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Serj

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  1. Serj

    Oranges

    I would say cook them down with a little simple syrup, add some cointreau, puree & strain, and then add it to taste to your favorite neutral pound cake. I imagine it would be pretty good with a layer of ganache spread in between.
  2. I have been doing some baking with Giusto's Peak Performer, which is organic. It's been working pretty well. I don't like it as much as King Arthur, but if it's organic you want, I would recommend it...
  3. I did that one time. I made a huge batch, it looked and smelled awesome- went to clean up and found my citric acid solution sitting on the side of the stove. I scraped off and heated the pate de fruit back up ( to maybe 90C) and it seemed to reverse the pectin a little, it loosened up then I added the acid and recasted it. It came out pretty good. I guess the yellow pectin isn't reversible but doesnt fully activate/seal until the acid is added.. Oops. Making mistakes is the best way to learn right?
  4. I remember going to a place in Providence RI when I lived there called Pastiche and they were open late, with a dessert & drinks theme... Every time I went they were pretty full, so I guess that qualifies as being pretty successful. I visited Portland, OR earlier this year and there are a few places there that are along the same lines, one that stands out in my mind as being fairly hopping was pix patisserie. My feeling is that when it's done well in the right market, you can't go wrong.
  5. At work we freeze all of those things that Alana listed before baking with no problem at all. Just let them thaw in the fridge overnight and you'll be fine.
  6. Serj

    Chocolatier

    This online French dictionary lists chocolatière as both a female chocolate maker/seller and a hot chocolate preparing/serving container... http://www.cnrtl.fr/definition/chocolati%C3%A8re
  7. I agree with letting them thaw in the walkin for a couple of hours before hand instead of at room temperature at the event.
  8. Another vote for fresh French style baguette.
  9. Serj

    PDF texture

    Today at work I thought about how I would describe the firmness of pate de fruit (remembering reading your question). I reminisced back to once upon a time when I made an apple pate de fruit which came out soft (how I imagine you describing yours) and it was crystallized on the outside with virtually no resistance in the middle. Then I thought about an overcooked batch of mango pate de fruit, which came out a little too leathery and you had to struggle a little to get your teeth all the way through, just for it to stick to your teeth, as alana said (obviously being dramatic). This is where I think describing it becomes subjective- you need to have enough resistance to need to bite but not bite hard & feel like you have to chew. Something a little more objective: Every pate de fruit recipe I ever remember seeing/making was cooked to 106-107 Celsius (222.8-224.6 Fahrenheit). Maybe you just need to cook it another couple of degrees Fahrenheit. Good things come to those who wait- the last degree takes the longest!
  10. I have found it comes out a little sloppy. It's hard to get the nice even distribution- lots of splotches. Obviously you get what you pay for!
  11. If I were doing this, I would fill the small mold (lined with acetate) 2/3-3/4 full with bavarian cream and freeze that completely solid (overnight). Then I would filling the bigger mold (lined with acetate) half way with white chocolate mousse, upside down on another sheet of acetate and as quickly as possible peel off the acetate from the bavarian and insert it into the white chocolate mousse, but not all the way down to the sheet of acetate, so that the top of the cake is completely smooth and the same color. Then I would pipe the rest of the white chocolate mousse up the edges. Then I would cut the cake with the bigger mold, trim it slightly to make it 2 3/4" diameter, lavish it with the syrup and push it into the center of the white chocolate mousse, using something to press it down and make sure it's level. Then, instead of trying to play around with glaze (sounds like a pain in the butt to me), I would freeze & spray them with white cocoa butter/white chocolate mix - the velvet effect would look pretty cool.... I would also try and do it as close to the date as possible, just to keep all the extra gelatin from contracting and getting rubbery in the freezer... Just my 2 cents. Good luck!
  12. The only one i've used is capfruit's exotic fruits, which makes a delicious sorbet.
  13. I have a suspicion that the problem may be that I usually make a relatively big batch (2+kg puree) in a big pan and the outside of the pan doesn't get the heat, only the middle does... It's happened a few times on the induction, but never on the gas... Finished school in summer 07, now i'm a worker bee at the Trump Tower here in Chicago. Can't believe it's been a year and a half- how time flies right?
  14. Going back to spraying cabinets--- At work I have discovered speed rack covers as an excellent make-shift alternative. Imagine a very large garbage bag. Cut off the end that is sealed and then cut down one side of the bag, resulting in a very large plastic square. Tape to the wall above a work surface (i prefer in a corner), so that it covers both the work surface, the top of the area below the work surface, and the wall area above the work surface. Spray away. When you're done, roll it up and throw it away. Very little cleaning required. Perhaps not the most cost effective way of doing it, but hey, it works well.
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