Well after my savory, that is. For this Valentine's, I decided to prepare some sweet recipes for you. If you are a parent like me, this Hallmark holiday means absolutely nothing to you! Actually come to think of it, it never really did even before kids. My husband is not the kind to buy flowers. Kind of glad for that.... here's why:
It was the first year of our relationship and there it was: Valentine's Day! We had a long-distance relationship back then and he was also traveling for work abroad. On Valentine's day, I received a package that looked like it was holding fresh flowers. Clearly, that put a smile on my face, thinking how thoughtful of him to order these while he's traveling in Europe. I opened the box and found a dozen of colored foil flowers with wire stems!!! "HA?" I was speechless - not in a good way but thought perhaps it was a joke. Maybe I just had to get used to his sense of humor. I immediately called my gay friend (because I was too embarrassed to call a girlfriend) and told him the story. He couldn't stop laughing on the phone... we figured perhaps my "boyfriend" was just humoring me. Later I found out that the "rose buds" of these lovely foil flowers was a chocolate KISS! This was not getting any better... Of course, when my now hubby (then boyfriend) called, I thanked him for the gesture. He asked how the flowers looked and how the chocolate tasted! It was honestly hard to describe. I'm not exactly sure how I answered but he gathered something was off. So he asked what EXACTLY I had received and I explained. He was floored (or at least sounded like he was on the phone). It turned out that his employer had some sort of contract with this crazy company and one option on their form was "Chocolate Flowers." This had given the impression that he was ordering chocolate with flowers, not the disaster box that I had received! The worse part was that he had apparently paid a lot for that order too. What a rip off, huh? We of course laughed it off, but that was the LAST time he ever did anything for Valentine's and I'm perfectly fine with it :)
We usually try to have a semi-festive meal on this day and I make something sweet and chocolatey for post dinner. While I was trying to figure out what to prepare for this post, I immediately thought of chocolate - of course! I wanted to make a recipe that people can relate to but with a Persian twist. I start thinking about ingredients and came up with not one, but two recipes! I called them "chocolate brittle" then remembered that some call them "chocolate bark." This started my search on the internet as to "what is the difference between a brittle and a bark?" This was not an easy search I must admit, but apparently I wasn't the only curious person. Someone had explained that a bark is made of semi-sweet and dark chocolate and has a higher fat content. Brittle on the other hand, is made with white chocolate and has a lower fat content since there is no cocoa which makes it a sweeter confection. This explanation actually made sense to me and since I already had my ingredients sorted out with both dark and white chocolate, I named them "Dark Chocolate Bark" and "White Chocolate Brittle."
Dark Chocolate Bark
Ingredients:
1 cup semisweet chocolate - finely chopped
1 cup semisweet chocolate - finely chopped
1 cup bittersweet chocolate - finely chopped
¼ teaspoon saffron powder
1 cup walnuts
1 cup golden raisins
Melt the chocolates in a glass bowl by creating a double boiler (set the bowl over a pot of simmering water) add the saffron powder and mix well. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Pour the melted chocolate over the paper and spread to form a rectangle – it doesn’t have to be a perfect rectangle. Sprinkle the walnuts and raisins over the chocolate and press them down gently with the palm of your hand to make sure there is a point of contact. Set aside for 2 hours until firm. Cut the brittle in small pieces and serve at room temperature.
Dark Chocolate Bark
Persian White Chocolate Brittle
Ingredients:
1 cups white chocolate - finely chopped
Ingredients:
1 cups white chocolate - finely chopped
½ cup whole pistachios
Peel of 1 orange – candied (recipe below)
¼ teaspoon dried rose petals – crushed (optional)
Melt the chocolate in a glass bowl by creating a double boiler (set the bowl over a pot of simmering water). White chocolate takes longer to melt since it has a lower fat content. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Pour the melted chocolate over the paper and spread to form a rectangle - it doesn’t have to be a perfect rectangle. Sprinkle the pistachios, orange peels and crushed rose petals over the chocolate and press them down gently with the palm of your hand to make sure there’s a point of contact. Set aside for 2 hours until firm. Cut the brittle in small pieces and serve at room temperature.
White Chocolate Brittle
Candied Orange Peels
¼ cup water
¼ cup water
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon rose waterPeel of one orange
Thinly slice the orange peels. Put the peels in a small sauce pan and cover them with enough water. Bring the mixture to a boil then let it simmer over low-medium heat for about 30 minutes. Drain the water and repeat it again. This process will take the bitterness out of the peels.
Thinly slice the orange peels. Put the peels in a small sauce pan and cover them with enough water. Bring the mixture to a boil then let it simmer over low-medium heat for about 30 minutes. Drain the water and repeat it again. This process will take the bitterness out of the peels.
Boiling Orange Peels
Heat the water and sugar in a small sauce pan. Once the sugar dissolves, add the rose water. Let it simmer until it starts thickening. Dice the orange peels. Then add the orange peels and allow simmering until it starts bubbling and the orange peels are completely coated. Once the liquid is reduced by about half of what you initially started, you can take the peels out and lay them on a wax paper. Allow to cool until they start hardening a little.
Making Candied Orange Peels
Bark & Brittle
Have a sweet Valentine's Day!
(Notice my ingredients for the brittle were half of the ingredients of the bark... that was because I never really liked white chocolate and didn't want to end up with so much leftovers. It turns out the brittle was more popular among friends. Who knew?!)
