Taste 13: Ritual Chocolate

It’s fun to unwrap. It has a perfect snap when you break off a piece.  Your taste buds immediately taste chocolate, and then as you let it just slightly melt in your mouth you realize it’s not overly sweet.  It has a smooth mouthfeel with no hint of chalkiness.  It’s such an exemplary bar of chocolate, I could make the sensory pleasure of eating this bar a ritual.

Ritual Chocolate is by far one of the best locally made artisan edibles in Colorado.  Owners Robbie Stout and Anna Davies fell in love with chocolate (and each other…) and started a bean to bar chocolate factory in Denver.  They are one of the very few chocolatiers in the United States that source cacao beans as the first step in the chocolate making process.  So, for my thirteenth taste of how much I care, I introduced him to one of my favorite chocolate bars.

I brought him a bar and he looked at it, thought it looked pretty cool, and tore off the top part of the wrapper within a few seconds of having it in his hands.  It would have made a great testimonial video for Ritual Chocolate because he broke off a piece (which made a snap), put it in his mouth, and immediately commented on just how fantastic that peice of chocolate was. By his second bite I was explaining how I had organized a blogger tour of the factory and know the owners, (how their story is so damn cool!), and how there’s a lot of time, effort, and dedication that goes into every single chocolate bar.

When you experience a Ritual Chocolate bar, you’ll understand how chocolate can and should actually taste.  There are a lot of chocolate bars out there, but most pale in comparison. Ritual Chocolate is available in a number of coffe shops and specialty stores in the Denver/Boulder area. Rather than spout out a list of places, I’d like to refer you to their website for info on their chocolate, their story, and where to buy a bar.

Taste 12: Homemade Chicken Broth… My secret ingredient

I’ve been cooking a lot lately and often talk about my homemade chicken broth, but never seem to have any on hand.  It’s somewhat unacceptable, in my book, to live in a broth-free home because, since I do not purchase pre-made broth (why? that’s a tale for another day…), I don’t have it in my pantry. I have to plan ahead and make some (and then freeze a nice amount), and have been a bit lazy about it the last few months.

For my twelfth taste of how much I care, I decided it was time to make chicken broth so I can make my good meals even better.  It’s really easy.

Start by boiling a whole chicken in salted water until it’s cooked all the way through. Take it out of the water (keep the water… DON’T pour it down the drain) and let the bird cool to touch.  Next, remove all the skin (I definitely toss this out) and carve off the meat.  Then simmer the bones in the chicken water (add more water to fill your stock pot) with onions, carrots, celery, peppercorns, bay leaves, and sea salt for 24 hours or so.  Cool it down, skim off the fat first, strain the broth, and pour it into jars.

Notice the golden hue from the sunlight in my broth.  That’s no bouillon cube, baby.

Taste 11: Let Him Decide

Preparing a meal he’ll enjoy becomes a lot easier when he’s craving something because it means I can spend more energy executing a meal than planning one.  He said he wanted breaded cod, so I served him breaded cod for the eleventh taste of how much I care.

The recipe for breading the cod is simple:  roll strips of cod in flour that’s mixed with Red Rocks Hickory Smoke Seasoning, then dip in egg, and roll in Panko that’s also mixed with the same seasoning.  Pan fry until GBD (golden brown delicious).

He wanted to make the plate for the table, so I stepped aside (after making the fish, coconut creamed spinach, and a blood orange garlic jalapeño salsa), and watched him assemble sliced bread topped with Cremont cheese, coconut creamed spinach, pan fried panko-breaded cod, blood orange salsa, a few dollops of coconut cream, and lemon.

This was a fun dinner after gorging ourselves on port wine and cheese.

Taste 10: Port Wine and Cheese Pairing

After purchasing a bottle of W & J Graham’s 2007 Vintage Port, I knew I had to get over to Cured for the quintessential port pairing: Stilton.  I figured it wouldn’t hurt to ask owner and cheese connoisseur Coral Frischkorn for a couple other cheeses to enjoy with this fine port wine.  She suggested Cabot Clothbound Cheddar and Cremont in addition to a nice piece of Stilton.

There’s one thing I’ve come to believe about Cured: They know their cheese, how to pair it, and will not steer you wrong.  That’s why we also picked up some spiced nuts the sell there at Cured from the kitchen of Mateo,  which is located a few doors down.

This made a delicious pre-dinner indulgence with a thinly sliced baguette.  I also had Patti Miller’s port jelly and prosecco jelly , so we had fun “Spreading the Booze.”

So, for my 14 tastes of how much I care, tastes numbers nine and ten (Port and Cheese, respectively) were  fun, interactive taste sensations.  I do suggest you enjoy a wine and cheese pairing at home sometime soon.  It turns an average night into a festive occasion. I’m already planning my next one…

Taste 9: Graham’s 2007 Vintage Port

Port has been a libation in my life lately because it’s one of his favorite after dinner drinks.  The word also seems to come up frequently in conversations, like when my dad told me I’m a sailor who’s been out to sea and is now in port…enjoying myself, of course, before heading back out to sea. Or, an esteemed sommelier friend who compared love to a “port” during a storm… I suppose it turned out to be an opportune time to add a bottle of Port to my bottle collection, or home bar.

I asked him if he preferred a Ruby or Tawny Port, and he said Tawny.  Easy enough… right? I rode over to The Boulder Wine Merchant because that is the place to go in town if you have serious wine questions. After a 30 minute discussion/lesson on Port wine, I decided to buy a Graham’s 2007 Vintage Port.  Here’s why: If it’s a remarkably noteworthy year, they bottle a “Vintage.” Otherwise, it becomes a Tawny or Ruby.  The W & J Graham’s website says “2007 will be remembered particularly for its cool, damp summer. Nice long periods of sunshine in September and October allowed ripening to proceed normally, and although a bit later than usual, the vintage took place under perfect conditions, the fruit being beautifully balanced.”

I also decided it was appropriate to enjoy this fine port in proper port glasses, so I bought a couple beautiful Riedel port wine glasses from The Peppercorn.  And, of course, we headed right over to Cured for the tenth taste of how much I care…