My First Turtle

I know this doesn't seem like a monumental feat but to me it is. Whenever I make something new the early excitement of becoming a chocolatier comes right back to me. So today I started making turtles. I was prompted to make them in the same way I became a chocolatier - someone asked me to.

There is a cheese shop in Kihei that has the most wonderful specialty cheeses, wines and other goodies. I love the name of this shop - "Who Cut The Cheese." I had the pleasure of meeting the owner, President and Big Cheese, Ann Tuomela, yesterday while delivering chocolates to the Costco parking lot. Yes, on Maui we are quite casual and it's not unusual to rendezvous with clients in unusual places. I had made a selection of truffles for a private chef, Paul Alkire, who was heading over to Costco to pick up a few last minute items. As he was pulling into the parking lot, there was Ann coming in to pick up some things for her Thanksgiving dinner. Paul wanted Ann and I to meet, the three of us got to talking in the parking lot of Costco and the conversation turned to chocolate turtles. Ann asked me if I made them. I told her I'd give them a try.

They're delicious!!!

I used my own recipe for caramel - you know, the one with no corn syrup! And I used toasted macadamia nuts; after all, this IS Hawaii. I then enrobed the whole thing in French milk chocolate. Yumm! So, now I'm hooked and I want to make a whole bunch of these things for the holidays. For now, though, I'll just bring them to Ann and see if she would like to carry them in her store.

Take a look at her site, http://WhoCutTheCheese.net. And if you've ever wondered what terrific chefs like Paul Alkire prepare for their private clients, you can see sample menus at http://paulalkire.com.

I'll keep you posted on whether or not Ann decides to sell my turtles and other chocolates in her store. In the meantime, here is a refresher course on making caramel.

Ooey Gooey Liquid Caramel

1 Cup granulated sugar

Few drops fresh lemon or lime juice

1/4 Cup heavy cream

1 Tbsp unsalted butter

Few drops of Vanilla

Very important - have everything ready. You don't want to be scrambling for spoons or other tools and ingredients with hot bubbling sugar on the stove.

Combine the juice and the sugar and rub it until it resembles sand

Put the cream in a small saucepan and keep it warm on the stove

Preheat a heavy bottom small saucepan on medium heat

Put a little of the sugar in the pan and if it starts to melt, add more, gradually until it's all melting together. You can stir it with a wooden spoon to keep hot spots from burning, scraping off any stuck on granules with a small knife. You may want to have a wet basting brush handy to brush down the sides of the pan so granules wash down into the bottom

Slowly pour in the warm cream - it will bubble furiously and threaten to boil over. If it does, lift up the pan, lower the hear a little and continue stirring

When the caramel begins to thicken and the bubbles are big and close to the surface, add the butter and continue stirring

When the caramel is a nice dark rich amber color pour it into a bowl

Stir in a few drops of vanilla

Voila! Liquid caramel with no corn syrup - ready and waiting for you to decide what to do with it!