EUROCHOCOLATE 2009

Just a reminder - Eurochocolate starts TODAY!!!

Yes chocoholics, it's that time again! Time to head for Perugia, where from October 16th throught the 25th you'll be able to see, taste and buy more chocolate than you ever thought possible at the annual EUROCHOCOLATE festival. The weekends are waaay too crowded for me, but during the week things are a bit calmer. Buon appetito!

IT'S CHOCOLATE TIME

Yes chocoholics, it's that time again! Time to head for Perugia, where from October 16th throught the 25th you'll be able to see, taste and buy more chocolate than you ever thought possible at the annual EUROCHOCOLATE festival. The weekends are waaay too crowded for me, but during the week things are a bit calmer. Buon appetito!

CHOCOLATE IN CORTONA

Yesterday's post featured a short video by ARTTRAV.COM. This site helps the traveler learn more about the art and history in and around Florence and Rome. While wandering around on the site I was naturally drawn to the mention of chocolate. Apparently there's a fantastic chocolate shop in Cortona called COCOA. I wish I'd known about this place when we were in Cortona earlier this month, but I have a sneaking feeling that a trip back to Cortona might be in our future!

If your travel plans include Cortona, you might want to check out COCOA!

A QUICK CHOCOLATE FIX

Have you received an email with the recipe for chocolate cake in a coffee cup? It's quick way to get a chocolate fix without overdoing it - not that anyone I know would actually bake and eat an entire chocolate cake......but this recipe has built in portion control, just in case. Here's the recipe:



5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug (Microwave safe)

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly.

Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes at 1000 watts.

The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don't be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.


I DID use the choclate chips, and yes, it did spill out of the mug - I placed the mug on a plate just in case. Although it was very chocolatey and gooey, thanks to the chocolate chips, it was a bit spongy, but when you're baking in the microwave, you have to expect some deviations. Personally I prefer the recipe for microwave brownies that my friend Janet gave to me several years ago....



Microwave Brownies

3 oz butter (add pinch of salt if using unsalted butter)
8 oz brown sugar
2 eggs
a few drops Vanilla extract
3 oz plain flour
2 oz cocoa powder
1/4 tsp baking powder

Melt butter and sugar in a glass bowl in microwave.
Beat in eggs and vanilla.
Sift flour, cocoa, and baking powder into a bowl and mix in egg mixture.
Pour into lined microwaveable dish and on place an up turned saucer in the microwave.
Microwave 4 1/2 to 5 minutes. Should still be sticky on the top.
If you do not have a turntable, 1/4 turn after 2 minutes.

Either way is a quick chocolate fix you can enjoy anytime.

CHOCOLATE IN PERUGIA - GO NOW!

Just a reminder....EUROCHOCOLATE starts today in Perugia! The weekends are always crowded, so if you can, visit during the week. If you're only here this weekend or next and love chocolate, then be brave and go anyway! The festival runs through next sunday, October 26th.

IF YOU'RE IN UMBRIA THIS FALL....

Two of our favorite events in Umbria happen in the fall, and if you're here in Late October or early November you should definitely try to make time for one or both events. Of course you know at the top of my list is EUROCHOCOLATE. This year it runs from October 18th through October 26th. This will be our fifth consecutive year for Eurochocolate and I can tell you that it has grown at an alarming rate during that short time. The last time we were there on a weekend Corso Vannucci in Perugia was wall to wall people, and it was a struggle to get near any of the chocolate vendors, so I'd recommend a weekday visit if you can. Don't expect any free samples be cause they seem to be pretty stingy in Perugia, but I guess most of us who attend such festivals already know what we like.

Coming up just a week after Eurochocolate ends is the annual tasting of the new olive oil at the FRANTOI APERTI. As of this writing, just four weeks from the November 1-2 dates, the website still shows last years' information, but eventually current details will be posted. Last year I wrote about the five different zones Umbria has for it's olive oil and how the oil differs from zone to zone. You can read about it HERE. Because we know we like the spicy oil from the area around TREVI, that's where you'll find us this year too, and I'm hoping the be able to buy some of that yummy black celery that Trevi is famous for as well. (Clicking on the Trevi link will take you to the details for their events for Frantoi Aperti)

Fall is a wonderful time to visit Umbria. The days are cooler and shorter but the crowds are gone and you can load up your suitcases with plenty of chocolate and new olive oil.....maybe even a bottle or two of wine and you'll be able to pretend you're still in Italy long after the vacation is over! On the other hand, if you buy our house in Umbria, you'll have a home away from home just waiting for you whenever the mood strikes...and I'll personally guarantee you that no matter what time of year you're here, you'll always find plenty of delicious food and wine. How can you possibly resist?

A CHOCOLATE VIEW

Here's a picture of one of the more unique birthday presents Art received this year....a piece of chocolate from SANDRI’S, the wonderul pasticceria in Perugia. The scene is from Perugia, of the famous fountain and beautiful buildings in the centro. Almost too pretty to eat......almost!!

THE PERFECT BROWNIE - AT LAST!

If you've been reading for a while you know that I'm a confirmed chocoholic, and that I've been searching for the perfect brownie recipe for some time now. I have to wait until we have company so that I have an excuse to bake, and so that Art and I don't eat the entire batch. (Yes, even if a recipe is deemed 'not quite perfect', it's STILL chocolate, and of all the recipes I've tried, I've never found one that wasn't edible!) So....

Several years ago I discovered that substituting (American-style) brown sugar for all or part of the sugar will produce a gooey brownie, and that's a good thing. Additionally the brown sugar's caramel-y taste adds an extra richness and depth, so when I saw that this recipe called for equal amounts of brown and white sugar I was hopeful.

My ideal brownie is intensely chocolate, slightly gooey on the inside but with a shiny, thin crust on top. This recipe ticked all the boxes for me, and for now, this is the one, the brownie recipe I'll use until someone can convince I need to try another one! I used a combination of chocolate: half 60% Ghiradelli and half Lindt 85% chocolate, just because that's what I had on hand. I think using all 85% chocolate might have been too intense, but as I type this, I can't believe what I'm saying! Too intense?? Hmmm....maybe the next time I'll use all 85% chocolate just to see. I've also thought about using the drier brown sugar we buy here in Italy, just to see how much the gooiness is affected. For this recipe I loved the extra intensity of the dark brown sugar rather than light brown.

Here's the recipe, which I'm going to call

The Best Brownies EVER!

2 sticks (8 oz.) butter, more for pan and parchment paper
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flour

Butter a 13-by-9-inch baking pan and line with buttered parchment paper.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In top of a double boiler set over barely simmering water, or on low power in a microwave, melt butter and chocolate together. Cool slightly.

In a large bowl or mixer, whisk eggs. Whisk in salt, sugars and vanilla.

Whisk in chocolate mixture.

Fold in flour just until combined.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until shiny and beginning to crack on top. Cool in pan on rack.

Yield: 15 large or 24 small brownies.

As with most things chocolate, these are better if baked 1 day in advance.

Post script: I later tried this recipe with just 6 oz of butter and 6 oz of chocolate and the brownies were just as yummy...

LIFE IN THE STATES AND A CHOCOLATE RECIPE

Under normal circumstances, I would have already written about how much fun we had in the states, about how I indulged in some ‘only in America’ treats, and what special aspects of American life I really enjoyed. But these aren’t normal circumstances. When you’ve been sick so long that you start marking anniversaries, something’s wrong! Today marks the four week anniversary of whatever it is that has a hold of me. I’ve just taken the last of the second round of antibiotics, and although I feel hopeful, I’m remembering all the times in the past four weeks when I thought I was on the road to recovery. Apparently that road is as windy and curvy as the roads in Umbria!

As for what I enjoyed in the states, first and foremost would be the grandchildren. I didn’t get to spend as much time with Nick as I would have liked, but with school, hockey, my health, and his being a teenager, we just never seemed to connect. We did get to have a nice talk on Christmas Day, and I know we’ll be in touch via the phone.

Because we stayed with my son’s family for five days, we did get to connect with the grandgirls, who continue to amaze me. Miss M, at the ripe old age of 3 ½ can count to twenty in Spanish so fast it makes my head spin, is already learning about the presidents of the United States (and can name quite a few of them), and has the sweetest, most endearing personality….except of course when she’s having a meltdown, which makes me think she’s perfecting the “terrible twos” into the “terrifying threes”.

Our little redhead, on the other hand, continues to charm and to take charge. Six going on twenty six. Learning to read, excited about make-up, only too happy to put on an impromptu concert for her guests. Adorable, intelligent, amazing....the same things every grandparent says!


Winters here in Umbria are cold and gray, dreary and drippy. Visits to the United States remind me what a wonderful thing forced air heating is, and how much I love wall to wall carpet on a cold winter’s morning.

It seems that when we’re in Italy there’s always some item missing from my pantry….cilantro, or graham crackers, or grape jelly. Cheddar cheese seems to top the list of many, many expats as the thing they miss the most. And then we visit the states and all of a sudden I’m saying “Hey! I need some good pancetta!” I did take some new olive oil back with me… fresh, spicy oil that I couldn’t wait to share with friends! I guess I can find most of what I need in the states, but certainly not for what I’m used to paying for it! Even with the terrible exchange rate the cost of parmigiano, wine, and DeCecco pasta is double, maybe triple what it costs in Italy, because of course it has to be imported, but ouch!

While we were in the states my friend Judith wrote about her favorite new recipe of the new year: FUDGE PIE. Honestly, you know I was sick just by the fact that I didn’t make this recipe until today! It would have been a perfectly yummy, easy-to-make-in-a-tiny-kitchen-with-few-utensils recipe, but since we didn’t want to infect our friends who might still be healthy, we didn’t entertain like we’d planned to.

Anyway, today after talking with Judith, I decided to try her recipe. After all, if I was going to be sick forever I figured I might as well indulge while I could. If you read the entire post, you’ll see that Judith substituted brown sugar for ½ cup of the white sugar, and since this is something I often do to make my brownies a little gooier, I decided to do the same. I also skipped the 1 teaspoon of milk, figuring that the extra moisture in the brown sugar would cover that missing bit of moisture. I also made one change to the recipe itself before I printed it out, and I’ll mention this one for all inventive cooks out there who make up new recipes: I listed the ½ teaspoon salt BEFORE the ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract. I mean, it’s soooo maddening to be following a recipe line for line, ingredient by ingredient, and discover that I now need a measure of a dry ingredient AFTER that same measuring spoon has been used for a liquid ingredient! AARRRGGHH!

And how did we like this recipe for FUDGE PIE? YUM! It was more like a big warm (because of course we ate it while it was still warm!) gooey brownie than fudge, but let’s not get picky, okay? If it lasts long enough to have a piece when it’s at room temperature, I’ll let you know about that too, It’s just soooo quick, so easy, 2 bowls, one pie pan, 40 minutes (watch closely check it after 35 minutes just to be sure), and you’re ready to grab a spoon, snuggle up on the couch with the latest DVD you’ve rented and ENJOY! Let me know what you think…..and you might want to post on comment on Judith’s blog too!

SOMETHING YUMMY

Jerry's been writing about this yummy recipe on HIS BLOG . Originally posted by David Lebovitz on his blog, called, amazingly enough, David Lebovitz , this recipe seems to be taking the Slow Travel community by storm, and believe me when I say that those ST people know good food! The recipe in question, just in case you haven't clicked over yet, is for "Caramelized Matzoh Crunch", and although the idea of matzoh in a decadent dessert sounds a litle strange, in MUST be one of those crazy ideas that really does work...why else would everyone be making (and writing about) this stuff? The recipe's really simple, so maybe you should give it a try....I've been resisting the urge, arguing with myself that I don't have the time or room here in my baby extended stay motel kitcen, but still, how much room do I really need?.....

Oh, and BTW, Jerry has posted pictures of each step, just in case you're feeling a little unsure. Go ahead, try it!

CHOCOLATE DELIGHTS

Today I’m taking a rest, trying to fight off a cold, but when I checked my BLOGLINES NOTIFIER this morning, two new entries practically jumped off the computer screen and begged to be read!

Over on the blog LUCILLIAN DELIGHTS, today’s recipe is from the new cookbook by Gina DePalma, Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen.

BABBO , for those of you who don’t know, is one of MARIO BATALI’S restaurants, and Gina DePalma is Babbo’s executive pastry chef. Her new cookbook is getting rave reviews, and I can't wait to read all the recipes when we go back to the states in December.

The recipe featured on LUCILLIAN DELIGHTS is for CHOCOLATE KISSES, a recipe I’ve avoided because I thought it was too complicated. After reading the recipe and the accompanying notes, I think I need to give it a try!








Also today, over on DAVID LEBOVITZ’S BLOG, David features an easy to make recipe for chocolate ice cream. The only thing I found hard to believe about his EASIEST CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM RECIPE…EVER was the idea that it could stay in the freezer for longer than 4 hours, 5 minutes!



Perhaps these recipes are just the motivation you need to get in the kitchen and start that holiday baking. For me, they’re motivation to fight this cold so that I can taste every last bit of their chocolately goodness! Enjoy!

IT'S CHOCOLATE TIME IN PERUGIA!

It's chocolate time in Perugia! Yes, now through Sunday, October 21 you'll be able to wander the streets of Perugia and see chocolate everywhere! I should have posted this information last week, but honestly, if you're a dedicated chocoholic, and you're in Italy right now, you already know about this, right? Chances are you're in Italy BECAUSE of this festival!

Here's the official website: EUROCHOCOLATE FESTIVAL

BROWNIE OVERLOAD....WAIT! IS THAT POSSIBLE???

Over at ONCE UPON A TART, a yummy, yummy blog, Myriam has declared the winner of her Browniebabe competion, and believe me, we're ALL winners! Brownie recipes abound, each accompanied by pictures that will make you want to lick your computer screen. You can almost smell the chocolate!

My suggestion is to bake up several different recipes, invite a few friends over, break open a few bottles of red wine and let the fun begin!

NOTHING SAYS LOVIN' LIKE....CHOCOLATE

Being the responsible grandmother that I am, I couldn't let Nicholas leave Italy without a visit to the Perugina factory! Here he is next to a replica of the world's largest Baci, made several years ago for the EUROCHOCOLATE FESTIVAL

PEANUT BUTTER AND CHOCOLATE BARS

There must be a zillion food blogs on the internet these days. Trying to find consistently entertaining AND informative blogs of any sort is a challenge. One of the better food blogs out there is one written by David Lebovitz. (There’s a link to his blog in the left Hand column) I like David because he likes chocolate and because he’s not a food snob.

David’s decided to focus on chocolate this month and has invited his readers to submit recipes using chocolate. The only requirement is that you note the brand of chocolate you used, and why.

Of course the first inclination is to show off, to make something fancy, something showy, something that’s just as much a work of art for the eyes as it is for the palate. But that’s not me. I’m not a chef, I’m a cook. A good cook, yes, but I’ve never been formally trained, never learned the tricks and techniques of the fancy pastry chefs, so why pretend?

Additionally, I wanted to make something that the average person could easily make at home. Something that’s yummy, but simple to put together. I wanted to try a fantastic brownie recipe featured in the cookbook of our friend Jack Roby called “I’m For Easy”, but when I discovered that I didn’t have any crème di cacao on hand, only chocolate liqueur, I looked for something else.

I finally settled on a bar cookie. It’s pretty simple, and uses ingredients that are readily available. With cholesterol-lowering oats, heart healthy dark chocolate, and eggs for protein, it’s almost a health food. Of course it also has sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, peanut butter and a stick of butter, but you know those things will only add to the yummy factor!

The original recipe called for semi-sweet chocolate chips, and if I’d used them I would have gone with Ghirardelli chocolate chips. I love their creaminess. But because my supply of Ghirardelli chocolate chips in Italy is limited to how many bags I can cram into my suitcase, I decided to use something else....no point wasting the chips when the chocolate in this recipe gets melted down! I decided to use some of the Perugina chocolate I was given as a gift. Having a friend who works at the Perugina factory, located not far from us, is a definite bonus!

The chocolate I used was Nestlè Noir, 70%. It comes in thin 'leaves', and makes a great simple dessert, just place a few sheets on a plate, serve with an after dinner liqueur and savor. Maybe 70% is a little more bittersweet than semisweet, but the choice is yours. Play around with it, use semisweet, bittersweet, whatever you like. One of the things I like about the chocolates I find here in Italy is that normally they’re labeled by the percentage of chocolate rather than a general label of semisweet, bittersweet, etc.

Here’s the recipe:

PB&C Bars (Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bars)

1 cup butter MINUS 2 Tbsp
1¼ cups light brown sugar, packed
¾ cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats

½ cup peanut butter
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
12 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate pieces
1 cup chopped peanuts
2 tsp vanilla

In a large mixing bowl beat the butter with an electric mixer on medium speed for 30 seconds. Add brown sugars; beat until well mixed. Beat in eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla. In another large bowl stir together flour and baking soda; stir in oats. Gradually stir dry mixture into beaten mixture. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan combine the peanut butter, sweetened condensed milk, and chocolate pieces. Cook over low heat until chocolate melts, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Stir in peanuts and 2 teaspoons vanilla.

Press two-thirds (about 3-1/3 cups) of the oat mixture into the bottom of an ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Spread chocolate mixture over the oat mixture. Using your fingers, dot remaining oat mixture over the chocolate.

Bake in a 350º F oven about 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned (chocolate mixture will look moist). Cool on a wire rack. Cut into 2x1-inch bars. Makes about 75 bars.


Here's the finished product along with the box the chocolate came in.


These bars were NOT as decadently chocolatey as I expected. Perhaps the recipe needs more chocolate, or just something else to make the filling a little more gooey. Maybe it just needs a shorter baking time. I'll keep working on the recipe and report back...or you can take the basic recipe and experiment for yourself!

Addendum: Over the next two days, the chocolate flavor did seem to be more pronounced. Guess I shouldn't be surprised, as this is to be expected with dark choclate. If you plan to make anything with dark chocolate, I definitely recommend making it very early in the morning if you're planning to have it for dinner, or better, yet, make it the day before and keep things simple. Also, fo r this recipe, maybe just a bit more chocolate next time...14-16 ounces instead of 12. Of course this might make the bars a bit gooier and more difficult to handle, but it just might be worth it!