tikidoc

Thanks Ruth. I think the lemon curd was part of the Thermomix demo. Was it a fairly standard lemon curd, other than the use of fancy equipment? I have a couple decent lemon curd recipes, so unless she did something unusual, I'll just try mixing in some white chocolate to a batch. By the way Ruth, thanks so much for taking us newbs under your wing. We were both really thrilled with the pretty chocolates we were able to make with your help. Jess

Thanks Steve! I don't have any frames (yet!), so I just lined a 9x9" Pyrex pan with parchment. I am guessing it was maybe 1/2" thick, maybe a little more. When I made it, I didn't have anything to wrap the cut caramels in, so I put them in a sous vide bag to keep them from sticking together. Then I found some paper, and when I took the caramels out of the bag, the suction had caused them to flatten a bit so they were no longer neat little squares. Maybe someone with more caramel making expertise can advise as to what to vary to change the consistency. The recipe I modified (a pretty standard fleur de sel caramel recipe all over the web, I think initially Ina Garten's) had a cup of cream, which I decreased to 3/4 cup, then added 1/2 cup of the jelly. I figured it would make a softer caramel but did not know if I could use less cream successfully. So to firm it up, would I increase the final temp, or just back off more on the cream? And to make it a pipe-able bon-bon filling, same question, increase liquid or decrease final temp, or something else? For anyone who wants to play with apple flavored anything and who wants to use a natural product, this apple jelly is the bomb! They also make a syrup. I have a bottle but have yet to open it. By the way, I think Steve's airbrushed chocolates from his demo may be the prettiest ever - they are the triangle shaped ones in several of the pictures above. Jess

As an FYI, there is a fairly long thread on this (an OT thread) on pizzamaking.com, that has been active lately as well. I made some using their suggestions and it tastes good to me, but I have never had the real deal, so not sure re authenticity. I used Smirnoff 100 proof vodka because you can't buy Everclear here in VA. http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,17731.0.html

I'd love it if we could post recipes from the conference, as a reference. There were lots of things that I tasted and would love to make, but since I could not be in two places at once, I didn't get the recipes. And there were some great fillings that people came up with on the spot, like the raspberry caramel and Bob's whiskey ganache. I'd also love to be able to recreate the blueberry ganache (Chris) and the lemon curd ganache (Kerry). I checked with site admin as to if I should start a new thread or post here, and was told to post here. So, I'll start. I brought an apple pie caramel with me that seemed well received, and a couple people asked for the recipe. This is fairly soft at room temp (dipable), but not runny, so adjust as needed to get the texture you want. I'm still figuring out how to do that. I assume I would decrease the final temp if I wanted to use it as a filling that could be piped when cool? Chocoera suggested that this, with graham crackers, dipped in milk chocolate, would be yummy. I'm thinking maybe with shortbread and chocolate. ½ cup apple cider jelly* ¾ cup heavy cream 5 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon fleur de sel or kosher salt 1 ½ cups sugar ¼ cup light corn syrup ¼ cup water Combine jelly, cream, butter, vanilla, cinnamon and salt and heat until jelly melts most of the way. Combine sugar, corn syrup, water and sugar and heat until it begins to caramelize. Add the cream mixture to the sugar, stir and heat to 248F. Pour. *http://woodscidermill.com/PRODUCTS/CiderJelly.html, this is just cider boiled until it turns into a jelly. I love this stuff on lots of things, like toast, or in a marinade for pork. So, anyone else? Jess

I second both parts of this. I was not on eGullet when Rob was here, but had a blast getting to know him and learning from him over the weekend. Rob, I know you are reading this. Come back!!!

Shelby, I am a relative newbie (I've made some chocolates and candies before but nothing like what we were doing there) and I learned a ton and feel like I can recreate many of the things we did there (probably not the showpiece though ). I brought a friend with me (Heather, see Ruth's post above) who has never made chocolates and rarely even cooks (but appreciates good food). She made some really beautiful chocolates, learned a lot, and had a fantastic time, and is interested in going again next year. She told me that I may have to back her up because her boyfriend was not going to believe that she actually made those gorgeous chocolates! There were several people there (Kerry, Chris, Ruth, and Joe, among others) who were very generous with their time and knowledge, and led us through things step by step. So absolutely, you would fit in. Jess

Agree completely, Chris. I was also quite impressed that several faculty from the culinary school were not only there, but participated in both our instruction and the preparation of the meals. Even the Dean of the culinary program was there, and served and bussed tables! I thought his willingness to help with the scut work set a great example for the students for a strong work ethic.

The fried polenta looks amazing. I need to try it with similar toppings. I'm looking forward to your trip to Central Market. I lived in Galveston for 7 years, and one of the things I really miss is the proximity to the Central Market in Houston. Love that place.

Where are you located? I agree with those who say to start with either a good independent (not grocery store) butcher, an ethnic grocery (particularly Hispanic), or the meat department of a grocery in an area that serves a large Hispanic population. Depending where you are, you could also try to see if there is a local slaughterhouse. Not the kind of place associated with large factory farms, but a place where smaller farmers bring their animals for processing. You should be able to locate it on google, or if you have a farmers market with people who sell meats (another good source) you could also ask them where they get their animals processed.

Just got back as well and I can also say it was a fantastic experience. I learned a ton and had a great time. I am totally exhausted! It was fun to put faces to all the screen names. I have really enjoyed the eGullet community since joining, but being able to meet so many eGulleters really makes it feel like even more of a community. As much as I value the information I gained from the conference, I value the new friendships much more. RobertM, thank you SO much for putting so much effort into the conference, and to all the other long time eGullet members who made us newbies feel welcome. And to anyone who is on the fence about attending an eGullet event (like the upcoming Heartland event), I would absolutely recommend you do so. I have not had such fun in quite a while. If any of my pics turned out, I'll post them in the next day or two.

Oh, the goat kidded this afternoon when I was at work. Two healthy little bucklings. They are adorable. Too bad we didn't get her bred a little earlier, I could have brought milk for cajeta. Oh well, maybe next year. ETA, can't find gelatin.

I'll bring at least a dozen eggs, maybe two. They are quite lovely, some the color of dark chocolate (from the Marans) and some a light blue-green (from the Americuanas). Significantly prettier than my chocolates... I think we have some gelatin too, if so, I'll bring some. Have fun on the field trip tomorrow and see y'all at the meet and greet (and eat)! Jess

Not so interested in eating something labeled "beef filler" either. The problem is that no labeling is required and it should be. I don't object to them selling the stuff, I object to them selling the stuff as ground beef. Just as they have to label poultry injected with a brine solution, they should have to label ground beef with this filler in it. It is not ground beef, it is centrifuged beef.

Jealous about Friday, it looks like a fun day. We will arrive tomorrow evening, in time for treats and WINE (that's for you, Robert). Is anyone thinking about making anything that could require eggs? I couldn't think of anything but the hens have started laying and I have an extra dozen or so of our lovely free range eggs. I have to bring a cooler anyway, so can throw in a dozen if they might get used... I feel sorry for my poor husband, one of our LaMancha does (goat) is very close to kidding, and unless it happens tonight (may well happen, her udder got enormous over the last 24 hours or so), he will be playing goatie midwife. He is not thrilled. Jess

Agreed. As someone new to this whole chocolate making thing (and learning thanks to people like Chris) I can say that the seeding method is really not hard. Use a scale and a microwave and it's pretty easy. The one thing I was surprised by is how quickly the chocolate can heat up in a microwave. When instructions say to go in 5-10 second increments once you are getting close to target temps, that is not an exaggeration. 5 seconds can heat a pound of chocolate several degrees, better to check the temp more often than necessary than to have to toss it and start over.

I love my Bosch Compact, and even though I have an Electrolux, it is my go-to machine for bagel dough, unless I'm making a really big batch.

The crap they feed in the school lunch programs is horrible. My husband, the junk food junkie, and I get into it all the time on this topic. They offer breakfast at my daughter's elementary school. The kids are allowed to choose what they want, and cellophane wrapped "vitamin enriched" donuts are among the choices. They also have some decent choices like some healthier cereals and reduced fat milk. But the kindergarteners decide what food they want. What do you think the 6 year olds out of the eye of their parents usually choose? The highly-sweetened-loaded-with-preservatives crap.

Yes, that's what's in hot dogs. I don't like hot dogs. I think what goes into hot dogs is nasty. I don't want that crap in my burger. And if it goes in to burger meat it should be appropriately labeled as an additive. Honestly, I don't care if they continue to add it to ground beef in the store, as long as it is disclosed. You get what you pay for. And I do have a problem with it being fed in public schools.

If I was aware, especially on this forum, of all forums, of any post, by anyone, who ever said that "my ground beef from this market had too much pink slime", I might be concerned. But no one has. The problem is that we don't KNOW what is in the ground beef at our market. That is the biggest problem, to me. I want to know what is in the food I am buying, so I can better make purchasing decisions. Is the "pink slime" harmful? I honestly don't know. The lack of bacterial testing certainly makes me uncomfortable. Honestly, whether it is or isn't, the concept grosses me out, so I don't want to eat it, and I don't want my kids eating it. As a consumer, I should be able to know what is in the ground beef that I purchase. I don't think that is unreasonable. And if I can't get that information, I will just need to plan ahead and defrost some of our cow and grind it myself (we have used up all the pre-ground beef from that particular beast).

Selling this stuff in ground beef is misleading. Yes, technically it is beef, but it is not what the average consumer expects to be in their ground beef. When I buy ground beef, I expect that it was processed in a grinder, not a centrifuge. That said, I DO have a grinder, and we use it. Planning to do so more after reading all this.

Rob- First, if I am buying ground beef, I want ground beef, not pink slime. And I think if they add pink slime to extend the ground beef, they should have to disclose this. Second, the pink slime is exempt from the same testing for bacteria that ground beef undergoes because the beef is supposed to be sterilized by the ammonia, but spot testing has demonstrated that this is not true. Third, as a parent, I do not want my kids eating this crap. The nutrition is less than ground beef, and I am not aware of any long term studies on adding ammonia to foods. Most of the beef we eat in our family comes from a cow we raised but we have certainly picked up ground beef in the store on occasion for a quick meal. I think this will be less likely in the future.

Think about a Bosch Compact. Similar $$ as a KA but much better mixer. Mine does not even hesitate on a bagel dough that caused smoke to come out of my KA Pro 600. The Compact looks like a toy, but it's a great mixer, and much cheaper than the Universal or DLX.

First, I would not get another KA, unless you get an old, Hobart-made machine. The quality of KA mixers has gone down significantly since they were bought out by Whirlpool in the mid-1980s. The current KA models do just fine for things like batters, egg whites and whipped cream, but they are limited when it comes to bread dough. Look at the manual that comes with it - they say to never go over speed 2, and I think if you call them, they say never to mix dough for longer than 3 minutes without resting the machine. If you do get it fixed, I would use the DIY route. At least in the US, nobody will even look at fixing one for under about $100. Which is why I have a dead KA in my garage, I have not gotten around to fixing it myself. When I do, I will likely sell it. I'm not exactly sure what you have available where you are, so the following may or may not be helpful. I did quite a bit of research after my KA died. I think the two most important questions would be what do you want to do with your mixer and what do you want to spend? Since you were making bread when the KA died, I assume you want something that will do bread dough. Ciabatta is a pretty high hydration dough. Do you also make drier doughs? Whole grain breads? How much dough do you make at a time? If you are looking for a good mixer with a capacity similar to a KA and you don't want something super expensive, I would consider a Bosch Compact. It looks like a kids' toy but it is a super little mixer. The same bagel dough that would make smoke come out of my old KA after about 30 seconds does not stress the Compact at all (batch with 800 grams of flour, 55% hydration). It does a great job with egg whites, marshmallows, whipped cream, and every bread dough I have thrown at it. My only complaint is that with bread doughs, it has a tendency to hop around on the counter a bit (because it is so light), so needs to be babysat. If you want something that can handle larger batches of dough, then consider either a Bosch Universal or an Electrolux Verona (previously DLX), although it sounds like these are more than you want to spend. Both are absolute workhorses that you will likely hand down to your kids. The Electrolux has a bit of a learning curve because it is not a planetary mixer but once you get used to it, it is an awesome mixer. Although both do well with all kinds of bread, my understanding is that the Bosch is a little better with less hydrated doughs and the Electrolux with more hydrated doughs. I have the Electrolux, and although I have done both wet and dry doughs, and the wetter ones are a bit easier, I have successfully made dry doughs with it too. Jess

That is really made of CHOCOLATE??? Amazing. My list for things to bring: molds, liqueurs, air brush/compressor (so I can learn how to use the darn thing), a couple books, tonga beans I picked up on Amazon in response to this thread, sample candies and WINE. I'm fairly local and driving up, is there anything else that would be helpful? I work about 15 minutes from a Penzeys, if there are any spices that anyone has been itching to try in a chocolate. I'll try to roast an extra pound or so of coffee this weekend and bring that up too. Jess

Looking forward to tasting, they are gorgeous!! I'm glad I saw your post. It reminds me that I need to pick up some ingredients on the way home from work this afternoon. I'm going with something much simpler, apple pie caramels (apple and cinnamon flavored caramel). One batch dipped in chocolate, one plain. Maybe I will be able to manage something that pretty after the conference. Right now, not so much. Jess