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tikidoc

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Everything posted by tikidoc

  1. So even when using pre-prepared colors, you still strain? Do you get much particulate matter?
  2. Hmm, after all this reading about you guys taking the online course and making your own colors... they don’t make powdered colors, do they? Because I need more colored cocoa butter like I need a hole in my head (especially after the Tomric visit), but I’d be interested in dabbling in making my own colors.
  3. I'm not sure if you ever get to Richmond, but I got our granite at http://www.bestgraniteinrichmond.com. They directly import much of the stone, instead of going through middle men, so prices are often really good. They have lots of remnants in the shop. Talk to Alex, and tell him I sent you. They did a LOT of work for us (he did some non granite stuff for us on weekends for some extra work, so we know him pretty well).
  4. Another thing to keep in mind is that all granite is not alike. Some are much more porous than others, and would be more likely to stain than others. The stuff I have in my kitchen is not porous and seems virtually impossible to stain. I have had oily things on it many times and there is no staining. What is the granite in your kitchen? I also second those who say to get a remnant. Granite comes in big slabs, so often there will be decent sized pieces left over from large projects, and they can often be had for very little. We have used remnants for the counters in our bathrooms, and got great deals for less than the price of formica. Don't go to the big granite showrooms, go talk to the fabricators, the guys who actually cut and finish the granite. We had quite a bit of work done in our home, and so the granite guys gave me a good deal on a nice sized remnant, I think about 4' x 2', that sits on a big table in my basement where I do chocolates. I asked for something that would not likely stain or crack (was not concerned with looks), and ended up with something that looks similar to uba tuba or verde butterfly. Super easy to clean, I just run over it with a hair dryer to melt any chocolate spatters, and wipe it off. Mine is fairly thick, which is fine because it's not meant to be moved, but granite comes in various thicknesses. We have some on the walls of our master shower, and it's quite thin, maybe 1/2".
  5. I'd love to do the course, but I just don't see being able to do it on any kind of a strict time schedule. I hope at some point he does some sort of a class format that would allow more of a "work at your own pace" class. I would expect less feedback with that sort of a class, but as a hobbyist with a more than full time job, it's the only way I can see doing it before I retire...
  6. I’m really looking forward to picking all of your brains in St. Louis next year.
  7. The beans I used were very floral (would not call them astringent) but they were dramatically different as a fairly dark milk, in a positive way, and I’m not a huge milk chocolate fan. I added both milk powder and cocoa butter. So you might just think of adding the stuff for a milk and see how it turns out, if you want to experiment.
  8. They showed it last night. Painful to watch. I miss both of them.
  9. Has anyone tried the new Misen cookware? I got a set of their knives, which are very nice quality at a very reasonable price. That recently came out with cookware.
  10. Mine were actually fairly inexpensive. I brought a pound to NOTL to experiment with, so you may have tasted them - I put most of the resultant chocolate out on Sunday. There was some plain, and some with a sprinkling of sea salt. http://www.cocoasupply.com/cacao-nibs/, $30/5# plus shipping, which was reasonable, as I remember. They are quite floral in flavor, but that calmed down quite a bit with 48 h in the melanger. These nibs are not sold roasted, unlike many that I see online. I also got some of the nibs along with the melanger, but I’ll wait until I know a bit more before I use those. I tempered the dark milk and put some in a bar mold and the rest out on some parchment, which I broke up into pieces and bagged when set. It unmolded nicely but it was a tiny bit streaky and not terribly shiny. It’s hot and humid here, even in my normally cool and dehumidified basement, so I suspect that is the problem. I have about a kg, so I’ll try tempering again on a cool evening, if we ever get one.
  11. My melanger is also running in the basement as I type! I’ve made one batch since the workshop, a dark milk chocolate made from Ecuadorian nibs that I really like, and I’m doing a simple 2 ingredient dark right now. Planning to temper the milk today and mold it into bars. If they come out pretty, I’ll post photos later. If not, we’ll just eat them.
  12. I stumbled on this tribute to him, and I think it is particularly fitting. https://verysmartbrothas.theroot.com/anthony-bourdain-was-remarkable-because-he-possessed-qu-1826682165?utm_medium=socialflow&utm_source=theroot_facebook One of the things I loved about his shows is how he made the people in the places he visited just as much a focus as the food. He had empathy, and was not afraid to show it. In today’s political environment, in which xenophobia is quickly becoming the default accepted state in much of our country, we need more people like Anthony Bourdain. Lots of celebrity deaths in the last couple of years, but this one seems to be hitting me harder than even Bowie and Prince, both of whom I was a fan of.
  13. So sad. I remember reading his posts back before I joined eGullet and just lurked and learned. I loved his attitudes about travel, and using food to learn about other cultures. I think I'm going to pull out my copy of "Les Halles," which I have not cooked from for a while, and make something from it this weekend, and raise a glass of wine to Bourdain. One of the few cookbooks I have read, like a novel, from cover-to-cover, and thoroughly enjoyed. It's like cooking with a smart-ass friend.
  14. So sad. Condolences to his family and friends. He will be sorely missed.
  15. Thanks, Jim. I'm afraid I could not replicate that one if I tried... it was pretty much accidental. There was some blue cocoa butter left in the Fuji, just a little, so I dumped in a pale pink on top of it, figuring if it came out partly purple, that was fine. Sprayed one end of the mold, turned the mold, sprayed the other end, when it was mostly pink coming out. On the hearts, I spattered a little with silver with a paint brush before spraying.
  16. I had zero idea what I was doing on my first trip. I still have a TON to learn, but I at least have some basics now. Kerry can likely be talked into going through the basics of tempering (my daughter will be there and could use this as well) and there are always lots of people willing to teach. Looking forward to meeting you!
  17. Getting ready for Niagara. We had one mold stick badly (one that is difficult to polish - not sure how to rectify this), but I mostly used the medium sized half spheres I got from Jim, and they came out well. Blue is apple caramel, striped is passion fruit and mango caramel. We have a couple more trays of shells ready to fill, and will make one more flavor if we have time before Niagara (I’m much slower at this than you pros) but I’m relieved to have something out of the molds.
  18. Me too, really liked that stuff. Maybe a project for this trip?
  19. Also, from the FAQs section. It appears the materials are not available forever after taking the course. It’s just a month. It’s too rich for my taste, but even if it wasn’t, this would be a deal breaker for me. ”After the course has finished you will continue to have access to all study materials for one month.”
  20. Is it too late to put in an order from Chocolot Chocolot?
  21. This stuff just does not sound delicious to me. Full disclosure, I love dark chocolate, I like a few milk chocolates but will always choose dark over milk, and the only things I think white chocolate is good for are fruit-flavored ganaches and decoration.
  22. I have had good luck with this one, and the price seems reasonable. For full disclosure, it’s the only pectin I have ever used for PDF, but the texture seems similar to others I have tasted. http://www.lepicerie.com/Yellow-Pectin.html
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