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All the sweet things in life at least in food, Holiday ideas, Taste of the Cakes Party and more at chefshop.com/enews |
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A few of our Favorite sweet things! The science of sweet food cravings stems back to our cereal cortex, I am sure. And given that stress is a sugar craving appetizer and that the world in general is in an uproar filled with beyond stressful stress, we need to double down on being nice to strangers and eating more sugar on a regular basis. The holidays are stressful even if you love them (which I do), and perhaps this is why holiday treats are a stress reliever.... We may have big decisions like, do we have soft or hard Italian Torrone or French Nougat (are they the same thing from different places?) or, which flavor of Panettone to have today. In the end the key to a successful happy holiday is to eat (throw out the old diet and welcome the holiday one now!) mounds of sugar, butter, honey filled with happiness!! And, a trick I learned is to give sugar (as a gift) and you will be rewarded by the recipients mood changing from gloomy too glad! Let's face it, most of the stress these days is not about "us", but about "them". Let's change that with candy! Included today are many of our faves for the holidays. We have them because we love them and can't wait to eat them! This time of year we go all out to get the things we want and crave...enjoy and remember that sugar helps relieve stress. Shop now for Sweet Things for you! |
Traditional Panforte From Siena, birthplace of Panforte! Like the stained glass of the Duomo di Siena, a slice of Tradizionale Panforte positively glows. Unwrap the paper wrapping and find a foil bag with a packet of powdered sugar. Open the bag and you will uncover a panforte made in Siena. Looking like a cake without it's frosting, you see every delicious morsel of candied fruit and nuts in plain sight. Swaddle the panforte in powdered sugar and then slice into thin, thin pieces. The first bite is better than you can imagine. Not hard, but soft, full of flavor and filled with holiday joy! Made from September to February, we have panforte in November and December. This year we offer eight variations from two producers. Produced in the traditional ways, using the same ingredients and following the recipes that are decades old. Where fruitcake, stollen and panforte are similar is in their use of candied fruit and nuts, the "feel" of each is wildly different. For me, I like all three styles, no holiday is complete without panforte! Shop now for the treat of Sienna - Panforte! |
Italian TorroneFrench Nougat! What's the diff? Nothing, it's all in the name. Of course, there is how it has evolved in each country, of which there are many cultures, over the last few thousands years. The French think theirs is the best, as do the Italians. The Greeks and the Spanish think the same. Turkey and Morocco, think the same, as well. In the end, opinions are what makes food great and the same.... History tells us that Nougat is honey, almonds (walnuts & other nuts), and egg whites. Today, in the recent few hundred years, some do not use eggs and the use of sugar is common, too. The biggest variation of all is hard versus soft and that is really a preferential choice. I expect that choice is made for you very early on in your life and you may not actually have any control over that. (Nor am I implying that if you like both it means something else.) To be clear, hard is not always rock hard (it can be, almost brittle), nor is soft spongy soft. Each one, is soft, with one being harder than the other. Cooking time contributes to this texture difference. Cut a piece with a knife and you find both to be sticky, both to melt nicely in your mouth and enjoyable as a mix of honey and nuts. You get the wonderful benefit of a sticky candy without the clinginess of high fructose corn syrup, so common today in candy. It is a wondrous blend of just a few of nature's gifts. A candy treat centuries old! Shop now for Italian Torrone and French Nougat! |
Chocolate Caviar! 75% dark with a touch of vanilla! This little treat of chocolate is remarkable. Made with chocolate liquor from Peru, Venezuela and Equador into tiny, tiny little morsels that spill out of the coolest container. Spin the top and spill enough to cover the fate and head line of your palm and toss back into your awaiting mouth! Pleasure will ensue! Much softer than you expect, it melts easily and quickly, has no effective bitterness really, just a pure chocolate love is involved here! Order soon as this is a limited supply! Shop now for Chocolate Caviar! |
Gianduia Hazelnut confection! Gianduja is chocolate and hazelnuts combined to make a soft, delectable biteful. Melt in your mouth joy! Only hazelnut allergic humans shouldn't be eating these! Everyone else should be all in! Shop now for Gianduia! |
Pruneaux D'Agen Fourrés These are one of nature's fabulous candies. Prunes from Agen are the most amazing on the planet! And before your nose scrunches up at the thought of prunes, keep in mind these are not all scrunched up and shriveled. They are in fact, round and plump and filled with prune cream (prune pulp, sugar, vanilla). Prunes like this are a sweet, smooth, satiable treat. Shop now for Prunes from Agen! |
The cake that is filled with honey! It's a honey of a cake with fig! It’s not like the cake you had at your 5th birthday. In fact, I would wager a guess that you wouldn’t even call this a cake. But it is. Sort of. This cake is shaped like a bread. It looks like it is cut from a larger “cake” made in loaves. From the side you can see the bits of prunes and the open cells of the cake. This French spice bread is made with rye flour soaked in honey and spices. It has a long history in France with many variations and stories. Pain d’éspice origin appears to have its roots from a Chinese honey cake with aromatic plants that was brought to Europe by the Crusaders. And the Pain d’éspice is the origin of the gingerbread. If you think of gingerbread houses, made with gingerbread (and not made with graham crackers), you can start to understand the inherent build of this bread. It has structure! The combination of the rye flour soaked in honey makes for a dense and chewy bite. Toast it and slather it in butter and you have a meal fit for the King of France. After you slice it you realize that it’s not like other bread. The honey and the rye mix create a bond that is hard to cut through. When warm with butter it’s a pure treat. It’s like a cookie without the crumbly interior. It’s like honey without the gooey sticky mess. It’s like a cracker. It’s soft and gentle. It is one of my all-time favorite treats in the winter holidays. We only get a small order every year as it’s a pretty eclectic kind of treat here in this country, but for me, I love it. Shop now for Pain d'éspice Honey Bread with Fig! |
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Caramels from France Making your own caramels is a zen like activity, a surgery of precision to get it right. Making Fleur de Sel caramels once in awhile is good for your mental health. Maybe in January.... Right now we prefer to chow down on the ones from France. Choose one or all from our small collection. Shop now for French Caramels! |
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I want to tell you a wonderful love story.... Well, not really. I wish I could tell you that it was a romantic summer evening in a wonderful café in Paris. But really, the best part of this business trip so far had been the long plane flight from Seattle to Charles de Gaulle. It wasn't summer but winter, and though Paris is a wonderful city of store windows and lights in December, I was alone and very, very cold. I stepped into a little café and had a bite of something to eat and a cup of coffee, French-style. The food was good, though not memorable, and the coffee was hot and strong. What was memorable was the treat that arrived with the coffee: two wonderful little chocolate cordials, one filled with Armagnac and a cherry, the other with Kirsch. They were the perfect complement to the coffee, and the perfect antidote to a dull and lonely trip. A lovely surprise, but really, what else would one expect when traveling to one of the most romantic cities in the world? If you come by our Seattle store, we'll offer you a taste. Online, it takes a little more imagination, though at least you can see how beautiful they are. Not merely a cordial candy, they are rather a fine dessert to be savored. We invite you to bring the romance of Paris to your home and your holidays with a box of Mademoiselle de Margaux Cherries with a touch Armagnac or Kirsch. Remember to hold the stem, as it is not edible, place the entire chocolate in your mouth, and keeping your mouth closed, bite down. As the liquid disperses in your mouth in a warm and friendly way, the cherry and chocolate add the topping to the fun. It's a small intimate party inside your mouth as you close your eyes and dream of Paris.... Shop now for Chocolate Covered Cherries! |
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D'Alpage Beaufort! Delectable Cheese! This is a rare wheel - Alpine (d'Alpage) Beaufort is rarely available and must usually be reserved at least a year in advance. We ordered this wheel last Christmas. And they are rarely this age (18 months). So order Alpine Beaufort cheese soon. If you like cheese, you will love Beaufort D’Alpage. (Summer from chalets (shepherds' huts) at high altitude). Here the Tarentaise gaze at the French Alps...while grazing freely, choosing to eat what they want of the grasses and flowers of the high pasture. These Tarentaise cattle (a domesticated cow that adapted to high altitude hiking in steep and treacherous hoofing and have not co-mingled with other cows) are from the Haute-Savoie and are known to make some of the best milk on the planet for making cheese. Beaufort cheese- a winner "This was a great cheese. We (and our friends) particularly enjoyed it when incorporated into artisan wheat bread before baking. Looking forward to the next shipment." -- ronald Beaufort D’Alpage "This cheese is fantastic! We use it in our recipes instead of Gruyere, and we like to eat it fresh. It has a stronger flavor than Gruyere and has a sweet and lasting finish." -- john Shop now for French Alpine Summer Cheese for the winter Holidays! |
Panettone from Italy choices to choose from The panettone is delicious, soft, supple and more. A small handful is a joy to behold and better to consume! Shop now for Italian Panettone! |
It's Party time! Our Annual Taste of the Cakes is next weekend. We open all the panettone to taste! And all the candy and confections, too! Mark your calendars! |
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ChefShop Cocoa Powder Time for hot chocolate! We will be making our simple recipe for making your own hot chocolate everyday at the shop. Come in for a sip as you shop! If you're at home you can find the recipe here. Shop now for ChefShop Cocoa Powder! 
Cooking Classes for 2020
Classes for 2020 are now available! Give the best Gift of food! Cooking Class Gift Certificates are available. Booking 2020 Classes Now. ChefShop Cooking Class
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Store Hours - Monday Thru Saturday! And Sunday in November and December Monday thru Saturday 10AM to 6PM. Sunday 12PM to 4PM ChefShop.com 1425 Elliott Ave W Seattle, Wa 98119 206-286-9988 Our parking lot is north of the shop and next door (south of) Champions Party Supply. Easy to reach and wide open parking lot. Click here to see the map. |
| This Week's Recipes |
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Cranberry Cheesecake Recipe This time consuming, therapeutic recipe is one of my all time favorites. Easy to make (after you make it a couple of times), each segment takes time; Stirring, using an electric mixer and even artistic knife skills are involved. The result is grand! And, since everyone likes cheesecake, they will not only be impressed, they will be filled with the joy of cheesecake. It is a Thanksgiving tradition. It is easy to make and failure is not an option. Carrot Soup Recipe Simple, easy, always with success. I think I am going to make it for Thanksgiving.... Rita's Alastian Cake Recipe Perhaps it is a memory, but this cake is at the top of all my food memories. And I am going to make it for Thanksgiving. |
| See what you missed in previous Newsletters |
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Do You Know what Hyssop Is? Holiday Pistachio Panettone has Landed Cherry Love, Fairy Dust, Chocolate, Marcona & Valencia |
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