Kerry Beal

I think I'm familiar with them from the restaurant show.

The cost in Europe is 99 euro - haven't found them for sale in the us yet - but I have an email out to the exclusive distributor and I'm asking the owner here to find out who his Canadian distributor is.

I'd use the la Chocolatière to melt and hold the chocolate at temperature - when I have it at 33.5C or less I'd add the 1% EZtemper silk (likely 30 grams if it holds 3 kg of chocolate) and stir. Bob's your uncle. Small melters I find useful at trade shows as I really don't need a lot of melted chocolate for my demos.

Remember this little baby from earlier in the thread? This is a 3 litre warmer assembled in Belgium that is sold to home chocolate makers. It comes with a thermometer, a polycarbonate mold, a scraper and a recipe book. But it apparently keeps a reliable temperature and would be a nice size for a small melter and is a fraction of the cost of the 3kg mol d'art melters that I have.There is a 110V wired version that was introduced in Chicago last year by the company and Laurent. I asked Laurent to see if he could get me one for assessment. If it works as reliably as he thinks - I'll be heartily recommending it. When I got home from dinner I was staring at my luggage trying to determine how I might fit it in if he was able to get it for me - when I noticed there was a box on the floor! My favourite front desk staff must have dropped it in my room. So - unpacked from it's box - and I see it's the 110V version so I'll be able to try it right away when I get home. Packing the luggage is still a bit of an issue though.

risotto with scampi

improvement!

If I were at home I would have binned this drink - how do I politely leave without drinking it - there are no potted plants.

Walked around looking for a starchy dinner - Italian place (the one that hasn't moved) doesn't open for an hour. But there is this great little cocktail bar right next to the donut shop. I stopped for a cocktail. When I told him what I typically like but that I didn't want another Negroni - he asked if I liked gin and of course I answered in the affirmative. I think my hubby would like this drink it's fruity enough. Not quite what I was picturing for gin and grapefruit. I'm sure I'll struggle through. but they brought chips!

I must confess I did not!

Remember that great big squash from the beginning of my trip? Not sure if the restaurant is using it one serving at a time or not.

Just around the corner from Leon's I found Jeanneke pis

So then I went walkabout again - this time looking for some lunch. Decided to stop at Leon's as it had been suggested as good for mussels. Being Monday it wasn't crazy busy which was nice. I found it interesting that the waiter brought me my bill unasked and when he gave me the credit card machine suggested how I could put in a tip! Tomatoes, cream, herbs. Would madam prefer ketchup?

So a most interesting thing happened - I had called yesterday am over to the shop of Laurent Gerbaud - hoping to leave an EZtemper with him. He'll be back at 6 they said, called at 6, nope - won't be in until 10am tomorrow they said, called at 10, no one there, called at 10:15 - he'll be here by 11 they said. So I went walkabout - and was just outside the hotel around 11 when I was ready to call - when who should I see but Laurent putting a couple of his friends from Thailand into a taxi. Well - that could not have worked out any better - he even carried it back to his shop! Saved me the arm stretching. So I spent the better part of the rest of the morning at his shop - he's just won a gold at the World Finals of the International Chocolate Awards - Gold: Laurent Gerbaud Chocolatier (Belgium) – Ganache aux olives Taggiasche. They were busy trying to find the best way to display the award at the shop to show it off to good advantage. I got to taste this awarding winning chocolate - it was excellent. A well deserved win. It's the one on the left!

Breakfast this am on feast mode with high protein - I don't usually eat breakfast at home so it's a challenge. Tea - rooibos with some camomile and mint - next time camomile in a bag. Big plate of meats and cheeses. No blue ring!

Sounds about right though.

I used to have good handwriting too!

It is, isn't it.

The staff at the hotel have been very wonderful to me - sneaking butter out of the kitchen after hours, giving me suggestions for places to eat and find things. Of course I had to take them down some of the chocolate I brought with me. This was tucked under the door a short while ago.

Not I - can't afford to quit my day job!

It was a beautiful day today - warm enough to be out without a jacket. Caught this picture of the sun lighting up a church as I was heading out for dinner. I decided to blow the entire carb/calorie budget on one thing tonight. I'm probably a little over and it might not deplete my glycogen stores for the jet lag program as well as it should. But damn it - I wanted frites. Fritland frites with Brazil sauce - excellent suggestion @Duvel. Still looking out for Jeanneke pis - I think perhaps tomorrow I might find her. And perhaps the dog.

Lunch was the tuna salad from the filling of the sandwich - lovely with capers and greens. She made me two sandwiches - issue of translation I think - I asked for tuna - she said 'pardon' - I said Thon - so she must have interpreted that as two thon (tuna).

Today is low cal high protein breakfast and lunch and dinner and low cal high carb dinner. Meals will be a challenge today! and no caffeine so rooibus tea - and I've just discovered the hotel has decent sized mugs I could have liberated for the trip and returned on Tuesday

Back on my jet lag program for the return - yesterday was a 'feast' day with a high calorie, high protein breakfast and lunch - and a high calorie carb dinner. That consisted of two of those lovely brioche with raisin buns I showed you before and a doughnut from a shop around the corner from my hotel (I'll find the name later) - it's I Got Baked in Brussels.

What I think they are is like the coloured cocoa butter transfer sheets that we use to make the colourful flat topped chocolates - but this time it has been applied to a thin piece of parchment paper. So the kit contains the bar, the white or red parchment depending on dark or white chocolate and perhaps some sort of tool for writing (didn't see that part).