Chocolate
If you're making a chocolate recipe, you cannot cook with Hersheys. You need a chocolate with a cacao or cocoa solids content of at least 50 percent. Read Dark Secrets for everything you need to know about what makes good chocolate.
You may prefer to view articles alphabetically.
Chocolate Truffles - 1 Dec 2011
It's always a treat to be given a home-made food gift from a good cook. Trent Conry - one time chef of 401 then Ardeo - has three sumptuous chocolate recipes for food presents any time of year but especially the holiday season, that even a modest cook can tackle fearlessly. read more...
Chocolate play-doh - oh yes! - 10 Aug 2011
The web site says this is suitable for 3 to 7 year-olds. Wrong. It's Chocolate Play Doh. read more...
Chocolate tart - 21 Apr 2011
Forget Easter eggs. Make this celebratory tart from Tom Power, owner-chef of Corduroy. It's an elegant and deeply chocolate dessert that will pass you off as a master patissier yet it's not hard to make. read more...
Good biscotti from bad brownies - 14 Apr 2011
Trying out my new oven, I made some really dry brownies. But all was not lost. In fact, there was a gain! read more...
Best choccy bickies (English for 'cookies') - 17 Feb 2011
I was raised on these cookies. Or 'bickies' (short for biscuits), according to my Mom who made them. Nigella Lawson may think they come from one Granny Boyd, whose recipe she gives in How To Be A Domestic Goddess. But these don't. They have far more chocolate and are so much better. read more...
Adobo-Spiced Duck Breast - 11 Nov 2010
When Howsoon Cham' was the owner-chef of Red Ginger and Café Tropé he used a chile spice rub packed with a Mexican-Mayan punch to give a new twist to duck breast that goes down well at this time of year. You can use it just as successfully with chicken, meat or fish and left-overs will keep in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. read more...
Baked Chocolate Sabayon - 15 Oct 2010
Corduroy on 9th Street NW is one of those restaurants chefs say they love to eat at. So if you can't get there, here is owner chef Tom Power's recipe for Baked Chocolate Sabayon which is just the ticket for fall feasting. read more...
Chew On This: Eat dark chocolate twice a week! - 18 Aug 2010
Latest on the chocolate-is-good-for-you story: a US study of women between 48 and 83 has found that those eating two 19 to 30 gram servings of dark chocolate once or twice a week cut the risk of developing heart failure by a third. But those who ate it every day didn't benefit.
Don't get too excited - 19 to 30 grams is 3/4 of an ounce to 1 ounce. Still... read more...
Desserts: Sopa de Chocolato Blanco con Compota de Frutos Rojos - 24 Jun 2010
This is one of those recipes we all hunt for: a dish, in this case a dessert, that is impressive to taste and to look at, that can be whipped up with little effort and time. It came from Santi Zabaleta, when he was chef of Taberna del Alabardero. Now you'll find his cheerful face at A & H Seafood & Gourmet in Bethesda, which he owns. read more...
Bittersweet Mocha Grappa Torte with Walnuts - 23 Apr 2010
Domenica Marchetti, author of Big Night In, from which this recipe is taken, says: "I can't even count the number of times that chocolate tortes have been a source of disappointment to this chocolate lover...either too liquored up, too jammy, too nutty, too dry, or too dense (giant chocolate truffle, anyone?). That's why I am so in love with this recipe; it delivers everything it promises."
So I tried it. And she's right. But the photo is of my version not her elegant one. Tidying up its overspill was a treat - I just ate the bits I sliced off for beautification... read more...
Chocolate - dark secrets - 23 Apr 2010
Think of chocolate and you think of Belgium, Switzerland, France. Or your thighs. Of course you might now think of David Edwards' Le Whif (see the article on the Home page). But if you'd prefer the real McKoy, here's all you need to know. read more...
Arrowine - 23 Apr 2010
"I'm getting blackberries, I'm getting pepper, I'm getting tarmac, I'm getting $100,000 a year to talk about wine like this"...Some eonophiles can drive you bonkers. But if you want the right wine without a pretentious sales pitch, to go with an unusual lump of artisan cheese, head to Arrowine and get them both there. read more...
Cakes - to order or make beautiful - 10 Mar 2010
Baking cake for a celebration, cupcakes for school or work? Or need someone else to do it for you? Here's all you need to keep you in cake. read more...
Ice creams & gelati - 17 Jun 2009
In Russia, even in the depths of winter, queues of people form around the ice-cream carts stationed on street corners and down the iced-over paths of Moscow's Gorki Park. The world over, it's a seductive cold comfort. read more...
Five-minute chocolate cake and other fun foods - 8 Apr 2009
Who doesn't want a home-made chocolate cake baked in 5 minutes? And how about Pineapple Jerky? What's not to like about some zany food ideas... read more...
Artfully Chocolate/Kingsbury Confections - one of my favorites - 15 Jun 2008
This is a rare photograph, according to Rob Kingsbury and Eric Nelson, owners of Artfully Chocolate/Kingsbury Confections. They're rarely found together, one of them holding the fort at the Alexandria store, the other manning the 14th St NW location, probably behind the bar area creating chocolate-based cocktails and drinks. read more...
Artisan Confections - one of my favorites - 25 May 2008
Chocolate as art - art as chocolate? Visit Artisan Confections, eat and decide. Native of Arlington Jason Andelman was the pastry chef at TenPenh for five years. A Fine Arts major from the College of William & Mary and an alum of the Culinary Institute of America, he left to pursue an even more artistic adventure - opening his own chocolate shop, Artisan Confections. Now he's making chocolates that look like jewelry. read more...
Co Co. Sala - Three-course chocolate - 29 Apr 2008
Washington now has its own chocolate lounge, Co Co Sala in Penn Quarter. Personally, I've had my very own chocolate lounge for years. It's the sofa in front of the TV. But it's good to dress up to go out specifically for chocolate. read more...
Latino markets - 26 Nov 2007
Sources for Latin American and Mexican produce and products are plentiful in both Maryland and Virginia. Here are some of them. read more...
Chocolate suppliers - 24 Nov 2007
If you're making a chocolate recipe, you cannot cook with Hersheys. read more...
The lunch shift is over and chef Peter Smith, owner of PS 7’s restaurant is surrounded by gin. No, he’s not relaxing over a drink. The gin is in bowls in an pre-formed state. It’s the mash, a mix of herbs and berries and peels and roots that Smith has worked out how to use in his food as flavorings.
Chew On This: Your first 'Duh' of the year...
Eggplant
Baked beans - the musical fruit
Ribollita - wondersoup or wodge?
Yasaman Persian Bakery - one of my favorites
Breads - a good chew
Duck & goose
A festive 'Special': Foie Gras Creme Caramel
Festive presents weird and wacky at World Market
Walnut oil
The perfect Yorkshire pudding
Chew On This: The acai berry diet can only thin your wallet...
The Queen Mum's favorite cake
West Indian Black Cake
Browse for
Delicious Recipes
DC Chefs
Cuisine Regions