gfron1

Abra, I shouldn't say this since my store sells it, but (for the most part) only tourists buy piñon coffee. When my spouse drank it he became ill. It has a great aroma, and I love when people grind it in the store, but its not something anyone would serve as a house coffee in a store or restaurant.

or like my family did at a recent meal in Palm Springs where two wahoos were dropping every name they had in their little black book to impress each other - we started talking opening about their conversation in a volume that they could hear. It quieted them a bit without elevating hostilities.

it appears to be a brand new edition.

Books that I'm interested in for 2008: Ma Gastronomie by Fernand Point How to Pick a Peach: The Search for Flavor from Farm to Table by Russ Parsons A Pig in Provence: Good Food and Simple Pleasures in the South of France by Georgeanne Brennan Garde Manger: The Art and Craft of the Cold Kitchen by The Culinary Institute of America Artichoke to Za'atar: Modern Middle Eastern Food by Greg Malouf The Lebanese Cookbook by Hussein Dekmak The Belarusian Cookbook by Alexander Bely Classic German Cookbook: 70 traditional recipes from Germany, Austria, Hungary and Czechoslovakia, shown step-by-step in 300 photographs by Lesley Chamberlain What are you looking forward to?

I just received an Amazon gc, so I searched for any new dessert and pastry books coming out in 2008, and here's some that got me curious (in order of preference): Chocolate Epiphany: Exceptional Cookies, Cakes, and Confections for Everyone (Hardcover), by Francois Payard, Anne E. Mcbride Decadent Desserts: Recipes from Vaux-le-Vicomte (Hardcover) by Cristina De Vogue , Thomas Dhellhemmes, Delphine De Montalier The Pastry Chef's Companion: A Comprehnsive Resource Guide for the Baking and Pastry Professional by Glenn Rinsky, Laura Halpin Rinsky The Modern Baker: Time-Saving Techniques for Breads, Tarts, Pies, Cakes and Cookies by Nick Malgieri Ice Cream: From Cassata Semi-Freddo to Cider Apple Sorbet (The Small Book of Good Taste Series) by The Tanner Brothers Italian Ice Cream: Gelato, Sorbetto, Granita and Semifreddi by Carla Bardi, Emilia Onesti Advanced Bread and Pastry by Michel Suas Any advanced news on these? Others that you're watching?

is this question specific to frangipane? What is it about them that makes it different from any other type of blind baking - just curious.

Nutritionists can be great, but some are just clueless about how to work with anyone who does not eat a "standard" diet. ← I agree with this caution - I should have clarified that the nutritionist I saw specialized in performance athletes. I lived at a ski resort at the time so it was easy to find someone that was appropriately trianed and experienced. Even though you're not an olympic athlete, this is the type of person you're looking for. And as for your financial concerns, if you live in a university town, and they have a program for nutritionists, you might be able to get this done for free or very cheaply. Just on an aside, when I went to see my nutritionist, I was preparing for a climb of a 20,000 foot peak in Peru, and I was already working at the ski resort doing a minimum of four hours of training per day, so she put me on a pre-climb diet of almost 6000 calories per day, then decreased me immediately after the climb. I put on 15 pounds, lost 20 and balanced out after 2 months.

For your etification... The destroyed croq: Patrick's face says it all. And here's the mini croq that we took to the winning bidder:

Go see a nutritionist! That's not a cop-out answer, but you're talking about some serious loss there. Because of my athletic activity, I've always had to consume massive calories to keep weight on, and when I went to a nutritionist, my calories became much smarter/healthier and definitely served me better. It will be a great use of a $100.

Pic coming soon... The croq that we made was auctioned off as a fund raiser for PatrickA's high school culinary program. It raised $250 when two doctors decided to bid against each other. This morning we were preparing to deliver it, and moved it from its higher display shelf to a lower counter. A few balls fell off - no big deal, but right as I was about to set it on the counter it tilted just enough and broke into a zillion pieces! It was right out of Food Network. The winning doc was gracious enough to give the money anyway, and we had made a fresh one for him to enjoy - which softened the blow. I'll have to learn more about royal icing since it seemed like it dried out and become too fragile. Anyway, its been fun...but done with this for a long time.

Its nice to have someone in my neck of the woods (5 hours away...its all relative). And since red decorations are added to the green tree, we'll allow red chile to enter this green blog! Just this morning I heard on NPR that even green chile will be machine harvested next year...but I digress. Looking forward to seeing how things are up north.

Now that I've done this once, I understand all of the instructions in the demo much better. So, next time this will be much prettier, but here is my first ever buche de noel: No modelling chocolate to decorate with. One cool thing is that I added some Valhrona cocoa into my buttercream and didn't mix well (on purpose) and it gave me some streakiness on the bark which looked cool. My biggest problem is that my filling didn't set well enough and it oozed. I could have sealed it in with buttercream, but I wasn't careful enough with that, so there were seams, but oh well... people were impressed and it tasted good. It was chocolate with chestnut cream.

As far as cocoa, read THIS topic on dutch cocoa if you haven't already. Then, I'd go back to WF and check again - unless they said they sold out. It took me over two years of searching for a supplier for my store before I realized that I could have had it all along. Many of the dutch processed cocoas don't label that way on the front - thus leaving less informed store clerks thinking they don't have it. The two most common brands found in the US are Droste and Rademaker (both the exact same product - just different boxes). Callebaut has some too but I haven't been able to find that except in bulk. With nibs - I've stopped using them in lieu of Domori roasted beans that are processed. Those beans are addictive and I think they have an even better texture.

What would a year-end be without the Year in Review?! For those of you who've been around a while, you know that I've made leaps and bounds in 2007. I'm more interested in playing around with ideas than practicing to perfection (hence odd assemblies, and odd flavors). But this year I had so many firsts that I probably won't remember them all. The most basic is buttercream. Had heard the word, but never made it. Now I've made easily a dozen different varieties this year (thanks to Amernick). Tempering chocolate...on purpose (thanks to Kerry and her back street sidekick gang). Cajeta...if I could just hook an IV up to me with this stuff (thanks to andiesenjie). Mirror glaze, spray painted food, bread from wild starter (thanks hummingbirdkiss), numerous Filipino desserts (thanks jumanggy), my first pithivier (didn't even know what that was), finally got around to Ling's brownie (needs more chocolate ), chocolate caviar (sodium alg), and my first macarons. And as of this morning, my first yule log (thanks chefpeon). Not too bad for a year and there's still a week left. Note that virtually all of this list was learned on eGullet from all of you - so thanks! So, what pastry techniques did you learn this year?

Those are simply gorgeous Anthony! I'm really glad you're continuing this topic with your new learnings. And I love the pic of the class standing around the table. The woman on the right in the center has a face that says, "If I have to look at this shit any long I'm going to scream." Or then again, maybe she just got a negative review on her work. Thanks!

I've been cranking these out for parties lately. Make parmasan foam - 1 pint half and half and 3/4 pound parma (or to your proportions - for 10 I would halve the recipe). Melt over a double boiler. Bring to room temp, then chill. It will be consistency of butter. Place pancetta in mini-muffin cups sprayed with oil and bake at 400 til they look crispy. When they cool enough to touch, remove them from the pan. Top with quenelle or melon baller of parma foam (I've been calling it parma granita to those who don't know better). Indent foam with chopstick. Drop of balsamic on top (I've been using my 25 year, but any would work)

Seasonal Collection of Pierre Hermé May 18 - 19, 2008 Professional $2,500 Pierre Hermé Lottery will take place 2/29/08. CONTACT the French Pastry School for details. See calendar entry HERE.

I'm a totally wannabe vegetarian, solely for taste preference, not for loftier reasons. When it comes to pork, my spouse and I just don't eat it. In fact, we had our first bite of pork in nearly a decade last week (odd story too long for here). My spouse was raised in Zambia where his family had pigs, and he swears that only the monkey was smarter than his pigs. The dogs and all other animals didn't come close, so for that reasons, its hard to enjoy pork (and although we've never talked about it, I"m sure monkey is off limits too - just as elephant would be).

I use mine to make dacquois and freeze those for later use. They appear in desserts regularly in my house.

just letting you know I'm fascinated by this and can't wait til you find the perfect one. So, are these all being eaten?

My splatter screen is just that - screen, so I can't imagine that working. But what about those light covers that are honeycomb design...might just be big enough holes, but not too big.

I am getting very sugared out these days...there I said it! This Sunday I'm baking for church and i'm thinking of doing only non-sweets. (my gills are filling with air...what am I going to do!) Don't worry, I'll be over the nasty phase within the week.

If anyone is interested in further reading on this topic, the Economist had a fantastic and understandable article on the subject last week.

I have a friend who's policy is to only buy foods from non publicly traded companies. His assertion is that quality and cost can't be bed partners. In thinking about baking, if I were selling my desserts and using only fresh ingredients without chemicals, wouldn't that significantly decrease shelf life, and then wouldn't that make baking as a business impossible?

HERE'S a bunch of previous topics on specific applications. And some on SUGAR FREE baking. None are direct comparisons however...