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Sweet Packaging has single layer set up boxes 8"x8" and larger. https://sweetpackaging.com

Nice to see your meals and the menus. I love your photos of the ocean, sunsets, and out of the water boat. 🙂

Anna was everywhere! Didn't know until now that all those great titles came from her but I should have known. Thank you for sharing that. Wishing you and Rodney all the best. I just looked at the list of Advisors and Judges (https://www.pastrycon.com/advisorsjudges). What an impressive group! I hope that you get chances to network and to watch some of the competitions. Sorry, no recommendations for Charlotte but I have heard good things about the area. Looking forward to your posts!

Tried one of the 2024 Summer Olympics chocolate muffin recipes. More details here... https://forums.egullet.org/topic/166869-chocolate-muffin-2024-summer-olympics/

Today I baked Kassie Mendieta's Olympic chocolate muffin recipe. Very, very chocolatey. Will try one after dinner and put the rest in the freezer. Was trying to get a feel for how large a batch these would make. Ended up with 6 regular sized muffins and 6 Texas muffins. I think that the next time that I make these I'll make them all regular sized -- these are quite rich and I am not exercising anywhere as much as an Olympic athlete!

I suggest that you look up the manual for your InstantPot model and follow their cleaning & maintenance instructions. There are a few parts that may be disassembled for a thorough cleaning. https://instantpot.com/pages/manuals-and-resources

Bacchanal Buffet at Caesars Palace — behind the scenes from Bon Appetit. https://youtu.be/DEEEptD36mo?si=FEeCuUL2UWQIXJQg

Good luck with your search @Jim D.. FYI the import issue ordering from Cabrellon should be the same as ordering from Chocolat Chocolat. So far I haven't had any issues ordering from Europe or Canada the businesses have everything in place to export their goods and get them thru US Customs.

Social media is serving up stories about Norwegian swimmer Henrik Christiansen and his love for the chocolate muffin that is available in the Olympic Village for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Several bakers and pastry chefs have tried to reverse engineer this recipe. Based on a segment from the Today show, I plan to try Kassie Mendieta recipe for this chocolate muffin (her website and substack are I Bake Mistakes). Has anyone else seen this muffin in their social media? Anyone else interested in baking this? Let's all share our results here! General information about the muffin and a test of copycat muffin recipes: https://www.today.com/food/recipes/olympic-chocolate-muffins-recipe-rcna165364 Kassie Mendieta's Olympic chocolate muffin recipe: https://ibakemistakes.substack.com/p/the-highly-sought-after-olympic-chocolate photo of muffin from emmymade.com (Emmy uses Kassie Menndieta's muffin recipe):

Thanks for the clarification Jim. Great to have the additional detail -- definitely belongs on eGullet. I'm wondering, would it be easier for you to get a custom 4-piece box? If so, then perhaps you could purchase a new off-the-shelf mold that will be easier to work with and meet your other bonbon making criteria. It is always interesting to see the unexpected ripple effect of our choices. 🙂

Jim, I'm puzzled by your post are you agreeing or disagreeing with my post? I was answering @pastrygirl's question about whether CW2207 and CW1157 produce the same shape and I said that they are not the same and provided the specs and links to those moulds on Chocolate World's website.

Here is a link to the CW2207 it is not the same as the CW1157. The CW2207 does not have a corresponding 1000 series mould. It looks to be a bit flat on the top. https://www.chocolateworld.be/winkel/moulds/frame-moulds/CW2207 Cavity length: 30 mm Cavity width: 30 mm Cavity height: 19 mm Cavity weight: 14 gr The CW1157 is the same as CW2472 https://www.chocolateworld.be/winkel/moulds/frame-moulds/CW1157 Cavity length: 30 mm Cavity width: 30 mm Cavity height: 25 mm Cavity weight: 17 gr @Jim D. not sure if you have contacted them but Chocolate World does make custom moulds. https://www.chocolateworld.be/blog/vormen/exclusieve-vormen Per the linked page, the minimum number of moulds for a custom order is 50.

Ouch! I'm not looking into restocking until autumn. Wondering how much I can charge for chocolates and still retain my customers. Also wondering if there is going to be a wave of closures for the small and mid-sized chocolate shops. 😞

Such a mitzvah. I need to remember these frozen crock pot meals if there comes a time when I can help a friend.

Yes, I went there for dinner and had a delicious meal! I think it was on the final day of the workshop. Would love to go back with a group and explore more of the menu.

Yes, I checked the book preview and book index on Amazon, looking forward to reading the book. Couldn’t you add the mixins using the Creami’s mix in cycle?

Enabler! Couldn’t resist this time; I ordered Dana Cree’s book. 😉

Picked a peck of peaches at one of the local pick-your-own farms. Today's peaches are Ernie's Choice, a very tasty yellow freestone. Also picked a few blackberries and raspberries.

I sampled the mango Fruitero ice cream tonight and am in complete agreement with you. Planning to go to the store tomorrow to stock up on passionfruit and coconut. Will probably pick up some more McConnell’s ice cream too. This summer is made for enjoying frozen desserts.

Stopped by the thrift store at my mom's retirement community and picked up a few things. This fun glass platter for $4. I think that it is for deviled eggs and that is my plan for it. Two vintage CorningWare pieces for $6 each.

You could also go with one of the compressor ice cream makers. They have come down in price and I see several on Amazon around $200. I currently use the Ninja Creami. I also have a Cuisinart ice cream maker, the type that uses a pre-frozen canister. I don’t make large quantities of ice cream or sorbet so these options work very well. If I need to make a lot, I’d look into a compressor ice cream maker. @weinoo posted a link to the one he uses a bit earlier on this topic.

Sale runs thru 16 July.

Well, now I’ll have to try the coconut too! Please report back on the mango and the guanbana.

@JoNorvelleWalker thanks for recommending Frutero, I hadn’t tried it before. I went to Whole Foods today and got the Frutero passion fruit and mango flavors. Also picked up McConnell’s double peanut butter chip and vanilla flavors. When I got home, I sampled the Frutero passion fruit and it is yummy! Nice and creamy with good passion fruit flavor. Will probably return and pick up a few more pints while this sale is running.

Baked a Dutch apple taart last night. Combination of my Mom's recipe and Cees Holtkamp's recipe (https://youtu.be/C5YzHQMxo1w?si=B-u69vcWtWI5Hmin). Thrilled with how it turned out. Spoiler alert for raisin haters -- this taart / pie contains apples and raisins. 😉 pre-bake and pre-lattice after the bake slice!