Tri2Cook

That's a somewhat risky criteria. Almost everything can hurt us if we over-indulge. They may not all immediately hurt us but this didn't immediately hurt anybody either. His hospital trip and treatment were all precautionary according to the article. But I understand the point you're making and with this particular item, it probably would be in the best interest of the manufacturer and retailers to make the warnings more noticeable and market the product differently. Even if the product is 100% safe and the warning is entirely precautionary, it would just save them a lot of headaches and negative publicity in the long run.

That's a fair argument. Maybe put the warning on the front and back of the packaging and in a manner that calls attention to it. I don't have a problem with that. I just think there's a point with anything where it's reasonable to say "we provided instructions for proper use and warnings against improper use" and have the expectation that the burden then shifts to the consumer. Whether or not this particular product achieved that point is debatable so that's probably enough to warrant them making a better effort to get the warning noticed.

I'm a big fan of the reuben sandwich and would probably give this a shot but it doesn't appear to be available at the local store. Such is life.

But if there is a responsible and safe way to use them, do you agree that nobody should be allowed to have them just because you don't agree that they should and some people may choose to not use them responsibly and according to directions? That's the difference for me. There are many prescription and over-the-counter drugs that do good things for many people used correctly that get abused and used incorrectly by many other people for personal satisfaction. Should all of those drugs be removed from the market and taken from those who use them responsibly so that those who don't can't have access to them?

I found a source for larger containers (3.76 liter) of the refined coconut oil for a much more reasonable cost per liter than I can get it at the local store or even on amazon. Turns out they do have one at the local store that's the refined stuff as well. It's a tad costly at $12 for a 400 gram jar but I think I'm going to spend for it and do a test run to make sure I like the result and that they'll do what I want them to do before getting the large container.

If I'm not mistaken, the dark Jamaican/Martinique combo was the solution for replacing the Wray & Nephew 17 year that was the key ingredient in the original Mai Tai. When the W&N became scarce and eventually unavailable other than in private collections, it forced finding a workable substitute. I claim no expertise in that area though, I just happen to be fresh off of a thorough reading of a couple of Beachbum Berry's books and Martin Cate's book and I'm pretty sure I remember that being the case regarding the Martinique rhum in the Mai Tai.

Savoury glazing is easy. Gelatin, agar or a combination of the two all work, with agar or the combo (which allows for a less brittle gel than agar alone with better stability at warmer temps than gelatin alone) being the best bet for room temp or slightly warmer. Gellan works and you can heat the finished product without melting your glaze. Gellan has really good flavor release and a clean mouthfeel so I like it even for unheated items but it's not generally as easy to get as gelatin and agar unless you order online. As with gelatin and agar, you have the option of combining low and high acyl gellans in various ratios to get the gel texture you want. Crispy savoury glazing without sugar may be easy as well but somebody else will have to chime in with how they do it. It's not something I've ever done or even attempted.

I think that one might work. Slightly bigger than I had in mind but not by much. The price is certainly right.

Good idea! I have some hobby grade molds. They're not hearts but I can use them to test how the meltaways release and then acquire hearts if I'm happy with the result. Dusting the mold with 10x should be fine if needed, they get dusted with it eventually anyway. Take the idea and run with it. Even if I were inclined to be greedy with it, which I'm not, I'd be hard pressed to convince anybody that molding chocolate was my own unique idea. Nope, not as far north as Pickle Lake. Sioux Lookout, actually. Still about 70 km north of the trans-Canada connecting T'Bay to Winnipeg though. No Value Village either but I'm going to give pastrygirl's idea with the hobby grade molds a shot. That's the exact mold I found on amazon that I thought would be perfect but in the comments someone asked about piece size and the responses all seemed to agree that they're less than 1/2" x 1/2" each. A little smaller than I had in mind.

You go to what most people think of as Northern Ontario and then drive northwest about 1,000 km or so. If you draw a line between Winnipeg and Thunder Bay I'm about halfway-ish between the two but further north.

Yep. And I did a search of their Canadian online store... no such critter to be found. It's ok, I have a little time to look around. I'll figure out something I can work with or just scrap the idea and use another shape.

That's it. I think there was something to do with the ingredients too though. Something about the rose water and the cucumber representing the namesake characters.

I like that one. Their Eeyore's Requiem is a good one too. Edit: I don't recall the rose water disappearing in the mix, I'll have to try it again. For some reason, I seem to remember there being a joke hidden in this one, a little naughty double-entendre. I hope I'm not making that up because I can't seem to find the supporting evidence I was sure existed.

On closer examination, I was less correct than I originally thought I was. They are actually about 1/2" x 1/2" and about 1/2" thick. So now we're at the too small end of the scale. Starting to think the whole "melting hearts" idea for Valentine's Day is going to have to go a different route.

I wanted to mold it in silicone heart-shaped molds but the smallest one I found has hearts that are 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 3/4" thick. I can adjust the thickness by how full I fill them but 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" is too big for a one-bite piece so I probably won't do it in that shape. But just for general knowledge, does it pop out of silicone molds without too much trouble? Edit: Found some that are 3/4" x 3/4". That should work.

I don't think you'll get anybody looking down their nose at a Daiquiri or Mai Tai here.

If you like it, that's all that matters. I used to make the same disclaimers when posting here until I finally realized I don't give a flying fork about someone else's approval. So now I tend to think more in line with that old Starkist tuna commercial... I don't want cocktails with good taste, I want cocktails that taste good. Of course, quite often they can be both.

Wanna trade? It's -40 here and I'm not feeling the urge to bake anything so I'm fine with it being warm.

I don't have plans for anything special for New Year's eve, food or activity. New Year's day is going to be the 12 Hours of College Football. Still deciding on some sort of snack to munch on while I bounce between the Peach Bowl and Citrus Bowl (and an occasional Outback Bowl score-check) mid-day. Then it's a pot of chili and jalapeno cheddar cornbread to accompany the Rose Bowl. The Sugar Bowl starts late enough that I probably won't be doing much in the way of eating by that point. Most likely a beer or two tomorrow then water the rest of the time... football is going late and work comes early on Tuesday. Trying to convince myself to make a tiki drink or two tonight to welcome the new year by ending my shame at still not having used the tiki mugs I bought last summer. When I was a youngster, we used to put a jar of mustard and a jar of grape jelly in a crockpot until it melted together then tossed in Little Smokies and let them go on low. That way we could just grab a few whenever we wanted and they were always hot. I've made it a few times with the addition of dried chili flakes or a chopped habanero or two. I've never seen the Little Smokies where I live now and I didn't enjoy it as much when I tried it with meatballs so I haven't had it in many years.

That's exactly where I stand on turkey. Nothing I actually dislike about it but don't love it enough to want to ask for it either. My late wife loved turkey so she'd do them for Thanksgiving, Christmas and sometimes Easter if I didn't complain. If I had complained, she would almost certainly have done something else because that's just the type of person she was... so I didn't complain. With all she did for us, eating turkey with a smile on my face a few times a year so she could enjoy it instead of feeling bad because I didn't really want it was easy.

Yep, that's the plan. I remembered you posting about using it for the meltaways and being really happy with the result so I was already going to do that when I decided to ask about using meltaway as a filling.

Thanks! I was going to use the EZtemper silk whether I shell them or not so I'll just shoot some of it in a couple shells before I frame the rest and see how I like the result. I mainly just asked in case it was an already known bad idea but since that's not the case... a testing we will go. As soon as I get my coconut oil, that is.

How difficult are these to handle if you don't coat them in powdered sugar? With the commercial versions, you have to go from wrapper to mouth without much hesitation or you get messy fingers but it's doable. Is it the same with these or do they really need that coating? I'd like to pipe it in shells but I have a feeling that would spoil the meltaway effect.

Christmas dinner for one - I have a hunk of beef in the sous vide tank that will be accompanied by either potatoes of some sort or mac and cheese (gonna call an audible on that one but leaning towards the mac) and brussels sprouts. I grabbed a nice baguette from the store because baking wasn't in the plans for this morning and Anna N's occasional pictures of her leftover beef sliced on a baguette have been calling my name for quite a while now. And now that the store won't be open again until tomorrow, it occurs to me that I forgot to grab horseradish... so that will be a small visit from the Ghost of Christmas Disappointment. The older daughter gave me a nice selection of import and craft beers so I'll look through those and see if any sound like they'd work with the meal. My original plan was to pay homage to Christmas Story and make some North American-ized Chinese takeout dishes and have a tiki drink or two but laziness won the day so that isn't happening.

Thanks everybody. I don't need a large amount, at least not for now, I just needed to verify that I should use the deodorized stuff. The ~400 gram jars I can order from amazon will be plenty to get started with if there's none at the local store.