When we visited Portland in the late 1990’s, my husband and I have fond memories of going to The American Advertising Museum that was located in Old Town. Don’t know if it was because I thought Darren’s job as an ad designer on the television show Bewitched was fascinating (LOL), but I’ve always loved good advertising.

Opened in 1986, this museum was the brain child of Mick Scott and Leonard W. Lanfranco.  We had the good fortune of meeting Mr. Lanfranco because of his terrific daughter and family lived across the street from us. For 14 years the AAM was the only one of its kind in the world. It was even featured in a 1999 episode of PBS’s Antiques Roadshow. It is also interesting to note that Homer P. Groening, Matt Groening’s father, was one of the founding directors of the museum. Unfortunately this unique local resource closed its doors in 2004. However, their impressive collection of advertising exhibits from the 18^th century to the present was acquired by the Eisner Museum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

On the international advertising scene, some creative minds have in recent years given birth to some outlandish chocolate ads in the forms of bulletin boards and videos.

Several years ago brought what appears to be the first edible chocolate billboard. It was unveiled in London and created for Britain’s Thornton’s Chocolates.  It took 3 months to plan and 300 hours for a team of 10 to build. 860 pounds of chocolate was used and the sign measured 14/5 x 9.5 feet in size.  They thought it would last a week. Apparently all of the edible portions were gobbled up by the public in only 3 hours!  What the gamble- luckily it wasn’t presented during a warm spell.

Across the pond in Toronto, there was a huge Cadbury Milk bar complete with human figures ripping the wrapper off. Although not edible, you have to admit this bulletin board had more staying power!

A video released just last month, featuring Cadbury’s Flake chocolate bar, is a bit more dramatic. Before you view this video, it may helpful to know that the manufacturing technique to create its folds of delicately, texture is secretly guarded. The ad took three weeks to create and used 600 yards of fabric to mimic the folds of the chocolate bar.

In February of 2009, Cadbury also designed an interactive billboard built to respond to the Toronto’s local weather conditions. Called Release the Goo, it included a long teeter-tooter that had a giant (almost 5 foot tall) Cadbry Crème Egg on one end with a container on the other to collect Toronto’s rain, snow and hail. As this catch basin was lowered the egg went up and with a plan of encountering a fan that would break the egg open and de-goo it, so to speak. Not sure if the egg was ever actually de-gooed before the Easter deadline. They had a live webcam available so the Canadians could keep tabs on the progress.

This last ad campaign got me thinking. Toronto gets about 31 inches of precipitation a year and we here in the Portland, Oregon area gets over 37 inches. Maybe our famous, yet ill-fated Weather Machine (it was rammed by a city garbage truck a few years ago)  in Pioneer Courthouse Square just needs a touch of… chocolate pr  : )

It will be fun to see what the advertising minds of the world come up with in the years ahead! Happy Chocolating!

Chocolate festivals are very popular and there seems to be one in every community.  Luckily for us here in Portland, we have several to look forward to each year:

The Portland Chocolate Festival, held at the World Forestry Center in  January, grows by leaps and bounds each year. Ashland’s Oregon Chocolate Festival, held each March,  is in it’s 7th year.  Then the 3rd annual Seattle Luxury Chocolate Salon is coming up on Sunday, July 11th.

Traditionally held on Bastille Day weekend, this event is hosted by Taste TV, the same organization that puts on similar events in San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas. The venue is the Bell Harbor Conference Center, beautifully located on Pier 66 along the waterfront.

Tickets are $20 with advanced purchase (until July 9th), and $25 at the door. This fee includes all chocolate & confection tastings, classes, and demonstrations.  There will be samples to savor from over 24 chocolatiers, confectioners, wineries, and other culinary artisans.  You can get more information and see footage from the 2009 salon here.

I attended the first annual back in 2008 and felt it was worth the trip. However, at an event like this here are a few suggestions to help insure a delicious and memorable experience:

*  It can get very crowded, so it is a good idea to get their early.
*  Pace yourself-there is no way a person can eat a sample from each of the vendors and not go into glycemic over-load. Bring a bottle of water, some crackers and a protein source like almonds to eat between treats.
*  Some folks, unfortunately, attend with the goal of getting their admission fee worth of chocolate. (It is the one feature of an event like this that can leave, well, a bad taste in your mouth). As a result, containers are not allowed in fear of this potential hording behavior. So I’d recommend bringing a discreet and sturdy baggie. That way you can nibble on a sample and save the remainder for later and to compare notes.
*  Since we’re ‘on the topic of containers, it is also good to have something to put any accumulated  literature or items you purchase.
*  Take breaks- especially if it is a nice day out. Just outside are amazing views of the Olympic Peninsula.
*  If you rather spend all your money on chocolate, you might consider bringing a lunch to enjoy either on the premises or outside along the waterfront.
*  Above all, I’d also encourage participants to ask the vendors questions. It will make your visit and their time more enjoyable.

There will be chocolate companies from the Puget Sound area, and some Portland companies have been represented in the past such as Alma Chocolates and Missionary Chocolates. Others may be from quite a distance away, such as Amano from Orem, Utah. Another chocolatier to keep your eye out for is William Dean Chocolates from Largo, Florida,  who has won awards at previous salons.

If you decide to make a day or weekend out of it, check out this blog post with other “chocolating” ideas in the Emerald City.

Please let us know your impressions if you do head up for this or any other chocolate event.

Q. Hi – We were on one of your early chocolate walks in Lake Oswego – and we continue to enjoy the best chocolate we can find. Lately we had some delicious chocolate cake in Cannon Beach and are wondering if we can find the near equivalent in the Portland area. Can you recommend a place or places where we could celebrate a birthday with a great chocolate cake treat?  BG

A. Here are some spots I’d recommend for scrumptious chocolate cake desserts in Portland, Oregon:

Urban Farmer Restaurant
525 SW Morrison Street
503-222-4900
At the Nine’s Hotel right off Pioneer Courthouse Square.
Try: Valrhona Chocolate Hazelnut Souffle with praline creme anglaise and a Warm Chocolate Cake with vanilla-champagne sorbet and blood orange sauce

Jake’s Grill
611 SW 10th Avenue
(503) 220-1850
Try: Almond Roca and Lava Cakes. What makes their Lava Cake most unique is their lavish presentation at your table!

Jake’s Famous Crayfish
401 SW 12th Ave. at SW Stark
(503) 226-1419
Try: World famous Truffle Cake, either by itself  or with the works. Pictures speak louder than words, so check out the Portland Chocolate Lover’s Meetup Group’s recent outing to this Portland landmark.

There was also an article several months ago in the Oregonian that mentioned two spots for chocolate cake in the Metro:

Papa Haydn’s
5829 SE Milwaukie Ave. (503) 232-9440
701 NW 23rd Ave. (503) 228-7317
Although most of the dessert making goes at their Sellwood location, both spots have a charm of their own.
Try: Triple Chocolate Torte

La Provence
15964 SW Boones Ferry Road in Lake Oswego/(503) 635-4533
1824 NE Alberta/(503) 284-6564
4834 SE Division/(503) 233-1121
Try: Petite Provence Cake

Recently received this inquiry. Thought others might find it useful:

Savina, I’ll be in Seattle for a conference in a few weeks. Would not mind checking out at a chocolate place or two.  Any recommendations? JH

Here are a few suggestions:

Dilettante
538 Broadway Ave East
(206) 329-6463
www.dilettante.com
 
Dilettante was the first non-SF Bay Area company to send me samples back in the early ’80’s, so they will always have a special spot in my heart. The founders first came to Portland in the early 1910’s  and established the Davenport Chocolate Company and then went to Seattle, so we are kind of connected : )  They have cafe’s now, too, with a number of locations.
 
Theo Chocolate
3400 Phinney Ave. N
(206) 632.5100
www.theochocolate.com

If you’ve ever wanted to take a factory tour of a chocolate manufacturer (bean to bar), this is the place on the West Coast. Please note: Reservations are highly encouraged and you are more likely to see their machinery actually running during the weekdays). Been told that there is good public transportation from downtown to the Ballard neighborhood if you didn’t want to take your car.
 
Caffe Umbria
320 Occidental Avenue South
(206) 624-5847
 
Staff in Portland tells me that this cafe is gorgeous. So if you love their location in the Pearl, you’ll definitely enjoy this one adjacent to Pioneer Square. Think Italian chocolate creations, gelato, and Nutella : )

Chocolopolis
1527 Queen Anne Ave. N.
(206) 282-0776
www.chocolopolis.com

Located in the Upper Queen Anne neighborhood of the Emerald City, Chocolopolis can be thought of as Seattle’s version of Cacao- although no one can completely duplicate Jesse and Aubrey’s PDX West End and Downtown creations!

Fran’s Chocolate
1325 1st Ave.
(206) 682-0168
www.franschocolates.com

Visit one of their locations to pay homage to Fran’s gray and smoked salted caramels. Others have been trying to duplicate these small treasures, yet she put them on the map years and years ago!
 
Simply Seattle Chocolate Box
(206) 443-3900
108 Pine Street
www.sschocolatebox.com

They are located up the block from Pike’s Market and offer a chocolate bus tour, Friday thru Sunday, that goes to Theo’s. Good alternative expecially if you have limited time in Seattle and Theo’s factory tours are booked.
 
Have a great time in Seattle and may Mt. Rainier be visible when you are there!

This question often sparks an engaging conversation among chocolate tasting program participants.

For me, it brings me back to our kitchen in our second floor flat in San Francisco’s North Beach and visions of my paternal Nana (my namesake) making a Sicilian specialty called Totos di Cioccolata. (The pronunciation of these treats isn’t like Dorothy’s little dog, but with the accent on the second syllable).  

This spicy, iced cookie version not only has cocoa powder in it, but chunks of dark chocolate as well. I fondly recall eating them while they were still warm. Yet after they are cooled and iced, these are still heavenly.  I called my Aunt Melina and Mama Maria and they shared this family recipe with me. As you might imagine, they both had slightly different variations on my grandmother’s recipe.  Big Savina (as opposed to Little Savina) never measured or wrote anything down- always cooking and baking “more or less by heart.”

Here are the ingredients you’ll need:

Cookies: 3 cups sifted flour (My family has always used Gold Medal), 1/2 cup chopped walnuts,  1/2 cup tiny raisins,  3 tsp baking powder, 3 tb Crisco, 1 cup sugar,  1 tsp allspice, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp cloves, ¼ tsp nutmeg, 1 12 oz package Nestlé’s mini semi-sweet morsels, 1 cup Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder (Nana would have to have this brand or she wouldn’t make them.  Not sure if it was because of the quality or the fact that Domingo was Italian!), 1 big orange for the grated zest and juice, regular milk.

Icing:  Powdered sugar,  regular milk  and lemon juice.
                                                                                                                                                                                              Putting It All Together:  Mix the flour and Crisco with your hands until the shortening is in very fine pieces. Then put in all the additional ingredients.

Carefully mix everything together (“Easy, easy,” as my Aunt emphasized). Slowly add the milk, a little at a time. Work it with your hands and be careful not to make the mixture too wet.  Let it stand for an hour.

Take about a tablespoon of the mixture and roll into a ball. Arrange them on a greased cookie sheet- they don’t expand much during baking, so can be fairly close together. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. Be sure to watch the bottoms to avoid burning. Let the cookies cool completely.

For the glaze, mix powder sugar and milk with a fork. To make the icing shiny and add extra flavor, sprinkle in a tablespoon of lemon juice. Try to make it not too watery and not too thick. You’ll know the right consistency by sight and feel (Think Elmer’s glue). After the cookies have cooled completely, apply the glaze with your finger tips to the top and sides of the cookie. Let them dry overnight. (If you are especially motivated, you could then apply glaze to the bottoms).  Scrape excess icing from the bottom edges with a knife if you find that necessary.

Found a recipe that was similar to this one on the web, only they called them Chocolate Italian Wedding Cookies. I always thought wedding cookies were those powdered sugar-covered shortbread cookies from Mexico, Greece or Russia that just melt in your mouth. Who knows, maybe Italians were more realistic by adding those walnuts and chocolate chunks to symbolize the “rough and bittersweet spots” we encounter along the road of life!

Making these cookies can be tedious, but well worth it. Let me know if you ever try them. Happy chocolate reminiscing-  sharing of your memories is highly encouraged!

Buon Appetito!

Hazelnuts and chocolate, strawberries and chocolate, coffee and chocolate. Some things just naturally go together. I recently gained a greater appreciation for another magical match made in heaven: chocolate and dulce de leche.

Dulce de leche is a rich and decadently thick sauce used in many pastries and desserts. Once you taste it, it’s probably easier to name the things it doesn’t go with! I first heard about it after my father remarried in 1983. Over the years I’ve learned so much from my Mama Maria, who is of Sicilian descent from Argentina, about cooking and baking, and some of her favorite items from South America like mate and dulce de Leche. But I didn’t quite embrace its true significance until we were recently in Santiago, Chile visiting my step sister Ana living there on a special FDA assignment.

I always thought dulce de leche was a Spanish version of caramel. Well, yes and no. Yes, in that it has a flavor similar to caramel and both sweets are made from a process called carmelization. This is when sugars in a food product, like milk, begin to turn brown when heated beginning at about 320 degrees F. No in that you achieve the end results in two totally different ways. Both recipes, though, require much patience.

In caramel, you slowly heat sugar, and then add water, milk, butter and vanilla flavor to make an assortment of goodies. For dulce de leche, you use condensed or sweetened milk. This is milk that has had almost half of its water removed and then sugar added. Personally, I find dulce de leche not to be as sweet as chewy caramel.

When you have a couple of hours where you can carefully and safely keep an eye on a boiling pot of water, you can make some of this decadent, silky sauce yourself. It is surprisingly simple, but you’ll need 2 hours for soft dulce de leche and about 3 hours for a firm sauce. Here’s a website that you can go to for instructions on how to make your own. Decorated and filled jars make wonderful gifts for friends and family with sweet teeth. Or you may want to bake a batch of some alfajores, traditional Argentine cookies that, when made properly, melt in your mouth.

As with many foods, dulce de leche evolved in other parts of the world, such as in Northern and Eastern Europe, the Philippines, and in other parts of South America. In Peru and Chile, for example, it is called manjar. Let’s hear it for convergent evolution!

Once you taste it, you’ll understand why its name means “milk honey or milk candy” in Spanish. I now know why Maria gets a sparkle in her eye whenever she hears those three little words: dulce de leche! Once you experience it, let me know if you do, too!

Kraft’s recent acquisition of Cadbury (which includes Green & Black’s) brings to mind other mergers that have occurred in recent history.

When I first began offering chocolate tasting programs in Berkeley, California in the early 1980’s, I fondly recall that there were still family members on the board of Ghirardelli Chocolate. Times have definitely changed. Today this historic American manufacturer it is owned by the Swiss chocolate maker Lindt.

After 40 years of ownership, the Campbell Soup Company sold Godiva Chocolates in December 2007 to the Turkish company Yildiz Holding of Turkey for $850 million. The Godiva managers I speak with in Portland seem very happy with this change of guard. It is as if they finally feel like they are being given the attention and resources they deserve by their parent company.

Nestlé’s owns Perugina, the chocolate company that originated in the Etruscan town of Perugia, Italy and is famous for their Baci confections.

Then there is Hershey that now owns the originally Berkeley, California based Scharffenberger Chocolates.

In the fall of 2006, I had the good fortune to attend a class at Draegers in San Mateo, California with Dr. Robert Steinberg, one of the co-founders of Scharffenberger Chocolates. Personally I remember the excitement of the emergence of Scharffenberger back in the mid-1990’s- what was at the time the first chocolate manufacturer in 50 years. Anyone who has ever gone on one of their factory tours might recall the tour guide proudly announcing that they make in one year what Hershey makes in a day. So, like many, I was very disappointed at the 2005 merger of this giant American manufacturer with this small American artisan one that helped bring chocolate to an entirely new level. A year later Hershey bought Ashland, Oregon based Dagoba.

I realize that loyal customers of companies can be upset by such changes. So at the end of class I asked Dr. Steinberg how he felt about it all. I can still recall his big smile and sparkling eyes, as he stated that he actually disliked all the marketing and the other business aspects of running the company. He was now free to do what he really loves- once again concentrating on the chocolate itself. Coming directly from him, those words made me feel somewhat better.

I somehow feel that he would have been disapppointed to see the eventual close of his Berkeley factory which would move to Illinois. It’s hard to imagine that those personally selected Old World pieces of chocolate machinery by himself and John Scharffenberger are still cranking out all that chocolate that is being marketed across the country. It is fortunate, perhaps, that this phase of the merger happened after Dr. Steinberg passed on in 2009.

Yes, there are positives and negatives to mergers. Yet, it bothers me how the “genealogy” of the chocolate industry seems to have far fewer branches in it these days. Let’s see how this all plays out in the coming years.

Who makes your favorite chocolate bars? How have you felt about these mergers?

For their 55th anniversary last November, NYC’s Serendipity 3 broke the Guinness’s Book of World Records for the largest cup of hot chocolate. Located in the Theater District near Times Square, this popular restaurant filled a huge white cup with approximately 4 gallons of luxurious hot chocolate.

It was made from 12 pounds of their specially blended cocoa (from 14 different cocoas), 8 quarts of heavy cream and one pound of finely shaven French chocolate. It was 100 times larger than the cup of hot chocolate on their regular menu. You’d need a giant group of chocolating loving friends to help you drink it, and you would all be divvying up the 19,000+ calories. This caloric count doesn’t even include the whipped cream which floated like white, fluffy islands on top of the unique beverage. You’d also be “spooning out” in the neighborhood of $600 for this luscious culinary experience.

We may not have NYC’s humongous record-holding cup of hot chocolate on the West Coast. However, Portlanders are blessed with a large selection of places to go “hot chocolating.” We can warm our tummies and nurture our souls with some extraordinary hot cocoa and drinking chocolates all around the Metro this winter.

Last month The Oregonian had an article by Danielle Centoni on “hot chocolate hot spots” in Portland. It included the following popular spots: Alma, Sahagun, Cacao, The Sugar Cube, Coffeehouse Northwest, and Pix Patisserie.

To that list I would also recommend visiting Sweet Masterpiece in the Pearl, your nearest Moonstruck Café, and the Pearl’s Caffé Umbria for a cup of great cocoa, drinking chocolate, and European-inspired mocha drinks. All these choices confirm how passionate Portlanders are, on both sides of the counter, about their chocolate.

Whether you are tasting solid eating chocolate, confections, or in liquid form, just remember that chocolate tasting is very personal. Have a great time “hot chocolating” this season to find your favorites! It is a great time of year to visit or revisit the list of shops mentioned here. Let us know about your top picks. Chocolating: it’s a wonderfully relaxing winter pastime, rain or shine, on either coast.

Someone put a “chocolate” spin on a tale that has been floating around the internet for some time now. Check out our slightly modified version here.

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were discussing their lives at a class reunion. The holidays were coming up and they decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired, who was always an inspiration to them. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work, lives and relationships.

Offering his guests a warm beverage, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups. Some cups were porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite. He invited his guests to help themselves. When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor shared his thoughts.

“Notice that all the nice-looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you are drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What each of you really wanted was hot chocolate. You did not want the cup…but you consciously went for the best cups. And soon, you began to eye one another’s cups.”

“Now friends, the professor continued, please consider this: Life is the hot chocolate. Your job, money and position in society make up the cup. It is just a tool to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor does it change, the quality of life you are living. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate that has been given to us.”

This holiday season, we hope that you spend more time savoring life and less time worrying about what is surrounding it. So next time you have some hot chocolate, be sure to savor every drop and watch your stress melt away!

Happy Holidays from Chocolate Tasting & More!

Back in May, a student named Parker put a recipe card in my mail slot in our school office. Along with the instructions, it had a wonderful photo of the young baker with his pan of delicious biscuits.

Fast forward to November and I finally get around to making this recipe. The only changes I made were to add walnuts and use two chocolate bars I had in my kitchen drawer: Seattle Chocolates’ Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar with 53% cacao and Extreme Dark Chocolate Truffle Bar with 65% Cacao, each 2.5 oz.

Eating these warm biscuits, which resemble a cross between traditional drop biscuits and a cinnamon roll, brought back fond memories of my Mom’s home made biscuits and breakfast biscuits & chocolate syrup my dear Aunt Jean would make on my visits to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Pure nirvana!

On is Seattle Chocolate’s bar wrappers is the slogan: “What happiness tastes like.” If Parker’s biscuits were to have a wrapper, it would say “What heavenly breakfasts taste like.”

Thanks, Parker, for your thoughtfulness. You sure know how to make a chocolate lover happy! This recipe is definitely one to try out this holiday season.

Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar, divided
4 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
2/3 cup butter, divided
1 cup chocolate semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate of your choice
2/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Nuts are optional

In a large bowl, combine flour, ¼ cup sugar, baking powder, and salt. Using a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in 1/3 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in chocolate. Add milk; stir until dough holds a shape.

On a floured surface, knead dough lightly. Roll dough into 16 balls. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a small saucepan, melt the remaining 1/3 butter. Pour ½ of the melted butter in an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a cup, combine remaining ½ cup sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cinnamon/sugar mixture over butter in baking pan. Place dough balls in a single layer in pan. Brush with remaining melted butter. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon/sugar mixture.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from the pan. Serve warm.