Cheese, Cream and Fondue

Story and photos by Ron Stern

Located in the Canton of Fribourg, Switzerland, the Medieval town of Gruyères is only a short train ride from Zurich and is the home to some tasty and long-standing traditions.

As you probably know cheese is something that Swiss have pefected for centuries. The House of Gruyère demonstration cheese dairy is the place to see how these master crafstman have been making Gruyère AOC since 1115 AD. The designation AOC is an official mark of quality only awarded to certain products that are native to a particular region. And in this case, the designation is well deserved. The tour involves all the senses and at one station you can smell the flowers (such as orchids) that are fed to the cows to produce just the right kind of milk that then matures to become creamy AOC cheese.

Of course, what would Switzerland be without Fondue and using various recipies that include Gruyere Cheese, you can enjoy lunch right on site while dipping bits of bread and vegetables in this hot and savory, melted cheese delight.

For dessert, you simply have to give way to local custom and try some Gruyère double cream with meringues and fruit. Now let me say that this isn’t your typical cream but a specialty of the region made from the finest Alpine milk that is so rich, thick and creamy that no light can escape from its depths! They serve this in wooden or chocolate cups (I prefer the latter) and then this can be blended into coffee of poured over the aforementioned meringues and fruit. The result is a full sensory immersion into the flavors of Gruyères and one which will linger on your palatte for months to come.

Resources:

www.myswitzerland.com

www.lamaisondugruyere.ch

www.la-gruyere.ch

Ron can be reached at: travelwriter0@comcast.net.

Text and photos by Ron Stern

Stack of cookies in Sprungli shop.

“I have this theory that chocolate slows down the aging process. It may not be true, but do I dare take the chance?” – Author unknown.

Hot chocolate with a tray of truffels in the background. Photo by Ron Stern.

If you love chocolate as much as I do then Zurich, Switzerland is a must on your list of places to visit. The Swiss pioneered the development of milk chocolate using pure Alpine milk, a vast improvement over the bitter dark chocolate that permeated the world then.

Conching, developed in Switzerland in the late 1800s, is the constant swirling or stirring of the chocolate, making it even better. It introduced a creamy melt-in-your-mouth product that had so far eluded chocolate makers. This was one of the biggest improvements to a creation that can make any day seem better. Many (including me) consider Swiss chocolate to be the finest in the world. Zurich chocolatiers deserve a lot of attention – and praise.

Confiserie Sprüngli, located in the busy Bahnhofstrasse shopping area, is always packed with customers enjoying some of its smooth, chocolaty sensations. Whenever visiting I always make a beeline for this little bit of cocoa bean heaven. One side of the shop is a café where you can leisurely enjoy coffee or hot chocolate, along with some chocolate delicacies. The other side looks like something from Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Colorfully lit displays feature all manner of homemade dark and light delicacies, including Truffes du Jour. These round little pieces of heaven are just the fix that every chocolate addict needs. Made from cow’s milk – that is taken from the farm that day – the truffles are then made by hand and are meant to be savored in the same 24-hour period. Mouth-wateringly delicious, it’s hard to eat just one … or two.

Hot chocolate at Cafe Schober.

Now if all this isn’t enough to give you a chocolate sugar high, head over to Café Conditorei Schober on Napfgasse Street. This boutique coffee house serves breakfast and lunch and has a wonderful selection of cakes and pastries. I go there for a cup of some of the best hot chocolate in the country. Served with a generous portion of freshly made cream, the combination is all you need to experience Nirvana.

Resources:

www.myswitzerland.com

www.spruengli.ch

www.cafe-conditorei-schober.ch

Ron can be reached at: Travelwriter01@comcast.net.

By Susan McKee

Cognac has been a tourist town for centuries not for its eponymous distilled spirits, but for its location. It’s on one of the ancient pilgrimage routes to Santiago (St. James) de Compostella in northwest Spain. For centuries, religious travelers have stopped in France to rest or pray at Cognac’s churches on the way to Galicia. The Tours Saint-Jacques (St. James Towers) along France’s Charente River, dates from this time.

Cognac

Lately, though, the town of 20,000 has fallen off the tourism radar. I was there by chance on a weekend getaway, and found this out-of-the-way part of France steeped in history and tradition. For starters, King François was born there two years after Christopher Columbus first set sail in search of a route to Asia.

I was familiar with his name – Anglicized to Francis I, this first Renaissance monarch of France, a man who gave his name to a Reed & Barton sterling silver pattern, one that’s unaccountably popular among my friends. A contemporary of Henry VIII of England, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Suleiman the Magnificent, he was the architect of many cultural advances for his country.

He was born in the Château de Cognac in 1494, and its current owners are delighted to show you the exact room. The château is now the home of Otard, one of the premiere brands of eau de vie (or, brandy) produced in Cognac.

Spirits, however, weren’t the first produit de gastronomie created in the region of Poitou-Charentes. Back in 1215, Jean Sans Terre – better known to the rest of us as John Lackland (who became the English King John of Magna Carta fame) – issued the town a charter for the salt trade. The marshy Atlantic coast of Charente is the perfect place to produce evaporated sea salt, which was a valuable commodity in a time when salt was the only food preservation.

Salt trade was the start of the town’s prosperity. The Old Town, the medieval quarter called Vieux Cognac, still contains many unusual old buildings along its narrow, cobbled streets. The 17^th century’s brandy production began when it was discovered that distilled alcohol survived transit by ship to northern Europe — and so much better than wine.

My tour guide pointed out gargoyles and other figures on the richly decorated wooden façades. There were lots of salamanders. This amphibian, more in its mythic incarnation as a relative of the dragon than its lowly existence as a lizard, was Francis I’s symbol. In an era when towns and castles regularly burned to the ground, the salamander was said to thrive amidst the flames.

Vieux Cognac runs from the river up to the Saint-Léger church, founded in the 11^th century. It’s noted for an unusual 18^th century portal decorated with the signs of the zodiac.

Cognac’s main square is, of course, named for Francis I, and a statue of the king on horseback towering over his enemies is found at the center, right on the spot where a bastion once stood as part of the town’s defenses during the Hundred Years’ War.

According to French law, only brandy made in certain areas around the town of Cognac during particular times of the year can be called “cognac.” (There are some good eaux de vie produced outside this Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée, but they aren’t cognac.) Not surprisingly, the economy revolves around this particular form of brandy.

Almost everyone I spoke to had some connection to the dominant industry – whether it was in the distillation process itself, or producing the aging  barrels, bottles and corks, printing  labels, or distribution and shipping. I was told that 95 percent of the production was exported.

The very air of cognac seemed redolent with eau de vie due to the ubiquitous black mold. If you look around town, you’ll sniff out buildings old and new, all shaded with the distinctive fungus. Called the “angel’s share,” this is the evidence of cognac evaporating from its oak barrels to the sky and the angels.

I took the Otard cognac tour because I wanted to see inside the historic chateau (owned by the Otards since the end of the 18^th century), but there are lots of others. Tours of Hennessy, Camus, Martell also are in Cognac, with Louis Royer and Courvoisier just down the River Charente in Jarnac.

I stayed in the absolutely fabulous Logis du Fresne in the village of Juillac le Coq. Inside, the rustic guestrooms have every luxury, and outside is the restful quiet of the countryside. Great restaurants were everywhere in the region. A few of my favorites are Le Coq d’Or in Cognac (try the Moules marinières au Pineau des Charentes), Château de l’Yeuse in Chateaubernard and La Ribaudière in Bourg-Charente.

I met some friends in Cognac who had a special treat lined up for us: a visit to the Grey Goose factory. Although the complex is not yet open for public tours, it is part of the company’s future plan.

Who knew that this premium vodka was made in Cognac – but, of course, it makes sense. Grey Goose is distilled from French wheat, and Cognac has a long history of making spirits. After a sneak peek of the inner sanctum (where cameras and notebooks were forbidden) we ended up in the elegant tasting room for some sipping and demonstrations.

François Thibaut, the maître de chai for Grey Goose, explained the genesis of the brand. The intention was to produce a premium vodka, so the owners searched for the perfect combination of ingredients and tradition. The answers turned out to be soft wheat grown in the “breadbasket of France,” which is just south of Paris, with natural spring water filtered through limestone as it flows underground from the Massif Central and the tradition of distillation present in Cognac.

Dimitri Cezinska, Grey Goose’s Global Brand Ambassador, showed us how to make the perfect martini – stirred, not shaken, James Bond’s preference not withstanding. “Shaking just adds ice shards that dilute the drink,” he explained. Martinis are, of course, made with unflavored vodka, but flavored varieties are popular in other mixed drinks.

Grey Goose!

Details:

Cognac Otard, Château de Cognac, 127, Boulevard Denfert Rochereau, BP 3
16100 Cognac; +33 (0)5 45 36 88 86; http://www.otard.com.

Official site of the city of Cognac (in English): http://www.ville-cognac.fr/welcome.php3

Logis du Fresne, 16130 Juillac le Coq; + 33 (0) 545 322 874; http://www.logisdufresne.com

Château de l’Yeuse, 65 rue de Bellevue, Chateaubernard; +33 (0)5 45 36 82 60; http://www.yeuse.fr/uk/accueil_uk.html

La Ribaudière, Place du Port, Bourg-Charente; +33 (0)5 45 81 30 54; http://www.laribaudiere.com/

Grey Goose: http://www.greygoosevodka.com/

Susan can be reached at: Susan@SusanMcKee.com.

ELEGANT FOOD AND DESIGN IN

VERMONT’S MAD RIVER VALLEY

The Pitcher Inn. Photo by Emilie C. Harting.

by Emilie C. Harting

The front entrance of the Pitcher Inn hugs the side of the road on Main Street in the charming village of Warren, Vermont. Here the cadences of everyday life slow down. Often, the only sounds are the wrens and sparrows, the flow of the river behind the general store across the country lane, and the rustling of wind. David Sellars and a group of architects and designers have built an almost exact recreation of the old Warren Inn, which stood on the site until it was destroyed by fire in the mid-1990s. I was there for two days before I knew that the inn was not the original structure, built around 1850, at a time when guests would step out of their carriages and walk directly onto the front porch to avoid dust and rain. The Warren General Store, the bakery, and several other white clapboard buildings across the street have also been restored, giving the village the feel of an earlier time.

At 275 Main, the inn’s spacious restaurant, tables and colonial chairs are spread across the room so that diners cannot actually hear each other’s conversations. A brick colonial fireplace with antique copper and iron pots, various turners, and stoking implements fills one wall. They are typical of the implements produced at mills in the Warren area during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. On a recent summer evening, the blend of light classical music, the soft buzz of attentive staff conversing with guests over food and wine choices, and the muted light of candles created an atmosphere of elegance.

General Manager Ari Sadri, who is also trained as a sommelier, moved around the dining room, conversing with guests. The inn has 600 bottles in the wine cellar and 1200 in storage. Sadri says that the wine program is deliberately eclectic, and thus they have wines from all over the world. He does not buy from big companies, but looks for older, generational, and artisanal wine makers so that guests, especially those who are wine connoisseurs, have the opportunity to experience something unique.

Since I am interested in how the pairing of food and wine enhances food’s flavors, I put myself in Ari’s hands rather than venturing out on my own. On one evening, he chose a sweet red Montepulciano from Tuscany, which he advised was a mellow line between dry and sweet, and thus would go with our appetizers of garganelli, a combination of pasta with roasted tomatoes, capers and olives, and bucatini, a combination of mussels, tomatoes and chorizo. The bucatini was especially tasty because sweetness of the chorizo cancelled out the briny taste of the mussels and the slight tartness of the summer tomatoes. The entree of sautéed chicken with parmesan bread crumbs was tender and without a trace of graininess. And the vegetable and fish flavors in the sautéed wild striped bass with clams, mussels, roasted tomatoes, and olives were melded so well that there was not a trace of tartness coming through.

On another night, a white wine with golden highlights complemented our pasta dishes and the veal scallops with mushrooms, leeks, and marsala. The result was a sweet, mellow taste. In their salads, the flavors of tenderly cooked fresh summer vegetables mixed well with Italian and Vermont cheeses and local meat or fish brought in from Boston. Sue Schickler explains that the menu is basically American with an infusion of Italian and Spanish influences. “I really enjoy preparing the items on the menus. It’s fun and more casual than a strictly traditional cuisine, and we get lots of compliments from our guests. For each meal we have a pasta, steak and fish dish, so there are plenty of choices.” She says that in summer, they depend heavily on the excellent fresh produce and meats in the Mad River Valley, which have their own succulent flavors. In winter she uses more root vegetables and spices.

Creamy polenta was one of the most memorable dishes because of its smooth and delicate flavor, which she says was made with marscarpone, a relatively low-fat triple-creme Italian cream cheese from Lombardy. “It’s the same cheese that is used in tiramisu, except that in Tiramisu the eggs make it lighter.” Schickler’s gift with cheeses was also evident in the breakfast omelet with goat cheese, fresh Vermont heirloom tomatoes, and basil.

When I told her the marinated beets seemed a perfect line between sweetness and tartness, Chef Schickler told me they were marinated with vinegar, sugar, and tarragon. “Guests love them. We make up a huge batch at a time. The beets, along with beef carpaccio salad with lemon dressed arugula and parmigiano reggiano are frequently requested by returning diners.”

Because we ate there in August when local produce was at its prime, our salads contained fresh eggplant, escarole, arugula, peppers and heirloom tomatoes. In the evening our appetizers often had corn, leeks and peppers, which had been marinated so that subtle flavors emerged.

Between breakfast and lunch, there was plenty of time to take drives on some of the Mad River Valley’s most scenic roads. Ari Sadri directed us on an oval-shaped journey through the Mad River Valley, up Route 100 north to Waitsfield, where we stopped to visit The Store, a world class kitchen supply and antique store in a restored barn, the Mad River Glass Gallery, and Cabin River Quilts, both in the center of Waitsfield on Main Street. On our return, we drove south past breathtaking vistas of horse and dairy farms against the mountains.

On a late day stroll past the Warren’s cemetery and Town Hall, I met a guest from the Washington, D.C. area who comes here every year and never leaves the village. “Where ever could you find such a picture perfect place? It’s so restorative. For lunch all I need is a sandwich from the general store, and I eat it out on the deck overlooking the Mad River.” He told me to come back to Warren for the best small town July 4^th parade in New England. “Just make sure to stay in the Chester Arthur Room so that you get the vest view.”

Each of the eleven rooms at the Pitcher Inn has a unique décor, and reflects everyday life in Vermont during past centuries. We stayed in The Lodge, which has a ceiling depicting stars on a Christmas night. The furniture, all hand hewn by noted designers, included a bed inspired by Cleopatra’s, and a fireplace with the triangular design of the Masons, who were important in small town Vermont life.

Throughout the halls owner Maggie Smith’s décor of Vermont antiques and early American landscape paintings makes one stop for reflection. I was delighted to learn that some characters in the paintings were gathered together over food.

Check out: www.pitcherinn.com for holiday packages. The inn is in the heart of the Mad River Valley ski country. Sugarbush Ski Resort is right down the road, and guests cross country ski at a nearby park. Not only is the inn a great place to spend a weekend, but the restaurant is open to outsiders, and the entire inn can be rented out for destination weddings and retreats.

A Small Colorado Town with Big Eats

By Ron Stern

Durango is tucked neatly alongside the San Juan Mountains in the southwest portion of Colorado, a spot that’s always been on my food destination list. Last month while there I found a small town with more local restaurants per capita than San Francisco – and just as diverse.

Sometimes referred to as the “City of Brewerly Love,” the town boasts four brew pubs, each with its own distinctive local food specialties and of course, beer.

Steamworks Brewing Company makes award-winning lagers, ales and stouts, but also has dishes sure to satisfy lumberjack-sized appetites. While scanning the menu the Cajun boil caught my eye. I was with friends, so we ordered enough for two. After clearing a space and laying down some brown paper, this hot-steamy cornucopia of crustaceans was poured from a giant cauldron and spread out to fill half the table. This included pounds of Cajun-spiced crabs, shrimp, crawfish, andouille susage, corn and potatoes. Add a cold brewsky and I was transported to the shores of the Louisiana bijou and culinary heaven.

Durango has non-alcoholic beverages covered as well. Zuberfizz Soda Company makes its own version of what soda pop should taste like with San Juan mountain water and pure cane sugar instead of fructose. I tasted a grape soda and a key lime and it was fresher and more vibrant other sodas on the market. Zuberfizz has a full line of flavors including Cocoa Fizz chocolate soda, the aroma of which can fill up the inside of a car just by opening the bottle.

One of the nice things about Durango is that nothing is far away. There are multiple coffee shops (yes even a Starbucks) that offer endless permutations of java or mocha this or that. At any time of day you can find locals, backpackers, bikers and tourists crowded into their comfy confines enjoying good company or accessing the internet via WiFi.

Oscars Café is one of the more popular hangouts for the breakfast crowd and is located in a non-descript strip mall. People line up at the door of the early 1950’s-style diner for mouth-watering meals that include blueberry pancakes, French toast, eggs with green chili. It all comes with out-of-this-world hash browns. I was told those fried potato gems take a couple of days to make and have a combination of spices – one of the most closely guarded secrets of Durango.

I stayed at the historic Rochester Hotel, which has quite a colorful connection with Hollywood. All of the rooms are themed after Western movies filmed in the area. The most notable: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and City Slickers. Those popular movies gave way to the city’s other nickname: the Hollywood of the Rockies.

Breakfast is included at the Rochester and later in the day they have a jar filled with cookies. The gingersnaps, served on weekends were chewy and delicious and are now on my list for my top 10 cookies. Not to be outdone however, is a little bakery on the end of town known simply as Bread. They also have huge gingersnaps and are now just only slightly ahead of the Rochester’s on my list.

While there I was told that Bread has some of the best sandwiches this side of the continental divide. I’ve heard that before, so I ordered a simple BLT. Yes, it now has my vote for the best bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich. (Maybe I should start another list?) The old-world-style bread is made in large ovens and has a crispy crust covering the soft fragrant bread. The bacon must be something custom ordered and was thick, plentiful and bursting with flavor. This alone would be enough to convince me to drive the seven hours from my Fort Collins home for another round.

I know there were more places to visit and a lot more food, but having packed on more than a few pounds it was time to enjoy some of the outdoor adventures and natural beauty that makes Durango so famous. I will save all those undiscovered food gems for another day.

Resources:

Carvers www.carversbrewing.com

Steamworks Brewing Company www.steamworkdsbrewing.com

Zuberfizz www.zuberfizz.com

Oscars Café (970) 247 0526

Rochester Hotel www.rochesterhotel.com

Bread (970) 247-5100

Take six to a dozen different people, from all kinds of backgrounds and varied cooking abilities. Add a French master chef, a skilled sous-chef, one who is also a wine expert, and her husband, who is another wine expert. Blend together in a modernised 200-year-old farmhouse in France’s Languedoc district, serve with walking, cycling, tennis and swimming on the side, and you have the French House Party.

St. Raymond's Gastro Acadamy where we learn to cook.

The French House Party offers a wide range of courses, ranging from video and movie making, through drama and artwork to creative writing. But, their signature dish is probably the Gastro Academy.

There are three cookery courses to choose from; the 7-day Cook au Vin;, the 6-day Gourmet Explorer; and the 3-day Cuisine in Brief, which I attended. But, please be advised, they aren’t intended to turn you into a gourmet cook overnight. It’s a pity experience is the only appropriate word I can think of.

Chef Robert Abraham ready to teach us some of what he knows.

Chopping and creating our masterpieces.

But, before I get carried away by the relaxing Art Deco atmosphere of the dining-room, sitting room and bedrooms, I’d better talk about the kitchen which, of course, would be the main focus of our business. After lunch on the first day, we were briefly introduced to it, to help to make amuses-bouche, which sounds a lot nicer than nibbles,  to go with our pre-dinner apéritif.

The kitchen is long, with a central table running down the middle, with provisions  for taller (or shorter) people to take part without too much discomfort. It was only recently refurbished, and gasps of admiration and envy greeted it. And, I have an idea that some of those features might shortly be adopted in the kitchens of the participants.

Before dinner, the chef de cuisine, Robert Abraham, introduced himself. He would, he said, be overseeing our cooking on the morrow, but first, we needed ingredients. In the morning, we would accompany him to the market in Revel to buy them.

The chef manages to find the market's best.

Up to a year ago, I thought that the idea of the chef going to the market and personally selecting ingredients was a fiction put about by the makers of TV food programmes. But, in the last twelve months, I’ve met two chefs who did just that, so I’m happy to stand corrected.

Unfortunately, my French isn’t good enough to understand the discussion — maybe even haggling — that went on between Chef Robert and the stallholders, but we came away with basketfuls of provisions that could have been entered in a competition in any County Show at home in the UK.

So, with all the people and ingredients assembled, we were ready to begin cooking. We had three sessions, prepared three meals and, for the sake of brevity, I’ll just talk about the main courses. Under the eye of Chef Robert, we all took part; some to a greater extent than others. I thought back to basic training days, when I’d sit down to a meal, and think, with pride, “I peeled those potatoes!”

For lunch on the first day, we had duck breasts with apples reinette. The apples were baked with lemon juice, honey, butter, pepper and cinnamon; the duck cooked in Noilly Prat and served in slices. It was covered with a sauce made from apple juice and the juiced the duck was cooked in.

Our plated duck and apple slices with Noilly Prat and sauce.

Dinner was St. Jacques scallops served with orange butter sauce and parsnips. I used to think I didn’t like parsnips, but I changed my mind when I tasted these. The main learning point, though, was getting the edible bit out of the scallop. Weretained the shells, to serve a seafood starter for the the following lunch.

The main course on that occasion was monkfish rouelle, served with new potatoes and a tartine of a slice of fried aubergine (that’s eggplant, to my transatlantic readers) topped with a sauce of mussels and shallots.

We also helped to make starters and sweets too numerous to mention here, except that everyone enthused about the crême brulée and the madeleines.

No French meal would be complete without the wine, and here, wine expert Carl Hargreaves came to the fore. He selected wines he thought would go best with each course and he and his wife, sous-chef Debbie, held a wine-tasting just prior to our departure.

My favourite was the Muscat served before the first dinner. It’s said that Dom Perignon visited the area, and refined the recipe for Muscat into champagne.

We all enjoy a little wine talk -- and the wine.

And, a misconception about French cooking was also corrected. I’d missed it, but it wasn’t till the end, on the way back to the airport, that director Moira Martingale pointed out that, at no point in the weekend did Robert use garlic.

In 2008, the French House Party was named ‘Top Learning Retreat’ in the National Geographic book “100 Best Worldwide Vacations to Enrich Your Life.” Cooking is by no means all that goes on there. Find out much more at

www.frenchhouseparty.co.uk

By Richard Frisbie

Chocolate Bliss written by Susie Norris
Subtitled: Sensuous recipes, spa treatments, and other divine indulgences.
ISBN #978-1-58761-347-0 $16.99 Hardcover

I know, I know. What is a guy well-known for his disdain for desserts, especially chocolate desserts, doing reviewing a book on chocolate?  Well, ask yourself – who could be more objective, a chocolate lover, or me?  I’m open to new ideas and ways of thinking, and I’m always willing to research the other side of a position.  In this case, I’m glad I did.

Chocolate Bliss looks like a light book – almost fluffily frivolous – in its cute 7” square size and color photos. I was not prepared for the comprehensive, informative text or the engaging writing style of the author.  Chocolate Bliss is much more than it appears.

To quote the author, Susie Norris, in her introduction:  “I am a pastry chef, chocolatier, culinary school teacher, and snickers bar sneaker.”  Right away she establishes her credentials, interest and sense of humor. I was hooked!

The book is divided into four information packed segments; each dealing with a different aspect of chocolate, and each ending in a collection of recipes.
I - Good Taste – Exploring your favorite chocolates
. . . is an explanation of the different elements of chocolate’s taste, with definitions, websites, techniques for tastings, history and a list of great books of chocolate recipes. Then Susie Norris presents “sensuous recipes: from bonbons to fondue”
II – Health and Beauty – How chocolate helps you inside and out
. . . explains how chocolate is good for you – as a health food, as a vitamin, and for your blood, heart, skin, teeth and brain. The relevant scientific studies are discussed, their findings and supporters examined, and advice on how to control your cravings is given.  She finishes with “healthy recipes: from snacks to skin care.”
III – Good Works – How you can help chocolate
. . . is a vivid account of how chocolate grows, including the importance of preserving the environment it grows in, as well as saving the way of life of the 50 million people involved in its harvesting and distribution worldwide. Throughout this you’re given the fair-trade and organic chocolate argument with sound reasons to follow it.  She then includes “earthy recipes: from chili to cheesecake.”
IV – Share the Love – the gift of chocolate
. . . begins with the Aztec myths to explain how chocolate’s perception as a “gift of the gods” continues through the Holidays and celebrations of today. Halloween, Christmas, Hanukkah, Valentine’s Day, Easter – even Birthdays and Weddings - each has a chocolate tradition whose history is examined. The author then offers “gifting recipes: from cupcakes to white chocolate roses.”

Did You Know . . .
Ninety-eight percent of women have food cravings, as do 68 percent of men?

Chocolate generates an estimated $80 billion annual international income?

Chocolate is the third largest global commodity behind sugar and coffee?

Cocoa butter melts at around 91 degrees?

An ounce of very dark chocolate every day is healthy medicine?

Throughout the pages pithy and humorous quotes are included from literature, famous chefs, and cookbook authors. Facts and factoids from chemistry to history are also used to help reinforce the text. Chocolate Bliss is fun to read!

As for Chocolate Bliss as a cookbook, each of the attractively illustrated recipes is presented in a clear and logical manner. Methods, tips for success, and shortcuts are included in detail with the reasoning behind them. Whenever a specialized ingredient is given, it is defined, and shopping information and brand recommendations are given. It is clear that the author is a culinary instructor. She really knows how to make following the recipes easy.

I liked this book! In fact, I liked it so much I went to my local health food store and bought a bag of organic cocoa nibs* to add to the Chocolate Sugar Dough recipe (page 132) for the tart crust (page 59) for my Thanksgiving cheese cake. I told you I could keep an open mind!

*cocoa nibs are pure cocoa beans that have been fermented, hulled, roasted, and cracked, but not ground, to a paste. They have a nut-like crunch. (There are 8 references to cocoa nibs in the index.)

Chocolate Bliss by Susie Norris
Subtitled: Sensuous recipes, spa treatments, and other divine indulgences.
ISBN #978-1-58761-347-0 150 pages Hardcover $16.99
http://www.crownpublishing.com

By Maureen Costello

My niece called me out of the blue last January inviting me on a world tour of all the ethnic restaurants at Epcot Center.

Alison and me with the staff at the Marrakash. We're the shorter ones in the middle.

As an employee of Disney-owned ESPN, Alison is a “cast member,” meaning she receives significant discounts at each of the Walt Disney empires.

“I remember you said you always wanted to try all the restaurants at Epcot Center,” she said referring to the 11 restaurants that make up the park’s World Showcase. “I’m going to make that dream come true for you.”

I do not remember expressing that specifically to Alison, though I have been quite vocal about that idea since I first visited Walt Disney World 11 years earlier. I am beyond flattered to know that Alison was listening.

We only had three full days to sample something from every country represented. Some restaurants such as Canada’s, Le Cellier Steakhouse, was only open for dinner. None serve breakfast. We needed to accommodate six, maybe seven meals. Some stops would have to be snacks. I should also mention that though we had a discount toward food, Alison, 23, has yet to accumulate a salary comparable to those whose sports highlights she readies for Sports Center. I am hardly better off so finances were essential to factor in especially as dinner entrees could easily run $37 apiece – not including dessert.

You don’t need to be a foodie to benefit from Epcot Center’s World Showcase, even if it is only for an afternoon. The theme park giant goes over the top to represent the culture, food, music, dance, art, history and, in some instances, even the plant life of Mexico, Norway, China, Germany, Italy, the USA, Japan, Morocco, France, United Kingdom and Canada. Employees of these venues are frequently young adults from their native land working at Disney on a one-year Visa. The program works well for both. Disney guests learn about the culture directly from someone born and raised there, and the worker learns about America both through their work at Epcot and field trips to cities such as New York and Chicago, which Disney organizes.

Top chefs and gourmet selections require guests make dinner reservations months in advance at Walt Disney World’s Signature Dining restaurants. Though we were four months away from our trip, I grabbed the only seating available for Restaurant Marrakesh, which features authentic Moroccan cuisine. I struck out with the rest for dinner until I secured a table for Bistro de Paris. I then reserved the last available table at Coral Reef Restaurant, a seafood restaurant that is in Epcot, but not part of the showcase.

The Maya Grill at the Coronado Springs Resort, where we were staying, is owned by the San Angel Inn Restaurante in Epcot’s Mexico showcase. The grill served buffet breakfasts only, but we decided its Latin culture and flavors would be representative of San Angel, where I had enjoyed dinner years before. I had also eaten at Le Cellier, and we could not get reservations anyway. Alison’s goal was to wean off of chicken fingers, burgers and fries, the dominant menu items at The American Adventure, so it was scratched.

The months pass and we were finally at JFK when Alison confided that she has never tasted an olive. Fortunately we were flying Jet Blue which boasts the trendy Re:vive restaurants at the gates. We split a lunch of fresh mozzarella with olive tapenade, fresh basil between two slices of toasted ciabetta. One bite and Alison’s olive deficiency was remedied.

The in-flight snack was nothing to write home (or here) about. But once settled into the resort, we walked over to the bar to sample a mojito. Alison exclaimed that the big news at ESPN was that the bartender by the pool at Coronado Springs Resort made the best mojito ever. A flight delay meant we got to the bar minutes before it closed. We forgot the bartender’s name and our camera, but admit his was a refreshingly sweet and minty mojito, with just enough rum to take the edge off of knowing our luggage had yet to arrive.

The following is a quick pictorial show of the meals my niece and I shared during our three-day “world tour.”

Alison is eating a fresh toasted mozzarella and olive tapenade sandwich at re: vive, a bar situated at every few Jet Blue terminals.

Our first stop at Disney was the Marrakash, Epcot's upscale Moroccan restaurant. Our main course was a lemon-pepper roasted chicken leg and roasted lamb shank sandwiching the most succulant couscous with steamed vegetables. Our wine is Beni M'tir , a dry, full-bodied red with fragrances of almond, citrus peel, orange marmalade, fig cinnamon and mint. The grapes were grown in Morocco's Amazigh region.

This tiny lemon tree growing beside our table reminded me of the blossoming lemon plants beside another table in Splendida, Portofino, Italy.

We are at Tutto Italia on a blue-skied 89-degree Florida afternoon. Alison is having a chilled 2007 Rose Centine ($7) with her asparagus salad.

We did not leave Italy without sampling vanilla bean gelatto sandwiched between light pastry and drizzled with warm milk chocolate sauce. We were not above pouring the leftover chocolate onto spoons and devouring it.

Here we are in Norway enjoying a midafternoon snack of fresh strawberry and black raspberry tart at Kringla's, $3.99. On the side is a frosty Bailey's coffee. Sandwiches here, which we did not have, include salmon, egg and red onion on multigrain bread.

Alison's first sushi meal (and definitely not her last!) was served at Tokyo Dining. This sampler features tuna, yellowtail shrimp and California rolls. Keeping with tradition, we each had a shot of Junmai sake, brewed from the waters of Mt. Tenzan, part of the Saga Perfecture, which is in Northwestern Japan.

The Country Style Meat plate, the first of two appetizers we had at Bistro de Paris, consisted of homemade pate, beef croquette, duck rillette and smoked duck magret.

The duck breast, polenta galette with raisin, artichoke and sun choke purse verjus sauce. Verjus sauce is combination of squeezed unripe grapes, herbs and spices.

Our second appetizer, escargot and mushroom cassolette with parsely butter, frog leg fritters and watercress veloute. A veloute sauce is one of four traditional French sauces. It means velvety and is made of equal parts butter and flour mixed with a stock of either chicken, veal or fish bones.

Alison struck gold with the Atlantic red snapper with calmari Basquaise style, rice and squid ink.

I had the warm and frozen Grand-Marnier souffle. The chocolate cake was warm and filled with a warm chocolate pudding. On the side is a shot of Grand Marnier and the spoon is a single serving of gourmet French white chocolate. I hated to share.

Les desserts! Alison tops off her snapper and squid meal with a mouthwatering serving of vanilla creme brulee, caramelized rice pudding, upside down caramel cream and a scoop of creme brulee ice cream. One bite and she realized a dessert needn't be chocolate to be delectable.

Le Saout Yoann prepared crepes duo Suzette at our table.

e shared an appetizer of General Tso's chicken steamed dumplings beneath a warm Chinese red sauce with a side of scallions and cilantro at Nine Dragons.

A cook prepares my Southwest omelet.

Fresh bread at the Pepper Market.

By Kaye Hurst

Mom’s Chocolate Pie

A special friend of my daughter’s called to check on her after a recent surgery. An immediate connection was made and we were old friends from way back. We talked about my daughter’s recovery – she’s doing better, thank you for asking – and about the food I brought her house as she rested and mended.

“Comfort food, that’s what they needed,” I told her. I had prepared chicken and dumplings and a chocolate pie.

“’What’s chocolate pie,’” she asked. “’Is it like Derby Pie?’”

I was in shock. Could someone really not know about chocolate pie? Apparently, yes.

Chocolate Pie is a sacred rite of passage in our family. I’ve already given my granddaughter, Lauren, her first three lessons on the art of chocolate pie making. There are many more to come. The women in our family love chocolate pie. It started with my grandmother, Ann Burns Jackson. Ann trained her girls Zada, Sadie, Rose and Bonnie to prepare chocolate pie. Aunt Sadie and my mom, Rose, honed their chocolate pie skills over the years. They are both in their 80’s now. In fact my mom is still making chocolate pie and doing hair in a small shop in Alabama — but that is a whole other story.

We all use the same recipe, however I still haven’t mastered the pie crust. For our clan a perfect shopping day starts with a piece of chocolate pie and a Coca Cola TM. Every holiday is celebrated with a pie of some type, whether pumpkin, lemon or apple, but, no matter what, there is always a chocolate pie in the house.

There’s a reason that pie is always on the table or being taken to a sick one’s home. When life is kicking you in the rear end chocolate pie make life all right. Oh yes, it does.

Almost everyone here in Louisiana will agree, when you have chocolate pie it just makes everything right in the world. When something is wrong or life just isn’t right we head for the nearest restaurant or home that promises us a slice of chocolate heaven.

I recently went home to Alabama to visit my mom, Rose, and my Aunt Sadie. Of course, I savored a piece of what I believe is the best chocolate pie in the world. It brought back memories and the love I feel for these women. I was teary as I left for the airplane to go home. As I headed back to Louisiana I found myself on a plane that sat on the tarmac because of mechanical problems . The stewardess sat beside and we started chatting about Louisiana food. She asked the same question. “What is chocolate Pie”

Well, I’ve decided it’s a Southern delicacy and should get the Nobel Peace Prize. Because it does make everything all right with world — even if it’s just for a few bites. So, I’m leaving you with the recipe. Make it with love and then let me know what problems it solved.

Mom’s Chocolate Pie

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

3 tbsp. flour

3 tbsp. cocoa

3 eggs (beaten)

2 1/2 cups evaporated milk

1 tsp. vanilla

3 tbsp. butter

Whipped cream (small container heavy cream and a few tablespoons of sugar whipped until stiff.)

1 baked pie shell

Method:

Prebake the pie shell. Mix dry ingredients: sugar, flour and cocoa. Add beaten eggs and milk. Mix well, cook over medium heat and stir until thick. Remove from heat; add vanilla and butter. Pour into baked pie shell and cool before topping with whipped cream. Add coconut on top if you want.  Makes one 9 inch pie.

Reach Kaye at: Nann1151@aol.com.

By Shannon Hurst Lane

Some households enjoy a traditional turkey dinner. Here in Louisiana we have a different take on the annual celebration. Holiday traditions here usually include peanut oil, three fowl, and basically a lot of lard. Sounds pretty gross? Well, where I come from, these are cooked together to form the base for a symphony of culinary delights that would tempt even the most staid vegan.

Decades ago, some Cajun hanging around his Louisiana backyard came up with idea of deep frying the entire turkey in a vat of peanut oil. This unique way of preparing a Thanksgiving turkey has inspired many other would-be chefs to attempt the same, only to end the day in a holiday mishap that sometimes includes setting an entire house of fire, if not causing personal disfigurement. This practice has resulted in numerous news stories across the southern region of the United States, all resulting in the same post-holiday message: Remember fried turkey safety.

Fried turkey became a fad that paved the way for an even more innovative twist on Louisiana’s Thanksgiving dinner. It’s called the Turducken and it’s a concoction made up of three feathered friends: the turkey, the duck, and the chicken. These birds are deboned and then stuffed inside of each other. It starts with the chicken inside of the duck, which is then placed inside of the turkey. It’s seasoned and baked, which results in a flavorful and juicy entrée.

Whichever entrée a Louisiana family chooses to serve, it is usually accompanied by a rice dressing, chicken and dumplings, mashed potatoes, potato salad, and any other carbohydrate that can be conjured in a baked dish. In my family, there must always be a honeybaked ham always results in an argument over leftovers. The family will stuff themselves as if it is a last meal. They finish with a dessert and a food-induced nap.

Me, I’m looking forward to the juicy Turducken and my mother’s oyster rice dressing, followed with a delicious slice of chocolate pie.

Oh, that reminds me. It’s time to refill my Lipitor in preparation of the holiday festivities.

Shannon can be reached at: Shannon@globalfoodie.com or at Hurstlane@aol.com.