Happy Valentine's Day! Oh, the day of love...and it also happens to be my birthday. I am 39 today, and I am still debating about whether I feel old or not. My parents called bright and early this morning to sing happy birthday to me (as they do every year), and I was cleaning up the kitchen and talking on the phone with my brother's wife who asked how old I was (knowing darn well I'm now officially on the cusp of 40--she's not far behind though, at 38--so there, Jenn!) I somehow just thought about it for a minute with the voice inside of my head that still sounds the same to me as when I was 8 (okay, I am not crazy--you ALL know what voice I am talking about!) and at that moment, I didn't feel old. I mean, I'm now 39, married with three kids, driving a minivan and living in suburbia--definitely not where I pictured myself if you asked me 20 years ago---but I am content. I guess it is the late-30's security of knowing my life is on the right path. I have a wonderful husband, 3 great kids, 3 fabulous dogs (soon to be 4--more on that later this week....), and I get to do what I love everyday--make things! What more could I ask for??
Soooo...it's Valentine's day, and the blog is supposed to be connected somewhat to my work, so I'm going to be the proud mama and post the Valentines I designed for my kids to hand out in class for their parties. I am a "volunteer maniac" when it comes to the kids' school, and I was actually at school for my youngest daughter, Camille's, party. She is a trip, and in true form, lost her Valentines and couldn't find them for the first half of the party. Luckily, while calling a game of Heart Bingo, I happened to notice them sticking out of some other kid's backpack--how they got there, I have no idea. Anyhow, here are Camille (age 7, 1st grade) & Carter's (age 5, preschool) Valentines:
They were a big hit, along with the homemade truffles I had made and packaged up for the teachers complete with red and white striped ribbon:
How cute are they? Well, as my Valentine to you, here is the SUPER EASY recipe for the truffles:
DECADENT CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
24 oz good quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (do NOT skimp on your chocolate! I like Ghirardelli, which is reasonably priced.)
a pinch of salt
1/4 to 1/2 cup good quality cocoa (again, no skimping! Get the best you can afford!)
First, you must make the ganache, which is the chocolate that composes the truffles. Ganache is not only for truffles, but but can also be used as a cake filling (YUM!!), to drizzle over ice cream (OH MY!) and even for dipping fruit--like big, red strawberries (HEAVEN!) Please-feel free to use this recipe for any other use than that for which it was intended with my blessing!
Bring the cream to a boil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove it from the heat, and add the chocolate chips and pinch of salt. Whisk until thoroughly combined and the mixture becomes a dark, luscious brown. Pour into a 9x13 baking pan and refrigerate for 2-3 hours until firm. To make the truffles, use a small cookie-dough scoop. Working QUICKLY, scoop out balls and roll them in the cocoa powder. Don't worry if they don't look perfect--they are SUPPOSED to look handmade. I usually have mini cupcake liners waiting to drop them into--they look great for presentation, and keep them from sticking together or to the bottom of their storage container. Re-chill them, and then package them up for gift giving (or if you are feeling particularly selfish, keep them all for yourself--they are totally worth it, believe me!)
Now, are you feeling creative?....you could really have fun with this recipe. How, you may ask? Well.....leaving them as-is and rolling them in cocoa is the easy way out. Just think what a couple of tablespoons of a liquor like Baileys or Frangelico (raspberry liquor) in the ganache would do to the flavor? Or perhaps, rolling the truffles in toasted hazelnuts or ground almonds? Or leaving them plain and sprinkling the top with a few crystals of gray sea salt? (Salt and chocolate are a TRUE gourmet taste experience...just think of chocolate covered pretzels...the gray sea salt on top is just DIVINE!) You go ahead and take poetic license here....what's the worst that can happen? You mess up a few truffles and have to make more? It's not that big of a deal, and look at it this way: this is one time when eating your mistakes can actually be kind of fun! Enjoy, and share your Valentines day with someone you love--I know I will!
