nightscotsman

Another thing that might be making your truffles soft is when you add the butter. If you melt the butter in with the chocolate and hot cream, the ganache will be softer than if you add soft butter to cooler ganache (like about 60c). The butter will retain it's emulsification and the finished product should be firmer.

We've had the prototype "improved" 6 quarts for over a month now and mostly they've been OK. The only issues we've had are: - The whisk and paddle attachments could reach closer to the bottom of the bowl for smaller quantities and doughs (lots of scraping and tweaking the bowl up off its supports), but this seems to be an issue will all KithenAids. - They are louder than the 5 quarts and have a high pitched whine at high speed. - The particular model on my table has an issue with the speed switch. Sometimes when you crank it to '10' quickly, it doesn't turn on at all, or it will start, but only speed up to about the '8' speed untill you turn it down and back up again. - The little rubber feet sometimes pop off when sliding it across the table. Other than these fairly minor issues they've been fine. The power is good, and I like the slowed start feature that keeps ingredients from flying out of the bowl. The wider and shallower bowl hasn't been a big issue.

I'm in Me too!

Isn't there an Olive Garden (and several other chains) in Times Square?

I refer back to the figure skating analogy - the programs developed for Olympic competition are very different from professional non-competition events. They are not "real-world" pieces meant to be reproduced night after night for a paying audience. They are prepared for a few very specific events that are judged on very well understood criteria. Yes, there are some required elements, but mostly it is up to the contestants to decide how difficult they want to make the piece. The more difficult - jumps and such in skating vs. height, fragility (or seeming fragility) and range of techniques in pastry - the higher the possible points they can score. That is IF they execute perfectly. If not, then a piece with lower difficulty, but no mistakes, could win. And no, just like figure skating, judging technical perfection doesn't depend on everyone performing or producing the same piece, though it does open the door to some subjective scores. The judges are experts in the field and know what to look for even though the performances or pieces may be completely different. And like I said, artistic presentation is still important, just not the primary criteria for judging. The downside to the competition setup in both skating and pastry is that there is a very small pool of qualified and respected people to choose from for the judges' table, so you tend to see the same style of work being rewarded while stuff that is too "new" is underscored. Both worlds are extremely conservative at that level. If you don't happen to like the dominating style, then you may very well see competing as a fairly pointless and dated exersize. Others may see it as exciting and envelope-pushing. I personally don't have a problem with molds used in competition. The judges are aware of what is molded and what is not, and I think would take that into consideration when awarding scores. This would tend to discourage the overuse of molds since it lowers the potential high score for the piece. The pastries themselves are judged primarily on taste, as they should be. They are an entirely different animal than the showpieces and simply don't have the same potential to display difficulty or structure.

I'm really enjoying this thread and the current discussions on both mold making and it's use in pastry competitions. I especially would like to welcome Michael Joy to our little group and hope that he will continue to both enjoy the site and share his expertise with us. To add my own 1.5 cents, I would just like to point out that, while there is artistry involved in the creation of showpieces for competition, these are not museum or gallery art shows where personal expression is paramount. They are more similar to an event like figure skating where creativity and artistic presentation are important and a major part of the judges' scores, but technical perfection and level of difficulty are at least - or even more - important. So while looking to the art world for inspiration is a good thing, these events are much more about craftsmanship and skill. Which is why the Spanish showpieces received such low scores, because while perhaps artistically interesting, they really didn't look very challenging technically and even seemed to ignore the event theme completely.

I would like to add my recommendation for the Seattle Central culinary school. Their pastry program is not as good (in my opinion) as South Seattle, but I believe they are the best for savory in town. However, if you don't mind traveling a bit outside of Seattle, I would take a serious look at the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. With the exchange rate, the tuition is not much more than community college, but they have a much more ambitious program and they really try to give students more of an "apprenticeship" type experience that comes closer to a real working restaurant. Also, their program is only 6 months as opposed to a year and a half, which would get you out working and making money sooner. At the very least it would make a nice trip to visit the school in Vancouver to compare and take in some nice restaurants.

YGM?

We recently had a small sampling from Vanille, the new shop in town, and Bittersweet. The stuff from Vanille was very high-quality with clean, bright flavors and modern presentation. The passionfruit tart was a standout. The Bittersweet items in comparison were dissapointing. The pound cake was dry and flavorless and the croissants were the worst I've seen outside of a supermarket bakeshop - misshapen, greasy and underbaked. I just wish more of you guys could come and take them off my hands. I have three cakes in the fridge right now that will probably go to work with my roommate today, and I'll be bringing home two or three more tonight. PLEASE PM ME IF YOU CAN COME AND GET THEM (I'm in Rogers Park)! And there will be sorbet and ice cream starting next week.

Also, it has been shown that when a Starbucks opens in a community, business actually INCREASES at nearby independent coffee places. They say it's because Starbucks brings visibility and helps educate customers about gourmet coffee, as well as how much that cup of premium coffee should cost. I'm sure there's also a backlash effect from those people who turn to the independents to purposefully snub Starbucks.

Oh, this wasn't a taping of an actual episode - just an audition. You fill out a form, they sit you in front of a camera by yourself and you say your name, where you live, and talk for about a minute about your favorite restaurant. I'm sure they all have a good chuckle watching the tape back at the studio, but you'll never see it on the air. I hope... By the way, they were doing these auditions at a benefit for the Fairy Godmother Foundation at Catalyst Ranch downtown. The theme of the evening was desserts and chocolate and sugar showpieces, and some of the top pastry chefs in the city - and some from out of town - were demoing and offering tasting portions of desserts. Some of the chefs even made wearable pieces that were modeled by assistants, including one girl who was dressed as Tinkerbell with a dress and wings made entirely of sugar. I was there because they asked students at the French Pastry School volunteered to help out for the evening. I took lots of photos and I hope to get around to posting them soon.

C'mon, really? How? They ask you to talk about your favorite Chicago restaurant (that hasn't already been reviewed on the show), and since I've really only been to a handful of places here yet, I chose Charlie Trotter's. When they turned on the camera I babbled on and on about the amazing service and how they will bend over backwards to make your experience special. It wasn't until about 20 minutes later that I realized I never even mentioned the food! Doh!

Yes, Check Please is still on and they will be producing new episodes. I actually auditioned for the show last weekend. I sucked.

Must have a spit bucket next to him in the kitchen.

Sorry, but Oregon is pronounced properly with three syllables: O-re-gun with the accent on the first and a short 'e' in the middle. And since when is Oregon anywhere near the Rocky Mountains? Perhaps you mean the Cascades? Please excuse the side-track. As a native I felt compelled to set the record straight.

helenas redirected me to Amazon Canada (via PM) for "Plaisirs Sucres" where it was actually cheaper than the French site, so I quickly cancelled my first order and replaced it at Amazon.ca. I also thought I'd toss in "Secrets Gourmands" while I as at it, since I don't have that one either. Total will probably be about $75 US for both books, including shipping. They probably won't show up for at least a month, but I'm in no hurry. Thanks Helen.

BLESS YOU! I didn't even think of looking on the French Amazon site. I just placed an order (I hope, since I don't read French) and it came out to a little less than 40 euros. Thanks so much for the tip.

I've never been able to find "Plaisirs Sucres" anywhere for any price. I would love to have it. It's been awhile since I looked, so I may try searching again. OK, I just Googled and it looks like Barnes and Noble has it for $125. A little steep for my budget right now. I'll have to see if I can find it cheaper. Does Kitchen Art & Letters accept phone orders and ship out of state?

I do own all three, and enjoy them all. The only real overlap is in some of the base recipes like pastry cream and puff pastry. "La Patisserie" is written specifically for the professional chef and therefore has much more complex and difficult recipes and the directions are shortened to the bare minimum - it is assumed you already know how to make creme anglais and turn puff pastry. Dorie Greenspan actually wrote the other two books aimed at the home cook, and while the items range from simple to fairly involved, the directions are very detailed and everything is spelled out.

Was May 2003 (with Florian Bellanger) the last issue? I was a bit upset since I thought I had missed the July "10 Best Pastry Chefs" issue and couldn't find a copy anywhere.

Vanille just opened a few weeks ago and I haven't made it there yet, but our instructors brought in some of their stuff for us to sample. Based on the tart and petit fours we tasted, I would say they may be the new best in Chicago (certainly better than Bittersweet, which we also sampled), but I would have to see more to tell if they were "world-class". OK - the passion fruit tart filling was excellent, but we thought the crust was a bit too thick.

How about the Bellagio in Vegas? I realize they are working in HUGE volume, but I'm told the quality is very high. Can anyone confirm or deny? By the way, I asked Jacquy Pfeiffer to post some comments on the "French Chefs moving to the US" topic, and he said he would be happy to. Michael - were you going to start that thread?

SanFran88 - I didn't see "On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGee on your list. While it's certainly not a pastry book in the strictest sense, I would consider it essential reading and reference if you want to really understand what is happening in a recipe and with ingredients. The chapters on milk and dairy; eggs; bread, doughs and batters; and sugars, chocolates and confectionery will be of particular interest.

Like Nero, I can't miss school on Friday, so if I'm to join the outing it will probably have to be for Saturday and/or Sunday only. Also, since I have no income and continuing major expenses, if anyone can help me out in the transportation or lodging area I would be extremely grateful. But if I can make it, I will be bringing birthday cake at least, and probably some other goodies depending on what we're doing in school that week. And Chef Laiskonis, I'm very excited about meeting you and chatting about pastry stuff, so I do hope you can make it.

Guacamole. Can't. Stop. Eating it.