Chocolate Mascot?

Are you excited about the bake off? We are! In fact, we even had a chocolate pep assembly at our January staff meeting! While the staff chanted "Chocolate! Chocolate!" our Chocolate Mascot made an appearance. Bursting through a very tough paper banner and leaping over a giant Hershey kiss obstacle, Chocolate Man arrived. It was great!

We are excited for good reason! This year's event boasts the first ever DJ to MC the night while playing Big Band and Jazz music in between announcing door prize winners. Furthermore, the judges will be making a special appearance mid-way through the event that you won't want to miss. Last, but not least, the night ends with a prize give-away totaling over $350 plus trophies and ribbons. If that's not enough -- you actually get to sample the best chocolate desserts in the county for free. Hope to see you Saturday, Feb. 21st at 6:30 p.m.

Ganache with Panache

That rich, smooth, glossy coating that makes cakes and candies (nearly) too pretty to eat? That's ganache! Is it a frosting, or is it a candy? It's both! Ganache is two treats in one.

According to Wikipedia, the first ganache was a result of a happy accident, when an apprentice spilled cream on some chocolate he was chopping. Ganache means "fool" -- the epithet that the master chocolatier exclaimed!

For such a versatile compound, Ganache is made with relatively simple ingredients: hot cream and chocolate. The character of the ganache will depend on the type of chocolate used, the proportion of chocolate to cream, and how much the mixture is beaten.

Check out the Joy of Baking for an in-depth article that describes frosting a cake with ganache, as well as whipping the confection into truffle filling.

A Sophisticated Palate

A sophisticated palate, under the proper guidance, begins at a tender age. Amy Kalchik, the library’s Youth Services Assistant, recently introduced her seven-year old daughter to the wonders of Sjolind’s Chocolate House. As Amy described the intense, blissful look and the profound silence that came over Ella when she took her first bite into a truffle, I knew another chocolate aficionado had been created.

It began for me when I was six-years old and my family just happened to be in Brussels, Belgium. My father, gleeful, invited me to walk with him to purchase bread, cheese, and fruit. And then, a quick stop, at a little shop on the corner, changed my world forever. It was the fragrant chocolate air, the sparkling glass cases, the tiny, dark, artistic squares laid gleaming on trays, and then….a single bite of a buttercream praline made by Leonidas, the Belgian chocolatier, and I swooned. I understood nirvana. Carefully, I carried the small box to the hotel room where, a bittersweet lesson commenced; I had to share with my siblings.

And so, imprinted forever, like Ella's first real chocolate experience, I’ve never forgotten my initial, satisfyingly delicious, taste of some of the world’s finest decadence.

Forget Me Not

Do you like reminders? There's a certain sense of security that comes from knowing you'll be reminded about an upcoming event. It means you don't need to keep reminding yourself!

In the spirit of freeing up more of your mental space, the Mount Horeb Public Library is now offering an email reminder service called MHPL Library Update, where we'll send you a calendar of events each months, as well as notices about upcoming events and scheduled closings. You can sign up for MHPL Library Update through this link, or on the main page of www.mhpl.org.

And here's a reminder for today: There's less than one week left to get your early-bird entries in. Don't miss out on two-for-one entry fees, or $1-off library fine coupons. Sign up by Saturday, February 2 to take advantage of the early-bird special!

Final due date for all baker entries is February 14.

Mmmelty...

Anyone who's accidentally left a candy bar in their car in the summertime knows it's not exactly rocket science to melt chocolate.

Or is it? (Food science, at least.)

According to Godiva.com, chocolate that is overheated may scorch, lose flavor and turn coarse and grainy. Here are two methods Godiva Chocolates recommends for velvety smooth melted chocolate:

With Either Method
Stir melting chocolate after it has begun to liquefy. Because of the sensitivity of milk solids to heat, milk and white chocolates should be stirred almost constantly while dark chocolate need only be stirred frequently during melting.

In a Microwave Oven
Place coarsely chopped chocolate in a microwave-safe container and microwave at MEDIUM (50 percent power) for 1 1/2 to 4 minutes, until the chocolate turns shiny. Remove the container from the microwave and stir the chocolate until completely melted. Stir milk and white chocolates after about 1 1/2 minutes. Because of their milk proteins, they need to be stirred sooner than dark chocolate. (If overheated, these chocolates may become grainy.)

In a Double Boiler
Place coarsely chopped chocolate in the top of a double boiler over hot, not simmering, water. Melt the chocolate, stirring until smooth. Remove the top part of the double boiler from the bottom.

Check out Godiva.com for instructions on tempering chocolate!

Hungry Girl

Recently my health conscious sister clued me into a fabulous little website. Check it out: http://hungrygirl.com. Next, she bought me the Hungry Girl cookbook for Christmas. So, what's the deal? Hungry Girl has tons of recipes with a creative healthy twist. Who knew you could bake Death by Chocolate muffins with pumpkin and they taste GREAT! How fitting?! Need some inspiration to fire up that oven? Head on over to Hungry Girl!

Don't Bite Down on That!

Since I'm the one who manages the serials (magazine) collection at the library, I happen to know that Mount Horebites love CRAFTS! Our popular selection of crafting magazines slake the following craft urges:
Quilting - American Patchwork & Quilting, Fons & Porter's Love of Quilting
Scrapbooking - Paper Crafts, Simple Scrapbooks
Knitting - Vogue Knitting
Kids' Crafts - Family Fun
And for those unclassifiable crafting projects, there's always Crafts 'n Things.

For the crafters among us -- among whom I count myself in spirit, if not in actual time spent crafting -- I present the ultimate in no-calorie chocolate decadence. The chocolate bead!



Find more mouthwatering beads at dragonbeads.com