For Valentine’s Day this year I made truffles and filled chocolates for Nora. This involved working with white and dark Callebaut chocolate, and Valrhona dark chocolate. In the past I’d done any chocolate work with either tollhouse chocolate chips or something comparable (professional chocolatiers can cringe away now). I can unequivocally say that there is no comparison. The Callebaut and Valrhona both melt very smoothly and evenly, and they both temper nicely. The tollhouse chocolate chips seemed prone to seizing and do not melt evenly. I did however find that Ghirardelli chocolate chips did not fall prey to those problems and were OK to work with. The Valrhona is definitely wonderful, but unless you have an extremely sensitive palate then it seems like the Callebaut gets you the most bang for the buck. It lacks the bite that the Valrhona has, so if you crave that then you’re on the hook for the more expensive stuff. If you don’t mind a less bitter chocolate then it’s well worth it.
Daily Archives: February 16, 2010
Protected: Thoughts on chocolate
Chili Verde
Gambler’s Chili
by Lauren Ray
Ingredients:
2 lbs. pork tenderloin, cubed
1 cup coarsely chopped onion
14 oz. Swanson chicken broth
10 oz can or bottle of green salsa
2 1/2 cups diced green chiles
Spice Mix Ingredients:
3 tsp garlic (minced or mashed)
2 ½ Tbsp chicken base (bouillon)
1 tsp celery salt
1 Tbsp flour
2 tsp oregano
1 Tbsp cumin
3 Tbsp diced jalapeno pepper
1 Tbsp dried cilantro (Pendries powder or 3 Tbsp fresh finely chopped)
1 Tbsp green chili powder
*Tabasco (green)
*Salt Salt to taste
Cook additional 15-20 minutes
Instructions:
1. Brown pork and drain
2. Add onion & chicken broth, then simmer 1 hour, stirring often to avoid sticking
3. Add spice mix and green chili salsa, then simmer 1 hour
4. Add diced green chiles, then add salt and tabasco to taste
5. Simmer another hour and serve.
Preparation time: about 1/2 hour
Cooking time: 3 hours
Makes: 2 1/2 quarts
Serves: about 10