Instant friendship. With both the truffle and the chocolatier behind it.
Wilson and I met Ernie and Erica at a permaculture event years ago; they are rocket mass heater technology experts and were teaching classes. We were there to both learn and to spread the word about food preservation. We thought they were cool.
Years pass. We’ve read Erica’s book “The Art of Fire” several times (great go-to resource on our shelf), but we haven’t spoken. We arranged a phone meeting recently because Wilson was taking a trip to Peru and wanted to learn more about how rocket mass heater technology could be applied to water purification. The conversation was really helpful and the men exit the phone.
Erica and I talked for the next 3 hours.
Ernie and Erica are fascinating people, seeking to live full lives based upon a strong principles. The underlying thread of all of their knowledge and expertise is the pursuit of excellence.
Speaking of excellence, Ernie was a chocolatier in a former life! And wow, was he. But in the typical Ernie-style of knowledge bequeathment (spell-check is saying that’s not a real word, what’s up with that?), he has taken his years of chocolatey perfection and condensed it into a very practical how-to guide for you to pop out your very own gourmet chocolate truffles. Pantry Paratus is pleased to have ability to get that guide into your hands!
Here are few reasons why you should make your own gourmet truffles:
They are FANtastic. Oh my yes.
The perfect gift. Male, female, the person who already has everything. Whatever. No one turns these down.
To show off. Everyone should have a few recipes in the repertoire that are highfalutin. Fancy pants. The trick of it is that you have to choose recipes that are actually rather fast and simple to follow.
You can afford them if you make them yourself. A quick search shows a price tag of $30 for only 11.5 oz of gourmet truffles. I know this is true; when we travel and stop at the Minneapolis airport, Wilson has this tradition of buying a chocolate truffle for me. For $4. It’s crazy but he loves me. Since it’s once every two years, he splurges.
The process is really quite fun! Ernie and Erica enjoy working together in the kitchen, whether it’s just making one tray of treats for a friend’s birthday, or dozens for a major chocolatier event. My kids like to get in on the action when we make them in our home (but when they’re helping, there’s some finger-licking going on so I can’t exactly serve them to anyone but us).
Money-making Skill. Ask your local farmer’s market coordinator to get the food regulations in your hand, and borrow a church kitchen. In fact, I love making truffles and should probably take my own advice here.
The process is step-by-step and simple to master. My biggest recommendation is to get Ernie’s Gourmet Truffle Recipe Trifold, though. He gives you all of the tips you need clearly and concisely to get it right the first time.
Are you ready?
Awesome-sauce. Poured into truffle batter.
You can get Ernie’s best recipes in one spot, along with all of the tips to get them right the first time. Save it onto your favorite device, but here’s my tip: Print one out and laminate it!
I’ll be honest, I have a “knock-off” truffle recipe I invented years ago. If you’re not sure you’re ready to try the real thing, give these a try to build your confidence. But seriously, Ernie’s are better.
