In 2010 Stephanie took a business trip to Basel and brought back a box of Sprüngli Champagne truffles for me. You could say she had me at "confiserie". That same year, the youngest competitor in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, an 11 year old from Canada, misspelled "confiserie". It seemed like a spellable enough word--then again I had been extracting one beautiful truffle a night, savoring the smooth, silky chocolates with the Confiserie Sprüngli logo on the box for week

It's apropos that I would have chocolate on my mind today. Just as I give myself permission to drink as much champagne as I want on New Year's Eve (who am I kidding, any given day of the year), I give myself permission to eat as much chocolate as I like on this day of celebrating LOVE. So, where did the idea of giving chocolate for Valentine's Day originate? For a comprehensive look at the connection, read this great piece by Amy Henderson in Smithsonian Magazine. My indulg