B
Monday, January 6, 2020
The Observer & Baker City Herald
Indulge Your Chocolate Obsession
AND SO IT
GROWS
CHRIS COLLINS
Praise for
pies makes
fine present
at Christmas
My family members presented me
with a gift this Christmas that I will
always treasurer.
It was their delight in the two huck-
leberry pies I baked on the Saturday
morning after Christmas at my mom’s
house.
Not one person had one bad thing
to say about those pies. (Oh, my mom
added a little bit more sugar to her
small piece, but I didn’t mind. I wanted
her to enjoy it to her heart’s delight,
and she did — with just a little more
sugar.)
But from the rest of the gang, not
one complaint was issued. My brother,
who is a good cook, even gave the pies
his nod of approval. That made me
especially happy. He’s usually more
critical that the rest of the huckleberry
connoisseurs I was serving.
But not this Christmas. He had noth-
ing but praise for my efforts.
I was so happy and proud and felt
the true joy of sharing something very
special to me with those I treasure
much more.
And, of course, the story and the pie
planning began way before Christmas.
The fi rst pint of berries came to us this
summer from our generous neighbors
who’ve also shared other bounties of
nature with us, along with laughs and
friendship, over the years.
See Pies/Page 2B
BOB’S
THOUGHTS
BOB BAUM
The 2 best
football
games I saw
The NFL playoffs are underway, so
it’s a good time to pry open my rusty
memory banks and talk about the
two best pro football games I wit-
nessed in nearly two decades covering
the sport.
Both involved the Arizona Cardi-
nals and Green Bay Packers. Both
were playoff games. Both went to
overtime. Both were won by Arizona.
The Cardinals and Packers are two
of the original NFL franchises. The
Packers stayed in Green Bay and
fl ourished, the Cardinals drifted from
Chicago to St. Louis to Arizona.
While the Packers have achieved
legendary success, the Cardinals have
been mostly bottom feeders. From
1984 through 2007 they had one win-
ning season. Before their unlikely run
to the 2009 Super Bowl, they had won
a single playoff game (in 1998) since
capturing the NFL title in 1947.
I covered the Cardinals every
season for 19 years, through 2018, so
I saw a lot of very bad football.
See Football/Page 3B
E, Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune-TNS
Use a serrated knife to shave the chocolate bar into thin pieces. This will make the chocolate melt more quickly when you pour the
hot cream over it.
T ALKING T RUFFLES
By James P. DeWan
Chicago Tribune
Don’t get me wrong: I
am not — repeat: NOT —
saying that if you don’t like
chocolate, there’s some-
thing wrong with you, that
maybe you are not from
this planet (Earth). Perish
the thought.
On another topic, quick
question: Is it possible
there are actual aliens
from another world living
among us disguised as
humans? I think that’s a
reasonable proposition. Re-
member the scene in that
Abbott and Costello movie
where the gorilla is trying
to wake up Lou Costello
and you’re thinking, “Wait,
is that a real gorilla, or just
a guy in a gorilla suit?”
Hard to say. Maybe if you
E, Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune-TNS
offered him a banana you
Roll the truffl es in the coating of your choice, maybe cocoa powder, granulated sugar, sprinkles or nuts.
could tell: guy or gorilla?
Like offering someone a
chocolate truffl e: human or
in an abattoir.
alien?
it’s dry as a lunar plain, because water can
Because of the truffl e’s paucity of ingredi-
Speaking of truffl es ...
make melting chocolate seize up like an oil-
ents, my advice is to start with a bar of high
Why you need to learn this
starved V6. Put your chocolate into the bowl
quality dark chocolate, something in the 60% and dump in the hot cream, letting it sit for
O, the weather outside is frightful. Cruel
to 70% cacao range.
death lurks ’round every corner. And you’re
several seconds to start the chocolate melting.
As for the cream, the thing you want to pay
not getting any younger. Have a truffl e, for
To combine the cream and chocolate, don’t
attention to is ratios. Ganache comes in differ- use a whisk; use a rubber spatula. Stir in
God’s sake. You’ll feel better.
ent thicknesses, like lenses at the optometrist. small circles from the inside out, working the
If you’re not an alien, that is.
For truffl es, you want a fairly stiff ganache,
chocolate into the cream to form a smooth and
The steps you take
roughly a 2 to 1 ratio of chocolate to cream. If silky pond of delight. This is ganache.
Truffl es are made from that wonderful
you’re fl avoring your truffl es, fi gure about an
Here’s a thing: It’s possible the diminish-
brown goo the kids like to call “ganache.”
ounce of booze or a teaspoon of extract per cup ing heat from your cooling cream will not be
Rhymes with “panache.” Ganache is chocolate of cream.
enough to complete the meltifi cation process.
melted with heavy cream. If that sounds rich
To make ganache, bring your cream to a
If that happens, make a bain marie: Bring
and delicious, no need to show me your Earth simmer in a small saucepan. While it heats,
about 2 inches of water to a boil in a saucepan,
I.D. card. You’ve probably eaten ganache in a turn your chocolate bar into little shards:
then reduce the heat to low. Place your bowl
thousand cakes.
Using a serrated knife, such as a bread knife, of creamy choco-lumps on top, taking care not
Or a billion truffl es, because truffl es are
shave off thin slices and the chocolate will
to get any water into the bowl. (Should this
simply small balls of ganache. Sometimes
crumble into bits like a desiccated mummy — happen and your chocolate seizes, mix in a
they’re enhanced with bold fl avors like
just what you want. When you’ve got enough, little boiling water and it should turn liquid
espresso or booze, and usually they’re coated
give the chocolatey pile a few more chops to
again.) Continue stirring over the steam until
with something like crushed nuts or those
reduce the size of the pieces even further. Do
the aforementioned pond is achieved.
little sprinkly things your mom would put on this part with a chef’s knife, as you can rock
At this point, you have a decision to make:
cookies. Because truffl es can be messy, that
its curved blade over the chocolate like you’re Melon baller or piping bag?
coating prevents your hands from getting all mincing garlic.
See Truffl es/Page 3B
chocolatey as you gorge yourself like a dingo
Next, grab a metal mixing bowl. Make sure
Beautiful bouquets don’t require the freshest flowers
Any time you take a drive into
the countryside, you can’t help
noticing dried weeds and grasses
in fi elds and alongside the road.
Since they have had plenty of
time to dry, they’re all collectible.
No one minds if you collect weeds
and dry grass, although if there is a
beautiful weed on private property it
is proper to ask the landowner before
BETWEEN
THE ROWS
WENDY SCHMIDT
cutting.
Dried bouquets of teasel, Queen
Anne’s lace, sea oats, wheat, oats,
bluestem or gamma grass, dock or
mullein seed stalks all look great on
your mantel or as a centerpiece on
the dining table.
Don’t forget grapevine wreaths.
The wreaths can be embellished
with teasel weeds or cones of pine, fi r
or spruce, or other weeds, leaves, moss
or interesting pieces of wood. Drift-
wood, for instance.
Make your dried arrangement in a
vase. For smaller containers, start by
putting a piece of styrofoam or fl orist
foam in the bottom fi rst — then stick
the stems into the foam to hold them
in place.
Metallic or colored paint or
clearcoat lacquer can enhance all or
parts of the bouquet.
Some weeds have stickers, so gloves
are advised. Most of them don’t break
where you want them to, so take
pruners or scissors just in case.
If you’re like me, you enjoy interest-
ing things and making beauty with
very little expense.
If you have garden questions or
comments, please write to green
gardencolumn@yahoo.com. Thanks
for reading!