Adventures in Boston – Boston Chocolate Tour of Faneuil Hall & The North End

Posted on September 2, 2011 by Renee {Eat.Live.Blog.}

In mid-August, my sister came to Boston for her birthday. By now my readers know that when my sister comes to town, we always have something fabulous planned, and it usually includes a lot of food, and discovering New England. This trip we decided to stay in Boston, but still include the “lot of food” part of our tradition.

For this special weekend, the people at Boston Chocolate Tours were fabulous enough to let us join their tour of Faneuil Hall and the North End. Here is a quick photo recap of where we went, and the fabulous things we ate, saw and learned:

We met the group at Godiva in Faneuil Hall. Did you know that this is the oldest Godiva storefront (and the only 2 level store) in the United States? Godiva rep Kyle educated us on all things Godiva, had us sample various deliciousness, and sent us home with a big dark chocolate bar and some truffles!

We crossed the busy pedestrian mall and headed into Cheers, my only “miss” of this tour. Apparently Cheers has a specially made Boston Cream Pie that is unlike any other. It was okay, it wasn’t chocolaty. This stop did not “do it” for me…Cheers on Urbanspoon
We then traveled to the other end of the mall for some chocolate cake from Wagamama. Chocolate cake from Wagamama?! Oh yeah! This could quite possibly (and surprisingly) be one of the best chocolate cakes I have ever eaten. Good on you Boston Chocolate Tours for finding a surprising chocolate delight in an unexpected venue!Wagamama on Urbanspoon

We prepared for the 5 minute walk to the North End with chocolate chip cookies from the Boston Chipyard, and we were on our way! Our first stop, Mike’s Pastry. If you visit Boston, if you eat dessert, it is kind of mandatory that you stop at Mike’s! Here they treated us with full-sized chocolate cannoli! This thing was huge! I was about to pop at this point, so I wrapped my cannoli to take as a treat for later.

Mike's Pastry on Urbanspoon

We continued our journey to the lesser traveled Salem Street in the North End. You may remember this street from such movies as The Town & trailers for I Don’t Know How She Does It. But we were on to better things! Things like Sapori di Napoli. A hidden gem where they take the term “authentic” seriously. We had a delicious chocolate drink that the owner mixed for us himself as he preached about the truth of an authentic cannoli. It was charming!

Unfortunately the lighting inside was NOT conducive to photos.

Yup, we’re still going! On to Lulu’s Sweet Shoppe which you may remember used to be at the top of Hanover Street. Welp, they outgrew their old digs and our now in a bigger shop on Salem Street. And their cupcakes are just as fabulous as I remember them. Honestly, these are some of my favorite cupcakes in Boston. They are always moist and taste like the flavor they are advertised to be.Lulu's Sweet Shoppe on Urbanspoon

With just 2 stops left, we trotted over to Maria’s Pastry, a charming family owned and family run bakery. Maria is the only one doing the baking here, as she is the only one who knows the traditional family recipes. But you will find her daughter, sister, niece and more working behind the counter and being…well, charming! We sampled some delicious traditional treats, and Debbie & I couldn’t leave without a piece of their beautiful marzapan!Maria's Pastry Shop on Urbanspoon

It was time, our last stop was looming. But lo and behold, it was one of my favorite sweet stops…Saus! Co-Owner Renee (the girl w/ the great name!) told us all about the restaurant as she handed out delicious bites of the UNBELIEVABLE Belgian Liege Waffles topped with Homemade Nutella, and one with their Salted Carmel. My opinion – these waffles are so damn good they need NO sauce. Debbie licked the sauce off the cup (not really, but she wanted to!)Saus on Urbanspoon

And that concluded our tour. We had a fabulous time, and enjoyed some delicious things. And our guides Miriam and Gabby made it even more fun, while imparting their chocolate wisdom, and lots of fun local chocolate history, upon us.

This tour is a perfect way for visitors to get a “sweet” inside look at Boston, or for locals to be a tourist for the day! The only thing I would question is the choice of including Cheers…but hey, that’s a small hiccup.

In addition to this tour, Boston Chocolate Tours also provides tours of Boston’s Back Bay, South End and Harvard Square. They also host chocolate school!

Disclaimer: This Chocolate Tour was provided free of charge for me and my guest. All opinions and descriptions above are my own statements and thoughts.

And now a contest from our friends at Eversave!

My good friends at Eversave Boston have offered my Boston area readers another contest! You will win the  60 minute Massage currently offered by Eversave Boston!! All you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me about your favorite chocolate experience. Entries must be received by Saturday, September 3, 2011 at 10am.

Have a happy & safe Labor Day weekend!

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Did He Really Just Ask Me To Make An Amuse Bouche? Maple – Chocolate Drunken Bananas

Posted on March 31, 2011 by Renee {Eat.Live.Blog.}

Ryan just walked into the kitchen, where seared bananas were on the dessert menu, and asked if I could make him an amuse bouche with a granola bar. Yup. We need to stop watching cooking shows.

For those of you unfamiliar with an amuse bouche, it is a small bite to start a meal. It must be one bite. I figured it was okay to make a dessert amuse bouche to end the meal instead of starting it.

Armed with his half of a granola bite, bananas, maple syrup, rum and Sassy Sauce Bittersweet Chocolate I won from Karen’s monthly contest, I accepted the challenge. The result…why it was amusing!

I heated my pan and add 1 tbsp of Olivio (butter substitute). When it melted, I threw in the banana slices and cooked until the bottom was brown. Then I flipped them. I then gave the bananas a good dosing of rum and let that cook until it dissolved. Next, the bananas got a fair dressing of maple syrup and 2 tablespoons of the chocolate. I waited for the chocolate to melt before flipping the bananas again. Then….I seared the granola bite in the pan….the things we do for love….

Next I assembled the amuse bouche with the granola on the bottom, topped with a banana, and drizzled with maple syrup. For me, a bowl full of maple-chocolate drunken bananas!

This was such an easy, delicious dessert, and we had such a good laugh while making it, that I just had to write a blog post right away! Maybe the challenge chased away my writer’s block?

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My Today Show Chili Contest Entry – Super Secret Recipe: Beer Bacon Chocolate Chili

Posted on January 28, 2011 by Renee {Eat.Live.Blog.}

This may be one of the hardest things I have ever had to do…my Chocolate Beer Chili recipe is being exposed to the world. I literally covet this recipe. I keep it in a lock box under my bed and take it out to say a prayer for it each morning…well, maybe not, but I am super proud and protective of this recipe. I mean, it has CHOCOLATE, and BEER, and it is CHILI. Does it get any better?

 

Then I started to think – maybe only I think this chili is so amazing, can it really be as good as I think it is? So I started making it for my friends. They SAID it was as good as I thought. I gave the recipe to my dad and his wife for them to make it in their cafe. The chili became their #1 seller. So maybe it is as good as I think. I decided to add “enter a chili contest” to my 101 list.

Well, the time has come for you to judge, for the world to judge, for the Today Show to judge! The Today Show announced they are having a chili recipe contest a couple of weeks ago…my chance has come! I made my pilgrimage to Russo’s, Whole Foods, and Trade Joe’s, and it was time, time to blog my Chocolate Beer Chili recipe…via con dios….

Chocolate Beer Chili Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 lb Bacon (chopped )
  • 1.5 lb Sirloin tips (chopped into bite sized pieces)
  • 1 – poblano pepper (seeded and chopped)
  • 1 – fresh Fresno pepper (seeded and chopped) Feel free to sub your favorite pepper
  • 1 – large onion (chopped)
  • 28 ounce Crushed tomatoes
  • 28 ounce Diced Tomatoes
  • 2- 14.5 oz of your choice beans such as cannelloni, kidney beans, black beans, etc…
  • 1/4 cup chili powder (I recommend Penzey’s or Whole Foods)
  • 1/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1- 12 ounce bottle dark beer (I use any of Dogfish Head varieties, but prefer the Indian Brown Ale or Chicory Stout)
  • 1 ounce of unsweetened bakers chocolate chopped finely
  • Salt to taste

Directions:

  • Brown the diced bacon in a large pot
  • Once bacon is crispy, remove it from the pot with a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel covered plate
  • Add meat to the bacon drippings and brown well.
  • You may need to drain the meat in the middle of browning.
  • Once the meat is brown, remove it from the pan and set aside.
  • Add the peppers to the pot and cook until they start to brown, approximately 3 minutes.
  • Add onions to the peppers and continue to brown until the onions just start to become translucent.
  • Add the meat and bacon to the onions and peppers and brown for an additional 5 – 8 minutes.
  • Add the diced tomatoes to the mixture and stir well.
  • Over medium-high cook until the mixture just starts to boil.
  • Add the beans to the pot and cook until it just starts to boil again.
  • Add the crushed tomatoes and cook, again, until it just starts to boil.
  • Add the beer to the pot, mix well, and bring to a boil, allow to boil for 30 seconds
  • Stir in the chili powder and brown sugar.
  • When the mixture JUST starts to boil again, stir in shaved chocolate
  • Bring to a slow boil and salt to taste. Make sure not to over-salt, as flavors will develop as the chili simmers.
  • The thickness of your chili depends on your ingredients, if your chili is too thin, add a teaspoon of tomato paste, stir, test thickness and repeat if needed.
  • Reduce heat to simmer, cover and let simmer (stirring occasionally) for approximately 2 hours.
  • Ladle chili into a bowl and sprinkle with your favorite toppings such as diced onions, shredded cheese, or sour cream



Filed under: 101 Blog, Recipes | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments »

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