Tri2Cook

Thanks but that wasn't fishing. I'm comfy with glazes, decorations, flat surfaces, stuff of that nature but when it comes to breaking out the piping bags/tips I'm waaaay out of my element. My serious efforts are slightly controlled messes at best. That's not false modesty, I just know what I can do and what I don't do well and it doesn't bother me to laugh about it. That tart looks awesome and how about your own cast... "whatever photography skills I have" my arse! Thought I'd miss that didn't you? Thanks for the description pjm333, sounds as good as it looks. Lior: Looks tasty!

Very nice! I have that book and still haven't done a single thing out of it but I'm going to get around to it eventually.

I don't have plans for relinquishing my title anytime soon. Looks tasty and very moist.

Hmmmm. Chocolate-rosewater ganache and turkish delight (the lemon/rosewater type) with pistachios layered together and dipped in dark chocolate. I wonder...

Yeah, apparently to keep their costs down they aren't subscribing to the recipes. Guess we have to buy the accompanying cookbooks. ← I bought the In Search of Perfection book. The information/research behind most of the recipes goes into more detail than the BBC broadcasts and much more detail than the foodtv broadcasts which cut out quite a bit of the original content to make room for commercials. Most of the recipes can probably be tracked down online with a little effort but I enjoy the book more for the reading than the recipes. That said, it's the only foodtv show book I've ever bought (or even been tempted to buy) so I can understand the annoyance if someone is just looking for a specific recipe they saw.

That chicken sounds really good. I have 12 different types of pepper powders on hand including both sweet and hot smoked paprikas so it would be doable. I'm just not sure it fits into the overall homey/wintery flow of the menu. Definitely one to keep in mind though. A single cheese w/ garnish is a possibility to consider. I may be able to get away with 2 wines, I'll push for it, but I'll keep the pinot in mind in case they won't budge.

Yeah, I'm not too worried about a lot of fancy equipment at this point but I do want to have some of the basics handy just to make life a little easier since I'm going to be figuring this stuff out without the help of an instructor (other than Notter's book of course). I'd like to take a class on it but that would require traveling and I can't take the time for that right now, too much going on with work this time of year. I'd like to do a chocolate class at some point as well. I always assumed since I'm comfy and confident with making desserts/pastry the step to chocolate work would come easy... I was wrong. The chocolate artists have my sincere respect.

Thanks Rob! Exactly what I needed. I'll pick up some 1/4" copper tubing today and I already have a burner, torches and silpats around. Rigging up a hot/cool capable hair dryer on a stand would be a simple job as well. I'm not sure exactly what pump the poster in that other thread was referring to (Honest, it's not mine! ), but there are no sex shops around here so, unless there's another option someone knows about, I'll have to order a pump.

Tools that will work well enough to get started is what I'm after at this point. A warming box is simple enough but is there anything special about any of the other basic tools? For example, are blowing tubes just plain ol' tubing that I can buy at the hardware store, cut to length and smooth the ends or is there some design feature to them I don't know about? And can I just use any squeeze bulb with a length of tubing attached or is there something unique about those as well? I'm not trying to be cheap (well, that's not entirely true... I can't see paying the price for warming boxes when it's just a heat lamp on a frame), there's just nowhere to buy that sort of thing around here and getting them shipped from anywhere will take too long this time of year. Also, any other handy sugar tools that I can make/rig/substitute on my own that I haven't thought about?

I'm not sure about advice Rob, I've just started playing with sugar recently, but don't give up on your vision! For the cake I posted recently, I made up the sugar decorations the morning that I needed them just to be safe. I ordered Notter's book, which came in yesterday, just to see what I can learn without a class and I'm going to get some form of dessicant for storing things. I'm also giving serious consideration to ordering some isomalt just to get an idea of the differences working with each. I'm building my own warming stand, I can't see paying $200 - $300 for something I can build for $20 or so.

I ran the cheese course idea by them. They said they agreed to leave it in my hands but they definitely would not be upset if I don't do a cheese course. So I'll take that as a "no". Too bad, would have been a good excuse to buy all kinds of nice cheeses. I like cheese. I always get this urge to plan all kinds of flashy ideas and always end up deciding in the end to keep it simple (I'm pretty sure I'm not lazy so I don't know why that happens) so here's where I'm at right now (nothing new or groundbreaking to be found)... - undecided (amuse... may skip this one) - pickled quince w/ honey, rosemary and pine nuts (amuse) - walleye on chard (or maybe collards if I can find nice ones, wasn't happy with the condition of the fiddleheads so I scrapped that idea) w/ roasted beet and walleye broth - roasted chicken breast w/ wild rice, carrot brulee and chicken-infused brown butter (maybe a cleanser, a very small bite... maybe not) - prime rib w/ warm roasted parsnip mousse, caramelized onions and something green and in season - pre-dessert, ice wine gelee (very small) - dessert: still deciding, this isn't the same job I was discussing in the other thread regarding the borrowed dessert idea I know this looks like a lot in print but I've been very careful with the portion planning. So I do have one rather important question. There is one area they didn't leave up to me, they don't want wine pairings for the courses. They want a wine available for those who want it. Yes, a wine... as in one. Something that will appeal to the casual wine drinker and fit into the menu fairly well. So, ummm, HELP PLEASE!!! Edit: Now that I look at it, considering I've been waiting for a "do what you want" job, this is kinda unexciting isn't it?

I was looking for a recipe for a rosewater ganache a while back and found THIS ONE. I figured I could just sub in whatever chocolate I wanted to use instead of the one listed but I never got around to trying it. The recipe looks like it might be a little soft for truffles unless you're piping it into shells but that's easy enough to adjust.

Nope Rob, I'm actually enjoying the different perspectives on the question. It generated some points that I hadn't considered before and it also creates more questions (like where the line is drawn, as in the swirls, etc. you mentioned or, if you layer biscuit, berries and cream can it be traced back to the first strawberry shortcake and thus be theft of design). With Mr. Walrath's permission and my intention to not try to pass it off as my own, I feel the ethical debate has been resolved for this one specific situation. It's my understanding that Mr. Walrath is no longer involved with pastry, I think he's devoted to his glass work now, so it was really nice of him to take time to reply and awesome of him to say "go for it". After all of this, it'll be a shame if I manage to completely butcher it.

That's cool Rob! I've been playing around with veg in desserts since I was knocked out of my dessert comfort zone by the first Wild Sweets book. Some have been succesful, some not so much. I haven't been brave enough to spring any of them on my catering customers yet. pjm333, that looks really nice. Wish it was a bigger pic so we could see more detail. Willing to share any details on what you have going on there? jumanggy: Nice! I'm loving all that color and I wish I could make my food pics look as nice as you always do.

Problem solved, debate resolved, indecision ended. I went the next step and emailed Mr. Walrath through his website... "Hi Larry, Go ahead, knock yourself out, hope it goes well for you....send me a photo of your version. Kurt"

I can picture what you're looking for but it is hard to describe in text. You're talking about a swirl of chocolate on top that trails over the edge and hangs down the side right? I would assume that you would do the standard swirl with the fork (or your finger if you're hand-coating them) and move to the side letting the chocolate "strand" follow and then drape it down the side. It would have to be thick enough to not just meld into the other chocolate though, of course I'm not a chocolate expert so maybe that isn't a factor.

No apology due, I didn't think you were implying anything and I'm not that thin-skinned if you had been. I just want to be sure my intention is clear. I agree completely that many things in the food world are borrowed or blatantly stolen but I try not to intentionally work that way most of the time. This was meant to be a tribute to my appreciation of the design, not a theft of it, but that's a thin line to walk I guess.

It's not on the cover of any of the three books from that series, I have them all sitting on a shelf with most of my other books, and I have no interest whatsoever in trying to pass it off as my own design. I thought I made that part clear from the start but maybe I didn't do a good job of it. I'm not trying to find a way to get away with that. I was just curious what others thought on the subject of borrowing an idea and giving credit to those you borrow from.

It's a dry powder when I've done it (never attempted sour cream though). It will run through your fingers like very fine sand. It may look clumpy when mixed but a trip through a sieve solves that.

This one?

I don't know that I'd call it "astounding". It's been around a while and I've seen many things right here on the gullet posted by people who don't do it for a living that I'd classify as more "astounding". It's definitely not one of the more complicated or difficult items in the book. I've done a few of them out of the books just for fun and this one is very simple, I've just always really liked it personally. Nobody here would ever know (or care) if I used it and the odds that anybody who will be there has seen the book are extemely small if I wanted to pass it off as my own (which I don't). I was just interested in hearing what others thought on the subject and I've enjoyed reading what everyone's had to say. As for which one I'm talking about, it's not meant to be a secret. It's just against the rules to post copyrighted pics so I did a quick google search and it turned up. You can see it HERE.

I have to disagree with you on that. I'm cool with "I think it's ok/not ok to borrow ideas" but I strongly disagree with "catering customers don't care anyway". I've never borrowed/stolen a dessert idea for a job before. The only reason I was considering it this time is because I've liked it since the first time I saw it and always wanted to do it. It has a sexy elegance about it that I like. This particular job came up which is for people that I know well and they won't feel cheated if I tell them that it wasn't my own, that I saw it in a book, but I wouldn't feel comfy assuming that with all of my catering customers.

I might have to steal... errr... borrow that one.

Exactly BryanZ. Claiming it as my own idea was never a consideration, that was not going to happen even by implying it, I was just curious about what others thought about going that extra step and actually giving credit to the original.

Thanks everybody. I'll probably go with the "it wasn't my design" approach. The dessert won't be the same as in the book, it will be my own, but the plating isn't mine so I'll feel better making that known. Everything I've done for catering and everything I've posted here (the good, the bad and the ugly) has been completely my own so I'd just feel a little cheesy giving the impression that the design was mine, even if it was only by omitting to say otherwise.