bag of tricks
Recipe: chocolate bag
Ahh! Finally, I can sit down after a whole day of cooking. In the morning, I baked. Starting from noon until now, I’ve been slicing, dicing, mincing, wincing… Chinese New Year’s Eve is tomorrow, yo. That means I must dedicate at least 24 hours of my time to chopping vegetables and tofu and all manner of Chinese ingredients for the big feast. I guess it’s to preserve my Chineseness since my Mandarin is in the shitter.
Okay, two points.
1) I know a lot of bloggers have this problem and it crops up from time to time for me too. While I was searching online today for a good wine recommendation to pair with Chinese hot pot, I found a PDF with recs from Simon Tam who I think is in Hong Kong. Great! I open the PDF and what greets me is a collage of MY PHOTOS from this post on Chinese hot pot. The fuck?! What is it with folks who ignore the copyright notice, don’t have the decency to ask permission (I usually say yes if you ask first), and then post my photos without giving credit? Jerkwad fuckheads. *Edit: Turns out it was Macau Closer – a glossy magazine – who stole my photos and not Simon (Simon is a nice fellow – he emailed me). That’s great – magazines stealing from bloggers. You assholes.*
2) In my about section, I have a few guidelines about interaction on this blog. The fifth one down states, don’t be rude or nasty. My litmus test is: if your comment was said to my face in my house and my reaction was to 1) haul off and punch you 2) give you the verbal smackdown or 3) kick you out of my house, then you probably violated the fifth guideline. You wanna be an asswipe? Get your own blog and be an asswipe there. That’s what I did.
Yesterday was a squirrel day. I covered a lot of ground in search of ingredients for our Chinese New Year’s celebration. It was a tad frantic at the H Mart in Denver because we were on time constraints and it’s a Korean market, so when I asked where x, y, and z might be, the little Korean employee smiled and then asked me to ask someone else. I say we, not in the sense of the royal we, but as in myself, Manisha, and Kitt. Oh yeah, that same little Korean employee flagged me down and asked me to help another customer… it turned out to be Manisha! Hi-larious. Yeah babe, I know where the dried shrimp are.
kitt was immediately drawn to the crazy gadgets
My last stop before heading home was Whole Foods. I couldn’t help but smile when I noticed Sean working the counter. He is my favorite fish monger and that is saying a lot because I love my boys at the Boulder Whole Foods Seafood. He was looking particularly snazzy.
life’s choices can be tough
Full disclosure kids… Sean gave me a pound of shrimp. GAVE me. I told him I ought to pay, but he insisted. He mentioned something about a budget for samples and donations and I couldn’t really process what he was saying because I was either blushing or having another hot flash (thanks, chemo). I guess I’m not like most girls… Send me a dozen roses and color me unimpressed. Give me a pound of raw shrimp and you’ll see me try to answer my lens cap when my iphone rings.
We are having friends over for the Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner tomorrow. Should be loads of fun. While the main meal involves many traditional dishes: dumplings (well, I’m making pot stickers as I have no interest in having sons…), lucky ten ingredient vegetables (rui tsai), and hot pot, I ditched a typical Chinese dessert in favor of a western dessert – and one I could make in advance. I like Chinese desserts, but Jeremy and most whities I know just don’t dig on them. Plus, I have more fun making western dessert. Like this one.
painting
I have had a chocolate bag twice now. The first time was the Flagstaff House and the second time was my most recent dinner with Sam and Jeremy at L’Atelier. I don’t really care about eating the bag, but I was intrigued with the gimmick of making the bag. Probably the most important step is to get a good bag. And when I say good bag, I don’t mean the bags I used.
peeling the bag from the solidified chocolate
You can’t use just any old brown paper bag. The chocolate will soak into it and you’ll have a hell of a time removing the bag without destroying the chocolate form. You need something like cellophane or waxed paper or a coffee bag. I used some cellophane “party” bags and unless you have infinite patience (I don’t), are extremely dexterous (I’m okay), and are a glutton for punishment (this I have in spades), I would suggest using a coffee bag which is much more sturdy and probably far easier to paint. The cellophane bags are flimsy. When you paint tempered chocolate onto the bag – oh yeah, did I mention you need to temper the chocolate? well you do – it wants to stick to your brush. Then the weight of the chocolate encourages the bag to collapse on itself. What I did was set the bag on its side and paint chocolate onto that side which sat on the table. I let it dry. Then I painted the opposite side (carefully avoiding touching the chocolate side which inevitably will stick to your brush and come off the cellophane) and stood the bag upright, leaning the newly painted side against a sturdy box (or else it collapses). Then I did the short sides, then the base. It wasn’t what I considered fun. Keeping your chocolate in temper is critical because tempered chocolate not only has a nice shiny finish, but it also dries in no time flat. Untempered chocolate will streak and take forever to dry – remaining gummy and hard to work around as you have to brush two coats. However, I managed to make four bags in total.
oh, i don’t think this is what david had in mind
The bag is just the first step. Next you have to fill it with stuff. What stuff? I chose a lovely almond cake from Mr. David Lebovitz. It has a lot of butter in it and this type of cake typically craters at my elevation. I reduced the butter, increased the flour and still got a crater, see? But it was delicious and the shape ultimately didn’t matter since I needed to cut out little cubes of cake.
folding whipped cream into the chocolate
Almond cake is a wonderful match with some luxurious chocolate mousse. Helen recently posted a cake recipe that had what looked like a fantastically easy mousse component. I love this mousse. Very nice and smooth. Very easy. No cussing at all.
dropping cake squares into the bag
I decided not to load up the trial version of the dessert since I wasn’t planning to eat it and I don’t want to kill Jeremy with sweets. A regular chocolate bag serves 2-3 people. I placed several cubes of cake in the bag. Instead of making a simple syrup, I went for straight booze. For future reference, you can skip the brush step and just pour the Amaretto onto the cake. That way you don’t waste any precious booze to the brush.
brushing amaretto onto the cake squares
Once that was done, I piped mousse over the cake and dotted the whole thing with some raspberries. Most chocolate bags are filled to the brim, but I think my bags are larger than most (certainly taller) which would translate into an ungodly amount of cake and mousse!
take a peek inside
Next time I do this I will definitely use a coffee bag for its preferred structural integrity. I will also make them shorter and pre-cut the walls so I can get a clean edge instead of my crazy paintbrush edges. Each bag is a lot of chocolate, about 6-8 ounces.
this whole thing is edible!
Jeremy gave it a big thumbs up. He said the combination of textures and flavors was great. He only ate a third of the bag itself. So yeah, one bag should be plenty for 2-3 people, especially after a big Chinese New Year’s Eve dinner!
the demolition is the fun part
Chocolate Bag
[print recipe]
cellophane or coffee bags (something smooth that can peel off the chocolate)
6-8 oz. semisweet chocolate per bag (I like Guittard)
almond cake
chocolate mousse
Amaretto
raspberries
To make the bag: Fold the sides of the bag over and down to desired height. Temper the chocolate. When chocolate is in temper, use a pastry brush to paint a layer of chocolate over the entire interior of the bag. Let cool. When the chocolate is dry, paint a second coat of chocolate over the entire interior of the bag. Let cool or put in freezer. When the chocolate is set, carefully cut the bag and peel it away from the chocolate form. Store in the freezer or a cool, dry place until ready to use.
almond cake
from David Lebovitz
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup almond paste (not marzipan)
10 oz. unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used 9 oz. for 8500 ft. elevation)
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder (I used 1/2 tsp for 8500 ft. elevation)
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat the oven to 325Β°F and position the rack to the center of the oven. Line the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan with a round of parchment paper, or butter the pan and dust it lightly with flour, tapping out any excess. [Jen’s note: I used an 8×8-inch square pan.] With an electric mixer, beat together the sugar and almond paste until the paste is finely broken up. [Jen’s note: this never works for me. I always beat the hell out of the sugar and almond paste in my food processor until it is completely blended then dump it into my Kitchenaid mixing bowl.] Add butter and beat for a few minutes until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, or a measuring cup with a spout, stir together the eggs with a fork then dribble it into the batter as you beat. Add the vanilla. Mix together the flour, baking powder and salt with a whisk. Stir the dry ingredients into the batter until just incorporated. Transfer the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. The baking time may take a but longer due to the variation in different brands of almond paste. Cool the cake on a rack before serving. This cake is extremely moist and will keep well for up to a week if well-wrapped.
chocolate mousse
from Tartelette
6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/4 cup whole milk
1 tsp espresso powder
4 tbsps butter
1 egg yolk
1 cup heavy cream, cold
In a bowl set over a pan of simmering water (make sure that the bowl fits snuggly over the pan and does not touch the water), melt together the chocolate, milk, espresso powder and butter. Remove from the heat and let cool to lukewarm. Whisk in the egg yolk. In a mixer, whip the cream to medium peaks and fold it into the chocolate mixture.
To assemble: Cut cubes from the almond cake and set in the bottom of the chocolate bag. Pour desired amount of Amaretto over the cake. Pipe chocolate mousse over the cake. Set raspberries around the cake and mousse and on top for garnish. Serve.
January 24th, 2009 at 11:19 pm
I am in awe!
January 24th, 2009 at 11:33 pm
Oooooh, so pretty! :) Looks really delicious!
January 24th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
Yeah!!! It’s funny the other day you were talking about tempering chocolate I thought “she is so close to make choco bags”…and you did and they turned out so flipping awesome! I *almost* miss making them for work :)
I can’t believe that bit about the photo collages…people have no manners anymore. Did you give them the famous URB a$$ spankin’?
I can’t wait to see the rest of the menu for Chinese New Year!
How funny you made the mousse, we had Jen’s famous marinated steak also refered to here as “stark marinade” tonight for dinner :)
January 25th, 2009 at 12:41 am
Oh my god that chocolate bag looks amazing. I want to curl up inside it and take a nap…and then eat it.
January 25th, 2009 at 1:11 am
Good lord! I’ve never seen a chocolate bag before. That whole dessert looks completely daunting. And gorgeous.
I didn’t hear the bit about the clerk getting you to help Manisha! I’ll bet it was the same one who flagged down a Chinese couple to help me with the vinegar.
Please do kick Simon Tam’s ass. That’s unconscionable.
January 25th, 2009 at 1:58 am
OMG Jen you are crazy (in the most truly awesome way) I would have so given up when the celophane wouldn’t hold up. these really look lovely. Happy CNY!
and total jerkwad fuckheads – asskicking for sure.
January 25th, 2009 at 2:29 am
People who don’t care about copyrights are jerks! I understand the way you must have felt when you discovered your pictures had been used without your knowledge/permission…
Wow, you are a lucky girl! I’d love to get a pound of shrimp for free ;-P!!!
What a gorgeous dessert! I love the original and refined presentation.
Cheers and Happy Chinese New Year,
Rosa
January 25th, 2009 at 2:33 am
seriously – how rude are people to steal your photos and not ask for your permission?
and a pound of shrimp? how delightful!
and now i’m obsessed with that chocolate bag – i must make it. i must make it and then.. use it for everything (seriously).
January 25th, 2009 at 2:35 am
Happy CNY…that is awesome! Just awesome…& on the other hand, the sneak who stole your pictures does need his ass kicked. I’m sure he’s virtually at the receiving end now…I hope he begins to feel the pain soon!!! $%$#@#$#!!
I’ve just gone back & drooled at the bag of tricks again…*BOW* to you! They are fab!!
January 25th, 2009 at 2:57 am
Amazing! Edible bags! wow never seen before..
About people being asswads, that’s the reason I am not to happy about the “new” internet with all this interaction between everyone. You can’t open comments on anything without people with a mental age of 13 starting to write crap. It’s hopeless! I want the “old” net back, before comments where “something everyone had to have”. If you really want to say something, than you will bother to use e-mail and type it properly..
January 25th, 2009 at 4:24 am
Those look adorable and delicious!! What a fun day you will have!
January 25th, 2009 at 4:37 am
wow!chocolate bags!this is sooo cool.i love this idea!
January 25th, 2009 at 4:56 am
These bags are so cool! You really are the best!
January 25th, 2009 at 5:09 am
I hate assholes who steal pictures from other blogs. I know what it feels like, after the trashy Times of India stole my picture and printed it in their paper I have lost a bit of my trust.
As for rude people they hide behind the anonymous and think they are cool – but my reaction would be the same!
These bags are the most gorgeous treats ever! Amazing!
January 25th, 2009 at 5:36 am
Man you are ambitious! What a truly lovely dessert. I wouldn’t want to eat it and mess it up, but I bet I would, lol.
January 25th, 2009 at 6:19 am
I have been reading your blog for going on 2 years now and this falls into the top cool things you have made but I will never be able to. I just don’t have the skill (read patience) for precise things like the temperature of tempered chocolate and such. In fact my my baking(and i guess candy making) skills in general, are lacking. But I know my limitations and I have made many of your recipes (even a couple of the easier baking goods) and they are always FAB!
When I post them on my blog I never use your pictures (even though they are WAY better than mine) and I always link to your blog as my reference. Calling you by name and quoting you like you are my best friend…lol. Isn’t it funny how the internet make you feel like you know people personally? But thanks for all your inspiration and being a mentor …even when you don’t know it.
January 25th, 2009 at 6:27 am
Wow…you are one talented lady. I love baking and making desserts but I just don’t think I couild master this one. Just absolutely beautiful and looks delicious!!!! This was a great post….hey, there are tons of ass holes out there that’s for sure….
January 25th, 2009 at 7:23 am
Chocolate bags are awesome!!!! I just discovered the other day ( i goggled my site) that a well known magazine posted my picture online with no credit to me. Not Cool! Those jxxx offs should get their own site and not harasss others..
Happy New Year Jen!
January 25th, 2009 at 7:28 am
What a fun dessert! Great idea. Can’t wait to see what your Chinese New Year dishes look like!
January 25th, 2009 at 8:53 am
Wow, those bags are very interesting. Although I do enjoy a good chocolate tempering challenge, I’m thinking a trifle bowl would be my container of choice, so much quicker and easier. Cake soaked in spirits, yum yum.
Can’t wait to see the rest of the meal.
Oh how I wish I had a Whole Foods closer, damn rural America!
January 25th, 2009 at 8:56 am
That is by far one of the coolest things I have seen. I’m sad to say that I’ve never had a chocolate bag, but I can see that I am missing out. As for Chinese New Year, I am a bad chinese girl because we aren’t doing anything. Sad but true. I wish I could at least hit a dim sum place or down a plate of noodles, but my mom forgot about the holiday. I know, what kind of asian is she?! I’ll have to live vicariously through you. Have a good night tomorrow :)
January 25th, 2009 at 9:04 am
Beautiful! And thanks for the tips, too. I’ve wanted to try my hand at making chocolate bags, but as with so many items, time escapes me.
And for that REAL bummer, opening someone else’s page and finding YOUR photos! Words are beside me. I can’t imagine taking claim for anothers work. How does one do that and still rest easy at night? In this house, in my corner, in my world, that would be impossible.
Happy Chinese New Year to you, Jeremy and Miss K.
January 25th, 2009 at 9:14 am
Very, very cool dessert! Happy New Year!!!
January 25th, 2009 at 9:44 am
It is already the year of OX over on my side! xin nian kuai le Jen & your family!
Oh, that Korean employee has such a nonchalant attitude!
This bag of chocolate treats seem tricky. but you pulled it off with great success! Congrats!
January 25th, 2009 at 9:56 am
oh my!! they look wonderful…and so far beyond my skills that I can only sit in awe. I’m so glad I found your site by reading Tartlette.
wonderful – happy new year!
January 25th, 2009 at 9:59 am
If that could be my bag, i want to be a bag lady! That looks amazing. I can’t believe your patience. Looks awesome and very impressive. Booze soaked cake with chocolate mousse in an edible bag? yeah, that rocks.
My heart would go pitter pat too if Sean gave me a bag of shrimp! But I’m weird like that. I fell in love with my husband in part because he remember to buy me mustard once. Not only does he give away shrimp, Sean is a cutie too…
I would be ripshit about finding your photos elsewhere. So, so, so uncool. I don’t get it. What has happened to morals? Ethics? Decency? Not being a dipwad? fuckers.
Happy New Year my dear!
January 25th, 2009 at 10:18 am
I have never seen chocolate bags before, I love the idea! But it sounded so time consumming!!! They turned out great, I am sure your guests are going to love them.
January 25th, 2009 at 11:17 am
First, let me saw that the chocolate bag looks freaking amazing. You are so talented.
Second, I say sue Simon Tan’s ass. Or the company that he is working for. You are right that he does look like he is in Hong Kong which hasn’t had the best record of respecting intellectual property rights but maybe you could send a nasty letter or something. Give me until Oct. to (hopefully) pass the Illinois Bar and I can help you out :) I am so sorry that someone used your amazing work in that manner.
January 25th, 2009 at 11:22 am
You made the bag! I have a 5 yr old Sam’s Club mag that a bagged dessert and every time I that particular library, I look at it closely and put it away. I will lose my temper and the chocolate won’t get any of it if I make an attempt to make these bags. And yup, they said to use coffee bags.
That H-Mart employee was hilarious! And yes, Kitt, same person!
January 25th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Oh and that totally sucks about the idiot who stole your pics. And I can totally vouch for how nice you are when asked to use your pics!
January 25th, 2009 at 11:36 am
Wow, call me impressed! I love that you make it look so easy, and yet the end result is something so high-end.
Sorry you had to deal with jerks.
January 25th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
Wow!! I cannot believe how many curse words are at the beginning of this post and in this comment section. It made my stomach cringe. I understand why you’re angry, but is it truly professional to curse so much and so harshly? I almost didn’t read the rest of the post because of it. I would have ended up missing the beautiful, chocolate bags you made. Hmm, I guess I know more about your character than I did before. I will keep that in mind when I vote for best food blogs.
I really hope you feel better soon about this. Take care!
January 25th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
What a fabulous idea for a SMALL dinner party of couples….one bag per couple. Might have to try it one of these days. Thanks for the primer!
January 25th, 2009 at 2:20 pm
Jeez Jen,
That is frickin’ AWESOME. Happy New Year to you and Jeremy!
January 25th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Wow! These are amazing….my hat’s off to you!
PS. that guy at the seafood counter is cute! And free shrimp?……well, that just adds to it!
January 25th, 2009 at 2:44 pm
My neighbor gave me some dark chocolate…ummm…tart shells maybe? Anyway, I’ve been trying to figure out what to put in them & now I’m set. Almond cake, Amaretto, chocolate mousse?! Heaven.
We were given tickets to a Chinese New Year performing arts event last night. Great music & dancing. The little kids doing the fan & ribbon dances were the best.
Thanks for the great ideas for my shells!
January 25th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
Your chocolate bag looks outrageous. I can only imagine how yummy it tastes.
I love reading your blog; I never know what you are going to talk about. You live outloud and that it very cool.
January 25th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Wow…freaking amazing! I think I love you! :)
January 25th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
I love coming to your blog and looking at your beautiful pictures. Ive baked a few things you’ve done too.
I have never thought of making a chocolate bag! What a fun idea.
January 25th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
So fabulous. Everything you do is so professional! The writing, the pics and especially the food.
January 25th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
Jen, I just recently found your blog, and it’s amazing. You are so talented! Those bags look incredible!!
I don’t blame you at all for being so ticked off at the jerk who used your pictures. I would have cursed like a sailor, and probably worse. Too bad for Memoria. I think her comment was pretty petty.
Happy New Year!
January 25th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
Amazing. And I actually like the ragged edges.
January 25th, 2009 at 8:52 pm
Ohhhh… a chocolate bag?!? Now that’s the stuff! Those are really beautiful, you should feel very pleased. What’s up with rule breakers on your blog? Bush league. Happy Chinese New Year!
January 25th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
Wow. A lot of work, but with results like those, I can safely bet it was worth all the effort! What a treat – you are an inspiration! Your posts make me want to try all kinds of new desserts and pastries, no matter how difficult they might initially seem!
Gong Xi Fa Cai! :)
January 25th, 2009 at 10:25 pm
Woaaaah… That’s an amazing dessert! I actually love the “crazy paintbrush edges,” it gives the chocolate bag more character :) Love love love your pictures! And booo to those who steal them to put on their own blog/website :(
Happy New Year!!!
January 25th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
I have to admit that though I’m just not a sweets person, your stuff never fails to impress. Really nice job.
Love your blogging points up there. Some people are just jerks, and need to keep themselves from commenting elsewhere. And so sorry someone stole your photos.
Happy New Year!!!
January 25th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
Mercy! A chocolate bag to serve 2! I am laughing still at the thought of pouring the booze in, no waste…very excellent.
It is amazing in a gross way that people disrespect copyright. Guess we can look at it as a compliment? Ha!
Oh, and I personally like your rough “paintbrush edges!” They are beautiful, well, the whole thing is beautiful, and I would like one right this minute…
January 26th, 2009 at 10:28 am
Ronine – :)
Sarah – thanks!
Tartelette – yes, these aren’t things I want to be making very often :) Well, I sent a polite email requesting they remove it or put proper attribution, but… you know how these things are (especially with China or Hong Kong – they are soooo bad about respecting intellectual property rights – or rights in general!)
Georgia – ha ha ha! That’s such a cute image in my mind :)
Kitt – we may have to remedy that. yes, it was the same (the short little Korean woman?) Oh, swiping other people’s work is what the internet is all about these days :(
Zoe – :)
Rosa – yes, I think it happens to a lot of our food bloggers :( Sucks. re: shrimp – I feel VERY lucky :) And especially to get shrimp from such a charming fellow :)
Pearl – pretty rude! And there are a lot of those f’ers running around. ha ha, you’ll love the bag if it works out. So much fun once it’s done!
Deeba – awww, you’re sweet. We’ll see what happens. I always hope they just “didn’t know better” but generally people should know that stealing is uncool.
Veronica – I know what you mean. It used to be a small community of people who understood netiquette, and now… it’s a community wide open to all sorts – good folks and thieves. Well, I’m glad at least for the really great people I’ve met on the net :)
Gretchen – thanks!
Veggie Wedgie – :)
Marija – oh, you’re too kind. They are fun to mess with once they are done!
Meeta – hon, I read about your experience and felt so bad for you. It’s frustrating when the big guns steal from folks like us. Totally without ethics. Jerks. xxoo
Lisa – it’s fun to break apart, to be sure.
Sindy – thank you! You’re really sweet. But you know, I think last year if I had tried to make a chocolate bag, I would have messed it up horribly. Only lately because I’ve been tempering chocolate a lot do I feel I have the confidence and experience to manage the tempering. I guess practice really makes a difference! So give yourself some credit, you may be making these before you know it.
Debbie – thanks!
Maya – uh! I can’t believe that! Really really crooked. Unfortunately it seems to happen more and more. Sometimes I wonder why we even bother, but then I know the reason is because there are far more wonderful people out there than jerk thieves. hugs.
Amy – thanks :)
Chiot’s Run – yeah, Jeremy mentioned that the bag is a total gimmick (a delicious chocolaty gimmick) and that we could easily assemble it in a bowl.
Amanda – Awww, well I wish you a happy Chinese new year regardless of what you eat!
Margie – thanks, dear. Some folks just don’t have that moral compass, I guess!
Kathy – thank you!
Mrs. E – gong xi fa tsai! I hope you have a wonderful year, hon.
Charlane – thank you :)
Mollie – ha! You’re a riot. Yes, Sean is easy on the eyes. Do you have a nickname for him too now? :) Morals and ethics… yeah – some folks just never got the memo, I suppose. Happy new year!!
Rita – thank you! They really enjoyed it.
Whitney – well, we’ll have to see what they say in response to my email (I doubt they even reply). These things are tough, you know. Some folks don’t care about copyright, and others are totally clueless. *sigh* Thanks for the offer :)
Manisha – yeah, I am starting to collect coffee bags now! hee hee.
Kickpleat – thanks :)
Memoria – you don’t know anything about my character. I invite you to go and read plenty of other blogs that will not offend your sensibilities. If you don’t like them, I suggest you move on and keep your superficial judgments to yourself.
Shazza – turns out it’s quite a bit for one couple! I guess I should find smaller bags :)
Jamie – thanks hon! A very happy new year to you!
Amy – ha ha ha :) Oh, so funny how we foodies love a man with shrimp!
Kristin – great! I hope you like the combo (it’s really good!). I’ve always wanted to see a Chinese New Year performance! I’m jealous :)
Kathy – you’re very sweet. Thanks!
Lindsay – oooh :) see what chocolate does to people?!
Madeline – thank you, that’s so sweet. I hope you have met with more success than I have when baking the recipes :)
Abby – awww, that is really nice of you to say.
Brooke – well, hopefully Memoria will move on and lay her judgmental opinions on some other poor sot. Thanks so much for your comment and a happy new year to you!
Aaron – if you and Melinda would come out and visit me, I could make this dessert for you!
Lauren – good one :) thanks. Happy Chinese new year to you!
Chris – thank you! I hope you do try some, they’re fun (usually… okay maybe not all the time). Gong xi!!
Chiara – thanks for your support and I’m glad you like the crazy edges (that means I can call it artistic instead of lazy – hee hee). Happy new year :)
Melissa – thanks, hon! Bloggers beware, right? At least the majority of people are very cool about this stuff. Happy new year!
Laura – the booze is goooooood :) yeah, I guess it’s a compliment in a backhanded strange way? thanks!
January 26th, 2009 at 5:23 pm
That’s awesome. Mostly, I’m stunned that you had the patience to go through that process to make the bags. I think I’d have thrown a ladle full of chocolate in there, shaken it up, and figured that was fine.
This is why I can’t work with chocolate, among other reasons.
Hate the infringers. It’s just stealing.
And just so you know: I love curse words. Especially when well-used.
January 26th, 2009 at 9:07 pm
jerkwad fuckheads indeed. language like that is one of (many) reasons i visit this blog.
oh, and the chocolate bags…amazing. you got the tempering skillz…whether you know it or not. :)
January 27th, 2009 at 5:57 am
You are my hero. HERO (and I don’t mean to yell here, I just need you to know how impressed I am). :D
These are beautiful and you are one centered person, Jen, I’ll say! Making those babies sounded like a challenge I’m not balanced enough to take. Maybe someday, when I grow up and turn into a wonderful baker/sweet master like you! :D
January 27th, 2009 at 3:32 pm
This looks amazing and it’s a great idea!
January 27th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
wow, i’ve just gotten highspeed internet, had no idea all this food blogging was going on. I know, iknow, what can I say, live in the boonies, milking cows, making cheese, who had the time to sit on the internet and wait and wait and wait. NOW, sheesh, I typed in for a recipe and voila, found you. You’re amazing, great pictures, great food, great attitude. Gotta make pot stickers tomorrow, after I make a batch of cheddar and butter. LOL, not only do I eat real butter, I make it! Rock on stranger friend, can’t wait to find some time to go through more of your recipes.. :)
January 27th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
OH MY, that bag is fantastic, I want to stuff the entire thing into my face. What a beautiful idea for a gooey dessert to share with someone special!
By the way …. that luster dust you used on some truffles, where do you find it?? I am thinking of giving it a whirly for Valentines! Thanks!
xxoo
January 28th, 2009 at 7:05 am
Oh my God, the chocolate bag is amazing! I love that kind of stuff! Thank you thank you thank you! You’ve just made my day!
January 28th, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Fiona – I’m surprised I had the patience too ;) Yeah, throwing a ladle of chocolate in there wouldn’t have worked b/c the bag likes to stick to itself. Stupid bag. Thanks – I love a woman who can cuss properly, creatively, and appreciatively!
Cindy – awww, you make me blush! I figure if I screw up enough chocolate, I will master the tempering beast someday!
Patricia – oh my gosh, you are just the sweetest ever! Thank you :)
Adrianna – thanks.
Farmerpam – welcome to urb and drop in anytime!
Chez Us – oh man, I buy my luster dust from this *crazy* lady in Boulder. I don’t actually know if her store is still around. I’m sure if you look online, you’ll be able to find luster dust. It comes in many many colors – all gorgeous. Good luck!
Pomme – you’re so welcome!
May 17th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
I had one today at lunch they are sooo good, I’m going to make my own!
May 20th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
Aamands – they’re pretty straightforward if you can get your hands on some coffee bags!
November 28th, 2010 at 2:10 pm
I don’t know if you’re still checking the comments on this post, but for anyone reading this: I’ve had great success making this by folding my own paper bags out of wax paper. The chocolate doesn’t stick at all and there’s no need to buy separate waxed bags that can be hard to find. Best of all, you have total control over the size of the chocolate bag you end up making.
Here’s a good tutorial on making your own paper bags: http://www.wonderhowto.com/how-to-origami-paper-doggy-bag-267535/
November 28th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
Lueurdelune – OMG, you’re AWESOME! Thank you!!! xoxo
December 28th, 2012 at 10:46 am
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