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gfron1

eGullet Society staff emeritus
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Everything posted by gfron1

  1. The recipe worked using T2C's explanation. I did have another question - I assumed weight not volume...did I assume correctly?
  2. Got it - thanks all.
  3. Recipe reads: ==== syrup 30°B, lemon juice Mix syrup and lime juice to 18°B and prepare as granité ==== Okay, ignoring the lemon and lime switching, what does the B stand for and are they saying get the syrup to 30° and then lower it to 18°? Is B really C to us Americans? BTW, this is from the Pastry in Europe book reviewed HERE.
  4. I'm looking forward to the new Bodum toasters coming out right now - they're horizontal.
  5. I'm curious if anyone has plans on buying the series John mentions, or might have recently added it to their collection.
  6. I definitely will. I just had a big special event (think 150 gallons of gumbo and 75 pounds of gator on a stick). I have a respite now til June 6th so I'll be playing again. I can tell you that the one you saw was Pierre Herme's Neysa's tart dough with Faugier spread in it. It was delish but the dough wasn't the right texture. I'm going to go back to my basic one and see if I can't make it work as chocolate.
  7. gfron1

    Organic food

    I've emphatically switched my emphasis to local because the politics behind organic is to nauseating. By that I mean a small farmer who truly grows organic, can't afford to get their logo. And I've watched too many of my distributors all of us sudden convert their products to organic - did they really switch or is it just a logo. Its just more than I'm willing to deal with. Grow your own, trade with others and yes, eat the happy animals.
  8. Another option might be to go to a restaurant and ask them to order it for you. I know I can get mine through Sysco. It doesn't matter if the restaurant is the micro-green type, they can still get it.
  9. Done. No discernible difference except the slightly nutty taste from the oil.
  10. Quick note. This morning I subbed hazelnut oil and did it stove top. When I made it the other day my arm ached as if I were doing pate choux which made me think I could go stove top. I'll post results later today after I bake.
  11. Kim - I love when you say things like that but we all know your stuff is gorgeous and truth be told, its what I would prefer at the end of a good meal. as for puree - most are thicker than the calamansi. The calamansi is like a can of orange juice concentrate - so it is very liquidy.
  12. After my first tub molded because I didn't use it fast enough I learned what most of you already know - just cut off a chunk while still frozen. I've now made mousses, cremes and curds with it. I think it would make a helluva margarita but haven't done that yet. And if you have a chest freezer they store very nicely because of their shape and size. And thanks Toni.
  13. Give that man a fuzzy monkey! Yep Pavoni.
  14. I just want to re-emphasize that is good, but not as good. I won't use it in my cafè very often, but at home for a quick tart - sure. Just the same as my choices to use Valrhona for some things and Callebaut for others...its a slippery slope my friends!
  15. No, I didn't squeeze them myself. I've discovered the wonderful world of frozen purees.
  16. Wow. I just did a fake order through PIE's site assuming shipping would make it about the same. The cost for the book and to ship to the US is 46.23EU which is currently $56.23US, that is before any credit card currency fees. In other words, the one seller on Amazon needs a good baguette to the side of the head...and so do I now.
  17. (Note the wrinkle in my brand new cover) Pastry in Europe: 2009, aka The Big Pink Book is Big. Glossy. Pricey. It reminds me of a Hermè cookbook or possibly Alinea, but it is neither. However, this is a good book, and so the question becomes, “For whom is this book best suited?” PIE is a self-published product of Culibooks Inc., which has been around since 1996. Their most well known magazines are Culinaire Saisonnier and Pâtisserie & Desserts. At 255 pages with glossy color photos on nearly ever page, there is plenty of eye candy. At $119.95US on Amazon the book moves out of the price range of most frugal bakers. I have been told that the book can be purchased for only $67 (Chocolate World) if bought in Euros (plane ticket to Europe not included). This book is not published by the big name publishers (Wiley, 10 Speed, etc). However, self-published is not an apt description either since Culibooks, Inc. is a publisher, but many of the industry standards are not met in this book. The paper quality is high gloss, but has already warped in my copy. A lack of an index is a severe downside for me as I have already wanted to look up recipes that required me flipping through numerous pages. (Note: The publishers call the Table of Contents “The Index,” but there is no listing of subjects, recipes or ingredients at the end of the book which would have been extremely useful.) Pastry in Europe 2009 feels like one of those hard-bound glossy books you find in finer hotel rooms that is seeking to serve the Edward Behr (Art of Eating) audience. By that I mean, we have a beautiful, densely packed book full of wonderful material, and not just recipes, but articles about culture, people, technique, yet they are abbreviated articles that leave you wanting more. As an example, there is a nice discussion of cactus fig (prickly pear tuna in my parlance), but I was left with more questions than answers: “What are they using them for?” “The picture of liquor on the side page – is that a cactus fig liquor? “Where can I get more information about the producers?” (The poor image quality is my poor photography skills, not the books) The idea behind those glossy hotel books is to get a tourist to go shopping or eating at a restaurant – PIE is not a shilling book. There are no ads. I read the book more as a celebration of what’s on the minds of European pastry chefs right now. So the abbreviated article format doesn’t work for me. I would prefer a more Behr-esque treatment where we get in-depth on the subjects, and recognizing my comments about the photos (which please don’t misconstrue my comments as the photos are very beautiful), I would suggest that the audience could do with a less expensive, less flashy, more informative book. So then who should buy this book? If you have knocked out some killer mousse or chocolate bon bons, and have a fairly solid grasp of the concept and techniques, and you have a varied interest in pastries (not just one item such as gelato), and you won’t be frustrated when the 2010 edition comes out leaving your 2009 edition feeling a bit dated, then grab the book. It is unique, informative and well…quite interesting to me. I am enjoying it. The book was worth the investment for me as someone who is constantly seeking new techniques, ideas and flavor combinations, although it certainly won’t get the mileage of my Hermè or Amernick books or my Art of Eating magazine. As I make a few more of the recipes I’ll post results at my blog since this is the Cooking and References Forum and I want to stay on topic, and I will alert you to those posts when it happens. I hope this has been helpful.
  18. My Summer Citrus Sensation Yeah, I bought a new mold Calamansi mousse with fresh blueberries inside, sprayed with white chocolate.
  19. Alrighty - made the shell today. It is nice and I will definitely use it again. The downside is that it may not give you the control you need for a professional shell. But, as Kerry said, little or no shrinkage, which was very nice. I went ahead and pressed it in, trimmed it, froze it, then blind baked with weights to do my best to get a clean finish, and here is what I ended up with. You can see - not bad, but not perfect. I could probably have spent more time on it, but... Anyway, it got filled and eaten for pre-dinner
  20. You're forgiven Larry. Here's a yummy attempt, but not one that is right enough for me to list the recipe: Chocolate tart filled with Faugier Chestnut Puree with coarse salt on top
  21. Oddly enough I just read up on this in the new Pink Pastry Book which I'll be reviewing later tonight for eG. They say that there are only two ways to get flavor in 1)artificially in the sugar, and 2) sprinkles on top. The artificial route that has worked for me in the past has involved Kool-Ade or Country Time. For vanilla I might sprinkle vanilla powder on the top. Another thought I had was to infuse vanilla bean in sugar (slow process), then use the sugar, but even then I don't think you would get the punch you're talking about. The book says that regular white sugar is good, but Course Candy Sugar is the best performer for maximum output.
  22. I've had it on my to-do list a long, long time because of this thread. Mt. Lassen told me I had to wait til June to order, but I'm off to do a pre-order also.
  23. yeah, we've watch you bite your way all across the world! But I'll third that statement. Whether it be driving a clunker for a couple of extra years or me spending my money on cookbooks and nice meals before painting my ugly house, it is a matter of priorities. Somehow we find the time and money to do what we want to do.
  24. Actually we were all talking about you last night when we had dinner together, you know all of the eG members beside you, and we decided that you deserved a trip to Barcelona so we passed the hat. I think we have your cab fare covered Just keep perspective. 1) Most eG people don't live the life of Kent Wang and Docsconz (but we all wish we did); 2) I did far more traveling at 25 than I do now that I'm tied down to a business, a partner, dogs...life. I haven't had a good trip in over a decade, and I'm excited as all gitout about my trip to Phoenix in two weeks. Just keep perspective. As far as learning, eG attracts the obsessive types like any other focused forum will. We like to learn whether it be from each other or books, magazines, websites, etc. I knew nothing my first day in eG and now I know next to nothing, so that's progress.
  25. gfron1

    I'm on a puff binge!

    I've had some hits and misses as I've tried different rices, so today I tried to rescue a miss from yesterday and ended up with my favorite yet. I used Thai black/sticky rice and cooked it in a rice cooker. When it was done I followed Tri2Cooks instructions above but I stopped when the rice was dry but still soft. I then fried in peanut oil and found it still too soft...I could have fried longer probably. I wanted to get out of the kitchen so I left it to sit overnight. Today I came in and re-fried (just like french fries) and sure enough got this incredible texture that was softish, a bit chewey, but very crisp. I'll try this now with other rices, and I'll try just frying a lot longer and see if it makes a difference.
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