Never go shopping when you're hungry…

I went to my local chocolate wholesaler this morning, and bought 42 lbs of chocolate:

13.2 lbs Valrhona Pur Caraibe (for truffle centers)
13.2 lbs Valrhona Extra Bitter (for dipping)
6.6 lbs Valrhona Guanaja (because I like it)
8.8 lbs Valrhona chocolate “pearls” (spherical bits of chocolate)
2.2 lbs cocoa nibs (to add crunchy chocolate texture)

Then I went out and bought a more modest 4 lbs of butter, half a gallon of cream, and ten pounds sugar (but that’s just for the next week’s work).

Yes, it’s truffle season again, and time to start making yummy bits of rich chocolates and caramels. (There is special irony in this since I’m currently on a diet (lost four pounds so far!) and will probably not eat any of these chocolates.) On the slate for this weekend are caramels and possibly a bit of English toffee (that’s what the butter is for); next weekend I’ll do fudge, and the weekend after that is getting on towards Thanksgiving, when I throw caution to the winds and spend the entire holiday up to my elbows in chocolate. At the end of it all, I’ll have my full set of Xmas presents for the year–chocolates and bonbons for the entire family, friends, coworkers, etc. Usually about 30 lbs of chocolate.

So tonight and tomorrow, I’m making caramels. Yum!