gfron1

I haven't seen much mention of Middle Eastern cookbooks. I know that's a pretty wide range of foods, but I'm thinking Moroccan, North African, Turkish, etc. Anybody have books that they'd like to recommend?

In case you're missing it, Nina C. has started her BLOG. And the pie-a-thon is mentioned in her opening post.

I would love to see too much info, but even with that there might be confusion. For example, at lunch I made a buttercream that called for "250g / 1 C. yolk". Well, I weighed out my yolk and hit my 1C. at 210. I checked my second scale and confirmed the weight. Allowing for slight yolk variance, I was still a couple yolks off somewhere. So then I had to just wing it and sure enough, while usable, it wasn't quite right.

As I grow more cynical every day toward American mass culture, the only accountability that I care about is my own - meaning, every blogger or print reviewer can say what they want. If, as a consumer, I'm too lazy to cross reference or check myself, then that's my problem. Unfortunately the wild west mentality that I'm in supportive of has consequences. I've known many a restaurant to be harmed by wild flying bullets. But to that I say, if your business is strong and true, then you survive and thrive.

My understanding of the health claims is that when we talk about it chocolate being good for you, we're talking about high percentage chocolate. I don't think a regular Hershey's bar has much benefit at all, but a 70% or 85% bar is so low in sugar and fat, and high in antioxidants.

Look at THIS recipe. Does this sound like Pizza Ebraica could be it? And HERE'S a nice write up of the area (and possibly the same shop) you're talking about.

I couldn't agree more - hence my original comment. Here is what they say about the Lindt 85%: And they gave it a 9/10 rating. The 70% bar got an 8/10 rating. I don't remember that site selling chocolate in the past but they are now, so ratings could be similar to many wine magazines that inflate grades for products they want to push.

I assume you mean - make your own cajeta...not make your own goats milk

That is very cool! How did you make the chess pieces? They look perfect - did you use a mold?

Thanks. The apples got soft but not mushy. I think they baked around 35 minutes, but I was more concerned with the external color than watching the time. The cinnamon infused, which was nice instead of having an overly strong cinnamon flavor.

Hmmm...thanks for the tempering (pun intended) Tammy. When I wrote the above, I was thinking about Lindt bars, and the like that offer 70% as the only descriptor. Maybe I just haven't seen the - what I would call - named blends. A blend that the company is proud to present. What's an example that you've had? I'm sure they do exist, just none are coming to mind. I can think of bunches of coffee blends as you suggest, so maybe its more a factor of evolution as you suggest. As a side note, www.seventypercent.com and others consistently rank Lindy70% as one of the top bars in the world, which baffles me since I find it so boring and non-unique.

My cajeta is in the crockpot right now with fresh goat milk - I'll let you know how it turns out. This topic has inspired me, however! We're hosting a Argentinian fundraiser dinner and I'm thinking of doing a Tres Dulces de Leches. 1. Fried dulce balls with meyer lemon set on a soil of some sort; 2. Dulce macarons; and 3. some sort of a savory dulce de leche soup. Any ideas on making a savory soup?

How dry was it? I'm wondering because it could be a very dense granola quickbread that has been double baked like a biscotti.

Does this count as apple pie? First I took a small apple, peeled it, cored it, sliced it horizontally. Then I covered each layer with a round of fillo dough, brushed with butter and sprinkled with palm sugar and toasted pecans. The apple was reassembled into its original shape and wrapped in two layers of fillow that were again brushed with butter. Loose ends were tucked into the core opening at the top and a cinnamon stick shoved in for flavor and holding. Baked at 350 for a while and just before finished brushed with a mixture of egg white and corn syrup. I didn't have any expectations so I was pleased And here's the guts shot

If someone on eGullet has an answer from personal experience, the it is the almighty magical eGullet! My guess is that if you dropped to the lowest rack, covered it, threw in every baking stone you could, crossed your fingers and toes, and didn't mind wasting a pan full of batter, that it just might work. Definitely report back - could be the next big trend

Get ye to a chocolate tasting seminar sir! I taught one last weekend and eyes were opening across the room. All of the less favorites will soon be dumped into brownies for school and church. The one thing I would highlight is the distinction between blends and single origins. To me, a blend is a technique used to lower costs and mute flavor so as to not offend consumers. Single origins - some you'll love and some you'll hate. To me that's what's exciting. Each single origin can be used in a specific and different way. So go out and keep playing. Don't believe anyone else because your tongue is different. And don't avoid the 99% bars and even the milk! I still finish every workshop with the Vosges Barcelona (milk with sea salt), and its always the hit of the most snobbish dark chocolate snob (although Domori's milk/salt is far superior). Also, be sure to check out Pralus who I think has the best range - www.chocosphere.com

This reminds me of something I see in my dutch catalogs for my store. Maybe this exactly what you're talking about. The Dutch Store has a whole bunch of different toppings. What's not appealing to me about these is the white bread. I would much rather have them on a wheat bread. EDITED TO FIX LINK

In the genre of probably too expensive...I recently saw an ad for wooden boxes - like the ones that bries are often stored in. They make them big enough for cakes, and they would certainly be sturdy enough, but again, I assume pricey.

There are plenty of previous topics on St. Louis dining, but as a first time visitor this time of year, I would also suggest Merriweather's at the History museum. Its a pretty good restaurant (the original chef has moved on and quality dipped) with a super view of the boat yard and the park. If you're lucky there might be snow to add to the view. And certainly take some time to go to the City Museum which I think is one of the most unique museums anywhere.

Maybe not what you want to hear, but here is the use and care instructions from Nordicware:

That's what I get for going too fast. Thanks.

So David, you sent us to a review, but I'm curious what your recent experiences have been?

Thanks for all the replies - now I'll start looking through them at the library.

That picture reminded me that Pierre Herme's Chocolate Desserts book has a nice recipe that's been talked about HERE.

That's a molinillo used for frothing hot chocolate. I use it in my explanation of the history of chocolate and current uses in Mexico.