A few pictures of Black Dinah’s famous chocolates and the island they are made on (where Kate lives)…Check back here next week to see pictures of the class and hear stories from it.

Have a wonderful weekend.

All photos by Black Dinah Chocolatiers.

Participants will get hands on instruction in the basic skills necessary for artisanal chocolate making.  Kate will guide participants through tempering chocolate, flavoring and mixing ganache, dipping truffles, and a few fun decorating techniques

Class is informative, entertaining, and of course, filled with delicious chocolate. Class is from 1-3pm and is $45 per person.  Or, book a two night Cooking Class Package.  Package pricing starts at $345 and include a gourmet, five course dinner for two! 

This recipe comes from our first cookbook Hartstone Inn Cookbook. These chocolate chip cookies can be made without the walnuts if desired, or another type of chopped nut can easily be substituted. If you really like chocolate, add 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder and 2 Tablespoons chocolate syrup to the recipe, and replace the chocolate chips with an equivalent amount of 1/2-inch dark chocolate chunks.

Chocolate Chip and Walnut Cookies

Makes 40 cookies.

1 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup walnut pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cream together the shortening, sugars, eggs and vanilla until fluffy.

3. Mix together the flour, baking soda and salt. Stir into creamed mixture. Mix in the chocolate chips and walnut pieces by hand.

4. Make balls with a #40 ice cream scoop and place about 2 inches apart on a baking sheet lined with a nonstick baking mat or on a lightly greased baking sheet.

5. Bake for 15 minutes. Transfer the cookies to cooling racks to cool.

Last night we served our Roasted Sweet Potato, Rutabaga and Green Apple Soup and one of the guests requested the recipe (which is in my second cookbook), so here it is. s recipe serves six.

Roasted Sweet Potato, Rutabaga and Green Apple Soup with a Maple Cream
1 large sweet potato
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup chopped yellow onions
1 cup peeled, diced rutabaga
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and diced
1 quart chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 Tablespoons Maine maple syrup
Kosher salt and white pepper to taste
Maple Cream (recipe below)
1/4 cup croutons
1 Tablespoon sliced scallions 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Peel the sweet potato, slice into 1/2-inch-thick slices and lay on a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil and season with kosher salt and white pepper. Roast in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
3. Place the butter in a large saucepan and place over medium heat. When the butter melts, add the onions and sweat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the rutabaga and Granny Smith apple and continue to cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock and the roasted sweet potatoes and simmer for 20 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and blend the soup with either a handheld immersion blender or in a regular household blender until smooth. Add the cream, maple syrup and season with salt and white pepper. Bring back to a simmer and serve with a dollop of whipped maple cream, croutons and finely sliced scallions.

 Maple Cream
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 Tablespoon pure Maine maple syrup
Small pinch of white pepper
Large pinch of kosher salt 

1.  Place the heavy cream in a cold mixing bowl and whisk on high speed until stiff. Add the maple syrup, salt and white pepper and whisk to combine.

“I plan to cover various hand-tempering techniques, “shell” and figurine moulding, and the making of chocolate decorations, including the use of colored cocoa butter and transfer sheets.  This is a hands-on course, and though some of the techniques are quite advanced, all that’s required of participants is a willingness to have fun and get your hands a little chocolate-y.  We’ll taste our creations at the end of class and you will be able to take a box of your handmade chocolates home with you.”

Call for reservations: 207.236.4259. Hope to see you in the class.

Join us on Easter, Sunday, April 12th for our Easter Brunch at 11:00 am or for our Easter Dinner at 5:00 pm. Chef Michael has created some holiday menus and will be displaying some of his antique Easter chocolate molds, complete with chocolate eggs and bunnies. 

Easter Brunch Menu

 Mango and Passion Fruit Smoothie

—- 

Baked Bosc Pear with a Raspberry-Star Anise Sauce and Lemon-Almond Biscuit

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Hartstone Benedict with either House Smoked Salmon or Prosciutto

 or

Shrimp and Mushroom Quiche with Gruyere Cheese and tossed Greens

 or

Grilled Atlantic Salmon with wilted Spinach Walnut Dressing

—- 

Assorted Tarts and Petite Fours

$23.95 per person

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Easter Dinner Menu

Maine Seafood Tartlet with a Chive Custard

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Sweet Potato, Rutabaga and Green Apple Soup with a Maple Cream

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Maine Blueberry Sorbet

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Braised Lamb Shanks “En Croute” with a Celeriac Puree and Grilled Vegetables

 —-

White Chocolate Soufflé with a Pistachio-Crème Anglaise

 —-

Easter Candies and Chocolates

$45.00 per person plus taxes and gratuity

The first class in the series, “Artisan Chocolate Making for the Holidays,” will be held on Saturday, December 6th, from 2:30-4:30 p.m. or Sunday, December 7th, from 1-3 p.m. in the kitchen at the Hartstone Inn.

Following is a brief outline of the course:
What chocolate should I use? A real quick primer on how to choose chocolate that you like and how to figure out what you like.
¨ tasting chocolate
¨ what’s with those percentages?
¨ bittersweet, semisweet, milk and white—what’s the dif?
¨ what makes chocolate “real?”
¨ reading and understanding labels

Working with chocolate in the home kitchen
¨ like water for chocolate: how to avoid ruining chocolate and what to do when you do.
¨ using the refrigerator
¨ storing chocolate

What the heck is ganache?
¨ What does it take to be a truffle?
¨ Making ganache and understanding emulsions

Making holiday chocolate confections
¨ truffles
¨ nut clusters
¨ bark
¨ strawberry tuxedos
¨ cups and bowls

Finishing
¨ packaging and storing

Visit the Black Dinah Chocolatiers online shop on her website for details on her chocolates and to order gifts for the holidays. I guarantee you will be very impressed with her product and presentation. Other classes in the Chocolate Series with Kate will be scheduled soon on our cooking class page on the Hartstone Inn website. Space is limited in each class so sign up soon by calling 1-800-788-4823 or email us at info@hartstoneinn.com.

The first student and blog author is Lani Temple who happens to own the Megunticook Market here in Camden. In addition to running the market, Lani keeps busy as a regular guest on 207 WCSH NBC Portland, ME and is a columnist for Maine Food & Lifestyle. Lani’s blog is titled “Food Finds, From Camden’s Country Market” and her blog post includes some of her photos from the class.

The second student and blog author is Kate Shaffer who owns and operates Black Dinah Chocolatiers on the tiny off shore island of Isle au Haut, Maine. Kate makes terrific artisan truffles and candies completely by hand and my belly will attest to it. Kate has agreed to come to the Inn to conduct some chocolate cooking classes (I am reserving a space for myself) and I will be writing about her chocolates soon in an upcoming blog post. Stay tuned. Here is the link to her blog post on the pasta cooking class.