[panini]

I heard that!!
I spent an hour yesterday trying to find the answer for a question on how much more cake was actually going to be on a layer 2 inches bigger. I amassed every measuring device in the kitchen, put the pile aside to pick up the 15 yr old who promptly figured it out exactly with pye or something, I thought he was talking Cherry pie

[Mezzaluna]

No cherries involved



Continuing the saga of the inexperienced home cook attempting do make pastry (I'm basically a savory person), I just made the dough recipe. It is quite dry, the consistency of barely damp sand. It does press together between my fingers but doesn't hold its shape as a disk (it's in the fridge chilling before rolling). I put in the 2 tablespoons of water with the egg yolk. But could I need to add more? How dough-like should this be? I realize it's more like a cookie dough, but it's not at all clay-like.

[panini]

probably another yolk or 1/2 yolk and a spritz of water. I assume it should come together for ya. Ya know Connecticut chickens average around 15 lbs.

[Mezzaluna]

I added a full tablespoon more of ice water and it worked perfectly. The only slip-up was when I grabbed the cooled crust to fill it with ganache and bumped the edge with my thumb. But it "healed" when I filled it. I let it cool on the counter and covered it carefully with plastic wrap. Tomorrow I'll drizzle some white chocolate on it (if I get a chance) and serve it with whipped cream.

Thanks, everyone, for holding my hand on this. I just don't have as much confidence with pastry as I do with savory cooking.