gfron1

You've been on eG since 04 and this is only your 2nd post, and then you have the nerve to post those amazing chocolates! Damn....you need to be posting more often!

I don't, but I'll offer this anyway...I was sent Menu del Dia by the publisher. Definitely not a tome, but offered a unique perspective for me. Its focus is daily, cafè workingman's fare. I've done a review and a number of recipes HERE.

Kim - I still think your iced cookies are some of the prettiest I've seen this season.

Thinking specifically about the food - I think the moisture is key. Of course you need good bread, meats and cheeses, but a great sauce can make or break it. That's why Subway has all their squirt bottle flavored mayo crap...right idea, just needs better execution. In another topic I've been asking about a green chile tomatillo sauce for this very reason. It will go in two dishes. One is a bacon, green chile, cheddar pannini. Great ingredients, great flavor, but right now...kinda dry. I want to incorporate that chile in a sauce, add the tomatillo and I think I'll have a winner. So look closely at the wets. Then you'll have to look at the shelf life of the wets to see how often you'll need to make them, when then leads to consistency.

Hey wait! You're describing my town, aren't you!? My demo is identical, except we don't have any adjoining metro area. And I wouldn't call myself a sandwich shop although we're mostly sandwiches. Feel free to PM if you feel its worthwhile or appropriate as I'm in my 5th month of start-up. My biggest issues are staffing to sales ratio. Keeping the menu fresh, yet keeping regulars from being disappointed if I drop an item. Having enough capital to put money where its needed (ie, I really want a pastry display case right now, but can't afford it). And while I agree with the fresh bread, I couldn't win that battle, so I do pannini style which has worked very well for me. Key variable that I'm still working out - all of the add ons (chips, cookies, drinks) - meaning finding the right mix to maximize sales and profits. My specific battle that may or may not helpful to you is we want to be 75% carryout, but right now 75% want to sit in my very small space. That's a problem.

Alright...now I'm a bit overwhelmed at the options. I started canning to sell this season at my store. Made some great stuff - most of it thanks to andiesenji's advice. I used the typical Ball jars found all over town. I'm ready to step up to some cooler, and more aligned to my image, jars. I see three types of lids - mason jar two piece lids, glass lid and gasket, and regular aluminum screw top one piece. I saw the previous comments about glass lid and gasket not being supported by the feds, so I'll avoid that since I'm selling. What about one piece lids. I'm asking because I love the jars at specialtybottles.com, but they are all one piece screw lids. Any advice?

Nothing fancy at all - white bean soup with ham hock and corn bread. Just need to plan ahead to cook those farts out of the beans!

Has anyone tried frozen lemon concentrate for curd before? I'm sure this desire to not juice one more f&%$ing lemon will pass once I get rested from the holidays, but I'm curious if there's much taste difference.

I have a friend who wants to make a mincemeat like his mom grew up on in Ireland. She's aging and never learned how to make it. They believe that the mincemeat they used to have was different than any others they have tried. Is there a mincemeat that is specific to Ireland? And are there recipes that can be suggested? Thanks.

is the wood actually cake or a serving platter? Stunning as usual. So when are you going to do a decorating demo for your adoring fans?!

Someone at another forum recommended I check out THIS SITE which had some interesting recommendations. Does anyone have any feedback on some of the places listed at that site: Shaharazad Bakery 1586 Noriega near 23rd Avenue Maria's Bakery 1049 Stockton Street between Washington and Jackson Schubert's 521 Clement Street between 6th and 7th Avenues Patisserie Delanghe 1890 Fillmore Street at Bush and I still would like a killer plated dessert.

I've been PMing Kerry because I had the same problem as foodie3. There is only one vague component of Kerry's recipe - "continue to beat until stiffens." I'm dismissing my altitude on this flop, and think it has to do with what "stiffens" means. Can anyone give me a specific sign that would suggest I stiffened enough? These were plenty stiff when I cut and packed them. The oozing happened the next morning, and no - we don't have humidity so that's not a factor. As you can tell, it didnt' stop me from eating the whole batch, but it would have been nice to sell them for the holidays.

So if water gets in your chocolate it seizes, but if you make water based ganache its nice and smooth. Why does one seize and the other doesn't? Is it quantity? Agitation? Can someone please explain the science behind this? Thanks.

Thanks. Any others? What about the place above Virgin downtown? I'm looking for both bakeries and plated.

I'm heading to SF in Jan for the Fancy Food Show (if anyone else is going and wants to meet...). I'm looking for the top few must-try dessert and pastry shops. Any suggestions?

I have continued using the recipe posted by Andie above. I've cut back on the spices since I find them too overpowering for the apples. Today I am doing a batch with habañero.

If you go to the Pastry & Baking forum Index and look for the Special Diet section, then the gluten free almond cake...its in there. Or, just click HERE (I just like reminding people that the index is there )

I'm not limited to that texture, they're just the first things that came to mind. I just need to make sure that it feels liquidy on these rather dry items, and that it won't ooze too much.

I've only been doing this restaurant gig for 5 months now and I'm finding that my last service day (Sat) is not as strong as my first (Tue). Its not a matter of fatigue, its a matter of me getting to the last day and saying I don't want to make a whole batch of chili for one last day (which is our lowest sales day). I find it with a number of my station items. I guess its just me being cheap, and I'm focusing on the weekend gourmet-to-go business by Saturday morning. This past weekend I feel I went too far. It was only 10 minutes to close and a customer came in. In the end, all I could really make them was a salad. Not the end of the world. They were happy, but that's not the type of business I want to be running. Are there some things that you all do to make your last day as good as your first? Thanks.

Calling all sauciers! I have two items on my menu that need an overhaul. One is our burrito which is seasoned black beans, roasted zucchini, traditional salsa and roasted green chiles. The other is our pannini with bacon, cheddar and roasted green chile. Both are good, but I find both to be dry. I want to create a sauce for the green chile that I can put in both. It needs to be able to stand up to a pannini grill, and not be so oozy that it squishes out of the tortilla. But it also has to be able to be made on Tuesday and survive through Saturday. I've considered a homemade mayo base, a bechemel, a simple butter base, but nothing feels like it would work. Suggestions? there's a free sandwich or burrito in it for someone (must be present to win)

Thanks guys. I'll find out what the non-adventurous folks thought tomorrow when they pay me (more on that in a sec). The olive kumquat is the old sweet/salty combo. Actually the crisp that it was served on was accented with anise, and it all played very nicely together. I've served that now at three caters and everyone has loved it. So payment...I knew the doc. In fact, I went to the doc earlier this year. We never settled on a price nor did a contract - a small town handshake was enough. We did agree to a range that they were willing to pay. I built a dinner around the lower range. Apparently they came in to the store today to pay but told our staff that they would come back so they could pay me personally. my staff said their mood was very positive, so I'm expecting the top of the range and maybe even a tip since they got me personally on-site for an hour that was comped. I showed up in my whites and they were just tickled because it added to the special-ness for their staff. All in all, a good event.

And one more from last night's cater. Tres Leches Eggnog Cake Emeril's recipe replacing the condensed milk with eggnog and throwing a good dousing of brandy on for good measure!

The event was last night and was a huge success. The doc was glowingly praiseful of the selection of food - both his type and his staff's. Here's what I ended up with: Two large organic green salads - nothing fancy or unusual Green beans with toasted piñon and a bit of lemon Roasted potatoes with herbs (filler food just in case) Sourdough rolls with butter Tri-olive tapenade with candied kumquat set in torta de acietes Hit of the night! Goat carnitas with avocado I was going to do an avocado espuma but ran out of time and its probably just as well. I slow cooked goat for 8 hours with light seasoning (goat is very flavorful and rich on its own) of oregano, sage, salt and pepper. Shredded it, lightly fried. Made rounds of fillo dough. Mushed avocado and mixed with the goat. Filled the fillo with the mixture and poked it into my cone pastry form. A quick squirt of olive oil and into a hot oven to crisp and brown. Bison tenderloin - conservative Sous vide cooked and pan finished with salt and pepper. Absolutely beautiful color and just perfect done-ness. Bison tenderloin - fun UGLY PLATING ALERT (yes, gallery of regrettable foods worthy) Same bison that was seasoned with molè dulce prior to SV cooking. Pan finished with the same molè. Served on a savory granola (fried celery root, onion rings (very thin), fried wild rice, pistachio, dried cherry and a bit of honey), chocolate soil - very dark, and the ugly squiggles are hazelnut pudding with szechuan peppercorns. Despite its ugly appearnce, this was a very good combination of flavors that I will continue to use - always very well received. Three desserts: traditional bouche noel (entrement, not buttercream swiss roll), The Old Foodie's flourless citrus chocolate cake (one of my favorite desserts), and a Tres Leches Egg Nog cake In the end, all food was on one table, but grouped by adventurousness. Our thought was that this might help more conservative eaters to explore or mistake-upon something more unique. thanks again for all the help. I'd give each of you a cut of the payment, but I wouldn't know where to send it

I ended up dusting with cocoa, a few chocolate leaves and some piped scroll work. It was okay, but not the prettiest finish. Thanks again.

I made it to sell at my store. I've got a glut of those damn things and more coming from POM Wonderful...not that I'm complaining.