Takara: Restaurant Review

Forget the popcorn. Nothing goes with movies like Japanese food. This year I was generously given a courtesy pass which allows me and a guest to attend as many movies as we like at the Sundance Kabuki movie theater in Japantown. As a result I end up eating meals in Japantown just about every time I go see a movie.


This Saturday I had a ridiculously cheap lunch in Japantown at Takara. This little restaurant tucked away behind the Hotel Kabuki and often packed with local Japanese folks is well worth seeking out. Their special lunch combo is tempura plus a choice of breaded pork cutlet (tonkatsu) white tuna sashimi, chicken or beef teriyaki or deep fried fish of the day. In what has to be one of the best bento box deals, I got white tuna sashimi, tempura, a California roll, salad, rice and miso soup for $6.95 and it was delicious. But next time I'm ordering the tonkatsu which I noticed several other patrons had ordered, it was dark golden brown, thin and crisp. The tempura is light and crunchy and includes all of my favorite items--shrimp, sweet potato, carrot, green bean and eggplant and thankfully no broccoli, zucchini or onion.


If you're willing to shell out a little more you can get a variety of rice bowls (donburi) for under $9 or a lavish chirashi for just over $11. Takara also has tons of "appetizers" which are really izakaya style dishes, such as grilled eggplant served with bonita flakes (yakinasu) braised pork belly (butakakuni) and deep fried marinated chicken (torikaraage). These dishes range from $3-10 each, order several and make a meal out them. And if you need a movie date, call me.

Takara
22 Peace Plaza Suite 202 (inside the plaza, next to the Kabuki Hotel)
San Francisco,CA
415. 921.2000

Mon - Sun 11:30 - 2:00
Mon - Sat 5:30 - 9:30 pm
Sun 5:30 - 9 pm

Blog Updates...

I know, things are pretty quiet around here, but I've been really busy lately with work. However you can check out some other posts I've written recently, better yet, bookmark or subscribe to GlamDish and Bay Area Bites.

I am fascinated by the fifth flavor, umami. The Umami Information Center is hosting what sounds like a terrific symposium in San Francisco with very famous chefs, next month. Read about umami, the symposium, dinners and get a recipe at Bay Area Bites.

Cookbook Giveaway! Every month there is a giveaway at Glam Dish and today you can win one of three Tastebooks. Haven't heard of Tastebook yet? It's a great way to make your own custom cookbook. Check it out here.

Other recent posts on Glam:

Best of Barbecue Burger Roundup--learn about grass-fed, American Kobe-style and naturally raised Black Angus

Wedding Shower Tea Party Ideas--cool ideas, gifts and favors

10 Tips for Using Honey

I'm taking tomorrow off for my birthday, but I will post more soon, I promise, including a recipe for spaghetti with walnuts and anchovies, a twist on tiramisu, and a whole bunch more about my recent trip to Italy.

Zojirushi 1lb Loaf Mini Breadmaker: Favorite Things

You probably think you know what this is. Right now are you saying to yourself, "those are a couple of slices of bread" or if you're really in the know, "that's bread made in a bread machine because of the little indentation in the slices." And you're right, but there's more to the story. Those are slices of bread from the very first loaf of bread I made with my new Zojirushi BB-HAC10 Home Bakery 1-Pound-Loaf Programmable Mini Breadmaker.


I actually have another bread machine that I've never used. It's too big to sit on my sliver of a counter and it makes a big loaf of bread, too big for a household of two. But the Zojirushi takes only a smidgen of room and makes such a nice little loaf that it gets used before it turns stale. For my first loaf I used the King Arthur White Whole Wheat flour I wrote about a while back. Next time I will try using the stoneground whole wheat bread flour I bought at the Bale Grist Mill in Napa. Only a couple of slices have those funny indentations, by the way, most come out looking very normal.

The Zojirushi has options for different styles and firmness of bread and crust. It comes with a booklet with tons of recipes and it has a timer so you can set it to bake the bread when you wish. Next time around I'm going to set it before I go to bed and wake up to fresh, warm bread in the morning. Now I can't compare it to other bread machines, but it was super easy to use and it gets nothing but great reviews on Amazon.

There are lots of reasons to make your own bread. The price of bread has really gone up recently. You can control what does and doesn't go into your bread and make it to your taste. But best of all? You get fresh, tasty bread and the deep satisfaction of having made it yourself. It might not seem like much, but you've got to try it. Quick breads like muffins and biscuits are fun to make now and again, but real bread? It tastes great and it is so easy to do using a bread machine. Just measure all the ingredients, push a button or two and voila! Fresh bread you made yourself.

Spaghetti Sauce

I think just about every person out there has their own way of making spaghetti sauce. This is mine:

1 lb ground beef or italian sausage

1 small onion

3 cloves garlic

1-2 tsp fennel seeds

1 med can tomato sauce

1 med can diced tomatoes, don't drain

2-3 TB italian seasoning

1-2 tsp onion powder

1-2 tsp garlic powder

1-2 TB red wine vinegar

1-2 tsp tabasco, or red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

fresh basil and parsely if available

Over med heat saute beef, garlic and onion until beef is brown and onions are soft. Add remaining ingredients to desired taste. Simmer for about fifteen minutes until sauce is desired consistency. Enjoy!

Prosciutto and Gorgonzola Toasts with Herb Garlic Cream

I know you're probably getting sick of all these appetizers, I just can't help myself! I found this one in Cooking Light, and it actually calls for trimmed beef tenderloin, but I used diced prosciutto instead. It was so good that I really could have just had these for dinner!

1 pkge diced prosciutto (or sliced ham, trimmed beef tenderloin, sliced roast beef, whatever sounds good)

30 1/4 inch thick slices diagonally cut french bread baguette, toasted (or not, I actually didn't toast mine)

10 TB herb garlic cream (recipe to follow)

30 baby spinach leaves

5 TB crumbled gorganzola cheese

Spread each baguette slice with 1 tsp herb-garlic cream; top each with 1 spinach leaf. Divide evenly among bread slices; sprinkle each iwth 1/2 tsp cheese. Yield 30 appetizers.

Herb Garlic Cream

2/3 cup fat-free sour cream

2 TB minced fresh chives

2 TB low-fat mayo

1 1/2 TB chopped fresh thyme (I used dried and it was fine)

1 1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 garlic clove minced

*I had quite a bit of leftover ingredients after making this, so I made a panini the next day by hallowing out half a loaf of regular french bread, spreading herb-garlic spread and adding prosciutto, gorganzola, spinach, tomatos and salt and pepper. I pressed in on a hot skillet for about five minutes on each side and it was HEAVEN. It made me want to buy a panini press!

Green Beans and Potatoes in a Chunky Tomato Sauce

I love looking for yummy, easy vegetable side dishes, but one of my biggest problems with a lot of them is how much fat they contribute. I found this recipe in the June edition of Cooking Light and it has very little added fat, and tons of flavor. And, it's under the category of Indian food, so it's something a little different.

1 1/2 TB olive oil

1 garlic clove minced (I always add more, but that's just me :-)

1 1/2 cups diced red potatoes

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/4 pounds green beans trimmed

1/4 cup water

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3/4 pound plum tomatoes, peeled and coursely chopped

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over med-hi heat. Add garlic to pan; sautee 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add potato, celery, salt, and beans; saute 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup water; cover and cook 5 minutes, or until beans are crisp-tender. Add cilantro and tomatoes. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 4 minutes or until tomatoes begin to soften, stirring occasionally. Stir in peppers. Makes 8 servings (or about 4 if you are like my husband and I!)

*To peel tomatoes, score the skin by making a small X on the bottom side with a sharp knife. Place tomato in boiling water for 30 seconds. Remove tomato using a slotted spoon; immediately submerge in a bowl of ice water. Let stand for one minute. Skin should pull off easily with a sharp knife.

Recipe Ideas

I think it's easy to get "stuck-in-a-rut" when it comes to cooking, which makes it boring. I think it's good at least once a month, to stick your neck out there and try something completely different, it may even help to mix up your cooking style a little.

I have a ton of cookbooks, and I love them, I wouldn't mind if I ended up with a whole bookshelf of them eventually! But, one thing I've noticed about cookbooks is that they're usually very safe and basic. My new favorite addiction lately has been cooking magazines. I LOVE them, they're usually a little cheaper (but be careful, I learned the hard way that some of them can still cost around $10), and they have recipes in them that are a little more "daring," or just a little less conventional. I have really found some winner recipes in magazines I've bought.

My favorites are Cooking Light, Taste of Home, and Weight Watchers. They all have really fun, fairly simple, and of course, lighter calorie recipes in them.

Another thing I love is that since you get them month-to-month, you can find more seasonal recipes. Right now, most of the magazines are dedicated to grilling and BBQ-ing, so I've gotten tons of ideas.

Have fun!

Mustards Grill turns 25

Mustards Grill celebrated it's 25th anniversary this past Monday with the ultimate garden party. A favorite in the valley for it's comfort food and reasonable prices, these days the Mustards menu also features many wonderful dishes that use the bounty of the sprawling two acre kitchen garden.

At the party many of the classic menu items were served in nibble-sized portions--the onion rings with homemade ketchup, pulled pork sandwiches, barbecued ribs, oysters on the half shell and even mini lemon meringue pies. To wash it all down, local wine makers poured a variety of styles and vintages. Entertaining the crowd was a hip bluegrass band who countrified everything from Guns N' Roses to Happy Birthday. Two old time photo booths enticed party goers to make their own memento of the evening. There was lots to celebrate beyond the 25 years and most of it had to do with Cindy Pawlcyn.

Chef and restaurant owner Cindy Pawlcyn is a restaurateur whose successes are many. In addition to Mustards Grill she also runs Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen and Go Fish. She has been nominated for a James Beard Best Chef award twice and wrote the James Beard award-winning Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook, Fog City Diner Cookbook and Big Small Plates.

In the era of the celebrity chef Pawlcyn is delightfully unpretentious and a tremendous supporter of the people who work with her. Perhaps the best case in point is her Executive Chef and Partner at Mustards, Erasto Jacinto who emigrated from Mexico in 1985. He began as a dishwasher at Mustards and truly worked his way to the top. Don't be surprised if you catch a glimpse of Jacinto dashing from the kitchen to the garden to pick fresh herbs. Congratulations Cindy, here's wishing you continued success and more delicious times ahead.

Sweet Chips and Salsa

I found this idea in a magazine and became very intrigued. It turned out to be a BOWL of HEAVEN. The guests loved it, I loved it, and it was gone by the end of the day.

10-8inch tortillas, cut into 8 triangles each

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cinnamon sugar

small carton strawberries, rinsed and diced into 1 cm cubes

3-4 kiwi chopped same

2-3 oranges chopped same

small can pineapple tidbits rinsed

2-3Tb sugar

1-2 tsp lemon juice

Brush tortilla triangles with butter, sprinkles each chip generously with cinnamon sugar. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes, until crisp. Combine fruit, add sugar and lemon juice.

*If you are not going to serve this right away, you may want to drain it right before serving it. It gets juicy pretty quick.

Combine

Let the grocery store help you out.

One of my favorite things about cooking is the actual process that it takes to create a dish and make it look appealing. BUT, there are also times when stress and busy schedules have gotten the best of you and you need some help. That is when you cheat and look for some easy shortcuts.

The latest shortcut I found were these little phyllo dough tart cups at the grocery store freezer in the pastry section. They come empty, but you can fill them with anything you want, bake them and you're done. Chocolate, a pastry cream, spinach, blue cheese and cranberries, not all at once though, that would be gross! These bacon quiche cups probably took me a collective 10 minutes to make, minus baking time. Here was my filling:

1/2 cup ricotta (use low-fat, you can't tell a difference)

1 egg

1/2 cup mozz

1/2 cup cheddar

6 oz bacon

1 onion chopped finely

1/2 tsp garlic powder

dash cayenne

dash black pepper

You could probably fill about 60-70 tarts with just this, so you may want to half it with a smaller crowd.

Mix all ingredients together, fill phyllo cups and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. These are good warm and at room temp. This was another dish that disappeared first, but they are also very tiny, so don't be shy about serving a lot, they will be gone by the end of your party.

Caprese Salad

Whenever I'm serving to a group, it's always really interesting to me to see what dish gets the most attention, and what dish gets ignored. A few months ago I made a small plate of this caprese salad, mostly because my garden was producing an abundance of tomatoes and basil. I really didn't think people would be interested in it at all, but it was gone in a matter of minutes. It's probably been the most requested thing I've ever served. It's so good, so pretty, and not to bad on the health factor, just don't go overboard!

Caprese salad is just layering tomatoes, and fresh mozzerella cheese (it's really important to use the fresh, which is much softer and sometimes packed in water. If you use regular mozz, I might cry). After layering it, drizzle with olive oil and salt and pepper. You can tuck your basil leaves individually between each tomato and cheese slice, or cut your basil and sprinkle on top. This is one of those dishes that is good fresh, but even better after a day or two.

Food tip: If you have any sort of inclination toward gardening, consider planting and growing your own herbs. I started doing that last year, and since we are getting ready to move, I don't have fresh herbs this year. I can't even tell you the difference it makes to have fresh herbs on hand, everything is fresher, tastes better, and even looks better. Plus, store bought herbs are so expensive that it's an insult. My favorites are basil, parsely, oregeno and mint, but there are tons out there.

One of the BEST summer dips

This is such a healthy and refreshing dip to serve when the weather gets warm. It's also so easy:

2 cans black beans-drained and rinsed

2 can corn-drained

1 red onion chopped

2 avocadoes chopped

1 red pepper chopped

1 yellow or orange pepper chopped

2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes halved

1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 TB lime juice

1-2 tsp chili powder

1-2 tsp salt (kosher salt if you have it)

1-2 TB olive oil

Combine all of the veggies, including cilantro. In a small bowl combine lime juice, chili powder and salt. Then, wisk in olive oil to desired consistency. Add dressing to salad and toss well. Serve with tortilla chips.

Tips:
When making any sort of dish like this, it is best when all ingredients are chopped, as close to the same size as possible.

Citrus is so important when making anything with fruit or vegetables in it. It prevents browning and maintains freshness longer.

Some other easy party ideas

Make small toothpick kabobs using different kinds of olives, cheeses and meats. Adding pickles, crackers and other veggies tops this appetizer well, and people will love how easy they can grab one with no need for utensils.

Spinach-Feta Puff Pastries

I entertain a lot, so I'm always looking for good appetiziers/party food. I came across these and ended up making them a few more times after receiving such positive responses. They aren't difficult at all and require few ingredients.

Keep in mind, I don't really measure when I cook, it bores me, so I'm not exact on my measurements, but don't let that stop you. Decide yourself if you like it better one way or another and go with it. The food will taste better and the experience will be much more enjoyable.

Spinach Puff Pastries

1 pkge frozen puff pastries-thawed

1 small box frozen spinach-thawed and squeezed dry

4 oz feta cheese crumbled

2 garlic cloves

salt and pepper to taste

Combine spinach, feta, garlic and s&p.

Using flour roll out puff pastries individually until they are about twice the size you began with. Cut pastry into three inch squares. Fill each square with about a tsp of spinach mixture. Use your fingers to trace water along the sides of the pastry and fold one corner to the corner across diagonally, forming a triangle. Seal the pastries by pressing a fork along the edges. Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes, or until brown and puffed. Best if served warm.

Canteen: Restaurant Review

You've got to admire a chef like Dennis Leary who goes from working in a prestigious and elegant restaurant to taking over a diner with only four booths for four and a counter. Eating at Canteen is always a treat because even though it looks like a gussied up lunch counter the food is nothing short of outstanding.

After eating at Canteen a couple times for lunch and more than a few times for breakfast and brunch, I decided it was high time to try it for dinner. It's not often you get to order everything on the menu, especially when you're a party of four, but when there are only four appetizers, entrees and desserts it's not so hard to manage. What made it all the more possible was the most genteel dining companions who went along with the plan.


At Canteen the dinner menu changes every week. You can check it out online, though I notice sometimes it's behind by a week. The meal began with an amuse bouche, a shot glass was filled with a refreshing buttermilk cucumber soup. There was also a buttery and hot-from-the-oven dinner roll. The Chilled Pea Soup with parmesan cream ($7.25) was light and creamy, perfectly in tune with the season.

The pork belly served in crispy strips with a salad of endive and celery and a drizzle of a honey-like vinegar syrup was a nice balance of textures and flavors. But it was the squid dish that blew me away. The most tender, small, fresh squid was served over a bed of the most perfectly cooked black lentils with a a dab of red chili paste and a slightly crunchy topping of bread crumbs. It was out of this world and would have made an excellent entree.


For entrees we had something called Sweet Corn Clafoutis ($20.25). It was super rich and crisp around the edges. More of a fallen souffle or pancake than a clafoutis, it was nonetheless delicious. The asparagus and slightly melted goat cheese added juiciness and tang. The swordfish was very tender as if it had been poached in oil and was served with a swiss chard, beet and barley salad with walnut vinaigrette. The crunchy salad on it's own was terrific. I may have to try making a version of it at home. The veal filet and guinea hen with divine sauces were just like something you would find at a more upscale restaurant.


We agreed the desserts covered all bases--there was a vanilla souffle, bittersweet chocolate custard, strawberry shortcake and braised apricots with bitter almond ice cream served with some strips of cake, maybe pound cake. Each dessert was a knockout. The souffle converted a non enthusiast with one bite. The custard was ridiculously rich and creamy and the shortcake had the most ethereal topping that was like a puff of cake.

One word about the wines, not only is the selection good, but the markup one of the lowest I've seen. Just a couple of examples--Robert Sinskey Pinot Noir which retails for $44 was $67 and Longboard Sauvignon Blanc which retails for $24 was $36. While not a fancy place, four years after opening, the food couldn't be better at Canteen.

Canteen
817 Sutter St @ Jones
San Francisco, CA
415.928.8870

Tue-Wed, Fri-Sat 6:00 pm-10:00 pm
(sadly no longer open for breakfast during the week)
Sat 8:00 am -2:00 pm
Sun 8:00 am-2:00 pm

Better than Bottled

Not that long ago I wrote that we should ban bottled water, I received a lot of comments on that post! Here are some of the reasons why people said they buy bottled water:

My water isn't safe or doesn't taste good.
Fortunately there is a very good solution, even better than buying bottled water. Drink filtered water. There are many types and styles of water filters.

I recently got a chance to try the Aquasana Water Filter. After the initial set-up cost, which is $99.99 for a counter-top unit or $143.98 for an undersink installation, filtered water costs about 9.6 cents per gallon. Replacement cartridges last for 500 gallons and cost $48.00. The taste of the filtered water is markedly better than non-filtered water, not to mention more pure. How small is it? My countertop model is perched on a ledge which is only 3 inches wide.

The advantage of a countertop filter as opposed to a pitcher filter is the contaminant removal capability.  Pitcher filters are generally very small and are only capable of removing limited contaminants at lower percentages.  Faucet-mounted filters are larger, offering more surface area in the filter media, and are able to remove more contaminants to a higher degree. The start-up costs for pitcher filters are generally less, but the filters need to be replaced more often and the per gallon price is higher as a result.

Sink mounted water filter systems are too expensive.
Pitchers are cheap! If you prefer a pitcher style filter system, one of the more popular brands is Brita. The pitchers and faucet mount systems are very inexpensive to purchase. Once you’ve purchased a Brita system ($20-$30 for a reusable pitcher or faucet mounted system), the cost of filtered water is less than 23 cents per gallon if you’re using a pitcher, or 20 cents per gallon for a faucet-mounted system.

One Brita pitcher filter can effectively replace as many as 300 standard 16.9-ounce bottles. The average Brita pitcher filters 240 gallons of water a year for about 19 cents a day.To get the same amount of water from disposable water bottles would cost around $4.98 a day.

Head to the Filter for Good site and by signing a pledge to reduce bottled water and switch to filtered, you can get a coupon for $5 off a Brita system and $1 off a filter.

But in my household we want sparkling water!
No problem. You can get a seltzer machine to use at home.

My father uses one from Soda Club USA (which is not actually a club). The machine takes little space and costs under $100 (there is a fancier model that uses a glass bottle for $250) . After your initial purchase of a machine, seltzer and sparkling water in Soda-Club's reusable 1-liter PET bottle costs just 18 cents per liter. The water bottle does not use does not use polycarbonate materials or any materials that can produce phthalates or PCBs. You can also control the amount of carbonization to make your water as fizzy as you like.

I'm not polluting. I reuse my plastic water bottle.Not a good idea. Those disposable water bottles are not meant to be reused. They are hard to clean and keep sterile and they breakdown over time. What's the best reusable water bottle option? That's a tough call. Some people are concerned about the safety of Lexan or Nalgene plastic bottles. You may want to consider Sigg bottles from Switzerland which are safe, durable, economical, and come in an amazing number of colors and styles. Some are very fashionable!

Sigg bottles are aluminum, with a liner made with proprietary technology. They have been thoroughly tested both in Europe and in the USA to ensure 0.0% leaching, so there is no migration of either the liner or the container into the beverage. You can even review the test results online. These bottles are so popular that they had to stop selling the bottles online because they couldn't keep up with demand. Find a retailer here.

I hope these suggestions help encourage you to decrease your bottled water consumption.

Koshi Rice: Favorite Things

I am hoarding rice. It's not what you think. I have fallen in love with the precious samples of Koshihikari rice I was sent by an Arkansas farmer. Mark Isbell grows a Japanese premium variety of short grain rice and Isbell Farms has been exporting it to Japan since 1995. He has only recently begun selling it in the United States under the name "Koshi Rice."

Last Spring I got bored with white rice and virtually stopped cooking it. It just tasted flat and mushy to me. Then in the Fall I went to Japan and knew I would be eating a lot of it. What I didn't know is that the quality of rice I would eat was far superior to what I was used to eating. It was the harvest season and the rice was "new" and didn't just have a tender texture but an almost floral, fruity scent. I was hooked. Often the rice had just a bit of a garnish on it and that was all. Once I spent $18 for plain freshly harvested rice cooked in a stone bowl. I know it sounds insane, but it was worth every penny and I'd order it again if I could.

So I was curious to try Mark's rice. I've not been very impressed with California rice, could Arkansas rice be that different? All I can tell you is: yes. It is that different. As Mark describes it, koshihikari rice is shiny, smooth and mildly sweet. It holds it's shape very well and is a typical choice for sushi because it is a bit sticky, but in my experience it is fabulous with almost anything. After cooking it for the first time Lee begged me to cook it again and again. But because it's expensive, I have saved it for special meals. But life is short. Regardless of the price, I am going to stop hoarding and just start stocking up (especially since it is available online).

Pastry School Secrets Revealed

Every profession has some form of continuing education. But even for the non-professional, what could be better than sitting in on a master class for pastry chefs put on by Valrhona, one of the most highly regarded chocolate companies in the world?


Started in 1922 by a chocolatier in the Rhone Valley who desired better quality chocolate, the company buys directly from farmers and forms long-term partnerships to ensure both high quality and the best compensation for the farmers. You may have heard of "fair trade chocolate" Valrhona goes beyond fair trade and pays 100% higher than market value. Their chocolate is not always certified organic, but they ensure no pesticides are used on crops. The focus of Valrhona is primarily with chefs, so you will rarely see their products at retail but they are often the chocolate used in elegant plated desserts.


I've always known that baking and pastry was akin to chemistry and this class really brought that home for me. With scientific precision award-winning Corporate Pastry Chef for Valrhona USA Derek Poirer began the session by asking the chefs how they make ganache. Most chefs explained that they combine chocolate with heated and then cooled cream.

He explained that ganache is an emulsion because cream is mostly made of water and chocolate is mostly comprised of fat. The taste test of ganache made with melted versus non-melted chocolate made everyone a believer. In addition to impressing the heck out of me by using a laser thermometer, here is what I, as a non-professional learned from Chef Poirer:

1. In order to make the best tasting and most stable ganache, use the rules for any emulsion, make sure both the chocolate and the cream are warm (35 degrees celsius is the fusion point). This means you need to melt the chocolate before combining it with the cream and to beat it vigorously with a hand blender to emulsify it.

2. In order to fix a broken ganache, heat the base if the temperature was too low, and add more cream if the temperature is fine.

3. When beating cream or egg whites, do so at 3/4 speed, not full speed. Why? Smaller bubble structure will lead to less collapse and better texture.

4. When making caramel, before deglazing, the sugar should just start to smoke to ensure the proper flavor, and use a hot liquid to deglaze the pan.

5. For marshmallows, using powdered gelatin may be preferable because leaf gelatin can over-absorb liquid.

6. Streusel is sweeter than "crisp" or "crunch" topping. This means it will stay crisper longer.

While many of the finer points of crystallization were beyond me, I found the class fascinating, not to mention, delicious! I have all the more respect for pastry chefs who create fantastic desserts, now that I have seen what it takes to make them. Check out my colleague Michael Procopio's take on this sugarific day here.