curls

Naaah... A little clever marketing ('hand-crafted!' 'exclusive, very limited edition!' 'heirloom style'), and jacking up the price to about 250% of the cost of the ones that came out right, would have these bad boys flying out the door. There's one born every minute... OK, OK, so you could sell them. That doesn't assuage the misery when, after spending hours making the damned things and thinking they were perfect, you go to pop them out of the mold and they leave behind the top layer of cocoa butter: believe me, I've done it, several times. It sucks. It's not over-perfectionism, it's failure. I throw them away. Wybauw would recycle them into caramels - Black Devil's I believe they are called. You could sell them at a reduced price as irregulars/seconds. I know at least one chocolate shop that does this and they seem to sell really well.

DianaM, so sorry you won't be able to join us this time.

Bob, have you had a chance to figure out the cost for Saturday dinner for guests of the conference attendees?

Once you get to the conference hotel there are probably enough eGulleters with cars that you will be able to get back and forth to the conference events but it would be quite complicated to get from BWI to Woodbridge via public transportation. I would recommend renting a car; I am guessing that the cab fare from BWI to Woodbridge (one way) would be over $100.

The brunch sounds wonderful as is but if you would like to add something I would suggest chopped liver or a noodle kugel. And definitely get the belly lox for Sig Eater. (The belly lox from Russ & Daughters is a favorite of my spouse too.)

I'm around Friday. Depending on the activity, I'll be there.

Kerry, please add the Geerts and Morato books to your piles.

Congratulations on getting the Selmi up and running! Rather sure that you now have a lock on the eGulleter with the most toys.

For a commercial seedless raspberry jam, I recommend Dickinson's seedless black raspberry preserves.

I can bring some molds too. I can also bring my mold scrapper (if we need some of those, the school may have plenty).

I thought Mycryo was cocoa butter just in powdered form. Checked the Callebaut website and it says Mycryo is 100% cocoa butter. So why are people differentiating between cocoa butter and Mycryo?

Playing around with various decorating techniques. Some far more successful than others. The chocolates are a yuzu ganache and a mango rum ganache.

RWood, very cute chocolates. My favorites are the pink hearts. What are the flavors?

The frozen fruit purees should be good for about a year in the freezer. Just remove what you need, defrost that, seal the container well and keep the remainder frozen.

I either use Goya Mango Puree (in the freezer case of many grocery stores) or order it from L'Epicerie (they have a wide variety of purees).

Yup - just remind me closer to the time and I'll do that. Will do. Thanks!

Kerry, if you have the room to bring them, could you bring the Geerts and Morato books to the chocolate conference in March. I would like to take a look at them before purchasing.

Ditto. My vote is for dinner at Stratford.

Allow me to express interest in sugar work, chocolate showpieces and decorating molded chocolates. I also second Chris' interest in interesting ganache flavors.

Bob, thanks for the update! Great that Joe Sofia from Wilbur Chocolate is going to join us. Is Rob Connoley / Gfron1 still planning to do a chocolate showpiece demo / workshop? Definitely would like to learn more about chocolate showpieces and sugarwork. Also hoping some folks will be able to bring their airbrushes this year; I would like to try doing some more with airbrushing colored cocoa butter.

For the 2010 and 2011 conferences, the price of the conference was approximately $150 per person (this included use of the facility and some meals). Reports from previous conferences: 2011 conference (Niagara on the Lake, ON) 2010 conference (Gaithersburg, MD) 2009 conference (Niagara on the Lake, ON) (edited to add links to the previous eGullet Chocolate & Confection conference reports)

dwg, thanks for the reporting back! Sounds like you had a nice visit. Glad that you tried Woodberry Kitchen and enjoyed it.

Similar to Annabelle.... Shelf liners everywhere, the cross hatched mesh ones that allow for some air circulation. Everyday glasses upside down; mugs right side up. Stemware, crystal and specialty glassware in the china cabinet or behind the bar (in cabinets) right side up. Don't know what my reasoning was but that is what feels right to me. Never really thought about it until now; I am curious to see if I change the layout now that I am thinking about this!

Nice chocolates, congratulations Prabha!

Eleven Madison Park cookbook and a Silpat (full sheet pan size).