Kerry Beal

Nope - not this time - offered Rodney the option - he demurred. However at the grocery store today - I asked the girl in the deli counter to let him taste some sweet and some regular Lebanon bologna - she gave him the Kunzler brand as that was her favourite. He was inspired!

Big fan of purple martins! Didn't realize they needed conserving thought.

Breakfast this morning at Barbaret - a pastry shop recommended by Lancaster Mike and right next to our hotel. Cedric Barbaret (the newest Cacao Barry ambassador) and his wife Estelle are the owners of this charming french pastry shop. Rodney and I each had a Croque Monsieur, I had a raisin snail and cafe au lait in addition and of course Rodney had to evaluate the Pain Chocolat. While our food was heating we took a quick run downstairs to check out the production facility which was wonderfully bright and complete with every piece of equipment that we both covet. This table is a huge granite slab on top of 3 separate stainless tables - there is a chocolate temperature fridge under one the the tables and storage under the others.

@Alleguede and I have come down to Lancaster, PA today to attend the PMCA (Pennsylvania Manufacturing Confectioners Association) meeting and exhibit the EZtemper at the trade show on Monday. An early stop at McDonalds for what passes for breakfast - they were not amused apparently when the hash brown was returned to be properly cooked. We detoured to Erie, PA for a quick (5 hour) consult with a chocolate company that needed a little help with some issues. It was a great opportunity to look around and see how they do things. Quite fascinating was their cluster maker - the pictures don't really help to understand it - but the tempered chocolate and nuts are pressed into a series of rings that are under the metal piece you can see and then compressed air is applied to the overlying metal piece which caused the clusters to be ejected from the rings onto a plexiglass sheet. In the molding room they had this box of beans (not Rancho Gordo) into which they stuff the top of 3D chocolate molds - effectively supporting them upside down while cold air is blown from above. They also had a series of boxes on the wall that looked like dumb waiters - but that had screened shelves in them and air conditioned air blowing into them from above to cool whatever was on the screen shelves - elegant in it's simplicity. We stopped in Erie to go to the politically incorrect Chick-fil-A - I'd mentioned it to @Alleguede in the am and he was quite anxious to give it a try. A very long drive ensued from Erie to Lancaster and a search for milk for my tea was not productive in a walk around town - so we had to hit the hotel bar to get it. So hey - if you are in the bar to get milk - you might as well get a negroni too! So tea and a negroni and good soak in the tub to end my day. Life doesn't get much better than this! Waiting to hear back from Lancaster Mike - hoping to get together tomorrow for a meal.

Yeah - Lancaster Mike texted me today to tell me that it will be snowing there tomorrow. There are red buddhas too - appears I didn't take a picture of those. I had leftover red after splattering the frogs so used it up on the buddahs. Next time I do them I'll go for a more stone/jade effect I think - but I'll have to figure out how to do that.

I'm pretty sure that it's Sobey's that I've seen preassembled ingredients for making meals in refrigerated bunkers.

Frogs and Mice for the PMCA.

Heading to Lancaster, PA tomorrow for the PMCA - can't go without Frogs and Mice! It's going to be a little different at a table rather than walking the show though - people will have to come to me for their vermin.

I recall making a bacon truffle with bacon fat before

OK - checked with Lianne - she says they will be creating a special link for us - and that we will sign up under eGullet.

Let me check - I suspect we can use eG as the corporate affiliation if we don't have one of our own. Thanks for catching that - I've been waiting to hear when the sign up was happening.

Yup - I'd call them and let them know to send it with the stuff they will be sending for the workshop.

Ok - so if I do obtain a unit - will anyone want to be in on the draw?

No increase in cost to conference - but someone could pick up $1200 Fuji for $451.50. No one has ever used one of the certificates I discovered. I suppose we could do a draw just for people who were prepared to buy it at that cost.

Hive mind thoughts - Fuji has given us a choice for our door prize draw - a $250 certificate to be used through head office or they will sell us a unit for a very good price that we could raffle. Unit valued at over $1200. We would either have to sell enough tickets to cover the cost - or come up with some way of the person who wins the draw paying the very reduced cost. Thoughts?

http://www.reddyraw.com/brand_drilldown.php?brand=SIDARI http://nappiesfoods.com/pickles-olives-peppers-import-prod/

Definite RobertM Sue Casey Chocolot curls MelissaH Gwbyls tikidoc Robyn sarahdwyer Dilittante + 1 YetiChocolates dhardy123 Beets3 +1(AB) jim loellbach kimberly m omar c Chocolatespassion +1 lambrecht gourmet chocoera Ashley Waters TandemChocoPC patris and Chris mkayahara Matthew Hayday Robodoc000 Boris Tentative prabha Lurking waiting to decide DianaM Morato for Sure dilittante +1 chocolot YetiChocolate Gwbyls RobertM lambrecht gourmet chocoera Beets3 +1(AB) Ashley Waters TandemChocoPC jim loellbach Tikidoc Chocolatespassion +1 Robodoc000

HIt Craigslist and find a Robocoupe or a 21 cup Cuisinart DLC-X.

I'd buy an older cuisinart instead of a new one.

Keeps in the fridge pretty much forever.

25 grams of solution which is made by mixing 12.5 grams acid with 12.5 g water. I make bigger batches though.

Beef dip - all that lovely prime rib needed somewhere to go.

You haven't missed that yet - we need to get our total numbers and our costs to come up with the cost per - it's usually been around $150 tops in the past with around $50 or so for Saturday dinner. Morato will be separate and will be paid directly to Cacao Barry - I'll put up a link when I get one.

I'll bet you are - I think I put you up when you said you were coming on the Facebook group and didn't connect that it was you. I assume you are the famous Robyn who just had an article on Kare11?

Definite RobertM Sue Casey Chocolot curls MelissaH Gwbyls tikidoc Robyn sarahdwyer Dilittante + 1 YetiChocolates dhardy123 Beets3 +1(AB) jim loellbach kimberly m omar c Chocolatespassion +1 lambrecht gourmet chocoera Ashley Waters TandemChocoPC patris and Chris mkayahara Matthew Hayday Robodoc000 Tentative prabha Lurking waiting to decide DianaM Morato for Sure dilittante +1 chocolot YetiChocolate Gwbyls RobertM lambrecht gourmet chocoera Beets3 +1(AB) Ashley Waters TandemChocoPC jim loellbach Tikidoc Chocolatespassion +1 Robodoc000