In the chocolate spectrum, there are individuals who like chocolate and those who cannot be without chocolate. A similar notion it the importance that there are brands that are better than others. One brand in particular is the inspiration for this week's column where chocolate finds its way to the grill.
I wouldn't consider myself a chocolate snob, but there are situations where I have fit the bill. A few years ago, I was at a birthday celebration. After many of the guest left, the host, my friend Heather, discovered that the makings of s'mores did not find its way to the patio fire pit. Although the fire was out, once it was mentioned that we could make microwave s'mores, we set about making them.
The chocolate we used would probably be considered the classic American milk chocolate. After the first bite of my s'more, my senses told me that although it tasted all right, the chocolate was disappointing. It was grainy, too sweet and lacked any real chocolate flavor. Heather and I came to the conclusion that the chocolate of our childhood was disappointing. I mentioned that I heard about a locally made chocolate was supposedly very good. I could not remember the name. I first found out about the chocolate from the show "Bay Area Backroads." Fate stepped in. The same episode I saw a year earlier happened to be on the day after the party. I had the name: Scharffen Berger. It was a sign. A visit to the factory was planned for later in the week.
Heather, our friend Tasha and I set off for the factory one late morning. As we arrived and opened the car doors, the smell of chocolate was thick in the air. It was difficult not to salivate and we knew we were in for some very good dark chocolate. The hour-long tour educated us about the process of growing cacao, its on farm processing and the processing once it is in the factory. In the final 15 minutes of the tour, we had the opportunity to walk through the factory and see the machines at work.
When visiting the Scharffen Berger Web site a little more than a year ago, I was surprised to learn that they had recently opened an on-site dining facility called Cafe Cacao. The lunch menu features a Chocolate Sandwich. After a little further investigation, I found out that the sandwich consists of two pieces of bread with a piece of melted chocolate. It is grilled on a Panini press, toasting the outside of the bread and melting the chocolate inside.
After reading about the grilled chocolate sandwich and seeing the photos, I knew that further research and an experiment was in order. I came across a few different chocolate sandwiches, all with the same premise: chocolate placed in between two buttered pieces of bread and placed on a griddle or a grill. For my experiment, I used two pieces of sliced French bread with a little bit of chocolate. I was very pleased with the results. The texture of crispy bread pairs well with the melted chocolate. This is good for a snack, or a rustic style dessert.
I thought about how the chocolate sandwich could be made a little more elegant. Instead of using the sliced French bread, I opted for a butter pound cake. For my first attempt, I replicated the procedure for the first sandwich. The results were a little disappointing. With the introduction of butter, the pound cake was not strong enough and fell apart too easily. For my second attempt, I did not butter the outsides. It was better, but needed an extra touch. In the third attempt, I started to go through some spices and though ground cinnamon would add a nice touch. The combination of melted chocolate and cinnamon reminded me of Mexican hot chocolate and the taste was rich and sinful.
Of course, you don't have to use Scharffen Berger chocolate for fantastic results, but it's important to use a premium chocolate. In the last two months, I conducted two chocolate tasting and Valrhona was also a clear winner for their dark chocolate. If milk chocolate is your favorite, you can't go wrong with another local favorite, Guittard. I used a grill press, but they may be done in a grill pan too.
Chocolate Sandwich
(Adapted from the Cafe Cacao Menu; Serves 1)
2 slices of French bread
1 to 1-1/2 rounded tablespoons premium chocolate
1 teaspoon butter, softened
Step 1: Preheat a grill press to medium high heat. Meanwhile, chop the chocolate into small pieces, about 1/4 square inches.
Step 2: Butter one side on each piece of French bread and add the chocolate to the unbuttered side. Place the other unbuttered side of bread on top of the chocolate.
Step 3: Place the chocolate sandwich in the grill press for about 90 seconds or until the bread on the outside has become crisp and golden brown.
Step 4: Remove the sandwich from the grill press and allow it to cool for 60 seconds. Slice the sandwich on the diagonal and serve with a cold glass of milk.
Elegant Chocolate Sandwich
(From Mitch Mariani; Serves 1)
2 slices of butter pound cake
1 rounded tablespoon premium chocolate (less if the pound cake is small)
Dash of ground cinnamon to taste
Step 1: Preheat a grill press to medium high heat. Meanwhile, chop the chocolate into small pieces, about 1/4 square inches.
Step 2: Working with the inside of the sandwich, add a small dusting of cinnamon to each slice of pound cake. Place the chocolate on top of the cinnamon side and add cover with the other cinnamon side of pound cake.
Step 3: Place the chocolate sandwich in the grill press for about 60 to 90 seconds to allow the chocolate to melt and the pound cake to warm and toast a little.
Step 4: Remove the sandwich from the grill press and allow it to cool for 60 seconds. Slice the sandwich on the diagonal and serve with vanilla ice cream or a touch of whipped cream.
Mitch Mariani Mitch L. Mariani II is a self-taught amateur chef. Questions, comments and suggestions can be directed to him via e-mail at mixedgrillsouthvalley@yahoo.com. For tips and recipes, visit www.geocities.com/mixedgrillsouthvalley. His column runs weekly.
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