewhere along the line.