chocolate love

I had gone to the Ferry Building while in San Francisco a week back, bought several bars of chocolate from the Scharfenberger store. I had plans of making chocolate truffles, but never got to use my stash. Instead I ended up buying some good 60% cacao chocolate from Ghirardelli, heavy cream from Trader Joe's along with some cocoa for dusting last night. As I rolled out the ganache into non-round baubles of chocolate truffles, my fingers softening from handling the cream, I enjoyed the cold weather; no need to refrigerate the ganache much in this temperature. The byline of a popular candy came to mind "melts in your mouth, not in your hands," although the homemade truffles barely made it to a plate, they were melting in the mouths of friends and family impatiently waiting for their share. No chance to even take a photo! Oh well.

Tonight, not wanting to slave over the stove, we opened a box of See's Old Fashioned chocolate candies, the nuts and chews variety. There is a surfeit of choice for chocolate candies in the US, high and low end alike. But our family loves the See's. It's always a consistently high quality product without having to pay through the nose. My mom's favorite is the english toffee, my sister and I also love the almond royales. My dad, diabetic that he is, is now infamous among family member for inhaling two boxes of chocolates. Any combination of nut and chew and chocolates work for me, just no liquers please.

I'm saving the precious Scharfenberger for home. May not be able to make the truffles unless I fashion a polar environment in my tropical kitchen. But they won't be wasted!