A traditional post-party breakfast of Spanish hot chocolate (churros con chocolate) is a chocolatey treat Travel Belles can enjoy any time of day

When it comes to chocolate I love it. Here in Spain, especially after a late night out, a Cola Cao, the country’s trademark hot chocolate, or coffee along with churros dipped in a rich chocolate sauce, is a popular breakfast time indulgence. My stomach doesn’t approve of such early morning eats, but any other time of day  –  well that’s a different story.

Steaming hot churros wrapped in a serviette and dunked in thick, oozing chocolate and sugar is a fantastic treat, and one that visiting family and friends always expect. I couldn’t possibly refuse them, now could I?

Leaving the churrería with a flat coil of piping hot dough between paper and knowing that at home little bowls of thick chocolate sauce and sugar are being prepared along with a decent ground coffee made in a bodum is fun.

The same goes for stepping into a cafe and watching the flamboyant yet artistic method of squeezing the dough out of a huge ‘gun’ into sizzling hot oil in one long unbroken curl. Even extracting any dough from the large gun is a testing feat.

So what is it about churros con chocolate that the Spanish and visitors like? Maybe it’s that “oh I really shouldn’t” feeling, or perhaps an iron stomach or a tee-total night before.

Mobile churro stands are common sights at the fiestas and come into their own around 6 a.m. when partygoers end the night by having churros and coffee before heading home, perhaps to soak up some of the alcohol and go to bed with a full stomach.

Born out of the Spanish thriftiness and that amazing ability to make something tasty out of nothing, churros are created simply from flour and water cooked in the inevitable olive oil. Try these deep-fried churros with a thick chocolate dunking sauce any time of day.

Churros con chocolate

Ingredients for churros

Olive oil
1 cup water
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)

Method

To make the dough for the churros, heat the water, margarine and salt until boiling in a saucepan. Add the flour and mix well and vigorously over low heat until the mixture forms a ball, about 1 minute.

Remove the pan from the heat and beat in the eggs all at once. Continue beating until smooth and then add to saucepan while continually stirring mixture.

Heat about 2 to 3 cm of oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

Spoon the mixture into a churros maker or a cake decorators’ tube with a large star tip.

Squeeze 10 cm strips into the hot oil, frying 3 or 4 strips at a time until golden brown. Turn them once, cooking for about 2 minutes on each side. Drain the churros on paper towels and sprinkle with sugar. Cinnamon is a nice addition to the sugar, although not in the traditional recipe.

Don’t forget to try making the traditional coil. Starting in the middle of the pan keep a constant pressure on the dough-filled tube, trying not to break it. This needs lots of practice!

Ingredients for chocolate dipping sauce

2 cups milk
4 oz dark chocolate, chopped
1 tbsp cornstarch
4 tbsp sugar

Method

Put the chocolate and half the milk in a pan and heat gently to dissolve the chocolate. Keep stirring until the chocolate has melted.

Dissolve the cornstarch in rest of the milk and add to the chocolate with the sugar. Cook on low heat, constantly stirring, until the chocolate has thickened, this should take about five minutes. Add extra cornstarch if necessary (depending on the  consistency you prefer).

Remove from the heat and whisk until smooth.

*Photo by Matt Biddulph

In Italy, the time has come to relinquish the fluorescent, plastic gelato spoon. You may crave the cool sweet 365 days a year, but many gelaterie close in the winter. So in the name of eating seasonally, trade your plastic cup or cone for a mug of thick, Italian hot chocolate, and don’t worry – those beloved gelaterie open back up in the spring.

Italian hot chocolate is everything hot chocolate should be. If the absence of fluffy, white marshmallows makes you hesitate, opt instead for panna a parte, or whipped cream on the side. This is one of the key points about Italian hot chocolate: you can have it however you like. And by this, I don’t mean using skim milk instead of 2 percent. (Ha! As if.) It’s made with whole milk or heavy cream, depending on the bar,  or by adding a syrupy flavor addition to the taste of the chocolate. In Italy, hot chocolate is personalized where it matters. Add however much sugar you want to balance bitterness and sweetness.  To control the intensity of chocolate ask for senza panna, without whipped cream; con panna, with whipped cream; or panna a parte.

The hot chocolate in Italy is almost as thick as pudding. It is drinkable, but use the baby spoon served on the little plate. That way, you can avoid childish stains around your mouth, make the treat last longer and spoon in dollops of the sweet panna. And if you’re lucky, the café serves simple, dip-able biscotti on that little plate, too.

I know it sounds like an intense culinary experience. It is, but in a very manageable way, because the hot chocolate comes in one size and it’s not too much to handle.

Now we come to the differences between hot chocolate in the US and hot chocolate in Italy: While I don’t want to insult American hot chocolate, the truth is that I only ever make it at home; buying it at a café is too risky: Will even the small size be so big that I get a stomachache? Will the chocolate be intense enough to satisfy my craving, or even be real chocolate at all? Will there be more sugar than chocolate and milk combined? Will they use milk, or just a powder mix plus hot water? No, it’s too risky; I have to mix my own at home. But in Italy, all the hot chocolate is the real thing.

When it comes to Italian hot chocolate, I’m by no means a snob. I’ll even enjoy a cup at the train station. I do, however, have my favorite places. Café Converso wins as my favorite gelateria in Bra, Piedmont, and it also wins for my hot chocolate preference. Their hot chocolate is thick and rich and served with biscotti. Ask for panna a parte, of course.

L’Agenzia is a hotel bar in Pollenzo, a town only about 15 minutes by bus from Bra and the seat of the University of Gastronomic Sciences, which I attend. The hot chocolate at L’Agenzia is not thick, but still delicious because of the cocoa they use: Domori. This is a high-quality hot cocoa for the rookie – I mean lighter – drinker.

And then there’s your average bar that serves a thick hot chocolate of the Ciobar brand. It is not as intense as Café Converso, and not of the Domori quality, but still spoon-lickingly satisfying.

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to fantastic food and wine, making it a great place to travel for any Belle. There are fabulous restaurants and it is only a short drive from the wineries of Napa, Sonoma and Amador Valleys. It is also home to some wonderful artisan chocolate makers. Of course there are several well-known chocolate factories from the bay area – Guittard Chocolate Company, Rechiutti Confections, Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker and Ghirardelli Chocolate Company – but it is the lesser known artisans that I tend to fall in love with.

​The first chocolate shop I visited was Poco Dolce on Third Street in the Dogpatch neighborhood of San Francisco. This company started with Italian pastries in 2003 but soon transitioned to making chocolate confections in unique flavors. Today, the company is well known for making handcrafted bittersweet chocolate tiles, as well as chocolate bars and toffee.

​The name Poco Dolce is Italian for “just a little sweet” and perfectly describes each bite you take of one of their confections. I went to the shop the first morning I was in San Francisco. It was overcast with misty rain – a typical fall day for this city. The Dogpatch neighborhood is an area that has seen the beginnings of gentrification in the past few years. The once empty warehouses along the water are now home to cafes, businesses and shops like Poco Dolce. Entering the shop there is a retail space up front and working space towards the back. The simple clean design inside reflects the industrial feel of the neighborhood outside.

​Even though I had just finished my breakfast, I sampled several different confections (including popcorn toffee) before deciding to buy some burnt caramel toffee to take home. The flavors that I sampled in the store as well as the one I brought home were all unique and excellent. The toffee was buttery, delicious, and perfectly balanced by the bittersweet chocolate coating. Not to mention, it is was a perfect snack for a rainy day – and a new chocolate confection to fall in love with.

​A few days later I visited a San Francisco chocolate factory and shop that is well on its way to becoming one of the better known brands. Located at Pier 17 on San Francisco’s Embarcadero, TCHO is an innovative company that focuses on making what they refer to as the “New American Chocolate.” They were founded in 2006 and currently make four different dark chocolate bars (chocolatey, fruity, nutty, and citrus) and two milk chocolate bars (cocoa and classic). The Factory Store offers free, informative tours twice a day. Unfortunately it was Saturday and the production line was quiet, however, it was still enveloped with the aroma of chocolate. Our guide began the tour with some obligatory background information about how chocolate is made and the history of the company. Then we donned hairnets and got to see the resting equipment used to make TCHO bars.

After learning about the different machines and seeing the metal pipes that transfer the molten chocolate from one apparatus to the next, it was finally time for tasting. We began with the dark chocolates: citrus, nutty, chocolatey and fruity. It was difficult to pick a favorite as they were all wonderful; however, I became particularly fond of the chocolatey. Next we got to try the milk chocolates: cacao and classic. TCHO refers to these bars as “SeriousMilk” chocolate and they are a relatively new addition to their family of treats. First I tried the classic. This is the closest I have ever tasted to a perfect milk chocolate. It was creamy with a wonderful chocolate flavor with caramel undertones. Just simple delicious milk chocolate…

Next I tried the cacao bar, which is named after the tree that produces the beans that become chocolate. This bar was also delicious. I preferred the classic, but both were fantastic. That said, I think it is impossible not to fall in love with all of their chocolate bars. Before leaving, I bought some adorable boxes of little bars to take home and share with family and friends.

​The last chocolate I fell for in San Francisco was made by a small company called Neo Cocoa. This company makes what they refer to as the “heart” of a chocolate truffle. These exquisite chocolate confections have no hard coating or shell and are 100 percent creamy, rich chocolate. Unfortunately, they do not have a shop, but their delectable treats are available at a variety of shops around the Bay Area and on the web. I discovered them in the Ferry Building Marketplace at the La Cocina kiosk. The simple brown packaging caught my eye – there had to be something wonderful inside those boxes! These delicious morsels come in a cool array of flavors, such as zested lime, mocha cinnamon, toasted coconut, warm ginger root, crushed cacao nib, cool peppermint, and the flavor I purchased, almond butter with applewood smoked sea salt.

And the best part about my truffles from Neo Cocoa is that I bought the cute little box, then tucked it in my camera bag, and forgot about it. When I arrived home, I rediscovered the delightful box of truffles! Each “heart” was not too sweet, had a nice balance of chocolate and almond, and the smoked sea salt perfectly complimented the rich nutty flavor. Eating them back home in Washington, DC, was a great souvenir and a little reminder that there are always chocolates to fall in love with in San Francisco.

On your next trip to the Bay Area, do you want to visit a San Francisco chocolate factory and store? If you’re reading this, our guess is: Duh?!

All of these fabulous chocolates are available on the web. TCHO chocolate bars and Poco Dolce confections are also available at some Whole Foods Markets in the USA.

Poco Dolce
Shop / Production Kitchen
2419 Third Street
San Francisco, CA

TCHO
Factory Store
Pier 17
San Francisco, CA

Neo Cocoa
www.neococoa.com

I wasn’t sure what I had in mind about Greek food before going to Greece. Visions of gyros with tzatziki sauce, feta cheese, yogurt and a few recipes I’d tried preparing at home came to mind. In the coastal city of Thessaloniki, I found that the Greek food is varied, delicious and healthy, with a few preconceptions plus dozens of other delicious dishes. In October, I spent a week in Thessaloniki and its surrounding area with my fellow classmates of the Slow Food University of Gastronomic Sciences of Pollenzo, Italy. Throughout the trip, we piled our bellies full of wonderful food and drink: a meal based on mushrooms, including the dessert; bowls of thick and creamy Greek yogurt every morning for breakfast; wine made of indigenous grapes; and plates of baklava and galatouboureko swimming in syrup and honey. Every meal was memorable in its variation, excellent preparation, delicious results – and the gradual tightening of my jeans. It was on our first night, cold and tired from traveling, that we walked down the rainy back roads of the city, a few steps from the bustle of the main street, Polytechneiou. We entered the restaurant Deltario, small with intimately dim lighting, and took our seats at long, dark wooden tables. In the back of the restaurant, a video about the monks of the Holy Mount Athos showed scenes of black-robed holy men fishing, cooking and praying in old, stone monasteries nestled in the mountains. Mount Athos, known as The Holy Mountain, is entirely dedicated to worship and is home to 20 monastic communities that continue to thrive today. Being a gastronomic student means eating many traditional foods. But how traditional is, for example, bistecca fiorentina, when for centuries Florence was populated by peasants who never ate steak? The monks of the Holy Mount Athos, however, have cooked and prayed in the same way for 1,100 years. That is tradition. And on our first night in Greece we enjoyed those age-old practices as we indulged in food prepared by the famous Monk Epifanios. We weren’t served gyros with tzatziki sauce. Monk Epifanios cooked single-handedly for all 28 of us, preparing traditional, hearty and healthy dishes of legumes, vegetables and fish, as the monks’ diet excludes meat. We washed our food down first with ouzo (the anise-flavored hard liquor of Greece), then red wine, white wine, and sweet wine, all produced by the monks. We began our dinner with ouzo alongside creamy, pureed fava beans topped with caramelized onion, and we dipped our homemade bread in the nutty-like spread. Next was a plate of large, grilled sardines, not salted but fresh and meaty, alongside huge, creamy corona beans in a rich tomato sauce. Then the vegetable dishes started coming out: red bell peppers stuffed with vegetables and toasted nuts alongside a plate of the creamiest feta cheese I’ve ever tasted, tart and peppered; simple, boiled and mixed carrots, zucchini and radicchio with a dollop of mashed beet and yogurt sauce on top. We passed platters and shared forks, cut off choice bits and ate them, or saved them for our neighbor. The platters were almost entirely communal, shared between three of four people. More dishes came out and we knew we had really started our hands-on study trip when we were full before the first course was served. Around the table, we exclaimed over which foods were our favorites and which we had never tried before. Our meals are always social, but this one was even more chatty and excited than usual with the added convivial act of taking food from the same plate. One of the individual dishes was a thick octopus tentacle grilled and then gently cooked in a simmering, cinnamon-spiced olive oil and red tomato sauce. I had never imagined pairing cinnamon with octopus, resulting in an almost sweet sauce with such a scent to remind me of cinnamon muffins, contrasting the smoky char of the grill. Listening to the comments around the table, I realized it was hands-down a favorite. The finale was a honeyed dessert with raisins and candied oranges that was also, of course, made by the monks from cultivation to preservation and preparation. We finished our meal completely satisfied and more than content to be stuffed to the brim, and thankful for our taste of truly traditional Greek cuisine at the hands of Monk Epifanios.

When I first moved with my family to the South Carolina coast, shrimp and grits was the dish that almost without exception was on every menu. In recent years shrimp and grits has moved from a being a mere staple on the southern menu to a gourmet challenge upon which every regional chef  (and many beyond the region as well) leaves his or her own imprint.

Georgia's white shrimp are a shrimp aficionado's favorite

I was a latecomer to the idea of making shrimp and grits myself, but when we did bring the dish into our own home, we did it big time. We adopted it as a Christmas Eve dinner tradition. And as with all the best traditions, we don’t want to become too set in our ways! Each year we try a different version, adapting the recipe a bit as suits everyone’s personal tastes. This Christmas Eve we’ve got the recipe picked out. We’re going to use an extra elegant version from the King and Prince Beach and Golf Resort in Saint Simons Island, Georgia.

The main ingredient is the coastal white shrimp that dwell in the local tidal marsh waters and are known for their extra sweet flavor. Many chef’s versions of this seafood Southern classic lean towards the more mild, featuring sharp cheddar cheese and bacon (notably, Bobby Flay and Paula Deen.) The King and Prince recipe, developed under new food and beverage director, Vinny D’Agostino,  is amped up with a couple of twists and other influences, notably Cajun and Italian. Last but not least, this spicy and subtly rich result, looks exquisite served on grandma’s finest dinner plates (as opposed to being served in bowls, which to me doesn’t feel as holiday fancy) and will be just right for a special celebration.

King and Prince Shrimp & Grits in Tasso Cream Sauce

This is the recipe used for one serving at the resort, multiply as needed, cooking all at once, being sure not to overcook. Because of group personal tastes, I will probably go slightly heavier on the shrimp (Yum!) and lighter on the spice. Grits can be prepared ahead of time (I always make enough for the Christmas morning’s breakfast casserole at the same time.) Because of availability I will use South Carolina shrimp. We take our shrimp very seriously around here, so be aware that according to connoisseurs, there are differences in the flavors from place to place, depending on season, and the marsh water’s composition and tides.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 cup tasso ham
• 1/4 cup kernel corn
• 1/4 cup diced tomatos
• 2 T. chopped green onions
• 1/2 cup wild Georgia shrimp
• 1 T. Cajun seasoning
• 1/4 cup Asiago cheese
• salt and pepper to tast
• olive oil

Preparation:

In one saucepan, saute the shrimp with cajun seasoning using olive oil. In another pan, saute tasso ham, corn, tomatoes and green onions; add heavy cream and asiago cheese; let simmer two minutes. Add shrimp and serve over stone ground grits of your choice.

Happy Holidays!

Now we want to know: Do you have a favorite holiday recipe that you’ve adopted and/or adapted to create your own culinary tradition?

Italy’s Piedmont region is a land of rolling vineyards and great northern wines like Barbaresco and Barolo. The area is rich in foods like chestnuts, chocolate and truffles.

Since I moved here in May to study at the University of Gastronomic Sciences, I have spent a lot of time tasting the key dishes of Piedmont: gnocchi al Castelmagno, potato dumplings covered in smooth, pungent, melted cheese; tajarin, a fine, fettucine-like pasta made with a high percentage of egg yolk and traditionally paired with butter and sage (sprinkled liberally with Parmegiano Reggiano…talk about comfort food); agnolotti, another egg pasta made so thin they’re transparent, little purses filled with a mixture of meats; and carne cruda, the raw beef dish loved by everyone but myself.

Then one day my culinary curiosity led me to type “cucina di Piemonte” into Google and I suddenly discovered lots of other dishes. I fixated on one that finally explained why vendors, my trusted market vendors, were selling dirty, old celery stalks that weren’t even green. But it wasn’t celery. It was the cardoon, or cardi, a vegetable that’s popular in northern Italy, especially Piedmont.

Cardoons appear dirty because they oxidize quickly and start turning brown, which is why, after cleaning them and stripping off some of the outer, stringy fibers, they should be tossed into an acidulated water bath. I cut them up and did just that as I began preparations for I Cardi di Re Alberto, or King Albert’s Cardoons, named for the King of Piedmont and Sardinia (1831-1849) who preferred this recipe for the plant, also known as artichoke thistle.

I was overcome with both doubt and surprise while preparing the recipe. The flavors are different from other Italian dishes – or maybe just combined in unusual ways. Anchovies, bay, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg? I only followed through because they had graced the plate of royalty upon his own request. I also love a challenge in the kitchen and to my taste buds. And when the (rather lengthy) process for this vegetable dish was finally complete, my first bite was hesitant and then, disappointed.

But with each bite, the savory-sweet-celery-artichoke-creamy flavor built until I ate nearly a pound of cardoons in one sitting. King Carlo Alberto certainly knew his food.

I Cardi di Re Alberto or King Albert’s Cardoons

Ingredients:
1 pound cardoons
2 cups milk
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter (or substitute oil)
1 clove garlic, peeled
2-3 bay leaves
5-8 anchovies
Pepper, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon
Parmegiano Reggiano (parmesan cheese)

Instructions

Wash and strip the tough outer fibers from the cardoons. Cut them into 1-to-3 inch pieces and drop them in lightly-acidulated water as they’re prepared to keep them from browning.

Boil the cardoons in a mix of 2 cups of milk and 2 cups of water with 1 tablespoon of flour until halfway done, about 15 to 20 minutes.

As the cardoons are cooking, melt butter in a large skillet, squash the garlic to release juices, and tear up the bay leaf. Ladle the cardoons into the skillet and reserve the milk mixture. Cook over a medium flame until tender, about 10 to 15 minutes.

While the cardoons are cooking, bone the anchovies and add to the skillet (5 to 8 depending on how savory you want the dish). Squish them into the sauce with a fork until dissolved, adding more of the milk mixture or plain water if the cardoons become dry.

Add more butter to taste and a mix of the spices. Stir until browned and tender. Top with Parmegiano Reggiano, and give the cardoons a second or third taste before their flavor takes hold of your taste buds and doesn’t let go.