The fine chocolate discs used for baking and making chocolates can also be used for snacking.
Also called baking wafers or couverture wafers, the discs, which are made by premium chocolate producers, come in one-pound boxes (and larger sizes for professionals). Guittard, for example, offers:
When you feel the need for a bite of chocolate, one or two small wafers can satisfy.
Or enjoy a triple treat: one disc each of milk, semisweet and bittersweet chocolate.
And the price is right: One-pound boxes of this fine chocolate cost around $10.00, and there’s no tax on baking chocolate. When you compare the prices of fine chocolate bars, $10.00 for 16 ounces of chocolate discs is a good deal!
Find our favorite chocolates, recipes and many pounds of chocolate information in our Gourmet Chocolate Section.
Matcha, the tea revered in the ancient Japanese tea ceremony (cha no yu), was brought from China to Japan by Zen Buddhist monks in the 12th century.
Unlike other green teas, matcha is made from leaves that are shielded from direct sunlight. The tea plant is covered with reed screens three weeks before harvest, resulting in a high concentration of chlorophyll and a deep dark green leaf. This gives matcha ten times as many antioxidants as regular green tea (it also has about half the amount of caffeine found in a comparably sized cup of coffee).
What makes matcha different is that no leaves are steeped (brewed). Instead, tea powder is frothed.
The dried leaves are deveined and destemmed, then ground into a fine powder — almost the consistency of talc. A spoonful of tea is then whisked into hot water with a bamboo tea whisk (chasen). The result is a foamy green drink with a fresh, vegetal sweetness.
It’s easy to make matcha at home. Photo courtesy Republic Of Tea.
Making Matcha Is Easy
1. Heat fresh water just short of boiling (filtered water or spring water is ideal).
2. Add 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of matcha powder to the bowl or cup.
3. Pour in 6 ounces hot water.
4. Using a tea whisk, whisk briskly for a minute or two until the matcha forms a nice green colored foam. If you don’t have a tea whisk, use a small kitchen whisk or a battery-operated frother. It isn’t “official,” but it works.
There’s no need to strain; just take a moment from your day and enjoy the calming drink.
Not your mother’s corned beef hash. Photo courtesy Delmonico’s Steakhouse & Restaurant.
When life gives you corned beef, make corned beef hash. If you’ve got leftover corned beef from St. Patrick’s Day, you can make this delicious gourmet corned beef hash recipe for brunch this weekend.
Hash is a mixture of foods cut into small pieces. Corned beef is typically mixed with chopped onions and diced potatoes. The addition of grated beets creates “red flannel hash.”
Corned beef hash is most often served with fried or poached eggs—it’s nice to mingle soft yolk with the hash—and toast. Some restaurants add hash browns or home fried potatoes.
But we’ve got something special for you: Corned Beef Hash Eggs Benedict. Created by Chef William Oliva of Delmonico’s Steakhouse Restaurant in New York City (the birthplace of Eggs Benedict), this version will dazzle.
If the recipe is too fancy for you, simply turn the leftover corned beef into a conventional hash for breakfast, or use it to make stuffed peppers for dinner.
Leftover pork, poultry, roast beef and veal can also be “hashed,” as can tofu.
We’ve presented a number of cocktails for St. Patrick’s Day, but we’ve saved the best for last. This one contains our favorite food: ice cream.
It’s easy to whip up a Tipsy Leprechaun, a more sophisticated stout float (a spiked milkshake) that also contains Irish whiskey and Irish cream liqueur.
The recipe comes from R Lounge, a new lounge/restaurant with a beautiful view of Times Square in New York City.
TIPSY LEPRECHAUN COCKTAIL RECIPE
Ingredients Per Cocktail
1.5 ounces Irish Whiskey, such as Jameson’s
1 ounce Irish Cream Liqueur, such as Bailey’s
3 ounces Guinness Stout
2 scoops vanilla ice cream
2 ounce chocolate syrup
Optional garnish: Maraschino cherry
Preparation
1. GLAZE a pint glass with chocolate syrup
2. Blend the ingredients and add to the glass.
3. GARNISH with a cherry.
4. DRINK up.
5. HAVE another.
We can’t wait to celebrate! Tipsy Leprechaun recipe and photo courtesy R Lounge in Times Square, New York City.
Preserve your Parmesan. Photo courtesy Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.
Hard cheeses are the most durable, lasting for months after they’re cut from the wheel. But they still need proper care.
Store hard cheeses—including Asiago, Manchego, Mimolette, Parmesan (Parmigiano-Reggiano), Pecorino, Romano and Tête de Moine—in an airtight plastic container with a few sugar cubes.
The sugar will absorb excess moisture and prevent the cheese from getting moldy. Replace the cubes when they get soft.
If your cheese dries out, here’s a tip to save it:
Revive dried-out Parmesan or any other hard cheese by wrapping it in a damp paper towel and refrigerating it in a resealable plastic bag for a day before using. After using the cheese, return any leftovers to the fridge in the bag, without the towel.
A related tip: Don’t throw away the rinds of hard cheeses. Add them to simmering soups to impart a deep, rich flavor. Remove the rinds before serving the soup.
