I'm going to be on Boston Channel 5's Chronicle tomorrow night, making chocolate sculptures. I'll let you know how it goes.

Classic Chocolate Truffles
makes about 50 bite-size truffles


Ingredients

• a little under ½ cup half&half
• 14 ounces quality bittersweet chocolate chopped into nickel-size pieces
• 6 more ounces quality bittersweet chocolate shavings (for the rough chocolate coating)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons kahlua or grand marnier

Directions
Step 1: Bring cream and butter to a boil over medium heat in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Be sure to whisk constantly.

Step 2: Once cream mixture reaches rolling boil, remove from heat and add 10 ounces of chopped chocolate pieces. Whisk together until all the chocolate is melted.

Step 3: Add kahlua or grand marnier and blend completely.

Step 4: Pour chocolate mixture into parchment lined baking dish, cover and refrigerate until firm and cold - about an hour.

Step 5: Once mixture is firm, remove from refrigerator, pull out marble-sized pieces and roll into balls - this will be the truffle center. If mixture becomes too soft, rechill.

Step 6: Place the 6 ounces of chocolate shavings in a shallow bowl and set aside. Melt remaining 5 ounces of chopped chocolate in double boiler. Take a single truffle center and coat it in melted chocolate. (The best way to do this is to place the truffle center on a three-pronged fork, dunk it in the melted chocolate, and then tap the fork against the side of the bowl to get rid of excess chocolate. Then drop the coated truffle in the bowl of chocolate shavings and coat with shavings on all sides.

Step 7: Repeat with remaining truffles. Serve once completely hardened or keep fresh in the refrigerator layered between sheets of parchment in a sealed container.

And I quote:

"It might be better for all of us if chocolate were a controlled substance, but it is not and the cocoa lobby isn't going to let it become one. So you may legally indulge yourself tonight at The Tasty Show Chocolate Tasting Party: 90 minutes of art observation and chocolate scarfing hosted by Dana Zemack. Zemack, as you might expect, is a big fan of chocolate, and she does chocolate sculpture too. What do you do with a chocolate sculpture though? Zemack says of her art-chocolate creations, 'It is chocolate, after all. Break it. Share it.'"

And I quote:

"Chocolatier Dana Zemack says that 'Boston just doesn't eat enough chocolate, seriously.' The self-proclaimed gastronomical temptress, host of Cambridge's 'The Tasty Show' on CCTV and teacher of chocolate sculpture and chocolate-tasting classes, offers handmade chocolate confections at the Tasty Show Chocolate-Tasting Party."