Chocolate Truffles with Wine!

These truffles are extraordinary, make them and you’ll see why. The first thing to do is to buy really fine chocolate.

At the new Felipe Motta Wine Store that just opened in David, I was able to find Villars 72% cocoa chocolate. One hundred grams of this delectable chocolate was $5.50, compared to Lindt 70% cocoa chocolate, half the price at El Rey at $2.49. The richer the chocolate, the higher the price.

I will buy both chocolates to see which is the very best, the one I will use for “Crazy for Chocolate” cooking class on April 7. See a recent blog for more details.

The recipe is something really special, one that I developed over the years using the finest chocolate I can find. Now, I call it “Boquete Gourmet Chocolate Truffles”. The sommelier at Felipe Motta Wine Store in David will pair my truffles with just the right wine for the upcoming chocolate class.

Boquete Gourmet Chocolate Truffles

2 100-gram bars good-quality dark chocolate
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon Abuelo rum, 12 year old
cocoa powder

Chop the chocolate into small bits, about 1/8″ or finer and place into a heatproof bowl. Set aside.
Combine cream and butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring slowly to a simmer, stirring to keep the butter moving and to prevent the cream from boiling.
When butter is melted and cream forms bubbles around the surface, almost scalding, pour hot mixture over the chocolate. Cover with GladWrap and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk until all chocolate is fully melted and the ganache is smooth and fully combined, about 2 to 3 minutes and blend in the rum. Cover tightly with GladWrap and refrigerate 8 – 12 hours or overnight.

When ready to make truffles, put cocoa powder in a small plastic bag and line a baking sheet with waxed paper. Using a teaspoon, scoop out bite-sized amounts of the filling and roll into balls between your palms. If they’re not perfectly round, egg-shaped will work fine. Carefully drop the balls, one at a time, into the bag and roll to coat truffle.
Lift truffle out with fingers slightly spread and transfer to waxed paper. Cover and chill truffles at least 30 minutes. Serve at room temperature. Truffles can be refrigerated for up to 2 weeks and frozen for up to 2 months. If I made a mistake in this recipe, it was making the truffles too big, they are so decadent!

To learn more about the art of chocolate, stop by Sugar & Spice Bakery on the Main Street of Boquete. Pastry Chef, Richard Meyer will be sharing his recipes using chocolate as the main ingredient in his cooking class on April 7, and Felipe Motta will share their wines paired with Richard’s creations.

Love that chocolate!
Cora

My Fiestaware Collection

My collection of Fiestaware has grown from only a few plates in 1968 to 62 place-settings today, plus many serving pieces I’ve acquired over the years.  The sellers of  an old house I purchased years ago left a few plates in the cupboard and I immediately became hooked on the stunning beauty of the design, how durable it is and how creative my tabletops became when they were set with Fiestaware.

These brightly-colored pieces are sought after by collectors all over the world.  The prices always seemed expensive to me, but my Grandmother always said, “If you really want something bad enough, you’ve got to be willing to pay the price”.  She remembered when Fiestaware first came on the market in 1936, she bought some pieces in Woolworth and she used them until she died.  She told me about the Homer Laughlin Pottery Company where Fiestaware was made and how it became the most popular American dinnerware that was ever created.

The best buy I’ve ever read about, and my Grandmother remembers it, was offered in 1942.  It was a 7-piece juice set that included a pitcher and 6 tumblers and it sold for $1.00 – the entire set!  Look at my picture above, the juice pitcher sits proudly on top of some of my original dinner plates.  My most valuable piece is also pictured.  Can you guess which one it is?    The red color is the most valuable color in the photo; it was discontinued during World War II because the government needed the uranium used to make the red glaze.

If you’d like to learn more about collecting Fiestaware, there are several books available about collecting  and pricing in today’s market.  I was astonished to find how many pieces are available on the internet, but it would be difficult for me to buy “the real thing” without caressing it in my own hands first.

The tiny turquoise mustard jar nestled between the salt shaker and the marmalade jar is my finest, most valuable piece.  It’s in like-new condition and I’ve never used it for mustard, too bad in a way.  I paid $95.00 for it in 1974, which was a good price at that time.  If you collect Fiestaware, I’d like to hear about your collection.  As you follow my blog, you’ll see many photos using pieces from my Fiestaware collection, keep watching for them.