Marmish

good to know about the sage. sage is the reason i clicked into this thread.

Having just made a batch of pecan and chocolate coated toffee for work-related gifts and having both recipients tell me I should quit my day job and make toffee, I think I'm making toffee for Christmas!

This very topic was in my blog reader today on Eddy Van Damme's blog http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/EddyVanDamme/~3/PJ5Fu_J4JLI/

Yay! I hope so! I'm sorry I missed you guys in A2 and when I was home earlier this summer.

Wow! That's a lot of volume and a lot of back and forth with them. Maybe something will turn out with them in the future.

What's up with the cupcake deal? Seemed to many details, too many questions unanswered . . .

ME! ME! ME!

I think most of us, if not all, flew into Buffalo. There is an airport shuttle that Erika and I took back to the airport for something like $40 pp.

Ah, good point. I'm sticking to my story. It's not a total dealbreaker if it's in August, but it would make it waaaay easier for me in July. I'm with Hennes :wub:

Would love to see you there! Is it way to early to put in a vote for July over August?

You guys don't mess around, planning the next one before you've even left Ann Arbor. I'd love to come to Cleveland as I'm an Akron native. Having seen the events some of you have pulled off, I'm sure our little gathering is a cake walk.

I agree. I buy the Reynolds Film 904 food service wrap 1000 ft that comes in a sturdy box with a secured roller and a very sharp cutter. This wrap is easier to handle than the thinner ones and clings well to itself and can also be heat sealed. I also buy butcher paper on the large roll - I find a lot of uses for it. Ditto aluminum foil. Parchment paper in sheets. I used to buy the full size sheets when I still had the big Blodgett oven and cut them in half when I got rid of it until they were used up. I recently bought another supply from the ebay source that I have used several times. 1000 sheets 1/2 sheet size I use a lot of it and buying 1000 sheets, compared to 500 sheets, saves almost twenty dollars. I no longer use the full size sheet pans for baking but as they fit perfectly on the industrial wire shelving, I have placed them where I am storing bottles, jars and etc., that do not set securely on the wire shelving. (And if a bottle cracks or leaks, there are no drips onto stuff on the lower shelves. I have a couple in a lower cabinet where I have some liquids stored (vinegars and etc.) also to catch drips and leaks to protect the wood. Also have a few in my small pantry. Dishers or ice cream scoops - me too. Cambro containers - you bet. I have been writing about them in various topics for years. I have mostly the translucent ones - in my opinion they seal better and the cost is much less. They can go from freezer to microwave for defrosting and heating food and even my oldest ones are still in good condition. I have every size from 1 quart/liter to 22 quart/liter. I have a few of the square clear ones but as noted above, I have found that they do not seal quite as well as the round ones. There are many more items that I have purchased over the years. I am very fond of Star Restaurant Supply in Van Nuys, Calif. I have been shopping there since 1967. I also am a big fan of Smart & Final. I did have a certified commercial kitchen for nearly ten years, did some catering and contract baking for some local cafes and a tea shop, so I did have a legitimate excuse for having the commercial items. However, I agree with some of the previous posts that many of the commercial utensils are made better and sturdier than the consumer types and are cheaper to boot. that's where I get my parchment, too. Probably because you recommended it in some other thread.

Anna, I hope all the crises have been resolved. Thanks to you both for sharing.

Hi everyone! Sorry I can't be there. I will be watching to see what I'm missing. Rona, you look great!

those hershey kiss type things are usually made by adding the kisses at the end - like the pb cookies - or part way through the baking. i'd make a ganache to use as a filling after they are baked. scoop out a bit of the center, pipe whipped ganache in, stick cherry in the center of ganache, top with ganache, and frost with your whipped cream. i've made a chocolate cherry cupcake in the past that was really good. i think it was a nigella lawson recipe. i can try to find it if you want.

donut holes with mascarpone and jam for breakfast donuts beignets corn dogs

Churn longer than you think it needs. I read somewhere the overrun takes place mostly in the last minutes of churning. I started letting my ice creams churn longer and they improved. Ditto on keeping the canister and dasher in the freezer and prefreezing the container you are putting it into.

I love those bars. They'd be delicious with a combo of berries. Anna, sorry the dinner was so challenging to prepare! That deck and pool make up for a lot of hassle, I bet.

Anna, that sounds like a lovely anniversary dinner and an excellent compromise! Kerry, your output is amazing! I'd like to see a pizza done on that little egg of yours.

Blueberry crumb bars or the cobbler or crisp with ice cream

Wish I had something useful to add, but I don't. Except that's a lot of cupcakes! Good luck!

I'm still looking into it. I found out that a local chocolatier is selling at the market I had hopes for next season. The good thing is that I love their chocolates. The bad thing is, I doubt the market is big enough for us both. I'm going to try to make it over there this week to check them out. I've got to recruit my farmers market research buddy soon, too. One more week of work, a quick trip to Ohio (baking with Peter Reinhart anyone?), then I'll have time. BUT, I also went to the Kendall College open house on Saturday to check out the college. They have a baking and pastry certificate I could earn while keeping my day job. Decisions, decisions.

Farm Camp NYTimes article

Kerry, I saw this method for printing silkscreens and thought it might be useful to you.

I've had 3 Sunday markets now, with the first 2 being fabulous. The opening day was "Mothers Day" here in the US and I sold completely out. My 2nd week was also great, doing about 60% better than my average week last year. Last Sunday had rain, and even with that, we did OK. I'm curious to see how this weekend goes with a long holiday weekend (Memorial Day). I'm expecting many people to be off traveling. That's great, Steve! I don't know many people here who are traveling, so maybe it will be the same by you and still busy.