First of all: Wow. Thank you for the outpouring of commiseration and friendliness on my last post! I was shocked and delighted that so many people shared my opinion on the commenting issue! And I was very pleased to meet some new readers and some long-time lurkers.
Now, let’s get on to something more Christmassy!
I got an email from my dad last night:
“Tree’s up and getting decorated! Two ganaches ready for cutting and a third flavor steeping (force noir, mint tea and lavender).”
This tiny little email made me giddy with excitement and anticipation.
For as long as I can remember, my dad and I have made chocolates the week before Christmas. It’s our family tradition.
For years, we made Scotch-and-Grand-Marnier-infused truffles that we rolled by hand.
(And oh Internet, might I assure you that we ran the least germy chocolate-making operation in the world? So much hand-washing!)
We’d roll all these little un-uniform balls of chocolate, freeze them, dip them – by hand – into tempered melted chocolate, freeze them again, and then arrange them on pretty Christmas plates that my mother bought specially for the occasion.
(Let’s be honest: She is the one who made our home-spun candies look elegant and tasty.)
(Although they WERE tasty. Drooooooool…)
Then, several years ago, my father got a book called Chocolate Obsession. It changed the face of our chocolate making forever.
Now, we make molded chocolates. My father bought lovely little molds in the shape of hearts and seashells. We fill the molds with tempered chocolate and turn them upside down to dry. Then we fill them with fancy fillings and ganaches. (Hence my father’s email above.) Old standbys include lavender infused chocolate… Rose-flavored caramel… Earl Grey tea… And now my mouth is watering.
After the fillings have hardened, we cover the chocolates with a layer of tempered chocolate. Once THAT cools, we have lots of fun banging the trays with knife handles and other chocolate-loosening tools until the chocolates release their grip on the trays and tumble onto the sheets of parchment paper with which we’ve covered the counters.
If some chocolates should break upon impact, no worries: We get to eat the “imperfects”!
My dad also makes caramels, which we dip into (say it with me) tempered chocolate and top with a kernel of sea salt. Those are my favorites.
Over the years, we’ve evolved from using our hands and a “double boiler” fashioned from a small pot resting in a larger pot… to a real double boiler, digital-read thermometers for prime chocolate-tempering temperature, dipping forks, and fancy molds. Our chocolates are (for the most part) uniform and sometimes have fancy decorations on top, like a checkerboard pattern of pink and black or flecks of gold leaf. Some are topped with lavender buds or pink peppercorns or sea salt.
And the pretty little plates have evolved, too. Now my mother tracks down miniature candy boxes and makes dainty labels describing each type of chocolate.
We make way too many chocolates and even after we’ve filled as many little boxes as possible, we have Tupperware containers filled with chocolatey merchandise.
You’d think THAT would be the best part. But not for me. I think my favorite aspect of chocolate making is the delivery.
My parents have a whole list of people they like to gift with chocolates and wine each year. And my father and I set out on December 24 to deliver the goods. We drive around town in the cold and the snow, talking and consulting our list. Sometimes, no one’s home. Other times, one of us will drop off the gifts at the door. Once in a while, a family friend will invite us in for a drink and some conversation.
Then we return home to a house filled with delicious smells. My mother – who usually stays home – will have made mulligatawny soup, our traditional Christmas Eve dinner, and a loaf of French bread.
We’ll all sit down together, sometimes in front of a movie, and eat, the Christmas lights glowing merrily in the background.
Choosing which ganaches to make… Getting chocolate all over my arms and face… Delivering sweets to people I’ve known all my life… Sipping hot, creamy soup in front of the Christmas tree… The whole production… I look forward to it all year.
Last year was the first year in memory that I didn’t participate. (I was at my in-laws’ instead.) Which makes me all the more itchy to get my hands on some tempered chocolate.
This year will be the second year that my husband will participate. He loves the chocolate making aspect, but is not so crazy about the driving-around-to-the-homes-of-people-he-doesn’t-know-and-making-chit-chat portion. I am hoping to indoctrinate him to the whole shebang eventually.
I promise I’ll take pictures of the fruits of our labor and share them with you after the holidays.
In the meantime, what do you most look forward to each Christmas? Or what is the best childhood memory of the holiday season you cherish most?
YUM! Send some chocolates my way!! Earl grey sounds interesting….
This sounds like such a wonderful tradition. Can you imagine how awesome it is going to be for your kids to make chocolate with grandpa? 🙂 What a wonderful way to spend Christmas Eve.
I think my favorite holiday tradition is also a Christmas Eve tradition. We see my dad’s side of the family on Christmas Eve and play Rob Your Neighbor. It is always really intense and usually it involves too much wine and sometimes culminates with someone yelling at Grandma about hiding presents and while it sounds a little intense, it also provides lots of laughter and is always something to look forward to.
Such a quite post. I am big about traditions and love this one. I have been trying to figure out what my husband and I will have as our traditions! Have a great time with your family!
Ok, I’m getting ready to eat lunch and this post is making me too hungry and not looking forward at all to my healthy lunch…I’d rather have the chocolate please!
It’s so wonderful to read about your traditions with your dad 🙂 I don’t have a relationship with my dad – and I love to dear stories about wonderful traditions such as yours involving a father and his daughter.
And the chocolate…..sounds…so…yummy!!!!!
It all sounds wonderful. The family bonding, the memories, and of course, the sweets themselves. Can I just say how much I love a chocolate dipped caramel with sea salt? What is it about that little bit of salt that makes it so, so delicious?
That sounds yummy and WOW. I would like to get in on being the recipient here. That just sounds so divine.
Oh my goodness. I will send you my address immediately.
My favorite part about Christmas. Hmm. I don’t know. I love all of Christmas. I think maybe one of my favorite parts is enjoying our Christmas decorations AFTER Christmas. I don’t take ours down until Epiphany, so it is really nice to have them up while all the stress of actually Christmas is gone.
Aww, I love this story and I’m DYING to see pictures of the treats! (I’m actually dying to eat them, but I understand that’s not possible through the computer…Yet!)
My favorite Christmas tradition is watching 24 hours of “A Christmas Story” over and over and over again with my parents and eating whatever meal we deemed Christmas dinner that year…Sometimes it was tacos, sometimes spaghetti, sometimes breakfast for dinner…Always yummy!
Excellent, excellent, so I will be seeing you at my door Christmas Eve? Perf. If we are out viewing Christmas lights, come on in and pour yourselves a stiff brandy to warm up.
Oh God now I really want to try this (as I always do interesting homey crafty things) and then I will remember half way through that I’m not good at this stuff but it will be too late and very expensive.
Still, it sounds like an awesome Christmas tradition. I want to do it, too!
I wish I was your friend in person, because oh. my. goodness. I want to be a part of all of that deliciousness you and your family are capable of. Enjoy the time with your dad and the tasty goodies!
Wow, what a wonderful tradition. Family AND chocolate? Perfect! My favorite memory from my childhood was the annual Christmas Eve roadtrip to look for Santa Claus. Because he should be flying his sleigh around, right? So we would drive out and give Mom time to wrap presents before we went to bed. 🙂 It was pretty wonderful.
Sounds absolutely amazing. I wish I lived closer so I could sample all those imperfects 🙂
Hey lady, I wrote a post and answered your eye makeup removal question! http://www.homesweetsarah.com/?p=1151
What a beautiful tradition! Such a nice thing to share with your dad.
You’re bringing some to my house, right?
Thank you! And welcome!
oh my lord this all sounds amazing!! I cannot wait to see pictures of the chocolates!
I’ve been reading your blog for a while and I really like it 🙂 And I loved today’s post! It’s so cool that you have this lovely tradition with your dad and that you even share your chocolate. I’m not sure I could give them away 😉 I guess Austria is a bit far for you to dróp by…so I have to wait for your pictures!
So nice to meet a new reader! Thanks for commenting.
That sounds SO lovely! Please take photos and tell us how it goes! And post a recipe, perhaps?
Unrelated: On Sunday I made Pioneer Woman salsa and the fish taco recipe you posted on your blog over the summer and both were big hits. The fish tasted amazing the next day, so next time I’m going to marinate it longer in the cilantro/lime dressing. So yum and a nice break from all the heavy winter foods we’ve been eating lately.
Merry Christmas!
The caramel w/salt and chocolate sounds absolutely delicious. And that’s such a beautiful Christmas tradition. Now I’m all envious!
That sounds like such an amazing tradition! The flavors sound fantastic!
i love reading about your holiday traditions- so fun! those chocolates sound delicious. We are just beginning our holiday traditions as a married couple – cutting down our tree, baking and cookie exchanges, going to holiday parties, and sending family Christmas cards.
(ps. i know what you mean about wegmans- one of the best things rochester has to offer!! 🙂 )
That sounds like such a fun tradition with your dad. Hopefully your husband will get better with the delivery, but I love this!
Ounds like a wonderful tradition!! I just enjoy having lots of people into our home.
This sounds divine. We are serious chocolate eaters. yummmm.
I really look forward to seeing loved ones, but my secret favorite part is cozying up on our couch, watching the lights on our decorated Christmas tree sparkle, and thinking about what a wonderful life I have. There’s something magical about that for me. I do it a lot during the month of December.