01.01.70

First off, there was a lesson about tempering dark chocolate – the process of melting the chocolate pieces over a double boiler of simmering water until it reaches 122 to 134 degrees, cooling it down to between 80 to 84 degrees and then re-warming it to 86 to 90 degrees.

If you don’t temper the chocolate, some of the fats in the cocoa butter will crystallize resulting in that annoying white dust on the finished product as well as a matte appearance and crumbly texture. The goal is shiny candies with a nice snap to them. Ever wonder why your chocolate-covered strawberries aren’t shiny like the ones you scarfed at that fancy party? Bad temper(ing).

The first chocolates we made were truffles. There we were five of us at the commercial stove elbowing each other as we stirred our 10 oz. of chocolate in steel bowls over pans of simmering water. Since I made espresso truffles, I also had to boil a cup of unsweetened MimicCream, a non-diary, almond and cashew “cream” with 1 T. of espresso powder.

Source: Boston Herald (blog)

The Island of Lights holiday illumination display at Island Park in Portage la Prairie wrapped up the season with a decline in numbers attending the show but an increase in funds from gate fees at the event.

Based on the latest report from City of Portage, the total number of people through the gate for the 2011-12 season for the period Nov 25, 2011 – Jan 7, 2012 was 12,335.

In comparison, the 2010-11 season, from Nov 26, 2010 to Jan 7, 2011, saw about 1,800 more visitors, with 14,126 people taking in the event.

For the 2011-2012 season, Christmas Eve had the highest numbers with 915 people visiting the show.

The fees generated through the season increased noticeably with $26,540 raised for the 2011-12 period, compared to $16,136 for the 2010-2011 season.

Coun. Liz Driedger, head of the city's economic and community development committee, was mainly pleased with the 2011-2012 Island of Lights numbers.

"I think overall they went well," she said. "The number of people who went through the show didn't decrease that significantly. We anticipated it might. Then we didn't get the snow that we needed either. It didn't put people in that holiday spirit that it sometimes does. In terms of what Manitobans need to make them feel Christmasy, it often relates to snow....

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The Mixing Bowl operates restaurants as well...

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