Kerry Beal

True that - but the chef instructor with us had been involved in it's development and wanted us to taste it. I've eaten worse!

Yesterday I was visiting Humber College to discuss my role in their Advanced Chocolate and Confectionary Arts Graduate Program. Lunch was provided in the Humber Room private dining room - student run. I started with tuna nigiri Caesar salad for Felix from Chocolat Central. Lamb for me Bavette with frite for Felix Seafood risotto for a couple of others. Various mousses made with 3 different Casa Luker formulations as a trial The daily special banana nut pizza

I worked Monday - it was a total shit show - lucky I got fed at all. But managed to throw together some cornbread and roasted a chicken for lunch in the CSO. (They were $1.99/lb at Sobeys - couldn’t leave it behind) Today was a little more civilized - I made more cornbread. One of the other docs had left some bananas in the call room - they were at a perfect age to make a couple of loaves of buttermilk quickbread. Heated some chicken rice soup for lunch with some applewood smoked cheese from Beehive Cheese. For dinner - chicken thighs with caramelized shallots (make that scallions cause that’s what I had)! Couple of pics from the drive home

It's a buttercream - I'll e-mail it to you.

Good question - I suppose that chocolate syrup could be considered liquid fudge - but it would be worth trying some fudge and adding invertase when it cools sufficiently.

Not completely happy with the gradients I produced on the 'Bob Marley' - I repeated with some other colors - still not perfect but I'm getting a bit better. Nice Strawberry Rhubarb filling though.

And does it actually polish?

The stuff that comes looking like a pound of butter instead of in a tub. like this

My mother's best recipe for butter tarts uses hard margarine in place of butter. It makes a filling that is less likely to boil over.

I was picturing a two piece polycarbonate for that design when I saw it. I suppose you see how it goes. What are the master molds made from - perhaps they could be repurposed for polycarbonate when the time comes?

Trouble with silicone molds - they retain the heat - it's difficult to get a good shine on the surface and filling them is a bitch (because dumping them out to make shells is very difficult. Have a read thought the Chocolates with that Showroom Finish threads to start re decorating.

Ran into one of the hospital volunteers at the Fest yesterday - today she brought in two of the packages she bought for the nurses. I guess there were more vendors than we noticed - apparently they were all in the aisle that we had serious trouble getting the rugrat's wheel chair down easily. We spent the whole time looking for space between people to move forward and ignored the stuff around us! Notice the only one with ingredients doesn't list butter?

Hubby, rug rat and I went up to Fergus, Ontario today for the "Love of Buttertarts and Chocolate Fest". A whole lot of other people had the same idea - we arrived before the worst of the crowds however. Before the child lost it with all the noise - we did manage to pick up a couple of half dozens of butter tarts - one with pecans, one plain (no raisins however - but there were lots available). There were not a ton of butter tart vendors - and only two chocolate vendors that I could see - lots of folks with geegaws though. I could have cleaned up with a table selling chocolate dipped this and that.

I think for flavour development - might reduce astringency a bit.

I’d say astringency is most often a bean characteristic

Or grind it up and make a cottage pie that you can tuck in the freezer.

I've got year end for rug rat coming up - making fillings with sufficient shelf life so I can give them to teachers, EA's, bus drivers etc.

As previously mentioned I'm plugging away at my own speed because I'm heading north at the end of the month. These two are 'fireworks' - not crazy about the red and yellow ones (doesn't help that I ended up with orange by not cleaning the red applicator before changing to yellow). The filling was browned butter bourbon with a gianduja/feuillitine layer. His response "even though you made them in other way from me, I really like the result"

Perhaps a Hello Kitty spoon might have been more appropriate?

I've liberated some Kimwipes from work - hoping they might be good for straining. He describes his paper towel as a viscose napkin.

Made some modernist pain rustique and for dinner a pork chop and some white turnips

Totally agree with Jo. The old Cuisinarts are not replaceable IMHO.

I like OR tapes (aka lap sponges) for polishing - lint free, soft, non scratching. Lap sponges I've also used suede like microfiber purchased from a fabric store. Microfiber polishing cloth

Steamed some asparagus in the CSO - made bernaise in microwave.

Canon makes a printer for edible inks.