Sorry, but I’m in a very serious mood tonight. I’ll try to counteract this unusual state by posting my chocolate truffle recipe at the end. Chocolate can soothe the worst worries. And I had a couple of people ask me for the recipe. Enjoy.
I don’t use most social media. I’m suspicious of those enormous permission statements that you have to grant before you can use their services. The statements are so huge, no one ever reads them and even if you did, they are written in impenetrable legalese. For all I know, they’re asking for the first and second mortgages on my immortal soul. Since I want to keep mine, I don't sign. Since I don't sign, I can't use them.
Have you noticed all of the cameras that have arisen on highways and byways around the country? In Western Massachusetts, towers with camera pods have been erected at every interchange on Interstate 91, the road that runs roughly parallel to the Connecticut River. Who is monitoring these cameras and what is the data being used for? In other states, similar cameras are now used to issue speeding tickets automatically, with recognition software to identify all vehicles by their license plates and computers to calculate the speed of every vehicle as it passes each camera site.
I was going to say that this smacks of Big Brother, but it isn’t merely something close to Orwell’s ubiquitous state monitoring of its citizens, this is EXACTLY what is now occurring on our highways! Big Brother is now amongst us.
Walk down any commercial area and look up. I’ll bet you’ll spot cameras. Don’t scratch inappropriately; someone will have it recorded.
I’ve got discount cards for a number of local stores and I get junk mail that fits my purchase history; the devil in me wants to use someone else’s card and use it to get a discount when I buy something really naughty.
I use Costco for some of my prescription drugs; I get letters, paid for by the drug companies, reminding me when my inhaler should be running low.
Despite my refusing all cookies on my computer, my virus checker finds and destroys a couple of tracking cookies every few days. If the Constitution grants the right to freedom from illegal search and seizure and the police aren’t allowed to gather certain information without a search warrant, why can companies collect that same information and sell it to anyone, including the police?
I don’t think I’m paranoid but I am very nervous about all of the types of information that are collected about me all of the time. Note that I have no problem with the federal census; I’ve used census data in my work and I know the ground rules. It’s all of the other groups that are gathering information that make me cringe.
They’re watching you. And me, too.
CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
Regular batch BIG batch
1 1/3 c. heavy cream 1 qt. heavy cream
14 oz. semisweet chocolate*, chopped 2.6 lbs chocolate
1/4 lb. unsalted butter, softened 3/4 lb. unsalted butter
1 t. real vanilla 1 T. real vanilla
1 c. cocoa 2 c. cocoa
1/2 lb. (more or less) semisweet chocolate for coating > 2 lb. chocolate
vegetable shortening (Crisco, NOT margarine) 1/2 c? Crisco
* I prefer to use a high quality chocolate in bar form, such as Callibaut or Guittard, but good chocolate chips (NOT Nestles’) will also work. I buy a giant bag of chocolate chips at Costco when I can’t get a ten pound bar at Williams-Sonoma. Much to my surprise, I discovered that grocery store-brand real chocolate chips taste much better than Nestles’.
Bring cream to boil but do not allow it to scorch. Remove from heat, add chocolate, stir until smooth (a wire wisk may be necessary). Stir in butter, blend well. Add vanilla last, after the mixture has cooled somewhat. Chill in refrigerator at least 2 hours.
Remove chocolate mixture from refrigerator, and, using a teaspoon or small scoop, gently extract a creamy glob. You should skim your tool across the surface of the mixture rather than dig down into the solid mass. Drop globs onto waxed paper. Freeze at least 2 hours.
Put cocoa in a bowl. Take a glob of chocolate mixture, roll it in cocoa to coat, then quickly roll the coated glob between your hands to form a ball. Act quickly, or the stuff will melt all over your hands. Place on waxed paper. When all are rolled, freeze again until hard (at least a couple of hours).
Melt chocolate for coating in the top of a double boiler. You will need to add some shortening, but the amount varies with the humidity. Try beginning with 1tablespoon. The problem with adding too much shortening is that the chocolate will not want to re-harden. Too little, and the chocolate will stiffen with the increasing amount of cocoa from dipping and will not form a smooth coating over the balls. You must use a vegetable shortening such as Crisco as butter, margarine, or any kind of oil will ruin the coating mixture. Take about 1/3 of the balls out of the freezer. One at a time, drop them into the chocolate, flip rapidly to coat the entire ball, then remove the ball with the flat tines of a fork. Bounce the now-dripping ball gently onto the surface of the melted chocolate to allow surface tension to remove the excess coating, and slide the coated ball carefully onto waxed paper. Try to not leave any weird fork-marks. When finished with the first 1/3 of the balls, place the finished truffles in the freezer, reheat the coating chocolate and add more shortening, as needed. Stir until smooth, and repeat with next two batches. Freeze leftover chocolate for next time. Store finished truffles in refrigerator (cream is the main ingredient....) or freezer.
You can place the finished truffles in tiny paper muffin liners, wrap them individually in mylar paper, or store a bunch in a pretty tin. I’ve done them all. I’ve also tried adding various liquors to the interior mixture for different flavors. If you want to add liquor, increase the amount of chocolate chips, slightly decrease the butter, and add the liquor in place of the vanilla. You can’t add much liquid without changing the balance of chocolate; the mixture won’t harden. Experiment!
I take several days to make my truffles, waiting until my next free block of time to start the next step after a chill cycle. This way, I’m never waiting impatiently for chocolate to harden.
Yield: Regular batch: 60 small truffles. Big batch - enough good-sized truffles to give to family and neighbors for holidays. Maybe leave an offering for Big Brother, too. It can't hurt.
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