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jumanggy

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Everything posted by jumanggy

  1. Hi Blurby, here is a list of pretty much all the US books about the experience of pastry chefs. Take note that I haven't really read any of these (some browsed). 1. Baking Boot Camp: Five Days of Basic Training at The Culinary Institute of America 2. The Making of a Pastry Chef: Recipes and Inspiration from America's Best Pastry Chefs 3. Spiced: A Pastry Chef's True Stories of Trials by Fire, After-Hours Exploits, and What Really Goes on in the Kitchen 4. Career Diary of a Pastry Chef: Gardner's Guide Series 5. Ace of Cakes: Inside the World of Charm City Cakes (eh...) 6. Confections of a Closet Master Baker: One Woman's Sweet Journey from Unhappy Hollywood Executive to Contented Country Baker As you can see, there's not a whole lot, but they are out there!
  2. I think because of the significant variability in ovens, there's a need to preface most macaron instructions (in fact, anything wherein rising/falling/browning is tricky business) with exactly what you're using. 1. Heating element bottom w/w/o fan 2. Heating element top w/w/o fan 3. Heating element behind w/w/o fan (does w/o fan exist?) 4. Heating element top and bottom w/w/o fan Someday we may need to have proper names for all these and maybe there'll be no more confusion
  3. It would be fairly easy to figure out the needed amounts for a cup of hollandaise given a ratio, if you're going to assume that the final weight of half a cup will be close to 120 grams. However, there's still the element of loss (from evaporation, if it even really happens. I dunno, I've never had to make hollandaise!). The eclairs are a different story, however. I can't think off the top of my head how much an unbaked choux would weigh, and I can't deduce it from a recipe since there's tons of loss from evaporation there. So, that's probably another book altogether... Ratio 2. Or something.
  4. I made the roasted rice cakes some time ago (posted on my blog)-- I've been eying this for a while and you cannot imagine how excited I was to finally see dok (dduk?) in the freezer section! (In San Francisco. Never seen it before in Manila, though it probably exists somewhere.) I liked it (hello, sweet, salty, spicy) but I couldn't eat too much. My guests were polite and ate one or two, saying they were "okay." But they're not used to Korean food, or spicy food, or... (oh well.) I know we plucked this out of the Cookbooks thread, but Lamington and I published a review of the book here. There've been at least two blogs that surfaced aiming to cook through the book: Momofuku at Home and Momofuku for 2.
  5. Way to go, Sheena. Sorry it didn't work out at the frying. All I can think is to make sure the surface is super-dry, and the oil, dangerously hot. Like, maybe-I-should-be-doing-this-outside hot. (Which, some kitchens in the Philippines actually are-- outside.)
  6. I actually have the same confessions as a few of you, the snack cakes, pineapple in pizza, and canned broth (and bouillon cubes!) in particular. But I'm not really ashamed. I can appreciate fancy pastries and authentic pizza too -- they all have their merits. However, the only thing I'm really ashamed of is: pasteurized processed cheese food. I don't know if it qualifies as cheese. But it browns well. It's creamy. It's salty. It's cheap. And it's a component of a few Filipino dishes. If I bought cheese from the deli for everything I made that required it, I'd be broke
  7. (ooh, 500th post.) It's a little confusing for me at least because pata means thigh as far as I know, but she specifies feet in the recipe, and I'm pretty certain that I see all the tarsal bones when eating crispy pata, and I still have to sort through ligaments and stuff, though it's never been a big deal. Perhaps the long simmering is a factor. In any case, you can "crispy pata" most any part of the pig, so go for it!
  8. This isn't a tried recipe, but it's from Nora Daza, one of the most popular Filipino cookbook writers and chefs of all time. 2 pieces pork trotters (front ones preferred, more meat she says) 3 tbsp coarse salt 1 tsp monosodium glutamate... obviously optional 1 tbsp native vinegar (great write-up of Philippine vinegars here 2 pieces bay leaves 1 teaspoon black peppercorns, pounded 5-6 cups water 2 onions, chopped a LOT of cooking oil for deep-frying Clean the feet. Make longitudinal slits on the legs and marinate in salt, msg, vinegar, bay leaves, and pounded peppercorns for 3-12 hours in the fridge. Transfer all this to a big enough pot and add enough water just to cover the meat (don't want to dilute the flavors too much, she says). Add salt (she doesn't say how much this time) and the onions then simmer until the meat is tender. Drain the meat and hang in a cool place OR dry under the sun for 3-4 hours. In a giant wok, pour some oil and add the meat. Turn on the heat and cover. Once the oil has stopped sputtering, remove the cover and continue frying until the skin is golden brown and crisp. Turn the meat and crisp the other side. Blisters should have formed, but if they haven't, repeat the frying. Okay, so she's not the greatest recipe writer (even if the recipe above is in my own words), she could use a little more detail, but that's the recipe! Sauce is indeed vinegar, soy sauce with or without fish sauce, chili peppers, and minced garlic and/or onion.
  9. I've made filled doughnuts by just poking the pastry bag through- doesn't work, as there's no room for the filling. Big Sur Bakery says to use the handle of a wooden spoon and jam it through the doughnut first.
  10. A buffet? That was probably... Acceptable Rockwell's Power Plant doesn't have a Filipino restaurant in the basement, but at Cafe Via Mare one floor up, they have breakfast. The tocino isn't the sticky, nearly candied variety I love, but it's still good. Then there's Jollibee...
  11. jumanggy

    Canteen

    'sokay, Thanks. Eerk, passed by today for lunch (Wednesday) and I just realized they scratched out their store hours to just say "Lunch Friday." I wish they'd update the website to reflect this (I mean, they already update the menu each day...). I'm not sure they're open on January 1 but I'm not going downtown either. Maybe January 8 will be my last shot for lunch there. The December 30 dinner menu was way over-budget for me anyway, at $50. Sounded fantastic, though.
  12. jumanggy

    Canteen

    I've wanted to eat here for a while now, but the Thursday I went for lunch, it was closed. (And on a day the buses were unreliable, too! My poor legs.) I thought I'd misread the "lunch: wed-fri" (I went on a Thursday), but yelp indicates it should have been open. Should I have made a lunch reservation first?
  13. Sorry I didn't see this in time, Rona, but considering how much I led you astray the last time, I'm not sure you would have wanted more of my recommendations! (To be fair, you did skip Cafe by the Ruins...) I'm also not sure if your degree of displeasure with the ensaymada was brought on by its unexpected mutation into closer-to-yeasted-butter-cake territory than the chewy, margarined and sugared coils of bread (which still do exist, though there are no gourmet ones to be had to my knowledge, get thee to a panaderia Speaking of panaderias, I can't recall if you went to Sonia's Garden in Tagaytay and had their Spanish Bread laced with crack. Anyway, I hope you had a great trip and please share any new finds (or disappointments) with us
  14. I've read here that someone had one custom-made, but it was most likely from long ago. You can still try to contact a company that specializes in pizzelle makers (such as this one) and ask them if they can accomplish that.
  15. jumanggy

    Gingerbread

    Darn, I am much too late to the party- thanks for the linklove, Ambra! I had gingerbread with lemon curd at Amy's Bread in New York, but I wasn't too impressed with the Gingerbread (dry!), so I never looked up the recipe in the book. As it stands my favorite way to have gingerbread is with tons of syrup and topped with cream cheese frosting. Terrible, I know. I've still yet to post about the last gingerbread recipe in my file, from Tartine Bakery (wanted to review the cookbook first), but my favorite recipe is still Claire Clark's from Indulge.
  16. Patisserie books are always fairly expensive: http://www.matthaes-shop.de/konditorei-baeckerei/patisserie/
  17. The publishers are a little slow in revealing their catalogs right now (especially near the holidays), but I think there are a few interesting titles to look out for so far. In addition to what's been said above (pardon my bias for pastry books): Artisan Breads at Home by the CIA (Wiley, January) Ready for Dessert: My Best Recipes by David Lebovitz (Ten Speed, April) (though the slanted cake layers on the cover hurt my eyes) The Perfect Finish: Special Desserts for Every Occasion by Melissa Clark and White House pastry chef Bill Yosses (WW Norton, June) The Modern Cafe by Francisco Migoya (Wiley, January) Here is the official info on Paris Patisseries. Julia Hung is the author.
  18. I'm so excited for you Prawncrackers! We've wanted to review that for The Gastronomer's Bookshelf but the stars didn't (haven't?) align(ed). I did, however, manage a long peek at the book at a Barnes and Noble (quite a workout for my bicep as the seats were occupied -- I've yet to master propping large books on the marginal shelf area!) and it looks very impressively comprehensive for a home cook book, yet still completely doable.
  19. Perhaps you have the 1994 Clarkson Potter edition. The 2005 Gramercy edition has weight measures. (or the other way round.)
  20. Of the books you originally listed, Asian Dumplings is the most focused, followed by The Dumpling (though it features dumplings from around the world). They both have folding diagrams and make dough from scratch. Asian Dumplings in particular impressed me with a technique for making spring roll wrapper by hand! Not many books would dare. If you'd like more of a taste of what Andrea Nguyen's recipes are like, check out her blog: http://www.asiandumplingtips.com/
  21. I have Paris Boulangerie Patisserie, and though I'm away from home right now and can't double-check, I'm pretty sure she gives measurements in both. The book is also a great read if you are a big fan of patisseries. It discusses the history and philosophy (er, it sounds deep but it isn't really) of a few (but not Pierre Herme!). The original thread with the list of chapters and patisseries covered is here: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?/topic/67742-dannenbergs-paris-boulangerie-patisserie/ The photography has that endearing early late 90's-early 2000's (though it was not published that far back) feel to it, but the pastries look as beautiful as ever. However, I haven't made any of the recipes. A few have been simplified (I recall a macaron layer for an entremet being omitted). Some Amazon reports say that the brioche was a disaster. The eG thread seems to be happy with it for the most part, so it's probably worth checking out.
  22. For those curious about the Paris Patisseries books, here's the official summary from the US publisher: linky Pierre Herme provides only the foreword. There are 20 recipes which I bet are classics, but the focus will probably be on the history and culture of Paris Patisseries. Nice supplement to the original poster's wife's learning but not a good primary source, I'd bet. My very first cookbook (I started baking in 2007) was Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme, after I'd followed the thread here on eGullet. Do I wish I had a more basic or more structured (beginner-friendly) book? Maybe, but I think I turned out okay. I guess everyone has their own path to follow But I wouldn't start with Desserts by Pierre Herme. Eww volume measurements!
  23. Hi, here are some more resources: 1. A peek at Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts (it is suited for the home baker). If she is a beginner who really wants specifically French Patisserie Techs, this probably is the best fit. 2. Other eGullet threads: Favorite Pastry/Baking Books Books for Pros and Aspiring Pros Your essential Baking Books Pastry and baking books Best baking books for a beginner
  24. Some of the suggestions here are pretty good (I like the series from Japan House and Joie too, though the latter might not be available in the US). Don't overlook the Williams-Sonoma series (Food Made Fast) and Cooking from Above: Asian (published by Hamlyn). I think the Cooking from Above series is a hidden gem- it's cheap, easy to follow (literally every step has a picture), and has a pretty good variety of Asian recipes from different countries.
  25. Hi Ader, Among the publishers I've encountered, it seems that Wiley may have the answers to some of your concerns. Unfortunately, these pro books don't end up on shelves (not where I'm from anyway) so I don't know if they're as innovative or in-depth as you would like. It might be worth writing someone from sales or publicity to ask them about it. Take a look at their catalogs for: 1. Food service operations and management 2. Catering and events management 3. General culinary and hospitality 4. Professional cooking and culinary arts
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