Thanks to everyone who entered the drawing for “Cloe’s Vegan Desserts,” by Chloe Coscarelli. The winner is Linda Towle. I’ll pop it in the mail today.
If you are not Linda Towle, you are eligible to enter the drawing for Breakfast for Dinner, by Lindsay Landis and Taylor Hackbarth. The book features fritattas, Huevos Rancheros, egg burgers, chicken and waffles and just about anything else you can do with breakfast foods in the evening — or in the morning for that matter. It’s very difficult for me to give this book away, frankly. But I’m about out of room on my desk and I need to share the wealth.
To enter, send an e-mail to jennie.geisler@timesnews.com Please include your NAME, MAILING ADDRESS and NAME OF THE BOOK you want. I do not store or share this information.
Normally I’d give you a recipe from the Breakfast for Dinner book, but, in case you haven’t noticed, today is all about chocolate.
If you don’t have anyone to celebrate V-Day with, and even if you do, you can (and I want to) make these chocolate truffles, which should be all the company you need. Pair them with a nicely balanced red wine, and you’ve got yourself a sure thing.
CHEF NATHAN LYON’S CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES FOUR WAYS
1 cup heavy whipping cream
12 ounces dark chocolate (containing 60% to 72% cocoa solids(, chopped finely
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/16 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon dark rum, almond oil, peppermint oil, and orange oil
1/2 cup each: finely crushed hard mint candies, unsweetened shredded coconut, and finely chopped almonds in separate bowls
1/4 cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
1. Pot the cream into a medium saucepan and stir slowly over medium-low heat to just a simmer, being careful not to let it boil.
2. Combine the chopped chocolate, butter, and salt into a large bowl. Remove the cream from the heat and pour it over the chocolate mixture. Cover with plastic wrap.
3. Let the mixture sit undisturbed for 1 minute, then uncover and slowly stir with a spatula until fully incorporated. Stir in the vanilla extract.
4. Divide the melted chocolate evenly among 4 small bowls. Add the dark run to the first bowl, the orange oil to the second, the almond oil to the third and the peppermint oil to the fourth. Cover each bowl loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
5. Using a melon baller, small ice cream scoop, or teaspoon, scoop the chilled chocolate into 1-teaspoon portions. Quickly roll each portion of chocolate between the palms of your hand to achieve a somewhat round ball.
6. Gently roll each chocolate ball in one of the four separate bowls filled with the cocoa power, mint candies, shredded coconut, and toasted almonds.
7. Transfer the coated truffles to a parchment paper-lined plate, cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, approximately 30 minutes. Remove truffles from the refrigerator 15 minutes before serving.
Note: Enjoy a little heat with your chocolate? Try stirring in some ground cayenne pepper with some melted chocolate. Whoa! Spicy.
Makes 40 truffles, 10 of each flavor
First off, no these don’t have any nutritional value at all, unless you’re part of the 1 percent of the American population trying to gain weight, which would include my underweight son.