Melted Hearts of Chocolate with Tonka
Posted: 02/12/2011 Filed under: Gastronomy, Recipes | Tags: Coeur Fondant au Chocolat, Dessert, Molten Chocolate Cake, Recipes, Tonka Bean, Valentine's Day 5 Comments »It is impossible to separate food with emotions. I first learned this when I read the novel Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel in which Tita’s fervent emotions become a part of her cooking and affect those around her. I later experienced this with my first bite of a French coeur fondant au chocolat…
Coeur fondant literally means “melted heart” but is better known as molten chocolate cake in English. There is something wonderfully sensual about the warm gooey chocolate surrounded by a shell of moist chocolate cake. There are plenty of adjectives that come to mind when I think of this dessert, but I’ll spare you the details and just let you experience it on your own…or with someone special. With valentines day around the corner, this is the perfect dessert. Read the rest of this entry »
Wine and Chocolate
Posted: 02/06/2011 Filed under: Gastronomy, Paris, Wine, Wine Pairings | Tags: Banyuls, Champagne, chocolate, France, Port, Wine, Wine Pairings, Zinfandel Leave a comment »With Valentine’s Day approaching, I decided to do a little experimenting with wine and chocolate. After all, wine and chocolate are two of my favorite things, so I would have to be crazy to turn down such a great excuse to eat more chocolate and drink more wine. 
But the other night, right as I was about to indulge in a dark chocolate truffle and a glass of tawny port (all in the name of science), I realized that there was something rather unfortunate about keeping such a wonderful experiment all for myself. So I returned the truffle to its box, looked around the empty apartment, and then at the annoyingly loud clock above the kitchen sink. Read the rest of this entry »
Coffee: A Different Sort of “Grand Cru”
Posted: 01/31/2011 Filed under: Gastronomy, Paris, Places, Shops | Tags: coffee, la caféothèque, latte, macchiato, Marais, Paris, peru Leave a comment »Usually when I write about “grand crus” I’m talking about wine, but this time I have something else on my agenda: coffee. I recently stumbled across a café that just might serve the best coffee in Paris. Well, at least that’s what Alain Ducasse and David Lebovitz seem to think… both of them regulars of La Caféothèque.
A couple of weeks ago, while walking through the quiet alleyways of the Village Saint Paul, I came across a café that immediately caught my attention. This time it wasn’t an extravagant terrace that attracted me, or a big sign with a clever logo. No, it was much more subtle than that… Read the rest of this entry »
Searching for the Best Chocolate
Posted: 01/11/2011 Filed under: Gastronomy, Places, Shops Leave a comment »
My new year’s resolution might seem little different than most, but it is based on two basic goals:
First, to find the best chocolate producers in France.
Second, to find the best wine pairing with chocolate, because I absolutely refuse to accept the fact that my two favorite things (wine and chocolate) must be consumed separately. Although, I do agree that the pairing must be done wisely. Read the rest of this entry »
