DesertTinker

It’s not an A4Box item. Looks like you got the @Anna N& @Kerry Beal Super Bonus Pack. Onigirazu mold (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) not currently available, but you can look at the pictures on Amazon and get an idea of how to use it. Also, search Onigirazu here and you’ll find @Anna Ns posts in several different places. Also check out YouTube, most there don’t use a mold, but the process and final product are very similar. @Sid Post I’m sure you’ll find something with SPAM with a quick search.

Here's your "User Manual" it's kind of skimpy, but there is the Temperature Guide, and some basic cleaning instructions. @Smithy I did get it done, and earlier than I expected! (Thanks for the back up offer, truly appreciated.) A4Box Manual.pdf

I meant my “tomorrow” aka December 26, 2024. If no one else has the manual in electronic form, I’ll scan mine tomorrow.

Is it tomorrow already? 😎

Maybe I’m being exceedingly dense this afternoon, but, where is the chicken egg? Is it the lemon looking thing in the lower right corner?🙃 (reposting because the original had “issues” in the forum software)

I’m six feet tall, so not vertically challenged, but it’s more comfortable to put things into the container when it’s on the base. The handle is very nicely finished (see attached pics) the brushed finish gives it a bit of texture, so not slippery. It weighs 3 lbs 6 1/8 oz (1.342kg). I just put a couple of cups of water in and tipped it on its side, zero leakage around the rim, of course the center cap is not sealed, only for splash protection. The other thing that I really like is the way it fits on the base, there’s not that looseness that the plastic has, it’s not tight or stuck feeling, just a properly fitted snugness, doesn’t do that partial rotation when turned on and not as tippy/loose.

And it’s unboxed, beautifully packaged, as previously noted, it seems like a really solidly built product. Only had time this morning to plug it in to be sure it turned on. We’ll start playing with it tomorrow.

My surprise kitchen gift was the VitaMix stainless steel container (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) to replace the somewhat battle scarred plastic container. The thing is built like a tank and fits perfectly.

That is a lovely thing! So, so far from your dreaded ex-MIL crust.

I got the “rate your A4” email too, I’m sure it’s an automated marketing thing.

Hmm… I wonder if the petit fours come from different sources, the ones in the assortment packs (cheese, sausage, cookies, candies, etc.) are always individually packaged in plastic, also there are only the stripes and different colored coatings, no other decoration on them like yours have.

Just so US based eG folk know, one can acquire bowls similar to @liuzhous here. Not enabling, just sharing.😎

A4 Box arrived this afternoon. OnTrac made a stealth delivery. After a brief discussion it’s going under the tree until Xmas.

Congratulations! Mine has managed to get from Charlotte NC to Antioch TN since the 5th. Only another 2000 or so miles to go.🙃

With the backbone and ribs still intact I think you might be better off if you thaw it and split it, or at least partially thaw it enough to make the necessary cuts. Here’s a link to a recipe on the Anova website that suggests trimming to reduce the size of the cavity.

Here are the choices from the Breville/ChefSteps Joule app, there’s no difference in in the times between fresh or frozen. Also the pictures of each.

And I crumbled, they’re still available for shipping cost only. I’m a bit surprised, I thought by waiting I might be saved from acquiring one. Well now our “house/kitchen” Christmas gift is taken care of.

😎

Another option. I have one and really like the space saving aspect of the Weber Go-Anywhere Grill (eG-friendly Amazon.com link), great for one or two people, doesn’t need a lot of charcoal.

My 2nd batch is pourable, no clue what caused the thickening in the 1st batch. Identical ingredients, both were carefully measured, the heavy cream is from the same container. Temperature of ingredients was the same, only difference was hand beating the 1st, KitchenAid stand mixer for the 2nd. Maybe I didn’t beat it well enough by hand?

Is your recipe the same except for using whole eggs rather than yolks only? I just checked on my latest batch and it’s still pourable and I think very close to the consistency you described. I was able to pour my original batch through a funnel immediately after making it, but by the next morning it had set.

My first batch, which unfortunately achieved vanilla pudding thickness, is shown below. The only way to get it out was by dipping a chopstick into it, then scraping it off into a shot glass to be eaten with a tiny spoon. Not a very elegant or nice presentation.🙃 Tonight I added about a 1/4 cup of milk and shook the bejeezus out of it. At the moment it is thick but pourable. Made a second batch after that, it’s in a practical quart jar like yours.

@Smithy Hickory Farms appears to have a higher customer rating for their petit fours than Swiss Colony does (and the higher rating is based on more reviews). I also grew up with Swiss Colony and all the other seasonal catalogs of the 60s, 70s and 80s, packed full of aspirational things and goodies that were never ordered.☹️

Yeah, that’s a much more open vee shape than I recall from when my mother got a “taco making” set in the late ‘70s, the sides were maybe an inch apart at the top of the shell. Maybe you, or Charlie, could bend them to be more closed? Unless they’re stainless steel, I suspect that whatever plating is on them would crack and peel, so maybe not a great idea.

Today I learned… Thanks! I’ve not run across these. Very clever design. Here’s how to use them, for the uninitiated.