curls

I'm hoping to have time to bake some cookies. If I do, I'll probably bake almond spritz and chocolate chip. Would like to bake one more for a nice trio but haven't figured out the third cookie type to bake -- maybe mandelbrot.

Ha! That's what I was thinking too. Not sure if it is available in the DC area but I can mail order it from Murray's.

Video about Bordier butter https://youtu.be/b--l_0eMbo8

I use a shaker table and add my inclusions while I am shaking my chocolate filled moulds. All my inclusions are safely "glued" to the chocolate bar and don't come out when I release the bars from the moulds. Also, I agree with @pastrygirl on having two pretty sides to my chocolate bars - mould design side and inclusions side. Maybe figure out how many bars you have to sell to pay for your new moulds. Also, discounts for purchasing larger quantities of moulds, and the time savings of more moulds / fewer batches.

For my hazelnut piece, I like the additional sugar crunch. No room in my shop for a melanger, perhaps there will be one day. Definitely a longer process if you use a melanger.

@Jim D. no melanger, the hazelnut praline was made with a food processor. The caramelized sugar still has a bit of crunch… can’t make the paste super smooth via food processor but previously I bought Trablit hazelnut paste and my paste is smoother than theirs. My bonbon also includes a whole hazelnut, so it is a piece with multiple textures. Yes, I tried the method of roasting nuts & caramelizing sugar as separate processes. So far I like this method better than the traditional one. Nice to get more precise roasting of nuts & cooking the sugar to a specific temperature. Next batch I plan to increase the hazelnuts going from 50/50 to 60/40. May also roast the nuts a bit longer.

Bonbon flavors for November are fig preserves with a port ganache, coffee ganache, and hazelnut in chocolate hazelnut paste. Also dark chocolate bars with candied orange peel.

Making some hazelnut bon bons for my November selection and needed some more hazelnut praline. Decided not to order it this time but to make my own. I'm quite happy with the results! Unless I need a ton of hazelnut praline, I'll keep making it myself. Some process photos:

Maybe it's time to buy a backup creami! 😉

Froze some of my homemade peach pie filling and spun it on the sorbet setting. It turned out great and much more creamy and tasty than I was expecting. May not make any more pies with the remaining quarts of filling… they might all become peach sorbet.

I purchased a spool of guitar wire from TCF a few years ago. They don’t appear to have it on their website now but they do have this kit https://www.tcfsales.com/products/1442-guitar-cutter-tools-and-spare-parts-kit/ Give them a call, they can probably answer your questions and sell you the appropriate replacement parts,

Was at the local Wegmans this week and they had at least three brands of kosher salt -- including Diamond brand.

@Duvel so sorry to hear that your parents celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary ended with stays at the hospital. Is your mother still in the hospital? What wonderful meals you are cooking for your father. I'm sure that they will help his recovery-- delicious meals cooked with love. Thank you for sharing.

I spun a pint of vanilla ice cream and topped it with a spoonful of Trader Joe's lemon curd. Super easy and a nice dessert.

There was a bit to sample but most of it was from the large candy companies (Jelly Belly, Cargill, Wilbur, Callebaut, Gertrude Hawk, etc.) and I am already familiar with their products. Charles Niedermyer from the Pennsylvania College of Technology gave a seminar titled "Artisan Ganaches for Everyday Production" that included a sampling of four different ganache types (classic, classic with sorbitol, vegan, and water ganache). I tried all of those ganaches and am now inspired to experiment with vegan and water ganache. As far as equipment I would love to have an enrober but I've know that for a long time. 🙂

Heading home! It was nice to travel and try out some new restaurants. Will definitely return to Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Lunch at Sprouts Rice & Noodle. Very tasty!

Offcuts meaning things that used to be less popular: ox tails, tongue, etc.. Just gave that case a quick look. I didn't come prepared to cook in my hotel room.

Ha! I suspect that beef will be out of my price range. I'll happily buy their sandwiches and offcuts. And will definitely enjoy window shopping.

Very tasty. And I too was impressed by the aged beef. Perhaps better not to know the price. You know that old saying, if you have to ask how much, it's too expensive for you. 😉

Dinner tonight was at Cabalar Meat Co. I had their steakhouse burger with a local cider. https://www.cabalarmeatco.com/ They had a beautiful case of dry aged beef and a cooler of offal and other interesting cuts. May have to come back and visit their butcher shop.

No worries. I can get bahn mi and Bánh xèo in Northern Virginia. I still might try an open Vietnamese or Korean restaurant for lunch tomorrow. Lots of options in Lancaster even though a lot of places are closed Sundays and Mondays. Mainly I plan to avoid eating at a hotel restaurant. Will have fun looking thru the links you posted.

And they are open Monday!!! Will think of you and Anna when I have lunch there tomorrow!

Cool! I'll check tonight and that may be tomorrow's lunch.

Will plan for that next time. I had forgotten about Lancaster Mike. Do you have and restaurant recommendations?