chefette

I can't believe that no one has mentioned bread pudding with bourbon anglaise. Whenever people hear I am a PC they start immediately telling me about some amazing bread pudding they recently had.

No elyse you are not wrong. You are exactly on target. KateW on the other hand - You are completely wrapped around the axel on a la minute confusing it with tableside. Normally it is - as I believe has been previously covred here by me and others - a dessert consisting of hot and cold, or one or the other elements that need to be brought together on the plate at the last minute since they cannot be plated in advance like a slice of cake. It does not need to involve fireworks in the dining room.

art school next then

Lesley, as Kate described it they are not necessarily preparing these desserts, but providing a menu with pictures. When it comes to standards and old classics I would expect that you would work those in class but that when it came time to do a project like this - your tastebuds and stomach aside, would you really encourage your students to just come right back to you with things that they just did? You would not prefer to see them apply that knowledge and come to you with concoctions (even if they are slightly disturbing) show understanding? At least they are demonstrating that they are doing what you taught them, that they have internalized that knowledge, and can use it. You can give them critical input on how they brought something together, why this does not work with that, or how something could have been re-thought or improved. It is just as possible that they would give you incredibly bad Crepes Suzette I think. What recourse have you then?

KateW maybe you should discuss your understanding - or more importantly, your teacher's definition of a la minute.

Okey dokey: From Fun food facts: A thin dessert pancake, flavored with a sauce of orange (tangerine) juice and zest (sometimes with lemon juice and zest also), Curacao or Grande Marnier, melted butter and sugar. Usually served and flamed tableside. Crepes Suzette were unquestionably popularized in America by Henri Charpentier, a French chef who became John D. Rockefeller's chef in the U.S. Some sources, probably erroneously, attribute the actual creation of this flamed dessert to him, either at the Cafe de Paris in Monte Carlo or at La Maison Francaise in Rockefeller Center around 1896. check out http://www.mrbreakfast.com/superdisplay.as...sp?recipeid=323 look behind the laughing chefs head http://java.sun.com/people/jag/crepes/ http://www.crepecuisine.com/images/57104-c...pes-suzette.jpg http://www.eggrecipes.co.uk/recipesection/...ec/crepsuze.jpg http://www.cafecreosote.com/Recipes/recipe...pe.php3?rid=166 C

Like I said, this wasn't something personal. It isn't being yelled at, and I was trying to help you. If you don't see it that way, then that is fine. What can I say - thirsty horses, water, you don't chose to accept water when its offered, that is you choice.

Are you as impresssed with the guy who slices your entire banana without ever touching it with his hands or peeling it - then he opens it up for you on your plate with his white gloved hands and voila! sliced banana. So its really the waiter that you are interested in - not so much the dessert. Alas, poor hard working pastry chef forgotten in the back (oops, I forgot if all you are doing is setting things on fire for the guests there is not so much work in the back of the house. )

Quote Kate W: "I'm a culinary major and I know next to nothing about desserts." And please, please explain this statement to us. You are interested enough in food to go after it as a profession, to enroll yourself in one of the most highly thought of culinary schools. You must be about 20, so you have eaten several thousand meals in your lifetime. You read books and magazines, you watch TV, you read here - how can it possibly be that you know next to nothing about desserts?

No fish. It is slices of poached pears. After they have been in the wine a few days and you slice them up they look really cool "like" tuna. They go great with a scoop of velvety soft ginger cream (more body than an anglaise, less than a custard - soft melty. Naturalment anything involving a WARM cake and a COLD cream is necessarily a la minute. I would suggest that you look through some popular pastry books at the book store and look at pictures, read recipe names, and think of a menu that sounds exciting. We did this at school too. We had to come up with a restaurant concept and name (or use an existing one) and create a dessert menu of our own that fit in with the theme listing the desserts complete with mouth-watering descriptions and prices. I don't think that you are doing yourself any favors thinking so small and compliant with your program orientation. If you are going to do something kick ass, don't just go through the motions or say that this isn't really what you are doing. That attitude is part of the whole mega problem in the kitchens and schools out there. If you are just going to seek shelter in the safety zone of brownies and something crunchy with some fake strawberry sauce and a daub of whipped cream on the side---argh! Before you asked about plating desserts and I asked you why plating desserts should be conceptually any different than any other component of a meal? If you were putting an Apps menu together what would be on it? How would you describe the dishes, what about the salads, or the entrees? Because you are studying culinary are you only enabled to be creative with steaks and chicken? I am not going off on you personally, but I hear this sort of thing frequently and I want to know why people put on the blinders and sit in small dark boxes not thinking outside them. When you read about Adria and Gordon Ramsay and many of the other people most admired in the profession, you are reading about people who create an appetizer, or a first course, a main course, an amuse, or a dessert with the same passion, enthusiasm, and attitude. They are combining elements of flavor, texture, temperature, and color in ways to delight your senses: aesthetically, visually, texturally, and tastily. Now, if you are going to put a crepe suzette on your dessert menu - what will it be? A couple of spongy eggy crepes sauteed in flaming grand marnier with a scoop of outsourced Ciao Bella Vanilla Ice cream, or will your Crepes Suzette be something that is about delicate thinness, orange essence, creamy vanilla, will the preparation be interesting to the customer because the waiter lights it on fire tableside and slops it onto their plates, or will it be exciting for other reasons inherent to what you tell them is on that plate? Challenge yourself to create something on this. Even if it isn't what you turn in to your teachers because maybe you think they want to see you recreate and color in pictures of some 1962 menu, you should still do a dessert menu - do an entire menu and share it here with us that shows some creativity and excitement. That is my challenge to you and we will help you refine it. We have been talking to you for months, and are interested in your career development, we want you to succeed, and to succeed brilliantly. We have faith in your ability to do better than this.

Well, I did see a really marvellous, compelling dessert once that was just too beautiful and compelling. A little arched bridge and bonzai tree in chocolate with a steam of kiwi sauce and a cherry parfait. One of Msr. M's brilliantly beautiful and artistic creations in our Nation's Capitol.

Depends on your method. If you are using the basic chopped chocolate and hot cream - then pour all the cream over the chocolate, let rest a moment or so to start the melt process then start stirring with small tight circles in the center and let the mixture coagulate around your spatula or whisk (as the case may be). If you are starting with melted chocolate and hot cream (whichever goes into the other) then you gradually pour in a stream whilst stirring (whisking) in small tight circles in the center until the core coagulates and then it will start pulling everything into the center until you have ganache. Let that sit (covered) for about 20 minutes or so then stir in very soft butter. cover so plastic is directly in contact with the surface of the ganache and allow to sit in a cool location for several hours until it crystallizes. I do not recommend refrigerating the ganache at this point. When it is stiff enough to pipe or scoop you are in business.

For you advanced pastry class why are you picking such tired old classic desserts? Why not something newer like pear sashimi: slices of pear poached in red wine with ginger infused cream and a warm liquid center chocolate cake. mmmmmmmmmmm. Think fresh, think for yourselves and come up with something that you think you would like to eat. Not something that has been lurking around for 100+ years especially if anyone (never mind everyone) will probably be using that. IMAGINATION!!!!!!! Key ingredient to successful professional cooking - especially in pastry.

Are you sure that the amount of wine you had consumed by that point in the meal was not influencing you?

so you're telling us that you have one mega big freezer with lots of available space - we will all be right over with things to freeze. You should be able to freeze your cake. Personally I would not have decorated it first, but... Wrap it up as tightly as you can in plastic or a box if it will fit in your freezer. Remove it and keep it sealed. Sounds like the drive should do it allowing it to come to room temp before unsealing or unwrapping. I would not underestimate the desire of people to dig in and eat up this cake regardless of its showcasability. cake is cake after all.

Lots of herbs and teas work out great. I like the results I get cold infusing herbs in the cream for 24 hours. For more punch with ginger or some others I would leave the pieces in the cream whilst heating then strain before adding to the chocolate. I have achieved a really nice fresh mint this way - but don't boil it as the mint goes a bit cabbagy. I prefer the dark chocolate with mint as I fing the caramelly tones of milk interfere and the white is downright hostile. also look into the moroccan mint tea as a flavoring. Another path with the mint is to whiz the fresh mint into a warm simple syrup and let it set a few hours before straining. Use the syrup to falvor your ganache. I have also had good results with thyme in white chocolate with caramel. In plain white it tastes a bit medicinal.

What are your thoughts on culinary schools for career changers? It seems to me that the information is available out there and is actually reflected in the literature of most schools, but that it is couched in such a way to aid people's impressions that all problems such as age, low pay and difficult hours and environments can be overcome and will not be serious concerns for graduates of culinary schools. Do you agree that there is a tendency to this sun behind flimsy clouds approach? Also, it seems that many people (often in their 30s or 40s with college educations and many years as white collar professionals under their belts) considering a $20K plus culinary education to change careers approach culinary school like a college class and competitively strive for grades which are essentially meaningless in the industry. How do you feel about people making this type of career change and is it really something you would recommend to someone if you knew them personally?

The scuppernong pie does sound pretty awful, but I was willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. I thought they might end up sort of like candied kumquats although I cannot think of having a pie of kumquats either. It seems as though the skins might actually stain your teeth, your hands, and aything else that they happened to touch. I did think that they were really tasty though. Of course if I found a great way to use them I would probably never ever see them in the store again. I was thinking that maybe you could use them sort of like you might use litchees, but it seems that with the exception of the amazing Litchee Panna Cotta with basil infused grappa that there are not alot of great ways to use litchee out there either.

Of course, I think it is rarely the server's decision to introduce him or herself to diners. They are usually required to do so. Also, I have noted that this usually only takes place in places like the Olive Garden and TGIF etc...... where are you guys eating?

It looks as though they are sort of defiant as fruits go. I thought the Scuppernong Pie sounded intriguing: Mash out the juice, use it to cook the hulls, fill the pie shell with the tenderized hulls. Maybe I'll try making a tart or two to see how it works out....

Bunch of stuff as in.......? Or do people primarily just eat them plain? Do you eat the skin or peel it ?

At the grocery store this weekend I happened across Scuppernongs in the fruit section. They are a bit smaller than a golf ball, come in a plastic carton, come in a dark purple or sort of yellow green. They have sort of a thick tart skin, smell sort of musky, have seeds like grapes. They taste sort of like Concord Grapes to me. Is anyone familiar with these? Are they just giant Concord Grapes, or something completely different? Has anyone used these for anything? What? I like the fruit, but the skin seems undesirable and the seeds are sort of a pain.

Reading through this made me think: 1- How DO you really categorize high-end food or cooking anymore? What makes something French or Italian, or anything else when pretty much everyone everywhere can get most any ingredients and can put them together using their own senses as a guide? 2- It seems that we seem much more willing to allow French chefs to improvise and adapt and still be 'French' where we don't seem willing to allow for so much drift in other cuisines. Maybe this question belongs in a completely different thread, but I thought of it here so here it is.

I neglected to mention the beautiful open kitchen. It was really cool to watch the chefs all crafting the food. I would have to say it really rivals the FL. I counted about 9 cooks, all steadfastly at work.

Well, we ate at Maestro last night and it was probably the most amazing, interesting, and visually beautiful meal I have ever had. Serious foodies really must go there. Fabio is fabulous. We had a tasting menu featuring about 14 courses of meticulously crafted tiny, sumptuous and fascinating courses all beautifully paired with very interesting and delicious wines by Vincent, the sommelier. 1- Amuse: tube tuiles one filled with buffalo mozzarella, one filled with salmon tartar each topped with a demi spoon sized quenelle of olive tapenade on a thick clear glass disk with two quarter sized impressions in which the tubes stood. 2- Amuse: A magnetized angled cup of warm foamy milk gazpacho with a half crayfish in the shell on the side; 3- Le Acciughe: Marinated fresh Florida Anchovies with confit sweet red peppers, marjoram, bottarga di maggine, citronette of baby capers, lemon zest; 4- Il Mosaico: Mosaic of wild king salmon, seared blue fin toro, caribbean princess conch meat jelly on saraceno potato pancake with white salmon caviar; 5- Le Cappesante: Pan-fried Cape Cod scallop wrapped in focaccia crisp, nova scotia hand picked chanterelle mushrooms and salsa verde 6- I Spaghettini: Homemade chitarra spaghetti, santa barbara sea urchin in crushed peperoncino, young garlic sauce and crispy celery; 7- Il Branzino: Wild Brittany Coast line-caught sea bass dusted with fennel pollen cooked in a cocotte, sauteed fennel in fennel-anise sauce; 8- Il Cappuccino: Cappuccino of Castelluccio lentils with grilled country bread, seared Belle Farm foie gras, milk froth, and Montegottero hazelnut oil; 9- Il Piccione: Tuscan style flat crispy pigeon cooked under brick, bay leaf caramelized carrots, english peas and grapes in cremonese fruit mustard 10- Il Bue Rossini XXI Secolo: Locally raised Sunny Side Farm Kobe beef, XXI Century 11- Pre-dessert: Panna Cotta with basil infused Grappa 12- Il Souffle al Torcolato: Peppermint and chocolate souffle with Sacher Sorbet 13- Madeleines with warm chocolate sauce The descriptions hardly do the food justice. Each course was picturesque, was a suprise, and just more perfect than you could really imagine. I wish I had been taking pictures. I also feel terrible that I don't like some of the elements in some of the courses, but despite my basic dislike of fish one of the real standouts all night for me was the crisp-skinned sea bass which was really wonderful. The panna cotta was litchi panna cotta (soooooo good), and the madeleines were about the size of a fingernail, served warm in a tiny crock with cups of melty chocolate for each of us to dunk them in. Steve will have to provide the accompanying wines which were also amazing. Probably the most interesting to me was a very herbal white that we had with the scallop. So, bottom line, Fabio is GREAT and people should make a point of eating at Maestro. It would be a shame to miss out on a talent like his.