Li-Lac, founded in 1923, is a Manhattan institution. Before the eruption of the artisan food movement in the 1980s, there were only two chocolate shops on the entire West Side of Manhattan Island: Li-Lac Chocolates in Greenwich Village, and Mondel’s Chocolates in Morningside Heights, across the street from Columbia University (it opened in 1943).

Happily, in this town of real estate sturm und drang, where family businesses regularly “loose their leases*,” these chocolatiers have survived.

 
*When the old lease expires, the current, sky-high New York City rents make it impossible for many shopkeepers to keep their doors open.

A witch carries her own jack-o’-lantern in this beautiful molded piece. Photo courtesy Li-Lac Chocolates.

A NEW YORK INSTITUTION

In our childhood, we’d take the subway down to Greenwich Village to the original Christopher Street location for some of everything. Our favorites were green marzipan acorns with dark chocolate tops, and chocolate-covered orange peel. McNulty’s Tea & Coffee was (and still is!) right across the street—for decades, the only store devoted to fine, loose tea and coffee beans. This was our first solo “gourmet expedition.”

Li-Lac was founded in 1923 by a Greek expatriat, George Demetrious, who had studied the art of chocolate-making in France. During the 1920s and through the 1960s, New York City’s Greenwich Village was a Bohemian destination for artists, intellectuals and innovators. They didn’t have to go far for good chocolate, coffee or tea.

For 90 years, Li-Lac has remained true to its history and tradition, eschewing automation and trendiness (no beer and pretzel caramels or chipotle chocolate) to continue production of the original recipes in small-batch production techniques. The company proudly bills itself as “stubbornly old-fashioned.”

In 2005, rising rents forced Li-Lac to move from its original Christopher Street location. It found new retail quarters some seven blocks away at 40 Eighth Avenue (at Jane Street). There’s another location in Midtown at 109 East 42nd Street. Production moved to Brooklyn.

Li-Lac’s selection of fresh artisanal chocolate includes more than 140 items—one of the largest selections of fresh gourmet chocolate in America. Take a look at Li-Lac Chocolates.com.

PARTY ON SUNDAY

If you’re in New York City, this Sunday, November 3rd, Li-Lac is celebrating its 90th anniversary at its Greenwich Village store, 40 Eighth Avenue at Jane Street. From 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. the public is welcome to stop by.

The company will sell four original chocolate confections at the 1923 prices of 23¢ apiece. There will be complimentary wine pairings by Sparkling Pointe Vineyards and Winery, and the Kitchen Opera Company will provide musical interludes.

In the name of full disclosure: We love all cheesecake. We especially love chocolate cheesecake, Oreo cheesecake and pumpkin cheesecake.

So how happy are we today: It’s National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day. Here’s what we’re baking:

RECIPE: PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE WITH
GINGERSNAP CRUST

Ingredients For 10-Inch Cheesecake

Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 500°F. Create a bain-marie: Place a pan of water on the bottom rack (or the bottom) of the oven. This creates a moist environment and will help prevent the top of the cheesecake from cracking. (You can wait and add the bain-marie when you insert the cheesecake pan into the oven.)

2. COMBINE gingersnaps, walnuts, sugar and butter in a medium bowl. Press into the bottom and 1-inch up the side of a 10-inch non-stick springform pan. Set aside.

3. BEAT cream cheese, sugar and flour with an electric mixer until smooth. Add 5 eggs, one at a time, then vanilla, beating on low speed. Transfer 2-1/2 cups to a separate bowl; set aside.

4. BEAT 1 egg, pumpkin pie spice and pumpkin into the remaining filling until smooth. Pour half of pumpkin filling into crust, then half of the plain; repeat. Swirl gently with a spoon.

5. BAKE for 10 minutes; reduce temperature to 200°F and bake 30 minutes. Tent with aluminum foil and continue baking for 1 hour or until center appears nearly set.

6. RUN a knife around top of the cheesecake to loosen it from the pan. Turn off oven and open door to allow cake to cool gradually for 20 to 30 minutes in the oven.

7. REMOVE from oven and finish cooling on a rack for 15 minutes, then chill in refrigerator for at least 6 hours. Garnish and serve.
  

[1] Make it in advance. In the morning, just place it in the oven (photo © Kraft).

[2] To cube bread, day-old (or even two-day-old) is better (photo †© King Arthur Baking).

[3] Cook and crumble bacon (photo © iGourmet).

[4] Grate a brick of Cheddar (photo © Microplane).

We tried this do-ahead baked egg bake recipe this past weekend, and enjoyed the ease of doing the prep work in advance.

We rolled out of bed, turned on the oven to preheat, and within the hour were enjoying a sumptuous casserole.

The recipe calls for spinach, bacon, and Cheddar, but you can customize it as you like.

 
 
DO-AHEAD EGG BAKE (CASSEROLE)

The recipe is courtesy Kraft. Prep time is 20 minutes, cook time is 40-50 minutes.

Ingredients For 12 Servings

 
Preparation

1. WHISK eggs and milk in large bowl until well blended. Stir in bread. Add spinach, bacon and 1-1/2 cups cheese; mix lightly.

2. POUR into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray; top with remaining cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3. HEAT oven to 350°F. Bake, uncovered, 48 to 50 minutes or until the top is puffed and golden brown.
 
 
TIP: FRESH EGGS ARE THE BEST

You can make your egg dishes and baked goods even more flavorful with Eggland’s Best. Because the eggs are typically delivered to supermarkets within 72 hours of laying, they have a great fresh-from-the-farm taste.

Of course, your retailer needs to put the fresh eggs on the shelf, rather than stockpiling them in the warehouse. Check with the store manager to be sure.
 
 
TIP: DIAL DOWN THE CALORIES

You can save 50 calories and 6 g total fat per serving by preparing this recipe with cholesterol-free egg product, fat-free milk, turkey bacon and 2% milk shredded Cheddar cheese.
 
 
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*You’ll need about half of 1-pound loaf of bread to get the 8 cups of cubes.
 
 
 
 

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By the way, today is National Caramel Apple Day, a perfect day to make this cocktail. If you want to make actual caramel apples, here’s the recipe.

The difference between candy apples and caramel apples, and caramel apples vs. toffee apples, is below.
 
 
RECIPE #1: TOFFEE APPLE (CARAMEL APPLE) MARTINI

Ingredients For 1 Drink

 
Preparation

1. SHAKE all ingredients with ice and strain into a chilled Martini glass.

2. GARNISH with an apple slice.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PLACE a handful of toffee in the bottom of a saucepan and add half a cup of warm water.

2. COOK over gentle heat, stirring until the toffee is dissolved. Allow it to cool.
below 

 
 
CARAMEL APPLES VS. TOFFEE APPLES

Caramel apples are the same as toffee apples; the former term is more popular in the U.S., the latter in the U.K. However, caramel candy is different from toffee candy, and the term “toffee apple,” while prevalent, is not accurate.

Both caramel and toffee are made by combining sugar, butter, and water. Caramels add milk or cream (and sometimes, flavors) and are cooked at a lower heat, to the firm-ball stage (248°F). Both of these factors make them softer and chewier than toffee.

So if it’s soft, it’s caramel.

There are numerous sweets on the market called “toffee” that are actually caramel, including “toffee apples.” If the apple were coated in actual toffee, it would be even harder to bite into than the hard red candy apple coating.
 
Here’s more on the differences between butterscotch, caramel, taffy and toffy.
  
 
 

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Serve with: