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Trishiad

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Everything posted by Trishiad

  1. Ooooh oooh ooooh! Sprayer is FUN! I filled it with colored cocoa butter and sprayed some polycarb molds, changed colors and sprayed some more, tempered some white chocolate and sprayed some more. Almost no overspray, just a bit on the hand holding the mold. So fast, so simple. Had to be a mom the rest of the day and haven't had a chance to fill and bottom the bonbons. more another day. fun
  2. I don't know where you live, Jeni, but in my neck of the woods plastic packaging might be a deterent. I would think a simple plexiglass display would sell many individual cookies handed over in a napkin for immediate consumption. For larger sales you may want to explore re-usable or double duty packaging. Wooden crates? Baskets? Something recycled? We have a local bakery at our market. They wheel out a rack with a plastic cover filled with sheets of warm sticky buns and the like. Just on a paper plate or in a wax paper bag, they sell tons. Do the shoppers at your market bring baskets and put their produce directly in without one of those plastic produce bags or do they accept a grocery bag from each vendor? Depends on your location. Tap plastics will build you a little case. oh and I love the idea of savory cookies as well. I like to pick up bread for dinner at the market, why not savory cookies too. Come to think of it, why not an entire meal of cookies.......
  3. I used to wait tables at a restaurant that was new and was owned by a woman who had never run a restaurant before. A few months in she found out she was pregnant. It wasn't easy but it all worked out beautifully. Baby Elle came to work often, was passed around, carried out to the floor to visit the regulars and eventually claimed one of our bussers as her nanny. Elle is in second grade now and her momma sold that little restaurant for a profit. congratulations. motherhood is insane, you'll feel right at home.
  4. My husband has been looking at me funny all week. Even though I've absolutely no idea what exactly he thinks he's going to route, I bought him a new router for Christmas. But, I just got a new chocolate sprayer and he seems to think I've lost my mind. I can't seem to create a relationship with my airbrush so I'm moving on to bigger things. Homedepo.com has sent me a new CampbellHausfeld paint sprayer. I'm a gonna warm it up, fill it with chocolate, cocoa butter, anything handy and spray stuff!!! I'll add photos later. In the meantime, any advice from someone who already has this toy??
  5. Submerging chocolate in water just freaks me out. Weather stripping or not, freaks me out. This set up is creative and sounds good in theory. It does, however ignore that fact that temper is not ALL about temperature. Even though I use machinery to temper my chocolate I do adjust the temperatures occasionally when the ribbons don't look right. With water baths and sealed chocolate you don't really have that luxury.
  6. Sorry, alanamoana, I don't mean to offend. I spent my pre-son days primarily on stage so everything is a costume to me. Also, I don't really understand the constant wearing of the chef's uniform. I find it quite difficult to function in a regular chef's coat (luckily mine was made with stretch fabric) and I don't know why the pants all seem to come with elastic, gathered waists (talk about unflattering). So many chef's are so creative and have so much style, it surprises me that the costume has barely changed. The whole thing seems a bit militaristic to me. That's another thread. I've ordered one more chef's coat (thanks to all who've advised here) and will wear my usual khakis and tshirt with them. I just make candy for goodness sake.
  7. It is a professional course so I suspect that many students will be wearing chef's costumes. I would guess that most folks taking this course are pastry students or are pastry chefs. I JUST make candy. I'm self taught. I have a hard time taking myself so seriously. Okay, what if I wear my cute brown chef's coat and some khaki pants? Close enough? Or will I be ostracized, shunned, and eventually tossed out into the hallway? Will there be no chocolate for me if I don't wear black and white pants?
  8. I'm off to Maryland in a couple of weeks for a candy class at Albert Uster. I am not a chef and don't really feel like I want to wear a costume, but should I? Will I be out of place in my jeans and t-shirt? I have a cute chef's coat that was made for me but I'm not accustomed to actually working in it. Do I bring my own apron?
  9. You can make your own cookies and your own mallows. cut the into any shape that pleases you, make the marshmallows a new flavor, make whole wheat graham crackers or use shortbread, flavor the ganache with hazelnut or cinnamon. why not a triple chocolate s'more with chocolate graham crackers, chocolate mallows, and bittersweet ganache? for the record, I also like shortbread or butter biscuits spread with lemon curd and topped with gooey marshmallows.
  10. pour over brownies?
  11. Many candy recipes can be halved with no problem. Be sure to adjust the size of your pan accordingly. I tried to make a tiny batch of toffee once and had a terrible time but usually I've no trouble.
  12. Anna, I am a graduate and would be happy to answer your specific questions. pm me and I'll send you my phone number if you like (i'm in sonoma county) trish
  13. hersheys bars don't really make the yummiest bonbons. i'm with CB, hack it up and make cookies. or a fondue?
  14. Check your room temp. I like to work somewhere between 65 and 70. I never work with chocolate in a room cooler than 60 degrees. I dread working in a room higher than 70. Also, your dark chocolate is likely thinner than your milk chocolate and you may need to give your truffle a SLIGHTLY thicker coat. Are you letting your ganache balls get a little crust so that they don't melt (thus changing shape and putting pressure on the cooling shell) under the heat of the chocolate?
  15. I cook a pound of butter and a pound of sugar to 290 and pour it over roasted almonds. If you stir it while it cooks you can keep the toffee emulsified. Just don't get crazy and splash it around all over the sides of your pan.
  16. I'm a picky eater. You know what I do? I have a little snack before a party just in case there isn't really anything I'd enjoy. The girls who don't eat fish will enjoy whatever is placed next to the fish. How about a nice pasta dish for the veggies? There's always cake and booze. Better yet....order their dresses a size too small and they won't be able to eat! I was just in a wedding where this accidentally happened. Boy, that pork loin sure LOOKED good.
  17. E. Guittard for $3.50 a pound? really?
  18. Qzina has Callebaut darn cheap. They deliver to my area once a week. If you're talking about the quality of regular Guittard you may want to just run down to Trader Joe's and grab a bundle of their pound plus bars. If you're looking for the quality of E. Guittard you'll be hard pressed to find anything in the $4 range.
  19. I do use the pound to a cup ratio for some molded chocolates (with various other additions for flavor) but wouldn't try that for palettes. I have found that milk chocolate does generally make a gooey ganache and I like to blend it with dark chocolate to give it a bit more body. Butter will also give more body. You could make a ganache out of butter and chocolate without the cream and you'll get a firmer, more sliceable product. Whipping makes a great texture but will shorten your shelf life so make 'em tasty so they get eaten quickly. I would whip up some nice butter and fold in the gooey ganache. You'll have to play with the proportions to suit your chocolate and your taste. If all else fails or you're just over this particular bowl of ganache, warm it and pour it over a bowl of ice cream or warm it and add some warm milk and marshmallows.
  20. I saw some in the Harry and David catalog that I think may be the ones your boss saw. I think they were made by filling a sheet pan with a layer of crushed peppermints then dropping a dollop of dark chocolate on top. Kind of like a traditional turtle would start.
  21. the untempered chocolate helps keep your ganache squares together and makes it easier to dip them in chocolate. Tempered chocolate would be too hard and would shatter when sliced.
  22. We often have agencies outside the grocery with short lists of what they need. The lists usually include peanut butter, sugar free jam, juice, crackers, cereal, pasta and canned pasta sauces.
  23. Palette knife, yes. Hmmm, books for Anna.... Fine Chocolates, Wybauw Chocolate Bible The Art of chocolate, Elaine Gonzalez Chocolats et Confiseries Dessert Circus, Jacques Torres Pure Chocolate, Fran Bigelow Real Chocolate, Chantal Cody Candymaking, Kendrick and Atkinson Lenotre's Ice Creams and Candies The ultimate Candy Book Oh Truffles, Au Chocolat Truffles and other chocolate confections, Pam Asquith Truffles, Candies, and Confections, Carole Bloom A Passion for chocolate I have gleaned information from each of these books. Some I own, some I borrowed from the library, some I sold back to the used book store. I've heard good things about the Geerts book too, I just haven't shelled out the cash. Some wonderful moderator will probably provide an Amazon link for one or tow of these so eG will make a little profit, right? I'm sure some of our friends here could increase that list too.
  24. I'm just a Mom trying to feed my family. I'd rather whip something in the kitchen than clean the bathroom. Food is love, right?
  25. Mette, very very nice! I too use that tall mold upside down but I fill it with a cinnamon spiced hot chocolate ganache, small world. I love the sheen on your milk chocolate dome. Is that clear cocoa butter with luster dust or did you use a sheer coat of yellow cocoa butter and then dust?
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