Tiny

Table for anything up to a half hotel pan or block for larger batches....I like the block method b/c it reminds me of those infomercials....set it and forget it....

I used to work at Jean Georges in NYC in pastry. I would work on average 14 hrs a day, I didn't get in till 1 or 2 in the morning. The hot side cooks worked 8-10 hours max....so pastry doesn't always have these awesome hours and short days.

you might want to try carageenan.....it is what most ice cream makers use (in adittion to a few other gums) in their "low fat" ice creams to provide the texture of eggs....

they make specific blends of hydrocolloids to stabalize ice cream, I'd suggest just using them, a lot of research and testing has gone into their development and ratios, they work great

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2089...59e&id=50313279 2nd facebook album Today was aerated confections day, I made Torrone, and finished my PB&J's from jelly day yesterday. Also the class plated up for "Grand Buffet" today. Tomorrow is my last day of chocolates class....such a sad day.....it was such a great class!

Richard you are still the man!!!!! If I'm ever in Atlanta, I'm eating at your place. Congrats Stephanie! Lisa, I will never eat anywhere you cook.

Lior, I made marzipan in class today (I made a toasted hazelnut and almond one). From what we did in class, a few things you might want to try different next time would be first off to blanch the nuts first (this softens them and also adds extra water to the recipe which helps with the emulsifying) by bringing the water to a boil, putting in the nuts, bringing back to a boil and turning off and letting soak for 5 min. The team that made pistachio marzipan pealed them first, but it still came out a sorta brownish green. I think the best way to get a really really green color wold be to use sicilian pistachios. Also you might want to throw a percentage of almonds into the nut mix, they have the ideal solid to oil ratio that really helps with texture. Now when your marzipan separated (mine did in class too) you did the right thing by adding more liquid. Marzipan is a fat in water emulsion and can be fixed this way. The key is to add very very small amounts until it stops being oily but not so much that it sticks to the processor. It's okay if it heats up (the natural friction from the grinding is unavoidable), ours was quite warm when it came out, once it cooled it firmed up nicely. Very nice making your own marzipan btw....I don't think Id ever try it outside of a professional kitchen....props to you!!!!

In NY, the majority are men.....at least the restaurants I can think of off hand....

Marzipan is a fat in water emulsion, if it is broken (oily and short) it can be repaired in a food processor (commercial one, home one will burn out) by adding a liquid, preferably a liquor or syrup a very little at a time till it comes back together. If the mixture is too gooey and soft, it has too much liquid in it and the recipe should be adjusted.

All that AND Sandra Lee among others ill qualified at the judges table! BRILLIANT! ← Yeah, and it was funny that sandra lee seemed to think the over the top cheerleader chick was genuine.....Giada quickly snapped back and said she was fake as a $3 bill...

this show is horrible....young kid cried, high french trained dude can't season his eggs, snotty texas woman trying to bring "fine dining" to the home cook doesn't know how to hold a knife correctly.....food network is becoming a disgrace...The only show I still watch is good eats, and maybe ace of cakes, sometimes....

The best prep you can do in the next 6 months is to get a job in a pastry kitchen or bakery.....Pastry is a great field to get into if you are made for it. You need to know that it's nothing like TV, it is hard work, long hours, little pay and a lot of repitition. On the other hand it can be very creative and not much feels better than a customer telling you how much they enjoyed something you made. Desserts are a cause for celebration and as a pastry cook you get to be a part of that celebration, from a distance. Good books to read are the CIA's baking and pastry book, bo friedberg's books, on food and cooking by harrold magee. Peter Grewling's book on chocolates and confections is AWESOME! Alton Brown's book on baking is good too.....Baking is a science and the more you know about the ingredients and what they do, the better.

More pictures up at my facebook album, finished the cordials today, made some pralines "yankee" style.... Prairiegirl, there are 3 possible reasons why the sugar would over crystalize. The first and most likely is that it can be over cooked. Cordials are super temperature dependant and even a degree or two over can cause them to over crystalize. The 2nd possibility is that the syrup was agitated too much when the liquor was added. We stirred the liquor in very gently with a rubber spat, but after we did this, Chef came over and told us that the safer way would be to pour the two back and forth between 2 containers, that way you know they are fully mixed and it is gentle on the syrup. The 3rd possible way to over crystalize the cordials is to use improper sugar cooking technique, a few seed crystals stuck on the side of the pan or some adulterant in the syrup can ruin a whole batch. It's a very delicate process. I found that lemoncello makes a very nice cordial, more potent liquors are too boozy for me. Chef said eau de vies make wonderful flavors, but are just too potent, which I agree with after tasting a grand marnier cordial...just too much alcohol!

Ultratex 3 is a modified tapioca starch that is cold water swelling. It thickens like a cooking starch, but it doesn't need to be cooked, it is flavorless and doesn't have a starchy mouthfeel.

They are homemade and easy to make. To make them, you fill a cheap chocolate mold (or any kind of mold) with plaster and let it set then glue them onto a stick.

different substances use different amounts, a good starting point is 4-6% you may need a little less, may need a little more. In my last class I used some UT3 in my entremet project. I made a smoked cherry, vanilla bean and port puree, I thickened it with the UT3 and used it as an insert. I also thickened some OJ and spread it thin on a silpat and dried it in the oven to make OJ fruit leather tuilles. Ive also used it in the past to make a kiwi coulis that had the flavor of fresh kiwi and was bright green. UT3 is awesome stuff!!!!!

Last 2 days we finished up with non crystaline confections and started crystaline confections. Lior, I made liquor cordials today (lemoncello ones) so I can answer that question you had. The reason chef Greweling says to cook unsweetened liquor to 119 and sweetened to 117 has to do with the balance of sugar in the final liquid. At 119 the syrup is on the edge of being a super saturated sugar solution which is what you are after since in starch molding these you want the very edge to crystalize while leaving the centers liquid. The reason that you'd cook a sweetened liquor solution to a lower temp is so you'd have a slight bit more water in the solution to compensate for the extra sugar you're adding with the liquor. When he says to add the liquor at the end and that it should be warm, he just means warm to the touch, not hot, not cold so as to not shock the sugar. If you are filling truffle shells instead of starch molding, he said that he would cook the sugar a few degrees lower and let it cool covered with a damp rag and plastic wrap till it was room temp. The reason for the lower temp is that it isn't as important to be toeing the edge of super saturation since all that really needs to crystalize is the very tip at the opening of the truffle.......hope this helps. There are pictures at the link I've posted to my facebook album.

Almond nutbutter and raspberries or blue berries Cashew nutbutter and citrus marmalade

I've made a coriander ice cream before....it tastes like foot loops and went well with strawberries. Smoked cherries are also very tasty!

I'd really like to do an apple jelly on top of a smoked raisin ganache or a strawberry jelly on a coriander ganache.

Today started non crystaline confections. Every one made hard candy today and toffee. I made root beer hard candy and pecan butter crunch toffee.....the toffee was AMAZINGLY good. Pictures here http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2090...295&id=50313279

Oops, yeah palm seeds....kinda sleepy when I typed that...

When you say "zester" are you using the kind with the 4 or 5 holes on the end of what kinda looks like a can opener? If so, that is your problem, zesters like that take off the zest but also the pith. It is best to use a microplane for all your zesting needs and to remove just the zest as the pith is very bitter (unless you blanch it a few times)

High gluten flour is basically bread flour with extra gluten added....think pizza dough, bagels or pretzels....For rolls, I'd rather use bread flour or even AP flour rather than high gluten....the last recipe I posted uses a combo of both, and the result is sorta like a cheddar and onion pizza roll without the sauce...

Glad the rolls are getting there for you! Here are a couple "cheddar roll" recipes I have floating in my recipe folder from my breads class...(I just cut and pasted these from my "breads" folder, they were written by a german CMB that has a difficult time with english grammar and spelling, so sorry for any errors) The last recipe is my favorite! Cheddar & Onion rye Rye Sour dough (15-24 hours earlier) Ingredients for the rye sour dough 1 x Medium rye 160 g Water 130 g Rye sour culture 10 g Total 295 g 1. Prepare the RYE SOUR dough earlier to allow the flavor and aroma as well as the acidity to develop. 2. Delude the rye culture in the water, than add the rye flour and mix until evenly hydrated. There will be no gluten development. 3. Store the dough covered overnight at room temperature. Sour dough; DEF, anstellgut 6.25%, TA; 180, TT: 26 C, RZ: 15-20 Std. Ingredients for the Final dough 1 x Bread flour 1920 g Medium rye 600 g Sugar 45 g Salt 65 g Yeast (dry) 16 g Veg. Oil 45 g Molasses 45 g Water 1480 g Rye sour 290 g Cheddar cheese 500 g Onions 500 g Total 5506 g 1. Mix the first 9 (nine) ingredients for 4 minutes on slow, and 4 minutes on second speed in the small spiral mixer. 2. Add the sauted onions and the cheese the last minute of the high speed. 3. Bulk-ferment the dough for 45 minutes in greased tub. 4. Divide the dough into 4# presses and shape round. 5. Bench rest the dough for 15-20 mintues. 6. Shape the dough round either by machine or by hand. 7. Place the dough 4 x 6 per tray. 8. Final fermentation - pan fermentation for 35-40 minutes 9. Finish; score top with one slash, slightly pretzel salt, grated cheddar cheese Baking time: 14 minutes Baking temp: 475 F down to 425 F - vent the last two minutes Steam: Yes Jalapeno-Cheddar rolls (yields 11 lbs) Ingredients Whole Jalapneos chiles 1 1/2 cup Garlic (peeled) 3 cloves Pimentos 1/2 can (drained, chopped - 28 oz can) Salt 1 oz 30 g Olive oil 3 oz 85 g Sugar 3 oz 85 g Cayenne pepper 1 1/2 tsp ??? Sharp Cheddar cheese 1 # 8 oz 680 g Bread flour 5 # 2270g Yeast (instant dry) 1 1/3 oz 38 g Water 3 # 2oz 1420 g Method 1. Combine the stemmed jalapenos and peeled garlic cloves int the bowl of a food processor and process until finely minced. Add the minced chiles and garlic to the oil, salt, sugar, pimentos and cayenne. Blend well and set aside. 2. Grate the sharp cheddar with a medium or fine blade and set aside. (Storeing the cheese in the fridge, keeps the cheese firm and will prevent that the cheese dissolves into the dough, while blending dough and cheese) 3. Combine the yeast and water and stir briefly to disperse the yeast. Add the bread flour and chile mixture. Whenthe dry ingredients have been moistened, switch the mixer to medium speed and knead until a smooth, elastic dough forms, 6-8 minutes, adding bread flou or water as needed to adjust the dough. 4. Add the grated cheddar and continue kneading until the cheese is well incorporated. Pull the dough immediately, divide into 4 pound pieces, and divide the pieces with the dough divider into 36 equal pieces. Roll up each small piece and place it 8 x 12 on the sheet pan. Store the rolls in the freezer and take out by demand. 5. Let rolls proof up and egg-wash the rolls and bake them at 350 F (without steam, due to the egg-wash) for15-18 minutes oruntil golden brown. Allow the rolls to cool slightly before serving. Notes: This is a spicy bread with a Southwestern accent. It may be less spicy by substituting bell peppers ans paprika for the jalapenos and cayenne. Also, try a smoked cheddar cheese for an interesting variation. this recipe creates a very rich dough, which accounts for the unususal proofing method. because of the fat content, the dough will not tolerate more than one rise; therefore, the dough is scaled and shaped right from the mixer. It it is given successive proofs, the texture will be cake-like and the volume of the rolls will be much less than desired. The final texture and appearance of the rolls should be round with a spongy crumb that as a nice "bite". The dough (and crumb) will be light orange with flecks of green jalapeno and red pimento throughout. If the use of canned pimentos present a problem, substitute three large red bell peppers for each large (28 oz) can of pimentos. A note on timing: this bread undegoes a single, short, indidvidual fermentation. It is on of the of the quickest yeasted breads from mixer to oven in the baker's repetoire. Consequently, it should be the last bread mixed in any series of bread in which it is included. Jalapeno-Cheddar Sour Dough Ingredients for the Wheat Sour (Starter) Bread flour 1500 g Water 900 g Culture 300 g Total 2700 g Wheat Sour dough (15-24 hours earlier) 1. Prepare the Wheat Sour dough 15-24 hours earlier to allow the flavor and aroma as well as the acidity to develop. 2. Delude the Wheat Sour dough in the water, than add the wheat flour and mix until evenly hydrated. There will be no gluten development. 3. Store the dough covered overnight at room temperature. Variation: Jalapeno (diced) 400 g Cheddar Cheese (cubed) 1200 g Total 1600 g Handling of Cheese Cheeses will be added after the desired dough consistency is reached. Keep the cheese as long as possible in the refrigerator to keep the cheese firm. Keeping the cheese at room temperature for to long, will cause the cheeses to soften and to dissolve easily into the dough. Also after the addition of the cheeses keep the mixing to a minimum to prevent the dissolving of the cheeses into the dough as well. Final dough HighGluten Flour 3920 g Salt 90 g Water 2400 g Wheat Sour (Starter) 1200 g Sub-Total 7610 g Jalapeno (diced) 400 g Cheddar Cheese (cubed) 1200 g Total 9210 g Method 1. Mix a dough out of the first five ingredients. Assure that the dough is developed to a stage, so that you can "pull" a fine membrane out of one piece of dough. 2. Add the diced Jalapenos and contiue mixing the dough until all the "peppers" are evenly mixed into the dough. 3. Continue by mixing the cheddar cheese at the end under the dough, just until evenly dispersed. 4. Let the dough rest for about 3-4 hours, before scaling the dough into the desired weight. Fold the dough over every 60 minutes. 5. Pre-shape the dough round. 6. Allow an additional bench rest by letting the dough proof for about 10-15 minutes on the talbe. 7. Give the final shape and store the dough in a basket or couche (linen-cloth) 8. Proof the dough to the desire volume (or store overnight in the refrigerator). Ideal would be a temperature of 50-55F/10-13C 9. Bake the dough at 450F/235C for about 30-35 minutes. Cheddar-Green Onion Roll-ins Yields 15 lbs dough (plus 4 lbs cheddar & 3 bunches green onion) Ingredients Amount Water (room temp) 3# 8 oz Eggs 15 oz Oil 1 # Sugar 8 oz Bread flour 4 # High-Gluten flour 3 # Potato flour (or rice flour) 13 z Non fat frey milk powder 8 1/2 oz toasted sesame seeds 5 oz Yeast (inst. Dry) 1 1/2 oz Salt 2 oz Cheddar ch. sharp (med.dice) 4 # Green onion (coarse chopped) 3 bchs Additional: Egg wash, garlic butter, raw sesame seeds Method 1. Add the water, eggs, oil and sugar into a 20-quart mixing bowl and blend well. 2. Combine the remaining ingredients (with the exception of the cheddar and green onions) and add to the wet ingredients. First mix on slow speed. When the dries are moistenend, switch the mixer to medium speed and knead until a smooth elastic dough has formed, about 8-10 minutes. Use water or bread flour to adjust the dough, as needed. 3. Divide the dough into two equal pieces and bench rest the pieces on a floured tabletop, covered, for 30 minutes. Sheet the rested dough pieces to a thickness of 1/2 inch and brush thoroughly with egg wash. 4. Sprinkle the diced cheddar and chopped green onions evenly over the sheeted an egg washed doughs. Beginning with the longest edges, roll each dough toward you to form a cylinder (like a jellyroll). Carefully seal the cylinders by pinching the dough together along the seams. 5. Cut the cylinders into 2-inch lengths and place the pieces, cut-side up, staggered, staggered on a regular parchment-lined sheetpan. With your palm, press each cut piece onto the parchment to flatten it. Allow the loaves to proof until 3/4 proofed 6. Egg wash the loaves just before baking and sprinkle with raw sesame seeds. Bake at 350 F for 15 - 20 minutes. Brush the loaves with garlic butter immediately after removing them from the oven.