curls

Thank you for the suggestion but I don't remember seeing the salted nut roll when I was growing up. Will keep my eyes open for it now and give it a try. Also, waiting for the results of @Tri2Cook's experiments. :-)

I am pretty sure the payday has changed or we are having a shared hallucination of how they used to be. I had one a few months ago and it was off from what I remembered -- it was missing that sweet, salty, chewy, crunchy thing it used to have. :-(

Center of a Payday is white and similar to the traditional pecan log. I'd definitely start your experiments with Ruth's recipe.

Jim D can you share what is making the course so challenging? Do you expect each week to be more challenging than the pevious week? Do you need to master the material to work on the next item or are different skills needed for each assignment? If you are willing to post some of your results, that would be appreciated. I am sure everyone’s chocolates look beautiful, even if they don’t all match Andrey Dubovic’s work.

@Kerry Beal, do you get to see photos of the other student’s work or is the teacher the only one to see everyone’s results?

So the white power flowers went rancid but not the other power flower colors? Guess I’ll check mine and get them in the freezer if they are still ok. I haven’t had issues with my colored cocoa butters (and some of them are a few years old). I keep everything in the cool, dark basement. Thanks for the heads up Kerry!

Thank you so much Anna N for bringing this thread back to life (pun intended); I had missed it when it was started. It is bittersweet to read all of your stories and you have prompted me to travel down my own food related memories based in the kitchens of my Omas and my mother. Thank goodness my parents are still with me but they are starting to have some health related close calls. Lots to think about and much to hope for as we all head towards our inevitable end of life. I read an excellent book that is somewhat relevant to this topic, "Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End" by Atul Gawande.

You could make some very interesting moulded bon bons with that technique! No tape needed and some detailed designs.

Any kamado cooks planned for the weekend? Since it is a holiday weekend in the States, I am hoping to do a few cooks. Possible options are hot dogs & hamburgers, steak & chicken fajitas, and steaks. Sides will most likely be done in the kitchen. A few weekends ago I did a low and slow cook for some ribs. I was happy with how they turned out but would have cooked then an hour or so longer if I hadn't needed to clean up and go to sleep. Sometime soon, I hope to do some dutch oven cooking in the kamado. I'll probably start with a chili and work my way up to fish stew and the like.

I always thought it was a dogwood blossom. Now I’m curious and may do some research. @Kerry Beal the pictured turkish delight looks softer than the pieces I tried at the workshop — is your version similar to the texture of commercial turkish delight? Did you flavor it?

Well hopefully @chefmd will join us at our 2019 St. Louis workshop and we can encourage her to do even more with chocolates and confections. And I’ll see if I can get her to come over to my place to take care of chocolate decorations.

Sounds like the perfect time to work on popsicles, sorbets, and ice cream. I just turn down the AC when I want to make chocolates but it's no fun trying to deliver chocolates in the summer. Easy to travel with frozen desserts -- pack them with dry ice.

Yes, that was the Greweling recipe for sesame squares. I found it very easy to cut with a knife but the knife I used was sharpened by @MelissaH and @CRChemist.

And @chefmd was a great help when it was time to decorate my sesame squares.

Prep for tonight’s dinner at Niagara College!

Chocolate bar with freeze dried neopolitan ice cream (from Kerry’s freeze drier). mustard & tarragon ganache decorated with mustard seeds

I managed to get a raspberry croissant this morning— it was even better than I thought it would be and I had high expectations. :-)

Breakfast with amazingly delicious pastries by @Alleguede. I’m hoping to get one of his raspberry croissants before the end of the workshop. Some of the ingredients and candids from the master class. Lunch

I wish you and @Chocolot were here this year — you are both missed. Ruth the bar was filled with a mint meltaway layer. I credit the gorgeous shine on the bars to our talented participants and the EZtemper.

That is a peanut butter & jelly bar that will be enrobed tomorrow. A few of us sampled it — very tasty!

Candy bar class coming up — some of the set up.

Dinner and a bit of Lake Ontario.

I enjoyed lunch at Falafel Bar, a restaurant recommended by @Kerry Beal and @patris. Delicious fried cauliflower and some cigars — ground beef in phyllo with two sauces (a super spicy harissa and a tahini based dip). Followed by some sightseeing at Lee Valley. Hoping they open some stores in the US.

Today’s events a bean to bar talk at Tomric by Brian Donaghy and shopping at Tomric. I think everyone left with a least a few moulds. :-) Everyone who placed a bowl order with @patris, welcomed her arrival at Tomric. The bowls are even more beautiful in person — beautiful colors, with just the right weight and balance! I’m looking forward to using mine. I think a few folks captured photos of the bowl delivery — hopefully they’ll post later.

@Kerry Beal for those going to Tomirc Thursday that are leaving from the workshop hotel, what time do you think we should leave the hotel to get there on time? 10:30 am at Tomiric, correct?