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Marmish

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Posts posted by Marmish

  1. Forgot to put in my two cents about the restaurant. I'm up for most anything. Not a big fish/seafood/sushi eater. Not a huge fan of Chinese. BUT, any eG trip is about trying new things and I'm ok with whatever you pick. We have tons of good Italian here, especially in my neighborhood, so unless it's really, really outstanding or the place is super accommodating of us, I'd rather have something else. But I only say so because you asked.

  2. I've been promising to put out the call for equipment for some time. Thank you all who have been both offering and asking about this.

    First. We will be in a pretty well equipped kitchen with all of the bowls, spatulas, and other "standard" items you can expect.

    I personally have a Chocovision X3210 temperer which can hold about 10 lbs of chocolate at a time. I believe we'll need at least one more temperer or melter that we can temper chocolate in. Does anyone have one they can bring?

    I also have a selection of caramel rulers in varying sizes and various polycarbonate molds. If you have a favorite mold you would like to bring, please do so.

    As of today, I believe we'll have lots of chocolate to work with. I've secured donations of chocolate, glucose, invert sugar, and colored cocoa butters. I'll be bringing a selection of liquers for flavoring agents. We may also have a donation of flavorings/oils to come.

    What else do you think we need? What can/would you bring? I'll start making a list.

    Thanks for all your offers of help and the help to come!

    Last year I wished I had a candy thermometer.

  3. The pickled onions were a condiment they could choose, sliced onions, lime juice, a bit of oil and salt, lots of cilantro. I used two HUGE red onions and they were almost gone. I made 6 cups (dry) rice with lime and cilantro. There is a decent, but not huge, amount left over. The pork butts totaled almost 9 lbs pre cooking weight. The pork was all eaten. The chicken was somewhere around 10 lbs, not sure exactly. There was about 1/4 of it left over. I made a second pan of cookies this morning, strawberry jam bars. There are 3 bars left and no chocolate chip cookies (4 dozen).

    So, all went well. No complaints, lots of compliments, and just enough leftovers for lunch tomorrow for the office staff.

    Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and comments.

  4. I would say let people help themselves. If you have leftovers the teachers I'm sure will be glad to take some home, so i'd shoot for a little high than low. I agree about doing more chicken than pork especially since some religions prohibit pork yet everyone seems to eat chicken. I would say that be doing them separate from the tortillas you will allow people who just want a plate to get that without having to get the additional starch, carbs from tortilla's. Are you going to do some grilled vegetables etc for vegetarians etc? I would probably suggest something along those lines. That way the people who are on a diet etc can either do all protien vegetables etc or people can mix and match. I'm surprised your not doing flan to keep the theme consistent. You could also do tres leches.

    I dislike flan, so would not make it, although it did cross my mind. Tres leches would have been good although I've never made one. That hasn't ever stopped me before, though! We have 3 vegetarians who usually bring their own even when I accommodate for them, so I've stopped trying too hard. Grilled veg are a good idea, though. No religious issues amongst the staff, nor really picky eaters except one or two, and again, they take care of themselves, and not really a hardcore dieting contingent either surprisingly.

    I cooked the rice in the oven and that went surprisingly well.

    Thanks for all the suggestions. I do have about 2x's chicken than pork. I feel ok about portions. I wish I had another batch of cookies. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. I'm going to pack up and go to bed.

  5. Shredded chicken. I'm really nervous about not having enough. :( Do you think we could put the meat/chicken in the tacos and line them up in a dish, cover, and keep warm that way instead of heating the tortillas and meat separately? If they are tightly covered, they should be ok, right? I'm thinking that would control portion sizes and make the line go quicker. I do have a couple of staff members who could do that.

  6. Of course. I forgot to list it. I haven't yet made January birthday cakes, so I think I'll make them for Tuesday. Or brownies. Haven't decided yet. Or chocolate chip cookies.

  7. We are cooking for our staff of teachers on Tuesday, about 40 people, about 2/3 women. The boss suggested a taco bar type deal, so the plan is:

    carnitas

    chicken

    rice

    refried beans

    assorted toppings: pickled red onions, lettuce, cheese, crema, etc.

    salsas

    chips

    tortillas of course

    Any suggestions on how much pork butt and chicken to buy? I planned to use boneless thighs and breasts. That worked well for me in the summer when I did a similar meal in the summer, but I was only cooking for 8 then.

    Also, any advice on prepping and holding the tortillas? There is only maybe 10 minutes to do any last minute prep, not counting passive reheating. I do have a couple of staff who do not really need to be at the morning seminar who may be able to do a couple of simple tasks.

    Does this menu need anything else?

    Thanks for the help.

  8. FABULOUS topic, Anna !

    I want to play, I just need to put the old thinking cap on about my first 5...

    Off the top of my tired head, I'd say

    1) make brioche from scratch

    2) roast a duck (or parts thereof....)

    3) make Middle Eastern preserved lemons (this has been limited by storage and amount, I usually cook for just me. But a friend gave me Judith Jones' cooking for one cookbook for Christmas, and she gives you proportions and techinque for just 4 lemons, works for me)

    Numbers 4 & 5 to come later. Can't wait to see what others post !

    I'll have to look for that book. I'd love to try those preserved lemons. This past year I made brioche from both the Artisan Bread in 5 minutes a Day and Baking From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. The 5 Min. one was really good. It was good on its own and made fantastic french toast. I knew Dorie's more traditional recipe would be better, but it was phenomenal and because the Kitchenaid did the work, took only a bit more time and not much more work at all.

  9. Hmm. I'll have to think about my 5 to post, but I always have a running list of things. My problem is I see something, want to make it, even get some key ingredient, then can't remember where I saw it. Or I get a new magazine or cookbook and mark some things, but then set it aside and never get to making them. I started keeping a paper list of recipe title and source, and I recently moved it to google documents so I can pull it up at work and stop at the grocery on the way home if needed. And I won't lose it on the mess I call a desk. We'll see if it helps. If it's a keeper, I'll move it to a second google doc of things to make again.

  10. This is a timely discussion for me. Culling my bookshelves, especially my cookbook shelves, is on my agenda for this holiday break. Haven't quite gotten around to it yet, but I've still got a few days to go.

    I expect my criteria will come down to the same as kalypso's, although I will probably hang on to my Donna Hay cookbooks, even though I've never cooked from any of them, probably never will, and they really don't reflect my cooking style. But they're so pretty!

    I think I'll make a list and give first dibs to my coworkers and friends. Anything that's left over will be donated to charity. Or should we start an eGullet cookbook exchange program?

    We already have one!

  11. What I ended up doing was making two kinds of cookies -- Tart Lime Cilantro Cookies and a pomegranate molasses cookie (if anyone wants a link to the recipe, let me know). I put cookies into those cellophane bags you can get at a craft bag, added a small star ornament, and made place cards (cut up un-ruled index cards). I felt like Martha as I printed out copies of the recipes on index cards to include in the festive bags.

    Good job!

    I actually received thank-you notes from guests for the cookies and for including the recipes!

  12. I always loved and appreciated the things students brought me. I found uses for most things. Not being Jewish myself, my favorite gift was a small Christmas ornament with the student's name and year. I have a large container of these and like to look at them each year and remember them. I always appreciated food items that were of average to good quality. I'd rather have a 2 pack of good turtles than a huge box of waxy chocolate. Mugs and trinkets are, I agree, hard to deal with the build up after awhile. A card with a note is always most appreciated by everyone. Teachers do spend a good bit of money on classroom items, so the gift card advice is good as well. If nothing else, teachers are often office supply whores who covet the "good pens" and the fancy paper clips or a good electric pencil sharpener or good stapler. Those chalk markers are really cool and I lament that they weren't on the market when I was in the classroom.

  13. Here's a ganache type chocolate milk that might work for you.

    clicky

    Xoco, Rick Bayless' new 'street food' place is doing several Mexican oht chocolates. website is here but doesn't really say much about the chocolates. A menu is posted here with the sizes and types of chocolate. There is another pic later in the thread. Lots of info about how people like the chocolates, but not about how they are made. I asked for more info.

    Hot Chocolate in Wicker Park Mindy Segal's restaurant, also, of course, has hot chocolate on the dessert menu.

    I realize those are vastly different resources, but hopefully something will be helpful. :smile:

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