Tri2Cook

Thanks for the encouragement folks. I think I'm going to do it. The problem isn't really a shyness thing, I'm usually pretty good with people. Even people I don't know. The problem is I don't like to be bothered when I'm working. You can watch if you have to but, no, you can't help and I'd prefer not to discuss it right now. Ask all of your questions when I'm done. It's not a "grumpy cook" thing either, I just like to surprise people when I have the opportunity. I don't want them to see it or have it explained while I'm working on it. I know that's kinda weird but it's fun to me. But all of that aside, I'm going to do it anyway. It's for a good cause and it should be fun. Now I just have to worry about who wins, a couple of the women were asking my friend if I'm married...

There are no rules these days (or very few anyway and somebody usually finds a way to disprove a few on a regular basis which is a good thing) but I'm fairly traditionalist when it comes to filet. Over-cooking destroys everything that's good about it. It goes from juicy and tender to dry and chewy and flavor isn't really one of it's strongest features even before you cook it all out by braising. That's just me though, you should do what you want to do. If I was going to insist on using the filet for that recipe I'd definitely cook the beef on it's own and do the sauce seperately. Of course then it wouldn't technically be the same dish but who says you have to be technical?

I did a 26 person dinner last night (local Lion's Club annual District Governor's meeting, a good friend is a Lion's member and approached me about doing the job) which went very well. After the dinner I was approached by my friend and a couple other members and she asked me if I'd be willing to be an auction item for their charity fundraiser event (the local chapter works with research dealing with vision disorders and blindness). Apparently a few of the women were joking that they wanted to take me home to cook for them and the idea light lit up for somebody. Now they want to auction off me doing a dinner (4 people max) for the winning bidder. I don't have a problem with charity work, happy to do it, it's the private dinner thing I'm not so sure about. In this situation I'd have to do the charming host thing along with the cooking and I'm not sure I can pull that off. I love the buffer provided by my servers 'cause then I just have to cook, no schmoozing required, but that's not what they have in mind for this. They want a "chef's table" type situation. The venue for last night had me in an open kitchen area which I'm not used to but I adjusted so maybe I need to just relax and have fun with this. Suggestions, ideas, smart-arse comments all welcome. Thanks.

I'm looking forward to this. I'm generally a traditionalist when it comes to chocolate chip cookies. I prefer them without oatmeal, fruit, etc. I also like the standard "toll house" cookie recipe. My grandmother used to make the toll house cookies with walnuts and raisins in it instead of chocolate chips because she's not really a chocolate fan. They were really good as well but obviously were no longer chocolate chip cookies.

This one was out of my head, there is no actual recipe, but just use a basic ganache formula that gives a somewhat firm result. I have some plastic mini bundt molds that I layered everything in, when inverted it leaves a well at the top which I filled with the sauce. dark ganache - I used 64% Schokinag and cream and stirred it occasionally during cooling to get a somewhat grainy texture milk ganache - I used Callebaut 823 and cream and whipped it just a bit to lighten it, I didn't want it too fluffy and soft white mousse - I used Callebaut white and cream infused with vanilla bean and folded in some gelatin-stabilized whipped cream strawberry sauce - These days I usually use the one from "The Cake Bible" (because it's good) unless I have really good fresh berries available, which isn't often here, so I don't know if I'm allowed to post it. Then I added a little of the sauce to the extra whipped cream just to tint it a bit. Really simple but it goes over well. One of the ladies that tasted it that night said it was "better than sex". Since I've never had sex with her, that was nice to hear.

Thanks! It's a layer of dark chocolate ganache, a layer of milk chocolate whipped ganache and a layer of white chocolate and vanilla bean mousse. I molded it in a mini bundt and filled the well with strawberry sauce. That's just strawberry sauce and whipped cream tinted with a little of the sauce on the plate. I made the dark ganache a little dry and grainy to give the appearance of a pastry or cookie base when you cut into it.

I made this for a friend years ago and she remembered it and wants me to do it for a smallish (26 people) dinner I'm catering next friday. I'm not thrilled about doing it but she really wants it so she's getting it. I threw one together last night just to be sure it's really what she wants so it's on an ugly plate that was handy at the time. I'm feeling unworthy posting this among all the awesome desserts I've seen in this thread but I wanted to join the fun.

The layered 13x9's works great for a crowd that size. I usually split them and do it as 4 thinner layers so I can increase the cake to filling/icing ratio which seems to make people happy but that's not a necessity.

My chocolate pie is pretty good. That's not meant to sound like bragging because it's simple but it always goes over really well and is an often requested item. I usually put it in tart shells for catering jobs just because that's easier to manage for large groups than cutting up and serving the pies that I make for the restaurant. It's not a light, airy pie and it's not a cream pie either. I won't post the recipe but I'd be willing to PM it to you if you're interested in checking it out. You could do some easy modifications to lighten it up a bit if that's your preference.

I want a fairly thin paste that still tastes like chocolate without a lot of additional sweetness and doesn't require warming to stay somewhat fluid. I hadn't thought of using walnut or hazelnut oils, that's a good idea if I can get the ratio down so that the result isn't too oily (a problem with oil-thinned fountain chocolate in my opinion, even when the flavor is ok there's still that "oily" taste/feel). The problem with cream is the required refrigeration to extend the shelf life past a few days. What I'm trying to accomplish is a gift for friends of mine who are celebrating an anniversary soon. I want to come up with a set of body paints for them that don't have to be heated and actually taste good (as compared with the commercial ones that don't taste too good... ummm, that's what I've heard anyway... or the basic ganache type which require refrigeration and heating). That way they can paint on cookies or something and eat them. Yep, that's what it's for. Strictly G-rated stuff here.

Is there a method/additive/whatever that will help keep chocolate somewhat liquid (even thin paste-like would be ok) at average room temp without making it taste bad? I know oil works but results with that didn't end up tasting too good to me.

I'm not set on that one idea but there are several places in town to get the sort of things you mentioned so I was wanting to do something completely different without getting too carried away since I won't be there to watch over it or help with it. Thanks for the ideas though, I'll definitely mention them to her.

I'll mention the rice krispie balls idea to her, that's not something I'd be interested in fooling with I don't think but I don't have an interest in the business anyway other than the person who owns it and she could handle that on her own. Actually, I hate to admit it but if she asked me to make them for her I probably would. I really need to toughen up a bit, I'm busy enough as it is.

Apologies for not being more clear on that, it will not be actual fries just something to represent them. My first thought was beignet "fries" piped into a fryer but that's not going to be simple enough for her staff other than maybe the cook who is good at what he does but not all that adventurous and, without meaning to sound rude, I've had some of his pastry and dessert creations and it's just not his area of skill. So to make it as easy as possible I'm going to go with some sort of cookie or cake strips for the fries that I'll bake and supply her with (at cost... yeah, I know but she really is a good friend). Hadn't thought of marshmallows! That's a good idea and I could supply her with them if she wanted, I actually like making different flavors of them anyway.

A very close friend has asked me to come up with a summer dessert/sweet idea for the small burger and pizza restaurant she owns (conveniently located next to the park where most of the town kids and teens hang out, play and swim during the summer). It has to be simple and fairly quick but I'm also going for unique (locally). Since we're in Canada and it's mainly going to be for kids I've been working around the idea of a sweet "poutine". There are many ways to simulate the fries, I just have to decide which will be the best option for her/her staff (mostly teens doing the serving and they'd probably be assembling the dessert as well). A chocolate sauce for the gravy is a no-brainer but I haven't come up with a definite plan for the cheese replacement yet. Keep in mind that this will mainly be sold to kids at the beach/park and exotic or expensive ingredients aren't an option. Those facts cancelled out some of my initial ideas (mascarpone which would be too costly for her menu and ricotta which I'm afraid would look too close to cottage cheese to the kids and is also on the expensive side locally) which, in reality, are still more "fancy" than what she's thinking anyway. Ice Cream is my primary consideration at this point but would have to be set up in advance in some form that would sorta resemble cheese curds. Big scoops wouldn't have the right look and her buying a softserve machine is very unlikely to happen. I have to mention that I already know it's not going to be a "healthy choice" item and I'm not concerned with expanding the kids culinary minds or introducing them to new experiences in this particular instance. Also, there is no benefit in this to me other than the kids enjoying it and helping out a friend. So, any thoughts/ideas/suggestions from the always intelligent and creative people here at the eGForums? I know this is a simple thing but that doesn't mean I'm considering all of the possibilities. Sometimes keeping it simple is the biggest challenge (in my opinion anyway). I have to override the desire to try to show off. Thanks in advance.