patris

As I was cleaning my cooktop just now, I noticed a few blemishes that I initially thought were scratches, but I am becoming increasingly convinced are actually hairline cracks. They range in length from one to about three inches and are concentrated on one burner. The cooktop has taken a bit of a beating lately, so hairline cracks are definitely not out of the question. Am I risking life and limb to use the affected burner, or should I not use the cooktop at all until I can get it repaired or replaced? Any advice as to whether it makes more sense to simply replace the whole stove? It's a Whirlpool, about 10 years old. Never given me any trouble – in fact I really like it. Any advice appreciated. Happy holidays!

I wouldn't skip the powdered sugar/cornstarch step. As long as you shake them off as best you can, the chocolate shouldn't get contaminated - I've dipped more marshmallows than I can count and never had it happen.

I am now the proud owner of an EZtemper - let me add my voice to the chorus of devoted fans! It made its debut this weekend with a group of friends and family whom I had over for a day-long holiday chocolate making spree (documented here and with lots and LOTS of help from @Kerry Beal). Altogether, the group went through about 17 kilos of white, milk, and dark chocolate over the course of about 5 hours, from molded bonbons to dipped confections to barks and clusters. Keeping up with tempering that much chocolate was so much faster and easier than my previously accustomed microwave/seeding method, and everything turned out absolutely beautiful. My guests were tickled to be able to produce such nice-looking items without having to resort to melty wafers, and we all decided that this will be an annual event - with some talk about finding excuses to do more of it outside the December holidays! I do chocolates/confections as a hobby, mostly for friends and family, but I do think that having an EZtemper will get me in the chocolate kitchen more often, and certainly make the whole process even more enjoyable.

Come on up and I'll give you all the chocolate you can handle - as long as you bring those delicious kitties of yours!

Understatement of the century!

What a wonderful day it was! Kerry has begun her journey home, and all the other elves have packed their goodies and headed off. Now that the house is empty, all that is left is to sort out the leftovers and clean up. The aftermath: The ingredients table. Bedroom barks (peppermint and toasted coconut/toffee). Abandoned confections of every kind. The kitchen, with more treats. My mother is currently in a rehab unit at a nursing home, so the staff there will benefit from much of the leftover goodness. All in all, the day was a smashing success, which it would definitely not have been were it not for @Kerry Beal and her endless patience and boundless energy.

I wish you could be here - we could use you in the dish pit (insert appropriate emoji here - I tried to post with one inserted and got told it was not an allowable character...). Rest assured, Kerry will be returning with a special treat for you!

Kerry asked me to tell you about that cutter - it's a simple stainless taping knife from the hardware store. It's 12 inches - just the perfect size for PDF, meltaways, marshmallows, and I'm sure so many other things without a ton of hand fatigue. I also use it to scrape excess chocolate off the molds when I am making bonbons.

Because no day at my house is complete without too much of whatever it is, the beginnings of the food table: cheese pastry-covered olives and a plate of cast offs from the meltaways and grapefruit-Campari PDF. Guests are bringing nibbles as well, and I have spinach-red pepper-feta pinwheel sandwiches in the fridge to put out closer to kickoff.

To be honest, we are making use of just about every one of my house's 988 square feet!

I can tell you that for a variety of reasons, today would be a shadow of itself without @Kerry Beal - between bringing what seems like her entire chocolate workshop full of tools, pitching in to make recipes, doing dishes before I can even reach the sink, and patiently answering my every idiot question, she has once again proven herself to be an amazing friend. I may not be able to make this an annual event without making sure it's on her calendar first!

I had no problems with it at all - the texture was pleasantly soft but far from fluid, and I capped the shells fairly soon (a few hours, I think) after filling.

Thanks! And you're right - I should have just tested it myself!

I recently made the pumpkin caramel ganache on page 145 and loved the texture and the caramel flavor. I would like to make just a plain caramel ganache with that same texture and wondered if I could just omit the 100 grams of pumpkin purée and the spices, or would I need to up the total volume of the caramel component of the recipe to make up for that volume, as I assume the pumpkin counts as a liquifier? There is a recipe for slabbed caramel ganache on page 124 that also looks wonderful, but I will be using this as a bonbon filling so I think I want the lower chocolate to liquifier ratio in the pumpkin caramel recipe.

I have been lacto-ovo vegetarian for somewhere around 4 years. I am intrigued by the idea of lab-grown meats, but doubt I would ever try them. On several occasions I have been served things I was unaware were prepared with chicken or beef stock, or cooked in lard, or seasoned with bacon or bacon fat, either at restaurants or by family who did not consider those ingredients non-vegetarian, and each time found the flavor unpleasant enough that I could not stomach a second bite. I do sometimes miss the texture of a perfectly cooked chicken breast, but on flavor alone I would probably never be able to stomach lab-grown meat. Once upon a time Wegmans sold a crispy fake chicken breast that ticked all the boxes for me, especially on top of a nice cold salad. If it had truly tasted like chicken I doubt I would have liked it at all - it was all about the texture for me.

My lizard brain really, really wants to have a go at that machine. So sorry your trip turned so sour. Too bad you weren't closer to my neighborhood - we could have had a better meal than that breakfast on Monday!

I don't presume to speak for Kerry, but I will say that the company was a far sight better than the food!

I have no photos to share, but wanted to say what a wonderful weekend it was. Meeting people whose names I have seen on eG for years,and whose faces I have seen in photos from past workshop reports, was a delight. I learned so much from so many of you! Extra, extra special thanks to Kerry, as always, and to Rodney, Jess, and Kat for making us all feel so welcome and being so generous with your time and knowledge!

Not sure if anyone will see this, but my sister and I will be in the holiday inn lobby at 6:30 if anyone (or any two) needs a ride to Gouter!

We will also be at the Holiday Inn, arriving tomorrow afternoon, and can fit 2 or squeeze 3 extras for transport Friday evening, Saturday, or Sunday.

Thank you!

Is there a final cost for Friday pizza and Saturday dinner? We will be stopping at the border to exchange currency and I just want to make sure I bring enough (but not too much)!

I figured as much but thought I'd ask anyway!

Just checking - I know this is a very casual event, but is there any reason to pack anything a little dressier? Do people dress for Saturday dinner, or just stay casual?

Chris and I are in for Friday dinner, and $15 or $20 CDN is worth it for both the food (pizza is my favorite food group!) and the company.