chocolate – In Good Taste

Pairing Chocolates with Wine and Spirits

Maris Callahan — Fri, 29 Jan 2016 22:46:36 +0000

If you’re like a lot of Americans, Valentine’s Day is about flowers, candy and of course, chocolate. This year, some of the experts are taking a love for truffles and chocolate dipped strawberries to the next level by pairing chocolate with wine and spirits. If you love the idea of pairing your favorite sips with your favorite sweets, we have a few tips to help you create the perfect pairings this Valentine’s Day. “I have often heard it said that “chocolate is love. And, depending on your feelings about both love and chocolate, that statement may very well be true,” said Jessica Certo, wine director for Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House New York. “As this year’s onslaught of pink ruffles, candy hearts, and chocolate covered everything ushers in our favorite Day of Love, I find myself wondering if my chocolate pairing style is an ‘opposites attract’ or ‘like with like’ approach.” As with food, when pairing wine or spirits with chocolate, match lighter-flavored chocolate with lighter-bodied wine or spirits, and more intense-flavored chocolates with bigger, bolder beverages. According to Certo, with so many varieties of both chocolate and wine, it’s best to start on the lighter side, then slowly working your way […]

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Chocolate Nutella Ganache

Maris Callahan — Tue, 15 Apr 2014 05:00:00 +0000

Chocolate ganache is a rich chocolate sauce that can be a filling or a frosting. It’s perfect for everything from truffles to cakes to chocolate brownies. Although no one does chocolate ganache quite like a French patisserie, it is also quite simple to make at home. Ganache, which looks and tastes as elegant as it sounds, is made by the simple process of introducing finely chopped chocolate to very warm cream, waiting a few minutes for the chocolate to melt, and then stirring until it blends together and you can no longer resist licking the spoon. Whether you want to make a thick ganache (think: the filling for a truffle) or thin and silky (think: drizzled over a pound cake) — you’ll need to understand two things: proportion and temperature. Chocolate Ganache Proportions The chocolate ganache that you roll into truffles calls for the same ingredients — and almost the same process — as the ganache you use to glaze your cakes. The important difference between the two is the proportion of cream to chocolate. Glazes and icings will require a thinner consistency, or a higher percentage of cream. A thicker glaze for frosting or for rolling into truffles needs to be stiffer, […]

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Double Chocolate Butterscotch Brownies

Maris Callahan — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:00:33 +0000

These double chocolate brownies are studded with butterscotch and chocolate chips with the rich taste of cocoa and vanilla. I’ve always liked the word serendipity, from visiting to New York’s famous frozen hot chocolate purveyor as a child to the John Cusack movie that earned my viewership a number of times during a brief lovelorn period my senior year of college. This past weekend I experienced serendipity firsthand when I was deleting the bulk of the online newsletters and junk mail clogging my inbox and came across a simple chocolate brownie recipe from Real Simple. Since the holidays my cabinets have been cluttered with baking supplies that I purchased but never got around to using – brown sugar, powdered sugar, two five-pound bags of bread flour and as luck would have it, a bag of butterscotch chips. As much as I love simple chocolate brownies, there are times when my sweet tooth overtakes the rational side of my mind and I take a perfectly good baked good and make it even sweeter. I’ve never liked February very much. When I was in eleventh grade the boy I had been dating old me that he didn’t like me anymore on February 6th. […]

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Cocoa Brownies with Browned Butter and Walnuts

Maris Callahan — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 07:25:29 +0000

Today when I was browsing the internet, half-wasting time and half-looking for Valentine-y treat inspiration, I saw a great line in article on DailyCandy about Valentine’s Day: “whether you have someone to tongue wrestle or plan to spend the day shouting Fatal Attraction quotes at strangers, February 14 is coming.” But let’s not talk about my Valentine’s Day plans. [I kid, I kid]. Let’s talk about cocoa brownies with walnuts and browned butter, which, I assure you, are far more interesting than my lackluster love life. Which, I do assure you, does not involve screaming Fatal Attraction quotes to strangers. These brownies are easily some of the best brownies I’ve ever eaten. Yes, a touch richer than my beloved Cake Nor Candy brownies, they’re fudge-y in the middle and chewy on the outside with a shiny, crackly top that until now, I’d only seen in New York City bakeries. The browned butter adds a rich, nutty flavor that complements the walnuts, which I don’t normally like in brownies. The best part of the whole recipe – from the mise en place to eating your warm brownie dipped in cold milk – is the smell of butter browning over the stove. […]

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Miniature Quick Breads: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread and Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Bread

Maris Callahan — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 14:20:23 +0000

You have a party to go to and you’d really like to bring your hostess a gift but you don’t want to spend money (admit it). That’s where miniature quick breads come in. You need a gift for that friend who has everything. You have a baking itch Tuesday afternoon but you’d rather save your cake-and-cookie calories for Saturday night. Again, time to turn on the oven. In any event, miniature quick breads are a great solution when you need a quick gift or want to send your guests home with an edible treat after your next get-together. One of these miniature loaves is the perfect size to cut a slice of for a snack or breakfast. You can present them wrapped in foil or plastic wrap but a much nicer way to deliver these goods is to bake them in paper loaf pans. Wrap them in cellophane and you’re good to go. You can even bake a batch of these and stash half in the freezer so you’re never without a homemade snack on hand. Recipes adapted from Joy the Baker Save Print Vegan Pumpkin Pecan Bread Author: Joy the Baker Recipe type: Sweet Treats Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: […]

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