Test Drive

Now that we have the chocolates and the packaging, it's time to see how well they travel together.  Peanuts vs. Bubble Wrap, environmentally gentle vs. protective armor.  With an ice pack included, and a kiss for good luck, the six-pack box is now flying (hopefully) gently (even more hopefully) over the United States to land in Denver CO and SF CA.  Temperatures here are a chilly wet 65 degrees, and at their destinations, a much too balmy 80's in both locales.  Fingers crossed that they arrive looking pristine and tasting delicious.

Dessert, anyone?

One of the perks (and there are many) of making chocolates regularly is that when unexpected guests arrive for dinner or at anytime, putting together a little something-something for a tasty treat is but a container and plate away.  

Recently I put together a plate of ginger, meyer lemon w/ mint, maple syrup, and a sesame nougat.  It was well received....

Sometimes I Feel Like a Nut

We've been feeling a little nutty lately here in our kitchen...working on hazelnut praline, a pistachio paste, and the all american peanut butter.  Having just made the first two from scratch last week, I can see why some folks choose to pay the $$ to buy it prefab.  Having just eaten our recent batch of truffles, I can see why we should stick to scratch. 

Packaging, Packaging

And I thought all we had to do was create beautiful chocolates...Well, I'm sitting here trying to find brown candy pads which are placed in the box to keep the chocolates from moving around and being damaged.   We want them to look their best when the box is opened and you discover the treasure inside.  Thank goodness for the internet.  Of course, this is only one piece of the packaging picture.  There are boxes--what sizes do we need; box inserts--candy cups or sectioned plastic or both; tissue--does this brown have just the right amount of red in it; and bags for the final presentation are a few of the pieces we are trying to put together.   Sample after sample.  I'm feeling very popular with all the mail I'm receiving these days.   

So many flavors - so little time

As we begin to sort out the "master list" of chocolates that we'll be offering this coming fall, I've come to realize that this is in fact ludicrous.  We have our favorites, reliable go to's, like the star anise, salted caramel, cayenne and five spice, orange zest, lavender honey, and such.  But then, we get together and try new ones like this past week's batch - sesame brittle (photo left), anise honey, maple syrup. Or the week prior - white chocolate w/ meyer lemons and fresh mint, peppermint tea, peanut butter . All excellent, delightful flavors and well received, "best yet", as noted by our test tasters. I guess our master list will have to wait - we will offer the "chef's choice" for our members each month, whatever and where ever our inspirations take us.