curls

Thanks Captain and Okanagancook I did not mix it that way — will try it that way next time!

Glad they got the name right. Have they gotten the country right?

Late September cook... first attempt at meatloaf on the Kamado Joe. Turned out pretty well... liked the flavor but I need to work on the texture. Couldn't get a clean slice, loaf fell apart. I'm thinking about adding another egg to the mix the next time I make this -- hoping that will make for a more sliceable meatloaf. Meatloaf served with creamed spinach and box mac & cheese. Yup, may get me kicked off of eGullet. 😉

Baked a chocolate bundt for the office Halloween party. It needs to cool. Tomorrow morning, I'll pour on a chcolate glaze and add some Halloween sprinkles (there were on sale at World Market)..

Ditto. Rob, I live pretty close to Sterling. Definitely let me know if you are going to be in the area, need to check with husband and cat but I think we can put you up in the guest bedroom while you're here.

Brilliant @JoNorvelleWalker -- I google'd and found this Ozark set on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/OZARK-Trail-Hobo-Tool-7-in-1/dp/B00AR8069U. Rob, not really suggesting that this is what you use in your restaurant!

I was going to recommend my flatware but Oneida is no longer making that pattern. How about one of these... I prefer the first one but the second might be nice too depending on your dishes & food. https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/gorham-reg-studio-trade-5-piece-place-setting/1010605156?poc=1041677032 https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/gorham-reg-studio-trade-5-piece-place-setting/1010605156?poc=1041677032

You can have custom transfer sheets made and apply them to your chocolates. Have a look at this link for more information http://shop.chocotransfersheets.com/custom-transfer. There are several companies that offer this service. @Kerry Beal has made her own custom transfer sheets and she has given demos of the process at several of our eGullet Chocolate & Confection workshops.

@Haley not sure if you have already checked into your state and local laws but if you have not, I would definitely recommend that you do that before selling your chocolates. Depending on your state and county you may / may not be allowed to select items produced in a residential kitchen. There are many things to research before selling: business insuance, getting a tax id number, business license, collecting sales tax, packaging, labeling, etc.. Also, I'd recommend that you know the shelf life of your product and include some instruction about chocolate care & shelf life with each box of chocolates. There are always some that want to savor their chocolates and they may not be aware that perservative free chocolates will not last as long as store bought chocolates. Freezing can work well (and there are excellent instructions in Greweling's book for professionals) but I have found that not every bonbon responds as expected to freezing (some lose flavor, some flavors intensify and change the balance of flavors, texture can change, etc.). I always test portion of a batch of a new flavor to see how it does with the freeze - thaw cycle and then note if I should freeze future batches or it this is a flavor that I make within a week of sale. Good luck, have fun, and I hope you enjoy the holiday craziness!

Fascinating! Thank you @Haley.

@Haley they sound delicious. I was expecting layers of flavors for Saturn. How did you decide which flavors you wanted to put in each planet? Just curious about your creative process.

Lovely! @Haley what were the flavors?

Thanks for checking! I’m glad to hear they are still open. Great place for brunch & drinks in Adams Morgan if you want to sample a variety of bourbons.

Wow, didn’t know that Bourbon was closing! It has been a while since I went there but I really liked them the last few times I visited. Thanks for the information.

Chocosphere has many wonderful chocolates to choose from and they sell a lot of it in tasting sizes as well as chocolate making quantities. I sampled many brands and types from them before selecting the Valrhona chocolates that I use. I would recommend trying more selections from Cocoa Barry, Felchin, Valrhona, and eGuittard. There are, of course, many more but that should be a good start. Enjoy! 🙂

That burnt sugar taste of caramilized sugar can work very well in your praline paste. Try it again once your filling is in a bonbon or used with other pastry components and see how you like it. After that, evaluate the flavor and decide if you want the next batch of caramel to be cooked more or less. At this years eGullet Chocolate workshop, many of us in the master class made praline as one component for a recipe. Each group took their nuts and caramel to a different degree of cook. I sampled a few of them as praline and in the bonbon -- the results surprised me -- the praline I liked the best on its own was not my favorite bonbon. The one that I thought worked best as a bonbon was the one I thought was way too caramilized/burnt as a praline. The bonbon that was made with that just under burnt praline had the best flavor -- the nut flavor came thru and the bitter balanced very well with the sweet chocolate. Of course, this is just my opinion & my taste buds. Everyone has their own favorite... there is no perfect thing that everyone will enjoy. Figure out what you like, share, and see how many share your preferences.

Fascinating technique. I was thinking along the same lines as keychris. Melissa is definitely an innovator in decoration and flavors. Thanks for sharing Rob!

I wasn't quite sure the Pioneer Woman floral Instant Pot was a real thing... so I googled and it is real and there is more than one floral pattern available. Wow! https://www.today.com/food/pioneer-woman-new-instantpot-collection-walmart-t137392

Sorry Rob I sure didn’t mean to scare you! Thanks for the link. Looks like a great class! I was wondering if you were going to take the Hasnoot class (it’s the following week). Someday I hope to take a high end pastry class — I should start playing with the pastry books I have! 😉

Found some videos on Callebaut's website about glazing that may be of interest/help to others... https://www.callebaut.com/en-US/chocolate-video/technique/glaze#group-items-wrapper

Rob, I'm not seeing a class on her website for next week... what is the class and who will be teaching it? Hope you have a great time. As you already know, she is a great instructor and has an amazing classroom/workshop.

All on Kerry’s list sound good but I’ll second Kee’s since I have been there and like her chocolates. Also, you may want to visit JB Prince to purchase specialty pastry tools, moulds, etc..

It would be great if we could get demos from Rick Jordan and/or Nathaniel Reid. I would also be interested in behind the scenes tours of the local chocolate shops. Don't know if anyone else is interested but I would appreciate a demo/hands on workshop about sugarwork.

@gfron1 thanks for setting this up — maybe I’m missing it but what are the 2019 workshop dates?

There is a lot of fat. Think about cooking duck breasts or prime rib — it can also be fully cooked and have unrendered fat.