xxchef

I'm a seasonal candy maker, part by choice and part by necessity. Our candy season runs from October through the winter holidays (usually New Years). 2011 was a phenominal year for us, demolishing all previous years' sales records. We're a 2-person operation and I was hand dipping up to 1000 pieces and going through as much as 50 lbs of chocolate a day using only a small microwave and a 4 lb temperer. It was too crazy. Naturally, my mind turned periodically to some of the nice melters, temperers and enrobers that I've seen and have been discussed elswhere on EG. I've got a pretty good handle on my needs and budget and am hoping to make a first stab in the mechanized direction with a small temperer/enrober. My figures indicate that it should only have a 1-year (3-month, actually) payoff at current production levels (which I certainly expect to increase!), costs and prices. Sounds like a slam-dunk but still I hesitate. What am I not thinking of?

Yeah, I noticed that there are only about 80 exhibitors listed for this year but many are just the companies I need to see like Hilliard, Savage Bros, Tomric etc. Good to see few big names like Barry Callebaut will be there too. Probably 25 or so exhibitors I'm really looking forward to talking to and that sure seems like a lot right now as I plan my visit.

I'll be making the 2000 mile trek from AZ to attend this show, shopping for some equipment and misc. back-of-the-house supplies. Anybody been to this show before? Tips? Who's going this year? Host Note: Click here for the terms under which this event information is posted

Try making it with a good fresh goat cheese instead of cream cheese. The tang will lift the flavor out of the doldrums and counter some the over-sweetness common in CC frostings. Pick a firm (well-drained) one and you might even get by with less sugar.

Hot peppers/chiles make great jams and jellies. Jalapenos and Habañeros are my two favorites to use. You do have to add pectin though as there is not enough in them to make a good gel.

Perhaps I should have said I wouldn't hesitate to feed it to my dogs and cats, but they're used to such things. I know canine/feline digestive systems are way different then we humans but Oh Lordy, you should see the things these guys choose to eat, despite having all-they-can-eat free-choice kibble and other goodies. There's a decomposing down cow about 2 miles from here that the dogs think is the greatest buffet around. They're still bringing home parts home more than 6 months after they first discovered it. I could go on, but won't. Haven't needed a vet yet. Good thing too because it costs us $135 just for him to step out of his truck on a farm call.

I would add that, at least according to our health department, that 4 hours is supposed to be during the entire existence of the food item in question (cumulatively, from the time it died until it is consumed), and realistically, one can't know the temperature history of a piece of meat unless you have killed and processed it yourself. In other words, "better safe than sorry". It is still probably OK to give to the dog or cat - so not necessarily a complete loss.

About 30 years ago I worked in the kitchen at a nursing care center in RI. Split Pea Soup was on the menu one day but we didn't have any dry split peas, ham bones or anything I could find close to what I needed with which to make it, so I told the head cook I was running out to the store to buy a few things. He said "Forget that." and instructed me to open a bunch of #10 cans of canned peas, puree them and add some diced (and I swear to you this is the truth) Spam. I was a part-time nobody so I did what he told me. It was truly disgusting but a lot of people ate it and nobody complained. That's probably the scariest part of the story.

We eat a lot of meat and I'm a completely untroubled omnivore... but only because I've taken steps to address my previous ethical and safety concerns by raising, slaughtering/butchering our own animals. We breed and grow beef, pork, goat, chicken and duck, sometimes rabbit etc for personal consumption. I know what they eat (no growth hormones, antibiotics etc), how they live and eat (mostly free-range), I know how healthy and well treated they are (we are Certified Humanely Raised and Handled for our dairy works and apply those standards throughout our operation). As far as environmental and sustainability concerns, we live in an arid high-desert region where it is a much more sound practice to raise animals on the range than it would be to try to grow crops or vegetables. I have a big kitchen garden and it is probably the least sustainable part of our lives (we're even off-grid and generate all of our own power mostly from solar and wind sources) because of the large amount of water we have to regularly apply. While our few heritage-breed cattle are out on their own, living modestly off the range, the amount of horticultural production necessary to replace their food-value would be infinitely more damaging to the land. Nope, no regrets. As a matter of fact, it feels pretty good to have the high ground. Now if the Prius only came in a 4-wheel drive, 1-ton truck version I could REALLY be smug!

Good report John. Thanks. Bummer about Roscos, they sounded really good!

Mine is similar but add minced carrot and celery and some fresh herbs (parsley, thyme and summer savory especially) to the livers/butter/cream, fully cook them and reduce the liquid a bit before pureeing. I like a little sherry or Madeira in addition to brandy for the booze. Fine sieve then pack into ramekins and chill (no further cooking required).

I'm bumping this up again because... a)The last update here was in 2004. A lot has changed in 7 years. b) I am heading off to CT next month for a few days expressly for the the purpose of hitting the best hot dog joints in the state with a few friends. c) With the Fourth of July/Independence Day right around the corner, who doesn't want to talk about great hot dogs? One of the big changes to the CT hot dog scene has got to be the release in August of 2010 of the "A Connecticut Hot Dog Tour" DVD. In it, a number of the CT classics (several mentioned up-thread), as well as some newer hot dog stands are featured including: Rawley's Drive-In (Fairfield) Weiners on Water (East Haddam) Bobby's Place (Old Lyme) Capitol Lunch (New Britain) Top Dog Hot Dog (Portland) Glenwood Drive-In – (Hamden) Frankies – (Waterbury) The Dawg House – (New Britain) Super Duper Weenie – (Fairfield) Now, I know there have got to be a hundred others scattered across the state and some have got to be as good, if not better (how'd they miss Swanky Frank’s anyway?) but I haven't been back to the state in 20 years. I need some fresh intel. Help a fellow dog-lover out!

They were NOT kidding. Haven't been back in 12 years, not planning on it either. Who needs the grief? Make a good story, though.

Try Murphy's Oil Soap. Good stuff.

None of their damned business, I say. While soup may not be the highest and best use of a vine ripened beefsteak tomato, it certainly beats the heck out of letting it sit until too soft and over-ripe for anything else because of over-abundance and THEN using it in a soup. Reminds me of one Thanksgiving when we were staying with relatives. 9am and everybody else is still asleep so my wife and I start making the big mid-day holiday meal for the 10 of us (we were supposed to just be the guests but we cooks know how THAT goes). It took some scrounging around to find things but we managed. I guess the smell of the turkey woke the rest up eventually and they plopped down to watch parades and football on TV while we kept at it in the kitchen. Mealtime: Nice spread (if I say so myself), Turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, some veggies etc - the classic feast. About half way through eating my brother-in-law says, "We didn't have any potatoes. How did you make the instant mashed ones taste like real?" My wife and I look at each other and she tells him "Yes there were potatoes. We found them way in the back of the fridge, in that bottom drawer". The whole table got dead silent and finally my Sis-in-law says, "Oh NO! You used THOSE potatoes!!!???" "Uh, yeah", I reply "Uncle Clyde gave those to us months ago. We were SAVING those for SOMETHING SPECIAL!", she came back. Well, truth be told, we could have made a lot more mashed pots for the meal if we'd not had to throw out so many, and cut off so much bad from them. Sometimes saving for "something special" is short-sighted and down right waste full. They should have made potato soup from them long before that day and it would have been a far better homage to uncle Clyde's hard work then letting them rot.

"Half Baked Chicken". Please, I'd like mine fully cooked.

I once saw an "emergency" brown sauce I'll never forget... Water, soy sauce, cornstarch, boil, serve. At least it was on meatloaf, not tri-tip.

Two I made last summer and were very pleased with... Chocolate Chipotle (smoked red jalapeños) and Chai Tea (cardomom-spiked sweet milk tea). I added slivered candied ginger to one batch and it was very good that way too.

Oooooh Noooooo, andiesenji! In a restaurant/catering situation you also have to be careful of cross contamination of raw/cooked foods and potential allergens. Don't want to be getting shellfish in the chicken or peanuts in the potatoes. Where I worked we kept the containers on the back of the flat-top or griddle so it was close to simmering all the time and the water was changed often. That kept things pretty clean and sanitary.

I don't use spoon rests. Never have liked them. Kind of like pot holders to me, I guess. If I'm just cooking for a little while or only a few things I'll grab a sheet of ~10x10" patty paper (Kabinet Wax), or maybe several if I'm working at the stove and the mixer and the work table. If I'm really cranking a bunch of stuff I'll borrow a method from some of the restaurant kitchens where I've worked: a steam table sauce insert or 2-qt liquid measure filled with water. It keeps the utensils clean and ready to go between different dishes so I may only need one set of tongs, one of each type of spoon etc., instead of one for each pot/pan.

Peanut oil works great.

We do a lot of perishable product shipping (cheese most of the year and chocolates October through December). We ship in insulated containers (1"-1 1/2" thick stryo lined cardboard boxes) with gel ices and styro packing peanuts. We use mostly UPS and some USPS. I hate that USPS priority does not have guaranteed delivery dates but love that you can get free shipping materials (though not insulated boxes), and seems to get between anywhere in the continental US in 3 days or less. I love that UPS includes base insurance in their rates and will refund shipping charges if it doesn't arrive when they say it will (and also that they will pick up at our very rural business where the PO will not and the nearest PO is a 30+ minute drive). With any shipper there is a balancing act between getting it there fast and keeping it light. You can go fast with little thermal protection or slower route but have to use a lot more insulation and cool-paks, which weighs more, which costs more. Sometimes one way works better than the other. In my experience we've had more trouble with packages sitting in the sun on someones porch all day after delivery or sitting in the post office waiting for pick-up for several days than we've had with actual shipping time. No amount of quality packaging can make up for that kind of abuse/neglect so we're really good about notifying our customers exactly when/where/how their package is scheduled to arrive so it's not our problem if they mess up. In the end you HAVE to pass all your shipping costs on to the customer or you'd do better to sell locally. If you have done everything in your power to keep the costs down (bulk purchasing of shipping materials, commercial rates from shippers, comparison shopping/negotiating of rates between carriers) then set your prices and let the customer decide if it is worth it to them to pay what is necessary to get the product to them in ideal condition. You don't need the headache of the added work/time/expense for shipping only to lose money on the deal too. Last words: Cultivate customers close to home first; ship perishables as a last resort. Ship only on Mondays or Tuesdays to avoid weekend complications (and watch out for those pesky Monday holidays and other "off days" for your chosen shipper). Remember... most shipping insurance will not cover spoilage or deterioration of perishable products only replacement if the package is completely destroyed or lost.

I read further along that you have already sampled the mustard but if you have some left (or for the next person) here's two low-tech, non MC ideas... 1. Try draining it a little. Super-fine cheese cloth (called butter muslin) might work but a coffee filter would probably be better. Maybe drain half of it and scrape the residue (retained mustard) back into the rest to thicken? 2. Make another batch, draining the seeds before grinding and combine. That should get you at least half-way thick. Good luck.

Was given a year's subscription of this report as a gift several years ago. Didn't care for them at all back then and only read a couple of them before giving up altogether. I always felt like the whole thing was full of too much hype, like listening to a used car salesman puffing up a deal. Made me want to keep my hand on my wallet and take a shower after reading it.

"Mise en place" is more than the practice of having lots of little bowls filled with prepared ingredients... it's a culinary state of mind. It's the mind set of having everything ready that should be ready where and when you need it. It is the only way to cook efficiently wether at home or in a professional situation. (and there's nothing wrong with cooking inefficiently if you're so-inclined and have that luxury, I'm just saying...) There is no way to properly do stir-fries, table-side or other a la minute dishes like Caesar Salad, Steak Diane etc. without mise en place, by whatever name you call it. That said, you can't be a slave to it or any other preparation technique. If you're making a stew it would be silly not to get the meat browning and prep the rest of the ingredients while you wait instead of getting every little thing laid out and prepared in advance = typical "mise". "Mise" is also a way of thinking ahead about your cooking in a multi-layer non-linear fashion. For example, if you're making dinner with that stew plus a salad and some herbed yeast rolls it would make sense to do all the veggie prep for the stew and salad together; to clean and chop the herbs for the stew and rolls at the same time.