piracer

Perhaps the thickness thing does come to play when its something as big as a Turkey. I have to say, I probably unintentionally rest a roast chicken for 10-15 mins whilst people are getting to the table and settling down etc. But I think what Ramsay was trying to say was you NEED to let a bird like Turkey rest if you really want the rest of the meat to be somewhat juicy. Honestly crispy skin on Turkey is a myth for me - I've never had it. And he did say in that show that because of your piping hot gravy, it's "ok" to have the turkey not piping hot.

hold on you mixed flour into your egg mixture? I dont think that will produce any crispiness at all. What i like to do is toss in seasoned cornflour or rice flour, then lightly beaten egg whites. I could be wrong but the oil temperature seems a little too low also (though when i fry i don't have a thermometer so i can't tell)

In my experience i've been told where i worked in Singapre to alway aim for the very best restaurants if your just starting out and doing prep. As scoop said earlier, prep is prep but i would say being some place fine dining may hold your prep work to a hugher standard. Not saying that a cafe or bistro cant put out fine food but easentially since its the bottom rung of the ladder it'll be easier to get a place then if you were applying for a sous position, for example. Good luck though!

ohhh thats a good idea, having a dedicated towel for bread. If there are bits of dough stuck here and there, it should be ok right?? Kinda like having a mini starter...

So i made a loaf of bread the other day and one part of the recipe had me basically cover the loaf in a tea towel for it to rise. Naturally i floured the heck out of it so the bread won't stick and what not. Now the last time i tried washing the tea towel after beating the flour of it, the remaining flour just soaked up all that water and it was a pain to wash off. I made the BAD BAD mistake of putting it into the dryer where the flour bits then dried off but since i put it in with other clothes i found shards (they were sharp!) of flour bits all over my clothes. So how do you guys clean your towels?

its been a while since ive made truffles but for the ganache i always used a 1:1 ratio of cream to chocolate though your right, it is difficult to roll. I guess you could lower the ratio but the problem is of course you might loose that richness from the cream which is kinda the point of truffles.

i don't have any photos but leeks and couscous have been on the plate for the last few days. Sauteed in a little oil, garlic and then braised (some other veg were added) and then spiced up with siracha. Paired with some meatballs i made earlier.

I've actually made them in Singapore which is in the tropics if your not sure where that is. I did however add 20g extra sugar into making the meringue as I've been told more sugar = a stronger meringue and it did work. I later managed to cut back on 30g of the icing sugar to balance out the sweetness. Overall i would say try not to fold too much - over folding seems to be the real problem. If your macarons come out and they don't rise and are flat, its probably due to over folding. On the other hand if when you pipe them out and they don't fall back on themselves (as in they retain too much of a shape), then you haven't folded enough. I won't lie, it takes a couple of tries, but its totally worth it!

you should, here's the recipe that's given me the best result and what i've found is the easiest to work with: http://annies-eats.com/2011/04/29/vanilla-bean-macarons-with-raspberry-filling/ I just use the basic recipe so minus the vanilla beans. Filling is really up to you.

perhaps some kind of vinnegrette since it sounds kinda heavy? something with a fresh herb garnish would always be good

i would say no more then a few days? But on a side note, depending on the filling of course, macarons taste better a day or so older, especially those filled with butter cream. In fact, i think i read somewhere that Pierre Herme 'ages' his macarons for 3 days before displaying them in his shops. Seems like a bit much but i did noticed when i made macarons they tasted better the next day, this was using a buttercream though. When i made a jam filling i dont think you need to wait as long, all really depends on moisture content.

Was gonna make a point on this actually. I'm not surprised that canned tuna producers are cutting back - think about how much we've been eating canned tuna and for how long. I'm amazed that there's still any left in the oceans. Honestly I once bought a very expensive thing of tuna (i think in a jar), packed in oil, in a nice big whole chunk for a lot of money to see what the big deal between expensive and cheap canned tuna is. I honestly, could not tell the difference - it all taste like over cooked cat food to me, but then again, i really don't like canned tuna at all. On a side note, a had a room mate that ate so much canned tuna he got mercury poisoning which i thought was kind of funny. He continues to eat it haha.

In the bistro i used to work in, they would roast the chix until about 70% done - the skin was only slightly brown. They would then debone, portion and then reheat by essentially pan frying, with butter and all that good stuff.

Agreed, its all about the naming perhaps? Also the filling, do something familiar such as a chocolate ganache and just call them a sophisticated whoopie pie or sandwiched meringue cookies. If not how about cocoa shells with a vanilla cream - a grown up oreo?

I'm very partial to doing french macarons if you have all that egg whites. Usually these days i'm trying to figure out what to do with the left over yolks after making macarons. I found a french butter cream recipe that utilizes the egg yolks so im doing that. But yea, macarons, meringue, souffle would be the route i go. Baked alaska also - if your doing a restaurant setting maybe you could do some composed plate with a bar of ice cream and then torch the meringue ala minute.

I didn't realize molasses was considered an acidic ingredient. Can someone care to explain?

Oh boy, how to survive a tasting menu?! These first world problems...

well the liquid smoke in the bbq sauce definitely gave it that edge. i dont have a smoker so i can't go that route and the dry rub turned out to be sufficiently good.

oooooo yes orange chocolate! thats a fantastic idea and chocolate oranges are awesome. Would a peppermint coated macaron with peppermint oil in the shell and orange chocolate ganache be too much? Im guessing its just orange zest and orange oil/essence in the ganache yes?

I was told offhand by a chemical engineer who worked in an oil refinery that the reason he doesn't drink soda or carbonated beverages with CO2 injected into them is because the CO2 is taken as a by product from the refinery and isn't filtered nor are there any regulations surrounding it. Don't know if its entirely true but since im not one to drink a lot of pop anyway i dont mind. But I agree with Norm; whilst i'm not too worried about the liquid smoke since i don't plan on eating it every day, who knows what goes into the processing portion aside what is being listed on the bottles. ANYWAY, next time i think ill also add a little apple puree instead of the tamarind which was a little too strong. Fruity flavor would be nice.

Ok so here are the results of the pulled pork! Dry rubbed it with a mixture of paprika, dried rosemary,ground cumin, ground coriander, caraway seeds, garlic powder, nutmeg, allspice salt and pepper. I wanted fennel but i couldnt find any. I rubbed this in over night and in the morning put it in my roasting pan, covered with foil and let it sit at 225F. I came back from school and made my bbq sauce which had pumpkin spice ale (a home brew gone somewhat wrong, ketchup, tamarind concentrate (can probably leave this out), leftover spice mix, light and dark soy sauce, siracha for the heat along with 3 Serrano chilies, brown sugar, honey and a little extra salt and pepper oh and hickory liquid smoke. Overall very tasty though i realized i was a little heavy handed on the salt so next time should cut that out. Basted the pork about 4 times every 30 mins and by that time it was pull-able. Total cooking time in the oven about 5hrs and 30 mins. Made a side slaw with cabbage, celery, tomatoes, onions, parsley, lime juice, olive oil, sesame oil, salt and pepper.

oh thats not a bad idea. problem im thinking is how to keep the sweetness down a bit though, since buttercream i guess i can reduce the sugar but not the candy canes.

So im thinking of making christmas themed macarons like perhaps a candy cane or peppermint ganache. Peppermint im thinking doing a white chocolate base with peppermint oil in it, simple and easy. Candy cane though im not too sure. I would think you could melt down candy canes over a baie marie and incorporate it into a butter cream. Ideas? Also does anyone know how they do like swirls of color on the macaron shells?

Yes i will take pics! (or else it doesnt count, right?) But that seems like the plan to me. so if i get back by 2pm, pop in by 2.30 dinner is ready at 8.30 or so. hmmm...

ok so ive decided to just stick to a dry rub and then go the long and slow method in the oven at a low temp, gradually increasing it to get that crust as suggested. Im gonna then make a bbq sauce that i can slather on the meat which should keep it moist throughout and be able to build up flavor . wish me luck!