tan319

Even though recipe mistakes are a pain, this book is one of the more solid mainstreamish ones that exist, IMHO. It's a good idea to stick to a recipes directions though. It's always a bit scary when you're doing something you're not real sure of and for me, rice pudding (and creme brulee) are STILL the ones where I'm always wondering... Just for the record, I made the rice pudding from CDPH before the corrections were graciously offered by Dorie and although it did thicken up quite a bit, it was enjoyed at a party my family was invited to as a component of a parfait that included a pistachio pudding and a very deep chocolate creme (not PHs). There were no complaints BTW: If you have a problem with a rice pudding where you want more of a fluff factor, try whipping some heavy cream and folding it in to give it a lift and a little extra luxury. I suppose you could also use a lightly sweetened Italian meringue too instead of or along with the whipped cream. Some people like to use pastry cream but I've never really dug that. The only thing she sent in was the 4 to 1 ratio.. It seems that this recipe is just a dud.. ←

I think your idea is solid. And I do think there is a platform for both pastry books and professional kitchen operation books. 'get on er'.

I wasn't suggesting a parallel, just that the pedigree of chefs involved (not to suggest that Gordon was in the same league as Psaltis, I have no idea on that). I suppose that's the restaurant game, seems kind of sad though... I agree with Strong, just get it over with, start a new place. Oh, I give Caviar and Banana, whatever it's called, till the end of the year, with this time next year as the max. Admin: The discussion thread archive for Mix under chef Doug Psaltis may be found here. The discussion thread for Mix under chef Francesco Berardinelli and renamed as "Francesco at Mix" may be found here

Fat Guy wrote this way back when,04/27/04 "This is Ducasse's Bay of Pigs. As a strong believer in both Ducasse and Psaltis, I've got to agree with Given -- who by the way was the best waiter at Mix -- that this whole incident feels like a bait-and-switch, a sellout, a betrayal, and a "deniability debacle." I don't think any reasonable person would begrudge Ducasse the right to make some money by lending his name to a Chodorow-type crapola emporium. But that's not the story the true believers were told: Mix was supposed to be serious, Mix was serious, serious chefs and cooks like Psaltis and his kitchen team staked their reputations and livelihoods on it, writers like Jeffrey Steingarten and I championed it, and then this. I suppose Ducasse simply lacks the economic leverage to tell Chodorow to go fuck himself. Still, he could have handled this better. Here's hoping this was a one-time mistake and that Ducasse can earn back the credibility he sacrificed when he stranded his troops on Chodorow's beach." Does this statement, even though he wrote it about another chef, still apply? Fat Guy wrote this about Damon Gordon, 05/26/04 "I wandered downstairs into the kitchen to get a look at Damon Gordon. I interrogated him about his background, which is no joke. I'll try to get an official bio on him but he's worked for Ducasse, Ramsay, Troisgras . . . I think that's what he said. " Wow, he got thrown too, amazing...

To answer your question for the others, I guess not.. It's been a weird week or two for the Ducasse organization, now Damon Gordon is gone, the MIX concept has been changed to 'Franceso at MIX', Francesco Berardinelli that is, and the concept is Tuscany. All of this according to 'The Strong Buzz', Food 'n' Culture writer Andrea Strongs newsletter. http://thestrongbuzz.com/ I wonder how long this will last? I love the whole 'SPOON' concept, and I've always thought that MIX NYC and now MIX Las Vegas, read like the American version of SPOON. I plunked down 185.00 bucks for the BIG SPOON cookbook, I'm a fan. Where did this whole thing go wrong? I've read very uneven things about the L.V. restaurant. Any thoughts? And has anyone tried the new one?

Just wanted to bump this back up, 'cause I don't want to get it all forgotten about naturally ←

Would love to hear all about it, the dessert end naturally getting my attention... naturally

breathttaking pic, can't wait to see some more.

Don't ever give up on the chocolate! I remember S&S from D.C., good stuff. I'm still kicking myself for not buying any. I don't know if this is a common thing among pastry chefs, but having to work with it so much, I have a real aversion to chocolate. We did say I was crazy, didn't we? ←

I think I remember reading about that chocolate goat cheese in an article on Jean George Vongrighten pastry chef Johnny Izzuni (sic?). Great blog, 'zilla. My dads from Kentucky, it's taking me back

Can F^&*ing Not F%#@*ing Wait!!!

All the best to you and your crew tonight, chefG!!! Hope you have a ball.

Nobody ever fires FOH, it's always the kitchens fault :

In the article Ducasse also claims he wants a less classic approach to fine French cuisine. As an outsider (never have eaten there, unfortunately), I thought the photos I saw of the dishes at ADNY, even if not taken under controlled circumstances, the dishes looked kind of stodgy, plates overloaded or just too small for what was going on them. I think the dishes I've seen from D.B. or even J.G.V. looked much sleeker, modern yet classic, especially in D.B.'s case. I realise that I'm judging from quickly taken photos but... I appreciate Ducasses honesty, he never addressed Psaltis getting canned from MIX,NYC, did he? Ducasse probably needs to be around a bit more too, have been hearing very uneven things about MIX,L.V.

And it performs well?

and starting at 199.00??? That's a pretty sweet deal. No more freezing those canisters, amongs many other things. Hopefully these work well. http://www.chefscatalog.com:80/store/catal...terId=cat000129 For whomever might be interested.

I'm working on some, akwa. In the meantime, isn't this worthy of a bump? I would love to hear from you guys. BTW, any tips you could start off with, Will? thanks!

WELL? HOW WAS IT??? Sorry, I was yelling Did you have the chocolate consomme? All ears (and eyes). Thanks in advance!

I'm wondering if you can get a product not only as close to the trimoline you would buy from a supplier but as good a substitute gram for gram, from the recipe above.

An update to the dessert globe mystery. Not chocolate but maybe the methods are similar? Chef Cantu of Moto does his thing. http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/chi...74.story?page=1

Mette, those look awesome! Nice work indeed.

Nice beginnings, I think it's going to be a great site.

Is Frederic Robert still the executive pastry chef there? Thanks for any info. Also, does anyone have any thoughts on the desserts at MIX? I've mainly heard negatives. ←

You can often find citric acid in a natural foods store, herbalist or candle making store. Maybe GNC or those kinds of places too.

corn syrup is often suggested as a sub for glucose. I've never seen it suggested as a sub for invert sugar ala trimoline. I'll bet nightscotsman has a recipe for invert sugar also. BTW, everytime those Torreblanca/Corvitto books are mentioned I get shaky and try to figure out how I could possibly snaggle 400 dollars worth of books into my place. Not to mention that 'Grand Livre' desserts book that throws another 225 on there...