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Have you tried any of the pre-blended AP gluten free flours? I believe Bob's Red Mill has one.

If you want an Escoffier book to cook out of, I would recommend getting Ma Cuisine. It has more detailed recipes

Muffin made from a Coffee cake recipe, with a crumble topping. How about fruit turnovers made with pie dough? I like to shape them like pop tarts!

I have used and like Royal quite a bit. In general if you see 'new crop' or 'new harvest' I would go for that.

Agreed, do it in a way that works. Present it to him, let him taste it, then tell him how you made it. If he really wants it done in a specific way request a recipe (polite way of saying put up or shut up). I'm guessing he really won't care, it doesn't sound like he has much knowledge of the pastry kitchen. If he does want to know why you didn't do it the way he suggested just be honest, give him the issues and the solution. Most Chefs are happy to be presented with a good product and not more problems!

You are pretty much SOL. Measuring spoons are not particularly consistent and you can't easily convert to weight because different powders (salt, flour, baking powder ect) will weigh differently. You can of course R&D all your recipes and convert volume to weight. The truth is it doesn't matter all that much most most things as long as you are in the ball park, measuring spoons are plenty accurate for home cooking. When you start doing things in quantity production OTOH..

Rolled like a torchon maybe? the chilled and sliced... Just a thought

Recipe: Pâte Feuilletée Inversée (Inverse puff pastry) Source: Pierre Hermé, Secrets Gourmands Ingredients For the butter block - 175g soft butter - 150g flour For the "détrempe" - 350g flour - 15g salt - 110g melted butter - 1.5 dl water (150g) (Do not use all the water at once, depending on the humidity of your flour; if the détrempe is too hard, you'll have trouble rolling the dough, if it's too wet the dough won't rise properly...) - 1/2 tspn white vinegar Preparing the butter block Mix the flour and the butter until the dough forms a ball, then flatten it in a disk that is 2 cm thick, wrap in film and store for 1 1/2 hour in the fridge, at 4°C. Preparing the détrempe Mix all the ingredients (careful with the water). When the dough is homogenous, flatten it in a square that is 2cm thick; wrap in film and reserve for 1 1/2 hours in the fridge, 4°C. Making the "turns" When the two doughs have rested, remove from fridge, flatten the butter block in a 1 cm thick disk. Place the détrempe in the center and fold the arcs of the butter disk over the détrempe, sealing it fully. Start flattening this square by banging all over its surface with your fist or rolling pin. Then, use the rolling pin and starting from the center, roll genly towards the borders to form a rectangle three times as long as it is wide. Give it a double turn (fold in four, each side folded to the middle then the whole thing folded like a book... if you need more explanations let me know, but there are lots of illustrations on the web). Turn the rectangle so the fold is on your left, press down gently and wrap in film. Place for one hour in fridge. Then flatten the dough with your fist or rolling pin, then roll gently again into a rectangle that is three times as long as it is wide. Give it a double turn, flatten slightly, wrap and store in fridge for at least one hour (dough can stay overnight or for up to two days in fridge at this point). The last turn is a "simple" turn, and is given shortly before you use the dough. Again roll the dough into a long rectangle, and this time fold it in three, like a letter. Wrap and let it rest for half an hour in the fridge. When you roll it at this point you can lightly flour your work surface, but Hermé says it is better not to use flour when you're giving the dough its "turns." Which is tricky since it's the butter that's in contact with the work surface in the beginning. What helps is to keep the dough very cold at all times, and to roll between sheets of parchment paper or cling film.

And then there is the reverse puff pastry (Pâte Feuilletée Inversée)with the butter on the outside!

I like this one: http://www.foodbeam.com/2008/04/10/reussir-la-pate-feuilletee-pas-a-pas-mastering-puff-pastry-step-by-step/

LOL He is SOO getting a letter from their lawyer!

This is not un-common in Fine dining. You just learn to use a variety of spoons (including 2 spoon technique), moribashi, spatulas ect and of course your hands.

Ardberg Uigeadail is really good. My everyday drinker is Bowmore 12, From probably my favorite 'house' bottom to top.

I remember my mom buying fresh chorizo in natural casings from a Mexican butcher at an Persian market in Westwood then hanging it in the laundry room for at least a few days and up to a week IIRC. Really good.

you aren't eating all of that oil, just cooking with it. Let the steak or meat rest on a quarter sheet pan with a rack after for a couple minutes and you are ready to go.

Your pictures said it much more eloquently than I could have. More oil will give the food a much better contact with the heat allowing you a more even sear. Especially if you are using less than ideal (or flat) food service equiptment!

lol, the rumor i heard is that the Bacon Shake is vegetarian! I haven't been recently but maybe I'll take one for the team.

For Chinese or food 'from the Chinese province of San Francisco' I would heartily recommend Barbara Tropp's China Moon cookbook. There is a lot of good technique in there and fun easy to crave recipes.

Hmmm, maybe I enjoy the content of the pictures and how they relate the food and the culture rather than the technical aspects of the pictures.

I've been wanting to eat his food for a while, Have you made anything from it yet? I'll nominate 2 books that I don't actually own but think have great pics: Thai Street Food by David Thompson and Oaxaca al Gusto by Diana Kennedy.

sweet potatoes and beets come to mind as good choices. LOL I remember frying sweet potatoes with out drying them and watching them turn into shrinky dinks Turned into a good size for an amuse bouche not so great for chips though!

I fillet it like taking the skin off of a fish yellow side down on the cutting board, and with a sharp flexible knife like a boning knife, take off as much of the white as you can. Doesn't have to be perfect myer's aren't that pithy anyway.

Most Peterson books that aren't topic-specific are excellent for this. He's quite a teacher. I recently picked up a secondhand copy of his Essentials of Cooking, and I'd recommend it to anyone ready to graduate past Bittman or Joy of Cooking. It teaches how to cook, not how to make dishes--there's not a single recipe in the whole book. And probably the most beginner-friendly of any of his books (I have several) but useful for the advanced cook as well. That's one of the ones I learned on Way back in the day!

FCI's Fundamental Techniques of Classic Cuisine. Its easy to read and understand, with great and clear pictures. Cooking by James Peterson is another winner and will grow with you I LOVE Adv Bread and Pastry BUT would NOT recommend it for anyone other than Pro's and Very adv Amateurs. Gisslen Professional Baking is a better start. Heck I wouldn't recommend AB&P unless you are fairly competent with the concepts in Gisslen's ProBaking

If you are just putting in the lemon peel you shouldn't be adding any salt even w/o blanching. I make preserved lemon aioli all the time some time with preserved lemon puree, sometimes with brunoise of preserved lemon. It's always with home made PL's and have never had it break for any reason other than rushing too much and no using good technique. After all you are filleting the PL and removing the white and pulp right? The yellow shouldn't hold enough salt to cause a problem??? I am not saying salt won't break the emulsion but you shouldn't have enough salt on the PL to cause a problem even if you use excess salt in the curing process.