sweet & fancy

When I saw the movie Chocolat many moons ago, I was enchanted by the idea of fancy chocolates, fancy chocolateries, and perhaps just the fanciness of France in general.  I imagined that it would be marvelous to have just such a shop within walking distance of my own home.  Alas, such a glorious neighbor has yet to arrive. 

The chocolate from Chocolaterie Maya that I most wanted to taste was the spicy one made with chilies of some sort.  Since that initial movie-viewing, I've actually had the chance to try a few uniquely spicy (although perhaps not-quite-so-exotic-as-a-French-chocolate) chocolates.  I adore this combination!  It's so unexpected, which makes my taste buds overjoyed.  You would think that my jalapeno-eating, hot-sauce-sipping husband would find the combo equally, if not more, enticing.  But, he leaves the spicy chocolates to me, asserting that traditional milk chocolate is much more his sweet tooth speed.  Like anything else, taste buds deserve not to be boxed into one category.

In any case, I like chocolate.  I like trying new recipes.  I like unique combinations.  And, this week's recipe fulfilled all 3 of those categories.  It's chocolate.  It was, if I recall correctly, my first attempt at chocolate-making.  And, while it combined a rather typical (but delicious) mix of ingredients, it did so in an unexpected form (with an ice cube tray as a candy mold).  Perhaps what I loved even better than the ice cube tray trick (and I did love this quite a lot) was that this recipe has potential.  It was great as is, but I think that the potential for even greater things lies in the unique combinations that could be concocted using this same, simple technique.  Substitute chopped dried apricots for the raisins and cranberries?  Add some krispy rice cereal instead of some of the nuts?  Experiment with butterscotch chips?  Stir some coconut and dried pineapple in with those cashews?  Sprinkle in a little cayenne even?  Why not?  I see great things in my chocolate-making future.  Perhaps that chocolaterie I used to desire will set up shop even closer than I dreamed, in my very own kitchen.  Now that would be fancy indeed.