Layers of energy deserve layers of flavor

I've never used barley flour before and a gingersnap recipe I found calls for it. Any suggestions I could use? They may be a huge success and if indeed they are, they're on the menu for the upcoming chocolate tasting. Ginger is the heat to offset some sweet or to enhance the savory-so it will be a perfect dipping tool. Try a twisted pretzel coated in nibs for another idea and mmm...I can't wait to hear what you think. Sign up if you haven't yet because registration will be closing. I'd love to have a huge class-all that energy and discussion is so much fun. We learn from each other as we compare what our taste buds prefer.
Caramel is a great conductor because of the butter and heavenly smooth taste it offers to conduct along with the chocolate. Have you had my brownie bites with caramel? Just another good reason to sign up today!

Cardamom and citrus

Flavors for infusions were abundant at the Indian market in Montgomeryville so I picked up some spices to play with. I still haven't decided on whether to add it to a melted chocolate to dip or to infuse it and use it to fill yet cardamom and citrus seem like a perfect pair to start. Going through some of my favorite cookbooks like Michael Recchiuti ( a Phili native), BabyCakes NY (gluten free) the menu for the tasting next week is getting finalized. Offering ideas that you can recreate and ways to experience the sweet and savory is so much fun. From appetizers to the final sip of drinking chocolate it all comes together to be an experience about 'The World of Chocolate'.  Did you sign up yet?

Waking up with chocolate

It's been a long time since I visited...don't get me wrong it doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about chocolate. Life took me on a major detour yet here I am again getting ready to create a menu for the Chocolate Tasting at the New Hope-Solebury Community School on October 18th.
Stay tuned and I promise I'll share. Thinking about crazy delicious things to infuse the ingredients with, toppings to add to mix-it-up, and ways to plate so that it's the best adventure your taste buds could experience.

Sweet and Savory...just like love

Love is filled with lots of flavor and sweet and savory captures lots of experiences.
So I made the brownie recipe below and substituted gluten free all purpose flour, used a mix of coconut oil and olive oil, about 1 tsp rosemary, 1 tsp paprika and some crushed pepper. On top I added toasted sliced almonds mixed with the chocolate cover and plain cocoa nibs and drizzled the caramel.

planning ahead...it's still a loving way to share

why not freeze some dessert for Valentines Day and take it out-zap it or pop in the oven for a short time and it's like fresh baked. These freeze great and taste like you spent hours even though you don't. Perfect for any occasion yet since we're being flooded with Valentines Day ideas...go for it!

Delightfully Chocolate Caramel brownies

These are a delicious blend of textures and flavors that are rich yet not too sweet. Pair them with a variety of fruit and teas, coffee or wine.

Preheat oven to 325° and prepare the pan by spraying it lightly and overlapping parchment paper going in both direction. It will make it so the brownies lift out easily when they’re done cooking and the parchment lines the pan as you press the sided of it into the edges of the pan. Prepare either two mini-muffin tins lightly spray and place muffin tin liners (for brownie bites) or prepare a 8”sq pan.

Caramel center

Melt about 1 1/3 cups of caramels and mix in aprox. 1 Tbs strong, smooth coffee like Columbian.

Right before you need it, pour it into a parchment paper cone or something that you can work quickly to place the caramel into the brownie batter or finished brownie bite.

Brownie batter

10 Tbs unsalted butter

1 ¼ c sugar (I made it with half coconut crystals half white sugar)

¾ cup plus 2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp pure vanilla

2 cold large eggs

½ cup tapioca flour

2/3 cup chopped walnuts

Combine the first four ingredients in the top of a double boiler pan. Stir occasionally so the ingredients get warm to touch as they melt and get mixed together. The texture stays granular so don’t worry, it’s ok because it gets smooth and rich with the next step. After they melt and are really warm, remove and let sit for about 3 minutes depending upon how the batter is. You don’t want it to cook the egg when the next set of ingredients get added.

Add each of the remaining ingredients until well combined, without over mixing. Mixing makes brownies tough even if they are gluten free.

Bake for about 15 minutes for brownie bites and between 20-25 for brownies *

(until the toothpick is almost clean)

*For the brownie: after about 10 minutes of the bake time squirt about ¾ tsp of caramel into the center of what will become the center of the brownie serving after they’re cut. This will be about 4-5 squirts of caramel across for four to five small brownies.

For brownie bites: after they’re cooled less than five minutes, press the point of the parchment paper cone into the center of the top of the brownie and then squirt. It will sit on the top mostly and that’s ok.

Place a chocolate covered nut or coffee bean into the caramel spot and then sprinkle chocolate covered cocoa nibs around it. You want them to stick to the caramel as it cools so you need to do this right after they come out of the oven

If your decorations are falling off still you can thin the caramel a little more with coffee and drizzle over the top of the brownies or brownie bites.

Cut small brownies so they’re bite size and enjoy!

Menu ideas for the Week...Valentines Day Week

There's lots of ways to get ready for Valentines Day and I say taking care of being happy with yourself is a good start. I'm going to see if I can share a different menu pairing for your chocolate, each day this week as we approach Valentines Day. I may be able to sustain it after...we'll see how much shoveling there is.
Today the breakfast idea to warm up your day..

Put blue corn tortilla chips with two eggs and some chipotle goat cheese-cover the bowl with a slight gap for breathing and poach for shy of two minutes in the microwave. Top it with slices of grilled chicken apple sausage and have your hot chocolate made with almond milk. You're ready to go.

appreciating all the reminders of why I love 'The World of Chocolate'

 

Corne Port Royal chocolate...I try not  to be wooed by packaging because it's what makes prices go up on the end product..yet this packaging was so seductive as the neat folds of the box opened to a delicately layered tissue that had a fold. The fold was the perfect tab to lift up and reveal these most delicous chocolates. What a treat to open it and find the whole box full of dark Belgian chocolates. Smooth melt in the mouth flavor and qualities that sing with the essence of the flavors themselves. Just another reminder why I love 'The World of Chocolate'!

Getting ready for New Years one recipe at a time...

The gingersnaps with chocolate chunks were pretty good and gluten free, the truffles with cocoa nibs and coconut milk would have been better without the goat cheese and today...let's see...what will compliment french onion soup, turkey and cranberry panini sandwiches...I think menus at this time of year and ideas for a way to make each day warm up with flavor. 

Are you struggling to figure out how to keep your family coming back to the table to talk for at least 20 minutes before they go in different directions? I'm all about quick, pretty, easy and of course tasty.

Test out some ideas...

• tapas of spicy pieces of chicken, salsa with sharp cheese and olive tapanade and cauliflower or asparagus with  with hot chocolate and a little espresso splash for a change.
• breakfast turkey sausage wrapped with a crescent roll and slices of fresh fruit and a mini chocolate fondue in a small coffee cup or crock to dip.

Let me know how you do!

Connecting to joy with chocolate

I wanted to share this here first...chocolate and joy are synonymous. When you find a way to share and to connect with your family and friends through the experience of making cookies, doesn't it make sense?

That's what happened to me when my daughter made chocolate cookies for me as a Channukah gift. It was the best!

I posted the recipe she found on the 2theworldofchocolate blog

Popovers that melt in your mouth

Can you imagine it? Breakfast on the patio, popovers that are filled with organic strawberry jam, almond paste and a touch of garbanza flour and another batch were with flax seed, cracked pepper and fresh grated parmesan. It was so good with the hot tea, sitting listening to the birds and taking in the day. They were both from the recipe on the King Arthur gluten-free flour mix. I just adapted it by using the coconut oil and then my fillings/dustings.

I haven't disappeared, I'm experimenting. Trying new things, new ideas that include vegan options for baking and gluten free/wheat free. The popovers were a winner over the biscuits and corn bread. They were more like hockey pucks.

winter dessert is really cool

You know it's sort of like having a taste of both oreo ice cream and peppermint stick ice cream, all in one bite. Just crush the whole thing over your favorite bowl of ice cream, rice dream or tofutti and you're there!

Crushed peppermint stick, dipped in dark chocolate and the fun of the oreo

It was delicious! I had been hearing that Trader joe's oreos were really good so I needed to check them out. I discovered they were perfect for dipping in a dark chocolate (72%) and then rolling in different toppings. I chose a mix of crushed nibs, cinnamon and black pepper for one and crushed peppermint stick candies for the other. Perfect for a summer dessert because they had the joy of the chocolate and the adventure of chocolate flavors paired with other things. Easy too. Now when I sit still to upload pictures from my new camera tonight-you'll see how beautiful it looks too.

Have a great day

Garnishing desserts with fruit and flowers

Garnishing desserts with fresh flowers and plating them with fruit...it's so nice to have summer return. It was an amazing spring and I'm emerging from the Show with great memories and exciting plans for next year, already taking shape.
Let's figure out what to bake this week to go with a picnic...

experimenting and thinking out of the recipes

So much going on and so many recipes have been tried...goat cheese ganache with almond milk instead of cream, cocoa nibs with cinnamon and palm sugar...I'll post the recipes later, yet felt like I wanted to connect. Things are going great. Going to be part of the Bucks County Women in Business Gourmet Getaway with a version of the impish chocolate cupcakes. Fun!

Sweet and Savory this weekend...

It's time to experiment with the sweet and savory, yet I don't want to much sweet at all, so I thought I'd make a brunch recipe.

What do you think, Savory French toast with a fig balsalmic dressing(scroll all the way down to the savory section of the recipes with chocolate and you'll find it) ? The dressing has a little cocoa in it and thus the sweet appears on the scene. It's a nice balance to the goat cheese and the salt from the turkey ham or canadian bacon in there, it should be a winner. If you try it before me, tell me what you think.

Getting away for the weekend...sort of

It’s like a European Market as you wander through the aisle and appreciate the Artisanal quality goods of local business’. It’s warm with the lighting filtering in from the outside and the variety of things to buy is growing each weekend. When you’re done shopping you can go through to the River Arts Gallery and see what brings a lot of people to the area-inspiration and the creative spirit channeled into art of all kinds. It’s easy to imagine that you’re somewhere else when you’re in the Market, because it buzzes with energy and life.

Ok, here’s the other reason I’m going to be there. The Painted Truffle, is one of the Chocolatier featured at the third annual Bucks County Chocolate Show, and is also at the Stockton Market now. Tom Sciascia, Owner, is having a chocolate tasting. He’ll have cabernet cordials, sea salt caramels and hot chocolate. When his tasting at The Four Seasons got canceled due to the snow, he was ready to share even more with the locals at The Stockton Market. Where do I fit in? In the spirit of Valentines Day, I love to bake. The Chocolate Bar will have samples of the impish chocolate cupcakes with Chambourg and black current basalmic ganache that are featured at the Chocolate Lover’s Fantasy benefit for A Woman’s Place tonight, chocolate chunk cookie samples tomorrow and both days: tickets to the Bucks County Chocolate Show will be available for sale.

So if you feel the same way I do and just need a break from the winter cold, come warm up at The Stockton Market at 19 Bridge St, Stockton, N.J. next to River Arts Gallery (formerly Erico’s market). Spread the word!


Gretchen, The Chocolate Muse

It's easy, it's delicious and it's yours...

It's really cold, it's been hard to get out and shop or focus on the best way to show I care, so the recipes I've come up with helped solve the problem...

Starting out with a Naked Smoothie with raw cacao, a fritatta omelet with roasted potatoes in olive oil and crushed rosemary, and impish chocolate cupcakes with blackcurrent balsalmic ganache!

I'll be at the Stockton Market (19 Bridge Street Stockton, NJ next to River Arts Gallery) sharing some samples of the cupcakes and selling tickets to the Bucks County Chocolate Show. Pair it with a tasting from The Painted Truffle and buy some chocolates to go with your tickets...walk through the European style indoor market and pull together some other delights for your menu and it will be the most relaxing, memorable Valentines Day (or weekend if you prefer not to focus on Valentines Day).

Have to go to work-have a great valentines day and tell me how yours worked out.

It's hard to say what's the best feeling is when it comes to Valentines Day...maybe excitement, maybe apprehension. I avoid commercial Holidays and this one is no exception. I can overlook what's happened to February 14th because it's paired with one of my favorite things...chocolate.
So let's dip, let's bake, let's revel in all things chocolate. Impish chocolate cupcakes are on the way....come back tomorrow for the recipe.
What's your favorite chocolate delight in the middle of the winter?

Finding an oasis in the middle of a winter island

Fairchild Gardens was an oasis in the middle of a winter island. Yes there was chocolate at this island too, of course. There were some new products on the scene that I'm sure you'll see more of soon~at the Bucks County Chocolate Show I hope! L'Atelier Gourmet by Franck Monnier was food art and Ecuadorian Chocolate by Marco Paumino was the pure earth in a bar. There were lots of others in between that I'll tell you more about-like Oliver Kita, the Artisanal creations with a variety that is sure to delight any fan.

So we're moving into the Valentines Day marathon. What are you going to do? What type of recipes do you want me to find for you? It looks like Stockton Market (an indoor European style farmers market) is going to be a wonderful place to get things for your snowy weekend and of course to create a stress free Valentines Day. See you there!

The World of Chocolate is bigger than a kiss...

I love this expression and wondered what you thought about it...The World of Chocolate is bigger than a kiss...is it about Valentines Day or is it just about feeling good?