Chocolate

monkey · Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 9:59 pm Post subject:

ooh! with the whirlwind activities of christmas i missed the post about the truffles coated in peppermint dust. oooh! with valentine's day just around the corner it's truffle season again!

i still have not perfected tempering chocolate. ok... i haven't given it another try.
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monkey

nothing brings primates together like a good snack!
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Erin · Posted: Fri Feb 04, 2005 10:24 pm Post subject:

monkey,
Be careful when trying it with peppermint dust, I had a lesson in humidity. Of course in your part of the world it probably isn't a worry. When the air is humid it makes the candy dust sticky and shiny. The winter here is very dry, but we had a 60F day with snow on the ground, so you can imagine what that did. I had the same problem in the summer with meringues. I couldn't figure it out until I was talkign to a local baker and she told me she wouldn't do certain frostings in the summer for the same reason. I have never baked in a humid place before, it is taking some getting used to.
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monkey · Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2005 3:00 am Post subject:

thanks so much for the word of caution. i have recently had quite a few culinary disasters and i don't think i could weather a truffle related disaster right now.

luckily (for the birds that live in my garden and have been gorging themselves on cremated tart shells and palmier) the problem lies with my oven and not with me.
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monkey

nothing brings primates together like a good snack!
www.TheresAMonkeyInTheKitchenAndHesGotAKnife.com

Annie · Joined: 06 Feb 2005 Posts: 3 Location: Ohio

I too love chocolate. Unfortunately it doesn't like my waistline. However, during the holidays I am prone to making about 50 pounds of different kinds of fudge, Chocolate with walnuts being the most popular. I use the money I make from the sale and buy my children Christmas gifts. The fudge I make is very smooth and creamy. One bite and it melts in your mouth. When storing any type of homemade fudge, I have found that the fridge is not the place but in the coldest room in the house (ours is in the master bedroom where there is no heat). The ingredients do not granulate and it is very easily handled. I am always looking for new tempting flavors to add every year. So far here's the list of what I make:
Chocolate, Chocolate with Walnuts, Peanut Butter, White Chocolate Mint, Butterscotch, White Chocolate Orange Creme, 'Smores Milk Chocolate, and Lemon Creme. If anyone has any favorites I would gladly share my recipe with one and all.

tennoji · Joined: 08 Jan 2005 Posts: 10 Location: Japan

There is no bad way to eat chocolate. Chocolate is for a pick-me-up in the early morning, for a relaxing break in the afternoon, for a quick snack on the train.... It's made to be melted and poured over ice cream or just eaten with a spoon, it's for adding sparkle to cakes, it's for pairing with the slight saltiness of nuts... If there is a god, surely he gave us chocolate as a special gift and it is not a food to worry about as far as calories go. It is my firm belief that the calories in chocolate do not count - they go for special things in our body, like thinking about things to do with chocolate.
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