Foodlore Library

Jenie

Kouing-Aman

It's out, my secret love is really a Breton pastry from a bakery called Les Madeleines in Salt Lake City. The Kouing-Aman is a study in opposites: crunchy, chewy; dense, light; caramelly sweet and salty- easy on the eye and delicious in the mouth! Romina Rasmussen created this pastry and says it was an “overnight success.” She started making the goodie (bringing it to hungry Utahns) after admiring its beauty in a magazine article. www.les-madeleines.com

Art Pollard, co-owner of Amano chocolate holding a handful of cocoa beans sourced in Madagascar.

Amano Chocolate

I can't live without artisan chocolate: that snap (breaking off a chunk) and the earthy, exotic sweetness as it melts on my tongue. To be more specific, I want a bar of Madagascar chocolate crafted by artisans Art Pollard and Clark Goble of Amano Chocolates in Utah. I cooked up a chocolate pie once with a 1/2 pound of Amano chocolate. I can't stop thinking about that pie. www.amanochocolate.com

Caitlin

Angelina's Hot Chocolate

Sinfully rich and oh-so elegant hot chocolate from Angelina's in Paris, France. I have never experienced hot chocolate quite like it … more like drinking melted chocolate, with a generous dollop of whipped cream on the side. Angelina's is truly a feast for the senses: a dazzling array of confections is displayed at the entrance, and the interior is luxuriously decorated … très chic!

The El Diablo

Without a doubt my most memorable chocolate experience was at Tango Restaurant in Seattle, WA. Try Tango's “El Diablo” (created by original pastry chef, Bennie Sata): a flourless dark chocolate confection with hints of cayenne and cinnamon, topped with burnt meringue, almonds and caramel sauce. Definitely for those who appreciate the "darker side" of chocolate!

Reid

Bananas Foster Bread Pudding

A recent evening out in NE Portland with friends was going well, and a stop by Bernie's Southern Bistro on Alberta dropped the capstone of that night into our bellies. This classic-done-right held together just enough to stay on the fork, but was delicate enough to fall apart in a mouth-filling explosion of brandy caramel sauce.

Mindy

Sweet Life's Vegan Pot Au Creme

Love means embracing (and learning from) the quirks and practices of the important people in your life. While I'm an ice cream-loving cheese snob, my mom is vegan. The combination calls for a lot of creativity and compromise when we're out to eat together. But the chocolate magicians at Eugene's beloved Sweet Life patisserie make a sinfully elegant concoction that satisfies us both. A dense, silky layer of fudge mousse topped by a non-dairy recreation of whipped cream so divine it boggles this milk-lover's mind (just how do they DO that?). Love, I know, also means sharing, but some things are just too darn good: for Valentine's Day, I'll take two, please. One for Mom, and one for me.

Pink Martini

The drink, or the band. Ideally, both together.