Tri2Cook

Agreed. I never debated that point. That's what I said in my very first post in this thread. It's absolutely unacceptable under any circumstance. I was just adding that I can definitely understand why a server may want to sometimes. Wanting to is ok... actually doing it is not.

You're comparing the person/people who own the restaurant to the servers who work there. Not really an apples to apples scenario. All who work in a restaurant should care equally in the success of the place but that's rarely the case. If the place sinks, only the owner/s go down with the ship. The rest just move on to somewhere else and go on business as usual.

I agree in theory. Only thing is, a very large percentage of servers don't work in places where people are spending $100/person. I rarely hear people who serve in expensive fine dining or even upscale restaurants complaining about their tip earnings overall. Maybe the occasional grumble about the cheap table they had last night but that's about it. When you take your scenario and move it to a place where people are spending $15 - $20 each things change a bit. Not only does it change the numbers via the math but it often changes people's feelings on how to tip. "I only had a burger and fries, just throw a couple quarters on the table." Or "that will be $14.59" and, as they hand over a ten and a five, "and the change is for you". I still say that does not warrant harassing the customer for a bigger tip but I can certainly understand why servers sometimes would like to.

Variations on that idea are what I use most of the time. It's very controllable but it doesn't always look as nice as well done sugar (which is not one of my skills but I'm slowly working on improving that) so it kinda depends on the application (which wasn't mentioned in the original post). Edit: Ok, the application showed up while I was typing. I'd definitely go the isomalt/fondant/glucose route. It's less sweet, easier to work with and more stable when exposed to humidity. Plus you can easily add flavor if you want. I once cooked a gastrique down to the consistency of glucose and subbed it in for the glucose. It worked great and resulted in a subtle but nice sweet and sour flavor in the final pieces.

Nope, still not acceptable. I guess I'm just an ass.

You cook water and sugar, add your booze and deposit it in impressions made in a tray of starch. The outer surface will crystallize so you can carefully dip them but the center will remain syrupy. You can use anything you like to make the molds in the starch depending on the shape you're going for. Unless you're in a low humidity environment and know the starch is completely dry, give it a few hours in a low oven to be sure. If it contains too much moisture it will absorb your syrup. 1 kg sugar 400 g water 340 g booze Cook sugar and water to 119 c. Add booze and deposit. Leave at room temp until the surface is dry. Brush off excess starch and dip.

Interesting! Looks and sounds tasty. I'm going to have to try this sweet version. I've done a chocolate pasta dough before but it didn't contain sugar. I made noodles with it and served them with salmon and pink grapefruit consomme.

They hold quite well for a day. Maybe longer, I haven't tested it beyond a day. In fact, I think they are better than if fried, drained and fried again right away. Spread 'em on sheet pans and toss in the cooler. The surface moisture dries and they get really crispy on the outside during the second round. They also seem to stay crispy longer after the second fry when done that way.

Yep, starch molding seems to be the way to go for that type of liquid center. That or fondant/invertase/booze or boozed fruit (I'm assuming if it works for cordial cherries then it will work for any boozed fruit, I haven't actually tried it). I'm working on a different type. Similar to the liquid truffles at Moto which are done with a frozen center that is dipped then allowed to thaw in the cooler. The problem I'm having is that I want to incorporate alcohol so that I basically end up with a cocktail in a chocolate shell and the alcohol makes getting a frozen center difficult since I don't have access to liquid nitrogen. I'm going to try doing it with a -100 f. bath. It should work if I can get it to freeze enough to be able to scoop balls of the filling into the bath. The only potential downside to these is they can't sit on a shelf, they have to stay in the cooler.

Asking if they enjoyed the meal/experience = good. Asking why they were cheap with the tip = bad... bad to the point that a server that worked for me would suddenly find themselves unemployed for doing so.

I can't really add anything that hasn't already been said. I don't care what the costs and inconveniences are, in my kitchen the table that dines together eats together. When one person gets their food and the other doesn't there's always that awkward time where the person with the food has to eat while the other watches or has to let their food sit and get cold until the other food arrives. Neither is acceptable.

I like the valrhona Rob recommended. I also like the callebaut. They're not really comparable because they're not really the same. The valrhona is dark, powerful stuff. The callebaut is lighter both in color and taste. I would keep both on hand at work if cost wasn't a factor. It is, so I use callebaut at work. I'm sure there are many other great cocoa powders out there, I haven't really experimented much in that area. I found something I was happy with within the constraints of cost and stuck with it.

I kinda have to disagree with you. Food opinions are completely subjective and one person's perfection may be another's nightmare but to say "the chef knows best, you just liked it or didn't like it and don't have the ability or knowledge to say what you didn't like about it" is extremely condescending. And yes, I cook in a restaurant and for a catering company as well. If a customer tells me "there's way too much cinnamon in that ice cream" then I'm going to investigate the possibility. Not just say "you're wrong, you just don't like cinnamon".

Should be fun, I did something similar last year on V-day at the restaurant after hours for some of our regulars. I did 6 dessert courses built around chocolate (but not spotlighting the chocolate in every course as that would have been a bit much) plus a take-home box of bon bons and homemade chocolate body paint for each person.

Milk and water embrace has me thinking along the lines of doing a gelatin syneresis filtration of milk. Then you have what appears to be water that has embraced the flavor essence of milk. The moment of inspiration gave me that then abandoned me so I haven't worked out what I would do with the milk water yet... but it's a start.

You were thinking of the ... How do you eat a frog? One leg over each ear. ...joke weren't you?

I'm not sure I understood the "c'mon, cheese and acid... you have an Italian restaurant" thing. Was Fabio saying that's wrong? 'Cause I thought parmesan and balsamic was an Italian thing. Not that I'm an expert on Italian.

Damn Rob, that mind of yours never stops. This should be interesting.

Yeah, they're not truly neutral, they're sugar-based and have their own sweetness. They're only neutral in that they're not intentionally flavored like the ones you find in stores.

Karo IS corn syrup, whether light or dark varities. ← Yeah but she didn't raise any particular objections to corn syrup other than the light version didn't taste too good on it's own. The dark tastes a little better.

The cream of tartar creates an acid enviroment to help with converting the sugar to an invert sugar which is basically just breaking the sucrose down into glucose and fructose. Lemon juice or citric acid works too.

It doesn't require a special kitchen or special equipment because it's not a cookbook, it's a book on food and cooking. It doesn't tell you what to do, it tells you how to do it and why it works (or doesn't work). It goes into detailed information on every aspect of each chapters subject. Knowing the food is at least as important as knowing the techniques and both of these aspects of cooking are thoroughly discussed. If you're looking for a recipe book that you can glean ideas and techniques from, McGee's book isn't it. Try something like the Alinea book or Keller's Under Pressure or A Day at El Bulli or Ripert's book among the recent releases. If you're pushing for another level in your cooking you might as well be inspired by current trends and techniques. I can't comment on the Flavor Bible as I haven't seen it yet but after reading the thread on it I'll be getting my hands on it soon.

There is a recipe for Chocolate Espresso cookies on their website, but I don't know how similar it is to the "Better Than Store Bought" recipe. ← Sorry, that is not the same formula. Dan ← You do realize of course that you are allowed to share any recipe you want to, you just can't post it in the forums. There's always email, PM, etc. You may prefer not to do that but I'm just sayin'...

Do you already have Harold McGee's On Food and Cooking? If not, you should.

And by the time you eat those great restaurant dishes, they've been tested and tweaked many times—an opportunity the show does not afford. ← Exactly. That's why playing it safe is the smart move even if it is boring for us to watch. You don't get to tweak and test so you better know it's going to work if you're going to hang your ass in the wind. I just wish they had more people confident enought to think they can pull it off.