Dracula Truffle, Dracula Wine, Dracula Cat

I'm not one to toot my own horn, but I'm tooting.

I didn't have the best week, and I finished it off by staying home from work sick Thursday and Friday. My pets were angels until Friday evening when California Guy showed up with Surina. For the rest of the weekend the cats were bouncing off the walls like the demon-possessed. Surina whined and barked outside the entire time and in the space of twenty-four hours took five dumps. Percy got into something and took six dumps in one morning. And Tess, well, Tess just hid in the corner under the porch most of the time.

I don't know if the weather shifting was the culprit, of the fact that Halloween is around the corner.

At any rate, I got no sleep Friday and Saturday night, but I did manage to overcome my cold.

Taking care of three cats and a dog and then another dog on the weekends is a full time job. I'm exhausted waking up in the morning just thinking about cleaning the litter boxes and the backyard.

I decided to rise to the Halloween occasion and wrapped myself back into chocolate making. I continue the quest for the perfect chocolate/wine pairing.

I believe I may have found it.

I've been having a great time experimenting with different chocolate flavors. Most recently I made a milk chocolate truffle with rum (not my favorite, but not bad, and yes, "Why is the rum gone?"), and a white chocolate truffle with anisette, which tasted like a root beer float. And that always makes me think of "Finding Nemo" when Dory says, "He either said to go to the back of the throat, or he wants a root beer float."

I digress.

In honor of Halloween, I present the Dracula Truffle, a dark, bittersweet truffle with a pinch of chili pepper and the added intensity of instant espresso powder.

It was the perfect day to make it too. The wind was blowing the dried leaves everywhere, making that eerie crackly, rustling sound that one associates with an autumn day. The smell of rain lingered in the air, and grey clouds scudded across the sky, blocking out the sun. The day was dark, the chocolate was dark, and the wine it paired with was dark. The truffle has a dark chocolate shell with a satisfying snap to it, and it pairs with this Ravenswood Zinfandel.

I wanted to try it with the Dracula Merlot, but alas, the bottle was empty, and I didn't feel like opening another one.

The Zin is intense, but softens in the presence of the chocolate. The mouthfeel is velvet. The finish is sinful.

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that the perfect Halloween truffle/wine pairing is a devil's chocolate truffle pairing with a Zin.

Sin...get it? Ha ha ha.

Unfortunately, I made a complete amateur blunder by boiling water for tea while my chocolates were still sitting on the counter, setting. Water in tempered chocolate results in this:

The marbled texture is actually the chocolate breaking down. Nothing ruins chocolate faster then getting water in it. A drop of water, wet hands, steam from a tea kettle. It doesn't matter. It'll mess up your chocolate faster than you can say "Boo."

Boo.

But at least now I know. Make the tea AFTER the chocolates are set and they are as far away from the tea kettle as possible! And the truffles are still divine, and still blend perfectly with the wine.

This week's blog will be short as I'm finally on a roll with my novel and every moment I'm writing or working on something else, I'm not working on my novel.

And that damn thing needs to be finished.

For those who are interested, there is a vampire in said novel.

I may give my protagonist a weakness. The weakness of chocolate.

Oh, wait. That's my weakness.

And if anyone is feeling adventurous and lives in the area, stop by and I'll give you a taste of wine and chocolate you'll not forget any time soon.

Presenting the Dracula Truffle. Or the Dracula Wine. Definitely the Dracula Cat in the background, and he has the fangs to prove it.