curls

Still haven't had time to open up my broken CSO but found another one at a great price. Still hoping my original CSO can be repaired and then it will be my spare. This company in Canada has CSO's available at approximately $215 USD / $280 CDN - https://www.homecoffeesolutions.com/products/cuisinart-combo-steam-convection-oven-cso-300n1c?_pos=1&_sid=bb587864b&_ss=r

If you set up some watches on ebay you may be able to get a used chocolate melter for $200 - $300. Also look at restaurant auctions.

Yes, I'm hoping it is something easy to fix. Will see if my husband can take it apart and find the problem. In the meantime I'll do some internet searching.

I bought it in 2019. Until today, it has been perfect. Yes, a lot of folks on eGullet like to have backups of their favorite appliances.

Thank you Shelby. I did check Amazon and was happy to see that they are still available. If my CSO is really dead, I need to decide if I replace it with another CSO or get another brand of steam oven or combi oven. Definitely more available now than when the CSO first came out. I don’t like the software issues that I keep hearing about for the Anova precision oven — costs so much more too.

My CSO died today at the start of baking bread. The bread is fine, moved to the oven which was preheated sine I move my bread after it has steamed so the top of the loaf doesn’t burn. The oven lights and clock don’t come on, it doesn’t produce heat or steam. 😞 The electrical outlet is working. Has anyone else had this problem? I’m hoping that my CSO can be fixed. Sadly, I did not purchase a spare CSO.

@BeeZee I understand not wanting to buy them for so much more than previous seasons. I have that issue with zucchini. Some years I grow zucchini but when I don't, I am unwilling to spend more than 79 cents a pound for it (and I haven't seen it for that price in years). Not enough squash growers in the neighborhood because no one is dropping of bags of squash & zucchini in my car or on my porch. 🙂

Interesting, cherries are on sale in Northern Virginia. I’ve been getting nice ones from Wegmans and Whole Foods for 3 per pound.

Anova Chamber Vacuum Sealer, on sale now for $260 with free shipping — probably US only. https://anovaculinary.com/products/anova-precision-chamber-vacuum-sealer?utm_campaign=CVAC

Anova Chamber Vacuum Sealer, on sale now for $260 with free shipping — probably US only. https://anovaculinary.com/products/anova-precision-chamber-vacuum-sealer?utm_campaign=CVAC

https://youtu.be/i3IvXgAMDoI Casa Enrique, Michelin Star Mexican restaurant. Looks delicious. Has anyone eaten here?

Suggestions for your improvements... - pastry cream instead of vanilla pudding - chocolate glaze instead of cake frosting - reading this choux paste topic, https://forums.egullet.org/topic/74731-pichet-ongs-pate-choux/ - reading Chef Eddy's eclair post, https://chefeddy.com/2010/03/choux-paste/

When I have the egg bite molds double stacked, I use a chopstick to raise one side, grab it with a potholder, and then repeat the process for the second side. Coat hangers would probably work quite well.

The recipe is on Ann_T's blog... https://thibeaultstable.com/2009/06/10/almond-cake-from-albufeira-portugal/

I use the IP egg bites mold with this recipe from Instant Pot - https://recipes.instantpot.com/recipe/fluffy-egg-bites/. Instead of using foil to cover the molds, I use the cover that comes with the IP egg bit mold. I have two molds and I stack them on their trivet and cook per the recipe -- steam for 8 minutes, wait 10 minutes, release pressure. I mix all of the egg custard ingredients in a blender. IP has a few recipes that use their egg bites mold: https://recipes.instantpot.com/?coursefilter=&cuisinefilter=&dietfilter=&search=egg+bites&bsearch=Search. The corndog minis look like fun! https://recipes.instantpot.com/recipe/corndog-minis/

If this isn’t the right place for this post, please move it. Found this interesting video about tea and dim sum in Hong Kong.

A video about Guittard chocolate. https://youtu.be/onTNl8V4Soc

Not sure yet which chocolate I will use with the pistachio but I’ll be experimenting with thIs batch of pistachio praline and will report back. Interesting that you add dried fruit to your pdf. I haven’t done that but am very happy with the shelf life on my pdfs. I do boil down the fruit purée to about half to concentrate it and eliminate some water.

Thank you @Jim D.! Pistachio and cherry was my plan. I have some tart cherries that I thought might work well. Waiting for the batch to be done to do tastings with tart cherries vs. morello cherries. Also wondering if this would work well with glace amarena cherries. Have you tried this with pistachio praline? I'm wondering if that would have more pistachio punch than pistachio gianduja. Also considering combining with a raspberry or red currant pdf.

@Rajala and @Jim D. what have you made with your pistachio praliné? I'm starting a batch with your recommended 60% pistachio | 40% sugar with some of the pistachio flour that Kerry brought to the chocolate and confections workshop. Did either of you warm (or toast) the pistachios?

A lot of people at the workshop have taken some of Kalle Jungstedt's online courses and are using his piped crunchy layer or their variation on his recipes or recipes they created. Jim, I hope that they will reply to your query about cookie layers - pipeable and cut outs ( @Haley @Britney @YetiChocolates @Gwbyls @lironp). I found it very easy to pipe Jungstedt's crunchy layer (used the non-nut version) but I did not like it as the bottom layer of the bonbon -- it made for messy bottoms. When I try it again, I will leave room to pipe the crunchy layer and then add a thin layer of chocolate over that to cap the bonbon. I really don't want to bother with making and cutting out cookie centers and adding those to my bonbons.

They look like they will work well.

I use binder clips for chip bags and other bags without zip tops. That should work for your Xochitl corn chips. The GripStics are nice for sealing the large end of pastry bags.

Someone at the workshop sandwiched a red berry pdf in between two cookies and ran it thru the enrober. Just wanted to say that it is one of my favorite chocolates that I brought home from the workshop. I think @Choco Monsterand @tikidocmade these. Simple but very yummy!

I also brought home a Premier melanger from last weekend's Chocolates & Confections workshop -- the 10-pound tilting model with the mico-batch bowl. After I got home, I cleaned both bowls by running them with sugar. The following day, I made a batch of hazelnut praline in the micro-batch bowl. Loved being able to tilt out the product. Two sealed containers of homemade hazelnut praline are now in the freezer, ready for use when I need them!