Tri2Cook

Italian meringue buttercream is pretty much the only type I use unless someone requests something else so that's not a problem.

Nope, no struggling with the idea. She was very specific on what she wants. Smooth white cake, 2 tiers, no flowers (though I may be able to sell her on that one) with little piped pearls/dots. I think just around the bases of the tiers but it could be more, I'll have to verify that. It's not until sometime in May so I have time to experiment a little. The problem I have is that it's just not what I do so I don't have enough practice at it to feel comfy. If someone insists I make a birthday cake and it's not quite perfect, I can live with that. I always warn people I'm not a cake decorator. But a wedding cake is a whole different arena. They need to be nice. I've attached a pic of one of my cakes below. I've posted it before but it's just to give an idea of the type of decorating I do as opposed to the type she wants. This is the type of decorating I'm comfy with. I have fun with it so I do it often and stay in practice... but it's not a wedding cake. I'll probably end up doing fondant. I'm not opposed to working with it, just eating it.

As I've mentioned many times before, I don't do cakes. It's just not a talent of mine. Baking the cake/s? No problem. Making fillings, icings, etc.? No problem there either. Assembly? I can handle that too. Decorating? Now the trouble begins. I'm not fun to be around at that point. However, a person who I've been somewhat of a father-figure to for the past 8 or 9 years has asked me to do her cake. I've explained why that's a bad idea. I've shown her the evidence via pictures. She doesn't care. She wants me to do it. So I guess I'm going to do it. She wants it fairly simple, all white with some pearl-looking decors. It doesn't have to be big, only for 40 people. I really prefer not to go the rolled fondant route even though that's much easier for me to get nice looking results with than buttercream. I may end up doing it anyway just so it's not completely ugly but I thought I'd fish for some ideas here first. edit: removed irrelevant babbling.

Tell hubby that you and your friend are doing a theme dinner for friends and it isn't all about him so suck it up!

I like ginger ice cream. Not only do I infuse the base with it, but I sometimes add chopped candied ginger as well. I've even added a ginger caramel swirl before. Ginger sorbet is nice too, very refreshing. Are you sure "too many people don't like ginger"? My main problem is trying not to eat half of the candied ginger I'm chopping for use in a recipe. Make it anyway if that's your preference, you might be surprised (unless you already know for sure that this particular group of people really don't like it).

No reason you can't try it. I've never made a lychee ice cream, only sorbet. If you're going to chop them, just drop them in the machine when the base is almost frozen. That way they won't really alter the recipe in the way using a puree as part of the base would.

I realize "stealing" and "borrowing without permission" are two different things legally... but a tomato is a tomato no matter how you say it.

Things go both ways in that scenario. I quite often see recipes lifted from Chef's books posted on the "underdogs" blogs with a little "adapted from (whatever book by whatever chef)..." disclaimers. Very rarely are they "adapted from", they're usually blatantly copied or, at most, halved or doubled so the numbers are different. Is it possible each and every one of them contacted the person holding the copyright and obtained permission? Yes. It's also possible a million dollars is going to fall out of the sky and land on my doorstep tonight... but I'm not staying up all night waiting for it.

I want to contribute something useful to this thread but, so far, I got nothing. I'm not really all that technology savvy in the area of electronics wizardry. I don't even own a cellphone. I figure if I'm not where they can reach me without one, I probably don't want to be reached. I don't do teleconferencing because I don't really have a need to in my job. I don't even know what "twitter" is. But I'm going to work on coming up with something anyway... just so I don't feel completely like I'm living under a rock.

Trenchcoat optional.

I've already given my reasonings, so I'll keep it blunt. I don't care if it's considered fair or not. If a server who works for me directly confronts a customer about the size of the tip, they will be job hunting the next day. Yes, it is acceptable to ask "Was everything ok?" but, unless the customer invites a discussion at that point, that's the end of it. Even if the customer is willing to dicuss it, at no point is it ok for the server to directly mention the size of the tip as part of the reason for asking if they enjoyed the food/service. If the customer picks up the hint and wants to explain, fine. Otherwise, suck it up. It happens. Maybe it shouldn't, but it does. You can come into the kitchen and quietly call them cheap in 12 languages if you want to but the customer better not hear it.

Knaw: Nice first cake and first post. Welcome to the asylum. cebada con leche - helado de cajeta - caramelo del limon - cebada soplada

If viagra does what it's supposed to do then it has made life better (or, at least, happier) for a lot of people. Wouldn't bother me to advertise it if I believed in it. Wouldn't be much more difficult for me to advertise it if they showed me the right numbers... whether I actually needed the money or not. It's easy for people to say their endorsement is not for sale when nobody is offering to buy it.

Hey Rob, have you seen THIS and THIS?

I've done savory tart assortments for a few events. Things like cornmeal tart shells with corn custard and pork carnitas and rye shells with mustard-sauerkraut custard, corned beef and swiss. Basically just various classic (and sometimes not so classic) combinations converted to tart-friendly forms. Nothing ground breaking but fun and always well received. The shells are a lot of work but I haven't seen any evidence that you factor difficulty into your cooking decisions.

To paraphrase in my own words and measures (the book uses volume), the one I mentioned is 6 oz. cream cheese, 22 oz. peanut butter, 12 oz. sugar, 1/2 oz. vanilla, 4 oz. chopped, roasted peanuts, 14 oz. cream, whipped. Cream the first 4, mix in the nuts, fold in the cream. I use superfine sugar because I like the texture better in low-liquid non-cooked things and for some reason I'm thinking I may have adjusted the sugar down a bit. I'm not sure about that though, it's been a while since I made it, so you may want to try it with the full amount first if you decide to do it.

Maybe try it with a cake you know to be solid, stable and predictable and spray and flour the #%$& out of the bowl (maybe even add the little disc of parchment you mentioned). Even if that's not the cake you want to use, you'll eliminate the bowl as the culprit if it works and then you can concentrate on working on the recipe you want to use or finding another.

You asked for constructive criticism. I thought my criticism was constructive. I'm not interested in disproving your theory, I simply stated what I see as a potential flaw in the system. Fixed values assigned to variable ingredients.

Ok, constructive criticism it is. I find the idea of assigning fixed values to variable ingredients haphazard at best. The moisture level in many "wet" ingredients can vary widely. An apple is an apple is an apple is not particularly true. Even dry ingredients are variable to an extent. Make a batch of simple, basic flour and water dough once a week for a year using the exact same quantities (by weight) and brand/type of flour and keep notes on the texture of the dough. You might be surprised at the results. 500 grams of water is 500 grams of water so why would the dough be more wet at times and more dry at others? My theory is moisture variables (for whatever reason) in the flour. I'm no scientist so maybe I'm way off here... but you asked for opinions.

That's a fair statement and I agree, my example of colors wasn't the best choice. If it were made known to me that someone was intentionally attempting to belittle women and their kitchen skills in this manner I would support your position completely (not that you're asking me to). However, Ruhlman reporting that Chef Ripert said that he was told this by his mentor while young just doesn't seem to fit into that category to me. I wasn't there for the conversation and haven't heard Chef Ripert's side of the story so I prefer to give the benefit of the doubt. The whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing. You find it offensive so you gotta do what you gotta do. Fight on. And no, I'm not being sarcastic. Just want to be clear on that since the internet sucks at conveying intent.

I have to agree. ← Me too.

milk chocolate pain de genes - almond frangipane - tonka blancmange - gelee of maraschino juice and kirsch - noyaux soup Test run and I'm not happy with the red top. I'll do the rest topped with pulverized almonds and just use the gelee for the garnish in the soup. Anyway, the flavors are where I wanted them.

I don't have anything to offer to help with your response but, for me, humor, jokes and surprises are my favorite uses for most of the usual suspects in the modern techniques playbook. I went through a "this stuff is cool, I have to use it everywhere" phase. I migrated to a "it's been done, I'll leave it alone" phase that I really wasn't happy with. Avoiding techniques isn't cool, it's just limiting oneself for no good reason. I'm now settled into a I'll-never-have-the-creative-mind-of-Grant-Achatz-or-technical-skills-of-Heston-Blumenthal-or-mind-blowing-originality-of-Ferran-Adria-so-I-might-as-well-just-have-fun-with-it phase. That's a comfy phase for me. I enjoy it. Laughs and "Oh, I get it!" from guests are welcome sounds that make me smile. Seeing peoples faces when they thought they knew what they just put in their mouth and suddenly discovered they were wrong is fun. It's my turn to laugh then. I like a dining room that sounds more like a comedy club crowd than a funeral parlor crowd.

1. Can I make panna cotta in a large container and let people scoop out their own portion? Yes. 2. If yes, what would be the upper limit of volume I could do (1 qt, 2 qt)? There is no upper limit. However, if done correctly, it is somewhat delicate so you're not going to get nice looking servings unless you're really careful with the "scooping". I would suggest a large shallow container over a deep bowl. 3. I would like to do chicken, shrimp, and, maybe, beef sate. However, we don't have a grill now so I'd have to cook the meat in the kitchen. This will stink up the house. Do you think I would get an acceptable result if I cook the day before (then air out the house) and quickly reheat on a grill pan before service? Reheated shrimp sucks. Reheated beef and chicken don't suck but they won't be at their best. Why would you associate the smells of food cooking with "stink"? I'd think it more likely that people would walk in and say "Wow, that smells great! When do we get to eat?". 4. We want to do food that can be eaten standing up. Can anyone suggest a starch with the sate? Maybe some naan torn into appropriate sized pieces? Lettuce cups (not exactly starch but to complement the meat). Maybe rice balls you can just pop in your mouth?

I base my tips on 20% for table service regardless of where I'm eating or how much I'm spending. If the service is exceptional, that number goes up. If the service is subpar, that number goes down. My scale generally ranges from 15% at the bad end to 25% at the exceptional end. I never penalize a server for mistakes of the kitchen, bar, etc. I will hold them responsible for how they react if there was a mistake from the kitchen that I consider important enought to mention. For example, about a year ago I ordered a burger with bacon in a local place. The bacon was raw. Not undercooked, raw. The fat hadn't even turned translucent. I was on a time schedule that day and did not have time for them to redo it, it had already taken over half the time I had available to get it in the first place. When I pointed out the problem to the server and said I didn't have time to wait while it was fixed so she could just charge me for that burger minus bacon, she became a bit unpleasant and told me that burger without bacon wasn't on the menu. I said sure it is, the menu says "add bacon to any burger for $x.xx" so just deduct that amount from the price. She said she couldn't do that. I said she would do that or just take the whole thing away. She snatched the check from the table, scribbled out my order with enough force to tear the paper, threw it back on the table, grabbed my plate and walked away. Didn't see her again despite others at the table requiring service. The owner/manager questioned the scribbled out portion of the check when I was paying for the others who were with me. I explained the situation and his only response was "ok, so you just have to pay for your iced tea". She got no tip. Not one penny. And I haven't been back in that particular restaurant since. It takes that level of abuse for me to leave nothing at all. 15% is about as low as I go as a "penalty" tip. If the service/server attitude is bad enough not to leave that amount, it's bad enough that I leave nothing. I do always make a point of letting someone other than the server (if their attitude is bad enough to warrant no tip then it will be bad enough that nothing good will come of trying to point it out to them) know what the problem was so they can pass word along when the server is later telling them that I was a cheapass.