Chocolate Stories

I have loved chocolate all my life, starting with Hershey bars when I was a kid. And though I've long since moved on from milk chocolate, a Hershey bar is the only approved chocolate bar in s'mores as far as I'm concerned.

A couple of years ago I read an article in one of my food magazines about Ameidi Chocolate. It seems a brother and sister in Italy wanted to start making fabulous chocolate and approached Vahlrona (in France) as a source. Evidently the Frenchies looked down their noses at those Italian bumpkins who couldn't possibly know squat. So the bumpkins went around Vahlrona and snagged some great cacao from the farmers in Venezuela, and aced Vahlrona out in the process.

The author of the article whose name I don't recall, but who was Always Hungry, actually went to Italy to meet and eat chocolate. I wasn't willing to go that far but my curiosity was stimulated. So when Paul and I tried a Thai-ish restaurant on College Ave. in Oakland called Soi Four, we noticed a little place called Bittersweet, as in chocolate. That place is all chocolate all the time. I tried a cup of hot chocolate that was so rich I couldn't finish it but as I was browsing the chocolate bars I clapped eyes on a sampler pack of...Ameidi Chocolate! Including the prized Venezuelan goods. So in spite of the high $13-ish price for a tiny sampler, I figured what the heck and went for it. I nibbled on those little bits for days and yes, it was excellent. However, I am conflicted about eating intense dark chocolate straight up; I really prefer to bake with it and change the taste and texture with dairy and possibly sugar and flour. Of course dark chocolate purists like to take it straight.

When Copia, a former educational center in Napa was still open, I went to quite a few of their events. Death by Chocolate was probably the most decadent, except for maybe the Picnic in Provence where my friend Carol and I flirted shamelessly with Henri the pate purveyor so he would keep plying us with that wonderful artery clogging spread. I'm sure washing it down with French wine made all the difference.

Back to the Death by Chocolate, I was excited about going because Karina Vosges of Vosges Haut Chocolat was going to speak. I was totally disappointed when she had to cancel and I was stuck there with all that chocolate. So last weekend when I was in the checkout line of Dean & Deluca in St. Helena and saw the Vosges bars I was really jazzed. Since I am currently liking chocolate
and chili I grabbed the Red Fire Bar with Mexican ancho and chipotle chillies, Ceylon cinnamon and dark chocolate. Since the bar was 55% cacao it was luxurious and kind of creamy tasting, with a chili bite that isn't burning hot but does leave a pleasant warm and chocolatey sensation in your mouth. Rapture. I want more.

Oh, and there is more. Today I went to World Market here in Stockton and decided to browse the chocolate section; I was surprised and pleased to see some Vosges Haut Chocolat. No Red Fire Bar, but I picked up Mo's Dark Bacon Bar. It has little bits of applewood smoked bacon in it and considering the cost was $5.99 versus $8.50 at Dean & Deluca, well that pushed me over the edge. It is simply delicious with 62% cacao. Three squares will cost you 4 Weight Watchers points as with the Red Fire Bar. Totally worth it on an occasional basis. I've come to realize you can enjoy the foods you love, in moderation, just not every damn day!

There's another chocolate I want to try - Mast Brothers Chocolate. They bill it as American Craft Chocolate and it looked mighty good on the chocolate episode of Foodology on the Food Channel. They're in New York, so you either have to order online or buy it at a store. Luckily, Bardessono, a luxury resort in Yountville carries it so next time I'm passing through I'm going to march right in like I belong there and get me some by golly chocolate. The Masts have a chili choco bar so I probably won't be able to resist. When I finally get my hands on it I'll let you know. You'll be the first. Honest.

A Truffling Matter

Ever since Paul and I dined at the glorious Cyrus in Healdsburg 4 years ago I've wanted to go back. But it also created a desire to recreate the white chocolate truffles filled with a soft white chocolate and lime filling that bursts with flavor. Simply divine. I managed to get the recipe and played around with it, yielding poor results, mainly because I couldn't get the premade shells without a lot of expense. I've since learned more about working with chocolate and finally realized what I needed was a silicone mold, which I bought. Seeing it done on Food TV didn't hurt either. I could definitely recreate the lime and white chocolate truffles now, and I will when I see white chocolate that I approve of I'll try it. (I admit I haven't been looking since I prefer dark chocolate.)

Since we occasionally have expired chocolate bars on our hands where I work, it falls to me by default to make something chocolate and fabulous. I hadn't made molded truffles in quite a while so it seemed like a good idea to try it. I have my silicone mold with 16 cavities (little molds) for molding chocolate, butter, whatever you like. Each cavity holds a tablespoon of chocolate and this recipe yielded 48 truffles. If you don't want to make that many just cut the ingredient amounts in half.

You have to pour your melted chocolate into the cavities and then pour it back into the bowl of melted goodness, leaving a shell to hold your ganache filling. When you start getting to where you can't fill all the cavities at once, just pour chocolate back into the bowl, then pour it into the remaining cavities. Repeat until you are done.

I used Monin raspberry syrup to gussy up the ganache because raspberry and chocolate are divine together. However, you can use liqueurs like Cointreau, Kahlua, etc. or other flavorings. Hazelnut would be fabulous. Add until it tastes good to you, a little at a time. I added a tablespoon of syrup, stirred, tasted, and repeated until I had what I wanted.

Chocolate lore: chocolate has protein in it. Overheating will cause the protein to clump up, get tough, and be unusable. Also, don't let water touch melted chocolate. It will cause it to "seize up", become a lumpy mess and become unusable. Other than that, have fun.

Ganache: hot cream poured over chopped chocolate and stirred to make a delicious
filling for your truffles.

Bittersweet Chocolate and Raspberry Truffles
Yields 48 truffles

20 ounces bittersweet chocolate, divided
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
5 tablespoons Monin raspberry syrup

Chop up the chocolate and divide into 2 bowls: 10 ounces in a mixing bowl and 10 ounces in a steel bowl. Set the steel bowl over a pan of gently simmering water and melt, stirring to mix. Turn heat to low.

For ganache, bring heavy cream to a simmer and pour over the 10 ounces of chocolate in the mixing bowl. Let sit 30 seconds, then stir together with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon. Add vanilla and syrup and stir gently to blend well.

Pour melted chocolate into cavities in the mold all the way to the top. Tip mold over bowl of melted chocolate to drain cavities, leaving them coated with chocolate. Refrigerate for a few minutes to set up.

Spoon ganache into cavities, leaving 1/16" to 1/8" free at the top. Top the ganache with melted chocolate to cover and seal the truffles. Refrigerate until nice and cold, at least half an hour. Remove the truffles by pushing the cavities inside out. Store in a container in the refrigerator. Share with friends. Easy!

Before I go, I have a restaurant for you to try. Paul and I took a ride to Fremont and since I had seen a segment on Check Please! Bay Area a couple of years ago on an Afghan restaurant in that Silicon Valley town, I suggested we try it. They gave it great reviews and I made a note of it. There were some curry dishes on the menu and since I'm watching my calories I ordered the chicken curry and merely tasted Paul's lamb curry. Both were delicious. The owner came by and I told him we loved the curry but it tasted Indian to me. He said it was Indian and if we wanted Afghan food to order the kebabs etc. I was puzzled and wondered (to myself) why they didn't stick to Afghan food. I asked him if anyone from Afghanistan worked there, as the kitchen was manned by cooks from Mexico, which is normal, and our server was from Peru. He did say his grandson worked there so he's covered, I guess. The Afghan naan (bread) was whole wheat, not fried, and very tasty. We had the firni, a pudding with rosewater and pistachios and it was very good. Overall the food and service was good, the bathrooms clean and the place was welcoming. I recommend it. Website: Salang Pass Restaurant

Adventures in Mole

I am a big fan of Rick Bayless. In case you don't know who he is, he has travelled extensively in Mexico over many years, immersing himself in the cuisine through street vendors, home cooks and restauranteurs. He has a show on PBS and won Top Chef Masters last year cooking what he loves - Mexican food. I would love to jump on a plane and blissfully dine in his Chicago restaurants. Perhaps
I will. I have cooked several recipes from his Mexican Kitchen book; I swear his Mexican rice is the best I've ever had. The chipotle peanut mole is unlike any mole I have ever tasted (in a very good way) and the jicama salad is crunchy, refreshing and full of flavor. I could go on but I won't.

Last weekend it was our turn to host our gourmet cooking club and I wanted to have a Rick Bayless dinner. Not only that, I was going to make a red mole, with 26 ingredients and it wasn't going to get made in one day. Rick does recommend breaking such a big undertaking up and I planned accordingly, starting with the shopping.

I'm going to tell you right now, I decided to go with real lard as my cooking fat. I'm sure you're horrified at the thought, but let me share some statistics with you about pork fat that I got from Fat, An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient... by Jennifer McLagan. Generally pork fat breaks down to 39% saturated fat, 45% monounsaturated and 11% polyunsaturated.The low level of polyunsaturated fat means the fat is more stable, which makes it great for cooking. Do I plan to use lard regularly? No, but I felt it was important to this experience. I rejected the lard packaged up in boxes; just look at the ingredients. Partially hydrogenated oils right from the jump! I went to El Dorado Market on South El Dorado (1 block north of Charter Way) and asked for lard. I rejected the packaged crap and asked for manteca de puerco hecho aquí. I don't know if it was rendered there but the butcher went in the back and returned with a pint of lard in a styrofoam container. It cost me $1.29. It smelled like animal fat so I'm trusting it was the real deal. It's totally worth driving to a Mexican market for lard. I tried rendering lard once last year, and it was a smelly, yucky experience and not very energy efficient.

I spent the next evening splitting and seeding peppers. I saved the seeds, which were toasted and turned into a spice mixture with several other ingredients, like a grated avocado pit!!! I can't believe I bought an avocado just for that, but I was determined not to swerve. Sitting at the dinner table with the tv on makes it seem less like an endless task.

The next evening I spent THREE HOURS frying the chiles, and nuts and seeds, in the lard. Man, I used a lot of lard. And paper towels to soak up the lard. I used my Vita Mix blender to blend up the chiles and strain (I hate straining) and then the spice paste. (As an aside, the Vita Mix works so well that there was very little in the strainer.) By the end of the night I was fried; seriously. But the worse was over, honest.

I took a night off and on Thursday I cooked the chiles mixture (in a little lard) and added the spice paste and cooked some more. Here's where it gets dangerous. If you've ever cooked cornmeal on top of the stove, or hey, even mole, you may have experienced the popping and splattering that goes with it. Well this mole popped and it got me good. I have a lovely 2nd degree burn on my
wrist which is still tender and looks worse than it feels. What's funny is the mole only popped and spattered while I was stirring it, and you're supposed to stir it. Frequently. I just got a hot tip on burns today which beggars belief. Squirting yellow mustard on the burn stops the pain cold. I don't know how long to leave it on; evidently it starts hurting again if you wash it off. Please let me know if you try this; better yet don't burn yourself. I'm going to pledge not to burn myself either.

One more tip: if you decide to take the plunge and make mole, wear clothes that you don't care about. An apron doesn't give enough coverage. I wore my chef coat and it is now permanently stained from spilling some spice paste on it. And oh, from popping and splattering.

I'm sure want to know, was it delicious? Worth the trouble? Yes, it was excellent, you won't get that kind of mole around here except in the home of a great cook. It is rich, moderately spicy, with complex flavors from 2 kinds of chiles and 24 other ingredients like almonds, peanuts, tomatillos, tomatoes, on and on. Worth it? Well, I like a challenge to get my juices flowing and I'm happy I made it. Plus, I have lots left over resting in the freezer right now. And oh, I served it with roasted Cornish game hens. (Sorry I wasn't able to get a good picture, I was plating up birds for 8 and didn't take my time. And Yikes! I served the little blighter back side up!) Any, it was yum.

Here's the bad news, depending on how you look at it. I can't give you the recipe, it's copyrighted, but if you want a fabulous Mexican cookbook get Rick Bayless's Mexican Kitchen. It's totally worth it. If you want free recipes, go to Rick's website, it's loaded with great recipes. He won't mind.

I have plans to try one more mole, the mole negro. A while back I wrote about my pending chile garden, which will have the chiles required for the said mole negro. Recently my box of chile plants arrive and they are in the ground, looking happy. It will be some time before I will have chiles, and get them dried for cooking. So I have time to forget what a big job this was. And I may be willing to do it again.