Tri2Cook

Brave... if it only knew how close it was to Anna and her sous vide bucket.

It does a great job. That's exactly the same one I'm using. While I would put Michael Laiskonis right up among those at the top of the list for people I would consider a solid endorsement of a product, I don't need him for this one. That little machine is awesome. Kerry mentioned that they're making a smaller drum and wheel assembly for the bases which will be really nice for test batches and small amount of nut pastes and stuff like that so it's already going on my want list.

Co-weirdo... I'm 100% with her on the raisins.

That gin bottle will be so good at pretending the humidity doesn't bother it that you'll stop worrying in no time at all.

I like that drink... can't say that I've tried drinking it while eating peanuts but if it's got that kind of endorsement, maybe I'll give it a try.

Lemon and blueberry go together like bacon and anything, it's a great combination.

The problem was at my end. I think I misunderstood where he was going with his question. I thought he was looking for a way to use those things without it showing up on what he wanted to be a clean and natural ingredient list. I read his original post again and now realize that he's actually looking for an alternative color source that doesn't use those things so they don't have to be on the label at all. So basically just ignore what I previously said and things will be back on track.

Gonna have to see if I can have any influence on Kerry... I can't believe she's without some form of a meat grinder.

I understand that. The difference is, you're not saying in regards to having to list what you're using on your labeling "That does seem at odds with high quality direct-trade chocolate and the ethos we hope to uphold." If having to let people know what's in the box is at odds with your ethos then it seems like that same ethos would want you to not put anything in the box you'd not feel good about listing. Unless I misunderstood and he was saying that a blanket listing of the ingredients used without listing out each one individually for each chocolate would violate that ethos. In which case, I don't get it because you'd still be letting them know everything they'll be eating with the blanket statement.

Yeah, some things really are better left to the experts, I'm just a stubborn ass. I once had a piece of wire from a wire wheel on a grinder shoot into the white part of my eyeball and I just went to a mirror, pulled it out with tweezers, rinsed my eye out and went back to what I was doing. Mentioned it to my eye doctor the next time I had to go for an eye checkup and he wasn't impressed. So anything I say in regards to anything medical related is probably best ignored.

One of these years I'm going to have to venture out and get in touch with civilization... I didn't even know going to the hospital to get a hook out was a thing unless it's stuck in your eye or something like that.

Then why not just forego the colored cocoa butters altogether? Just do chocolate shells. Maybe some painting and splattering with contrasting colors of chocolate, maybe even some airbrushing with chocolate thinned with cocoa butter. Combine chocolates for different shades in the spectrum. The 50 Shades of Brown collection. I know that sounds odd in today's world of brightly colored chocolates but it's something I've been giving semi-serious consideration.

Yeah, he discontinued the blogs a long time ago. He put up .pdf files with the information from the blogs and a warning that he was going to be killing them in the fairly near future which was a nice thing for him to do. I did grab them but I already had all the information saved in text files anyway. I followed his blogs closely and saved everything as soon as he posted it. So if Patti doesn't have it, I do.

Is that possible, too much meat on a bbq plate? I always thought that was when you push the bread and sides to the edge of the plate and tell them you'll get back to them later if there's room.

In the Deep South, that "youse" would be a "y'all". "Youse" sounds more Jersey.

If you didn't earn it, I'm in trouble. You've probably done more today than I have and I'm kicking back on the couch watching the recap of today's Tour de France stage as I type this. I got my grocery shopping, laundry and housework done yesterday after work just so I could not have to do it today. I even ate leftovers tonight so I wouldn't have to cook. I'd planned to make peach ice cream today until I realized that the container for my ice cream machine that I always keep in the freezer ready to use, I for some reason did not put back in the freezer the last time I used it. So I didn't even have to do that. I did get another batch of chocolate working in the machine though.

That's the main reason I'd like to be able to make my own. Make small batches that I know I'll use up when I know I'm going to need them and not have to worry about the shelf life of a large container. I understand the space issue. I made room but it may prove to be a bit of a double-edged sword eventually. I'm already realizing that if I'm able to get my stuff to catch on locally, I'm probably going to need another at some point. But that's down the road quite a bit, if ever.

One does as one must when pickles hang in the balance.

Efficiency is important, at least that's what I tell myself when I do basically the same thing. When I finished my batch of 70% dark from the Sur del Lago nibs, I decided to start a batch of 40% milk from the same nibs so I just scraped the dark out as well as I could and proceeded. I suppose it does skew things in some tiny way but it seemed silly to wash it and wait a day for it to dry thoroughly just to work with the same nibs again.

Sometimes if I wonder if the cocktail world has reached that point where it's just digging up anything it can find from somewhere in the world strictly in the interest of having something different. I'm not saying you specifically, I realize this was a gift, but just in general. I'm picturing a bartender tasting some bottle from a remote village that's only open to traffic two days out of the year and only produces 7 bottles a year, 3 of which they keep for themselves, and saying "Man, this is awful. Has to be the worst tasting thing in existence. I wouldn't drink this if the winning lottery number was at the bottom of the glass. We HAVE to find a way to use it on our menu."

I think if I ever got close enough to their window to be one, I'd be one too. As far as I know, in the context you used it in, "PM" is private message and "DM" is direct message... so to-may-to/to-mah-to.

I marinate chicken in pretty much the same mixture, with basil instead of coriander. I cook the chicken on the grill and boil the marinade to reduce a bit, strain it and brush it on the chicken while it's cooking. Gonna have to give it a shot with pork and coriander.

I'm trying to make myself get around to that. I'd like to do a batch of praline paste. The problem being, buying nuts from the local store is a bit of a crapshoot on whether they'll be rancid or not when you get them home and open the package.

Yep. I think of it as being like to it's namesake... pleasantly bitter.

Too hot for heavy food today, by far the hottest day we've had since last summer... so chicken salad using smoked chicken, celery, Vidalia onion, jalapeno and Granny Smith apple on (store bought) garlic naan with a salad of cucumber, grape tomatoes, Vidalia onion, garlic and jalapeno that I sealed in a bag with a vinaigrette this morning and let marinate all day. Didn't bother with a picture which is a shame because this may be one of the more colorful and photogenic meals I've made recently.