RobertM

We went to an Italian place (I have friends with me) while the rest of the crew went off.... a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio

Lunch was amazing...... Fresh baked bread, charcuterie, pickled vegetables, turkey neck Terrine, fresh salad and soup. Our host, Donald, prepares an amazing lunch, served outside under the beautiful sunny Southern California sunshine. We even had a guest, Keegan Gerard, join us...(sorry, no pictures).

Beef fat caramel? Chicken fat caramel with crispy chicken skin? Yes......we discussed such things today......

Today was a fun day, filled with lots of information, laughter and......oh yeah, chocolate. Water Ganache; Caramel, chocolate tasting.....

Behind the Green Door, lies a wonderland

we Got to sit at the oldest table in the place - around 80 years old (so we were told)

We drove into L.A. from Las Vegas, and stopped at Philippe’s for a Double Dip prior to heading to the hotel.

Dang.....and to think I gave mine away.....

I’ve used Burke Ingredients before and they were good to work with https://burkecandy.com/ also, Albert Uster has some containers of those ingredients that are smaller in size (like the invert sugar). also, contact your state office of small business. When I was in Virginia they gladly provided me with names of businesses that were happy to do business with Small Business Owners.

Here some photos of Mark Heim demoing using one during one of our workshops. He was making croquant (if I remember correctly)

It responds fairly quickly, but, what I do is raise the temp slowly as I’m cooking. If I do that, when I get close to the 150 F mark, then I stop raising the temp for about 15 minutes to allow the Maillard to kick in.

The Presto cooker is a go to for small batches of caramel.....I’ve actually gone through a few of them, wearing one out after another

If you can control the heat to a specific degree, you can cook the caramel at about 150 F and hold it at that temp for 15 minutes which should be plenty of time to develop the malliard effect. Then, raise the temp to finish the cook.....

I’m not looking for an early exit AND I would like to keep all body parts safe. Please forget the request.......l

Rob, I seem to recall you, Kerry and Jim recently completed a decoration class.....it would be awesome to be able to pick your brain(s) about some new and different techniques.....

If Mark is following this thread.... ”I hope you can make it to next years workshop”

Put me down for the attending list.....and if there is a Master Class, put me on that too

Modified Hummingbird Cake (I added a lot of coconut) and Coconut Rum.....

Absolutely. So, I tend to reference them by their name. Short shit would work....but, then, I’ve been called a little shit most of my life.....first my Mother and then picked up by my wife....

Why, yes, yes it would......and everyone has pronounced them delicious.....

Next.....without wearing it.....lemon tarts with a meringue..... which would probably make them lemon meingue tarts..... extra tart, just as I like them......

.....and the one in Vegas prior.....

Laugh.....it’s actually funny now....but,what a nightmare at the time.....

No....the heat was perfect.....the cheesecake crust develops this delicious caramelized crust (and if it looks like it’s going to burn, you can just put a sheet of parchment paper over the top and that will protect it) no....my tale is even worse than a burned cheesecake..... when we were wrapping it up to carry to the party, my wife bumped it and it ended up pushed into my belly.....luckily I didn’t press it totally into me....we were able to salvage some of it.....even though it didn’t look like a cheesecake anymore. We put it into a bowl and served it as Cheesecake Pudding....and the entire thing was eaten.......

This cheesecake raises a lot, but the sides and top create a sweet, caramel crunch. It melds beautifully with the soft, cream cheese Center.....