Ling

^Those are great pictures. I can barely see the crumb--is it a dense cake?

^Yes...it does indeed look mountainous. (Your description cracks me up though....! The next time I make croissant bread pudding, I'm going to hide little Lego people in it. Of course, I would be the only person in my family who would find this terribly amusing. )

Is that not an oxymoron? So by following your "evidence" that many young women nowadays don't know how to cook, we have a friend who "hates you" (said in humour, of course) because your dinner sounds better than hers. And another friend who feels gratified that you've educated her about food through Jean-Georges' incredible skill in the kitchen. Those are pretty sweeping generalizations to extend to all of womankind. (Or even to "young women", as you've noted that this is your preferred company. ) Yes, I've said that I don't know many (or any) people my age who can cook, but I've never been to culinary school, and the last I've heard, enrollment is up. If I were in culinary school, I'm sure I'd have many friends (young women included) who love to cook. The fact that many young people don't seem to want to cook nowadays is indeed sad, but I don't find it any more "upsetting" when a young woman doesn't seem interested in learning. Finally, are not the terms "home cook" or "baker" very much open to interpretation? Some people think that by opening a box of cake mix and tossing in a few ingredients, they are "baking". (Witness the new Duncan Hines commercials where you see a few women sitting around, extolling the genius of one lady who has the time to make a layer cake! With filling! And frosting!) I'm not saying they are right or wrong in thinking so, but the use of cake mixes (or other pre-made or partially made products, such as canned icings, mousse mixes, custard bases, etc.) do not figure into my understanding of what true baking entails. And of course, that is not to say my definition of baking or cooking is "correct", it's just what I believe. And by that extension, did the previous generation really "cook" at a higher level than our generation today? I've seen some pretty horrifying concoctions from the '70s online. I would hope that society has moved up from there. I think the average person is certainly more educated about food, even if they don't know how to cook. They might not know how to do duck confit at home, but they sure as hell know how to order it at a restaurant! So really, I think that even if more people of our generation don't seem to be into cooking, it's a trade-off when people are more open to trying new things and buying locally-sourced, quality ingredients for their occasional forays into the kitchen.

I talk to people about food all the time. I have great conversations with people twice my age about food and cooking...the ladies at the gym love me. We share cooking/baking tips and watch FoodTV together. I also tell them about my favourite restaurants and my favourite dishes at those restaurants. I also talk about whatever dessert I've made that week, and they tell me about what they like to cook for their families. A few days ago, I was working out next to two ladies who were puzzled by what they were watching on TV--a cook was cutting butter into flour with a pastry cutter, and one of the ladies thought he was making bread.

This is my favourite recipe--it includes sausage (I triple the amount ), sourdough bread, artichoke, plus the usual veg and cheese. I also throw in any type of cheese I have lying around, instead of sticking with parm like the recipe calls for. sourdough, sausage, artichoke stuffing

^ding ding ding! We have a winner! It is indeed bread pudding. It actually tastes pretty good--it's a Jacques Torres recipe--but the pieces of croissant anchored in the custard (and the lighting/angle of the photo) make for an ugly picture.

^Lucky...I don't have an ice-cream maker. Another option is bread pudding...I will decide later.

This is the only type of chicken we buy. It's good and moist--I never understand when people complain about "dry" chicken breast, because it's never come out dry for me. But maybe it's just good chicken? I like free-range better though.

Any guesses?

^Mmm...butter...bread...and maple syrup.... I had leftovers from what my parents ate for dinner, noodles and shrimp. And a peanut butter sandwich.

^Awww...that's so cute! I had a Chinese dish of braised pork in a red sauce..."hong siew yook". And the last slice of chocolate cake (caramel buttercream, caramel chocolate ganache...pretty tasty!)

Today: I just ate the last slice of cake after lunch. I have egg yolks and whipping cream leftover from my buttercream and ganache, which means tonight's dessert will be CREME BRULEE, baby!

Yes...I did consider the blindfolds but I didn't want to come across as being too nutty or obsessed I don't think I can get the Earl's girls to participate. Will you settle for Neil in a bikini? I'll ask him to wax first. ****** ETA my thoughts: It was probably easier for me to rank the cocoas, since I had the opportunity to smell the cocoa before adding it to the batter, to taste the batter, and to taste the cakes before filling and frosting them. I liked the Bensdorp cocoa slightly more the Valrhona, even though the Valrhona is more attractive in colour, and has a slightly deeper flavour. I just found the flavour of the Bensdorp cocoa to be more interesting. After I picked Bensdorp as #1, I went back and tasted Bensdorp vs. organic, and Bensdorp vs. Valrhona several times on Friday night and Saturday. Like I mentioned earlier, it was very difficult for me to choose which I liked better--Bensdorp or Valrhona. I had the advantage of starting off with a "clean" palate each time...I'm sure it would've been more difficult to chose a winner had I eaten bites of chocolate cake/ganache/buttercream before eating the Bensdorp layer. I know that this experiment isn't even close to being scientific, but I think more people would've chosen the Bensdorp cocoa had it been the first or second cake layer that was tasted. The cocoa that no one chose as being particularly notable was the Bernard Callebaut. About half the taste-testers also enjoyed the organic cocoa--this was the cocoa that I liked the least. The colour in the tin is very pale (lighter than Fry's) and had an "off" odour that was also present in the batter and the baked cake. It tasted kind of like anise and coffee, which I don't mind in chocolate for everyday consumption, but I think as a cocoa, overwhelms the cake. It will not balance well with all types of fillings and frostings. (I can use this cocoa with a coffee buttercream, but I can't use it with a raspberry mousse, for example.) I didn't enjoy the taste of this cocoa at all, but it is perhaps that distinguishing flavour that the other tasters liked.

I've got most of the results in...the Valrhona cocoa is winning. Valrhona was my 2nd choice (extremely close...actually, it's pretty much a toss-up between #1 and #2 for me) . That's interesting that so many of us like this cocoa--this was the one I've been using in the kitchen, but considered switching since it rated last in the Cook's Illustrated taste test! I just wanted to thank all my taste-testers for participating in my experiment. I have four more opinions coming in. I'll post a picture of the cake slice later today.

There are lots of cookie threads in this forum...did you run a search?

Nah, I just have to work out at the gym 4 times a week.

I'm neither a food writer nor critic. I wish! No, I don't just eat dessert. Yesterday's desserts followed a nice meal at Feenie's--I had the wild mushroom tart tartin, and the mission trout with lemon/cauliflower puree, browned butter, wild rice, raisins and capers. I also helped my friend out with his shephard's pie (made with duck confit) and his braised short rib. Yesterday: -slices of my chocolate cake experiment -shared a Concord Grape tart with pine nut filling, browned butter ice-cream and a dessert trio--hot chocolate with homemade marshmallow, rice krispie, and peanut butter mousse atop a chocolate crust

^Yes...I did the tweaked version when I did my cocoa cake testing this week. It's hard for me to say if I could tell the difference....I mean, the tweaked version does sound like it would taste better, but because I didn't have a cake made from the original version right next to the tweaked cake, I can't say for sure if I could tell the difference. I'll have to do the tweaked cake and the original cake side-by-side. But my hunch is that the tweaked version would definitely have a better flavour.

Hi Ling Used to work for Xerox and we used Acetate for slides for projection on board room presentations. Most of the office supply companies will still have them. Don't know if ther is a "food grade" What about Silpat? No stick mats? Sheers Malcolm ← I'm not sure if I can pour tempered chocolate on Silpat and then cut out what I need. Would this ruin my Silpat? Anyone?

The pea-green colour...the grittiness from the florets...oh man...that's a dessert I wouldn't touch with a 10 foot pole!!

^OMG...where did you get that photo of me?!!!! GRRRRR!!!!

^The vegetables add moisture...and carrots are sweeter than zucchini, though I haven't tried a zucchini cake yet. I'll admit I'm not feelin' the broccoli cake There's a recipe for beet cake in one of Jaime Oliver's cookbooks...it's called "Surprise cake". I think carrot cake without the carrots is just a spice cake with add-ins.

I think Neil wouldn't mind being your date, if you pick up the tab.

That's true...I learned more in the last year on Egullet than in all the years I've been baking.

^There was the one slice that I plated nicely for the camera. (It was a "normal" sized slice.) Then there was the other slice I ate standing at the kitchen counter...I'm running a taste test for the different cocoas I used in the cake, you know. I HAVE TO MAKE SURE!!!