GOOD TASTES.VINTAGE CHOCOLATES: Specialty chocolates, designed to appeal to connoisseurs, are becoming chic and trendy. Cocoa beans are being selected and blended from plantations around the world and turned into upscale varietal and blended chocolates almost like grapes for wine. Just in time for holiday cooking and baking, Guittard Chocolate Co. (based in Burlingame) has introduced five premium chocolates in the E. Guittard Vintage Collection (the E. stands for Etienne, the founder of Guittard; he's the great-grandfather of the company's current president, Gary Guittard) for home cooks. Until now (and for the past couple of years) the products have only been available to chefs and restaurants. Two of the chocolates are blends - L'Harmonie and Soleil d'Or. The 64 percent dark L'Harmonie (Harmony) blend, made from criollo Criollo native Spanish-American light horse or riding pony. Includes a number of ethnic varieties, e.g. Argentine Criollo. Any color, 13.3 to 15 hands high. Originated from a mixture of Arab, Barb and Andalusian. and trinitario beans, is characterized by complex light floral aromas and a deep chocolate finish. I'd put it in the bittersweet or dark chocolate category. The 38 percent milk chocolate Soleil d'Or (Golden Sun) contains rich, milk chocolate flavor with a caramel accent and a very slight hint of cinnamon. Both blends were smooth - with excellent, complex flavors - and should yield great-tasting results in baking and candy-making. Packaged in 1-kilogram (2.2-pound) bars in black boxes, the two blends are available at Sur la Table Sur La Table, Inc. is a privately held American retail company based in Seattle, Washington, that sells gourmet cooking utensils and related merchandise, such as appliances, food, and cookbooks. stores (Thousand Oaks, Los Angeles, Pasadena and Los Angeles) for $19.95 per bar. The three single-bean varietals - all dark chocolate (and more expensive than the blends) - include Sur del Lago (origin - Western Venezuela); Colombian; and Ecuador Nacional. Also available in 1-kilogram bars at $24.99 each, they can only be purchased by calling Guittard at (800) 468-2462 (ask for customer service at Ext. 276 or 244) or online at www.CaliforniaCandy.com. L'Harmonie and Soleil d'Or can also be purchased online or by phone. For more information on Guittard products, go to www.guittard.com. Guittard has been offering consumers a variety of chip flavors, including milk and semisweet chocolates, for years - and we've always found them exceptionally smooth, unlike some of their grainier counterparts. Guittard chocolate chips also yield excellent results when melted and used in tortes, truffles, cakes, ganache ga·nache n. A rich icing made of chocolate and cream heated and stirred together, used also as a filling, as for cakes or pastry. [French.] toppings and the like. - Natalie Haughton WOLFGANG PUCK BOOK PARTIES: Chef and restaurateur Wolfgang Puck will be signing his new book, ``Live, Love, Eat! The Best of Wolfgang Puck,'' at the Wolfgang Puck Cafe, 8000 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, from 6 to 9 tonight. The party will feature complimentary appetizers (made from recipes in the book), music from T-Lou and his L.A. Zydeco zydeco (zī`dĭkō'), American musical form originating among the African-American Creoles of Louisiana. Drawing on elements of traditional Cajun music as well as jazz, country and western, and blues, it is characterized by French lyrics, band and a no-host bar. To reserve (space is limited), call (800) 644-1886. In addition, Puck will be signing his book at the Best of Wolfgang Puck Wine Dinner (featuring Kendall Jackson wines) at the Wolfgang Puck Cafe in the Westfield Shoppingtown Promenade, Woodland Hills, 7 p.m. Nov. 13 ($80 per couple). For reservations, call (818) 710-9653. - N.H. DINING OUT Bastide Bastides are fortified[1] new towns built in medieval Languedoc, Gascony and Aquitaine during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, although some authorities count Mont-de-Marsan and Montauban, which was founded in 1144,[2] as the first bastides. , the long-awaited upscale French restaurant by former Citrus and Lavande chef Alain Giraud, has finally opened. The beefless menu is short and sweet. You choose from three prix-fixe options, a $60 traditional dinner, a $70 fig-inspired dinner or the $90 grand Bastide dinner that must be ordered by your entire party. All three begin with an amuse bouche, which is a small chef's whim starter tidbit. The Bastide meal has a lobster salad with Nicoise vegetables, then loup loup a bounding gait. de mer (sea bass) with asparagus and chanterelles for the fish course followed by sauteed foie gras with a fig banyuls sauce. Grapefruit and Noilly Prat flavored sorbet provides the palate cleanser. The main course is rack of lamb Noun 1. rack of lamb - a roast of the rib section of lamb crown roast rack - rib section of a forequarter of veal or pork or especially lamb or mutton lamb roast, roast lamb - a cut of lamb suitable for roasting panisse with a garlic confit con·fit n. 1. Meat, such as duck, that has been salted and then cooked and preserved in its own fat. 2. A condiment made by cooking seasoned fruit or vegetables, usually to a jamlike consistency. and black olive sauce. Cheeses, then a selection of desserts and petits fours end the repast. On the traditional menu there are choices. A fish soup, a scallops dish, and crab and melon cannelloni can·nel·lo·ni n. 1. Pasta in large-sized tubes. 2. A dish consisting of such tubes stuffed with meat, vegetables, or cheese and baked in a tomato or cream sauce. [Italian, pl. with muscat aspic are first-course options. John Dory, monkfish monkfish Any of 10–12 species (genus Squatina, family Squatinidae) of sharks having a flattened head and body, with winglike pectoral and pelvic fins that make them resemble rays. The tail bears two dorsal fins, and behind each eye is a prominent spiracle. or veal daube For other uses of "Daub(e)", see Daub. Daube is a classic French stew made with cubed beef braised in wine, vegetables, garlic, and herbes de provence. Although most modern recipes call for red wine, a minority call for white wine, and the earliest recorded daube recipes call are the entree choices. This meal also ends with cheeses, then dessert and petits fours. Fig lovers might enjoy a five-course dinner featuring foie gras with fig chutney chut·ney n. A pungent relish made of fruits, spices, and herbs. [Hindi ca  n , a fig and balsamic-glazed duck dish, and a fig tart with ice cream ending. Bastide, open for dinner weeknights only, 6 to 9 p.m. is located at 8475 Melrose Place, West Hollywood. Information and reservations: (323) 651-5960. - Larry Lipson CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) no caption (Guittard Chocolate Box) (2) no caption (Book: ``Live, Love, Eat! The Best of Wolfgang Puck'') |
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