jumanggy

Direct subscriptions only give me around 0-25% savings when the international shipping is slapped on. Not worth it considering I don't buy every issue (i.e., I buy the magazines *because* they're so cheap), and even at that rate I'm running out of storage space.

************************************************* Where do you find surpuls bookstores that offer magazines? NJFoodLover ← Hi NJFoodLover, There's a huge market here in the Philippines for back issues (surplus) from the US/UK/Australia. Good for people like me who can't afford to buy the issues new (taxes on magazines are heavy- inflates it to twice the $ price)-- if I can wait 3-6 months (and with a little luck that there *is* a surplus of that particular issue), I can get a magazine at around 1/2-1/8th the price of when it was new.

Ooh everyone's a fan of the bitterness! Allen, (heh, people think you're a natural Canadian I've recently discovered that gingerbread is the one dessert flavor I can't seem to get tired of. Cannot get enough, and I think it's a shame people don't make it usually outside winter months. It's awesome in barbecue sauce. Can't imagine spooning it though, as it's a tad too sweet even for me. (But somehow condensed milk is okay.)

Gron-o-blahz, but a little, uh, Frenchier than I typed (use your imagination Actually, I didn't even know that, I just watched a few videos on Youtube to catch a French person saying it.

Actually it was just Dean I recognized-- congratulations! Who are the other members?

Yes, it's this one: clicky The name has changed from "Artisan Breads Made Easy" and "Artisan Breads Fast" to "Artisan Breads Every Day." (I'm not even sure which is the correct title now. Grr!) It "replaces the breakthrough methods of the past, the various preferment methods, and the no-knead craze, and offers high-caliber versions of classic breads using the best techniques to create the highest quality loaves in a fast and convenient fashion."

Delivery from the States isn't an option for me right now, unfortunately. I made the slow-roasted strawberries but there wasn't any verjuice (ugh) that I could find, so I subbed (don't ask). Anyway, they didn't slow-roast so much as slow-dried in the oven. The fresh produce here is a completely different subset. It figures that I can't get excited about things I *can* do (pineapple polenta spice cake...) and the things I want to do, will break my wallet if I get the ingredients together. Sigh. I need a re-wiring.

Thanks for sharing, FG. There's actually quite a few Filipino restaurants in San Francisco and New Jersey, though some of them might be better called cafeterias. I can't really think of a reason why they're not more popular, especially since the US has had 2 military bases in the Philippines in the last century. Maybe because it's too easily reproduced at home?

So, the book's been out for nearly (?) half a year... How are you guys finding it? Has anyone been cooking through it? I've wanted to review it for some time now but I'm finding it hard to move forward with a recipe I like because the ingredients can get extremely difficult to procure where I am. I wish I had the courage to substitute freely and know it would work.

Yes, I did notice that the book was relatively more expensive compared to other books with similar production values, except for the hard binding, which is less common at this size. But cost isn't all about the physical properties of the book, I guess (well, duh jumanggy Anyway, Ruhlman invites readers to share any errata discovered on his blog post.

I think the general consensus is that the concept of the book (your questions 1, 2, and 3 probably leading to the writing of it) is solid and important, but most criticisms have been in Ruhlman's execution. I invite you to read fellow eGulleter lamington's review here.

If you're still in a bind and you really want it, try calling Kitchen arts and Letters in New York and see if they still have stock (last I checked was March, and they did).

Hey!! I just headed over to Amazon.ca and it's still there! (I hope they update their stock indicators, though.)

I don't usually, but I certainly do when I work with food coloring, especially when mixing up Red Velvet cake!

Maintaining the book news section of The Gastronomer's Bookshelf is a ton of work, but it does keep me up-to-date on the forthcoming titles, so it's all good. (the Grand Livre de Cuisine dessert book should have come out by now, by the way.) Vefa's Kitchen (May 2009) by publisher Phaidon is something I've wanted to see-- it aims to be a "Silver Spoon" of Greek cooking. As a P&B regular, I want to get a copy of The Big Sur Bakery cookbook (June 09), Cake Chic (July 09), La Maison du Chocolat (Sept 09), RLB's Rose's Heavenly Cakes (Sept 09), and Ace of Cakes (Oct 09-- but should I really?). A Chronicle title, Gingerbread, is out Sept 09 but it's only noteworthy to me because I really, really love Gingerbread! David Leite has a book coming out, The new Portuguese Table, in August. Out October 09: Diana Kennedy has a revised edition of The Essential Cuisines of Mexico. Lidia Bastianich has a new book, Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy. Alton Brown has "Good Eats" coming out. Looks like October/September are busy months! And I still pick up a ton of new titles to publicize as the months progress.

It's probably the message and the messenger, and the method, and the audience-- a ton of other things I haven't sorted out yet, and probably far beyond the scope of what the topic's supposed to be (the backlash against Waters). (And well beyond my limited comprehension of the issues at hand!) I haven't had much exposure to Waters-- only an Iconoclasts episode featuring her and dancer Aleksandr Petrovsky (sp?). She didn't appear overbearing there, so I only know of the backlash from here on eG. Comparing her to a man with a similar message, Jamie Oliver, he isn't exempted from a backlash (quite the contrary-- it's pretty well-publicized in the UK, though it is a much smaller country and he is relatively a bigger celebrity there). However, I believe he does have some protection because 1. He'd already established himself as a boy-next-door-chef for years ("He's cute, so let's listen to him") 2. His television shows show him for the most part winning over his critics (add in the heartstrings factor of "the working-class single mum who found it frustrating at first but is now his ardent supporter!"-- seriously, watch Jamie's Ministry of Food if you can)-- though as we've seen, reality can be different, but it does alter his reception somewhat 2.a. The show has him relating with working-class people. 3. He tried to implement his message on a national level (though Britain is comparatively smaller and his methods sometimes clunky, it does have that "at least he's really trying/he has a plan!" factor to it). Sorry for the parentheses! I hope my thoughts came through clearly enough.

I'm quite far from the scene of the action, so I can't say much about the praise/criticism of Waters' stances. But I gotta say, Jamie Oliver's efforts have similarly been criticized (from the Jamie's School Dinners and Jamie's Ministry of Food mini-series) as pompous and unrealistic, and he even meant to cater mostly to the very people who sneer at him (not "preaching to the choir"). The finales of both series paint his progress in a positive light, but there are plenty of instances in each episode where he deals with naysayers. I have similar criticisms but I do see his point-- the efficacy of his method lies somewhere in between. I suspect that's where Waters is right now too. Gosh, maybe she should have her own television show/documentary as well?

Late to the party, but it was the subject of a previous post. There's a recipe here (eGullet ca. 2003!): http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=64052&st=30

The transfer from heat to mixing for swiss meringue is just an adjustment for people who prefer to use a stand mixer-- it actually produces the same result. 7-minute frosting is really a swiss meringue, but most, if not all the recipes I've seen, have water.

You could also use *all* skim milk to prevent collapse-- something I picked up from the Tartine cookbook, but have yet to try

Does anyone have the US American copy of Pastry: Savory and Sweet by Michel Roux? (Wiley, ISBN 978-0470421345). I just wanted to find out for a friend if it's in Metric or not. Thanks!

Yeah, I suppose DCF would be a good place to start, and maybe she can recommend a good sans rival (not my cup of tea-- too buttery and nutty!). As for the more general bakes-- brazo, mamon, puto-- Goldilock's is still a good bet and quite accessible. Don't buy their cakes though, they've taken a nosedive in quality. Red Ribbon actually came out on top (which is weird because 5 years ago I would have said the exact opposite), so you might want to try the usual fudge cake with natilla filling, etc. (I am, however, going for accessibility again... People swear by a certain fudge cake with natilla from a gas station in the Los Banos area, and it's quite good, but unless it's along the way? Forget it.) There are a few more cake shops (that boast their avocado or ube cakes or whatever), but since I'm not home I can't remember what it's called! It's near Greenhills, near where the Homemade Carrot Cakes are sold (sorry I've forgotten!). In any case, I've never tried the cakes either so that's probably why the name's not sticking Mary Grace, which you can find in the arcade area beside Unimart (along with a few dozen other stalls throughout Manila), have great ensaymada (the sponge type, not the coiled panaderia type), lemon squares, and cheese rolls. If you're in luck, there may be a pastry fair at the basement of Power Plant (Rockwell), but Valentine's will be long over before you arrive, I think, so they probably won't set up. I've had the best macaron de Paris in Manila there.

Hi Rona! I'm still in the States and won't be back till probably April. Anyway, regarding Baguio, you can't leave without going to Cafe by the Ruins at least once. Breakfast is especially good (with their home-cured bacon or longanisang hubad), but of course lunch and dinner are great too. Can't recommend this place enough. I'm half-Kapampangan (though I don't speak the language), and unfortunately it's just one of those places where "my momma's cooking is better than..." is true. When we're there we never need to eat out, we just park our butts at my grandmother's and we eat great food. About Angeles, I've heard of great places to eat there but haven't felt compelled to go. Try this link: http://80breakfasts.blogspot.com/2007/03/c...s-xo-sauce.html There are some additional links there that may help you out. Good luck!

Hi guys, I was gifted a copy of the book and have made three recipes from it so far. 1) honey castella: hmm, I realize that traditional castella doesn't have oil but I did see a recipe by a Japanese chef that used melted butter, so I didn't mind that particular variation. (Though I would probably use an equal weight of melted butter next time instead of oil, for the flavor.) Authentic or not, the cake was very good (and everyone loved the silky crust that formed), and it was one of the fastest-disappearing cakes I've ever made. 2) almond tofu with fresh fruit cocktail: Not really tofu but tau-hu (... or gelatinized soy milk?). I didn't use almond milk (was a little extravagant for my tastes)-- used regular milk with almond extract, sigh, but the pudding had a lovely, light texture. I'm surprised he didn't include pineapple in the fruit cocktail, because I thought it could have used a bit of acidity. I definitely would have liked it more than the nectarine I'd bought. Anyway, this is quite a simple recipe, and it's hard to mess up really. 3) pineapple lime mascarpone tart: this is the one that has pineapples "roasted" in palm sugar, over a lime-mascarpone cream. The asian-ness of this is a little forced really but it did strike a good balance. Gone quickly too (served at a party), guests asked for recipe. Gfron1 served something similar but I take it he didn't enjoy it as much as my guests did What I would like to try in the future is the malt chocolate cake (if I can get myself to buy a can of malt powder just for this purpose). I'm not too keen on cookies etc. with coconut in them.

Hi Scout, there's a small thread here you might be interested in: http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=118697 Cheers