chocoera
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Posts posted by chocoera
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hey chocolate lovers!
so....i'm going to bite the bullet and buy a tempering unit for christmas season. currently we use 3 table top mol d' arts, 2: 5 lbs and 1: 10 lb. the unit i'd like would be a 10 lb at minimum, if i could go up a little more i would, but not sure how big they get before they get "massive"
anyone have thoughts on where to buy a unit and what brand works best for a professional kitchen? we currently temper every day and sometimes several times a day depending on production schedule, so i'd need one that's pretty reliable and keeps a good temper.
thanks for thinking about this!!
PS- if someone has one they don't need because they are upgrading in size, let me know!
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love those port truffles bob!
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i would just like to say "kudos" to bob who is working like mad on this
way to go! -
i really hope to come! once you nail a date and i can give a better answer...but these conferences are always great and this time i'll get a flight for late sunday
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thanks for the tip kerry, i will contact them, and i will bring some odds and ends as well if anyone is interested
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remember last year when we were talking about molds or pieces of equipment, favorite spatula etc with each other? and we thought "huh, we should try to do an eG farmers market of equipment next year...." so, didn't know if we still thought we'd try to do something like that?
very casual, but bringing molds you don't use anymore or the size isn't right for you etc (hobby or commercial grade) and maybe you have a ton of transfer sheets and you don't like one particular style anymore, infared (sp?) thermometer or tempering unit you don't use anymore.....anyway, didn't know if that was of interest to anyone? cookbooks are like my novels, and used equipment or molds is more exciting to me than going clothes shopping...yes...for real
we could do a swap/market during social hour/night or over lunch in between sessions..and on that note, does anyone know of a good site to get a tempering machine from? i normally temper by hand with the seed method with 2 smaller and 1 lg mol d' art, but was looking at a machine to speed production time to use in addition to us tempering by hand....was hoping for a machine to do at least 10 lbs of chocolate minimum...larger would be considered too
i saw a choco TT, a semi automatic temperer...looked cool, but open to anything, or if anyone has one they want to sell, i'd be great with that too! let me know what ya'll think!
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some of the items we've made for the store lately
chocolate cupcake with caramel sauce inside, salted fudge icing, and caramel cage
oreo snowcap: a request by a customer to turn the "oreo fluff" dessert into something a bit cooler, oreo crust/starbucks liquor mousse, rough chop oreos, white chocolate cream and chocolate covered oreo ontop
roses nutty cheesecake: an employee wanted this one: chocolate crust with chocolate amaretto cheesecake with a layer of caramelized nuts on the bottom topped with choc glaze with fleur de sel and more caramelized nuts
lemon semifreddo (courtesy of my hero- david lebovitz- ready for dessert!) but made in square molds and cut into rectangles. components: sponge with lemon soaking syrup, homemade amaretti cookies, and lemon curd lightened with cream...and repeat
xoxo to my eGers....keep up the inspirational work
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wow, good suggestions
so, majority is, yes the granita idea is really great, and could be put on a rotating prep schedule so we always have some frozen, because isn't the key with granita is to freeze only a couple hrs till pretty much frozen, but not super frozen through? then you scrape and then could you just keep in the freezer? is that how that would work? as for the passion/strawberry frap, that sounds awesome!!!!!!!!!!!! i'm assuming you have a pretty loose ganache as a base? 1:1 maybe? and just keep in the fridge with a scoop for the drink?
but wow, thanks so much. i was really on the fence with this, but it seems that a cold blended drink is "way in" and if you don't mind, i really like that shakerato term....mind if put that idea on the menu?
and would that be pronounced "shAke- er- Atoh? or shAke- er- ahtoh?" unfortunately i'm very not foreign, exotic or mysterious, so i should probably pronounce it right 
and with the vitamix...is that better than a blend tec? anybody have any used ones they know of? or should i probably buy *sigh* full price/new?
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Hi there! I am most often found in the pastry section, but i have a small chocolate shop in iowa and am having a hard time coping with what to offer in the summer. besides chocolates and desserts we offer a small traditional coffee bar menu (white, dk choc and caramel for hot or cold lattes) (capps, americano, red eye, mighty leaf teas, brewed coffee, chai, "real" hot chocolate and a blended hot chocolate (what we call an arctic chocolate, or frozen hot choc)
well, we don't want to have to get into gelato (or lord, the start up with that!) but thought about going the route of frozen fruit smoothies (no boxed crap) and sadly, my husband thinks frappuccinos are the way to go. do you find that frappuccinos are still "hip" or do you think they are cheesy? to make a frap do you have to buy a powdered mix or whats the big deal with fraps anyway? to do smoothies, we are thinking about going the thermomix route or just getting a blend tec blender...any suggestions are very welcomed!
thanks so much-
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hey kerry- working on some arrangements with kelly for lodging, so i think we may have it covered
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Well, now that chocoera has confirmed her attendance, I'm going to have to upgrade my attendance to add a plus-one!
YEA!
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What's the best airport to fly into?
I think most of us, if not all, flew into Buffalo. There is an airport shuttle that Erika and I took back to the airport for something like $40 pp.
excuse me marmish: i do not see your name on the roster
you better be going!and a shout out to steve and betsy...what gives?
i better see your names on there too, otherwise i will be extremely disappointed. perhaps steve can do a lil' demo on chocolate sculpture?! he did a WONDERFUL and very graceful piece this last week at a class. amazing. -
Speaking of stuff to bring - I'll be bringing my Thermomix for those who want to play with it. Anyone who might think they want to take one home should PM me so I can make arrangements for one to be available for you to take.
thermomix....you can arrange to purchase one? what kind of cash we talking about? can i sell my husband? :0)
or maybe rent him out? he's great with food photography!
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Pretty Definite Attendees
Chris Hennes +1 (+1 states she is coming with or without him!)
Robert M
curls
dhardy123
ElsieD
Darienne
David J
Beth Wilson (-2)
ArtMills +1
chocolot
MelissaH
plus one
Maybe
Edward J
prasantrin
Rick Mogstad
mkayahara
Helen S (soon to sign up on eG)
psantucci
I'M COMING TOO! sorry so MIA lately, opening a new location, so am a bit distracted. don't know if this was mentioned, but i would kill for any info/demo/notes etc on pate de fruit. i think it would be a great thing to discuss in terms of how different acids can affect outcome, different flavors to make that could compliment ganaches, perhaps even in layering the two for truffles (like your cigar truffle right kerry?) or how to do ganache/pate bars...things like that. i don't know about you, but sugar and pectin scare the s*** out me
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I am looking forward to the Roast Beef for dinner again! They did a fantastic job last time!
I am happy with sushi for dinner as you can't get that kind of food in my neck of the woods but if the Italian place has a great Gnocchi I would happily go there!
Oh and I am definitely interested in a caramel session. What would you be able to cover? Brittles, Toffees, fruit caramels, chocolate caramels or chewy vanilla caramel? I would like to develop better technique for inclusions in caramel as that is where I seem to throw things off but adding things too early and burning or adding too late where separations seem to happen.
I do need some guidance with caramel
great minds think alike. i do remember the AMAZING beef dinner! yum-o. and those fantastic little bites that kerry did, i wouldn't mind inhaling those one more time. i am also quite happy with sushi, as i agree with beth, not too much sushi in algona ia...i have to go 2 hrs for any sign of sushi.
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wow...lots of info to sort through! i will google the suggested shows, and am making my husband read all the transfer ideas....i will let you know what he thinks we can do, sounds as complicated as i was expecting
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You know how some cake decorators print edible images for cakes? Is this possible for chocolate transfers? i know of a wonderful company that makes transfers, and even has made logo ones for me...but i was looking into making my own for the mere fact that i have a lot of design ideas, but it might only take 5 sheets instead of 20....
question is, is there acetate paper and a printer and edible ink/cocoa butter that someone can buy to design their own transfer sheets? my husband is a graphic designer so it would be a great fit if we could do some things ourselves for certain projects....any thoughts on that?
also, does anyone have a schedule or know of any chocolate shows coming up? or perhaps any chocolate trade shows or anything related to the industry that is happening in 2011? (besides our awesome eG workshop of course!)
thank you!
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yum-o! thanks
will try to post something near V-day! -
I'm heading out tomorrow evening for Belgium to take a course on making chocolate showpieces at the Belcolade factory in Aalst, Belgium. Puratos - the supplier of Belcolade in Canada has arranged the course and was kind enough to invite me along.
So in preparation for this trip I've been following a jet lag program that I have used with success in the past. It involves dietary manipulation and caffeine restriction, with reintroduction of caffeine at the appropriate times to 'reset' the body clock.
So starting on Wednesday I have done alternating days of 'feasting' and 'fasting' eating mainly protein for breakfast and lunch, and carbohydrates at dinner. No after dinner snacking allowed. Caffeine is allowed only between 3 and 4:30 in the afternoon. Apparently studies have shown that depleting glycogen stores makes you more sensitive to the effects of the caffeine.
Tomorrow - the day I fly - is a 'fasting' day - about 800 calories - and at 6 in the evening I drink several cups of black coffee. In combination with resting at the appropriate time, waking 1/2 hour before breakfast Belgium time, doing a bit of physical exercise and brain exercise, then starting another 'feasting day' - I should be good to go for the start of the course on Monday morning.
I've used this program a couple of times before when traveling to europe and it has made a world of difference to the jet lag I feel. The down side I suppose is the headache from caffeine withdrawal on Wednesday and the boring diet for these few days. This morning - a 'feasting' day I had a 3 egg omelet with onion, mushroom and cheese for breakfast, a steak for lunch and I felt rather yucky all day. It was all I could do to eat the high carbohydrate dinner - I don't think I achieved the kind of calories the program requires for a feast day. Can't wait to get back on a regular varied diet - some protein, some carbohydrate at the same meal. Moule frites I hope will be one of my first proper meals in Belgium.
This will be a pretty much all chocolate and food trip, so I'd love to take you along with me. The plan is to attend the course Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday - with any luck we will hit a mold factory on Thursday - then Friday I'm taking the train to Germany. I'll have a quick stopover in Cologne where I hope to get some pictures of Schneich's chocolate lab - then off to visit friends who collect old metal chocolate molds and produce very large equipment for chocolate factories.
I'm the proud owner of a new Asus eee computer - a tiny little thing (less than 1 kg) with full WiFi capabilities that should allow me to keep in touch as long as I can find wireless. Picture transfer is a bit of a challenge, so I'll probably post a bunch when I get back, but I'll try to download some while I'm away.
I'd love any suggestions about foods I should try - if anyone knows of restaurants in Aalst that are worth checking out I'd love to hear about them. I found lots of threads on Brussels, Bruges and Antwerp, but nothing about Aalst.
Also anxious to hear suggestions for any particular chocolate I should try in Brussels.
so happy for you! and so proud
can't wait to hear all about!
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you guys are great! got lots of reading to do with these suggestions
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There's all kinds of versions of tiramisu out there.
Never been to Italy, so I'm not sure what it is like there.
But, I have made it a lot, and I tend to use an Italian sponge cake that is made with potato starch or pipe my own ladyfingers. Or, when it's a really big event, we get the authentic ladyfingers from Italy.
I use really strong coffee or straight espresso to soak the layers, sometimes mixing with Amaretto (a chef I work for sometimes likes that in it). I made it this way at an event in Pebble Beach, and everyone raved.
I did use Marsala in the filling, which I tend to shy away from, but it worked.
When mixing your filling, be gentle with the mascarpone. Everyone wants to beat it to death, and it will separate if you do that. It will have a grainy texture and look bad.
And I like to use grated chocolate instead of cocoa in the layering, but use it on top for decoration.
Here is one I made for a dinner party, I made the ladyfingers and used them to line the mold I built the tiramisu in.
that is gorgeous! wow!
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finally got something that looks like a mac
i have been jinxed with bad macs...i have tried 8 times..yes, horrible to admit...but me+ macs= suicidal depression.....i used the italian method, i fail horribly with the french method....my sheet pans are very very warped, so don't look to close at the feet....but when i get three more batches to turn out normal, i will invest in pans just for the macs...till then, lopsided macs for me!
reg macs with pink color, lemon italian buttercream and raz jam...
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i personally love hot chocolate ( i blame france) but when i want something a lil' lighter this recipe does just great, especially with a good cocoa. i like e guittard cocoa rouge
2 cups powdered sugar
1 1/4 cup cocoa (Dutch-process preferred)
1 2/3 cups powdered milk
3/4 powdered creamer (can be flavored if you like)
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 pinch nutmeg and cinnamon
Hot water
*sift these ingredients together to get rid of lumps
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and incorporate evenly. In a small pot (or microwave), heat 4 to 6 cups of water.
you can also do this with warm milk or do 1/2 milk 1/2 water, whatever you'd like, but the powdered milk and creamer should make for a creamy drink
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ok, so valentines day is around the corner and i had a request from a very old man for tiramisu. he said he had some in florence that was just amazing...amazing! i was trying to get him to explain what was so amazing, and he just sighed and said "i can't even tell you what it was, it was just amazing" so, yes , that gives me a lot to go on
question being, he wants tiramisu for his wife for valentine's day to mimic the trip they had when they were younger, but i don't know what makes an AMAZING tiramisu. what do you guys think makes one super awesome? i myself barely know the components, let alone ratios and trying to make it "indescribable"
but this man is too darn cute not to try. so....thoughts?also, i would love to make chocolate boxes, or hollow chocolate heart boxes for V-day and have no idea how to proceed. is there a mold for something like that? does anyone know how to make something like that or where i could find a mold for a choc box or a choc heart box?
thanks so much you guys!
Chocolate Tempering Machines
in Kitchen Consumer
Posted
i'm sure that would be smart to consider, not sure on how much room i might need for that? i'd look at both options