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Peppermint, Chocolate, Cookie, Damson, Lemon Curd, Shortbread, Covered Walnuts & Chermoula and more at chefshop.com/enews |
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| Recipes | Chef's Pantries | Shop for Food & Ingredients | Food Blog |
 Swedish Peppermint Candy Canes Hand bent to look like a shepherd’s staff, the candy cane has a history reaching back hundreds of years. First, as a hard sugar stick that would eventually be bent for the holidays. Popular belief was the white sugar stick was transformed for the children who would get restless during the long-winded holiday sermons. Once upon a time, before we had too many gifts under the tree, candy canes hung as gifts for children. They were truly a treat. Today, the little wimpy striped things are nothing more than a peppermint candy stretched to resemble a cane. Our candy canes here today are nothing like the commercial ones you see at the Five and Dime. They are fat, beautifully bent peppermint sticks, worthy of the name Candy Cane! Candy canes were a wild hit just a few tears ago and they are back with more stripes than before. Don’t just buy one, buy a dozen! Holidays striped with fun! One is good, but messy to share, two is better, and, well, 24 is best...best to have around for those late nights. Approximately 5 inches long. Top of curve to bottom of stem. They are actually worth eating when you are done hanging them on the Christmas tree. Why not get a few dozen to share with friends and family. The days of giving away a candy colored car for Christmas are over. Why not give the next best thing, a candy cane! Shop Now for Candy Canes! |
 Rusty Tools Made of Chocolate Some of the most spectacular chocolate you can find in a box. These tool shaped chocolates are cool! Tools that are cool! Clearly the best food gift you could give the tool person in your life. Keep in mind, they may never want to share their tool again! Which means you won't get to taste Andrea's Slitti's imaginative chocolate creation. They are as cool as his chocolate spoons (maybe cooler)! Shop now for Slitti Chocolate Rusty Tools Gift Box!! |
 This is one Giant Cookie The French make a shortbread that is spectacular! I believe in dieting by quantity. Don't eat too much. And it's ok to eat one piece of pie, or one piece of panettone and one cookie! There is just one cookie in this wooden box. And it falls in to the "eat only one" rule. Different than Scottish shortbread or American shortbread, it is uniquely French. Like a croissant, it feels French, tastes French and is French. And it is shortbread. You definitely could eat the whole thing but if you share, Santa will look highly upon such actions and put one bar of chocolate in your stocking! Shop now for Goulibear Broye du Poitou au Cognac French Shortbread w/ Cognac in a Wooden Box! |
 Goulibeur Broye du Poitou Pur Beurre Just like the Cognac version, except that it doesn't have the cognac, it is a wonderful site to behold. Open the wooden box (ok, so it's not like thick wood, more like a veneer, still it is wood) and behold the giant cookie. What fun! Goulibeur has been making this traditional family recipe for a long time! Selon la tradition, le Broyé du Poitou ne se coupe pas, il se brise d'un coup de poing sec, chacun prend alors un morceau selon son appétit. Loosely translated, "tradition says don't cut it with knife, but punch it with your fist, so you can make the size of cookie you want!" Limited to supply on hand. Shop now for Goulibeur Broye du Poitu French Butter Shortbread in a Wooden Box! |
 Summerdown Dark Chocolate Peppermint Dominoes! Chocolate and mint have been a classic marriage since 1674, when a fashionable London cafe invented the combination. These wonderful confections are twin pieces, shaped like dominoes, with dark chocolate exteriors and creamy peppermint centers. And not just any peppermint, either. These mints are made with traditional Black Mitcham peppermint - for centuries, the true flavor of England's famed mint, but a variety that died out due to changes in 20th-century farming. After generations, Summerdown, the producer, has reintroduced this variety, thus bringing back the mint's particular flavor - soft and lingering, with a cool, intense flavor. These, like their buff cousin, the Peppermint Creams, are exactly what you want your mint and chocolate to be. The combination is deliciously perfect without, without being too sweet. Sweet for sure, but my teeth don't hurt when I am done with one. Just one box, that is. Shop for Summerdown Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cream Dominoes! |
 Summerdown Mint Chocolate Peppermint Creams These wonderful treats are slim rounds, enrobed in dark chocolate with creamy peppermint centers. And not just any peppermint, either. This mint's particular flavor is soft and lingering with a cool intense taste. The chocolate pairs perfectly with the mint cream with just the right amount of both! Never too sweet, it is what you wish your peppermint creams to be! So powerful is the mint you can smell it through the wrapping. Shop Now for Summerdown Dark Chocolate Peppermint Creams! |
 Oooh Boy!! This is Chermoula! Though there is not a lick of meat in here, the instant memories evoked are of every great smoked, grilled or BBQ protein you have ever had! What a masterpiece of delicious flavor! And as your flavor mind comes up with a zillion ideas of what to do, your confidence soars and you feel perfectly in control of your next masterpiece! To the nose, Moroccan chermoula reminds me of an olive tapenade with a twitch of tomato and a myriad of spices including cumin. And to the mouth, wow, it is not what you expect. The spices mix together and to your palate the cumin and the paprika stand up. On the outside of the inner walls of your mouth is the garlic. With a smoothness of a delicious sauce, there is the preserved lemon that is just right, providing a little chew. Complexity revolves in your mouth, but the finish is complete and simple! Think tomato as the carrier or support, then the olive oil washes through with the olive flavor bringing with it the cumin and paprika. And topping it all, like any good herb, parsley and cilantro open up and bring the garden. The preserved lemon is identifiable, yet not overpowering at all! What a mix! As the flavor finishes, you feel like you are eating all of Morocco in one spoonful! Easy to use and spoon ready! Chermoula (cher moo lah). What is Chermoula? So many things and its uses vary from a marinade, to a sauce, to a dip. And from the many unlimited uses it evokes, it has exponentially more recipe variations! Every cook, chef, home, and region has its own version in North Africa. The most common recipe in the big cookbook in the clouds will be with cilantro and parsley as the main vehicle. And, along with key spices, cumin and paprika, the variations abound. Mehdi's, owner/creator of Villa Jerarda, is based around the ever perfect tomato, melding the flavors of Morocco and packing it all into one jar. With Moroccan roots, it is full of a flavorful fun, not spicy and not offensive at all! One taste and it will remind you of some dish you’ve had before. Chermoula evokes the best from your fish dish, pimp up you Pil-Pil shrimp recipe, or simply join hands with your favorite tunafish sandwich! Add it to your favorite vegetable tangine or dip in your cold veggies! It is so easy to use! Robin says “Holy Mackerel Batman! This Chermoula is supernacular!” Shop now for Villa Jerada Chermoula! |
 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 figs 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 origins appear 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 origins 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 French Honey Bread with Fig! |
 Hawkshead Lakeland Damson Jam Hawkshead creates a classic Jam A winner of a Great Taste Award! Damascene is a drupaceous fruit and a species of the plum tree. The name Damson appears to have originated in Great Britain. Less sweet than other more modern plums, this plum can make you pucker up. Because of this it makes a wonderful jam. This Damson Jam is one of those jams that is the jam of choice for those who like things less sweet. Now don't think of it as sour, because it isn't. What it does do is keep its personality (astringent) even though it is sweetened with sugar. Classically made, this Damson Jam keeps its fruit stones in the process (the pits are not removed) and are crushed in the jam making. This process adds depth to the flavor of the preserve. Think of breakfast on toast or with your afternoon tea and scones! Delicious and full of flavor! Shop now for Hawkshead Lakeland Jam! |
 Feves Chocolates Dark Chocolate Covered Candied Orange Peel! Candied fruit is a wonderful candy. One can justify the consumption of the fruit, because we know fruit is good for you. When you surround it with chocolate it just doubles up on the goodness factor, as we all know, eating chocolate is an essential daily vitamin. Thus the soft bite of the candied orange enrobed in chocolate is just plain wonderful! Shop now for Dark Chocolate Covered Candied Orange Peel by Feves Chocolate! |
 Sweet Potato and Apple Crisp Recipe! This dish is just sweet enough to delight without overdoing it. And its toasted pecan crispy topping adds just a bit of crunch. You'll never reach for a can of candied yams again. Thanks to a long time reader of the newsletter and customer who had printed this from our site 21 years ago! She asked for us to put it back in our recipe database so she could have it available and share with her friends. So here you go Vivian, and thanks for asking and reading! Click here to see the Sweet Potato and Apple Crisp Recipe! |
 Domaine de Béquignol Noix au Chocolat! Spécialité de France, these Chocolate covered Walnuts will blow your mind! Soft with a crunch and not too sweet, dusted with chocolate cocoa powder they are like perfection! Tired of extra sweet milk "chocolate" covered anything? These chocolate cocoa powdered walnuts will restore your faith in artisan treats! The crunch is good, the taste is great and the combination is fabulous! These chocolate-coated walnuts are a specialty of France. To die for! "I have an irresistibility index I apply to chocolate. How long does it take to stop eating without painful self denial? For all of ChefShop’s remarkable collection of dark chocolates, for the Pralus bars, the Margaux cherries, the Arriba couverture, the Slitti bars, the Quadrotta, the Cleopatra pearls, the irrestibility index is way above average. But for the chocolate covered walnuts, it is off the charts. To stop, lock yourself in another room." -- victor What a special treat! "I love chocolate and I love walnuts, especially when toasted so I thought I'd give these a try - so glad I did. They arrived a little melty (hot in Texas), but I put them in the frig and later in the day I sampled one of the best nut confections ever. The chocolate is not too sweet and with the crunchy walnuts, this is a perfect after dinner bite." -- kim Shop now for Domaine-de-Bequignol Chocolate Covered Walnuts! |
 Hawkshead Brandy Butter!! Flavored with real French brandy, this brandy butter is a cookie dough lover's delight. The perfect topping for your hot plum pudding, once you have had this magic combination, there's no going back! Shop now for Brandy Butter! |
 Hawkshead Strawberry and Black Pepper Jam! Many years ago some friends from Italy introduced Mark and Maria to the idea of black pepper and strawberries. The freshly ground pepper brings out the strawberry flavor if you use just enough pepper to add flavor but not add any heat. This jam is delicious and has quickly become a firm favorite in our home. Shop now for Hawkshead Strawberry and Black Pepper Jam! |
 House of Edinburgh Lemon Shortbread Biscuits! Truly handmade lemon shortbread biscuits from the land of the shortbread cookie. House of Edinburgh prides itself on doing things properly. The result is a Scottish biscuit that is genuinely made by hand to ensure that the taste, texture and appearance is far superior to mass produced products. This is achieved by providing skilled bakers with only the very finest ingredients - especially the butter. They also bake to order, ensuring that we receive the lemon shortbread biscuits as fresh as possible. The result of all the family care really shines through in the most traditional of Scottish biscuits, with Sorrento lemon pulp and oil added for a little zing. Plus the lovely tin doesn't hurt. The perfect gift. Shop now for House of Edinburgh Lemon Shortbread Biscuits! |
 Wadaman Salty Roasted Black Sesame Seeds! The nose tells you wonderful things. Toasted black sesame has to me, a distinct and different aroma from white sesame. I love both! This is just right, perfect really, salted and toasted sesame seeds are the bomb (that is so 80's). To the mouth, the tongue first gets this wonderful, pleasant salty hit, and then the toasted sesame comes thru in the bite. It's so good! Shop now for Wadaman Salty Roasted Black Sesame Seeds! |
 San Giacomo Essenza Balsamic! This little gem is a hidden gem. A sophisticated San Giacomo Balsamic with the personality of a Red Seal Tradizionale. Beautiful! This exquisite Essenza balsamic vinegar is velvety smooth with a lingering tang and flavor, making it a perfect complement to creamy desserts, meat and well-seasoned cheeses. Essenza balsamic vinegar is made from cooked-down grape must and then aged in small wood barrels. Distinguishing it from other balsamics, it is aged on the second floor of the barn of the Acetaia (traditional vinegar making establishment), allowing it to benefit from Italy's summertime heat, which concentrates and improves its structure and aroma. A perfect stocking stuffer for the balsamic lover you know. Shop now for San Giacomo Essenza Balsamic! |
 Slitti Drinking Chocolate! The Tuscans like their drinking chocolate dark and rich, and it doesn't get any darker and richer than Andrea's brew. This Italian drinking chocolate is all about the cocoa, so don't expect a sweet finish. Even when you hold the bag in your hand, for some reason it feels like chocolate. A rich looking powder that makes a drink that is made for sipping. We love all of the hot chocolates we have for sale and this Italian drinking chocolate is perfect for that late night sip. Think of a liquid pudding, that's how this drinking chocolate should be.... Shop now for Slitti Drinking Chocolate! |
 Virginia Soft Amaretti al Chinotto Candied Sour Orange! This Virginia Amaretti (an Italian Almond-flavored cookie) is soft to the touch and to the bite. Packed inside this nice feeling, good looking, tall tin, is a sealed bag. Inside the bag are 8 individually wrapped soft cookies. One good whiff and you can smell the almond sweetened by sugar and the hint of the sour orange. Delicious, one cookie is rewarding and pairs with an after meal espresso to perfection. A wonderful gift to hand to a friend of importance. Shop now for Soft Amaretti al Chinotto Candied Sour Orange Cookie! |
 Hawkshead Lemon Curd! History tells us lemon curd started as a curd, funny that; lemon acidulating cream forming curds that were then separated from the whey via a cheesecloth. Thankfully the modern version involves lots of lemon, butter and sugar! And smooth not lumpy! The bits of lemon zest gives this otherwise super-smooth lemon curd something extra special! Perfect on toast for your afternoon tea, or use it to fill little pastry cups and top with whipped cream for a quick and delicious pot-luck dessert. Shop now for Hawkshead Lemon Curd! |
 Lakrids Fresh Shipment has Arrived! If you don't know Lakrids Licorice, this is the perfect time to try. The holiday shipment has arrived. From #1 - Sweet Licorice, #2 - Salty, #3 - Red. Though those are the ones we expect from licorice it is the Passion Fruit and Chocolate covered that make you re-think licorice. Licorice is a naturally sweet treat and when dressed up like these "Lakrids", it is a joy indeed! Cruise the new shipment of Lakrids Amazing Licorice here! |
ChefShop Cocoa Powder! Be sure to order your powder soon. Always good to have cocoa powder on hand! Best Cocoa on the Planet "I have been using this exclusively for years now. I have a 'secret' brownie recipe that I make with this cocoa, syrup made from the cocoa and only the best ingredients. Everyone goes ga-ga over them. Syrup - so easy to make - anything that calls for cocoa I use this. Sometimes I mix just a touch into my coffee from a treat. If you have not tried this yet you need to. You WILL NOT be disappointed!!!" -- ellie Shop now for Cocoa Powder! |
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Got questions? Call or email and we will do our best to answer your questions! We love sharing our taste opinions about all our products. STORE HOURS UPDATE: New hours - Monday: Noon to 6, Tuesday thru Saturday: 10 to 6, Sunday: Noon to 4. Please let us know if you would like a private shopping time and we will do our best to accommodate you. We now have air filters running 24 hours a day. Please keep in mind we are limiting the number of people in the shop at one time. |
 Last week's #1 seller! SOMA Abstract Science Dark Chocolate Bar A delicious dark chocolate with roasted cocoa nibs. Tasting notes: To The Nose - Not exactly what you expect when you take a whiff. It has more flowery than just chocolate. Hard to describe. The Break - A nice crisp snap. First Bite - Firm and you have to push. Melt First - The melt first goes to the edges, as the rich chocolate then wraps the tongue in a wonderful blanket of chocolate. It is complex and simple at the same time. At any given moment you might feel and taste something different. 2nd melt - It is a truly enjoyable chocolate. In our testing group session everyone liked it, it melts nicely and disappears with you sucking in your cheeks and tongue to get every last bit of chocolate. Bite Away - It satisfyingly crunches away and then the chocolate expands into your mouth cavity in a lite and filling chocolate. This is also when you get the crunch of the cocoa nibs which adds a touch of perfect dryness. What a good bar. Careful because you could eat it all in a moment! This is a candy bar you want. Complex, sophisticated and especially simple. Shop now for Abstract Science Dark Chocolate Bar!  Give the Gift of Love through Food for 2020Gift Certificate for any amount you choose. Choose the amount in $25 increments by changing the quantity number and we take care of the rest. Share ChefShop with a Gift Certificates |
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Store Hours - Sunday 12 to 4, Monday 12 to 6, Tuesday thru Friday 10 to 6, Saturday 10 to 5 If your order has been confirmed as "ORDER READY FOR PICKUP" in email (or you were called) and want it brought to you in the parking lot, call us when you arrive and we will run it out to you. 206-286-9988. ChefShop.com 1425 Elliott Ave W Seattle, Wa 98119 206-286-9988 Our bigger 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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Double Tall Chocolate Brownie Recipe They’re so rich and chocolatey, a bite or two will be very satisfying! This recipe is double the quantity of what would usually go into an 8-inch by 8-inch pan and makes extra-tall brownies. Cut them into 1” squares. Potatoes au Gratin Recipe This is one of my favorite recipes. If you know how to make a classic white sauce, the rest is pretty easy. The guys at the warehouse loved it -- a large baking dish disappeared in about 12 minutes. Ligurian Chickpea Polenta (Panissa) Recipe Garbanzo beans (or for Italians, Ceci Beans) are the third most popular legume. They are the main ingredient in a number of rustic dishes, and very popular in Liguria. Rich in protein, calcium and phosphorus and potassium, garbanzo bean flour is a common basic ingredient in Ligurian panissa and a chickpea Polenta, where it is mixed with oil, pearl onions, sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Hot or cold, it is tasty when fried and cut into squares or strips. |
| See what you missed in previous Newsletters |
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Tradiziionale Deal, Special Chocolate, New Crop Beans New Holiday Food, Recipes for Thanks, Love Story #2 Love Story, Fruit, Nonnettes, Praline |
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