curls

Hi Anna! Glad you are going to be able to attend this year. I haven't had a chance to figure out what I would like to work on during workshop time but I'll come up with a few things before I get to the workshop. Will probably practice one or two of the things I learn at the master class. Aside from panning, what would you like to work on? @Kerry Beal Anna (Eat.Choui) mentioned an interest in learning to pan -- does the NOTL college have the appropriate setup for panning?

Found some prepared corn beef briskets (flat -- no points available) at Wegmans for $3.99 per pound. Maybe they'll be marked down further this week.

Very interesting @pastrygirl and the shine on those "chocolates" is impressive! Are you selling these as part of your regular Easter selection?

Bob, you may want to get a few extra bowls -- your students might want to have bowls of their own after your class. ;-)

Very cool idea @patris! I'm definitely interested in a bowl if I can remove the wire for microwaving and the ability to use the pretty bowl for other stuff. Can I let you know which colors I prefer or would it be easier for you to make that choice and have us pick from your selection at Tomric?

@JoNorvelleWalker thanks for the melanger endorsement. Another way for you to think of it -- the only way to get this discount is to also pay for the chocolate workshop -- unless you planned to go to that too, your melanger is cheaper. ;-) Do you use the tilting feature a lot? What advantage is there to tilting vs. non-tilting? What is the smallest quantity of nuts that you have successfully ground?

It will be interesting to see how much the pre-payment for the master classes and the workshop cuts down on the drop outs.

Kerry, please sign me up for the workshop, both of the master classes, and the Saturday night dinner. Do the countertop diamond custom machines work well for making your own gianduja? If so, do you know what the min and max yeilds are? What will these machines cost if we buy them at the workshop? As previously mentioned, will you and Rodney be teaching the master class or will it be someone else?

Thanks Kerry, that would be very helpful for making plans!

Kerry, when do you expect to have the agenda finalized for Thursday and Friday?

Interesting, Valrhona Caraibe is my main dark chocolate for shells and ganaches and I have not had problems with over-crystallization. For me it is a great chocolate to work with -- great flavor, thin shells, and enrobes nicely.

The Bellagio chocolate fountain circulates dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and white chocolate. I suspect the colors in the photo are a tad "off" and the gravy is milk chocolate.

I do believe that @RobertM used one of these for a number of years. Perhaps he will answer your questions.

Kerry, such a beautiful sunrise, thanks for the photo! Glad you’re eating well at work. What did you do for meals before you brought all your toys in? Are you’re coworkers cooking at work too?

You may want to consider getting a standalone vibrating table -- a number of manufacturers make them, TCF has a few https://www.tcfsales.com/products/c72-vibration-tables-remove-air-bubbles/. If you select one of the tables with a grid to the side (and it is the right size & height) you may be able to have the excess chocolate shake into a 3Z temperer. I would also suggest the following -- instead of a new tempering machine: a standalone vibrating table, a melter (great for shaking chocolate into & keeping tempered chocolate in temper), and an EZTemper unit. This combo should be less than $4,000 with all new equipment. Now, if you can locate a used Selmi, that might be an even better solution for your shop. So many variables to consider when making a decision. Be aware that the older Selmis require 3-phase power and that the newer Selmis are built in two different configurations (3-phase and regular residential power).

@PFox if you don't have Peter Greweling's book Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique for the Artisan Confectioner already, I recommend that you get it. It has a few caramel recipes and offers lots of great recipes and food science.

Well best of luck to your daughter and perhaps you will be able to attend the 2019 workshop.

@Haley, welcome! Beautiful and tasty sounding chocolates. Maybe you can join us at the eGullet chocolates & confections workshop?

@rustwood thank you for your comments, you got me to look at the Kamado Joe again. I did not realize that they made so many changes/upgrades in 2017. I just might get the large Kamado Joe instead of the large Big Green Egg! I like the fact that the Kamado Joe is setup with a split grate, has a pull out ash drawer, and has a lid lift assist. Already figured out that we were going with the large -- talking to other class participants and actually cooking on two sizes of eggs made us realize that most of the time all we would need is a large.

This year's Valentine's Day selection: passion fruit jelly & passion fruit ganache, hazelnut gianduja and feuilletine, muscovado salted caramel. Some in progress photos...

My husband and I are considering getting a BGE and took a class today at Dizzy Pig Seasonings. It was a four hour course covering chili & comfort foods. They used a few large eggs and on XL egg. The menu: chili with brisket cubes, tomatoes, and beans mac & cheese smoked brisket (cooked in a drum smoker using the extra brisket from the chili) stuffed baked potatoes pineapple upside down cakes The bacon for the stuffed baked potatoes was cooked on upside down grill grates. Unsurprisingly, each recipe included at least one Dizzy Pig seasoning blend.

The chocolate is a year old and was stored in sealed ziploc freezer bags. I would have hit it with a stick blender but mine broke and I haven’t replaced it yet. Glad to know that this has happened to other people.

So I've remelted some Valrhona Azelia that was extra from another project and even at 45° C the chocolate has small lumps. If I press a lump against the side of the melter (or between my fingers) it smooths out but I can't remove all the lumps that way. For tonight, I poured all the chocolate through a sieve and pushed the lumps thru with a silicone spatula. That solves the problem for today but I want to know, what caused those lumps in the first place? Also, if this happens again, is there a better way to correct the problem? I have never had this happen before with any couverture (including the Azelia) and hope you can tell me how I can prevent this from happening .

@Kerry Beal just checking on the schedule given your last update. Are you planning for Thursday at Tomric, Friday master class in NOTL, and Saturday & Sunday workshop in NOTL? Just trying to get my lodging arrangements set up for pre and post conference.

Definitely, for larger production go with a paint sprayer or a Fuji! Just wanted to clarify that velveting/flocking can be achieved with an airbrush too.