I love the Bossy Chef. Not only does he bring home chocolate, (lots and lots of chocolate) but recently he brought home the most wonderful cookbook that is all about chocolate.
Our newest acquisition is "Mast Brothers Chocolate - A Family Cookbook". If you're looking for the perfect Christmas gift for the chef on your list, look no further. This book is filled with lush photography, simple, sweet and savory recipes all devoted to chocolate goodness. Throughout the book are wonderful short stories that tell the history of the two brothers, Rick and Michael and their pursuit of chocolate perfection. These unconventional 'hipster' boys from Brooklyn are capturing the attention of cacao lovers everywhere.
Their chocolate is hand crafted from the bean to the bar then hand wrapped in beautiful custom papers and shipped to specialty food shops around the globe. Yes, their chocolate bars are pricey, between $7- $9 for a 2.5 oz bar. Have I tried it? As I write I am unwrapping a bar of the Brooklyn blend dark chocolate. When Bossy found out I was writing about this book he made it his mission to find Mast Brothers chocolate bars, purely in the name of research of course.
So, I'm tasting this almost famous chocolate. It is 73% Cacao, it is strong and slightly bitter as dark chocolate should be. Smooth and luxurious in the mouth, just as great chocolate should be. There are two ingredients, Cacao and cane sugar, no added fats or emulsifiers. The ingredients in a bar of Scharffen Berger Bean to Bar San Juan De Cheni dark chocolate are: Cacao beans, sugar; cocoa butter and non-gmo soy lecithin. Sharffen Berger is excellent chocolate. The ingredients in Valrhona's Satilla Dark are: Cocoa beans, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier, soy lecithin and natural vanilla extract. Valrhona is considered to be some of the best chocolate available.
So these guys make a pure product and it's a tasty one. Is it worth the hefty price? Thomas Keller thinks so, he uses their chocolate in his restaurants (I'll bet he pays wholesale). Thomas also wrote the foreword to their book, he likes these guys a lot. Me? Sadly, my palate is not so sophisticated that it can discern a big enough difference to warrant paying an extra $3-$5 for a bar of Mast Brothers over a lesser craft chocolate.
But I digress. What I really want to talk about is the cookbook. As I flipped through the pages there was nothing that I didn't want to make. A novice baker or cook could easily execute most of these recipes with ease and confidence. None require a degree in science to execute and they are all made with ingredients that you most likely have on hand or can be easily sourced in your local markets. One caveat; you will need to use a high quality chocolate, their recipes are designed to work best with chocolates that contain over 70% cocoa solids. If you use a chocolate with less cocoa your results will be disappointing.
I'm giving you two recipes from the book, one sweet and one savory. It was hard to choose which ones to share with you as there are so many standouts. If you enjoy these I encourage you to buy the book, you won't be sorry.
The first one is Chocolate Chip and Ricotta Pancakes. This could be the perfect way to start your morning on Thanksgiving day. Click on the link below the picture for a printable pdf recipe.
https://db.tt/MhmWRXsa
This next one looks and sounds so good, I can't believe I've never thought of putting cocoa powder in a dry rub for meat, it makes total sense! Click on the link below the picture for a printable pdf recipe.
Cocao Dry Rub
https://db.tt/2BoQbSSO
Below is a video that was shot when the Mast Brothers were getting started.
Discovering your passion and working tirelessly to achieve excellence is both enviable and admirable. To have found your passion in chocolate is downright unfair!! Now why didn't I think of that?!
Thanksgiving is almost here and Bossy keeps asking if the menu is ready. Not yet, but I'm getting close. I have a few fun new ideas for you and your holiday table, so stay tuned and keep an eye out for our next blog, it's all about our favorite holiday!
If you're planning a move in the near or distant future I hope you'll remember that Residential Real Estate is my specialty and I would love to be given the opportunity to talk with you whether you're thinking of buying or selling.
THANK YOU!
Becky Goldsmith
720-979-3184
Becky@beckygoldsmith.com
Real Estate
