Chocolate News and Recipes

Valentine's Day is coming up, so I thought I'd have a mixture of Chocolate News and recipes this month.

The San Jose Mercury News has a long list of local chocolate makers today. The decision by Hershey Co. to close the Bay Area factories of Scharffen Berger and Joseph Schmidt leaves a void in the field of homegrown chocolate companies. As Valentine's Day looms, some suggestions for local options. Suggestions include Dolce Bella Chocolates in Saratoga, Recchiuti Confections in San Francisco, See's Candies, one of the longest CA presences, and several others.

Sunset Magazine has a list of 20 Ultimate Chocolate Deserts, starting with a Salted Chocolate Tart! They're all pretty sinful. Of course, my feeling is it's all in the chocolate, so choose the very best chocolate for your own adaptation of the recipe.