Fall = Oranges & Chocolate

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My friends from Salazon Chocolate Co. asked me to write a recipe for them. When I said YES (notice the caps) they sent me some chocolate.

I said yes because I really love chocolate and I’m a sucker for a new brand. So, while walking through Whole Foods Market their bars caught my eye.

It’s marketed to the outdoors person such as a hiker or backpacker; someone who needs a little extra energy after a long journey. There are several to choose from like 72% Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt & Organic Cayenne and the one I’m using for this recipe:

Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt & Organic Turbinado Cane Sugar. 

This recipe is one that I’ve been using for years. One which came out of my love for Spain and tapas. It combines traditional Spanish flavors and makes for a light snack or dessert after a Fall meal.

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

1 large orange, seedless
1 Tbls of cinnamon
1 bar, Salazon Chocolate (Dark Chocolate w/Sea Salt & Organic Turbinado Cane Sugar) 

Process

Slice orange in half between stem & bottom. 
Slice each half. You now have 4 quarters.
Slice each quarter into ¼- ½” slices.
Arrange orange slices on a platter. Sprinkle cinnamon down the center of each orange slice. Break off pieces of the chocolate bar. Serve immediately.

Yields up to 4 servings; 2 oranges slices per person & several pieces of chocolate.

Champagne at Harrods in London

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There’s nothing quite like experiencing Harrods in London with a bubbling pink glass of champagne.

And I only just found out about it this visit.  

Today was all about going to some of my favorite shopping spots in London.  Luckily my husband, Mike, was game. We first meandered off toward Portabella Road for a quick look at Books for Cooks and a big round of walking and negotiating our way our the tube (London’s metro sytem).  With a great morning under our belt we made our way to the famous Harrods.  

Harrods takes up one full block of London real estate and has seven floors of pure shopping bliss.While some of my more fashion forward friends might make a day (or even a week) out of exploring, we had only a few hours. So, we hit the floors that offered what we wanted; shoes, men/ladies fashion and food.  

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This is my third visit to Harrods and my first to taste champagne. While you can enjoy a respite in the food courts (and I suggest you do) for a bit of quite and calm make your way to the third floor.

Nestled between Lingerie and Designer Classics sits The Champgane Bar and Restaurant. And believe me, it IS the perfect sit-down break for weary world travelers.  

We had a glass of the Harrods Own Label pink champagne.  It was fabulous and just the right amount of bubbles to make a girl happy!  

Cheers from Harrods.

Visions of Hillside Farmacy in Austin, Texas — Eastside

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For those of you who haven’t been to Hillside Farmacy on the Eastside of Austin, Texas here are a few images of what I saw and ate during my first visit.  

Sitting tranquilly on a corner lot of a busy 11th Street corner this restaurant buzzes with constant activity.  I was there right after a Friday lunch rush.  This is the time between 1:30 and 4p when things settle down a bit, shifts change and preparation for dinner is just beginning behind the scenes.  And that’s why I got to sit in a quiet little corner looking out and into a restaurant that was beginning to charm me.

The concept is pharmacy-esque with old-school warm woods and a new-school hip color scheme that is pleasing to the eye; at least mine. 

One of the new trends I’ve noticed in restaurants is the absence of salt and pepper on the table; unless it’s a signature blend or a cool color.  A primary and learned technique in culinary school is how to season with salt and pepper.  The ideology is that if this is done correctly there is no need for seasoning (salt & pepper) on the table.  That said, I like to have the choice and HF gives you that in the form of two cobalt blue bottles with definitive labels.

Stepping into the restaurant you’re met with a professional staff and fun people watching.

 I had a the Fried Egg Sandwich with Bacon. And it was REAL GOOD!

For a Friday afternoon jaunt to the Eastside of Austin it was well worth it.  This first timer left with a happy belly and big smile.

Thank you Hillside Farmacy. I’ll be back.

p.s. Love the “farmacy girl” on the lavatory door.

p.s. Love the “farmacy girl” on the lavatory door.

AFBA 2014 — Baguette et Chocolat

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“I’ll have a French Coffee, please,” I said to the lovely lady behind the counter.  “Do you know what French Coffee is?” she softly intoned with a whisper of a French accent.  Quizzically, I shrugged my shoulders. She smiled and explained that a French coffee was a shot of espresso with whipped cream. With her hand she measured how much of each went into the coffee mug. When I saw that the volume of whipped cream was twice the amount of espresso, I was sold.  “Yes, I’ll have one, please!” I said.  

This was my first experience at what was then a quickly becoming known French cafe named, Baguette et Chocolat.

An authentic French bakery and cafe it stands alone in the small Uplands Shopping Center just off Bee Cave Road and is a stones throw from HWY 71. It’s right smack dab in the middle one of Austin’s newer suburban landscapes; the City of Bee Cave.  

Walking into the cafe you would never know. On any given day you can count at least 2 to 3 different languages; including French.   It lends itself to feeling as if you’re somewhere else.  Perhaps Paris?!?  And like any good Parisian cafe this one is bustling and very well patronized.  

Why? Maybe it’s little touches that the patrons love; an area for the wee ones with their very own flat screen TV; not having to wait long for a seat even in the busiest times; adding new items but not changing the core menu; a huge ladies lavatory full of natural light. It could be any one of these things. 

But my guess is it’s the bread, pastry, macaroon and the traditional French dishes like salty and sweet crepes, quiche, salads and baguette sandwiches.  

The menu is wonderful.  Fresh bread is made and baked daily. From a traditional baguette to a new 6-Seed sourdough batard there are many to choose from. My favorite to take home and toast is the sourdough batard; crusty on the outside, chewy and airy on the inside.  I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the olive batard. It has two different types of olive slices gently nestled inbetween layers of chewy baked dough. And has just the right amount of brininess.  

Pastry is center stage eyeing you seductively as you stand in line to place your order. The ubiquitous Americanized croissant doesn’t even compare to the one found here. Biting into one it’s as if the crunchy buttery layers melt into a whispered remembrance of your favorite place in the world, until you take another bite.

Fruit tarts, decadent chocolate cakes and eclairs make a strong showing for desserts. For a lighter option there are any number of different flavored macaroon. And , one of my favorites, the financier; a small French sponge-like cake. 

The prepared breakfast and lunch items are magnificently French.  Starting with the traditional buckwheat crepe you can choose either salty (savory) or sweet.  Salty crepes  are filled with ingredients like rich cheeses, ham and mushrooms. Sweet crepes are filled with jams and  (of course) Nutella.  And as you can see from my friend, Karen (who spent 5 years living in Paris), they incite an inevidable level of anticipation and happiness that can only be found here.  She literally comes from Central Austin just to have a crepe.

Sandwiches and salads are another option.  Sandwiches start out with a half baguette with layers of fresh ingredients such as salty ham, creamy brie, tuna cucumbers and crisp lettuce topped off with an aioli or herbed vinegar.  Salads come out in bowls piled high with mixed baby greens.  The house made vinaigrette has a soft sweet tang and dresses the lettuce lightly.  Salad Niciose is a house favorite.  

If you can’t stay for breakfast or lunch - no problem. Take-out is just as popular.  And if you’re lucky a handsome French lad will meet you, arms full of your own specified hand crafted treats.  

Ready for a trip to France via Paris? It’s simple! Just jump in your car and make your way to this little gem. Even if you’re not an espresso whipped cream coffee person there’s obviously something for everyone. I want to claim Baguette et Chocolat as MY own little food find in MY little neck of the woods but I really can’t.  
 
It’s been found! Here are my recommendations for your first or next visit: 
 
 Beverage: 
*French Coffee
 
Pastry:
*Croissant
*Paris - Austin Eclair
*Lemon Tart
*Anything Chocolate
 
Bread:
*Sourdough Batard
*Traditional Baguette
*Olive Batard
 
Salty/Sweet Crepe:
*Ham & Cheese
*Nutella
 
Salty Sandwich:
*Parisian Brie
*My Grandpa’s Banh Mi
 
Salad:
*Niciose
*Salad with Chevre Chaud

Baguette et Chocolate is on FaceBook
Baguette et Chocolate is on the Web
Baguette et Chocolate is on Twitter
12101 FM 2244 (Bee Caves Rd.) 78738
512.263.8388
Hours:
Tuesday - Thursday  7a to 5:30p
Saturday 7a to 4p
Sunday 8a to 2p
Closed Sunday 

Superbowl Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

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In my senior year of high school I got this wild baking idea: I would make chocolate chip cookies for the varsity football team during their playing season.

Every Thursday evening after our family’s supper I would gather all my ingredients in preparation for an evening of baking.  Then I’d painstakingly cream butter and sugar together, add the eggs and vanilla, sift dry ingredients then combine all these ingredients together - by hand.  Gently I would drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheets and spend what seemed like hours baking.  After they came out of the oven I would set them on racks to cool. Then I would count them out by the dozen placing them in perfectly even rows.  

Not one family member was to touch them until I knew the end count.  

Finally, I would  dole them out into bags.  When Friday morning arrived I’d proudly take those bags to school and hand them out to “my” team.  

My well intentioned weekly project got the better of me when finally after several games one of the guys came up to me and said, “Beth, we love you and the cookies you make for us but we can’t eat them before or after the game because it might make us sick.”

So, with a bittersweet memory and the craving for sugar and chocolate I give you a fail safe recipe for the best Super Bowl Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie.

Here’s to the end of football season but not my cookie making pleasure! 

Ingredients

1 stick + 6 Tbls of unsalted butter, soften to room temperature
3/4 C Turbinado or Raw Cane sugar
1/2 C granulated sugar
3 large eggs - whole
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 C all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/2 tsp ginger powder
3/4 tsp kosher salt
3 C old fashioned oats
2 C chocolate chips

Process

Pre-heat oven 350F

Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl.

Add eggs, vanilla and stir to incorporate all ingredients. It does not have to be perfectly smooth. However, I used a whisk which helps break up the bigger pieces of butter and or sugar.

In a separate bowl sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Then gently add into liquid mixture and stir to combine.

With a spatula scrape the inside of the bowl to incorporate all the flour mixture into the liquid. Once thoroughly mixed add your old fashioned oats and chocolate.  Fold all ingredients into the other.

Using a 2” wide ice-cream scoop, fill it with dough and level the top off.  Place measured dough onto a parchment papered half baking sheet; 2 rows of 3.

Place into the preheated oven, center of the middle shelf and bake for 12 minutes.  Open oven, rotate sheet once (back to front), close oven and bake for 5 minutes.  Take cookies out of oven, set aside to cool.  Repeat until the cookie dough is gone.

Eat with abandon! 

Yields 21 - 3 1/4” cookies.

Tips

*I used 60% cocoa bittersweet chocolate.  It lends a more distinctive intense chocolate flavor to the cookie itself.

*Since these chocolate chips were larger I did a quick chop to make them go further.

*Notice (see pictures above) how I used 3 different tools to mix; wooden spoon, whisk and spatula.  I DID make this batch of cookies by hand and I wanted to show you the progression of mixing tools which was contigent on how I had to mix and what would work best as the mixture progressed.  Obviously you can use a standing mixer like a KitchenAid. It does make life easier.

* I took some major liberties by adding & exchanging some ingredients.  And you can too! I did follow the basic oatmeal cookie recipe you’ll find on the inside top of the Quaker Oats Oatmeal container.