gfron1

Or better yet - let her watch Ace of Cakes - give her some colored fondant and let her play in the corner.

So, I thought it might be time for some group therapy. Okay, actually I need it. A friend asked me to provide snacks for a big training tomorrow (for therapists), and so I thought, "Great! I'll make my favorite scones and a batch of Ling's brownies." But my mom is in town and I didn't want to ignore her. So I asked if she would make the brownies (its just following a recipe right?). She had some hesitation in her answer so I did all of the mixing. All she had to do is divide the batter between the pans and bake it while I was out doing something else. I came back and sure enough, she had burned the bottoms. Argghhh! What was worse is that she thought they were perfect - so she didn't even know what she had done. I of course wondered if I wasn't adopted. I don't have time to do another batch, so now my friend and 25 therapists, who have been hyped up about me making the food, are going to think I can't even make a pan of brownies! I'm done whining...just give me an "Awe" and I'll shut up now. Who's next for their therapy session?

I've bought 3 freezers and 2 coolers in the past 2 years and acitydiscount.com has consistently been the best price for the equipment. There shipping isn't bad, but always check on freightquote.com for comparable shipping prices. Acity is a regular ebay merchant so you can start there as well.

I remember a post about a year ago asking about qualifications to participate in these classes. For those of you who have done these before, what is the minimum level of skills that you would say should participate? At what level would the discussion be over someone's head?

So spinning off of alanamoana's idea, what about a passion fruit curd - and just run with it like a key lime pie.

Welcome Grimod, Great first post. Welcome to eGullet.org! Rob

I thought I should chime in again. Most of my books are pastries where having a picture is very useful. Today I made a peach tart - I had made all of the components before but the instructions in the book weren't clear enough for me to assemble the way the author had intended. So my penchant for photos is limited to pastry books

Welcome Shai - glad to have you on board and we look forward to seeing some of your creations.

I can tell you that right now I'm reviewing a book that has less than a dozen pictures. Its a great book, but as they say "A picture is worth a thousand words." So now I have a book that I'll have to let me mind create the pictures - which is okay, but to me cookbooks are more than instruction manuals - they are entertainment. As for sketches - blah! Unless they came from a really amazing artist, don't bother me with them.

OMG! Stop the Insanity! Well (as I shake my head in pity), I'll look forward to the pictures. You are amazing.

For me 20% plus a roundup to the easiest bill is my norm for good service. Alinea got me with 13 glasses of wine and so my impaired math skills (as I found out later) brought it to 27%. (Surely its against the law to accept a tip from somone who has had too much to drink ) I'm wondering about the previous comment about coffee shops, etc.. I assume you're talking about coffee shops that come to your table. I can't bring myself to tip at the shops that put a cup on the counter as they hand me my cup and muffin. Why would I tip there? I doubt they are on tip wages. I also want to revist the happy hour question. When I go to a restaurant with a 2 for 1 or % off coupon, I've always paid a tip of the full, not discounted amount because the work is the same. Do you disagree with that approach, or why would you feel that the situations are different?

I want to refine my question because, like paul said, Cluizel is such a nice chocolate, the theory would be that a 99% bar would be special enough to be worth making (v. putting sugar in it and making it a 70% bar). So, my thought is finding a way to highlight the tastes in the chocolate without being turned off by the bitterness. The one bar that I've nibbled at, I've had to just sit on my tongue and let it dissolve for it to be enjoyable and for my head to grasp the complex flavor. So, its that complexity that I want to pull out.

I just a got a bunch of Cluizel 99% Infiti bars, so of course I want to play. I saw one brownie recipe in RecipeGullet, but that doesn't do anything to make the chocolate stand out. Since 99% is too much for 99% of our mouths, how would you all use it in a recipe that wouldn't just melt it into oblivion?

Well if we're going to allow an escape from "cookies" then how about a dacquois - easy to make, easy to eat, more unique texture.

Can you share a tasting menu? I know my tasting menu experiences, if my spouse tried to take any of my food I would have been slapping hands! So anyone who has done that tasting...is it realistically sharable?

We'll have to wait for true confessions from our band of merry food photographers, but to me minor modifications are what I do - adjust color balance and contrast/brightness. Many of the professionals are doing saturation adjustments, color alterations, and white box photography (Patrick appears to be doing this one). Here's an example of what I consider minimal: I set the dessert on top of a lamp draped in fabric. No other adjustments except the basics I mentioned above.

I was just told of a secret stash of strawberries and raspberries out in the mountains near my house. I'll have to time it right to beat the bears, but then I'll be coming back to see what I can do with them.

I agree that amongst our ranks, Ling, Patrick and Chufi are outstanding. Sometimes I think they could take a picture of mud and make me want to eat it. And here's the reason I mention those guys versus the others that have been mentioned - they are doing it with minimal modification/photoshopping, etc. Its sort of a photo in the raw.

Wow! We must be long-lost siblings. I've asked people about these for years and years and no one knew what I was talking about. In the 70s I would sit in my midwest familyroom many Saturday mornings watching HR Puffenstuff or Land of the Lost scarfing a whole box of those things! Thanks for reminding me of the name. And here's a pic:

Thanks for this feedback...BTW, since my pithivier is gone, that means I ate a pound of butter in 2 days

Check out RecipeGullet (Sorry, I would have linked to it, but I can't seem to connect right now), I recently posted two olive oil cakes - chestnut and chocolate thyme, both were good, and both had lots o' oil!

Walking around today I had a food memory that I'm not sure what it was triggered by. In the early to mid 1970s (way back then), I used to get the predecesor to Pop-Tarts. They were oval, where the pastry was a strip wound into an oval, and filled with fruit filling. And they were topped with large crystal sugar instead of frosting. Does anyone else remember these things?

Shivohum, First off - welcome to eGullet and we're looking forward to your posts. To die for...hmmm...its tough for me in the sweet realm, but I love a good, I mean really good, key lime pie!

I wanted to re-visit the puff pastry baking issue. There are a variety of links in eGullet but I didn't see any that specifically addressed the baking process. I'm at altitude which is always a consideration. I preheated the oven at least 1 hour. I keep a baking stone on the bottom shelf of the oven at all times. I baked on the middle shelf. In the end, I baked a full 30 minutes longer than the recipe called for and it still wasn't completely done. Are there specific recommendations for the home baker on baking puff pastry? Rack height? Testing methods?

Pithivier as chronicled in the Pithivier topic. I filled this with almond cream and Armenian blueberry preserves.