Archive for October, 2008

Discover Chocolate – Clay Gordon’s book

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

Discover Chocolate

Discover Chocolate (cover photo from amazon.com)

Review
“Clay Gordon’s Discover Chocolate is clearly a labor of love. A thorough and informed guide, it offers valuable insight for those with a passion and desire to learn about the world of chocolate.”
—Jim Goldman, President, Godiva Chocolatier, Inc.

“In tasting chocolate with the same passion and precision as wine critics do wine, Clay Gordon has elevated the whole idea of appreciating chocolate to new heights.”
—W.R. Tish, former editor of Wine Enthusiast magazine and founder of www.wineforall.com

“Any fan of Clay Gordon’s website chocophile.com will find all its enjoyable qualities combined in this book: a first-time explorer’s spontaneous enthusiasm, an insider’s perspective, and a refreshingly personal conversational style. I am impressed especially by Clay’s nuanced but substantive approach to the art of tasting chocolate. Discover Chocolate will be an original, insightful, and informative addition to any chocolate-lover’s library.”
—Maricel Presilla, culinary historian and author of The New Taste of Chocolate

“Clay’s thorough and meticulous investigation on chocolate is the foundation for this comprehensive book that leaves very little undiscovered in the marvelous world of enjoying chocolate today.”
—Michael Antinorsi, Owner, Chuao Chocolatier

Discover Chocolate is a must-read for anyone seeking to understand the complex world of chocolate today. Highly informative and easy to use, Clay Gordon’s new book is the ultimate guide to chocolate, just as the subtitle promises.”
—Alexandra Leaf, chocolate educator, cookbook author, and culinary historian

Product Description
There’s a difference between a chocoholic and a chocophile, and Clay Gordon is decidedly in the latter category. It’s not enough for him to simply love this rich indulgence; he is equally addicted to the finer points of choosing it, just as a wine aficionado enjoys researching different varietals and developing a taste for particularly fine ones.

In Discover Chocolate, Gordon opens a world that extends far beyond cookbooks and coffee-table books that feature assorted gooey shots. Yes, his primer is packed with more than a hundred gorgeous photographs of chocolate and truffles, but this is a guide that also includes a handy rating system, a field guide for discerning among different types and styles of chocolates, an overview of how cacao becomes chocolate (including maps of where cacao is grown), advice for pairing chocolate and wine, and, perhaps most important of all, how and where to shop for the best chocolate in the world.

A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing, and Clay Gordon is there to help you relish every drop of it, discerning why you like certain types but not others and generating a personal list of favorites. This is the book every true chocolate enthusiast has been craving.

Healthy Chocolate Tortillas

Wednesday, October 1st, 2008

Cover of Naked ChocolateThis delicious and very healthy recipe can be found on pg. 173 of “Naked Chocolate” by David Wolfe and Shazzie, with a very nice photo.

These tortillas are made from all raw ingredients and are slightly spicy, slightly chocolatey, and oh so versatile.  Makes 6 tortillas

Corn freshly stripped from 2 cobs

½ cup of dry golden flax seeds

¼ avocado

½ cup dry sunflower seeds

4 spring onions

2 cloves of garlic

¼ tsp. of Celtic sea salt or Himalayan pink rock salt

1 tsp. cumin powder

½ tsp. cayenne powder

1 dessertspoon of paprika

1 dessertspoon of chocolate powder (crushed cacao beans or nibs)

2 squeezes of lime juice

 

Grind the flax seed into a fine powder using a spice mill.  Finely chop the garlic.  Chop the spring onions.  Add all the ingredients to the food processor and blend until smooth.  The dough should be thick and sticky.   Place six equal amounts on Teflex sheets, flatten out into circles and dehydrate for about four hours.  Turn the tortillas over, remove the Teflex sheets so air can circulate more and dehydrate for a further one or two hours.