Bernal Diaz Del Castillo
Chronicled the Spanish conquest
Of America. It is said
That he journalled well and fairly.
Soon the Empire was destroyed,
In time, the cacao was destroyed;
The chilis and maize remain.
In his dark room in the candle’s shadow,
Did Bernal Diaz Del Castillo shed tears?
I learned to make praline (prah-lin-ey’) at Valrhona–nuts cooked with sugar to a hard crack, then pulverized and tempered with chocolate. I cooked the jalapeño and nuts with the sugar, and chose the magnificently-complex Finca Los Ujuxtes 60% from Danta Chocolate in Guatemala along with local maple syrup. That’s all: nuts, sugar, chilis, maple and chocolate. And heat.