Ericpo

Baselerd, you have described one of my favorite ways of starting from scratch. Going through that much, you often come up with an excellent recipe. But not neccessarily an Epic recipe. At the stage where it is good, but you feel it could be better, what then? Personally, I look at what I have completed, then ask "what is it lacking". Tecture? Color? Contrasting flavors? Presentation? This is a part of my process, but I am always interested to hear others tricks. Also, during development, how is one to document what goes in to a recipe? I have tried writing things down as I go, but the act of documentation seems to stifle my creativity. Does anyone else experience this?

YUM. I hardly even read a recipe if it says raspberries, I just fast forward to when I get to eat them. lol If you picked the raspberries fresh and they were properly ripe, no sugar would really be needed. Thanks JoNorvelleWalker. I should just say that my sorbet Obsession includes a few foibles...I like seeds, pulp, skin...in other words, texture. I really believe an awesome sorbet is an experience that leaves you in NO doubt about what was in it. I know that a traditoinal sorbet is filtered beyond any natural texture, but in a mass produced, artificial flavor dominated world, a REAL fruit flavor and mouthfeel are superlative experiences. One of my most popular recipes is a peach/mint sorbet. I only make it with fresh, unpeeled peaches. It melts slowly enough in your mouth to feel like you are eating a fresh peach, with subtle differences. The color, texture, flavor, and perceived sweetness all say "Peach".

Totally. One of my most referenced books, by far!

dcarch, your pictures are all beautiful, as always! The steamed tofu...Did the tofu come with that floral pattern, or did you do that somehow? And where did you get it/how did you do it? It actually makes me want to try tofu cooking again lol.

That is an interesting article, rotuts. I am definitely of two minds about this...Flattering though it is to see people excited about something you cooked, the disruption to the table, and tables nearby, is awful. As with many things in American Culture, I expect the larger problem is not the action itself, but the lack of consideration for others. My particular restaurant pet peeve is vulgarity at neighboring tables. I really do not care how you choose to speak, or the things you choose to disuss. At least, I do not care until I have to hear them. I suppose I really have a similar feeling about cameras. If it can be done discreetly with a minumum of fuss, ok. If not, exercise your brain and try to record the experience the old fashioned way.

This seems to be the best place to pose this questoin: Does anybody have sorbet recipes that are really exceptional? And, if so, would you be willing to share them? Dearly as I love Ice Cream, sorbet's are my particular frozen dessert Obsession. With a capital O.

I've been coming up with new recipes virtually since I could balance on a chair in my mother's kitchen so as to reach the counter. They run the gamut from adding an uncalled-for ingredient, to entire recipes from a random idea. I love new recipes, flavors, combinations of diverse ingredients...and from my short time on eG, so do most of you! My question is this: When you are developing a dish, what are the best techniques you have come up with? Do you always start with one ingredient and go from there? Cook a recipe exactly as stated, and only after experiment with it? Look at color? Do you write everything down as you go, or simply rely on memory? Do you open your fridge and say, "what is about to spoil?" (I do this constantly ) Anything that has to do with HOW to develop recipes would be my hope for this discussion. Individual examples are OK, but the technique is what I want to know!

Hmmm. To clarify, I do not run any business, as such. I do catering for a small, local fundraising organization. I.e., we put on fancy(for the region) dinner/dance parties, with all volunteer labor. All ticket proceeds benefit a particular local charity. It is my ambition at some point to open such a business though, so many of my ideas go through that filter. And as for guests, I refer to friends over for supper. I've learned to cater(hehe) to the culinarily disabled. I do not therefore have a ton in the way of serviceware, but a bowl might do the trick. And not to disparage in any way your advice huiray(which is excellent and I appreciate it!), but I really want to serve it on a plate so you can see the sides of the cabbage bowl. It's so not what one would expect in a salad, giving it an(edible) three dimensional effect.

Ok, I was in a bit of a hurry earlier, let me elaborate. The nightmare comes from the cabbage bowl trying to slide around on the plate as you attempt to spear a mouthfull on a fork. huiray, you might be correct about the chopsticks, but I still think the bowl would move around. More importantly, I live in Northwest North Dakota...I have the skills to eat with chopsticks, but that is not something I can rely upon(or even expect) in a guest or customer. A neighbor(who I shared supper with last night) had an interesting suggestion: a small mound of cottage cheese around the base of the bowl to stabilize it. I like the idea, and will most likely try it out. Does anyone else have a suggestion as to what I could put around the base? Cottage cheese would I think sort of go with the flavors, but maybe there's something I'm not considering. rotuts, what part were you suggesting I soften? I'm not really seeing how that wil help... Lastly, and more importantly, the changes to the recipe were a vast improvement. Mostly thanks to some advice from this discussion, so thanks everbody who contributed! The lemon juice was very nice, and I ended up subbing Red Cabbage for the reccomended Radichio. For which reason see above comment about where I live:( Funny enough, even though I wanted Radichio, The Red Cabbage was a stroke of luck. For one thing, I most likely would not have tried the boat presentation...It was one of those on the spot ideas. The recipe now stands thus: Sliced raw Fennel Sliced Green Onions Sliced Yellow Peppers Sliced Red Cabbage Fresh Lemon juice and zest EVOO Sea Salt and Black Pepper Thinking about a fruit to counter and cut all the acid. Apples and Mandarin Oranges are my thoughts so far.

It's fun looking but needs refinement rotuts. It's kind of a nightmare to eat out of

Fennel salad in Red Cabbage Boat Ok, this is last night's incarnation of my work-in-progress fennel salad. Thank you to liuzhou for helping me out!!!

Ericpo. I think possibly you are a figment of eG's imagination. Darienne...Thank you? I'm actually not sure if that was a compliment or insult... That was a compliment, completely. I am so in awe of folks who can whip up elaborate dinners for 50. Way beyond my level of competence...unless they are dog folks (with dogs) who really mostly don't care what they are eating as long as they are fed enough and have homemade ice cream (which I do make and quite nicely) and slushy Margaritas to follow later (which someone else makes, BTW). We mostly supply the place. No, it was all compliment. Well in that case definitely thank you:) and to be perfectly honest, I thought its was above my skill level too lol. Kinda one of those "the only way to learn it was to do it" things.

Ericpo. I think possibly you are a figment of eG's imagination. Darienne...Thank you? I'm actually not sure if that was a compliment or insult...

Whiskey/Vanilla sauce? yum. How do you make that?

My 'best dish'? I suppose there really is only one choice for that. It was a peach/mint sorbet I served as a palate cleanser course during a ridiculously elaborate, 8 course meal for 50 of my friends. I was looking for something to enhance the cleansing aspect of a good sorbet, and it was midsummer so my garden was flush with fresh mint...I figured, why not? To get that fresh herb flavor, I steeped fresh mint leafs in the syrup, then strained them out before combining with the peach pureé. Also I had been planning this meal for several months, so I managed to anticipate the arrival of fresh peaches in the markets. So it was made with fully, perfectly, ripe peaches. I chose not to peel the peaches...which left it chunkier perhaps than a traditional sorbet, but with the amazing mouthfeel of a ripe peach, fuzz and all! Finally, I hollowed out lemons, froze them, then packed them with the sorbet. I topped each with the blossom end of the lemon.This gave a fresh lemony tingle to each bite, as well as ensuring that the sorbet arrived frozen even on a hot August night. Served amidst a lineup of superlative dishes, this was the only one anyone would talk about, all night. Which was a little frustrating since I worked far harder on most of the other courses, but it just points me back to what I already should know: It's the simple things that are often the best. Wish I had some pictures, but alas.

jrshaul, have you ever tried an immersion stick blender? I'm a huge fan of home made sorbet, and I swear by mine. It makes the whole process so much easier, and easier on cleanup too. You can blend, mix, and chill, all in one bowl(I use glass). It also makes it easier to chase down those stray bits that are a little chunkier than one would like. My favorite immersion blender is the Cuisinart Smart Stick CSB-76 - Hand blender - 200 W. It is a workhorse, and very attractively priced at around $30. Hope this helps!

Radicchio! That's exactly what is needed! Mmm, and I really like the idea of roasted shallots along with the other raw ingredients....I will give that one a try, SobaAddict70. Thanks!

Huiray, I tried balsalmic...usually my favorite vinegar. It tends to overwhelm fennel's delicate licorice flavor, which is why I went with white wine vinegar.

Thanks everyone! FrogPrincesse: I live in North Dakota....if I could find a blood orange, you can bank that I'd try that combo! Regular 'Ol oranges will have to suffice. hmmm, Darienne...Lime juice is delicious with chili's. If you have a favorite hot sauce, try adding a dash or two to the dressing. Also Cilantro is complimentary to lime, though it is a cliche. Here's a crazy thought: Vanilla. Sweet potatoes are awesome with a carmelized brown sugar sauce...why not with a hint of vanilla? Also, I think I agree that vinegar is a bit strong with fennel. Which is why I used just a little white wine vinegar, for the delicacy of flavor. Though I might have to try a citrus blend instead. This salad is going on a menu that already features orange as a primary flavor...I will ponder.

Ok, this is my first post on eGullet...Fennel Salad. I'm experimenting with this for the first time...what flavors pair well with raw fennel? What I'm really trying to come up with is a crisp, cold salad. If at all possible I would like to incorporate some contrasting colors, for it is true that we eat first with our eyes. So far, I have this: Sliced raw fennel Sliced green onions Sliced yellow peppers I toss these together, then drizzle with: Extra virgin olive oil White wine vinegar Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper Suggestions?