Pi Day, Pie Day

Pi Day, 3.14 or March 14th is a day to celebrate both the math in our lives and the great food in our lives. I can't think of another day that is really just about math and food. What an interesting mix. I think that all good baking requires a bit of math, making a pie on Pi Day seems to be a great way to celebrate.

I have procrastinated and I haven't picked my pie yet. I could always go to the store and BUY a pie, but that just doesn't feel right to me. There are so many types of pies, too. And of course, everyone in my family likes a different kind of pie. There are fruit pies and pecan pies and fluffy creamy pies. I'm leaning, this will be no surprise, to a pie that has some chocolate involved.

My husband, David, suggested I make a savory pie, like a quiche. That could be good, but I would probably be the only one in my family to eat it. It is too time consuming to make a pie that only I will eat.

Maybe I'll just have to make up a new pie. This one will be vegan, so that my Ella daughter can eat it, have fruit, so that my Ada daughter will eat it. Alas, it will have to have some chocolate so that I will want to eat it. I hope it turns out. Regardless, it's a great way to enjoy March 14th!

Yours in chocolate,

Emily
The Truffle Lady

Tuesday Tip: Bark at the Walls

It's January and you may find yourself snowed into the house. Do not despair because a chocolate moment is close at hand. Making bark may be one of the easiest things that you can do with a bag of chocolate chips. The idea behind this recipe is that I will give you inspiration and you will make the recipe to your taste. Therefore, the possibilities are endless. You can make one kind this week and another type next week (when you are snowed in again.) Feel free to experiment, it's that kind of recipe.

Emily's Bark

1 bag of chocolate chips (12 oz.)
1 cup of (pick one):
roasted pecan pieces
roasted almond pieces
walnut pieces
peanuts
1/2 cup of (pick one):
dried cherries
raisins
shredded coconut

or
1 1/2 cup of your favorite cookie crumbled into pieces
i.e. oreos, chocolate chip, graham crackers, ginger snaps, etc.

or
1 1/2 cup of one of the following
pretzel pieces, crunchy cereal of your choice, granola,
thin mint candy or candy canes in small pieces

Take the bag of chocolate chips and empty into a large microwave safe measuring cup or small bowl. Stick into the microwave on power 8 for 1 minute. Stir and put back in and do the same. Stir until completely melted. Add your combination of ingredients. I made the roasted pecan and dried cherries version. Stir until all the ingredients are incorporated into the melted chocolate.
Take a square brownie pan and line with wax paper. Spoon your chocolate concoction onto the wax paper and spread out so it covers the bottom of the pan in a thin layer. Refrigerate. It should be ready in about a half hour or so. Whatever you don't eat instantly,cut into squares and put into an airtight container and stick into the fridge so you have a nice treat after the next round of shoveling.

Note: *I made the bark with pecan pieces. It is also possible to make the bark with whole nuts. I would not recommend using ground nuts for this recipe.
*Mix and match ingredients according to your taste palette.

What combinations do you like?

Yours in chocolate,

Emily
The Truffle Lady

Tuesday Tip: Giving Chocolate

Give a friend, partner, child, parent or stranger a piece of chocolate and watch their face!

Yours in chocolate!

Emily
The Truffle Lady

And the winner is . . .

Hello Delhi submitted by Julie Torem of Cincinnati, Ohio.

Thank you to everyone that took the time to submit truffle names for this new Cardamom truffle. We really appreciate your thoughtfulness and creativity. It was not an easy decision. Some of the other names that we were debating are: Queen Cardamom, Cardayum and Cardamom Contentment.

Yours in chocolate,

Emily
The Truffle Lady

New Truffle Naming Contest

The new cardamom truffle is here! It is a smooth truffle made with semi-sweet chocolate and a hint of cardamom. It is decorated with a dab of green glittery sugar dust. It will be introduced with my holiday flavors for November and December, 2010.

Here is how the contest works. Please, send me your truffle name (one name per person). Consider the flavor and please keep the name pithy (not too long.) The contest will run through October 12th and we will announce the winner on October 13th. If you are the winner, you will receive one box of 10 truffles of this new flavor and one box of 4 truffles of your choice. The two boxes will be either shipped or delivered to you depending on your location and at the Chocolatier's discretion.

Email all truffle names to: yummy@TrufflesByEmily.com

Thank you for your participation and good luck!

Yours in chocolate,

Emily
The Truffle Lady

Tuesday Tip: In Honor of Chocolate

The last time I posted, I talked a bit about how to taste chocolate. I would like to talk about how I come up with my flavor combinations. When I first decided to start my chocolate business, I made a promise to myself that I would only make flavors that I would eat. So, for instance, I do not have a chocolate and peanut butter truffle because I don't like those two flavors together. I know that for some people, a peanut butter truffle would be "The Bomb." However, because I don't like the texture and flavor combination, I would never be able to do any quality control on this truffle. Therefore, I would not be able to give the world my best effort for that truffle. My rationale is that someone who loves these flavors will be able to do it better. I have decided to focus on flavors that I love, so I can make creations that imbue this feeling.

My most recent flavor is the Apples and Honey flavor which was inspired by the Jewish Holiday of Rosh Hashanah. I knew that I wanted the truffle to have both the flavors of apples and honey, but the trick is figuring out how to get it into the ganache so the person eating it can actually taste all of that. My first couple attempts did not work for me. I was told that the truffle was tasty, but not one of my tasters could tell that it had apples in it. Since my goal was to get it to taste like apples, I had to figure out what was missing. I switched from apple jam to apple butter, but that was not enough. One of my tasters recommended that I use dried apples and since I was already using apple liqueur, I had the idea of soaking the dried apples into the liqueur and then adding it to the ganache. It worked! But then there was the honey. Honey is a bit tricky because if you use too much it will be too sweet and it will make the ganache too gooey. So, I added a little at a time until it seemed right to me. I could taste the honey in the finish. Success!

I must admit that I like my truffle flavors on the subtle side. I want the things I add to the chocolate to compliment it and not overpower it. In this way, I feel like I am honoring the chocolate and staying true to myself.

Have an ever so sweet New Year!

Yours in chocolate,

Emily
The Truffle Lady

Tuesday Tip: Enjoying your Chocolate!

Tuesday Tip: Enjoying your Chocolate!

Here is the scenario. You are holding an exquisite piece of chocolate in your hand. You are anticipating what it will taste like. You smell it and it starts to talk to you. The smell is giving you the first clue as to it's taste. Now, take this chocolate (preferably a Truffles by Emily truffle) and take a slow bite. Let the chocolate sit on your tongue, so you can fully taste all the flavor and richness your chocolate has to offer. You will find that the initial flavor will be slightly different than the flavor that you taste as it's melting on your tongue and then different from the flavor that you have in your mouth when it is mostly gone (the finish.) Try different flavors and notice how different chocolates will also have a different texture. I love to try other company's truffles and compare how they are using their flavorings. Are they bolder, milder or more subtle? Is the outer shell really hard or does it have a softness to it? Does it taste waxy? Are they using milk, semi-sweet or dark chocolate? How are the flavors combining?

Have fun tasting your chocolate!

Forever Yours in Chocolate!

Emily
The Truffle Lady

Tuesday Tip: Pick Your Fruit

Last week I wrote about dipping berries into chocolate. For me, something almost as much fun as dipping fruit into chocolate is picking fruit. My favorite fruits to pick are blueberries and strawberries. Blueberries are easy to pick because they grow conveniently on bushes, so the picking is pretty easy. Strawberries are a bit harder because they grow low to the ground. Over the years and depending on where I live, I have picked berries and other fruits at u-pick farms. I find it to be a relaxing way to spend the morning and a great way to get fresh air, have quality time with my family and friends AND pick the freshest fruit. The freshest fruit is always the best. And if you haven't eaten it all before you get home, you can wash it, dry it and dip it into melted chocolate!

These are the farms that I love to pick fruit at in the Baltimore area:

Baugher's Farm in Westminster for strawberries (early June)
410 857 0111
Larriland Farm in Lisbon for blueberries and raspberries (July and August)
301 854 6110
Weber's Cider Mill Farm in Parkville for apples (September-October)
410 668 4488

There are many many more farms and fruits! Please, make sure to call before you go to get the up to date info. on what is being picked that day and the hours of operation. Also, don't forget to go to the cash machine before you get there, they may or may not take credit cards. Bring plenty of water, a hat, sunscreen and maybe even some hand wipes. Most farms will provide containers. Have fun!

Here is a good source for u-pick farm info. in Maryland.
http://pickyourown.org/MDbalt.htm#listings

Enjoy!

Emily
The Truffle Lady

Tuesday Tip: Dipped Fruit

Dipping fruit in chocolate is easy, fun and delicious. Now that we are in berry season, I would like to recommend dipping berries. Here is what you need:

berries of your choice (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries- quantity determined by you)
12 oz. of baking chocolate (I would recommend Baker's semi sweet or bittersweet choc. squares for dark chocolate)
chopsticks or 2 forks
cookie sheet lined with wax paper

* Stay away from unsweetened chocolate when you are dipping.

Now, you want to melt down your chocolate. This can be done in several ways. You can do this using a double boiler, a bowl in the microwave or a small crock pot. Today I will talk about using the small crock pot. Put the chocolate into the Crockpot with the lid on and set the Crockpot on high. After 5 minutes, stir the chocolate. Continue to stir the chocolate at 5 minute intervals until it is mostly melted. When it is mostly melted, turn the heat down to low and stir until completely melted.

When you are not stirring your chocolate, this is when you want to wash your berries. Strawberries need to be washed thoroughly to remove sand and dirt. All berries need to be washed gently and dried.

For the strawberries, hold them at the top of the berry and dip into the melted chocolate until about 3/4 of the strawberry is covered. It is beautiful to see the red and green of the berry show, so don't be tempted to dip the whole berry. (also, the chocolate is hot, so you can keep your fingers safe by not dipping all the way!) Take the strawberry and gently shake the excess chocolate off the berry and then lay it gently on the wax paper lined cookie sheet.

For the rest of the berries, gently put the berries 3 or 4 at a time into the chocolate and rotate until they are covered. If you are proficient at using chopsticks, pull the berry out with the chopstick and after the excess chocolate has dripped off, let it rest on the cookie sheet. If using chopsticks is more of a challenge for you than it's worth, use the forks.

After you have dipped all the berries that your heart desires, put the cookie sheet into the refrigerator and let the delectable berries harden. Eat within 24 hours!

Enjoy!

Yours in chocolate,

Emily
The Truffle Lady

Summer Chocolate Blues

It's hot out! Many people, myself included, get a bit nervous about the idea of transporting chocolate items in the heat. It can be done!
Use a cooler, keep your chocolate in the cooler (and don't open it) until you get to your destination. Any size cooler can work.
Want to put your chocolate out for a picnic? Find a shady spot first. Next, set up a two plate system with ice on the first plate, then the next plate on top with the chocolate on that. This will work if you want to have the chocolate out for a short bit of time or in the evening. This will not work for chocolate that is directly in the sun. Also, if it is a small crowd, you may want to put out smaller quantities at a time.

Good luck!

Yours in chocolate,

Emily
The Truffle Lady

Panera Bread experiment

This morning, I heard a story on the radio about Panera Bread opening a restaurant in the St. Louis area that operates on donations. It works like this. A patron comes into the restaurant and orders a sandwich and then pays either following the suggested price or not. They can pay more or less than the suggestion. The radio story said that most people will pay at least the suggested amount.

So, I was thinking that this is a very interesting experiment. What will it mean if Panera Bread is successful with this idea? How would it work if other businesses tried this? It sounded to me that this experiment was worth the risk for a large business, but could it work for a small business?

Then I wondered what people would pay if they were left to buy a handmade truffle without a pricetag? Would it work for me as a small business owner to try an experiment like this?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this!

Yours in Chocolate,

The Truffle Lady

Truffle Engineering

I recently asked my Facebook friends to send me flavor combinations that they would like to eat in their truffles. It seems like an easy question. It generated quite a few responses. From the list of combinations, I then started to think about which flavors might work.

First there is the compatability factor. If you are mixing ginger with lemon, will it taste good? If you are mixing ginger with lemon and adding it to chocolate will it taste good?

Then there is the "will this work" factor. If you add an ingredient to the ganache will you be able to taste it? One example is adding a flavor to the ganache. When the flavor isn't strong enough, it will get lost in the ganache. Or, if you try to add something crunchy to the ganache, e.g. adding pretzels, will the pretzel keep it's crunch or will it get soggy? Sometimes, it's a chemistry issue. If you roll ganache in Pop Rocks they will pop when you put them into your mouth on the first day. By the third day, the popping will be gone and the ganache will be coated in a puddle of candy, all the effervescence gone.

Lastly, there is the "consumer" factor. This is the idea that one person may LOVE a specific flavor, but they might be the only one of a few. There probably aren't too many people out there that want to eat a dark chocolate truffle with a sorbet ganache.

As a chocolatier, it is fun to play with the flavors and see what works. Sometimes the results are surprisingly delicious!

Yours in chocolate!

Emily
The Truffle Lady

Craft Shows

I am just back from my third holiday show in 10 days. It was fun and I enjoy meeting the other vendors and finding out what people are doing to be creative and give a piece of themselves to the world. The world of craft shows is for those of us who create and for the world around us that wants to be a part of this and support our talent. This is a beautiful thing to watch. This is why I go to the Farmer's Market regularly and why I buy from other local vendors. Without sounding preachy, I will say that it feels like a win-win situation.

This blog post is dedicated to Jessica, who I met today. She reminded me of why I like to/need to blog. Sometimes I think that no one reads this, but she set me straight today. Thank you!

Yours in chocolate!

The Truffle Lady
Emily

Food Passion

After a full and amazing summer, I'm now getting back into the kitchen. Being at "my kitchen", the commercial kitchen that I rent, has a very comforting feeling for me. As I make a batch of ganache and smell the melted chocolate, I am instantly reminded of why I do this. I love good chocolate and I want to share my creations with the world!

Seeing Julie and Julia was a great time for me. I thought that I would just relate to the Julia character in some way, but I found myself relating to Julie, too! I guess it is the blogger in me.

Cheers to all the foodies out there that have a passion for food and want to share it with the world.

Yours in chocolate,

Emily
The Truffle Lady

Learning the Art of Truffle Making

On Monday, April 20, 2009, I will be demonstrating and teaching the art of making Raspberry Truffles. Everyone participating will have a hands on experience in making ganache, rolling truffle balls, dipping into melted chocolate and decorating the truffles to give them your our unique style.

I will also be teaching how to make hand dipped cookies. All participants will leave with a box of truffles and an assortment of hand dipped cookies.

This workshop will be held at the Westwood Breezeway, 13554 Triadelphia Road in Ellicott City, MD, 21042. 7-9 pm. Total cost is $45 which includes all material fees.

Please, contact Emily for more details: Emily@TrufflesbyEmily.com

Yours in Chocolate,

Emily
The Truffle Lady

Playing with Chocolate

Last week I had the opportunity to play with chocolate with a new friend, Shari. I am working on a new flavor, lavender, and Shari had some ideas for me. To make my lavender truffle, I have infused the dried lavender flowers into the cream. This is done by steeping the cream with the flowers and letting it sit for about 10 minutes. The flowers are then strained out and the cream is added to the chocolate. The whole beautiful combination is stirred until all of the chocolate is melted. Then a bit of butter is added to enhance the smoothness of the truffle. Shari thought that this would be a good time to add lavender essence to boost the flavor. It was a strong addition.

It made me think about my taste palette. I have always worked at making my truffles delicious, but I have steered away from flavors that will be so strong that the chocolate gets lost in the flavor. My chocolate philosophy is to enhance the flavor of the chocolate and not overpower it. Sometimes, it's a very subtle difference.

While we were playing with flavor combinations, we also tried adding blood orange essense to bittersweet chocolate. This was a great combination. The orange could be tasted and smelled, but it didn't overpower.

I am thinking about creating a dairy free truffle and we played with different ways of substituting for both the cream and the butter. We used a nut based product called Mimiccream and coconut oil to replace the butter. I was curious about adding saffron to the dark chocolate. This was a very complex truffle flavor combination. Our flavors weren't quite right, but we felt like we were on to something and I will definately be playing with those flavors more.

What a wonderful time. Thanks, Shari!

Yours in chocolate,

Emily
The Truffle Lady

Chocolate Covered stawberries

Chocolate covered strawberries are a great way to say thank you or I love you to a special someone. If you don't have time to make a batch of truffles, try making some chocolate covered strawberries. It's easy! This is what you need:

about 8 oz. of melting chocolate (I suggest Bakers semi sweet chocolate baking bars), a box of large strawberries cleaned and patted dry (pull out any soft strawberries and use for another dish), a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, and an microwave safe medium bowl.

Break up the chocolate and put it into a clean microwave safe bowl. Put it into the microwave on power 8 for 1 minute. Stir. Repeat for 30 second intervals at power 5 until the chocolate is fully melted.

Take the strawberries and holding them delicately at the top (not by the greens) dip them into the chocolate about 3/4 of the way in. The idea is to leave some of the red from the strawberry show. Let the extra chocolate drip back into the bowl and place very delicately onto the wax paper lined cookie sheet. Continue until all of the strawberries are dipped!

If you have left over chocolate, find some yummies from your pantry that you might like to dip into the chocolate. Here are some examples: graham crackers or your favorite cookies, pretzels, potato chips, marshmallows, dried apricots. The list can go on and on so be creative and have fun!!

And of course, let me know if you have any questions.

Yours in chocolate!

Emily Marcovitz
The Truffle Lady

Put some "sin" in your truffle

The winner of the most recent truffle naming contest is Sharon of Reisterstown. Her winning name is Almond Sin-amon! We thought it was to the point while adding some fun to the title. Let me know if you would like to try this new flavor, maybe a nice early summer gift just for you!

Order your Almond Sin-amon truffles by visiting the website at Emily.

Yours in chocolate,

Emily
The Truffle Lady

Cinnamon Almond Truffle Naming Contest

It's time for another truffle naming contest. This new flavor is made with bittersweet chocolate, almond paste and cinnamon in the ganache. On the outside is more bittersweet chocolate and chopped almonds on top. It is not a very sweet truffle, but a very rich truffle that will be enjoyed by those that love dark chocolate.

Now is the fun part for you!

To enter the truffle contest, send an email with your truffle flavor name to yummy@TrufflesByEmily.com Make sure to include your name. Please, limit your entries to 2 per person. I will be taking truffle flavor names until 8pm Wednesday, June 4th.

The contest will be judged by a select group of truffle eaters. The names of the submitters will be kept anonymous to them. I will post the winning entry here on my blog by Friday, June 6th.

The winner of the contest will receive a FREE 10 piece box of this new flavor delivered (if local.) If the winning entry comes from someone out of the local delivery area, that person will be shipped a 10 piece box at the earliest time that shipping is resumed. (Truffles by Emily does not ship in warm weather months.) In the event of multiple entries of a winning flavor, the prize will go to the first person to submit the entry.

One note of advice, the name should give some indication of what flavors the person is about to eat.

Email any questions to emily@trufflesbyemily.com.

Have fun and good luck!

Emily
The Truffle Lady

Cool Networking

One of the things that I love about having a small business is the wonderful people that I've met in my networking encounters. I started going to networking meetings in Howard County with a friend who owns her own business. This wonderful group is called Mom's Inc. This organization was founded by a woman named Nancy Daniels. It meets in Clarksville and is set up as a networking/support group that meets monthly. The group is friendly towards women with children and has it's meetings in the daytime. Check out their website for more info. on location and meeting times.
Lisa Jo Finstrom was so excited about Mom's Inc. that she started a Mom's Inc. group in Bethesda. Check out their website for info. on members and meeting times and location.

Yihung Mohs of Dream Dinners in Cloverly also started coming to Mom's Inc. in Howard County and decided to start a group closer to her home and business. It is Mom's Inc. in Silver Spring and it just celebrated it's one year anniversary.

The women that come to these networking meetings have diverse businesses. If you or someone you know owns a small business feel free to come and visit a meeting. There is no charge to attend a meeting. This is a non-profit organization. Attendies are highly encouraged to join the chapter after the third visit. Annual dues are minimal and go towards meeting costs.

Yours in chocolate,

Emily
The Truffle Lady