Darienne

Thanks for the information. I was using a tempering machine, so I just re-tempered the entire amount and all was fine. Thanks. Live and learn...and learn...and learn...

Got it! Got it good. And no, I haven't done it. I did wait. And now I won't ruin Barbara's mold and have to buy her a new one. Too bad. Such a neat idea. Thanks.

Confectionery partner, Barbara, and I own some rather delightful polycarbonate molds, especially the little people mold which Barbara bought from Kerry Beal. I am wondering if I could dare pour boiling hot sugar syrup into these molds to make hard candies. Usually I use the 'hard tack' molds, which are actually quite flimsy although designed for very hot syrup and make lollipops for the children, but I'd like to try making the same candies in these little people molds if possible. Anyone ever try such a thing? Thoughts on the subject?

Quick and to the point. Thanks so much. Back to work!

As embarrassing as this is, I have to get it straight right now. At least it's a first. I tempered a batch of dark chocolate in my Revolation and filled a particular mold with chocolate. Into the fridge, decanted about 1/2 hour later, so far so good. After rinsing the mold out...some tiny bits of chocolate stuck in one cavity...I dried it well. Very well. Used a hair dryer on it to make sure it was really dry. Refilled the same mold, into the fridge, decanted easily...every piece had light brown bloom on it. Question #1. Did this probably happen because the mold was too hot after the hair drying episode? (I completely forgot about letting it cool because we were trying to get out of the house for a dog walk before it got too dark.) Does this scenario make sense? Question #2. Can I re-temper this same bloomed chocolate and use it again in the same mold (cool)? Thanks for answers! I really appreciate all the help I have gotten over the past year.

We bought the Stove Guard and Ed installed it. And it works perfectly. Yep, it does have certain disadvantages no doubt, although we have not done enough cooking yet to encounter them, but already once the stove was left on accidentally and the Stove Guard did its job. I have yet to read the manual and figure out how to work with it except in the most elementary way. I can turn it off completely ...and I don't think it turns itself back on at all.(It does turn itself back on after a power outage. And it resets itself after you leave the room...and it turns off the stove...and you come back into the room and it allows the stove to turn back on. And I can use it with the one minute default. I have no financial or commercial ties with the Stove Guard or the company or the local distributor, but I am going to make sure all the senior organizations in my area learn about this. Oh, there was NOTHING to the installation except that the first time, Ed got it a bit too far from the stove.

Learn somethin' new every day...

OK. That hard. No, the montelimar would never shatter. Not shatterable, so to speak. Nor even breakable. Definitely cuttable.

How hard is hard? The Montelimar was soft enough to dip into chocolate, so I wouldn't have described it as a good 'chaw'. But I wouldn't call it 'soft' either. Hmmm...it was soft enough that one or two of the dipped pieces, being insufficiently dipped, developed little worms coming out of them. That's pretty soft, I think.

He took the words right out of my mouth.

I'm with OliverB 'Cut in half, remove pit, fill cavity with good olive oil (or avocado oil!), add salt. Use spoon to eat, maybe with some bread. And pepper. Still the best way to eat avocado IMO. '

We bought an inexpensive mandolin from Kitchen Stuff Plus in Ontario. It's their brand. Whatever that means. Amazingly it's solid metal through and through, and good enough for our home cooking. Actually DH prepares what he calls the 'mises', so who am I to quarrel? Second use, he took off the teeny tiny tip of his finger. Will he wear a glove? No. Is it a guy thing? He simply says he will not do it again.

Confectionery partner, Barbara, and I have made the Montelimar probably four times now. Each time was a fantastic success! Almost eerie. As in 'when will our luck run out?' However, we did heat the sugars to 155C/311F degrees each time with no problems of any kind. And we did use the entire list of inclusions except for the pears. And we did make it in both the summer and winter. No, I don't mean we are expert geniuses either. IMHO having two people working together makes life much easier, especially when making something like nougat which is so difficult to get out of the bowl with only two hands. I am lucky to have found someone with whom I can work so well. We have a confection date next Wednesday. Hmmmm...nougat sounds good.

Turron sounds so much like Torrone that I googled both words together. From Wikipedia: Turrón (Spanish), torró (Catalan), or torrone (Italian) is a nougat confection, typically made of honey, sugar, and egg white, with toasted almonds or other nuts, and usually shaped into either a rectangular tablet or a round cake. It is frequently consumed as a traditional Christmas dessert in Spain and Italy. There are also some varieties in Latin America and the Philippines. Greweling has a recipe for Torrone which I have never tried, but perhaps others have. I always have made the Montelimar version of nougat.

A bagel so near and dear to my heart. I am Montreal born and raised and although I haven't been to Montreal for quite a long time now...I still long for the bagels.

Welcome to eGullet, Berry Sweeet, and thank you for the information.

Now that's good.

I might mention that one of Santa's elves sent me a multi-tier stainless steel bamboo steamer. Was I surprised!!! To the very core. Some folks like to give surprises. Those folks are truly the very nicest folks! Now to find some ginger to steam. Oh. I know. I have already made a sponge cake in a steamer a la Chinois and now I have a proper steamer and will make another .

Interesting. After spending decades fighting with huge honking blocks of butter, I really prefer the American sticks.

I think he's safe - since he's starting out from France. Oops.

Lovely idea, but the first thing that hit me was...can you take all those items from the States to England? We live in Canada and travel often to the States and there are just some foods which the border guards will confiscate. You wouldn't want that to happen.

Hooray for you Stuartlikesstrudel making your first, but NOT your last, ice cream and hooray for ice cream, and hooray for Paulraphael, my ice mentor.

And another: Anita Chu. Field Guide to Canada: How to Identify and Make Virtually Every Candy Imaginable. Anita Chu aka PastryGirl. Great little book!

Interesting points, Ray. I did speak to the local distributor of the Stove Guard and he tells me the company is working on a gas version but that it will cost quite a bit more money. Yes, the guard is going to cause some problems for some people, that's for sure, but in many cases, the potential for stove fires...which turn into house fires...far outweighs the inconveniences. And you are so correct about the 'disconnect' factor. A friend of mine bought a whistling kettle because she had burned a non-whistling one and almost caused a kitchen fire. Then what did she do? Disconnected the whistle because it drove her crazy.

It's not the timer. It's the motion sensor which senses that there is NO motion in the area. We are buying one on Wednesday and I'll report back to this thread about it. Do look it up and read the literature on it. Very interesting and long overdue. As for the sensor, it radiates to 10 feet away from where it is placed, but can be positioned so that dogs and small children don't have to count as motion makers. We have two big dogs...and they are not the problem leaving the stove on and walking away. The default timer for no motion detected is one minute but it can be set to a much long time period. Then you can set it to override this 'motion/timer' setting and set the time for up to 99 minutes at which time it will turn off. This will not be useful for roasts...but...a kitchen not accidentally set on fire by a forgetful person is worth almost any amount of minor inconvenience. Hey! We don't cook many roasts...maybe one a year. Along with two turkeys perhaps. Helps to be virtual vegetarians. Might also note that we live in the country in the middle of nowhere without city water. 20 minutes from the nearest fire-station which brings a filled pumper truck and over 1/2 hour from the police or ambulance. It's a price we willingly pay. Sorry...I am starting to go on...