nightscotsman

Oh right! I meant to ask you about that! I was in Vegas for New Year's weekend and went running over to Bellagio to see the new shop (because it was advertised in the MGM/Mirage magazine)... only to find that it was still "under wraps." Very disappointed Anything you can tell us about the shop? Will it be sit-down/takeaway? Just pastries or pastries/chocolates/ice creams? Tell, tell, tell.... ahem, sorry, calming down. ← The shop officially opened today. There are a few tables for sit-down, but mostly takeaway. There's a full line of breakfast pastries/croissants/etc., many types of individual dessert pastries (I was "mister fruit tart" today), ice cream, chocolates, sandwiches, and crepes. Everything is made in-house from scratch. Of course I don't want to hijack Mel's thread, so I'll start a new one next week when I've got photos. We're still hiring!

OK, Jean-Philippe Maury Patisserie opened today (really) in Bellagio. I'll try to get some photos up next week. Now... I'm going to bed.

Tell me about it... At the rate I'm burning through movies from Netflix, there won't be anything new to watch in about 3 months. Go out to dinner? Sorry, got to be in bed by 5:00 (well, more like 3:00 now) I actaully volunteered for the time shift so I could work on stuff for our new pastry shop - which is supposed to open today, after about a month delay. I'll post photos as soon as I can get them. Wait till you see what kind of pastry shop several million bucks can build!

Are you sure this was in the kitchen and not the "play room"?

Social life? BHAAHAAHAAAAHAAAAAA! (starting tomorrow I move from the 4:00 am start time to 2:00 am )

Yep, spray. It's all about the lecithin. Or use silicone baking molds (Flexipan or Silcone Flex). That's why you pay somebody else to do it.

Package Nakazawa Co. does some beautiful stuff, both off-the-shelf and custom. They are based in Japan, but have offices in LA. Their web address is: http://packagenakazawa.web.infoseek.co.jp/

I just got back from taking my Dad to the Cravings buffet at the Mirage for lunch, and I'm very sad to say the quality has gone down drastically since I was last there a few months ago. It's not as completely awful as say the Gold Coast, Palms or Luxor buffets, but certainly not worth the premium price they're charging. Preparation quality was lower across the board and it looks like they're trying to cut corners on food costs by using cheaper ingredients. Gone were the fresh raw oysters, BBQ ribs, asparagus in the Chinese stir fry, eel sushi, and there many fewer choices for dessert with lots of nasty cake made from mixes, non-dairy whipped topping and strawberry filling from a bucket. It's too bad, because it really was very good when it first opened. I'll be taking visitors who insist on a Vegas buffet experience to Bellagio from now on.

I haven't been able to check out a copy yet, but I plan to buy it anyway. Wybauw is extremely knowledgeable about chocolate and this looks to be his definitive book. JB Prince has it for $100 here.

This was the "Sticky Toffee Pudding" (NOT to be confused with a traditional English sticky pudding), which is butterscotch pudding baked with a biscuit topping in an individual cast iron skillet, served with whipped vanilla mascarpone and a caramel tuile. I had dinner at Fix just last night with my Dad who had this for dessert and loved it, though I have to say it's not very poplular in the pastry kitchen. Dad's from Scotland and tends to like more "bland" foods. My favorite Fix dessert is the donuts - I hope you give them a try next time you go. The brownie with espresso milk shake is also very good (I know what you're thinking: "a brownie? yawn", but these are amazing brownies). For dinner I had the diver scallops served with bacon, spinach, potato cakes and crab holandaise "benedict syle". Sooooo good! Oh, and the "seasonal martini" with vodka, Tanqueray Ten, strawberries and basil was lovely, light and refreshing.

There are two basic types of marshmallow recipes that I've seen - ones made with egg whites, which are meringue set with gelatine, and ones without whites like the one I posted here. If you're making an Italian meringue buttercream, then yes, you could add gelatine to the whipped whites and have marshmallow, though if you then continue and add the butter, you would just have a buttercream made thicker, less workable, and probably rubbery due to the gelatine, so I wouldn't recommend it.

I'll check to see the brand when I go back to work tomorrow. Chances are it's French .

They're doing final inspections and the counter staff is training, but... no. Not open yet. Maybe by this weekend. My Dad's in town visiting, and I was hoping it would be open by now, but we did stop by to peek through the curtains. I think you'll be impressed. I will actually be moving to an earlier shift soon (that's right, earlier than 4:00 AM ) to work on the new stuff, but they don't have a specific date yet. I'll post as soon it opens and upload some photos in the Pastry Forum.

Here is Jacques Torres's recipe for champagne truffles: click.

Invert sugars such as trimoline are actually much sweeter than sugar (sucrose), so while they will do a good job lowering the freezing point, they may not be what you're looking for. Glucose/corn syrup is less sweet, but using too much will tend to give a rubbery texture to the finished product.

As long as you know what to look for to tell if the souffle is done, you can use any size dish you like. Of course the dishes should have straight sides and flat bottoms, but given that, you could even use coffee cups. If you butter the tartlet pans (or use non-stick spray) before lining with dough and baking, you shouldn't have problems removing the shells when they're baked. No need for removable bottoms, Although a non-stick coating will make your life much easier.

The main difference is the baking jam is made with a type of pectin that does not re-melt when heated, so in the oven it will retain it's shape and not ooze out of a filling, unlike traditional jams and jellies meant for spreading on toast that will melt to a liquid when reheated.

Welcome to eGullet, David - and thanks for the info. I wasn't aware of the effect acid level had on temperability (is that a word?). May I ask what brand(s) of chocolate you prefer to work with?

OK... "Bread to the Bone" "Yeast of Eden" "Sponge Bob Square Pans" "Bake to the Future" "Dough the Right Thing"

Or if you wrote it here, you could call it "Leavening Las Vegas".

There's an ad for the chocolate melters/holders in the latest PA&D. The brand is Mol d'Art and they are imported by Technobake Systems, 609-466-4588. They offer three sizes: 3kg, 6kg, and 12kg. Chef Rubber seems to have the same models here. And no, they ain't cheap.

I haven't heard any details, but I do know that Daniel Boulud will have a place, as well as the former exec chef from Renoir (now closed) and the exec chef from Le Cirque in Bellagio (which will remain open).

There are a couple other ways to try some Bellagio pastries while waiting for the new shop to open: 1) Palio. Breakfast pastries, including danish and croissants made in house in the morning, and dessert pastries in the afternoon. My favorites are the tiramisu and the raspberry tarts which look like this: 2) Afternoon tea at Petrossian, served from 2:00-5:00. For $25 each person chooses four finger sandwiches, gets a selection of our mini pastries, plus scones with all the sides like clotted cream, lemon curd, and various jams. Oh, and of course, a pot of tea from an extensive list. Please note - reservations are required.

Sorry, still not open yet. Probably another week. We're ready to go in the kitchen, but construction is behind schedule.

Thanks for the tip. I tried to find info the the FoodTV site and it looks like the first showing is actually Sunday night, with repeats during the week. Here's the schedule