RobertM

I hate it when work comes inbetween the fun stuff - I'll have to take pictures of the candy kitchen I just built and post them alongside yours and Liors...

Any updates on the new chocolate/teaching room Kerry? If you (or anyone else) is looking for some used equipment, there is an online auction going on that ends tomorrow 9/18/09 the web site (I hope this is appropriate) can be found here: http://www.unionmachinery.com/default.asp?CatID=1152

I am "typing" from Memory, but, I recall that Tomric had a set there, as did Manufacturing Confectioner (but MC had them for "display" only - not for sale). There was also a supplier that was showing them, I will have to think which one. I got to meet THE Chef Rubber while I was there, spent a lot of time chatting with him - he's a fun guy. Brian (at Tomric) was swampped with people all day, I couldn't even get close to him to say hello. The people from Chocolate-chocolate were there and so much fun - a real source of knowledge. Burke's was there too - he is hilarious, a great guy, more than willing to share his knowledge too - and I love his powdered cream (72%). Elaine Gonzales was at the Peter's booth - and she always comes with her "A" game. She is such an amazing talent. All in all, it was a good show, however, it's a shame that they aren't able to pull in more companies for display. But, again, it was just such a joy to see Kerry's DVD's there - that alone is true validation of the knowledge and skill that she is willing to share with the rest of us. I'm only sorry I didn't get to the conference this past spring -

Yesterday, I spent the day at the Philadephia Candy Show in Atlantic City and was VERY impressed to see several booths displaying "The Chocolate Doctor" DVD's by none other than the awesome Kerry Beal. It was simply amazing to see something displayed so prominently by someone I've begun to "know" through this forum, and her amazing posts! Thank you Kerry for everything you do, and are willing to share, with us here. Bob

While you're at the show - check out the booth for Linnea's, a company out of Ohio - they have a bunch of luster dusts available at reasonable prices, as well as brushes and other tools - I use them a lot -

Tomric sells Luster dust - and you can talk to Brian at the show in Atlantic City about using them - should be fun -

You also might try "warming" the molds before depositing the chocolate into them, I've had the same experience as you and found a mold that's slightly warmer than room temp works better - One fellow I chatted with discussed putting the molds in a low temp oven, others suggest using a heat gun for a short period of time

Kerry That is beautiful - I sit here in my office in awe of your skill -

I have a Hobart I love, but it needs to be repaired, and I can't find anyone to work on it - anyone have any suggestions?

In measuring small amounts of glucose, corn syrup, honey, peanut butter, or other sticky liquids I like to use the "plunger" type of sticky substances. It cleans the side of the unit as you add the ingredient and can easily be scraped off with a knife. You can see an example on the Alton Brown website here. Scroll down to the bottom of the page.

My drink of choice these days is Xtabentun (Shta-Been-Toon); a Mexican liquor I discovered on a trip to Cancun. Made from Honey and Anise - delicious served on the rocks -

I've hosted a couple of Chocolate Tasting Party's and found them to be very successful, in fact, the guests keep asking when the next one will be. Not only did I have samples of my truffles, but I also put out samples of different chocolates, white, milk and dark. This gave people the ability to taste the quality differences between chocolates. I also had some single source chocolate for them to try as well as different % chocolate. I kicked my party up a bit, because I made three different desserts (or courses) a white chocolate course, a milk chocolate and last a dark chocolate. I paired each course with a different wine. I hope you have a successful time, it's a wonderful way to get feedback on your product, but if they are your friends, you may have to temper their feedback because not all friends speak the truth all the time.

Does anyone have experience with a unit like the one's offered by Perfect Equipment? (perfectinc.com) I was told that I could melt my chocolate overnight, in the morning when I want to work, temper the melted chocolate by the seed method and go to work - Lior, I really like the idea of melting and adding to my tempering machine; I have an ACMC machine and have been melting chocolate in the microwave to add to the machine for dipping - Thanks for your thoughts all - Sorry I've been so quiet lately - lots going on (not business lots either - but all good stuff) Bob

Wow Lior, those look yummy. What is it you have dusted on the honey truffle and pistachio nut center? Is it cocoa powder? (I have old eyes you see) BTW (personal note) - I'll be creating that dish this weekend for you and hopefully getting it out next week. Bob

Kim: Thank you for the nice compliment. The easy answer to your question is yes, they are White Jimmies. The difficult part of that answer is that I bought them (under a different "name" from Callebaut Chocolate) I was going to put white chocolate curls on the top, but ran out of time and thought those would "work". Thanks again Bob

That lets you know how often I get to Roslyn...My BAD...

Lior Are you looking for a formula with liquid honey in the confection (like the Beehives) or are you looking to use honey as an ingredient in a formula? I am sitting here with my copy of Choice Confections and could provide a suggestion or two, depending on your wishes/needs Bob

There are several good restaurants, and based on your questions, I'm assuming you don't wish "chain" restaurants. The Alpine Inn used to be very good - haven't been there in a few years. Sarris Orleans House has a reputation, but the last time I was there, I thought the quality of the food had gone down and wasn't what it once was Red, Hot and Blue actually started in the Metro DC area, (sop even if it's a chain, it is a local chain) there is one in Arlington on Wilson Blvd. (My BBQ is much better though - no brag, just fact) Head on over to Mt. Vernon Ave, there are lots of wonderful locally owned places along there - and there is a cheese shop to die for

My wife is watching her weight (even though she doesn't need it, she's a size 6) and didn't drink but one glass of wine all night and only had a small bite of each dessert - all in all it was a terrific evening - and one we'll do again next year I'm sure...

Yes, I believe that was the magazine where the pomegranate came from - I can let you know exactly tonight when I get home from work. The cake itself was a snap to make, the tricky part (for me) was the creation of the Pomegranate Jelly that is spread over the cooled cake. My first attempt failed miserably and ruined the cake. I baked another cake, but didn't bake it long enough (even though I thought I did) and then success came on the third attempt! All in all, the cake wasn't that difficult to make. I admit freely, I need to work on my jelly skills - As an aside, my wife, sister-in-law and brother-in-law were standing around the first "ruined" cake eating it off the plate I had it resting on. By the time they were done, about 1/3 of the cake was gone - so, even ruined, they liked it!

I've posted this on other topics, so, if you've already read about this - just skip me, but we had a Dessert party - themed as a Chocolate Tasting Party - We went from white chocolate, to Milk to Dark, and paired each course with a different wine Sparkling wine from Italy first Then a lemon curd/citrus salad and White Chocolate Mousse paired with an ice wine A milk chocolate-mocha tart paired with a pinot noir and last a chocolate pomegranate torte served with a Port This was our second such party - and a big hit. We had 13 people over and will probably do it again next year - a fun way for old married people to spend Valentines Day

My best friend told me that the curd/salad/mousse dessert was "a $10.00 dessert" if I owned a restaurant. Everyone raved about the Chocolate-Mocha tart and did a lot of "mmmmm ing" over the Pomegranate Torte. I think I upset my wife though - I made the comment "where else could I be surrounded by beautiful women all "mmmm"ing and "ahhh"ing and NOT get into trouble?" She didn't think it was funny... Considering that they were all on chocolate and wine overload by the end of the night - I was very happy with the responses.

That was the ONE that gave me trouble - had to make the cake three times before I got one that was good enough. Was up until Midnight Friday baking... if you want, I'll send you the recipe. The actual cake wasn't that difficult, but the pomegranate jelly was the killer (for me anyway) Thanks! Still trying to live up to your standards!!!

I added a similar reply to the Chocolates with the Showroom finish thread, but was wondering if anyone has had any experience using the Interference Colors that Tomric has on their website?

Has anyone used any of the Interference Colors that Tomric has for sale? Tomric Website They really look fascinating