teonzo

If you want to make fruit mousses then agar-agar gives some troubles due to temperatures: it starts gelling at 40°C, this is a bit too high when you need to fold in the whipped cream. The best substitute is cocoa butter, it works almost at the same temperatures as gelatin. About quantities, you need to multiply the gelatin quantity per 5 or 6. Example: if your recipe calls for 10 g of gelatin, then you can subsitute it with 50-60 g of cocoa butter. Teo

In Pãstryrevolution #5 (a great magazine on pastries and bread, if you can read Spanish language) there is an interview with Francisco Migoya where he says he is starting a project with Nathan Myhrvold. This seems like the beginning of the works for "Modernist Patisserie". This is a great news for me, an equivalent of "Modernist Cuisine" for pastry and baking would be a dream! Teo

Some more stuff: David Kaplan, Nick Fauchald, Alex Day - "Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails" This seems a must buy in cocktail books. Christopher Kostow - "Beyond the Vineyard: In Search of a Napa Valley Cuisine" I'm curious to see how much pages will deal with the restaurant and how much with the Valley. Gunnar Karl Gíslason, Jody Eddy - "North: The New Nordic Cuisine of Iceland" Same here, I'm curious to see how much will be dedicated to the restaurant and how much to Iceland. Per-Anders Jorgensen - "Eating with the Chefs" I'm not interested about the contents, but I'm sure it will include tons of great photos and good writing. Christian F. Puglisi - "Relæ: A Book of Ideas" This is a must buy for me, I really liked everything I've seen by Puglisi. Charles Phan - "The Slanted Door: Modern Vietnamese Food" I'll wait for some reviews before deciding. Teo

Some personal suggestions (based on my tastes). The most important thing is the potato variety, you need a "firm" one (don't know what's the correct term in English language, plus I don't know how to translate the potato variety names), meaning potatoes that are quite dry after cooking, so they will absorb less flour possible. The best way to cook potatoes for gnocchi is baking them on a baking tray covered with salt. Salt will tend to absorb the potatoes' humidity, so you'll end up with the drier cooked potatoes possible. The best way to make the potato puree is passing the cooked potatoes through the finest sieve possible. In this way the puree will be finer than with the other methods (resulting in better gnocchi texture) and you will loose another good amount of residual humidity. Food mills or "potato mashers" (don't know the English term for that specific tool) are the traditional tools used to prepare gnocchi, but they give a worse result than a fine sieve. Just after sieving the potatoes, spread the potato puree as thin as possible, so it will loose more humidity and will cool down sooner. Move it every minute and dry the condensation that formed on the surface before spreading again the potato puree over it. Adding the yolk(s) will help getting a plastic dough (easier to handle while forming the gnocchi), but will result in more flour to be used. I much prefer to avoid using yolks. You just need to add a bit of flour, mix the dough, add some flour again until you get a manageable dough, then form the gnocchi. If you follow all these steps then you can get a dough with as low as 10% flour (10% of the weight of the cooked potato puree). The higher % of potatoes in the final dough, the better tasting gnocchi you will get. Avoid using bread flour, you need flour with low gluten content. Don't add salt to the gnocchi dough, salt the cooking water as when you cook pasta. Some nutmeg (just a pinch, not to be noticed) is always a good addiction to the gnocchi dough. Teo

If you already know what frame (length, width and depth) you can fill with a given recipe, and you need to scale down that recipe for another frame (different length, width and depth), then you just need to calculate the ratio between the 2 volumes. Simple example: you have a recipe for a pate de fruits that fills a 60 cm x 40 cm x 2 cm frame (let's say these measures are for a standard pate de fruits slab), you want to scale it down to fill a 40 cm x 40 cm x 0.7 cm frame (let's say this is for a 2 layers praline). The first recipe gives you a volume of 60x40x2 cm^3 = 4800 cm^3. you want to get a volume of 40x40x0.7 cm^3 = 1120 cm^3. The ratio is 1120/4800 = 0.2333 . So you just need to take the first recipe, then multiply all the weights by 0.2333. If you don't know what volume you get with the first recipe, then you have 2 ways. First one: you already know a recipe that fills your second (desired) frame. Calculate the amount of sugars (this is valid only for pate de fruits) in this recipe (the one that fills the second frame), remembering to consider also the sugars in the fruit puree. Calculate the amount of sugars in the first recipe, then make the ratio in the same way as above. This method is not 100% correct since different sugars have different densities, plus there are the other solids in the fruit purees, but it gives you a good approximation to start with. Second one: you don't know what kind of frame you fill with a given recipe, plus you don't have a recipe that fills exactly your wanted frame. In this case you are forced to make a first batch and see what you get. Teo

There are various "standard" sizes for pre-made frames: 34x27 cm; 40x40 cm; 60x40 cm... If the recipe/book doesn't tell the measures, then you can only guess which is the correct size by checking the total weight of the ingredients. Not much of a help, I know. Teo

You get some recipes on the official website: http://www.pacojet.com/en/recipes/ Pacojet is more versatile than a standard churning machine, you can get good results even if your recipe is quite out of the standard balance (much less sugars, less fats and so on). Usually all recipes that work with a churning machine work perfectly with a Pacojet too. About sorbets you can drastically reduce the sugars ratio, just give a look at the official recipes. Teo

What's most dubious about this inspection is the violation described as "no hand-washing facility or soap near the food prep area and hot and cold items". It's quite hard to think that Per Se changed their kitchen set-up after the previous inspections. So, if previous inspections declared that the kitchen set-up was ok, why should there be a violation now? Teo

Then it seems that the problem lies in how you freeze and defrost them. There should be no need to let them set in the refrigerator before freezing them, you should try to put them immediately in the freezer. Pay attention on how you defrost them, if you get the same problem with 2 different recipes then it sounds more like a problem of condensation during defrosting. Teo

The main problem is given by the egg whites, you whip them at hard peaks and without making them stable (Italian meringue). You end up overwhipping and overmixing them while you mix your batters, in this way the whites separate a bit and you get the mushy effect. Plus you have the troubles of using raw eggs (unless you pasteurize them or use already pasteurized eggs, but doesn't seem so if you talk about separating them). I would try a simpler and quicker recipe, like this one: 350 g dark chocolate 70% 350 g cream 500 g cream Make a ganache with the chocolate and the first amount of cream. If your chocolate has a different % then you need to re-balance the ganache, Wait until the ganache cools to 35°C, then add the second amount of cream (whipped to soft peaks). This mousse is stable and really easy to make. When you make mousses and similars you always have to whip your stuff to soft peaks and not to hard peaks, this way it will be much easier to mix the batters and you will avoid overwhipping and overmixing troubles (mostly resulting in air/volume loss and separation). Teo

If you can read French then there is this one: Délicieux macarons salés by Christophe Felder Teo

Dave, thanks for the blog (just finished reading, can't comment there since it's closed) and for opening this thread. I really appreciated that in these weeks of complaints about the scarcity of blogs on this forum (and so on) you just took the ball and started rolling. You showed a nice pair of b***s and confirmed it with your life resume. I really hope you will continue writing some more anecdotes, it seems like you have a boatload of them in your bag. If I can ask for something, then I would be really glad if you could write some stories about your years in SF, with the rise of Chez Panisse and so on. Thanks. Teo

I've ordered a LED globe (cool white, 5500-6000K) from an Amazon.it marketplace seller (costed 15 euro including shipping), hopefully I'll receive it in the next days. Now I'm using just two pieces of cardboard with some aluminum foil taped over it, I'm keeping the cheap route to see what I'm able to learn and what results I'll get. While surfing on Amazon I've seen a set composed of 2 umbrellas (each one with a CFL bulb) and a big reflector screen (about 7 x 5 feet), it costs 120 euro. Maybe I'll consider it if I'll see I'm able to get quality pictures. BTW, here is my last photo: http://www.teonzo.com/immagini/cake_dolciviaggio/crostata_patatedolci_mandorle_favetonka.jpg I made it this way: - sunny day (one of the last until next spring I suppose), about 1 pm, table placed under a window facing South with a white curtain to diffuse the direct sunlight; - placed a big sheet of white paper over the table, then set the white balance on the camera (luckily my cheap camera has this option); - placed the pie on the paper (with something underneath to not be in direct contact, of course); - placed the 2 homemade reflectors (if I consider South as 90° then I put them at 30° and 120°); - put the tripod in place, set the camera at ISO 80, shutter speed 1/60, self-timer at 2 seconds (to avoid shatterings after clicking the button). The only manipulation of the photo was resizing and saving it as jpg, I didn't change/touch anything else. I'm quite happy with the result, now I need to find out if it was a lucky shot or if I'm really starting to learn. If you wonder what the pie is, from bottom to top it's made of: - Tonka bean flavoured shortcrust; - sweet potato "jam" (don't know how to translate it in English); - almond crumble. Teo

I don't know which varieties you have in the USA, but here in Europe chestnuts are divided into 2 main groups: "castagna" and "marrone" in Italian language, or "châtaigne" and "marron" in French language. I'm ignorant, but as far as I know both of them are translated as "chestnuts" in English language, never found a distinction between the two. Castagna / châtaigne is usually smaller, tastier, there are 2 or 3 inside the shell, it's a real PITA to peel since the skin goes far deep into the flesh in a lot of zones; they are used mainly to prepare the chestnut flour or dried chestnuts. Marrone / marron is usually bigger, less tasty, there is only 1 inside the shell, it's much easier to peel; they are used mainly to prepare marrons glaces, chestnut jam and all the other uses in pastry. So if the ones you got were "castagna" and not "marrone", then there was not much you could do, peeling them is a nightmare. If you roast them then a good tip is putting them in a bowl (just after roasting) and cover them with a towel for some minutes, in this way the humidity will help a bit to detach the skin. Teo

There are quite a lot of cookbooks coming out in France this autumn (some in the past weeks, some in the next). All of them are in French language, so it can be a problem. I'm copying the link to the original publisher, plus the Amazon.com link where available. Hugues Pouget , Sylvain Blanc - "Les 5 saisons par Hugo & Victor - Paris" http://www.editionsduchene.fr/livre/hugues-pouget-les-5-saisons-par-hugo-victor-paris-3237427.html This duo became quite famous in the past years, I really liked their pastries in the articles of various magazines, so I'll definetely buy it. Christophe Aribert - "Aribert" http://www.laymon.fr/#/ouvrages/aribert Book about this restaurant with 2 michelin stars, the publisher is the same of YAM Magazine (the magazine by Yannick Alleno). Emmanuel Renaut - "Nature d'un chef" http://editions.flammarion.com/Albums_Detail.cfm?ID=44829&levelCode=livres Another michelin starred restaurant, the English edition will come out next year, Amazon link. Gérald Passédat - "Passédat" http://editions.flammarion.com/Albums_Detail.cfm?ID=45033&levelCode=livres Amazon link. This chef is totally famous, 3 michelin stars in Marseille, he's a master of cooking fish. Régis Marcon - "Champignons" http://www.editionsdelamartiniere.fr/ouvrage/champignons/9782732454832 Amazon link. Another famous 3 starred chef, this book is based only on mushrooms. Christophe Adam - "Eclair de Génie" http://www.editionsdelamartiniere.fr/ouvrage/eclair-de-genie/9782732460109 Amazon link. Christophe Adam is considered to be the king of eclairs, so I suppose and hope this will be the definitive bible on this pastry. Pierre Hermé - "Ispahan" http://www.editionsdelamartiniere.fr/ouvrage/ispahan/9782732461847 I'm a bit sceptic on this one... a whole book about the Ispahan? It's a superb pastry, but this book seems to be another try to milk his fans (most probably I will succumb again since I'm dumb). Audrey Gellet - "Grand Pâtissier" http://www.editionsdelamartiniere.fr/ouvrage/grand-patissier/9782732460703 Amazon link. Audrey Gellet is the pastry chef of Maison Pic, the 3 star restaurant lead by Anne-Sophie Pic. She won a television contest, one of the prizes was a book deal. So here it is her book with her recipes, hoping there will be some desserts from Maison Pic. Guy Martin - "Le Grand Véfour" http://www.editionsduchene.fr/livre/guy-martin-le-grand-vefour-3237344.html Book about the history of this historical 2* restaurant, plus actual recipes. Vincent Lemains - "Les Marquis de Ladurée: l'Esprit chocolat" http://www.editionsduchene.fr/livre/vincent-lemains-les-marquis-de-laduree-lesprit-chocolat-3238730.html Another book by Ladurée, this time focused on chocolate. It seems to have the same classy package of the previous books. Teo

I tried the tabling method (as described by minas6907) a couple of years ago and it worked fine. Teo

To be honest (and coming back to the opening post) my goal would be being able to make a realistic photo of the real dessert. I don't like any kind of faked stuff, I prefer to get a lower quality photo but depicting the real thing. Especially because I'm making these experiments while I'm at home, so I'm going to eat it after making the photo. I would like to be able to get a good shot after the first plating, without doing another one (as much as I like my desserts, I'm not happy to eat 2 of the same in a row). Plating a faked dessert would also lead to wasting some food, I try to avoid it as much as possible. You (plural meaning whoever is reading, not only you Oliver) are welcome! I live near Venice, if you come to visit Venice then feel free to drop me a pm to organize something. Thanks to all the other users that explained the white balance and other details, much appreciated! I received the book for noobs and started reading it. It's quite clear and I'm starting to understand how a digital camera works. I've bought a CFL bulb but I think I need a more powerful one (I bought a 15W one), so I'll go back to the store and ask for the most powerful one they have. I've also "built" a couple of reflectors using some cardboard and some kitchen aluminum foil (I suppose it reflects better than white paper). Next week I'll make a boatload of photos to get some experience and confidence, I'll try to use all the settings of my camera and see how the results change, so I'll get an idea of how they work and which are the best for my case. Teo

If you want traditional food in Bologna, then I think the best place is this one: Osteria Bottega Via Santa Caterina, 51 40123 Bologna it's a bit difficult to find but it's well worth a visit. You get traditional dishes done correctly and with great produce. Their wine list is good too. Last time I've been there was about 3 years ago, if I recall right it costed about 45 euro plus wine. Beware you need to book it with a good advance. If you can use a car and got in the outsides of Bologna, then I heard great comments about Berberè and their pizza. You need to book in advance and be prepared for a slooow service. If you are interested in pastry shops and you can use a car, then a visit to Gino Fabbri is mandatory, he is one of the best 5 pastry chefs in Italy in my opinion. Only problem is that you need a car and a navigator to reach his shop, it's in a village outside Bologna. Once there you just need to choose what you prefer, I tried a lot of his stuff and it ranged from really good to excellent. Another very good pastry shop is Regina di Quadri, this is easier to reach since it's within the "exagon" in the center of Bologna. I'll ask to some friends living there for more suggestions. All the websites I linked don't have an English version (major defect of most food related websites in Italy), if you need help feel free to ask. Teo

Agreed 100%, that cover is far from being a good choice. But if you look at his blog (not updated from a long time) and his facebook you'll find a lot of great stuff (at least to my eyes). If this book will be on par with what he put on the blog, then I'll be really happy. Especially because there aren't much books on modern plated desserts. Alice Medrich has a new book on chocolate coming out at the end of this month: Seriously Bitter Sweet: The Ultimate Dessert Maker's Guide to Chocolate I always heard good things about her, but never bought any of her previous books. Any suggestion? Teo

Baselerd: thanks for explaining some of the basics! Oliver: thanks for appreciating the desserts I make. And thanks for the suggestions about the white sheets and so on. I'll look for a fluorescent bulb, since during winter natural light will be scarce. Maybe the best option should be buying a basic set-up with 2 lights with umbrellas (don't know how they are called in English), Amazon IT sells a set for about 100 euro. But I suppose the priority should be buying a reflex camera. I already have a cheap tripod. I bought this book: Food Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots it seems a good starting point for a noob like me, worst case I wasted 15 euro. My main problem while taking photos is with plated desserts, especially the ones with ice-creams. The ideal thing would be setting up the plate, the camera and everything, so when I plate the ice-cream I just need to take few quick photos and done. But I need to get skilled about lights and so on. First time I tried to take a photo of a dessert with a one-spoon quenelle all the photos were crap (as I said, I just click random hoping to get something decent), I had to plate it three times before getting a decent photo. Now I freeze the ice-cream, so I have more time to take photos. But it's a problem, since one-spoon quenelles don't keep the shape well while freezing (they tend to sit on the spoon and flatten a bit). Plus you see the frost on the surface, while a good one-spoon quenelle should be polished and "shiny". Here is an example: http://www.teonzo.com/immagini/dessert/tabacco_banana_peperone.jpg (another sign of my ignorance, I just don't know how the plate has blue shades, since it's perfectly white and there weren't blue things in the room) Thanks for the suggestions about editing programs, now I'm using Gimp, but I can use just the basic options. Teo

I would say it tastes like a crossing between hay and chicory. I don't know if the taste is similar to the smoked stuff, I don't suppose so since the flour is made from the seeds, while people smoke the leaves. I'll ask to one of my smoking friends next time I'll see him/her. Teo

Other 2 cookbooks that will be released in the next weeks: Antonio Bachour - "Bachour" Amazon page Official page I love the stuff that chef Bachour puts up online, his desserts are great, so this will be a sure buy from me. Too bad it's not available on Amazon UK and I'll have to import. Arnold Hanbucker, Karen Keygnaert - "A'Qi: A Kitchen Dialogue" Amazon page Official page I read some reviews online and this restaurant seems interesting. The problem about this book is that it's a bit expensive (if compared to current restaurant books), it has few pages and should be tri-lingual. Not the best value for money... Teo

Have you ever tried using powdered egg whites? They are safe and should have the advantage that they do not dilute the cocktail taste. Teo

This is one of my last experiments, I called it "Hippie Cannon" ("Cannone Hippie" in Italian, "cannone" means both "cannon" and "joint"). I found on sale a package of flour made from cannabis sativa seeds, this flour is legit in Italy because it doesn't have psychotropic effects. So I bought it out of curiosity and thought about making a cannolo / fake joint. Since in Italian they are called "cannoni" they recalled me the hippie saying "put flowers in your cannons", so I decided to fill it with a flower-flavoured cream. I tasted some pairings and rose was the best one. Then I decided to add a sort of "flower field", looking like the cannon is shooting out a flower field. It's made with the "soil" technique using the cannabis sativa flour. Underneath the soil there is a helicrysum jelly, I think it pairs really well with rose and that flour. The garnishes are rose buds, rosemary flowers and some helicrysum branches. I would have liked to put a lot of edible flowers of different colours (just to make a rainbow and insist on the hippie concept), but unfortunately I did not have them on hand. I have to admit I laughed quite a bit while realizing this dessert, loved the dual joke fake joint / cannon shooting a flower field. Disclaimer: I never smoked in my life and I'm against drugs. If you think I re-used some ideas from Jordi Roca and Albert Adria then you are totally correct. Teo

Just received an e-mail from Amazon UK, it should be here next week, sweet! Yesterday I found there is another fine dining book coming out this November: http://ronnyemborg.dk/the-book/ Judging from the photos it seems really interesting. Teo