curls

Thanks for the Firefly reference. Thought that was what you were doing earlier. ;-)

For those of you interested in the melter that Kerry crammed in her suitcase to take home for a trial run, I found a video/advertisement for that melter. At about the 30 second mark you can see the melter in relation to a chocolate mold. Also a link to Croquade's US website http://www.croquade.us/chocolate-machine.html. Looks like this group in Delaware is a reseller and they have more details about the melter http://www.croquade.com/la-chocolatiere.

Found a bit more information on the melter and posted it in the topic about your trip to Belgium.

A melter or three with an EZTemper will mean no more bowl juggling at all.

Indeed! There is not much space between the cooktop and the bottom of the microwave. If you can do without the cabinets that are currently above the microwave, you can move it up quite a bit.

Sprite!??? In a negroni? Scary! Very glad they were out of it!

Thank you for all the pictures! Glad you found that electronics shop. Everywhere you go, you provide exceptional customer support for the EZtemper. Very nice to see the menu -- now I know that at least one place in Belgium has ice cream desserts like they have in the Netherlands! I'm surprised to see them selling bloomed chocolates. So many beautiful and yummy looking things! Did you pick up anything at the cheese shop? Hope you are enjoying yourself on this trip. I'm sure Anna would like you to enjoy a few more plates of mussels. ;-)

Would be great to have you back on eGullet and to see what you have been doing.

Sorry about your car but thanks so much for sharing your trip with us. Hope you get into your own restaurant space soon!

Congratulations @Mmmpomps!

Recently purchased a small raclette grill -- gave it trial run for dinner tonight. Served raclette cheese, grilled onions, tiny potatoes, and cornichons. Enjoyed with a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc. For dessert Instant Pot cheesecake and homemade raspberry sauce. I think I am good on a calcium for a few days!

Interesting! I did not know about Valrhona's passion fruit and strawberry varieties -- will have to check them out. I do like their hazelnut chocolate, Azelia, but haven't found it to add much more havelnut flavor to my gianduja & feuilltine bon bon -- maybe because I am already adding additional hazelnut paste. The Azelia is wonderful for munching & would be very nice as a bar with hazelnut inclusions.

Canned some tomatoes this weekend using the Tomatoes in jars recipe from Vivian Howard's "Deep Run Roots". Looking forward to making some of her recipes that call for these tomatoes. Have enough tomatoes to can some more tomorrow night.

Not a great tomato harvest but far better than last year's. Last year I had a visiting squirrel that was in love with tomatoes and ate most of my crop. :-( So, I augmented my harvest by visiting a local pick-your-own farm. They had tons of tomatoes to pick at $1 per pound, delicious raspberries, and some sweet white corn.

Such an adorable teapot! :-)

@Franci I like the way things are set up on your website and am enjoying your videos. Best video watching experience is from your website (as it should be). If you watch the videos from your website you can see the ingredient list while your are watching. The only things that I would add to your website are a link to all your videos (keep the recipe link with the embedded videos) and a printer-friendly version of your recipes.

Congrats!!!

@Kerry Beal I haven't seen any more caramel... did you perfect your recipe?

Does Chef's Warehouse or Albert Uster carry the supplies you need? Perhaps you can find out who is supplying your local bakeries and see if they will setup an account with you? Have your tried freezing your hazelnut pastes and pistachio paste? I freeze all my nuts and nut pastes and have not had any problems with them going stale or rancid. If you are willing to come into the DC area upon occasion... I could possibly split some of my stock with you. PM me if you want to figure something out. @lebowits may also be able to help.

@Franci wishing you all the best with your business expansion & move. Thank you so much for sharing with us! Looking forward to being able to order your cakes!

Butter & sugaring the molds and using technique 2 might get you a good crust & custardy insides. I think the idea is worth a trial. They are fabulous when you get all the textures right. I have never made one but did buy a perfect one once and it was amazing -- that is when I finally understood what all the fuss is about. :-)

Kerry, they look pretty good. What are your thoughts on the two trials?

New recipe from a friend of mine. She calls it a blueberry flan -- it is a cross between a pie and a tart. I wonder if at some point this recipe used fewer blueberries and called for being baked in a flan pan. It most definitely is not what I think of as a flan but it is very tasty.

Thank you for the pictorial. I was wondering why you wanted that mini griddle when you have so many pans and griddles. Now I know -- it is just because you wanted to. Enjoy!

To clarify one point -- I am not removing the shells from the mold to test that they will release. I use clear polycarbonate molds & look at the bottom of the molds for indicators that the chocolates have contracted from the molds.