September Wine, Cheese, and Chocolate Threeway

Our Threeway last week was such a sexy time, we decided to push our calendar up a bit and schedule another one in two weeks. Usually these events come every month, but we sold out for the last one and with our dance card filling up so quickly, we're spreadin' the love more frequently these days.

If you have yet to check our Threeways out, I'm sure you're wondering what the heck I'm blogging out. So check it:

Main Entry: three·way
Pronunciation: \ˈthrē-wā\
Function: noun
Definition: Threeway-A form of group se...

Opps, wrong dictionary. Let me grab the chocolate-covered one!

Threeway- A tasting event involving exploring three different gastronomic pleasures at the same seating.

Ahh! Much more appropriate, no? Well it's true, while our Threeway events make for a fun and possibily sexy evening, the focus is on enjoying and exporing nine different tastes (three artisan cheeses, three satisfying wines, and three exotic truffles). The tasting is complete with an open discussion of how our palates appreciate the process of taste and how one taste can effect and change the taste of another.

Our next event is September 16th from 7-8pm and we sell out at just 22 people! Call us for RSVPs at 619.578.2984. Cya then!

Another Threeway Coming Up!

Our sexy evening of wine, chocolate, and cheese earlier this month sold out a few days prior to the event so I've decided to schedule another one before the end of August. Normally these just come along once a month, but evidentally our chocolat libido has been high as of late, so we're gearing up for another Threeway next Wednesday, August 26th! And this one's thematic! Check it:

Join myself and informal guest star from Stone for an hour-long experience of three truffles, three cheeses, and three locally brewed beers from Stone Brewing. That's right, folks... this time we're changing it up and going all brews! Beer googles make everything happen so much smoother anyway.

All nine tastes for just $20 a head. And don't forget your 10% discount on all other chocolate purchased that evening. We're closing the event at 24 guests and we've got 14 so far to don't hesitate. Call us to make an RSVP at 619.578.2984.

Summer Eats and the Caprese Tomato Brulee

We're ripping through taking reservations for our next Prix Fixe dinner on Saturday with only one table left at our 6.5 seating. No worries for you slackers, though, there is plenty of space still left at 4.5 and 8.5. What's everyone so exited about, you ask? Well little ol' me has been doing some recipe testing and here's what's coming. Check it:

That's our Caprese Cherokee Heirloom Tomato with Brulee Crust & White Chocolate-Balsamic Drizzle. Looks amazing, no? Well it's pretty mouth watering if you ask me. But that's just the beginning of the good eats we're featuring. Take a look at the whole dinner line-up here.

Don't forget to place your reservations in time! As always, we hold tables with a credit card and have a 48 hour cancelation policy. Call the cafe direct for more info: 619.578.2984

Belgian Chocolate Cookies: A Unique Delicacy

Belgian Chocolate Cookies: A Unique Delicacy


Indeed, chocolates are considered to be one of the best candies in the world. It is delicious, it uplifts depressed people's spirits, it can make someone happy and it is a great aphrodisiac. As you can see, chocolates are not only merely great tasting candies it is also a candy that can give you a lot of benefits.

Chocolates have been around since the time when Christopher Columbus accidentally discovered it as he was looking for a shortcut to India, got lost and ended up in the New World where it is now called as the Americas. The ancient Aztecs have been consuming chocolates as a beverage for quite a long time before Columbus' discovery. You have to consider that chocolates in the ancient times were highly regarded and are considered to be a sacred drink. In fact, only the elite in the ancient Aztec's society can afford to buy chocolates. Also, chocolates were even used as part of the ancient Aztec's monetary system and used it to purchase their gold.

Today, chocolates are still highly regarded as one of the best candies in the world. However, you have to consider that only a handful of countries produce high quality chocolates. One country that offers premium chocolates is Belgium. Belgian chocolates are considered to be one of the best chocolates in the world. In fact, there are different varieties of Belgian chocolates available today. Some are made with liqueur, which is called chocolate liqueur, some are biscuits coated in Belgian chocolate, some are Belgian chocolate-coated nuts, and there are also other that are cookies with Belgian chocolate morsels.

Everybody loves cookie. In fact, when you were a child, you probably tried to sneak in your kitchen just to get a hold of the cookie jar. Today, there are cookies available in the market with Belgian chocolate morsels. It may sound like chocolate chip cookies, but you have to consider that instead of the regular chocolate as the cookie morsels, Belgian chocolates are used. As mentioned before, Belgian chocolates are considered to be one of the most popular and also one of the finest chocolates in the world.

You have to expect that cookies with Belgian chocolate as morsels may be on the expensive side. However, just like purchasing Belgian chocolates, you can be sure that after tasting a Belgian chocolate cookie, you will say that it's worth every penny.

Belgian chocolate cookies bring the best of both worlds. With the chewiness and the buttery flavor of cookies combined with the famous Belgian chocolates that melts smoothly in your mouth, you can be sure that you will get what you pay for.

Just think about it, you can eat Belgian chocolate cookies anytime where it can be perfect whenever you are having coffee, perfect for snacks when you have a cup of tea with your friends, and it is also an additional treat to ice cream desserts.

The great thing about this kind of cookies is that it is combined with one of the world's finest chocolates. This means that you will be able to love Belgian chocolate cookies and it is also a perfect gift idea for your loved ones.

Once they taste Belgian chocolate cookies, you can be sure that they will ask you where you brought it. Today, there are available websites that offer Belgian chocolate cookies as well as other Belgian chocolates for sale where you don’t have to go to your nearest candy store anymore but wait for it to arrive at your doorstep. You have to consider that most of your regular candy stores will not sell Belgian chocolates because of its expensive price.

belgian chocolates

Reese's Dark Peanut Butter Cups Giveaway!
Use Twitter to tell us why you should be one of three winners to receive four two-packs and two bags of miniatures. Link to your tweet in the blog comments. Three best tweets win! Good Luck!

August Summer Harvest Dinner

Its that time of already... temperatures are rising, beaches are calling, and the heirloom vegetables of Southern California are ripe for the picking. What's a chocolatier to do? Sounds like a lovely time for a Chocolate Tasting Dinner!

With Luigi's Pizzaria open next to the cafe now, there are a lot of new folks around here these days. For you faithful bloggers out there forgive me for sounding like a broken record, but I think I can hear at least one tiny voice in the back of the crowd feably asking, "What's a Chocolate Tasting Dinner?"

For just $25 bucks a person (tip and tax extra, of course), cafe patrons with the proper RSVPs can come and enjoy a three course dinner. But not just any old prix fixe... no, no, no... surely you all know me better than that by now! At our dinners, each course features a chocolate or caramel component! I know a few of you are thinking this is strange, but with this being our 16th multi-course dinner, some of my friends are insisting that that makes me America's foremost authority of chocolate savory food. Well, I doubt that, but I've certainly seen a lot of interesting cocoa-laden concoctions by now.

So what's up next? With summer in full swing, I can't help myself but exploit all it has to offer. Join us for our next dinner, Summer Harvest, on Saturday August 22nd. Check it out:

Spinach and Articoke Dip with Cocoa-glazed bacon & flatbread (optional starter)

Caprese Salad with Brulee Crust of Heirloom Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella, Basil, & White Chocolate-Balsamic Drizzle

Ricotta-Parmesan Ravioli & Sage Brown Butter Sauce with Shaved Fennel Bulb and Chile-Burnt Caramel Hazelnut

Summer Berry Bread Pudding of Raspberry & Blackberry with Cocoa Nib-Infused Creme Anglaise

We have seatings at 4.5, 6.5, and 8.5 and as always, space is limited for our dinners. For reservations, call 619.578.2984!

Until then, take a look at what we featured last month, with pictures courtesy of our friends at Kaleb Scott Photographs.

Steamed Mussels with Crispy Salumi and Herbs

Roasted Corn and Potato Chowder with Shrimp Demilgaze and Cocoa-glazed Bacon

Fried Crabcake with Poached Egg, Hasty Pudding, and Chile-burnt Caramel Hollendaise

Caramel Apple Pie with Vermont Cheddar and White Chocolate Semifreddo

Grad School Chocolate: Down and Dirty Sacher Torte

This is the life of a graduate student: I sit in front of this computer trying to catch the juice from a farm-fresh peach topped with mascarpone and honey before any combination thereof drops onto the expensive camera that I've neglected for at least six months, which I've connected to this computer now so that I can finally upload those backlogged photos, load it up anew, and use some of those new photos on this blog. I have no doubt that this objectively appears to be a pretty sweet deal to the guy who's been climbing around on my roof all day re-laying neglected bricks on my crumbling chimney. But it is subjectively quite arduous for me. I have mentioned that I'm working on my MFA thesis. Long, long days of procrastination. Less time perfecting the production of this blog. But a fellow grad student breezed through town last weekend and helped me whip up one of my favorite desserts in under an hour: Sacher torte. I pulled a recipe from the February 2002 issue of Bon Appetit out of a pile, but the original recipe calls for several hours of baking, assembly, and general patient waiting. Here's the grad student version:

Buy a "Pound Plus" bar from Trader Joe's.
General Note: I move into my final year of graduate school a big fan of the local Trader Joe's. Twice in one week, I have ended my morning run (a new, productive development) at Trader Joe's where I bought supplies for lunch (today: a box of quinoa, a guacamole kit, and some tofu: in a recipe vaguely inspired by 101 Cookbooks, I cooked the quinoa with some ginger and some of the jalapeno from the kit, then topped it with cubed avocado and tofu and some soy sauce and sesame oil). But I digress. Even before I was a fan of Trader Joe's, I was a fan of Trader Joe's private label chocolate--I've liked the stuff since I saw it at the San Francisco Chocolate Salon. (I'm not sure who makes it, but they do a good job.) Allow me to stand on a soapy chocolate box for a moment: talk of chocolate has become very elevated in the past 24 months, but I find it helpful to think that there are three large categories of chocolate: bad, good, and really damn good--when you have the time to spend thinking about the nuances of the flavor profiles and the money to pay for it get the really damn good stuff, otherwise eat good chocolate and enjoy it. Trader Joe's sells you over a pound of good chocolate for about four bucks.

When you get home, preheat the oven to 350. Melt about two thirds of the Trader Joe's bar in a double boiler (it helps if you're doing this on a hot day and the chocolate is already soft by the time you get home)--once it's melted remove it from the heat. Then prepare two nine-inch-diameter cake pans (or the closest thing to it) by buttering them, cutting out two rounds of baking paper to insert inside each pan, and buttering over the paper (I suppose you could skip this step if you don't have the paper--just butter the pans really well). Then separate 8 eggs, leaving both the yolks and the whites in large mixing bowls. Whisk the yolks together with a stick of butter melted in the microwave (cooled slightly, if possible) and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Add a large pinch of salt to the egg whites and beat them with the appropriate electric device, then gradually add 3/4 cup of sugar and keep beating until the whites are stiff but not dried out. Quickly whip up a cake batter by alternately folding portions (about 1/4 of the total in each portion) of the egg white mixture and sifted portions (again about 1/4 each time) of 1 cup of sifted flour into the chocolate, until everything is combined. Dump the batter into the pans, dividing it as evenly as possible, then throw the pans in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

Make sure you have some good jam on hand, for later.

Now, throw together a glaze by mixing about 2/3 of the remaining Trader Joe's chocolate, 1 and 1/2 cups whipping cream, 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar, and about 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of light corn syrup in a pot and bringing the mixture to a boil; then reduce the heat to a simmer and keep it going for five minutes. Whisk an egg in a bowl, pour in a bit of the chocolate mixture, whisking continuously, then add the contents of the bowl back to the pot; keep the glaze-in-progress over low heat, whisking, until it thickens but doesn't boil. Remove from heat. Add a cavalier dash of vanilla extract, whisk. Don't worry about cooling the glaze.

Twenty minutes should have gone by by now, so pull the cakes out of the oven. Since you're not going to cool them, they might be puffy and/or lumpy, but you're going to assemble a layer cake that looks a bit like a hamburger--ah, well. Invert the first cake (so that the flat, bottom, side is facing up) onto a cake plate or a regular plate. Smear a lot of jam on top. Wriggle the second cake out of its pan so that you can place it, flat/bottom-side-down on top of the other cake. Pour the glaze over the top with as much grace as you have the energy for--it's okay if you have a glaze puddle on the plate, but spoon or sponge some off if it starts to overflow.

The Sacher torte was absolutely delicious--only a few more hours of staring blankly at the computer before I can serve up the leftovers. I'm going to run downstairs right now to take pictures of what remains of the cake. I'll include one at the top of this post. And I'll even upload a selection from those months-old neglected photos to the new Chocolate in Context Facebook page.

Enjoy!