achevres
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Posts posted by achevres
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"Dulce de leche" means literally "sweet of milk" and is more correctly translated as "sweet made of milk." The one this thread is about is of a caramel consistency.
To be academic, there is also another type of 'dulce de leche' where milk is soured or curdled with lime and the curds are cooked in a sugar syrup (with other flavors, such as cinnamon stick and rum, depending on the country). It is eaten with a spoon, in small quantities. Believe me, it's delicious and a lot better than it may sound. This "dulce de leche cortado" is made in countries such as Puerto Rico, Ecuador and Venezuela, among others. "Cortado" means literally "cut" and refers to the curds in the milk.
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I went to school in houston (1978-82) and had many a Texas sheet cake baked by friend's mother's. They looked a just like the one in the Houston Chronicle photo, always served right from the pan and with pecans. I always thought they were pleasant, but not chocolatey enough. They had more of a milk chocolate taste. I never turned one down, however!
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Sharon, your work is beautiful! Thanks for posting your website. I also wish the pictures were larger.
One thing I can't find on your website is...where are you located? The only clue would be your area code, but I can't find where 905 is in my phone book.
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Whew, I finally made up my mind and signed up with Judy. I'm so excited.
Thanks to all of you for your comments. I know I'm getting the best advice here on egullet. I will definitely post the details when I get back (Sept). Thanks again! -
I hated her, then she grew on me, and now I'm fed up. I counted she's on 30 times a week -- including the Inside Dish show. It could be Julia Child and even us egulleteers would think that's too many times a week. But of course, at this point, Julia that often would be so welcome.
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Has anyone taken a class with Faith Willinger or heard from someone who has? She did a Q & A here on egullet last year.
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I would suggest not getting the Kit for pizza. The most important thing for pizza is to crank up your oven as high as it can go and put your dough straight on a tiled floor. I built a wood burning oven in the backyard in an effort to get it into the 700 degree range. This year I hope to finish it but I have that male "finish 4/5th and move to another project" gene.
Good luck!
Evan
I also have a two-oven kitchen and have the Hearthkit in one of the ovens. I got it specifically for pizzas and pies and I am very happy with it. My oven goes to 500 degrees. Of course, 700 is better and I envy anyone with those capabilities, but I'm sure most of us are not getting an outside oven. Also, my oven is electric and I can't put tiles on its floor.
In my GE oven it takes a good hour to heat up, but that is what the pizza mavens recommend anyway, even without the insert. The pizzas have turned out really well and the bottom crusts of my pies are always cooked through and crispy
.I have also used a pizza stone in the past and I think that's a good budget option and, of course, easier to take out if you only have one oven.
And one more thing. As you use the hearth or stone or tiles they will get darkened and that will make them even better heat conductors.
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Here is a link to a nice article on cooking schools in Florence that may help you reach a decision: http://www.slowtrav.com/tuscantraveler/divas.htm
Good luck!
Thanks MMerrill, and everyone else, for your help. This link was just what I was looking for. I'm leaning towards divina Cucina, but still welcome any other opinions.
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My husband and I will be travelling to Florence and Rome in the fall. I have time for a cooking class.
I am a fairly good cook and love markets. I have searched egullet and other sites and the new Bon Appetit and these 3 options stand out in Florence: Divina Cucina, Faith Willinger's Market to table and Cucina del Garga (at the trattoria). What do you think? I'm having a hard time deciding, but must do so soon.
Pros and cons:
Divina cucina: small menu, but market tour
Faith Willinger: large menu, but only shopping for produce and eggs and wine. Her assistant has a separate market tour
Garga: no market tour, but I loved this restaurant years back
Any other classes or tours I should consider?
Edited to add: divina cucina also has a separate market tour. Another decision: cooking class vs market/shopping tour?
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I made the bacon-peanut butter truffles from Saveur this weekend. Yum! Do try them. They were salty and sweet and creamy and crunchy--all my favorites. They were easy to make.
Three comments: I used Smuckers natural peanut butter (peanuts and salt) because that's what I like, but I think they would be creamier with traditional peanut butter and I think that's what they mean in the recipe. Mine were crumblier, but still very good. Also, before dipping them in chocolate the truffles are refrigerated for 1 hour, but mine were still soft. I still managed to dip them. Lastly, with the natural PB they are barely sweet, so I added a little extra sugar. I used 4 strips of Oscar Meyer lean bacon (also what I had on hand).
edited for accuracy
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Other than for an article by our own JJ Goode, no. What is in it?
The latest Saveur has a mouthwatering article on bacon, including peanut butter bacon chocolate truffles (salted peanuts, peanut butter and bacon inside, then covered in dark chocolate). Also bacon baked until crispy with brown sugar. I'm dying to try both of these.
We need a drooling smilie
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The fact sheet on the cake says "butter cream icing," made with shortening (which I wouldn't use, either)
The end of the ingredient list says: "...Natural Flavor, Vanillin (Artificial Flavor), Annatto Extract (Color)." The natural flavor is banana (they say it). Annatto is also known as "achiote." It looks like they use a tiny amount of that. It is also what gives yellow cheddar its color.
The proportions of flavor and color that are in the cake vs the icing will be better judged with an actual piece of the cake on hand
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I just got the whole set on ebay--$200 + $24 shipping. It works out to about $8.29 per country. I have always wanted these, and have this thread to thank, I think, for another cookbook purchase
. My stepmother (a great cook) had these. I learned to cook with her. I'll deal with my DH later...more the space issue than the money, although we have the space. Only my egullet colleagues understand the cookbook obsession. 
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I am also of a mixed mind about CI. I have The Best Recipe and The New Best Recipe and have been quite pleased by the recipes. I have accepted that they have a set mind about how each dish should be, and as long as I agree along general lines, I've been happy. I agree most are for standard American fare.
However...I also take great issue with their tone and how they approach the initial recipe testing. They want to give the impression that they have tested every permutation of ingredient/method, but often they miss an obvious one. The best example I remember was the first time they "re-did" poundcake. The author claimed to have tested every method out there, but never mentioned the one where flour and butter are mixed first. This is the method that Rose L Berebaum had chosen for her poundcake recipe in The Cake Bible. The Cake Bible had been in print, I think, at least 2 years by then and reviewed by every food publication. Recently I have learned that this method is not new at all, but appears in the Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook (and I'm sure elsewhere) as the "double-quick" method, which works great, BYW. I'm passionate about food and cooking, but still an amateur. I feel that someone purporting to write a definitive poundcake recipe should have been acquainted with both these standard sources. If I can "catch" these omissions, I feel the self-proclaimed "experts" should too. And, like others have written, if their tone weren't so know-it-all, maybe these kind of mistakes wouldn't even be an issue.
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I made the strawberry marshmallows for a baby shower and also for my daughter (7th grade) to take to scool for Valentine's. The adults who tried them at the shower thought they were OK (there were more tempting desserts, like my "signature" cherry-raspberry pie). The 12 and 13 year-olds gave them a unanimous thumbs down
. My daughter loved the vanilla ones I made before, and said that even the cinammon ones were better than strawberry.Has anyone else had this kid vs adult reaction to the strawberry marshmallows?
I made a batch for my office, but now I'm reluctant to take them.
I'm not a good judge because I only like marshmallows in something else, like hot chocolate.
And one more question, what's the best thing to do with them (besides melted in hot chocolate)?
Thanks
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Here is a recipe that starts with a white cake mix, but you could use your own from-scratch white cake recipe: Strawberry Cake. I'm not sure if you consider strawberry gelatin a from-scratch ingredient, though.
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Cream cheese just has a little salt. Most sweets need a some salt to heighten flavor and cut the cloying sweetness, so don't even worry about it.
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I always strain creme anglaise, lemon curd and other puddings with egg yolks to strain out the little"tail" on the yolks. And I do see them on the mesh. I figure that after stirring these desserts for a while, it's worth the little extra trouble to make sure they are totally smooth.
I use a regular sieve like the plastic ones here: sieves. I have the plastic kind in 3 sizes (mini, medium and large). I like them because of the flat surface of the mesh allows the pudding to be worked though with a flat spatula or flat wooden spoon like a tamis. They are not fine mesh, and therefore, the puddings go though quickly.
I also use these to sift or to strain raspberry seeds out of puree.
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I want a candy pan for my Kitchen Aid
Not sure what I would do with it, but I know that it would be fun! Whatever it was.
I've watched a lot of the "Unwrapped"shows on the Food Network where they show the candy factories using the coating machines. This little one looks good, but sooo expensive!
And thanks for the link to PastryChef.com, where they sell bulk professional ingredients to anyone.
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I would like to add this tip form the Farm Journal Pie Cookbook: make sure the sugar is totally dissolved in the egg whites. The confectioner's sugar should help with this.
I also have these 2 questions: Do you refrigerate the leftover pie? How far ahead is it feasible to make a meringue-topped pie?
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Anyone know where I can find this in Manhattan? I'm trying to make white torrone.
I found this food blog murrayhill5 with an entry on torrone and a supplier for the rice paper in Manhattan: NY Cake Supplies. Hope this helps!
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too add to this I'd like to request if I may. lemon pound cake recipe..hate to admit, but I love Entenmens....I'm on a baking spree..so help a youngster out!
The Lemon Poundcake in the "Tea Time" episode of America's Test Kitchen (season 4) is delicious and easy. It is the poundcake recipe I had been wishing for all my life. We couldn't stop eating it in my house. You need to register on the site, but it's free.
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I finally saw the show last night. It was the first episode - the one at Bonapartes. Yikes!! Rotten food (literally), chefs that don't taste the food or have any sense of taste, owner that doesn't tour the kitchen, etc. I really enjoyed it. Gordon Ramsay is brutally honest while giving expert advice. He's hilarious.
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Last night a friend of mine and our two daughters decorated gingerbread houses and I made hot chocolate (combo of Hershey's cocoa and Spanish bar chocolate for hot chocolate) with, of course, the home made marshmallows ("What? I didn't know one could make marshmallows."). They were soooo good, and especially, for me, the cinammon ones. These marshmallows don't dissappear in the hot chocolate, but remain substantial.
COOKING UNDER FIRE from PBS: April 27 premiere
in Food Media & Arts
Posted
I'm enjoying the show, but like others have mentioned on this thread, I would like to add my vote to the others who would like to see more of the cooking and hear more about the contestant's thought processes about the dishes and also the judges' deliberations. The camera pans very fast over the actual work and lingers on their faces. Or, in the earlier episode where they go to the farmer's market, I would have liked to see some of the discussions the teams had and why they picked the ingredients they picked. Still, the best new show for me this season.