The Chocolate Guide Part Two

Tomorrow is the biggest day of the year for chocolate. Yet what's the best to get and what can you make with it? There are a number of different brands and a delicious amount of recipes. Any home baker can create a tasty treat for his or her beloved.


Yesterday Melissa Clark wrote a very informative article in yesterday's New York Times Food section. Readers got to understand the bean to bar movement along with the difference between a bean to bar chocolate maker and a chocolatier. She also explained the cacao percentage and why some 74 percent bitter chocolate is not as bitter as one at 64 percent. There were fascinating comparisons between what African chocolate and South American chocolate tasted like.Yet which brands are the best? She wrote a sidepiece on the best kinds along with some interesting recipes. Of course the best is Valrhona which is also what's known as a B company which requires them to have a positive impact on its' community, its' workers and the environment.One of the oldest is Kahkow now in Brooklyn, started in the Dominican Republic in 1905. There is also Dandelion the up and coming San Francisco chocolate comapny that only has two ingredients cacao and sugar. The big cities such as New Orleans, Boston and Los Angeles all have good chocolatiers such as Acalli, Taza and Letterpress but also out of the way areas also are producing excellent bean to bar creations. There is Fruition, way up in the Catskills and Dick Taylor's tucked away in Eureka, California. Sudbury Mass gives us Goodnow, a chocolatier that blends in maple syrup in their bars.

There are some amazing recipes too. For a truly romantic dessert try Ms Clark's chocolate tahini mousse. It's actually a parfait blend off chocolate and tahini. The second is a tangy mix of the condiment and creme fraiche. The chocolate one is a mix of bittersweet chocolate mixed with an unusual ingredient for mousses - confectioner's sugar. Heavy cream is added to both for body and texture. You can also put candied cacao nibs on for decoration. Then there are the cookies. One is cocoa nib sables with flaky sea salt.It is a lush recipe calling for one cup European cultured butter and cocoa nibs. Think a French version of a chocolate chip that's drizzled with dark chocolate and sprinkled with flaky sea salt like Malden. Another must bake is bittersweet brownie shortbread  - a layering of the best of flavors.The shortbread is the classic recipe calling for one and a half cups of unsalted butter while the brownie is also the traditional recipe. The shortbread is first baked as the brownie mix is created.Then the brownie is slathered on the cookie , sort of like a brownie pie or tart. The whole thing is baked for another half hour before it's cut into bars,

What to get your sweetie? A creamy mousse or mouth watering cookies and bars would fill the bill. What a great way to celebrate sweet love?