A Case for Handwriting: Candied Chestnuts

-Chestnuts, a treat that demands a bit of sweat.-

So what happened to handwriting? It's a good question to ponder and after reading Philip Hensher's recent article from The Guardian, I think we all should. Handwriting is a task that involves a steady hand and practiced thought, and it's quickly disappearing from our world of electronic correspondence.

Everyone prefers to print these days, or so it seems, and that's fine. It's almost guaranteed to be understood, so that's a plus. But I feel printing lacks real and true conviction. I see it as a means to an end.

(Plus, I must admit, my printing is atrocious. Just... it looks like a third grader with Parkinson's. I am ashamed of it, so I never use it. Too much cursive crippled my print.)

While most of my classmates quickly abandoned their scripts like pets left behind after a move and cruelly put out of sight and mind I nurtured mine. For me, the strange looped G's and terribly affluent "z's" of cursive handwriting were a gateway. Cursive was a key to adulthood. A way to show sophistication and maturity. It was a means to set myself apart from my peers. But, most importantly, it was to model myself after my parents.

A Personal History on Candy: Earl Grey Chocolate Caramels

-Proper candy for a refined adult. Or, you know, sugar fix. Whatever.-

Cutting caramel is a methodical practice. Turn the sink on to a mere dribble and wait for it to heat to scalding. Run the knife under the water and patiently wait for the heat to transfer through the tang until the metal radiates in your hand. Quickly clean off the water with a towel and then cut through the brick of caramel. The piping hot knife should glide through effortlessly and leave the sides of each individual bite of caramel nearly seamless and smooth as cut class. Repeat for each cut.

It’s slow going to be sure, but this type of methodical handwork has its benefits. Once the caramel comes into contact with the tip of the knife the heat causes the candy to release a plume of aroma of gently burnt sugar and milk. In my case, also of chocolate and Earl Grey tea which the caramel has made stressed and bold. A scent that, for some reason, reminds me of Vivian Leigh’s voice in Gone with the Wind.

The experience is pleasant and somewhat unique for me. Not because I not only don’t make a lot of candy (I don't), but because I simply don’t eat a lot of candy. I never really have.

Some people might have you believe otherwise. After the fire when I stayed at Elise’s home I filled her kitchen with colorful bags of it for the first week or so, and subsisted on little more than artificial flavors, Red Dye 40, and corn syrup so refined it would make my teeth shake. Elise chastised me about how a food blogger and cook could eat such junk and harassed me until I ate a salad.

(Thing is, when I’m in a state of shock or general depression, that’s the only time I turn to candy. I ate so many Skittles the first few days that I actually got sick. Nowadays when I see a bag of them all I can taste is the rainbow of fruit pain. However, with the rare instance, candy isn’t much a part of my diet.)

-Chocolate Caramel: Seriously hard to make look appetizing.-

Even as a kid I didn’t eat a lot of candy, which, judging by my Halloween haul, you might find surprising. My Halloweens were productive and planned with near military-level stratagem and as methodical as my caramel cutting. I lived in a well-to-do middle-upper class neighborhood where people were more than happy to give you a five dollar bill for your UNICEF box and drop a king-sized Snickers bar in your bag. Our neighborhood, a oblong and lengthy block that was probably a good 3 miles or so with plenty of cul-de-sacs dotting the route was a goldmine with a thick chocolate coated vein running through the whole of it. A legendary route of the kind that kids dreamed of and parents loved. It was safe enough for parents to let their kids wander freely and lucrative enough for kids so that after 10 minutes you had enough candy to last for weeks. Even better, fewer kids were shuttled in from other neighborhoods as we were quietly tucked away in a hidden bubble of Orange County, California. You knew every other kid going door to door and no strangers messed up our time. It was ideal for all who lived there.

My brother and I would canvas the neighborhood early when the October twilight was still bright and casting long, spindly shadows that slunk along with us door to door. Later in the night, once the number of children began to dwindle, we would make a second round in different costumes from previous years. Diet-minded adults eager to get rid of the bags of candy they bought would begin to literally give us handfuls of candy if not outright pour their bowls out into our bags, which were actually-greedily- pillowcases. Eventually we would run back home and drop off one or two heaving pillowcases full of candy off before swiping more pillowcases from the linen closet and heading out for more.

By this point it wasn’t even about candy. It was about the game. Seeing just how much sugar we could milk from people and gather. How fast could we canvass the block and how many times? How much could we run door to door in the nest half hour? How clever could the costumes be? (My last year of trick or treating, at age 12, was a particularly proud moment for me. My coup-de-grace was wearing a death shroud and having a harvesting sickle strapped to my back. With me I carried around an old briefcase that I had painted on the words “I.R.S. Audit Team.” I think nearly every house I went to took a picture of that. The adults didn't stand a chance.)

-People these days look down of trick-or-treaters who can shave. What is the world coming to?-

At home the bloated pillowcases crackled with candy wrappers that demanded attention. Our last haul came in at nearly ten pounds of candy. We knew we wouldn’t eat it all. Our mom, a third grade teacher, would take some to her classroom. Dad would take a sack to the office, usually one he had filled with 3 Musketeers bars he had picked out of the rest. We would all be eating the stuff even up through May until mom eventually just threw it all away, disgusted at the fact she had filled our Easter baskets with Halloween swag.

I would maybe eat four pieces of it a day. I didn’t really want most of it. I just don’t eat, and never did eat a lot of candy. Too many processed sweets and my body practically goes into insulin shock.

However, the one exception were the small caramel candies. The little square of Brach's classic burnt sugar. It was and is even more so today a small-name, old school brand of candy; the kind most kids usually pay little attention to. As if there were nuggets of gold found at the bottom of a stream I panned them out of the piles and chewed up every single one I could find until my jaw went store and every crevice between my teeth was tacky with the chewy leftovers. Caramel was, and is, one of my weaknesses when it comes to candy.

Still, making it is something else. And, unlike store bought candy, you have more control. You know what's going into it and with practice you learn to guide the flavor and texture to taste. So, once in a while, I make candy. The batch will usually last a few weeks as I only eat a piece or two a day. Enough to get a saccharine fix and make the jitters go away.

This particular caramel is unique and may surprise you a bit. The milk is cooked with sugar from the get-go as opposed to being added later in the process. A good dose of unsweetened chocolate is stirred in along with a spoonful of Earl Grey tea. The result is something dark and sophisticated in flavor, the cinema noir of confections. A sparse crust of crushed cocoa nibs add a bit of dimension and textual character to the candies and make them all the more engaging. I've also learned the a small glass of Madiera is deliriously perfect pairing with these.

This is a good beginner's candy recipe if you've never done it before. All it requires is a good eye, a candy thermometer, and some patience. Then, get out your knife and carefully cut the caramel into squares. Enjoy the aroma, and, then, enjoy your candy.


Chocolate Earl Grey Caramels
Adapted from The Essence of Chocolate

Unsalted butter for the pan
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 teaspoon salt
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate (99% dark preferable), finely chopped
1 tablespoon Earl Grey tea leaves, finely ground
2 tablespoon cacao nibs, crushed (optional)

1. Line a 9x9 pan with 9x17 piece of parchment paper (the paper will droop over the sides) and butter well.

2. Stir together the cream, sugar, corn syrup, and salt together in a heavy bottom pan. Bring to a boil and continue to cook until it reaches 250F. Remove from heat and let cool for a five minutes.

3. Add chocolate and tea. Stir together and pour into the pan and spread with an offset spatula. Gently press on cacao nibs and let the caramel sit for a few hours.

4. Cut apart into 1-inch squares. Serve or store in an airtight container.

Pomegranate Caramels with Toasted Almonds and Kosher Salt

-This demure bowl of candy contains striking, super sour caramel that'll make anyone swoon. Photo by Elise Bauer.-

Do you ever come across a recipe that, once you see it, you realize that you immediately have to make it right then and there. That's generally how I feel about most of Matt's recipes. Of course, it's not just the recipes themselves, but the striking photographs - portals to his kitchen studio - and his writing that, if you met Matt, can immediately recognize as his voice and personality in print.

Now, given, most of the times I don't make the recipes I fawn over. Either it's a matter of time, ingredients, cost, or sloth; but this time the stars were all aligned. Assuming that one of those stars is a bottle of pomegranate molasses. The recipe in question was for fruit flavored caramels. The fruit called for were blood oranges. Lots of them. Blood oranges I did not have.

But blood oranges are kind of like pomegranates. Sorta. Kinda. Think about it. The taste is fruity and vibrant, as scarlet as their juice. Both are bold flavors reminiscent of berries. So, yeah, they can be interchangeable. In a pinch. When you need them to be.

In this case I did. And it worked out wonderfully. The caramels are surprisingly sour. Each bite causes you to suck on your teeth both from the tartness and from the candy sticking to the roof of your mouth and between your teeth. The salt sweeps your off your feet and makes the sour more sour, the sweet more sweet. The toasted almonds give a crunchy contrast, a warm nuttiness that balances out the sweetnsour(nsalty).

Pomegranate Caramels with Toasted Almonds and Kosher Salt

1/4 cup of pomegranate molasses
1 cup of granulated sugar
1 cup of packed light brown sugar
1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
1/3 cup of heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup of almonds
2 teaspoons of kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350F. Place almonds on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Place in a bowl to cool.

Line the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish with parchment paper. Butter parchment paper and set aside.

Place pomegranate molasses in a 3-quart heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat.

Remove from heat and stir in sugars, butter, and cream. Return to high heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Turn heat to medium and let boil until a candy thermometer reads 248 F. This only took me about 5 minutes, but my electric burner is possessed.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Scatter almonds on bottom of parchment paper. Pour caramel over almonds. Let sit until cool and firm, about 2 hours. Remove from baking dish and sprinkle salt flakes over top. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Wrap in squares of wax paper or candy wrappers.

-A good sharp knife to cut the chewy goodness.-

Another Truffles Post, But With Bacon

-Yeah, I know even you vegetarians would go for this. Admit it.-

"Yes, you missed the truffles."

And there it was, The Pout. Purposely exaggerated to the point where it would elicit a sympathetic response from laughter. BF was excited when I told him I had made truffles, something I just discovered was one of his favorite foods. When he came over and found out that they had all been devoured at the potluck it was then that The Pout appeared.

I giggled back and promised that I would make them again. Even better, I would show him just how easy it was to do so. (BF has been showing an increasing interest in cooking which is wonderful because it means he can cook for me soon.)

The night of truffle making I began setting up. We were going to make a simple cinnamon chocolate truffle. Classic and simple, a perfect beginning confection.

"Would you get the heavy cream out, please?" I asked.

He went to the fridge and opened the door. "You have bacon."

"Yeah, I'm thawing it for dinner." I buy bacon in large blocks and then carve it out into portions which go into the freezer. When I need some I thaw it out slowly over the day in the fridge. It was for this reason that he was now confronted with a chunk of bacon about the size of two loose fists.

"Ooh! Can we make bacon truffles?"

I turned, a bit surprised and very intrigued. "Uh... yeah, sure! I'm down if you are."

"Sweet."

Apparently while perusing the blog a few days back he had come upon the now famed (and first, I might add) bacon cupcake. Sad he had missed it BF was intrigued to try a sweet porky treat.

Oh, yes, there's a reason we get on so well.

The bacon truffles are awesome. There is no other word. Dark 70% chocolate, bitter enough to make your tongue tighten in all the right ways, is backed by meaty, salty bacon. It sounds odd but bittersweet and salty-savory work well together.

They were brought to dinner with BF's family and were met with at first trepidation, then grabby fingers as they nabbed truffle after truffle from the plate. A surprising candy that'll sway anyone to the side of sweet bacon treats.

-This picture is made out of pure, fricken' joy.-

Dark Chocolate Bacon Truffles
Makes about 30 truffles

1/4 cup + 7 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup of fine chopped bacon
8 ounces of 60% or 70% chocolate (chips or well chopped)
cocoa powder for rolling

1. Cook some bacon in a skillet until well cooked, but not burnt. Place on some paper towels and press, being sure to soak out all extra grease. Dice into small pieces until you have a 1/2 cup.

2. Place heavy whipping cream in a small, heavy saucepot over medium heat and bring to just under a simmer. Take off heat.

3. Sprinkle in chocolate and cover for 5 minutes, allowing the chocolate to melt in the hot liquid. Stir gently until combined. (This is called a ganache.) Fold in the chopped bacon.

4. Pour into a bowl and cover. Refrigerate for 4 hours.

5. Using your hands dusted in cocoa powder and a teaspoon roll out balls of chocolate about 1/2-1 inch in diameter. Roll in cocoa powder and place on a plate. Store in the fridge. Bring to room temperature before serving.

*It's much easier to roll these with very cold hands. I put a jar or two of water in the freezer when the ganache is cooling. Bring them out when you are rolling. If your hands get too warm, hold the jar and chill your hands so the chocolate doesn't begin to melt.

-Make extra bacon and eat it. You know, to make sure it's good.-

Vosges Sampler IV - Couture Hot Chocolate

The Final Installment of the Vosges Sampler posts, this one being the hot chocolates. Hope you enjoy them as much as I have, though I doubt that's quite possible.

Bianca Couture (Australian lemon myrtle + lavender flowers + vanilla + white chocolate) - Sweet. Very sweet. And reminiscent of the milk at the bottom of a bowl of Fruity Pebbles cereal, that's not a bad thing, but I must admit it's very different from what I expected it to taste like. It's not just me either, I checked with a few others and they all thought the exact same thing. Lemon myrtle has that kind of sweet citrus taste (like lemongrass and kaffir lime) so I should have expected it. It's very flavorful, and not so much herbal but rather candy-like. I could only drink a half cup before I had my fill. Not something you can drink every night, but I bet would be tasty and light appertif of sorts after a heavy meal. I must admit though, I can see quite a few people not liking it.

Aztec Elixir Couture (Ancho & chipotle chillies + Ceylon cinnamon + Madagascar vanilla bean + cornmeal + dark chocolate) - The original hot cocoa. Spicy. Sweet. Dark. Bitter. You can taste why the Aztec Emperor would drink two cups of it before making love to his women. It leaves a pleasant heat behind, that doesn't overpower you but rather warms you up. A cup of this was perfect after a long day at work and class to help me wake up a bit.

La Parisienne Couture (Madagascar vanilla bean pieces + dark chocolate) - Simple and classic. Certainly better than powdered hot chocolate, but using whole bits of chocolate and real vanilla are key to any sweet dessert success involving chocolate. The taste of vanilla is slight and teases you, it appears just as you sip it and then as you tey to pin it down it vanishes. As such I took sip after sip for that delightful vanilla peek-a-boo. After the vanilla whisks away, a firm slightly bittersweet cocoa taste takes it's place. Not as bitter as the Aztec, but has a cloying sweetness to it. If you are a fan of sugary cocoa you might not enjoy this, but if you enjoy a dark and rich type of sweet chocolate, this is your kind of hot cocoa.

Overall, none of these are your average hot cocoa. You'll either like them or not care for them.

Vosges Sampler III - Exotic Candy Bar Tasting

Lastly we have the candy bars. A mini box set that allows you to taste a few different flavors. The best thing is that you get to try a wide variety. The bad thing is you can't try them all, so now I plan to go out and taste the other flavors.

Naga (Milk Chocolate + Sweet Curry + Coconut Flakes) - "No words... They should have sent... a poet." -Contact

Warm. Sweet. Exotic. Best piece of chocolate I have ever had. Ever. EVER.
Try it and you can see why I made my own cupcake interpretation a year or so ago.

Woolloomooloo (Roasted and Salted Macadamia + Indonesian Coconut + Hemp Seed + Milk Chocolate) - Light and airy. The hemp seed leaves a (pardon the pun) herbiness lingering in the back of your mouth that quite enjoyable, in a right way. Salted macadamia nuts are slight, but not inconsequential. They have that slight butter flavor the macadamias are wont to have and lend a nice crunch to the candy bar. Sadly, I couldn't taste the coconut, no matter how hard I tried.

Gianduja (Almonds + Hazelnuts + Milk Chocolate) - Gianduja is a chocolate candy filled with a sweet almond and hazelnut paste. A popular confection in Italy. This candy bar twist tasted like a very silky Nutella, but with a hint of almond. Loved it. I wonder if I can translate this into a biscotti...

Matcha (Matcha + Milk Chocolate) - The matcha was nicely bitter and sweet, and matched well with the chocolate. I love the combination of chocolate and green tea matcha, so I came into the candy bar having a clear idea of what to expect and I do so love it when my expectations are so clearly met.

Barcelona (Hickory Smoked Almonds + Grey Sea Salt + Milk Chocolate) - The salt was nicely subtle and the smoked almonds have gave nutty hints and smoky whisps of flavor. A very common combination given a bit of airy elegance.

Black Pearl (Ginger + Wasabi + Black Sesame Seeds + Dark Chocolate) - Very gingery to begin with, then the black sesame slowly reveals it's flavor all around your mouth and the warming wasabi just floats in at the end and then just as you grasp it, it vanishes. Fantastic. Really, a bar I could eat every day.

Oaxaca (Gjuaillo and Pasilla Chillies + Tanzanian Bittersweet Chocolate) - Dark chocolate that seems sweet and bitter and regular. Then a minute or two later a warm and intense spice just hits you in the back of your mouth. Very fun to eat.

Red Fire (Mexican Ancho and Chipotle Peppers + Ceylon Cinnamon + Dark Chocolate) - A candy bar version of the now famous Mexican hot chocolate. Historical, the flavors are steeped in tradition and in turn are very flavorful, they're reason for permanence speaking for themselves. If you want a tasty cupcake version try this cupcake!

I plan to check out a few of their other candy bar flavors in the future. The Calindia, Goji (of which Cheryl made a cupcake version), and d'Oliva especially piquing my interest as well as the bacon bar. Cause we know I love bacon, especially in a cupcake!

For other opinions and reviews, I highly suggest checking out Chocolate Obsession. This link is to a word search using the key term "Vosges" so you'll pull up reviews of other goodies I never tried and reviews of ones I did. The person behind it is very thorough and clear in their analysis.

Vosges Sampler II - Chocolate Truffles

Simple truffles. Smooth and creamy dark chocolate ganache. Paper thin dark chocolate shell. Cocoa powder. Three forms of chocolate in one delicious little bite. Rob makes truffles this way too, and they're pretty on par with his (Rob will add Chinese 5 spice or mint sometimes, yums!). This however was a dedication to tasting pure chocolate on a variety of levels. Resonant and clear.
Tasty Links!
Matcha Chocolate Truffles
White Chocolate Truffles
Dark Chocolate Truffle Cupcakes

The above are some delicious links, but feel free to post your own truffle recipes in the comments.

Chocolatey Surprise from Vosges - Exotic Caramel Tasting

This is going to be the first in a set of posts that will incite the jealousy of all the other food bloggers out there. Now it's no big shock to most of the readers of this blog that I'm an avid fan of the Vosges chocolate company and have developed a few cupcakes based on their very haut couture chocolate.

The last cupcake apparently caught the eye of the good people at Vosges and to help give me some future inspiration they sent a nice little sampler package of their truffles, candy bars, and caramels. Rob and I were to say the least dancing naked on the table super awesome fun time happy. A large thanks goes out to Paige over at Vosges.

Being able to try all of these tasty treats was a real, well, treat. Personally, I always felt such trouble when I tried to pick just one of the bars. I even did one or two Google searches for candy bar reviews when I made an order on-line a year ago to try and figure out which one I wanted. So as Rob and I painstakingly sample and taste each one, we'll try to give you a nice rundown of their flavors in the next few posts.

This one is on the Vosges Exotic Caramels.

Mexican Guajillo Chilies, Licorice Root, Dark Chocolate, Organic Pumpkin Seed - Not too dark, not too sweet. It's delicious. The licorice root, like many of the flavors, is subtle but present though you may have to try to block outside noise so you can focus on it for the full effect. The chili kicks in pleasantly at the back with a bit of mild heat that stays with you for quite some time. It licks and caresses you; it's warming and I must admit, acts as a bit of an aphrodisiac (no exaggeration). As I type this I'm literally and actually feeling quite frisky right now after eating it.

*off screen pause to pounce on Rob*Canadian Maple Sugar, Maple Syrup, Walnuts, Dark Chocolate - I loved this one. Surely one of my faves (nothing beat the frisky caramel). It was familiar and what I expected it to be, but better. Very wintery. Very homey. Very relaxing with grandma over freshly made breakfast caramel. The walnuts and maple syrup were both defined and well balanced.

Pink Peppercorn, Rose Water, Dark Chocolate, Red Rose Petal - Pros: Very distinct pink peppercorn taste making the caramel peppery and fruity. Cons: Much as we tried, could not taste the rose water, and the red rose petal was more for show than anything.

Brazil Nuts, South American Cocoa Nibs, Dark Chocolate - Nice. I like brazil nuts. Very nutty. Nothing to out of the ordinary in my opinion.

Campari, Blood Orange, Dark Chocolate, Hibiscus Powder - "Pretty!" Yes, my first reaction. I like sparkle. I also like the dark flavors in this one. Slightly citric, slightly tart, very fun. Perfect to match with cocktails. The hibiscus powder is deliciously sour. Totally yummy.

Argentine Dulce de Leche, Costa Rican Cashews, Milk Chocolate - Milk and sweet. Caramel had a slight and pleasantly burnt taste. Very cashew-y.

Aboriginal Anise Myrtle, Dark Chocolate - Very subtle anise flavor. Undercurrents the chocolate well, but you forget you're eating a caramel, which isn't bad, but not sure if that's good either. Regardless, I enjoyed it very much.

Hawaiian Red Sea Salt, Milk Chocolate, Li Hing Powder - Red sea salt makes this caramel pop, and when backed up by the li hing (a product of dried plums that has a powerful salty/sweet/sour flavor) creates a very flavorful effect that makes your mouth water. Would love to work with li hing powder myself soon.

Tupelo Honey, Milk Chocolate, Bee Pollen - Meh. I am not the biggest honey fan in the world, and it competes too much with the caramel in my opinion. Rob loved it. The bee pollen, while pretty and offering a slight soft-resistant textural counterpoint, offers no flavor (though I don't know if it really was supposed too).

In Conclusion: All of these caramels do a fantastic job at balance. Nothing really overpowers other flavors. Some are a bit more subtle than others (some lost all together) but as a whole, I can't really fault any of these. At no point do the caramel or chocolate really ever step off stage, each flavor profile is there only to enhance them. The supporting cast make the stars of the show truly shine. All and all, they're superb and still live up to all my expectations.

Also, damn, that chili one goes to your head. Seriously.