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Santa's Spectactular Tonawanda Workshop

Kerry Beal

By Kerry Beal
in Pastry & Baking

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Tri2Cook

Tri2Cook

Posted
Posted

Not sure how I managed to not see this last year and almost again this year but it looks like it was a lot of fun on both occasions. 

  • Like 2

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

  • 11 months later...
patris

patris

Posted
Posted

Ho ho ho! ‘‘Tis the season for the elves to return to Tonawanda. Sunday is the big day, and I’ve taken tomorrow off from work to allow me to retain my sanity while I prepare. @Kerry Beal will arrive Saturday morning, so I am trying extra hard to get all the prep and scut work done so we can get up to whatever trouble finds us.

 

After work this evening I got started on the confections - a hefty slab of peanut butter meltaways and three pans of cinnamon marshmallows. 

 

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On deck for tomorrow will be another batch of meltaways (this one with feuilletine mixed in), two pans of peppermint marshmallows, one of vanilla marshmallows, and around 12 pounds of peppermint bark. I’ll try to remember to take pictures along the way. 

  • Like 9

Patty

patris

patris

Posted
Posted (edited)

If there is an advantage to insomnia, it is that waking up at 4 am means you can get a lot done before 9 or so. After indulging in two cups of coffee and more than half of the first 2-hour episode of the new season of the Great American Baking Show,  I set to work on the rest of the confections. All the marshmallows are done, and will rest until I cut them up this evening or early tomorrow:

 

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and the peanut butter crunch meltaways (about 200 grams feuilletine in about 1 kg meltaway) are behind (within?) bars to crystallize. Later they and their smooth friends will get a foot of milk chocolate and be cut for the elves to dip as they please. The chocolate for the peppermint bark is melting in those cunning little 3 kg Croquade melters - love those things.

 

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i did run into something I hadn’t really seen before - the meltaway slab I made last night has this odd streaky look. The texture is perfect, and it seems perfectly tempered, so I don’t think it matters, but it got me thinking - I bought some cocoa butter (says it’s organic and fair trade) from a source that is new to me, and when it arrived I noticed that it was very light in color - more cream than the faint butter yellow I am used to - and it took a rather high temp (34.5ish) in the EZTemper to make silk of it. I am assuming it is indeed cocoa butter, but found the streaking curious. It’s a big slab, and I didn’t refrigerate it at all, so perhaps it was just latent heat throwing things off a bit.

 

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I am off to do some grocery shopping and other errands, and hoping to have time for a nap after lunch to make up for lost sleep.

Edited by patris
Removed an extra word (log)
  • Like 12

Patty

Kerry Beal

Kerry Beal

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted

Arrived this am - no snow in Burlington! So of course I’m in sandals. But socks - my concession to cold.

 

Should have known that Tonawanda would have snow.

 

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Nice Keto brekkie of cheese, olives and veggies. 

  • Like 11
  • Thanks 1

the Chocolate Doctor
www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

www.eztemper.com

 

Confectionary Course • Confectionary Course Q&A
eGullet foodblog 2006 • eGullet Foodblog 2012

Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted

 Have been waiting anxiously for the games to begin!   Please do not bring that snow back with you. Thank you.

 

Hope you and Patty have a wonderful time in Santa’s Spectacular workshop. 

  • Like 7

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

curls

curls

Posted
Posted
48 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

 

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Gorgeous pottery! I also spy a wonderful collection of custom chocolate dipping bowls and the new dipping wires.  🙂

Looking forward to seeing the results of this year's Tonawanda Workshop.

  • Like 6
patris

patris

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, curls said:

 

Gorgeous pottery! I also spy a wonderful collection of custom chocolate dipping bowls and the new dipping wires.  🙂

Looking forward to seeing the results of this year's Tonawanda Workshop.

 

After the workshop orders I spent some time working on a 2.0 design - now they are slightly oval, which offers a bit more dipping room. We shall see what the focus group thinks tomorrow!

  • Like 6

Patty

Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, patris said:

 

After the workshop orders I spent some time working on a 2.0 design - now they are slightly oval, which offers a bit more dipping room. We shall see what the focus group thinks tomorrow!

I saw no reason for one of these bowls.  After all I no longer “do” chocolate. But tomorrow I will be dipping cookies.   Not in chocolate but in an egg white and sugar glaze and so your bowls came to mind. I still don’t want one because I’m unlikely to ever repeat this exercise but it did occur to me that they might have other uses than just dipping chocolate so I thought I would share. 

  • Like 6

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Kerry Beal

Kerry Beal

Posted
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Posted

Dinner tonight at Prescott’s Provisions.

 

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Dark Horse - scotch, amontillado sherry and cardamaro.

 

C66EE2BA-F186-4B23-9619-A91B4DA51FEE.thumb.jpeg.aec87ac4f404f63d52ea565a88ffb617.jpeg

 

Grilled pork shoulder and belly with lentils and apple balls

 

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Beets with grapefruit Cambazola pistachio and yogurt

 

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Romaine with blue cheese, red onions and skinned tomatoes 

 

 

 

  • Like 13

the Chocolate Doctor
www.thechocolatedoctor.ca

www.eztemper.com

 

Confectionary Course • Confectionary Course Q&A
eGullet foodblog 2006 • eGullet Foodblog 2012

FauxPas

FauxPas

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Romaine with blue cheese, red onions and skinned tomatoes 

 

Is it safe to eat Romaine again? 😮

Tri2Cook

Tri2Cook

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, FauxPas said:

 

Is it safe to eat Romaine again? 😮


We were given the green light by our supplier at work this past Monday... it's been back on the menu all week.

  • Like 1

It's kinda like wrestling a gorilla... you don't stop when you're tired, you stop when the gorilla is tired.

patris

patris

Posted
Posted

It’s today! Managed to sleep until nearly 5 am (Kerry got a fair bit more sleep, which seems like a pretty good karmic rebalancing given all she does for me and others), and have been busily reordering and organizing. All is nearly ready for the joyful hordes to arrive in about an hour and a half.

 

Milk, dark and caramelized white chocolates melting:

 

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dipping bowls at the ready:

 

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Tally sheets, mixing bowls and little bits and bobs from my candy closet for people to use up:

 

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15 pounds of peppermint bark, ALL THE MARSHMALLOWS in plain, peppermint and red hot cinnamon, and smooth and crunchy meltaways:

 

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now off to finish the cheese ball and accompanying crudités and most importantly feed Kerry a decent brunch!

  • Like 13
  • Delicious 2

Patty

curls

curls

Posted
Posted

Great setup. So organized! I hope everyone has lot of fun.

 

How are you cutting your marshmallow? Confectionary guitar?

patris

patris

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, curls said:

 

 

How are you cutting your marshmallow? Confectionary guitar?

 

Nope! 12 inch drywall taping knife. Makes pretty quick work of them.

 

It was another thoroughly delightful  day. The last guest just left. I have a shockingly minimal amount of cleanup to do, and then I must head to the grocery store to replenish some supplies the elves used for their projects that I need for my next project. I did take some photos of the day, which I will post later. 

  • Like 6

Patty

patris

patris

Posted
Posted (edited)

25 pounds of chocolate, 12 pounds of peppermint bark, 30 dozen marshmallows, 21 dozen peanut butter meltaways, and countless varieties of assorted barks later, Tonawanda Chocolate Fest 2018 is in the books. Once again @Kerry Beal kept the wheels on the bus in ways I never could. Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time, and I enjoyed every second. Here are some pictures of the middle of the activity:

 

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My poor dear Boris hid in the basement, as is his wont when other people are around. He came right back upstairs when he heard there was tuna for dinner though:

 

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Edited by patris (log)
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Patty

patris

patris

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, curls said:

@patris do you make your own carmalized white chocolate? If so, would you mind sharing your technique/recipe?

 

I do. All credit for the technique goes to @Chocolot, who posted it at length here somewhere. White chocolate, vacuum sealed (I do it in 500 g packages), pressure cooked 2 packages at a time for 90 minutes in my Instant Pot. You will think you have ruined it but it will thin out some as it cools. Add cocoa butter to thin out further - I usually add around 20 percent of the weight of the chocolate - and temper as usual. Works great every time.

  • Like 1

Patty

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