October, Witch City, & the Neverending Story of the Caramel Apple Forest

and so it begins...

It's not quite a month since my last dispatch, but man oh man, has it been a busy not-quite-a-month. First, let's just get this out there:  we have a sister shop in Salem Ma.  It's October.  I'm delirious.

Sorted!

This month has been really fun, exciting, and intense.  I've been able to do my favorite thing, making candy, but also have had the opportunity to do some other things, mostly around my book .  On the 10th, I did a chocolate making demo and book signing at Williams Sonoma  in R.I. (my home state).  It's a beautiful shop, and I had a really lovely crowd there.  Probably the best part about the whole thing was I got to troubleshoot a truffle recipe an attendee was having difficulty with.  When I was able to explain what the problem was, I swear, I actually saw a light bulb go off over her head.  It felt really good to connect in that way over one of my favorite subjects.  Also, we sold some books, which was excellent.

A couple of days later, I did an interview on local TV (here in Gloucester).  The show "Writer's Block" has been hosted by John Ronan for 26 years.  John's an old friend of my husband's, and a lovely fella.  We had a great time talking about the book and such.  It was a bit surreal to be introduced as an author -- I'm still getting used to that.  The actual show will air December 17th; I hope it looks as fun as it actually was.

In October, with the Salem shop in full swing, the shop here in Gloucester really starts to feel like a factory:  constant production, long hours, many hands making the work flow smoothly.  For me, it's about heading into work in the dark, and leaving work in the dark, too -- and that's fine.  Making hay is hard work.

I'm pretty proud of the caramel recipe I've been tweaking over the years.  It is exactly the caramel I always want to eat.  Probably about 8 years ago, our longest running manager in the Salem shop, Jennie the Boots, basically nagged me into adding caramel apples to our repertoire.  It was a truly brilliant idea. It is crazy how many of those babies we sell.  Right now, I feel like pretty much all I'm doing is cooking caramel and dipping apples into it.

Dark out.  

Also dark out.

This is actually really cool.  Early in the morning (when I can hear myself think), I sometimes take a second to think of just how many people have enjoyed our apples, turtles; all of the stuff we make here with our own hands.  Somehow it makes it not seem so dark out.

I'm going to sign off now, there's a batch of caramel on the stove that will not be ignored.  Before I do, I'm going to take a second and think about all the people at Turtle Alley that make the work so much fun, and make my days so much easier.  Graham, LeRoy, Amy, Kathleen, Hannah, Brandy, Bree, Julian, Fiona, Natalia, and Zoe:  thank you.   I couldn't do it without you, and wouldn't want to!

In which the chocolate road leads to delicious POLLOCK!

On September 20th, I had the distinct pleasure to be one of 5 judges for a Seafood Throwdown at the Boston Local Food Festival.  It was an all woman event:  all women chefs, and the panel of judges, all women authors.  Total honor, and a hoot to boot!

Despite the fact that I make my nut on sweets, I'm no slouch in the kitchen, and am known for a pretty precise palate. This was a great way to meet some other food authors, and stretch my taste buds a bit.  Added bonus?  They wanted us to actually talk about our books, which I am always down with.

I'd only met one of the other judges in person, Heather Atwood.  She did a really lovely review of my book.  We found we had friends in common, and actually got on so well I came precariously close to burning a giant batch of buttercrunch (talk about getting on like a house on fire!).  Other than Heather, I knew no one on the panel (literally, a fish out of water. *sorry*).  What a fantastic group: Ali Berlow, Leigh Belanger, Diana Rodgers.  Fascinating conversations, cool jobs, good earrings, great books.  What else could one ask for?

FISH.

Well hellooooo, Pollock!

There were two teams competing in this Throwdown, and the fish was pollock.  The goal of these throwdowns is to feature under utilized fish, and show folks what can be done with them.  Both of the teams did a fantastic job, but the Fishmongers came out on top (one of the categories to judge is use of the whole fish -- they cooked the skin to crispy perfection!).  It was a really close contest, and both teams were super talented.

As the teams shopped for ingredients and then got down to cooking, each of us in turn was asked to chat a bit about our books.  It was a really fun and informal atmosphere, so I only tanked a little.  The other ladies were on their games, though. Watch and learn, Hallie.  Watch and learn.

All in all, the day couldn't have been better:  the weather, the company, the chefs, the fish.  What an amazing food festival this is.  A total treat to step out of my chocolate covered clogs and into more fish-friendly flip flops.

SO:  not a chocolate blog at all today, just a chocolatier's lucky day out blog.

Not to worry:  I do not intend to marry chocolate and fish anytime soon.  Unless maybe we get into making mole.......

Up next:

Who knows!  It will be about sweets, though, I promise.

PS:  We're losing the light, but try to get out to see these sunsets.  They are fabulous!

No filter.  From my "front porch".