pastrygirl

What's wrong with their pistachio praline? I do like Dulcey but Caramelia is too sweet for me. I'm sure there are lots of pastry chefs who appreciate the time saving and consistency of some of the new blends.

Yes, more non-cocoa butter fats in the mix make it softer, whether that is milk fat, hazelnut oil, or others such as coconut oil for meltaways or browned butter for deliciousness. Speaking of gianduja, has anyone tried Valrhona Azelia? I keep seeing posts on instagram describing it as "the first chocolate in the world to combine the indulgence of hazelnuts with milk chocolate" and I wonder what the heck they're talking about since milk chocolate gianduja already exists. Maybe they define gianduja as a different proportion and the Azelia is more chocolate? http://valrhonaprofessionals.com/azelia.html

The food processor doesn't get it perfectly smooth, but the chinoise does! (Did I mention being slightly obsessive? ) I make my own. 60/40 hazelnuts to powdered sugar plus a bit of salt, then about 60/40 dark milk chocolate (49%) to hazelnut paste. It does take quite some time in the food processor, but it gets close to smooth if you let it go to liquid.

Tent weights are very important! Hopefully whomever you're borrowing the tent from will already have something, you want a good 20+# on each leg. I use concrete blocks and bungee cords.

Nice! They are limited on colors, I know I used a lot of red last year but that might have been discontinued. And I've seen a light green but not tree green. If you have a color printer, you can go that route. Or if you like extra work like I do, plain stickers or sticker sheets can be decorated with rubber stamps. I wanted to make my holiday labels a little more special so I'm stamping them with platinum snowflakes before printing.

Regarding labels, are you familiar with Paper Source? Looks like there is one in La Jolla... I use their printable sticker sheets for things like ingredient labels and small runs of holiday specials labels. I like the sheets because I don't have to worry about my printer getting pre-cut ones perfectly lined up (I print and then cut to size), but they should also have sheets of rectangular, round, and maybe oval stickers/labels, possibly even in holiday colors. Up here, a pack of five 8-1/2 x 11 sticker sheets is $6 + tax. http://shop.papersource.com/search#p=R&w=label&url=http%3a%2f%2fshop.papersource.com%2fsearch%3fw%3dprintable%20labels%26ts%3dajax&rk=3&uid=615411833&ts=rac&rt=racsug&rsc=U22JvMHMWo5HcdYA&asug=label&apelog=yes

I don't know what food vendors will be at the Fest so I'd bring lunch. Trader Joe's on upper QA Ave for snacks and Metropolitan Market at the base of the hill (South side, towards downtown) has a poke' bar and high quality prepared foods and groceries. Also upper QA, though opposite ends, Via Tribunali is excellent pizza and the Mezcaleria is pretty good Mexican food.

Can you find coconut milk without added starches or thickeners? Coconut milk heated on its own doesn't thicken into ropy gloop so I'm not so sure about purported starches, but so many things have added thickeners these days that who knows. How about some portion of liquid sugar to decrease stickiness? I'm thinking in the manner that glucose helps the texture of pate de fruits and other confections. Golden syrup is what I would use - I do use it in my chewy caramels that are cut and wrapped. Also, alcohol! As part of your liquid, that is.

Looks like cederberg tea house might be worth a look, it's new on upper Queen Anne. If you have time to get down to the (pike place) market, World Spice on Western should have a good selection of teas IIRC.

For tasting jam, coffee stir sticks are good and cheap. The wood ones about 1/4 inch wide. You can even cut them in half if too long.

I'm sure you meant 3%, not 3$. I'm a big fan of square, its easy to use and convenient for customers, especially if you'll have items costing more than a few dollars. Also a good way to track sales. Do people know to bring cash to the event? Also make sure to have lots of small bills for making change.

Eater 38 is always a reputable list. I wish I could help but don't really go out to restaurants much anymore except for the occasional pho or burrito. Where are are you staying? Anything in particular you can't get enough of at home? Will you have a car or relying on bus/taxi/uber?

Sounds too thick, try a little more liquid. Also consider cocoa butter as a way to add fat without coconut flavor.

Thanks for sharing! Those boxes do look handy.

http://blog.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/2016/10/smart-cooling.html @smithy is right, ice and water transfers heat much more rapidly than ice and air. Also best to cool in a vessel that conducts heat well, do not cover, and stir occasionally. Stainless steel in an ice and water bath will cool rapidly. You can also spread it in a thinner layer to cool faster. Though that may not apply to pork shoulder unless it is already falling apart.

I'm skeptical, flour is pretty soft to the touch and doesn't seem like an effective abrasive. Did you actually do this in the course?

I'd eat it, too. I figure some cheeses are aged in caves or the equivalent for 2 years or more, so why not your fridge. Here's an old cheese story for you: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/17/nyregion/after-75-years-the-cheese-stands-alone.html?_r=0

How does grill brush end up in a braised dish?

@Jim D. The magnets don't touch the chocolate so I would not worry about food safe. I'd try a thin super glue, the only problem with something thicker like hot glue is that it could be too thick a layer and leave a gap at the bottom of the mold when the two pieces are together. I do have a mold that's lost a magnet or two, I'm just more careful when tapping the bubbles out so it stays together.

I just came back to mention wafer paper, like you use for nougat. If that was available, it could be printed or painted on.

So cut out the images and use the holes and frame outlines as a stencil? She could make a template of where the images on the film would be, paint onto acetate a little cocoa butter or chocolate for the images, line up the cut-out film negatives and spread with milk or dark to get the background, remove the film and spread with white to fill in the outlines. Trim to size with a hot knife.

One more thought - would just the trays without the boxes fit in gallon ziplocks? Might need cardboard or a candy pad to stiffen, and if the trays are shallow you may be able to fit two.

Fondant painted with food color would definitely be easiest, try to convince them that a little fondant will be great for the look and they don't have to eat it I don't think old film negatives would kill anyone - the chemicals get washed off - but I don't know how much they would help. I guess you use them to get the size and holes. If the cake is square you don't have to worry about wrapping while the chocolate is still flexible, you could make one piece for each side. Or you could pipe on acetate with a guide.

Over in the confections thread, it looks like there is a lot of space around the pieces in the trays. Do they not get scratched and scuffed rattling around? I just bought some 9 piece boxes with trays from Paper Mart to use for the holidays. They're 5-1/2" square, haven't actually filled one with bonbons yet but I though they looked decent for the price. http://www.papermart.com/set-up-view-top-gold-candy-p-e-t-box-with-inserts/id=38551#38551 Of course Chocolat-chocolat and Nashville Wraps have some much swankier paper boxes with inserts but I don't wanna pay $2+ per box. I feel your pain on the custom packaging, I have a couple of things I'd like to do differently but it's hard to swallow the expense of doing it all over again. And mine was designed around stock packaging so I don't think you're crazy But in the big picture, I'll probably be happier if I push forward on it.

Yes, taking the time to do it right has worked for me, rushing results in condensation. It's the sudden, dramatic change in temperature. The air that hits the frozen bonbon is cooled and can't hold as much water, so condensation forms on the surface. When you're moving from 0F to 40F to 65F you don't have the huge temperature difference of going directly from 0 to 65. It sucks though, because we don't always want to wait 2 days to fill orders. I'll admit to having sold some items that weren't appropriately thawed. It's not ideal. Your retail boxes are 10" x 10"? Have you considered a smaller box?