Italian Chocolate Kisses
I like the word โaddictiveโ.
I use it when it refers to something I like a lot and canโt stop eating.
So instead of implying a substance abuse problem (the juryโs still out around here whether or not chocolate is an abusable substance), the word has positive connotations for me. But I tend to use the word a lot, so much so that I fear that using the word addictive has become another addiction to me.
My friend Joanne recently came to visit me in Paris after a trip through Piedmont, the region of Italy famous for white truffles, hazelnuts, and chocolate (for some reason, though, she didnโt bring me any fresh white truffles.) But she did bring me a lovely box of something dark and chocolaty:
โฆBaci Cherasco.
Perhaps youโre familiar with Baci or Bacio di Dama, the little blue & silver foil-wrapped circle of Italian milk chocolate with a nice crisp hazelnut in the middle. Baci di Dama translates to kiss of a woman.
So Iโm now in the possession of a very big bag (another reason I love Italyโฆbig portions!) of Baci Cherasco; sinful little buttons of dark chocolate with crushed roasted hazelnuts.
The tasty Baci Cherasco were invented in 1881 when the confectioner, Marco Barbero, had make some a batch torrone and had some leftover hazelnuts bits left overโฆ
Thinking quickly, Signor Barbero gathered up the remaining hazelnuts and had the good sense to coat them in bittersweet chocolate and made little โkissesโ from them.
Nowadays the hazelnuts are hand-crushed with rolling pins to assure theyโre still in irregular chunks before dipping.
(Whenever I have any remaining tempered chocolate, I scramble through my kitchen cupboards to see what else I can dip. Iโve enrobed coffee beans, pretzels, honeycomb, prunesโฆyou name it, Iโve dipped it.)
Baci Cherasco are suspiciously simpleโฆjust two ingredients: dark chocolate and crunchy hazelnuts. Theyโre delectable and truly addictive; the hazelnuts are perfectly roasted (always toast nuts, folksโฆ) and the chocolate used is some of the best Iโve ever tasted.
Consequently, Iโve become addicted to the little dark nuggets with the powerful aroma of Piedmontese hazelnuts and bittersweet chocolate. So much so, I almost ate the entire bag of chocolates as if it were a sack of popcorn.
Barbero
Via Vittorio Amanuele, 74
Cherasco, Italy
Tel/Fax: 0172-488373
