Showing posts with label salt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label salt. Show all posts
Burnt Caramel Sea Salt Dark Chocolate Coins with my mind on my money and my money on my mind
Thursday, April 10, 2014
I wonder if Snoop Dogg visits this blog, and if he does, what he thinks about my gratuitous, trying to be cool, hip-hop reference.This chocolate video features one of my rare forays into the world of candy. These chocolate coins are inspired by my love for the chocolate-salt-caramel flavor combination, and my fascination with edible money.
To this day, if Im in a store and I see those little mesh bags of chocolate coins, I immediately turn into a 5-year-old. Those foil wrapped chocolates were, for whatever reason, my absolute favorite. Come on, money and chocolate in one shiny package…beautiful.
It also provided a valuable life lesson. I always thought the saying should have been, "you cant have your chocolate coins and eat them too." I mean who wants to keep cake around? It gets stale. Of course you eat cake as soon as you can - thats a no-brainer. Chocolate coins presented the real have-or-eat dilemma.Before you watch, let me say that Im not a candy maker or chocolatiere. I didn’t really use a recipe, so if you are experienced in chocolate manipulation you very well may see errors in both technique and execution.
I also didn’t bother to wrap them in gold and silver foil. I was very tempted, but time management and sanity prevailed, and I just piled them up.The chocolate I used was made by a company called Amano, which is quickly gaining a reputation as one of the top artisan chocolate makers anywhere. They are one of the few American companies that create their chocolate directly from the cacao beans. Its amazing stuff and Ive included a link here so you can learn more, and hopefully taste it for yourself. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
6 oz dark chocolate, broken in small pieces
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
sea salt
cocoa for dusting
Savory Chocolate Crustini with Maldon Sea Salt Crystals
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
This short and simple clip may seem a bit strange. The thought of topping a warm, olive oil soaked Crustini with chocolate and sea salt does take an open mind to contemplate. The first time I came across this combo, I too was understandable skeptical, but one bite and I was convinced. It worked. Not only did it work, it rocked!The blending of the fruity/peppery olive oil, bittersweet dark chocolate, the warm crispy-edged bread, and the tiny crunch of briny sea salt crystals is quite the epicurean experience.
Most good cooks know that a pinch of salt in a dessert recipe is a must to bring out the sweetness of whatever you’re making. So topping the chocolate with flakes of the Maldon sea salt is really not that crazy. I guess it’s the fact that it’s served on top of warm Crustini that makes it seem so unusual.
To me this is a savory recipe, not a dessert. I think these are perfect with a nice glass of red wine or port. It would make for a very unique passed Hors D’ouvre. This is not a sweet bite if you use the bittersweet chocolate I suggest. You could use semi-sweet, but then I think you just crossed the savory-sweet border and now definitely have a dessert item. Anyway, it’s the season of faith, so have some, and give this a try!
By the way, this was NOT inspired by a certain animated TV Chef from South Park, Colorado! If it was, I would have called it, “Chef’s Salty Chocolate Crustini.” I almost provided a link to the song, but discretion prevailed (and hey, you can always google it). Apologies to all of you that are not South Park fans and have no idea what I’m talking about.
Ingredients:
Sliced baguette
bittersweet chocolate
olive oil
Maldon sea salt crystals, or other flaky type sea salt
The Maldon salt you see in the clip is a really interesting ingredient and I’ve included a link here, in case you want more info.
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