tikidoc

Will do, but I never got the original, so afraid there will be no comparison.

The Home version is out - anyone else bite at the $300 off? Mine arrives Tuesday.

I’m going to be at a professional meeting being held in National Harbor this weekend, and would like to try to get in a great dinner Saturday evening. Does not need to be fancy (cheap is actually great!), just really good and close enough to the meeting that it’s not a huge hassle to get/park there. Love just about any cuisine except chain restaurants!

I’ll see if I can talk her into it! And just a quick mom brag, she will be off to William and Mary in the fall!

I’ll check and see if Maddie wants to try to go up for an abbreviated trip, but likely we will be waiting until next year.

Damn, they finally released the graduation date for Maddie’s HS class, and it’s the 17th. Looks like we are out this year.

Yup, that was us, but the credit for that one belongs to Gaylene - we used the leftovers of her pipeable raspberry pdf, which was amazing. The cookies were the thin lemon cookies from Trader Joe’s, which are one of my favorite store-bought cookies. We decided to use up leftover fillings on the last day, and we also enrobed some caramel on TJ’s speculoos (another favorite cookie), which were also nice.

I didn’t take many pictures, but a partial list of things I learned this year: 1. Making colored cocoa butters. Looking forward to experimenting with this. I like color. 2. Painting molds, and the tip of using nail art tools to do so. Opens a whole new world of decoration. Tools from Amazon already arrived, a big set for under $10. 3. Bernie’s sponge toffee. Yum! Will definitely try this. 4. Leaf croquant. Willow, Gaylene and I (I was pretty much a go-fer and observer both times) tried this several years ago in Las Vegas, and although the flavor was good, the texture was not right. Willow really nailed it this year. It appears that the problem may have been doing it on a marble surface last time, which lowered the temp too much/fast. It was done on the metal counter this time, and the ingredients stayed fluid longer, allowing for better mixing/lamination. I have granite countertops but plan to try it on a full sheet pan with a silpat, sitting on a wood cutting board. I’m thinking this one may also be do-able.

I’ll have a car and my kid but will be happy to help with transportation to and from hotel.

I’m interested in the small bowl.

Awesome, sounds fun.

I haven’t seen anything about the usual teaching sessions on Friday - will we just be doing work on your own stuff on Friday, instead of formal classes?

I’d be interested in some. Don’t need a lot, but I’d be in for up to a kilo, assuming it’s not going out of date soon.

I used this recipe. The flavor was a little sweet for my tastes but the family loved them. Might cut back on the sugar a little next time. Also the kids request slightly less dark. I like the caramel flavors, the kids prefer it a bit less pronounced. Overall, I was pleased though. No white asses.

It will be a total of 2 for me - me and Maddie. Will be visiting with family but none coming to workshop.