Claire's Chocolate Bark Debacle

Chocolate Bark.  Surely that's THE easiest home made gift for Xmas? 

I thought so and, as often is the case, decided to improv and concoct a recipe without consulting the cookery books.

Got my chocolate..check; macadamia nuts....check; chocolate dipped orange rind...check.

We're off to a promising start.

Only problem was the chocolate. 

I like Lindt chocolate but didn't read the small print.  It didn't look right when it started melting in the bain marie.  The texture was oddball. 

The melting chocolate seemed to drag on the bottom of the bowl and didn't have that glossy sexiness normally associated with molten chocolate.



Ok.  Got it.  I used the wrong chocolate.  Not enough cocoa solids.  (I always wondered why people insisted on 60-70% cocoa solids.) 

And now I know... 

Cheaper chocolate uses lots of milk solids as a filler which lowers the melting point of the chocolate.

Nevertheless, I continued to make a batch.

I used a meat mallet to bash the ingredients to smithereens.  I think I got carried away a bit...

Threw the ingredients into the melted chocolate and stirred...

Keri had tipped me off about the importance of using parchment paper to line the tray on which you are going to spread out the chocolate mixture.  So far so good.

I then left the tray in a cool spot to set.

Only it didn't.

Two days later I was still waiting so I resorted to the fridge, which worked. 

The downside of the fridge is that the difference in temperature caused the chocolate to develop a dusty white bloom.  Ok, I learned several good lessons from this experience, notably that cheaper chocolate has more milk solids and this is one of the things that separates when you refrigerate -- hence the ugly bloom. 

What a debacle (or should I say de-bark-le).

On to batch two of the bark.

Good quality dark chocolate....check; dried cranberries...check;  spiced pecans...check and macadamia nuts...check.

I bash the ingredients more carefully.  I know that I need to leave everything in larger chunks this time round. Stir into molten chocolate and pour onto tray.  This is looking better already.

Pop into fridge for 30 minutes and voila.  This is it.

Success.

I next assembled a pretty gift box, a bottle of champers and a mixer (in this instance Pomegranate juice to tie in with the cranberries in the bark)

One less 'to do' on my Xmas list...

To read Keri's more solid recipe and approach to making chocolate bark, read on....

Valentine's Day

Valentine’s Day is upon us, Pholks and they don’t call this the City of Brotherly Love for nothing.   

Lucky for you, our fair city contains one of the best places on earth to procure creative, unique and affordable valentine gifts: Reading Terminal Market.   That’s right lovers, no excuses for handing over a bunch of wilted flowers grabbed in desperation from the gas station, or the last lonely card left (for good reason) on the drugstore rack….here are just a few suggestions to warm the hearts and parts of your nearest and dearest, all conveniently available from one of Philadelphia’s true gems….

1.   The perfect date night:  Take your Valentine to the hottest party of the year:  Heat Up YOUR Night at the Heat Up The Night Gala--Dinner and Dancing at the Market--trust us, this is the best VD gift on the planet.

2.     Terminis  Red Velvet Cupcakes--even if you reside semi-permanently in the dog house, a box of these should earn you a brief furlough. Aren't they adorable? 

3.  Pitchers and Catchers Report this week….let your sports fan know you care.    Pennsylvania General Store has a respectable supply of Phillies caps—and they’re red!


4. You never go wrong with chocolate. We loved this funny twist...but if you think your Valentine wouldn't get the joke, Chocolate by Mueller has lots of other options.

5.  Heat things up…..with a gift certificate to LaCucina.    Date night cooking classes might be just the thing to fire up the, um, stove.

6.  You know what they say about the way to a person's heart....Gourmet foods from Downtown Cheese (or the multitude of other sources in the Market) are sure to please.






7.  There's no greater luxury than hand-milled soaps.  Terralyn has a beautiful selection--they smell intoxicating, they look lovely, and they contain natural, healthy ingredients that are good for your skin.  Her massage oils make a great Valentine's gift, too....

  8.  And keeping with  the bath theme, check out these adorable rubber duckies from Amy's Place.  The shop stocks a fantastic array of kitchen gadgets and funky homegoods, too.





 9.  If the object of your affection is culinarily inclined, consider a cookbook.  The Cookbook Stall has an enormous variety--including aphrodisiac recipe collections, very apt for V-Day.

10.  You tell us.  This list has barely scratched the surface.   What is YOUR perfect Market Valentine gift?

So head on over to the Market.  We know February is the shortest month, but it will feel mighty long if you blow it on Valentine's Day.

The Apple of His Eye

So Michele is obviously the apple of Barack's eye, evidenced by the fact that while at work he thought of her and brought her home a treat--four Gala apples, to be exact, from the Fair Food Farmstand.  Wasn't that the coolest thing that he stopped at Our Market?

Which brings us to this week's contest:  Write a caption for this photo--be clever, be witty, and remember our overall theme:  food and love.  Email entries by Wednesday, October 6.  Winner will be announced Friday October 8.  And yes, you will win a prize!  Here it is...a book about Inter Courses (We mean entrees and appetisers -- this is PG-rated after all.)

President Obama's offering got us thinking about spouses and gifts.  We heartily encourage gifts from spouses, and of course we love apples, but if our spouses hoped to woo us, well, a bag of apples just wouldn't do the trick.  There are many other delectables that would serve their purposes better, especially in the culinary Mecca of Reading Terminal Market.

Here are our top five:
1.  Chocolates by Mueller's Dark Chocolate Cashew Turtles
2.  Cheese (Tallegio, Pecorino, and Belladonna, perhaps)  from Salumeria or Downtown Cheese
3.  Red Velvet Cupcakes from Flying Monkey
4.  Pretzels from Miller's Twist
5.  Fried Chicken from Delilah's



What are your go-to foods when trying to pave the road to your beloved's heart?