With chocolate and cheesecake

As I wrap up 2014 I leisurely sat back in my recliner, sipped a wonderfully made hot toddy and watched Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby croon "White Christmas"...

...if only that were true.

In reality, I spent the last weekend in a blind panic making chocolate truffles as gifts because I could not think of anything else and I am supposed to drive 14 hours to Illinois in 3 days.  I am still finding chocolate in crevices and there is the not-so faint smell of peppermint where I spilt the bottle of peppermint oil.

Zazzles, my cat, will not go into the kitchen now...

Anyhoo, I did get to spend yesterday evening with a wonderful friend (Shaun) and her zany family while making mini cheesecakes for the Illinois crew.  My test subjects for the evening seemed to enjoy the peppermint mocha cheesecakes.   I sang songs with her mother, talked university politics with her PhD sister and essentially terrorized Shaun's two daughters although they would not let me rap (CoolPapaD... Yo!).  It was definitely the break I needed and appreciated.  I even felt confident spilling peppermint oil in her kitchen.

It is the holiday season and I really miss my two young 'uns and a certain lady (and her daughter) who live in the DC suburbs, but having such a good friend here in Houston alleviates that a bit.  Thanks again, Shaun!  (She told me that she reads this thing...)

My second year here in the Bayou City comes to a close and I am bumbling towards 2015 with the same smile on my face.  Houston is a wonderful city with so much to offer and after two years, I have only scratched the surface.

Salut!

They have a mold for that!?

Last year, I made flavored chocolates for my daughter and bought a variety of hot sauces for my son.  These Christmas presents were a hit and has driven me to try a food item as a gift once again.  So this year, I am going all chocolate.  I am going to do my best to replicate Pease's Candies truffles and Peppermint bark.  I grew up with Pease's Candies in my hometown of Springfield, Illinois and it was always fun to take part in one of the tours of the factory every once in a while.

Anyway, I hemmed and hawed back and forth about whether to make cupcakes or chocolates this year and landed on the side of chocolates.  It also gave me a chance to go back to a store that is just a treat to visit.  Amazing Cake Supplies (yes, their website is just horrible) is just a fun place to visit.  I mean, they have damn near ANYTHING you would want in the baking and candy making arena.  I have spent nearly an hour (which is a lifetime for me) just walking about in the aisles looking at all of the gadgets, candy molds, baking molds, flavorings... I mean it is just fun.

Last weekend I made the Peppermint Bark and experimented with making the truffles.  Making the creamy filling and coating that with milk chocolate.  It made a wonderful mess and was quite fun to be frank...

So this weekend, I will have a friend over and we will make an assembly line of chocolate making goodness.  I will travel back to Illinois with a car packed with boxes of truffles and feel really good about myself.  That is...until I hit the 20 degree weather.  Then I will wonder why everyone doesn't just come down here to Houston for the holidays.