Brownie Points

                                                           

                        Invented over a century ago, the brownie remains an American classic.

I admit it.  I’m a sucker for a great fudgy-ooey-gooey brownie.  In fact, it would be on the menu of my last meal.  Did you know that the modern day brownie originated > 120 years ago at the Palmer House Hotel in Chicago?  Here’s the story.

The Palmer House has been an iconic property since 1871.  Famous on many fronts other than inventing the brownie, the hotel completely burned to the ground in Chicago’s Great Fire a mere 13 days after it opened.  Two years later the Palmer House rose from the ashes and made headlines:  it was the first hotel to use Edison’s recent invention, the light-bulb.  Moreover, it was the first hotel to use Bell’s invention, the telephone.  But, there’s more.  It was the first to use the “vertical railroad,” which we call today the elevator.  Now, for the hotel’s real star, the brownie.

This ethereal chocolate dessert was concocted in the kitchen of the Palmer House hotel in 1893, the year of the World’s Fair in Chicago.  Bertha Palmer, wife of the hotel’s owner, was involved in orchestrating the women’s activities at the Fair.  Mrs. Palmer asked the chef of her hotel to make a “ladies dessert:”  one that would be easier to eat than a piece of pie, was smaller than a slice of layer cake, and one that could be transported without issues to the Fair.  As Mrs. Palmer loved chocolate, it was a no- brainer for the chef. The brownie was born. 

This recipe, created over a century ago, is still served today at the Palmer House Hotel.  It remains one of their most popular desserts.  Check it out:

Brownie Ingredients:

1 lb  high quality, semi-sweet chocolate

1 lb butter

1.5 cups sugar

½ cup cake flour

8 eggs

2 cups chopped, toasted walnuts

Glaze Ingredients:

1 cup water

1 cup apricot preserves

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin

Brownie & Glaze Instructions:

·        Preheat oven 300 degrees.

·        Butter & flour 9 x 12 pan. 

·        Toast walnuts in skillet, stirring and watching carefully so they don’t burn.  Cool. 

·        Melt chocolate and butter in double boiler over very hot water. 

·        Meanwhile, mix dry ingredients (without walnuts) in mixing bowl. 

·        Mix melted mixture with dry. 

·        Wisk in eggs, one at a time, beating about a minute for each egg.

·        Place in prepared 9x12 pan.

·        Sprinkle brownies with toasted nuts, pushing down to partially submerge.

·        Bake for about 35 minutes until there’s a 2 inch crispy brownie edge---the interior will be slightly jiggly.

·        Remove and let cool for 30 minutes.

·        Prepare the glaze by mixing water, preserves & gelatin in saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk until boiling, then boil for 2 minutes.

·        Spread a thin layer of the hot glaze over the cool brownies, then cool completely.

·        Place in the freezer for 3-4 hours. 

·        Slice and serve while very cold and firm.

A Labor Day Labor of Love

Paris' Ambassade d'Auvergne sublime chocolate mousse

I’ve had this chocolate mousse too many to count at one of my favorite restaurants in Paris.  This rendition, to me, is the benchmark for which to judge all other chocolate mousses on the planet.  And, thanks to a labor of love gesture from one of my dear friends (who was finally able to talk the chef out of the recipe), I now know how this ethereal chocolate masterpiece is created.

A few helpful hints:  I’ve tried this using different chocolates, however, the best rendition is exactly what the Parisian restaurant uses:  Valrhrona.  Also, the longer the finished mousse sits in the refrigerator, the more flavor it develops.  The chef recommended refrigerating it for 12 hours prior to serving, however, this can easily be made a day or two before.  Last, I have reduced the restaurant’s large quantity recipe to something more appropriate for home usage---the recipe below generously serves 8.

Ambassade d’Auvergne’s Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients: 

6 oz  Sweet Valrhrona chocolate (aka ‘milk chocolate’)

3 oz  Bitter Sweet Valrhrona chocolate (aka ‘dark chocolate’)

1 cube butter

3 Tablespoons Grand Marnier (or more if desired)

1.5 Tablespoons vanilla extract

6 egg yolks

9 egg whites

2/3 cup sugar (divided between egg whites and yolk mixture)

Directions:

Melt the chocolate and butter slowly together in a double boiler pan, stirring regularly.  After it has melted, let the chocolate cool while you do the following:

In a separate bowl (do not use a plastic bowl as eggs won’t develop as much volume), whip the egg whites until they get to the soft peak stage. Slowly add little by little 3 tablespoons of the total 2/3 C sugar.  Whip whites until they are stiff with firm peaks.

In yet another bowl, beat the egg yolks until they are pale yellow, then add the remaining sugar mixture (should be about ½ cup) and continue beating until well mixed.  Next, add the Grand Marnier and vanilla.  Mix well.

Pour the cooled chocolate from the double broiler into a large bowl.  Add egg yolk mixture and mix well.  Slowly fold in egg whites little by little---the key is to gently fold so that the egg whites retain their volume.

If you should be in Paris, don’t miss dinner at Ambassade d’Auvergne.  It’s one of the few restaurants opened in the city on Sunday evenings and it's also one of Paris' best bargains.  If it's a Sunday night, a reservation is a must.  But whatever night, be sure to order the chocolate mousse.  http://www.ambassade-auvergne.com

Happy labor day, with love.

The Original Kiss Was Italian

Baci  is Italy’s word for “kisses”  and who other than the Italians would invent the first kiss in chocolate?   While Baci’s have been produced by the esteemed Perugina chocolate company since the early 1900’s, the legend of the first chocolate kiss goes back to the Renaissance. 

As the story goes, Romeo was banned from seeing Juliet by her parents for fear that these teenagers were too young to be in love.  But, Romeo was not about to take no for an answer.   He knew Juliet’s maid and he asked the maid if she would sneak in some small pieces of chocolate for Juliet.  The maid did so and the rest is history.

What the maid did not know is that Romeo had written love notes inside each piece of chocolate that was covered in a beautiful metal wrapper.  Perugina reinvented the story nearly 500 years later by including a love note in each of their covered chocolates and named them Baci and to this day love notes are included inside each foil wrapped piece.

Many of you have had a Baci, a gorgeous little piece of paradise composed of chocolate and hazelnuts.  Now a ubiquitous item in every gourmet emporium in the USA and in every country of Europe, they’re exported around the globe.  If you’re coming with us on the 2015 private villa tour to Italy, however, you’ll have the grand opportunity to actually visit Perugina’s factory where the Baci are made and have all of the kisses you wish---chocolate, that is.

To learn more about the 2015 trip of staying in 2 luxurious private villas (1 week in Tuscany, the other week in Umbria...home of Perugina chocolate), check out the tour:  http://www.wineknowstravel.com

The Ferrari of Chocolates

     

Today I’m in Torino (Turin) with the Wine-Knows Truffle tour.  While Torino is actually 150 miles from the city where Ferraris are made, this morning our group is visiting the Ferrari of chocolates, Guido Gobino.  Signor Gobino’s artisanal chocolates have become almost as famous as the sleek and sexy Ferrari and, like the car, they command top price.

To enter the “workshop,” you must be buzzed in by security.  At first glance the retail shop in which you enter could be a high-end gift shop in Manhattan or San Francisco.  Well coiffed, attractive female employees (straight out of a Fellini movie) snap you back to reality with their freshly starched white labcoats and formal welcome.  The smell of chocolate is intoxicating.  Everywhere I turn, I’m surrounded by drop-dead gorgeous packaging.  All senses are on overload. 

On the tour of the actual factory with Gobino, we learn that his family has been in the chocolate business for nearly 50 years,….but it is Guido who took the company on an entirely different trajectory.  In 1996 he opened his “artisanal workshop.”  It was Guido who began researching the field of chocolate and who discovered ancient recipes from Torino.  It was Guido who changed the focus to use of local products (such as Piedmont’s famous hazelnuts).  And, it was Guido who pushed for impeccable quality standards…with the same attention to quality details that are involved in making a Ferrari.

Signor Gobino is one of a huge number of chocolate-makers in town.  Torino has been associated with chocolate for over 400 years.  For a chocoholic, Torino is mecca.  In Torino’s central shopping district you’ll find Gucci, Prada, Ferragamo…mixed in between chocolate boutiques (one of which is Guido Gobino’s) and classy, old-world cafes with frescoed ceilings (that offer several types of chocolate drinks…and of course, chocolates.)   Gobino has become a legend among legends.   In the 2006 Winter Olympic Games, he was appointed the “Ambassador of Torino.”  The Academy of Chocolate in London, honored Gobino with the world’s best chocolate praline award.

While Gobino has chocolate boutiques popping up like mushrooms, today we’re fortunate to be at his actual “factory” (aka workshop).  I thought I was on sensory overload when we arrived in the retail shop attached to the factory, but now after touring the factory I’m almost delirious…a very good delirious.  Gobino ended the morning with a private chocolate tasting for the Wine-Knows group.  A Ferrari or a piece of Gobino’s praline chocolate made with extra virgin olive oil and topped with sea salt?  Hmmm…I’ll take the Gobino!   

A Marriage Made in Heaven

Chocolate lover?  Hazelnut nut?  In the 1850’s, before Italy was even a nation, a chocolate-maker in the sophisticated food-loving city of Turin (the center of the powerful House of Savoy) invented the perfect union of these two culinary gems.  He named it Gianduja (john due yuh) after a marionette character who was the popular local folk icon. 

Gianduja was born out of necessity.  It was the era following the Napoleonic Wars and chocolate, a very precious commodity, was rationed.  The district surrounding Turin, callled Piedmont, was known throughout Europe for producing the best hazelnuts.   To circumvent the lack of exotic chocolate, one of the leading candy shops decided to create an intense mèlange of chocolate and hazelnuts…and the rest is history.

Today, Gianduja is a classical European chocolate, made by only the premier chocolate producers.   This fall’s trip to Piedmont for the Truffle Festival will include a visit to Turin’s super-star chocolatier…attendees will visit his artisanal workshop and be able to watch the birthing of Gianduja from the roasting of the cocao beans to the upscale packaging process.  Most importantly, you’ll be able to sample these exquisite morsels.

BTW...thanks to Piedmont, you’ll now find the pairing of chocolate and hazelnuts throughout Italy.  One of my favorite things is gianduja gelato.  Anyone else adore the little Italian chocolates wrapped in foil called Baci? (Italian for "kisses"). They, too, are made from chocolate and hazelnuts and were around long before the Hershey’s kiss.

Chocolates Down Under

Those of you who love chocolates from Switzerland are going to go wild over Haigh's Chocolates. Producing chocolate since 1915, these Swiss-trained chocolatiers are still turning out la crème de la crème products.  Controlling quality is one of the major secrets to their success…all the way from roasting of their own cocoa beans to hand-dipping each fabulous morsel.  My fave was the Shiraz Truffle, but the Praline chocolate was a close second.

There’s only one negative---they are not available outside of Australia.  If you find yourself in Melbourne or Adelaide on the March 2012 Wine-Knows tour, we’ll be touring the factory and sampling.  If you can't make the tour, you can learn the secrets behind these fabulous delectables in their book for sale on Amazon.