rickster

I've made them a couple of times and did a plain yellow genoise sponge with a filling of hazelnut praline or pistachio buttercream. The icing dark on the outside was chocolate ganache. did the mushrooms and pinecones, also holly & berries made out of marzipan.

At least some of the Mariage Freres teas are usually available at Williams Sonoma stores. I just bought some for my sister in law last week. Personally, I put in a vote for Upton.

I looked at the site and it didn't seem to be working correctly. I haven't ordered from the site, but my two cents - I've had the Poilane bread purchased from a gourmet food store here in the US and also at a restaurant in the UK. No way is it worth the amount of money they charge for it. Not that it's bad, it's just not that special. I'd spend the money on something else.

Thanks mikeycook. In my very limited experience with montelimar, it is considerably harder than torrone, which should be chewy. But I thought mine turned out too soft. This recipe does not toast pistachios, but I would for other nuts. I usually do it for 10-15 minutes at 350.

I experimented with a Martha Stewart recipe for pistachio torrone over the weekend, which called for honey and sugar to be heated to 320 F, then allow temp to fall to 300 F before whipping into egg whites. Results were pretty good, but I would like to improve. A couple of questions: Torrone was a bit softer than I would like. Is this an issue of maybe an inaccurate thermometer and the temperature being too low? Or too high? Could overwhipping soften the torrone? Flavor was a bit over caramelized for my taste, despite using a mild honey. Can this be solved by heating the honey and sugar separately, with the honey to a lower temperature, as suggested in some of the montelimar recipes?

Don't pastes contain sugar and butters do not?

If it's any consolation, I made exactly the same recipe with exactly the same adjustments you did a few weeks ago and it was a disaster. Worst croissants I ever made. However my conclusion was that my SAF yeast was too old and I tossed it. Guess I wish this thread had been around then.

All I can say is that the inability to understand directions was rising over time, which must be driven by a) a decline in the ability to write directions b) a decline in the ability to read directions or c) a decline in the ability to understand how to execute the directions. This was one of only several data examples.

I've worked for one of the major food companies that people love to bash around here. Several years ago I went to one of their presentations on new product development. One of the biggest issues they were facing? All their research showed a a decline in cooking skills across the general population. It was not a question of willingness to go into the kitchen. It was an issue of people being unable to understand the simplest concepts in cooking to even follow the steps to prepare something that came in a package to begin with.

You could do a search to find a Dufour company contact who might tell you where you can find it in Maine, maybe through a wholesaler. Or try the Wild Oats store in Portland. But, I concur with the other suggestions to make your own if you have to go through this much hassle. It's not difficult and rough or quick puff pastry is easy.

I don't know. I think it depends on how you use the wrap. I've blind baked tart shells a lot at 325-350 using regular plastic wrap to line the shells before putting in the pie weights and its worked fine.

A very successful hot dog place in Connecticut got its start as a truck - but they eventually took it to a bricks and mortar location. One thing's been troubling me a bit about this concept. You're in Michigan, where it gets pretty cold and snowy in the winter. You're also cooking to order. Have you factored in people's willingness to wait in below freezing temperatures for the burgers? If they're waiting in cars, how do you let them know the food's ready? They'll wait at a football game because you have sort of a captive audience - they're outside anyway. I worry that potential customers may choose comfort over quality in the middle of January.

You might try this question in the Pastry forum.

Interesting. A little googling shows that there is another type of babka which is not the sweet yeast bread we have in North America. It seems to be a casserole or sort of crumble if made with apples.

I've taken to using vermouth too and agree with all the points on this thread. Just wanted to point out something that is probably blindingly obvious to vermouth drinkers but was not to me. Not all white vermouths are dry. I bought a bottle of Martini & Rossi Bianco vermouth recently for cooking and discovered it was sweet. Had to toss it.

I've never tried to freeze batter and am surprised to hear it works so well. From what I'm reading here, I'd think the bigger issue wouldn't be the freezing but what you freeze it in and how you get it out of the container. When you freeze the batter in a ziploc and dump it or squeeze it out, don't you lose the structure of the batter and the cake won't rise?

I've found Trader Joes has the best prices on nuts and dried fruits too. Much better than Whole Foods bulk.

I'll also throw in a vote for the Payard book. I've made almost all the tarts in the book and a few of the other recipes and they are all winners.

I've had a stand mixer for about 12 years, first the KA 4.5 qt and for the last year or so the 6 qt. I also , at least used to, bake a lot. Given the expense of the mixer, I honestly say that unless you are into baking/desserts/sweets sort of cooking, you can probably do without it. I'd also say that my smaller mixer was perfectly adequate (with 2 bowls) for every baking task I came up with except kneading large quantities of bread dough. So I wouldn't automatically go for the larger size.

If craisins are expensive, can you do a cranberry orange compote on top of the cake or swirled through? My recollection of the Pierre Herme book (the one with Dorie Greenspan) is that there are a couple of recipes for cakes with apples and one for a chestnut pear tart as well.

I agree with the blind baking using rice, beans or pie weights. I do this for all my tart shells. A few other ideas - try to make sure the tart sides are vertical on the inside, if they're sloped the shell seems to slump more. Also, maybe the butter is not incorporated well enough. I usually mix the dough in a processor, not a mixer or by hand.

Thanks for the advice! I won't waste my money on any more fresh pineapples but will try the dried when I get a chance.

I've had prettry good success doing candied peel in about 2 hours on the stove top, but have been experimenting recently with candying pineapple (hopefully for inclusion in fruitcake) and things have not turned out well. My guess is it needs something like the crockpot method to work.

I think King Arthur has changed their product line recently. If you go to their Bakers Catalogue site, they are selling a "Mellow Pastry Blend" in 3 lb. sizes. KA Pastry Blend The only pastry flour I have seen at Whole Foods is whole wheat.

I get white pastry flour mail order from the King Arthur Flour Catalogue. But the shipping is not cheap due to the weight.