tmriga

It may also be the breed of cow. I recently bought some heavy cream from a local dairy called Milk Thistle that uses Jersey cows instead of the much more common Holsteins, and it was another thing entirely. It seems to have a higher fat content. My parents live next to a dairy farm that only has Jerseys. They do produce a higher fat milk. IMO, It's also better tasting. (although food can affect flavor as well) Jerseys aren't as large as Holsteins, so they don't produce the same volume, but it's definitely a case of quality over quantity. Once, when I was a teenager, the dairy that buys the milk from the farm had a power failure and couldn't take any milk, so the farm gave us large amounts of raw milk. (normally, their contract does not allow them to sell/give milk to anyone but the dairy) We made butter and fresh cheese from that milk and it was amazing. I have never had better butter. Also, we had several pounds of the butter in the fridge (we should have frozen it) and, oddly enough, it had a cheddar cheese flavor after a couple of weeks' time. Wasn't that butter wonderful? About 20 years ago, a friend of mine told me that the dairy farm near her was selling fresh butter. I asked her to pick up as many pounds as $30 would buy. I distributed this butter throughout the elders in my family and neighborhood, who remembered butter before it came in yellow sticks. One of my aunts cried, because it took her back to the life she led and remembrances of the relatives she left behind in Eastern Europe. The farm is now gone, sold off and turned into an over-priced housing development. All the other dairy farms around here belong to a collective, and are under contract similar to what you described, otherwise I would be right there, buying whatever they could sell me. Theresa

I pipe my eclairs the same way RWood does. As a cake artist, the easiest way I can teach you to pipe puffs is to share this short tutorial on piping dots, from the Wilton Industries website. The concept is the same, just use a larger tip. http://www.wilton.com/technique/Dots Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions about piping techniques. Theresa

I live in a small city of over 100,000 people. Other than at the 3-day farmer's market, there is only one independent butcher left here. Otherwise, it's supermarkets for meat purchases. Theresa

I use MacIntosh apples, a combination of brown and white sugar for the sweetness (I like the bit of molasses aftertaste), cinnamon, and an oatmeal/flour mixture topping. Theresa

I have lots of things to bring back. The egg man, the milk man, and the horse-drawn produce carts; butchers, fish mongers, poultry stores, and full-line bakeries with fresh breads every day; soda fountains; independent drive-in restaurants; corner store pizzerias that make real NYC-Style pizza, not the bastardized versions sold where I now live. Theresa

What are the ingredients for the topping? Perhaps the bourbon can be eliminated altogether. Theresa

My calendar is open, but I would like to know how much experience a person should have before considering participation. My experience is limited to classes I have taken, making candy for a sweet table at a few events. Most of my experience is in molding chocolates. I would not want to be a detriment to the rest of the group, to whom this is probably all second-nature. Would I fit in without making the rest of the group impatient? Theresa

I had a request for a green velvet cake, for Saint Patrick's Day. I mixed some leaf green with a tiny bit of lemon yellow, to bring it up to a kelly green. It tasted better than it looked. About as far as I would go with blue velvet would be a Tiffany blue. I saw the Duff episode where he did the blue velvet cake for Paula Deen, and although I'm sure it had an excellent taste, it had a very gloomy look to it. There are black velvet cake recipes popping up online all the time now. I would love to do a Halloween wedding cake, and use that with it. Theresa

edited to read correctly Converting 2 teaspoons to ounces comes to approximately .338 oz, the closest I'm finding is the size 100, which is .332 oz. Sorry about the previous post. Here is the link to a chart from a manufacturer in Florida - http://www.zeroll.com/products/universalezdisher.html Theresa

Believe it or not, that's what one of the chefs at school recommended we do for home use. I couldn't find anyone here who would sell me a remnant, so I called the countertop people. I found one company who is willing to sell me an 18x18", 1-1/4" thick slab for around $40. I put it on my birthday gift list. Theresa

Thanks for sharing your recipe with us, David. I can see how the cake flour would lighten the texture of your crust. Alternately, if you want an all-butter crust, I highly recommend Martha's Pate Brisee. It is what I use, exclusively for my two-crust and most custard pies. Just remember to keep it as cold as possible before baking. Here's the link: http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/pate-brisee-pie-dough?autonomy_kw=pate brisee Theresa

A couple of months ago, I picked up two Canon IP3500s for $50 each at Office Depot. After reading this thread, I wish I would have bought three. Theresa

That's why I like rolling the dough on the small board. If I get distracted, I can pop it in the fridge or freezer for a few, and it's as good as new. I roll it out from the center, with about 8 turns, and then smoothing to an even thickness. Pastry dough, like biscuit dough, is best when worked as little as possible. Theresa

For pie crusts I use my very large, wooden rolling pin, lightly dusted with pastry flour, on a pastry board. I keep the dough as cold as possible, and rarely have a sticking problem. Theresa

Definitely chocolate chip, sans nuts. Even if only for chocolate's soothing powers. Theresa

Oh, gosh, I can remember when the price of these went from 25 cents to 30 cents, and my Mother bitching about the hike. Taking this classic and adding ketchup is to some New Yorkers like taking a Sabrett's frank and adding mustard - it just adds some zing to it. Depending on how fresh the roll is, it also adds the wetness needed to swallow it. The procedure for making this staple of New York City cuisine may vary from borough to borough. In Manhattan, it's done pretty much the traditional way, breaking the yolk. But out near Jamaica Bay, on Cross Bay Boulevard, there's a small store, the only one open at 5 AM, that fries the egg hard, no yolk broken. He doesn't toast the roll, either. His most important rule - bacon, yes - cheese, never. I recently discovered Thomas' Everything Bagels, both regular-sized and the mini's. Unlike true bagels, with the crispy crust and chewy crumb, these are soft all the way around and through. Toasted, these bagels make a fabulous substitute for the kaiser roll. I occasionally use them for my egg sandwiches, and for fat, juicy cheeseburgers. Day-old, toasted challah also makes a great egg sandwich. Theresa

Thanks, Lisa! How interesting to see this. And with it using Sweetex, I'm sure it's more stable at room temp. Theresa

The subject of using dry fondant powder to make buttercream frosting, either as a main or side ingredient, came up in another forum I belong to. I thought this would be a great place to get some input. I would further like to venture a guess that she is using it in an American-style buttercream frosting, although it was not revealed as to whether it was a confectioner's sugar type or a meringue type of frosting. Does anyone have any thoughts or knowledge as to how this is used? Thanks in advance - Theresa

Yes, and you have to credit Chef Chiarello for letting him know that he's aware of it. I found it hysterical. Theresa

I knew Chef Bayless was going to win. The look on his face, the tone in his voice, when the last challenge was presented to them, told me I didn't have to watch the end to know the outcome. Theresa

A restaurant in my area serves evoo with minced garlic.

Our grandmothers professed that food tastes better the second day. They told us it gave the flavors time to blend together. Whether it be a physical characteristic, or truly just psychological, good food that does not require a lot of labor is always tasty and welcome. Why waste time analyzing it, when you could be savoring it instead? In these times, thank God you have it, and keep going, but that's just my opinion. Theresa

I thought that was a royal-icing based cookie glaze, like they use in decorated cookies. Am I wrong? Theresa

Not a problem. Tune in tomorrow, after the sugar/caffeine rush wears off. Theresa

All those dusts work best with a high-alcohol content liquid. This is especially important when working with the metallics, as using water will tarnish them. If you have access to Everclear, this is what most decorators in my circles use to mix with the dusts for airbrushing or painting. Next would be 190 proof Smirnoff's, if they still make it. If not, then clear lemon extract is recommended, especially the cheap stuff, because it's usually 80% alcohol, or 160 proof. pastrygirl - the woman you met at the World Pastry Forum was Beth Parvu. She's such a sweetheart. Would you mind if I ask how much you paid for your colors through Avalon? lebowits - check out Scott Clark Woolley's selection of dusts, too. He's got some gorgeous colors, including neons. His prices are great, and he ships immediately, or as soon as the post office opens the next day. http://cakesbydesign.cc/ToolsSupplies.html then scroll to near the bottom of the page for his dust colors. Theresa