I know, I’ve done scones before, but they were American scones. Those aren’t really scones in the British sense. Oh right, then I did those Aussie pumpkin scones, but those aren’t British scones either. More like American biscuits. Which I should probably point out aren’t like either Australian or British biscuits. Those are more like American cookies. Which is not to say that no one makes cookies in Britain, they…

Hang on, I’m getting all confused now. This is going to be a short week for me, I’d better not get my little brainpan smoking already. I’m just going to put up a recipe…
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Reader Susan writes:

I can’t decide whether I like white chocolate or not. I like the very first taste of white chocolate when it hits my tongue and it’s initial flavor is sensed…then it’s all down hill from there. White chocolate does (to me) what milk chocolate seems to do to me; it’s components coat the tongue and the sensation of it’s flavor goes into overload that cannot be washed away! Is that sensation because of the amount of fat in the cocoa butter? What’s the deal with white chocolate?

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Good question, reader Leeza. Pretty much nothin’. White chocolate has zero cocoa solids, which are the essence of chocolate flavor. The only thing that comes from the cocoa pod that’s found in white chocolate is cocoa butter, which has no flavor of its own (sometimes it does have a residual chocolate smell, though the type you find in most bars has been deodorized).
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Is my Derby hangover still with me, or are there weird things happening around the perimeters of the blog? Please bear with me as I try to get all this straightened out. It seems pretty clear it’s ad related.

I only just got around to checking the list of winners for the 2012 James Beard Awards (thanks to reader Mic for reminding me that they were even happening!). Congratulations to Jeni Britton Bauer of Jeni’s on her book award for Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home. I confess I haven’t seen it yet, the fall of the big box bookstores has made browsing the year’s cookbook titles a whole lot more difficult. But I can see it’s a book Mrs. Pastry will want to get her mits on and soon!
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Summer, Buddy Holly, Good Golly Miss Molly and boats. Once I start listening to Ian Dury I find it very hard to stop. He may have been small, he may have had polio, he may have been a little too into disco…but he was a force, and one funny song writer. This will shake off your blues.…

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VERY perceptive question, reader Camille. Pâte à bombe is of course the delicious base of whipped egg yolks and sugar syrup that’s often used to make chocolate mousse. “Pâte” is variously translated as “dough”, “paste” or “mix.” And “bombe” as we’ve established pretty much just means bomb. I think the only possible explanation is that pâte à bombe is/was a base that’s employed in the making of dessert bombes.
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